Ex-vice mayor shot dead in Tacurong

OTABATO CITY – A former vice mayor of a town in Maguindanao was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Friday night along a dimly-lit road in Tacurong City, police reported Saturday.

Datu Roger Lagawan Mamalo, 63, former vice mayor of Sultan-saBarongis town in Maguindanao, died of a bullet wound in the head at a private hospital where responding residents rushed him after the incident, the Tacurong City police office said in an initial report.

Mamalo was reportedly driving his car on his way home in Tacurong City when armed men, who were believed to have been be waiting along the road, ambushed him along Purok Golden Duranta of Barangay New Isabela at around 9:20pm. Friday, the police report said.

“Witnesses said the gunmen were seen in the area minutes before as if waiting for someone to pass by,” Tacurong City Police Director Supt. Joefil Siason said in an

As the former official’s car was approaching, they opened fire then quickly fled on a motorbike, he added.

Responding policemen rushed the bloodied victim to the hospital but he was declared dead by attending physicians.

Siason said the shooting could be due to personal grudge or a case of mistaken identity but relatives claimed Mamalo had no known enemies.

“He has retired from politics, he had no enemies,” a relative said in a separate radio interview.

Siason said the identities of the killers and the real motive behind the attack are still being determined.

Recovered empty shells and slugs of the guns used in the attack are being subjected to ballistic examination by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. (With a PNA report)