COTABATO CITY — Gunmen killed a barangay councilor hopeful and his companion in an ambush in South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur on Sunday afternoon.
The fatal ambush of Zeraphi Omar, a barangay councilor hopeful in Biarong, South Upi, and companion, Parato Mudzol, 32, happened a day after motorcycle-riding men shot dead Leonardo Asud De Jesus, Jr., a third-termer barangay councilor in Datu Piang town in the same province.
Col. Roel Rullan Sermese, director of the Maguindanao del Sur provincial police, on Monday said that Omar and Mudzol were together in a motorcycle when they were attacked by gunmen positioned along the road in a secluded area in Barangay Lamud in South Upi, killing them both on the spot.
The slain Omar is son of the incumbent barangay chairman of Biarong, Datu Esmal Omar
Sermese said that intelligence agents under the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office and personnel of the Datu Piang Municipal Police Station are still investigating Saturday’s ambush that resulted in the death of De Jesus.
De Jesus was a three-termer councilor in Barangay Poblacion in Datu Piang. His third term as barangay councilor was supposed to end after barangay elections this year.
The barangay councilor was on board a Toyota Innova driven by his son when they were attacked by gunmen on motorcycles in Barangay Kanguan in Datu Piang, killing him on the spot.
Sermese said that witnesses had told responding investigators that they are certain that De Jesus was the target of the attack since the culprits on motorcycles overtook their vehicle from the right side of the highway and opened fire.
De Jesus, a businessman, had anointed candidates for chairman and councilors in different barangays in Datu Piang, according to his relatives.