COTABATO CITY –– Unidentified gunmen shot and seriously wounded a police officer and his companion in Midsayap town, Cotabato province Wednesday, Jan. 27.
Lt. Colonel John Medel Calinga, Midsayap police chief, identified the victim as Police Officer 1 Rolando Gamallo, 40, and retired policeman Manuel Pintoy, 46.
The victims were on board a white Nissan Navara pick-up driven by Gamallo that was about to enter a gamefowl farm in Barangay Poblacion 8 around 7:30 p.m. when two men arrived on a motorcycle and shot them.
Witnesses said Gamallo, who is assigned at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, managed to return fire, forcing the attackers to escape toward the town center.
The motive of the attack and the identities of the gunmen are still being determined.