2 missing Moro men found dead, returned to kin

SOUTH COTABATO – The police on Thursday turned over to their relatives the cadavers of two Moro men that villagers found last Tuesday along a farm-to-market road in Santo Niño town in this province.

Senior Inspector Virlen Pampolina, chief of the Santo Niño municipal police, said claimants had positively identified the duo as Datu Ali Kanid, 20, and Malik Kanid, 26.

Datu Ali and Malik were last reported to the police by relatives as missing since Monday. Their cadavers bore gunshot wounds with powder burns, indicating they were both shot at close range.

Pampolina said Datu Ali was a resident of Barangay Laguilayan in Isulan, capital town of Sultan Kudarat, while Malik hailed from Datu Odin Sinsuat town in the first district of Maguindanao.

“It’s obvious they were snatched from somewhere, killed and dumped here in Santo Niño,” Pampolina said.

The victims were found dead along a secluded stretch of a farm-to-market road in Barangay Ambalgan in west of Santo Niño.