2 elderly women killed in Cotabato ambush

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Gunmen killed two elderly Moro women in an ambush in Barangay Kibayao in the newly-created Kapalawan town in Cotabato province on Tuesday morning, April 1.

Kapalawan is one of the eight Bangsamoro towns in Cotabato province in Region 12 established last year via separate enabling measures by the parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Officials of the Cotabato Provincial Police Office told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that the two Moro women, whose exact identities investigators are still trying to validate, died instantly from bullet wounds sustained in the attack.

Local officials who responded to the incident said the victims were on their way somewhere when they were attacked by men armed with pistols, positioned along the route.

The two women, already wounded, reportedly tried to run away but were finished off with more shots by their attackers, who had immediately escaped.

Personnel of the Carmen Municipal Police Station, which originally has jurisdiction over Barangay Kibayao, now in the territory of Kapalawan under the Bangsamoro government, are helping local officials in the newly-established municipality investigate the incident.