Son of ex-Maguindanao vice mayor shot dead

COTABATO CITY, Philippines  – Masked men gunned down at the border of Datu Paglas, Maguindanao and Tulunan, North Cotabato yesterday a scion of a big political clan allied with Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu.

The fatality, Rasul Datang, son of a former vice mayor of Datu Paglas town, died on the spot from gunshot wounds in the head.

Datang’s wife, Jean, was seriously wounded in the attack.

Inspector Marlon Silvestre, chief of the Datu Paglas municipal police, said the couple was on their way to the town proper of Datu Paglas on board a motorcycle when the two men riding another motorcycle in tandem overtook and opened fire with .45 caliber pistols.

Datang was killed on the spot while his wife, who sustained gunshot wounds in the abdomen, was rushed to a hospital in North Cotabato, now guarded by policemen.

The Datang clan, whose members reside in Maguin­danao’s adjoining Datu Paglas and Buluan towns, is a political ally of the incumbent Maguindanao governor.

The Datangs supported the candidacy of Mangudadatu and his running mate, now Maguindanao Vice Gov. Dustin Mastura, during the May 10 elections.