Lanao del Sur mayor cheats death in ambush of convoy; cop, 2 others hurt

ILIGAN CITY (Updated) —The mayor of Masiu, Lanao del Sur cheated death as his convoy was ambushed Sunday morning by still unidentified gunmen brandishing high-powered weapons, hurting three people.

Masiu Mayor Nasser Pangandaman Jr. was motoring from Marawi City to preside over a scheduled meeting of the Municipal Peace and Order Council at the town hall when they were waylaid at Barangay Gata of Buadipuso Buntong town, some 10 kilometers from Masiu.

Colonel Madzgani Mukaram, Lanao del Sur provincial police director, told the Inquirer that Pangandaman escaped the attack unscathed but one of his police escorts, Staff Sergeant Jabbar Romato Pangandaman, was hit in the abdomen.

Two other civilian aides who were in another vehicle were also hurt. They are Jammal Gabriel Pangandaman, who was hit in the right knee, and Casanoding Mangandog, who suffered gunshot wounds in his buttocks, Mukaram added.

All three were treated at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City.

“The gunmen immediately left the scene and was pursued by soldiers stationed nearby,” said Col. Jose Maria Cuerpo, commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade.

Cuerpo said the soldiers reported confiscating several high-powered firearms but have not arrested any suspects.

The military official suspects that “rido” or a clan feud could have something to do with the incident.

Last August, Pangandaman was instrumental in convincing two warring families to settle their four-decade feud, in a settlement witnessed by top police and military officials of Lanao del Sur. /je