Marawi mayor — Alma Moreno's ex-husband — hurt in ambush

A city mayor running for governor in Lanao del Sur and estranged husband of actress Alma Moreno was wounded in an ambush in Cagayan de Oro City, before dawn Saturday.

A report by dzBB's Sam Nielsen identified the wounded local official as Fahad Panarigan Salic, incumbent mayor of Marawi City.

Salic was on board a red Ford Ranger pickup truck when he was ambushed by gunmen who were on board a white van.

The mayor had just attended a meeting at the Pryce Plaza hotel when the attack happened before 2 a.m., the report said.

The mayor's driver was also wounded in the attack.

Police said Salic suffered three gunshot wounds in the buttocks and shoulder while his driver was hit in the mouth.

The mayor and his driver were taken to the Polymedic Medical Plaza.

A report by Mindanews, a regional online news portal, quoted Dr. Christian Caballes, chief medico legal officer of the PNP Scene of the Crime Unit, as saying 31 empty shells of 5.56 and 7.62 ammunition were recovered by forensic technicians from the ambush site.

"Caballes said they also found an STI caliber .40 pistol with three magazines, and two mobile phones inside the red Ford Ranger owned by Salic He said the mobile phones will be examined by the PNP Cyber Crime Unit in Camp Alagar to see if Mayor Salic had been received threatening text messages.

“Based on the empty shells, we presumed the firearms used by the gunmen were M16 and AK 47 rifles. We did not find any evidence that Mayor Saic was able to fire back at his attackers.” Caballes told Mindanews.

The report said that the police suspect the ambush was election related.

Probers are also looking at clan war as a possible motive for the attack on the mayor.

Salic and Moreno were married in Islamic rites in Cebu in 2009. They separated in 2014.

Moreno is now running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance.

Salic meanwhile is running for governor of Lanao del Sur.

The other candidates for governor in the coming elections are Ahmadjan Abdulcarim, Bedjoria Soraya Adiong, Pangalian Balindong, Jahlalodin Lucman and Abdulfatah Sarip.

The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), of which Salic is a member, condemned the slay try and insisted that the incident was politically motivated.

“Walang duda na ang tangkang pagpaslang kay Marawi Mayor Pre Salic ay may kaugnayan sa politika. Bagama’t nagpapasalamat kami na nasa maayos nang kalagayan si mayor, patuloy pa rin kaming nananawagan sa Comelec (Commission on Elections) at PNP (Philippine National Police) na paigtingin ang seguridad ngayong papalapit na ang eleksyon,” UNA spokesman Mon Ilagan said in a statement. — ALG/APG, GMA News