South Cotabato mayor shot dead

Mayor Pablo Matinong of Sto. Niño, South Cotabato in southern Mindanao was gunned down by unidentified suspects on Friday morning, police reported.

Based on the report of Police Regional Office 12, Matinong, 55, was killed along Purok Libertad, Barangay Poblacion in Sto. Niño at 7:55 a.m.

The mayor sustained gunshot wounds and was declared dead at Doctor Luntao Clinic and Hospital.

While Matinong was walking alone checking a municipal project — a road concreting beside the Barangay Plaza — according to the report, he was shot in the head twice by the unidentified suspects riding a black Honda XRM motorcycle without a license plate.

Resident Analyn Avance, 42, also sustained a gunshot wound on her left shoulder and is undergoing medical treatment.

The suspects allegedly used a cal. 45 firearm based on recovered empty shells, according to local police.

The police said the suspects immediately fled after gunning down the town mayor.

They added that personal grudge was the possible motive for the killing.

A hot-pursuit operation against the suspects was immediately conducted by a responding team.

Random checkpoints and chokepoints were also established near the crime scene and adjacent municipal police stations.