Marawi police chief killed in ambush

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Gunmen killed in an ambush at past 2:00 p.m. Saturday the police chief of Marawi City in another violent incident to rock what is tagged as the `Islamic city’ of the country.

The officer, Superintendent Al Abner Wahab Santos, was reportedly killed by a pistol-wielding suspects in broad daylight in Barangay Luksadatu in east of Marawi City.

Marawi City is the capital of Lanao del Sur, a component province of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The victim was driving his car on his way to the Marawi City police station from a conference in the Lanao del Sur provincial police office when the suspects blocked his route and opened fire, killing him on the spot.

The slain police officer is of mixed Tausog-Visayan descent who hailed from the seaside Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur.

The Lanao del Sur provincial police office told The Star investigators are yet to determine the motive for the attack.

“The suspects were able to escape. They are now being hunted down by our operatives,” said Superintendent Sigfried Ramos, director of the Lanao del Sur provincial police.

More than 30 people have been killed in one attack after another in Marawi City in the past 12 months.

Marawi City is now most known as a major transshipment point for shabu, where traffickers are reportedly enjoying the protection of certain politicians.