Manobo tribal chieftain slain

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines - – A Manobo tribal chieftain of an area rich in mineral resources was gunned down in a cockpit arena in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur yesterday morning, police said.

Initial investigation showed that the victim, Rogelio Campos Sawe, or Datu Bulawanon as he was known among his fellow Manobos, was drinking liquor and eating along with some companions at the Hubang Gallery Cockpit when he was attacked. 

With two cohorts serving as lookouts, the two assailants pulled out .45-caliber pistols and shot the 44-year-old Sawe several times at close range, killing him on the spot.

Responding policemen spotted the fleeing armed men along the national highway, triggering a gunfight.

One of the attackers, a certain Gibson, was killed while a certain Jemilo Bansag Pepito, 20, was arrested and brought to the hospital for a gunshot wound. 

Police launched a manhunt for the two other assailants.

Reports said Sawe and other tribal folk were engaged in small-scale mining. Portions of the ancestral domain in San Francisco and Rosario towns are reportedly gold-rich areas.