Trader, known for charitable works, killed in Maguindanao del Norte ambush

COTABATO CITY —A businessman known for his charitable works was killed instantly in an ambush on a secluded stretch of the Cotabato-Upi Highway in Barangay Kibleg, Upi, Maguindanao del Norte, on Monday, January 6.

The 42-year-old Edwin Liha Valdez was riding his motorcycle on his way to Cotabato City when gunmen attacked, fatally shooting him.

Brig. Gen. Romeo Juan Macapaz, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said on Tuesday, January 7, that the gunmen who killed Valdez, whose family runs a grocery store in Barangay Nuro, the trading hub and town center of Upi, immediately fled the scene.

Officials from the Upi Municipal Police Station stated that investigators are working closely with barangay officials to identify those responsible for Valdez's death.

Valdez was a staunch supporter of their barangay government’s peace and development programs and was popular for his being active in helping connect his friends in Upi and in Cotabato City to officials of government agencies whose services they needed. 

He was also known for giving food for iftar, or first meal after a day-long fast, to Muslim friends during the month-long yearly Islamic Ramadan fasting season.

Local executives in Upi, along with Macapaz, separately told reporters that they are confident Valdez was killed for a personal motive. They noted that the attackers did not take his wallet, wristwatch, or other belongings before fleeing. Additionally, they left his motorcycle, which had crashed in the middle of the highway where he was gunned down.