NCIP employee shot dead inside Basilan office

COTABATO CITY— Gunmen shot dead a ranking employee of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples-Region 9 (NCIP-9) inside their office in Isabela City, Basilan province, on Monday morning, April 21.

According to witness accounts, local officials and investigators from the Isabela City police reported that 37-year-old Czarina Mae Malun was inside the NCIP-9 office in Barangay Tabuk when three armed men barged in. The suspects, carrying pistols, shot her multiple times before fleeing the scene.

Malun, a resident of Barangay Aguada in Isabela City, died instantly from the bullet wounds she sustained in the attack.

Army and police intelligence personnel in Basilan, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the killing did not appear to be politically motivated. They believe it was likely related to her work or possibly stemmed from a personal conflict between her family and the assailants.

Officials from the Police Regional Office–Bangsamoro Autonomous Region told reporters that investigators and intelligence operatives from the Basilan Provincial Police Office will assist the Isabela City Police Station in resolving the case.

Although Isabela City is geographically located in Basilan, it falls under Administrative Region 9 and is not a component city of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.