SHARIFF AGUAK, MAGUINDANAO – A town councilor was shot dead on Wednesday in Barangay Gadungan, Mamasapano, Maguindanao, police said.
Berto Guiamadel, 55, an incumbent town councilor of Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao, died while being treated at the provincial hospital here, said Police Colonel Ronald Briones, Maguindanao police director.
Capt. Aaron Acuna, Mamasapano acting police chief, said Guiamadel was driving his motorbike on his way to the public market at around 8 a.m. in Barangay Sigayan when two men in separate motorcycles shot him from behind.
Esmael Hashim, chairman of Barangay Tukanalipao, a village adjacent to Sigayan, said Guimadel opted not to seek reelection in next month’s midterm elections due to health reasons.
“We pity him so much,” Hashim said of his friend.
“He suffered from a mild stroke and opted not to run in next month’s election.”
Hashim believed a long standing “rido” (family feud) with other families in Shariff Saydona could have triggered the shooting.
“Guiamadel is a very simple man, an honest public official. He had slowed down from his political career due to a mild stroke,” Hashim added.
Police records showed that Guimadel was the sixth town councilor murdered in Maguindanao since 2010. /gsg