2 of congressman’s kin wounded in Maguindanao ambush

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—Two relatives of Maguindanao Representative Simeon Datumanong were in critical condition Saturday after being wounded in an ambush by unidentified men in Ampatuan, Maguindanao, the previous day, police said.

Senior Superintendent Marcelo Pintac, Maguindanao police director, said Datu Ombus Mamison, 48, and Nasrudin Racman, 52,  both residents of Abdullah Sangki town were onboard a jeep on their way to their farms in Ampatuan when fired on by about 10 gunmen in Barangay Kauran.

Pintac said victims were being treated for multiple gunshot wounds in an undisclosed hospital.

Pintac said the police were looking at a personal grudge of some sort as a possible motive for the ambush.

Datumanong urged the authorities to quickly solve the crime by apprehending and prosecuting the perpetrators.

He said it could trigger a major family feud if left unsolved.

Family or clan feuds are common in Maguindanao and other places in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

In 2009, a political feud between the Ampatuan and Mangudadatu clans resulted in what is now known as the Maguindanao Massacre.

At least 32 journalists and media workers were killed along with lawyers and members of the Mangudadatu family allegedly by members of the Ampatuan family and their followers.