A town councilor in Maguindanao province on Mindanao island has died after he was gunned down by still unidentified assailants yesterday.
Berto Guiamadel, 55 years old, was a councilor in the town of Shariff Saydona Mustapha. He was riding a motorcycle and was on his way to the public market at around 7:45am when he was shot along the provincial road in the same town, Pilipino Star Ngayon reported.
This, despite an ongoing gun ban established in January in time for next month’s elections.
According to The Philippine Daily Inquirer, two men followed him in separate motorcycles and shot him from behind. He was reportedly brought to a provincial hospital but died while undergoing treatment.
It was Guiamadel’s last term as councilor. While violent crimes like this are common during the election season, he was not actually running for office. Village chairman Esmael Hashim told Inquirer that the victim decided not to run after suffering a mild stroke.
He said that Guiamadel could have been slain because of a family feud. Authorities continue to investigate the incident, Radyo Inquirer reported.
Maguindanao has been the site of other violent attacks in the past. According to the police, Guimadel is the sixth councilor to be killed in Maguindanao since 2010, Remate reported.
The province is infamous for the Maguindanao massacre that occurred in November 2009 during the lead up to the 2010 elections. A gubernatorial election caravan was ambushed, killing 57 people, many of whom were journalists.
