8 hurt in Lanao del Sur shootout between political rivals

Eight individuals were hurt in a shootout between rival political families or rido in the Malabang town of Lanao del Sur over the weekend.

According to Tina Panganiban-Perez’s report on “24 Oras”,  residents of Barangay Tubod first heard gunshots at around 9 PM on Sunday evening which lasted until 2 AM on early Monday. The incident occurred again at around 5 AM.

Affected families recalled having a hard time falling asleep due to their fear for their safety.

Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) police said eight civilians including a child were hurt after being grazed by bullets during the shootout. No casualties or critically injured individuals were reported.

Authorities are eyeing “rido” or the conflict between two political families in the region as the cause of the incident. They, however, refused to drop names as they have yet to establish whether it is related to the upcoming polls.

“As of now, hindi pa po natin talaga masabi kung election-related incident ito. Kasi mayroon po kasing existing na rido between the two parties. So, iniimbestigahan pa natin thoroughly itong insidente na ito,” Abdul Jabbar Noor, election officer of Malabanag, Lanao del Sur, said.

(As of now, we cannot confirm if this is an election-related incident. But there’s an existing rido between the two parties. We will investigate this incident thoroughly.)

Tension subsided in the town after operatives of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force and the Marines were deployed in the area.

The Commission on Elections, for its part, placed Malabang and the town of Tubaran in the province under its control. It was also classified under Red Code Areas or the poll body’s areas of immediate concern.

“Nasa loob na rin po ang Malabang ng under COMELEC control po ‘no? So kapag nasa COMELEC control po, ang lahat ng movement at order manggagaling po sa amin sa Commission on Election,” Noor said.

(Malaban is now under Comelec control, right? In this case, all movement and orders will come from us.) -- Sundy Locus/BAP, GMA News