4 supporters of candidate killed in Basilan gunfight

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Four followers of a candidate for mayor in Hadji Mohammad Ajul town in Basilan were killed in a gunfight with followers of a rival politician on Sunday morning, May 11.

Officials of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and senior members of the multi-sector Basilan Provincial Peace and Order Council have confirmed the incident, which triggered widespread panic among residents in the island municipality.

Officials of units under the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade, which has jurisdiction over the 11 towns and two cities in Basilan, told reporters at noon Sunday that the two groups that figured in the gunfight in Barangay Langil in Hadji Mohammad Ajul are identified with each of the two rival candidates for mayor of the municipality.

Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon, commander of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade, said they have dispatched a peacekeeping team to the area to reposition the enemy armed groups away from each other.

Police Brig. Gen. Romeo Juan Macapaz, director of PRO-BAR, said investigators are probing on who started the hostilities for them to be prosecuted for their offense.