The Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) denounced on Sunday, June 19, the killing in broad daylight of a member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) Active Auxiliary (CAA) and the wounding of his three colleagues by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
Major General Roberto Capulong, acting commander of 6ID and Joint Task Force Central, identified the victim as Tong Kaul, a member of the CAA’s Bagang Detachment based in Guindulungan, Maguindanao. He succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds in the body.
Kaul’s colleagues identified as Mama Mohamad, Arsad Datu Ali, and Salindatu Mangulamas were wounded in the attack that was perpetrated by unidentified suspects.
Initial investigation revealed that the CAFGU men were on their way back to the Bagang Detachment onboard a Toyota Corolla with plate number UMZ 509 when the incident took place around 10:45 a.m. of June 17.
According to the 6ID, the bike-riding gunmen waylaid the victims’ car and peppered it with bullets along the Awang-Dalican highway in Sitio Gubat, Brgy. Makir in Datu Odin Sinsuat town.
The victims had just attended the culmination of their CAA refresher training in Brgy. Taviran, Datu Odin Sinsuat when the incident occurred.
“This inhumane act of the killing and wounding of our personnel must be condemned to the full extent. JTF Central calls on the populace to remain vigilant of the atrocities of these culprits behind the attack on our personnel, hence, this shooting incident deliberately violates the right to life and cannot be justified under any ideology or circumstance,” Capulong stressed.
Capulong directed his personnel to collaborate with the local police and other security forces to identify and arrest the culprits, and determine the motive behind the killing.