Mangudadatu kin, aide slain in Sultan Kudarat
TACURONG CITY, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines — Police in Sultan Kudarat province are on heightened alert to prevent more bloodshed following the killing in Lutayan town on Tuesday night of a scion of the politically divided Mangudadatu clan.
According to Lt. Col. Lino Capellan, spokesperson for the Sultan Kudarat provincial police, they are preparing for the possibility of retaliatory attacks and have deployed personnel so that further violence can be averted.
Capellan said more troops have been sent to Lutayan where Datu Naga Mangudadatu, 30, and his aide, Dennis Hadji Daup, 25, were shot by a group using high-powered firearms at 6:30 p.m.
Stray bullets
Citing a report from the municipal police station, Capellan said the victims were in front of a stall in the town’s public market when gunmen aboard a pickup truck arrived and immediately shot them.
Mangudadatu reportedly owned the business establishment at the public market.
Police said two others—Watari Kalim, 34, and an 11-year-old boy—were wounded after they were hit by stray bullets.
The victims were taken to a hospital in Koronadal City where Mangudadatu was declared dead. Daup died several hours later while undergoing treatment.
Family ties
As of Wednesday, Kalim was reportedly in stable condition while the 11-year-old boy was set to undergo surgery.
Police found empty shells for M16 and M14 rifles at the crime scene.The slain Mangudadatu is the son of former Sultan Kudarat Gov. Pakung Mangudadatu, who is now mayor of Lutayan, his family’s political bailiwick, and younger brother of Suharto Mangudadatu, who also used to be the province’s top executive.
During the recent election, Naga Mangudadatu lost his bid for vice mayor of Mangudadatu town in Maguindanao province which has been under the grip of their estranged cousins, who are mainly based in Buluan town of Maguindanao.
Also during the election, his sister-in-law, Bai Mariam Mangudadatu, clashed and eventually won against cousin Esmael Mangudadatu for Maguindanao governor while nephew, Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu, trounced Esmael’s wife, Sharifa Akeel Mangudadatu, in the race for Sultan Kudarat governor.
The Lutayan-based Mangudadatu family has yet to release a statement on the attack.
