NEWSBRIEFS

COTABATO CITY

4 bodies found on Rio Grande bank

Four persons were found dead on the bank of the Rio Grande de Mindanao in what authorities believed were victims of summary execution.

Senior Superintendent Roberto Badian, city police chief, identified the victims as Ismael Abdulwahid, Aliudin Datumanong and Nasrudin Guiabar, all of Barangay (village) Bagua, Cotabato City; and Arafat Macmod, of Barangay Salimbao, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

Badian said the police discovered the bodies after being informed of a shooting incident in Barangay Poblacion Mother at about 10 p.m. on Saturday. Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

Another case of vigilante killing?

An unidentified man believed to be a vigilante shot and killed an alleged criminal gang member while sleeping inside a multicab at Agora shortly after midnight on Saturday, police said.

Senior Police Officer 3 Howard Lagsa of the Agora police station identified the victim as Angelo Magdale, of Barangay Tulay Cemento, Cagayan de Oro City. City police records showed that Magdale was an alleged member of Batang Mindanao 29 (BM29).

Last year, a dozen BM29 members were executed separately after their release from jail. Magdale was the seventh to be killed since August 16.

However, police authorities downplayed the attacks as part of a gang war. Bobby Lagsa, Inquirer Mindanao

QUEZON

Highway robbers take payroll money

A construction firm lost P100,000 in payroll money to two highway robbers in Tiaong town on Saturday, police said.

Senior Police Officer 1 Joseph Salvador Ramirez, case investigator, said an employee of Arda Construction Co., identified as Roberto Roxas, was aboard a tricycle traveling toward Barangay Balat Atis to pay the wages of its workers there when two unidentified gunmen blocked the vehicle’s path and grabbed the money bag.

The robbers were described as wearing short pants, hooded jackets and handkerchiefs to cover their faces.

They also took Roxas’ two mobile phones before escaping toward a forested area, Ramirez said. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon

SORSOGON

Soldiers survive landmine blast

An army battalion commander and 10 of his men escaped unhurt after a landmine believed planted by communist rebels exploded in Irosin town on Wednesday.

Colonel Epimaco Makalisang, head of the 49th Infantry Battalion, and his men were on board a military truck when a landmine exploded as they were approaching the villages of Magdagunson and Buenavista past 8 a.m., said Superintendent Wilson Asueta, Bicol police spokesperson.

Asueta said the soldiers were returning to headquarters from a visit to a camp in Irosin to award medals and citations to soldiers when the explosion occurred. Mar S. Arguelles, Inquirer Southern Luzon

PAMPANGA

Robbers dig tunnel to take bank cash

Robbers took away some P400,000 in cash from a bank in Barangay Dau in Mabalacat town by digging a tunnel and boring a hole through its concrete floor last week, police said.

Superintendent Rodney Baloyo IV, town police chief, said the robbers could have entered Producers Bank between the night of Sept. 10 and dawn of Sept. 12 while it was closed for the weekend.

Jackielou Fernando, branch operations manager, said his employees had made sure all doors were locked at 5 p.m. on Sept. 10 before they left. There was no security guard posted in the bank during the weekend. Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon