Barangay secretary, community watchman killed in ambush

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Men armed with assault rifles killed a barangay secretary and wounded a volunteer community watchman in an ambush in Barangay Kabasalan in Ligawasan town in Cotabato on Tuesday afternoon, May 19.

Officials of the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade and Capt. Steffie Salanguit, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, separately told reporters on Wednesday that the ambush victims, Tamano Guimbalanan, secretary of the Kabasalan barangay government, and Norodin Salinogen, both died immediately from bullet wounds sustained in the attack.

Guimbalanan and Salinogen, who is a member of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team of the Ligawasan local government unit, were together in a black minivan when they were attacked by gunmen at Sitio Sitio Bungalos in Barangay Kabasalan.

Ligawasan is one of the eight newly-created Bangsamoro towns that are under the autonomous regional government but are inside Cotabato province in Region 12.

The assailants of Guimbalanan and Salinogen managed to escape before responding barangay officials and personnel of the Ligawasan Municipal Police Station could reach the scene, according to Salanguit.

Salanguit said local executives and units of PRO-BAR in Ligawasan are cooperating in identifying their killers for prosecution.