Villager killed, 3 injured in Maguindanao ambush

COTABATO CITY— An ethnic Maguindanaon villager was killed and three others, including a six-year-old child, were injured in an ambush in Mamasapano, Maguindanao del Sur on Monday morning, February 17.

Hadji Nano Utap, 40, a resident of Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur, was declared dead on arrival by physicians in a hospital where he was brought by companions for treatment.

Utap is the 14th fatality in gun attacks in Maguindanao del Sur since the Commission on Elections implemented a nationwide gun ban on January 12, aimed at ensuring safe elections in May 2025.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Juan Macapaz, regional director of the Bangsamoro police, told reporters on Tuesday that Utap and his relatives, who were traveling together in a minivan with others trailing behind on motorcycles, were on their way from the nearby Radjah Buayan when they were attacked by gunmen in the secluded Paso area in Mamasapano.

Local executives and officials of the Mamasapano Municipal Police Station said the attack left three relatives of Utap, Tateks Kalunsiang, 45, Hadji Fahad Namo, 38, and a six-year-old boy, badly wounded.

Kalunsiang, who was riding a motorcycle, behind the minivan carrying his relatives, fell along the road due to gunshot wounds he sustained in the attack.

Their attackers immediately escaped using getaway motorcycles, according to barangay officials.