Ex-village chair, son slain in Cotabato town ambush

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MATALAM, Cotabato – A former village chair active in the Bangsamoro peace building and his son were killed in an ambush on Sunday evening in a remote village here, police said.

Lieutenant Col. Arniel Melocotones, Matalam town police chief, said Anwar Ebrahim Salem, 52, and his son, Anwar Salem Jr, 21, both residents of Barangay Arakan here, were heading home when they were ambushed in Sitio Lambayao, Barangay Kibia at 6 p.m. on Sunday, July 30.

The father, a member of the Bangsamoro Council of Elders who helped settle local disputes and “rido” (family feud) involving Moro families here, was killed on the spot while his son died while being treated in the hospital.

Salem Sr., a former village chair of Barangay Arakan, used to serve as president of the Association of Barangay Chairperson (ABC) and sat as an ex-officio member of the municipal council.

Melocotones also said the ambush may not be related to the upcoming village polls as Salem Sr. already publicly declared he would not run for public office.

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JPV