Barangay chief who refused house search shot dead

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines - Lawmen shot dead before dawn Monday a barangay chairman in Midsayap town for resisting an attempt to search for guns and drugs in his house.

Ibrahim Simpal, chairman of Barangay Olandang in the southwest of Midsayap, died on the spot from gunshot wounds.

Members of the Special Operations Group of the Region 12 police office were to search Simpal’s house in the center of Barangay Olandang, but were forced to neutralize him when he opened fire with an assault rifle as they approached to talk to him.

Supt. Reynante Delos Santos, chief of the Midsayap municipal police, said the raiding team was armed with a search warrant and a separate court order for the arrest of Simpal in connection with his alleged involvement in a multiple murder and frustrated murder case in nearby Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

“Instead of yielding peacefully, he shot the policemen approaching his house, precipitating a brief encounter,” Delos Santos said.

Policemen recovered from Simpal’s house an M4 caliber 5.56 assault rifle, an M-16 armalite, two .45 caliber pistols, and a shotgun.