Barangay councilor, companion killed in ambush in Kidapawan

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines  ---A newly elected barangay councilor was killed while another was wounded in an ambush here past 9 a.m. Friday by suspected hired killers.

Senior Supt. Leo Ajero, city police director, identified the fatality as Ronaldo Macrohon, who was elected councilman in Barangay Malinan here during the October 28 barangay elections.

Macrohon was a former member of the Citizen’s Armed Forces Geographical Unit.

Macrohon and a companion, Efren Penio, were riding a motorcycle together on their way to the barangay center from a village in Barangay Malinan when two men blocked their path and shot them with .45 caliber handguns.

Macrohon died on the spot while Penio was wounded in different parts of his body.

The ambushers escaped towards nearby Barangay Sikitan, also in Kidapawan City, using a motorcycle parked near the spot where they attacked Macrohon and Penio.

Ajero said investigators have yet to determine if the ambush was related to the October 28 barangay elections, or could have stemmed from an old grudge involving either Macrohon or Penio.