Moro dad, son, nephew killed in Cotabato ambush

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A Moro motorist, his five-year-old son and nephew were killed in an ambush in Barangay General Luna in Carmen, Cotabato on Saturday morning, February 1.

In separate reports released on Saturday afternoon, the Carmen Municipal Police Station and the Cotabato Provincial Police Office stated that Norman Makasasa, his preschool son and his nine-year-old nephew were riding a motorcycle together when they were attacked by gunmen while motoring through a stretch of a highway in Barangay General Luna.

All three of them died one after another in a hospital where emergency responders and barangay officials brought them for treatment.

Police investigators and local officials told reporters that the gunmen behind the attack managed to escape before responding volunteer community watchmen could reach the scene.

The ambush victims were residents of Barangay Pangangan in Aleosan town in Cotabato, about 50 kilometers away.

They went to Carmen to visit close relatives residing in the municipality, according to local officials.