Mandaya tribal leader shot dead

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Two motorcycle-riding men shot dead a leader of the Mandaya tribe at the gold-rush site on Mt. Diwalwal in Monkayo, Compostela Valley Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Senior Superintendent Aaron Aquino, provincial police director, said the victim, Datu Florelio Andresan, 51, was one of the signatories in a new operating agreement with the government in the management and development of a 925-hectare area on Mt. Diwalwal that has been designated for the tribal folk.

Police said Andresan had just come from the office of the Monkayo Tribal Council when he was killed. – Edith Regalado