NCIP office head gunned down in Isabela City

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines — The Basilan province head of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) was shot dead by three men in her office in Barangay Tabuk in Isabela City yesterday. According to an Isabela City police report, Czarina Mustafa Malun was shot several times at the NCIP office in Purok 2.

Malun’s colleagues rushed her to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

They told investigators that three men barged into their office and attacked Malun. The three fled on a motorcycle.

Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman condemned the killing – the third involving government employees in the province since January.

Hataman directed the police to conduct a pursuit and arrest the assailants.

Army and police intelligence personnel, who requested anonymity, said investigators are probing if the murder of the 37-year-old Malun was related to work or an altercation between families.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Army deployed its reconnaissance unit to Basilan for poll security missions.

“The deployment of this unit in Basilan is part of the effort of the Western Mindanao Command and the Joint Task Force Orion to ensure safe and clean elections in May 2025,” Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of the 101st Infantry Brigade in Basilan said yesterday.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Juan Macapaz, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region police director, said the deployment is part of joint police-military election security initiatives in the province.

More police, soldiers in Maguindanao

Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking at deploying more police and military personnel in Buluan, Maguindanao del Sur after several men lobbed three grenades that exploded near the municipal hall on Friday.

Buluan was earlier placed under Comelec control amid a surge in election-related violence ahead of the May 12 polls.
“We are already considering which actions to take since it is under Comelec control. One of the actions we are considering is increasing our forces there,” Comelec Chairman George Garcia said.

Buluan is the second area in Mindanao placed under Comelec control for the midterm elections, following Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte. –  Rhodina Villanueva