MILF members ambushed in Cotabato City; 1 killed, 4 hurt

INQUIRER FILES

COTABATO CITY —Several members of the erstwhile rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were ambushed in a busy intersection of this city in broad daylight on Wednesday, leaving one killed and four others injured.

Captain Teofisto Ferrer Jr., police station 2 chief, said the incident happened around 2:30 p.m. at the intersection of Sinsuat Avenue and Gov. Gutierrez Avenue.

The victims were aboard a gray Toyota Hi-Lux (plate number LGB-155) pickup truck and heading for home in Sultan sa Barongis town, Maguindanao del Sur after a visit at the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) compound when attacked.

Ferrer identified the fatality as Ahma Utto, 25, who was driving the vehicle.

Those injured include Marathi Felmin, Jaypee Emran, Alladin Utto and Tahir Tega Sam.

Felmin and Emran are said to be brigade commanders of the 105th Base Command of the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces which is in the process of being decommissioned.

In the same vehicle but unharmed were Johar Felmin, 30; Nasrullah Maulana, 32; Yusop Kamad, 42; Said Felmin, 27, and Mar Angkangat, 27, who were seated at the back portion of the pick-up truck.

Ferrer identified the lone gunman as Kanandok Mukadas, 33, of Sultan sa Barongis, based on the statement of the survivors.

CCTV footage showed Mukadas, sporting a bull cap and without face cover, crossing the street and heading toward the pick-up truck as it started moving forward after the traffic lights turned green.

After firing eight shots at the passenger side of the vehicle, Mukadas ran toward a waiting accomplice on a motorbike and fled.

“The motive could be personal grudge but police probers are digging deeper,” Ferrer said.

Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao has ordered the police to probe why no uniformed police personnel were deployed at the busy intersection at the time of the ambush.