Anti-poll fraud campaigner gunned down in Maguindanao town

COTABATO CITY, Philippines–A village councilor, who was at the forefront of a local campaign against electoral fraud, was killed by suspected guns-for-hire while walking home from a seaside mosque in Parang, Maguindanao, officials said Monday.

Parang Mayor Ibrahim Ibay said Nakir Basag, 44, a councilor of Barangay (village) Limbayan, was walking home after the breaking of fast at around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, when M16-wielding men blocked his path and shot him several times.

Those who saw the incident rushed Basag to the hospital but he died without receiving medical attention, according to Ibay.

The mayor said he suspected Basag’s involvement in the campaign against electoral fraud in the town was the main reason he was killed.

Basag had also recently filed a complaint for abuse of authority against Limbayan Barangay chair Allan Abo with the mayor’s office and the town council.

But Ibay said the police were also determining if there were other possible motives behind the village official’s killing.