STILL unidentified gunmen shot to death the vice mayor of South Upi, Maguindanao and one of his security aides in an attack on Friday afternoon before fleeing.

Vice Mayor Roldan Benito and an unnamed bodyguard were killed during the daring attack in Sitio Lino in Barangay Pandan, while his wife who happened to be a local barangay chairman and their child as well as a second security personnel were wounded after being shot repeatedly by the suspects.

An initial investigation conducted by the local police showed that the victims were on board a pickup when they were fired upon by the gunmen without any provocation.

It was not immediately known if any of the vice mayor’s security personnel managed to return fire.

Members of the South Upi Municipal Police Station and the Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion rushed to the site to retrieve the bodies of the victims and bring the wounded to the hospital.

Security troops also secured the crime scene as forensic investigators worked to gather pieces of evidence needed in filing criminal charges against the accused.

The motive and identities of the killers are still being established as of press time, said the Bangsamoro Administrative Region Police Regional Office.

The gun-slayings came in the wake of the intensified campaign against loose firearms in the region ordered by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief General Rommel Francisco D. Marbil, ahead of the 2025 midterm elections in May next year.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Alfred P. Dalizon