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KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato – A candidate for chairman of a remote village in Maguindanao who was defeated in the barangay (village) elections last October 28 and his followers burned down a daycare center in their community on Monday night, the military said.
Captain Antonio Bulao, spokesperson of 602nd Brigade, said Maotan Dalimbang Kasim, who lost in his bid for the chairmanship of Barangay Nabundas in the Municipality of Datu Montawal, and his brother Tatoh led an undetermined number of followers in setting the center on fire.
Barangay Nabundas is located about 30 kilometers from here.
Bulao said both of the Kasim brothers belong to the 110th Base Command of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and that the military would lodge an arson complaint against the perpetrators with a committee overseeing the ceasefire between the government and the rebels.
Police investigators in Montawal said the daycare center was razed to the ground, causing the loss of about P500,000 in property.