ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Two days before the start of the campaign period for local positions, motorcycle-riding gunmen shot dead an election officer and her husband in Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao del Norte yesterday morning. Lawyer Bai Maceda Abo and her husband Jojo were declared dead on arrival in a nearby hospital.
Investigation showed the victims were in a Toyota Fortuner when the gunmen waylaid them at around 8:30 a.m. along the Cotabato-Shariff Aguak Road in Barangay Makir.
The Fortuner crashed into a tree after the gunmen shot the victims, according to a report of the municipal police.
Reports said the assailants were tailing the victims.
Town Mayor Datu Lester Sinsuat condemned the attack and urged the police to solve the crime immediately.
The incident prompted the Commission on Elections to consider placing the town under Comelec control.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia noted several violent incidents that occurred in the area in the past few weeks and months.
Garcia said that although probers have yet to determine the motive for the killing, the incident is considered poll-related as it occurred during the election period.
Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the killing was an attack on the foundation of the country’s democratic institutions.
Zarate urged the Comelec to act swiftly to ensure the safety and security of election officials, candidates and voters.
Meanwhile, in Abra, an aide of a mayoral candidate was killed while a village chief was wounded in separate attacks in Bangued yesterday. Probers have yet to determine the motive for the attacks. – John Unson, Mayen Jaymalin, Jose Rodel Clapano, Artemio Dumlao