2 farmers killed, minor hurt in Central Mindanao ambush

COTABATO CITY — Gunmen killed two Visayan farmers and wounded a minor in an ambush in Barangay Tonganon in Carmen town in Cotabato on Tuesday, April 29.

Officials from the Carmen Municipal Police Station and the Cotabato Provincial Police Office informed reporters on Wednesday, April 30, that Landro Anayan Garcia, 50, and 24-year-old Ryan Capilitan Cabuylo both died on the spot from multiple bullet wounds. The attack also left their 16-year-old male companion injured, and he is currently receiving treatment at a hospital.

Local officials and investigators from the Carmen police force said the victims were on their way to their farms in an interior area in Barangay Tunganon when they were shot with M14 and M16 assault rifles by gunmen positioned along the route.

Their attackers managed to escape before responding volunteer community watchmen and barangay officials could read the scene.

Col. Gilberto Tuzon, Cotabato provincial police director, said on Wednesday that local officials and traditional community leaders in Barangay Tonganon vowed to help investigators put a closure on the atrocity.