COTABATO CITY , Philippines – Suspected followers of defeated politicians in Datu Blah Sinsuat, Maguindanao fired at houses in a coastal village whose residents are identified with the town’s re-elected mayor, sending hundreds running for their lives, last Saturday.
The armed men, brandishing assault rifles, arrived at a fishing village in Barangay Tambak, surrounded the houses of community leaders who supported the bid for a second term of Mayor Marcial Sinsuat, and without warning, opened fire.
The armed men also held and beat up an 18-year-old son of a barangay councilman who campaigned for Sinsuat, who defeated a cousin, Datu Manawut, in the mayoral race.
Police said the group also held hostage another villager for hours and used the victim as their guide in their escape to a forested area east of Barangay Tambak after the shooting frenzy.
Sinsuat said he has asked the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to investigate the incident, which dislocated dozens of Muslim and Teduray villagers.
The evacuees are now temporarily housed at an empty elementary school building at the center of Barangay Tambak.
The villagers have implicated a former leader of Barangay Tambak in the attack, as he reportedly provided “guides†who led the armed men to the houses of the community leaders identified with Sinsuat.