Village official, 2 killed in ambush in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—A barangay (village) official and two other family members were killed in an ambush by still unidentified armed men in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, barely three weeks before the May 13 midterm elections.

Senior Inspector Ronald de Leon, Ampatuan police chief, said Jessie Pareja, chair of a settlement in Barangay Kauran, and two of his relatives were going home late Tuesday when ambushed by unidentified gunmen.

De Leon said investigators were not discounting politics as among the possible angles in the killing.

Maguindanao was among Mindanao provinces tagged by security forces and the Commission on Elections as possible flash points of poll-related violence in connection with the May balloting.