Mohammad Hessam Midtimbang —Office of BARMM Member of Parliament Haron Abas
COTABATO CITY — The recent spate of violence in this city, the seat of the Bangsamoro region, has alarmed officials, as the latest gun attack killed an Islamic preacher along a busy street here on Monday.
Unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle shot and killed Ustadz Mohammad Hessam Midtimbang, 32, at past 6 p.m. while he was about to board his car on Gutierrez Avenue, said Police Maj. John Vincent Bravo, chief of the local police’s Precinct 2.
Bravo said Midtimbang was shot from behind. Investigators found six empty shells of a .45-caliber pistol at the crime scene.
Midtimbang worked at the Bangsamoro Darul Ifta (House of Opinion) and maintained a radio program propagating the Islamic faith and peace.
Bravo said relatives told the police the slain preacher had no known enemies.
The victim is a son of Cotabato City Administrator Abdulwahab Midtimbang, and brother of Councilor Guiadzuri Midtimbang and Barangay Bagua 1 village chief Theng Midtimbang.
“We are profoundly saddened by the loss of a promising life and stand united against any form of violence that threatens the peace and security of our city,” the city council said in a statement signed by Vice Mayor Butch Abu.
“We urge the appropriate authorities to swiftly investigate this incident and bring the perpetrators to justice. Our commitment to the safety and well-being of our constituents remains unwavering,” the statement added.
Apart from that of Midtimbang’s killing, the city council also expressed alarm over the rash of shooting incidents in the past two months, some happening even in broad daylight.
On July 23, Dr. Marivic Tello, treasurer of the Cotabato City Medical Society, was killed by her aide and buried in a shallow grave inside the well-secured and heavily guarded compound of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center.
On Aug. 15, unidentified gunmen on motorcycles fired at the vehicle of Pedro Tato Jr., chief of the Cotabato City General Services Office. Tato was wounded but his driver, Dandy Anonat, 30, died while undergoing treatment.
On that same day, a man threw a grenade at the compound of the mother of former Commission on Elections Chair Sheriff Abas in Barangay Rosary Heights 3.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack that damaged one of the family’s cars.