Police launch manhunt for killers of UBJP member

CRIME SCENE. Police probers cordoned off the crime scene along Moonlight Street, Barangay Rosary Heights 8, Cotabato City where a woman was shot dead on Monday morning. —Haleem Abas/DXMS

COTABATO CITY, BARMM, Philippines — The Cotabato City Police Office (CCPO) has intensified its manhunt operation against gunmen who shot dead a former purok (sub-village) leader of Barangay Rosary Heights 8 or Notre Dame on Monday morning.

Police Lieutenant Jonathan Marciano, the station commander for Police Station 2 of CCPO, identified the victim as Maria Alona Villar, 50, a resident of Barangay Notre Dame.

The victim, according to reports, is the wife of Colonel Henry Villar, former police director of Cotabato province who is now assigned at the headquarters of Police Regional Office 12 in General Santos City.

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Villar was standing in front of a water refilling station along Moonlight Street at around 9 a.m. when shot in the head by one of the suspects who quickly fled.

She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

Scene-of-the-Crime operatives found one empty shell for a caliber .45 pistol at the crime scene.

The motive of the crime is yet to be determined by police investigators.

A membership form of the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) — the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that is set to join parliamentary elections in 2025, was recovered from the hands of Villar.

The UBJP has condemned the murder of their party volunteer.

“Mrs. Villar was a dedicated and passionate advocate for the UBJP’s principles and policies. Her life was viciously taken while she was in the act of distributing UBJP membership forms in the area as part of engaging with the community, mobilizing supporters, and amplifying the message of the UBJP,” the political party said in a statement.