2 killed in rival gangs clash in Cotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Two rival criminal gangs lost a member each in a firefight Wednesday night in the city, where folks have long been helplessly callous of almost daily killings authorities can hardly address.

More than 300 people have been killed here in the past four years by suspected guns-for-hire and in attacks precipitated by clan wars, called “rido” in the vernacular.

Wednesday night’s armed encounter here erupted when gang leader Ben Montes, most known as Black Moro, and his men attacked and killed Jordan Talusop, leader of another criminal gang, while riding a motorcycle at a busy street here.

Montesis a known drug trafficker, whose group is also reportedly operating a motorcycle theft syndicate in the city.  

Investigators are yet to determine if Montes is the same ethnic Maguindanaon bandit gang leader Black Moro, who hails from the first district of Maguindanao.

The Maguindanaon Black Moro, leader of a band of rogue Moro rebels, was implicated in more than a dozen kidnapping cases, including the 1991 abduction of French priest Yves Caroff of the Oblate congregation in South Upi town in the second district of Maguindanao.

Responding combatants of the Army’s 5th Special Forces (SF) Battalion were forced to engage Montes and his cohorts when they opened fire, provoking an encounter that resulted to the death of Roland Kabatuan.

Lt. Col. Rannie Sevilla, commanding officer of the 5th SF Battalion, said two followers of Montes, Alima Adam and Michael Montes, were wounded in the ensuing exchange of gunfire.

Sevilla said Montes tried to escape, but was captured by pursuing SF operatives after a brief chase.

The incident was preceded by a deadly encounter between two feuding groups in a residential area west of Cotabato City, which left a barangay councilor and three village volunteer watchmen dead.

The gunmen who killed the victims were armed with an AK-47 Kalashnikov and M-16 assault rifles.