Maguindanao village councilor shot dead

COTABATO CITY – Suspected guns for hire shot dead a village councilor of Parang, Maguindanao who was at the forefront of the local campaign against electoral fraud while the victim was heading home from his evening prayer at a seaside mosque, officials said Monday.

Mayor Ibrahim Ibay of Parang, Maguindanao, said Nakir Basag, 44, a councilor of Barangay Limbayan, was walking for home after performing the evening prayer following the breaking of fast around 6:30 p.m. Sunday when Armalite-wielding gunmen blocked his path and shot him several times.

Ibay said people, who watched the incident, rushed Basag to the hospital but he died without receiving medical attention.

Ibay said he had suspected that Basag’s involvement in the campaign against electoral fraud in the town was the main reason for his assassination.

Recently, he also filed a complaint for abuse of authority against Limbayan Barangay chair Allan Abo before the office of Mayor Ibay and the town council.

But Ibay said the police were also determining if there were other possible motives behind the village official’s killing.