Police press hunt for gunmen in mayor’s ambush

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) asked the Philippine National Police (PNP) to leave no stone unturned in its probe on the ambush on Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr. of Masiu, Lanao del Sur in Buadiposo Buntong town last Sunday.

The mayor escaped unhurt but his security aide, Police Corporal Jabber Pangandaman was killed and two others were injured.

DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año issued the order to ensure the perpetrators of the crime are brought to justice.

“The DILG condemns this atrocity which is a huge affront to the efforts of the government through our law enforcement groups to ensure peace and order in our communities. The PNP, in coordination with its military counterparts, should exert all efforts to arrest the suspects of this dastardly act,” said Año.

Reports disclosed that Pangandaman was on his way to preside over a meeting of the Municipal Peace and Order Council when his convoy was ambushed by unidentified men with high-powered firearms.

The DILG Secretary said the police and the military are now searching for the suspects who were overheard by witnesses as speaking and arguing in Maranao dialect for having missed their target as they escaped from the crime scene.

Año said police probers are also following several possible leads on the motive behind the ambush, one of which is “rido” or clan feud of warring families in Lanao del Sur.

“The PNP is exploring several leads and interviewing witnesses so that we can easily track down the suspects behind this ambush. We assure the Pangandaman family that all hands are on this case,” he noted.

The DILG chief also expressed his condolences to the family of Jabber Pangandaman as he assured them of the government’s assistance for the beneficiaries of killed-in-action, wounded-inaction police officers under the Comprehensive Social Benefits Program.