Marawi mayor hurt in CDO ambush

MARAWI CITY, Philippines - Gunmen wounded in an ambush before dawn Saturday in Cagayan de Oro City the mayor of Marawi City and his driver, military and police sources announced Saturday.

The wounded Marawi City Mayor Fahad Salic, who belong to the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), is a candidate for governor of Lanao del Sur, a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

His driver, Kaer Gunting, also an ethnic Maranaw, was also wounded in the attack.

Police reports obtained by The STAR indicated that Salic, most known in Marawi City as “Pre,” and his driver were on board their vehicle, emerging from the compound of the Pryce Hotel in Cagayan De Oro, when gunmen riding a white van attacked with AK-47 Kalashnikovs and M-16 assault rifles.

The wounded Salic and Kaer were immediately rushed by responding policemen to the nearby Polymedic Plaza in the same city for medication.

Relatives of the mayor, whose third and last term is to end on June 30, 2016, said he is now in safe condition, expected to recuperate fast with the help of attending physicians.

The mayor is contesting the candidacy for Lanao del Sur governor of two rivals, Soraya Adiong, mother of the chief executive of the province, Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr., and Congressman Pangalian Balindong, now in his third term as congressional representative.