Bus inspector dead in Pikit attack

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Gunmen shot dead a bus inspector and wounded a soldier in separate attacks Wednesday in Pikit town, the gateway to the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta where dozens of criminal gangs are holding out.

The slain worker of the Weena Bus Inc., William Sasi, 40, died on the spot when his attacker shot him twice in the head with a .45 caliber pistol while alighting from a bus after inspecting tickets issued to passengers.

Sasi had earlier reported receiving threatening text messages from anonymous senders to the Pikit municipal police.

Probers are also looking into the possibility that extortionists could be responsible for the murder of Sasi, in an apparent bid to intimidate the management of the bus firm to shell out “protection money”.

Sasi’s attackers escaped toward a nearby market, according to witnesses.

The incident was preceded by the near fatal shooting of Army Cpl. Sandiale Abdulah Adzal near a roadside bakery at the town proper of Pikit.

Adzal, who belong to the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion, was waiting for his wife, Aileen, who was buying bread at the bakery when a man casually approached, pulled a gun from the waist and shot the victim thrice.

Adzal is detailed as security escort of Mayor Salik Mamasabulod of nearby Pagalungan town in Maguindanao.

Investigators are still investigating if the attempt on Adzal’s life was related to his assignment as bodyguard of the mayor.

Responding policemen and barangay officials rushed Adzal to the Cotabato Regional Medical Center in Cotabato City.