3 village execs killed in gun attacks in Zambo Sur, Maguindanao Sur

Shot dead. STOCK PHOTO

PAGADIAN CITY—Three more village leaders were killed in separate gun attacks in Zamboanga del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur provinces just days after the New Year.

Authorities were yet to determine if the attacks had anything to do with the upcoming midterm elections in May.

The latest incident happened at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, when Joemar Requilme, 37, a village councilor of Barangay Lantawan in San Miguel town, Zamboanga del Sur, was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle, said Police Col. Restituto Pangusban, director of the Zamboanga del Sur police.

READ: Village councilor shot dead in Zamboanga del Sur

Requilme was driving a motorcycle with a passenger identified only as Janny when waylaid by gunmen aboard another motorcycle who were wearing black ski masks and baseball caps, said Pangusban.

According to witnesses, the attackers blocked the victim’s path and opened fire, hitting him multiple times. The passenger escaped unharmed by jumping into a nearby canal.

The gunmen fled along the national highway towards the direction of Margosatubig town, also in the same province.

Concerned citizens rushed Requilme to the Margosatubig Regional Hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival by the attending physician.

The killing came less than a day after another village councilor was shot 17 times in his head and body at around 11 p.m. on Friday in nearby Dumalinao town of Zamboanga del Sur, said Pangusban.

Michael Verallo, a councilor of the town’s Barangay Upper Dumalinao, came from their barangay hall and was driving a motorcycle on his way home when ambushed by gunmen along Purok Mangga in his village. The gunmen immediately fled after the crime.

Based on the fired cartridges recovered at the crime scene, he was shot with a caliber .45 pistol and a 9 mm pistol, 10 of which hit his head.

Pangusban told the Inquirer he called for an emergency meeting on Saturday to create a special team to fast-track the investigation.

Indoor slay

In Datu Salibo town of Maguindanao del Sur, village chief Kameran Abubakar of Barangay Sambulawan was killed right inside his residence also on Friday, according to Police Lt. Victor Lim, chief of the Datu Salibo municipal police.

Abubakar was the second village official killed in a gun attack in Datu Salibo in just the past five days and the sixth elected official in Maguidanao del Sur killed since April 2024.

Abubakar, who was killed by unidentified men who barged inside his house at 4 p.m. on Friday, sustained four gunshot wounds in various parts of his body. He was rushed to a hospital in Tacurong City, where he died hours later.

Days earlier, or on Dec. 29, village councilor Mandi Salandang of Barangay Penditen, also of Datu Salibo town, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at around 4 p.m.

More victims

In October last year, a village councilor seeking a seat at the municipal council of Datu Hoffer Ampatuan, Maguindanao del Sur, was killed in an ambush in the town. The victim, Toto Gogo Kensa, 45, was a member of the indigenous people’s (IP) tribe in Maguindanao del Sur.

Another local leader, Mohammad Usman Alamada, 59, a municipal councilor of Buluan town in Maguindanao del Sur, was shot dead by two gunmen in front of his family-owned roadside restaurant on Sept. 19 last year.

Last Aug. 2, gunmen ambushed and killed Vice Mayor Roldan Benito of South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur. His wife, the chair of Barangay Pandan in the same town, was injured.

On April 30 last year, unidentified gunmen killed Timuay (IP senior ancestral leader) Juanito Promboy, 55, a village council member representing the IPs in Barangay Tuayan, Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town.

Police were also still trying to determine if the attacks in 2024 were related to the May elections.