Barangay chairman in Zamboanga del Sur killed in gun attack

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Gunmen killed in a drive-by gun attack shortly before noon Friday a barangay chairman in Dinas, Zamboanga del Sur while on his way to the mosque for an obligatory Islamic worship rite.

Col. Restituto Pangusban, Zamboanga del Sur provincial police director, told reporters on Saturday that Modem Abu, chairman of Barangay Benuatan in Dinas, died on the spot from multiple bullet wounds.

Abu had just emerged from their residential yard and was walking towards a mosque when gunmen together in a dark gray Toyota Vios that came close opened fire and immediately sped away.

Pangusban said pursuing members of the Dinas Municipal Police Station and teams from different units of the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office found the car of the perpetrators of the atrocity in a coconut plantation in Barangay Bubual in nearby San Pablo town in the province.

Pangusban said intelligence agents from the Zamboanga del Sur PPO and personnel of the Dinas Municipal Police Station are cooperating in identifying the culprits in the gun attack that resulted in Abu’s death.

Abu, known to his constituents as a devout Muslim, was a first-termer barangay chairman, who reportedly defeated rivals with an overwhelming vote lead during the October 30, 2023 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.