1 dead, 1 hurt in separate attacks in Cotabato

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Gunmen shot dead a tricycle driver and wounded a student Thursday in separate attacks here, where more than a hundred have been killed by suspected guns-for-hire in the past 18 months.

Witnesses told investigators a gunman casually approached Sandtu Mangigin along a stretch of a busy road in Barangay Rosary Heights 5 here, pulled out a .45 caliber pistol from his waist and opened fire, hitting the victim repeatedly.

The suspects casually walked away, leaving Mangigin dead.

Investigators said an old grudge, or Mangigin’s possible involvement in a rido (clan war), could have been the reason for his murder.

The attack took place while the Commission on Elections has implemented a nationwide gun ban in a bid to reduce poll-related violence.

The incident preceded the near fatal attack near a market here by another gunman that left 21-year-old student, Menmen Kasim Kasan, badly wounded.

Kasan was  on his way to a roadside eatery on foot when one of two men riding a motorcycle together shot him repeatedly as they got close.

Kasan, who sustained gunshot wounds in his back, was rushed to a hospital by responding policemen. 

The gunman that shot and wounded Kasan has been identified as “Tapa,” a notorious gun-for-hire.

In North Cotabato’s Magpet town, meanwhile, investigators are still probing the murder of 39-year-old Vilma Oclao, who was found dead inside her house by neighbors earlier Thursday.

PO3 Redentor Siangco told reporters Oclao, a mother of three, was struck thrice with a blunt object, once in the head, twice in her torso.

“We have initially surmised that this is a case of `robbery-with-homicide’ because some valuables kept inside the victim’s house were missing,” Siangco said. - John Unson