Palawan board member’s convoy ambushed; cop hurt

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan, Philippines — Armed men ambushed a convoy of a Palawan provincial board member on Wednesday afternoon in Bataraza, Palawan, a report of the Philippine National Police in Palawan said. Nobody died in the attack but a police escort of the suspected target, Board Member Abraham Ibba, as well as his official driver, were reported injured. Senior Superintendent Benjamin Acorda, Palawan provincial police director, said the ambush took place in Barangay Tarusan, Bataraza some 230  kilometers south of Puerto Princesa City. Ibba, who was traveling with police escorts, was motoring back to Bataraza town after investigating a reported shooting on Monday in another village when they were fired upon by a group of armed men. Officials did not say if the ambush was election-related. Ibba, a former mayor of Bataraza, is running for a second term in the provincial legislature. Bataraza has been tagged by the Philippine National Police in previous local elections as a “hotspot.  SFM