A former mayor of a town in Maguindanao province has died after he allegedly resisted arrest during an anti-drug operation in Cotabato City earlier today.
Talib Abo Sr. was the mayor of Parang, Maguindanao who had been accused by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte of bringing shabu (meth) to Davao back when the latter was mayor of the city.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM) told ABS-CBN News that Talib died after allegedly resisting arrest when authorities served him a search warrant in his home in Cotabato.
According to the same report, his brother Bobby Abo was also killed in a similar anti-drug operation at around the same time.
PDEA-ARMM regional director Juvenal Azurin told Rappler that the two operations occurred at around 12:30am this morning.
The brothers sustained multiple gunshot wounds after engaging in a shootout with authorities, Superintendent Aldrin Gonzalez, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office-12 told The Philippine Star.
Authorities were there to search their homes for shabu (meth), the same report states.
Recovered from Talib’s house were illegal drugs, firearms, ammunition, and grenades, The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.
Other members of their family were also issued search warrants, including Talib’s daughter Amelia Abo who is currently a councilor in Parang and is running for vice mayor. However, no drugs were found in her home.
Police also searched the house of a certain Bai Amy “Baby Love” Abo where a pistol and drugs were found. She is now detained, The Philippine Star reported.
The same report states that the Abo family continues to deny Talib and Bobby’s links to the drug trade and has requested for a third-party investigation on the incidents.
