Cotabato City SK chair slain in ambush
Published Oct 4, 2025 05:56 pm
THE fatality's bullet-riddled car. (DXMS Radyo Bida Cotabato City 882 FB page)
COTABATO CITY – A Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman here was killed while his brother was wounded in an ambush in this city’s busy thoroughfare on Saturday morning.
Police Brig. Gen. Jansen de Guzman, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) police chief, was at the crime scene, overseeing initial investigations of the ambush shortly after 10 a.m.
Police Col. Jibin Bongcayao, city police director, identified the victims as Prince Mohaz Matanog, the SK chairperson of Barangay Poblacion 5, and his brother, Muamar Matanog, both residents of Cotabato City.
“Mohaz Matanog was declared dead on arrival at the hospital,” Bongcayao told reporters in an interview.
The victims were in a Toyota Raize (NFJ 8206) driving on the busy Sinsuat Ave. corner Jose Lim St. near the city plaza when they were ambushed by two men riding on a motorcycle.
Although wounded, Matanog continued driving the vehicle, but the suspects chased them while still firing toward their car.
Police officers on beat patrol chased the suspects, who also traded shots with law enforcers, wounding one policeman.
The suspects sped away on their motorcycle, while the older Matanog, who was driving, continued and eventually ended up about 800 meters away.
Responding police rushed the two victims to the hospital, where one was pronounced dead on arrival.
Crime scene operatives recovered about 94 empty shells from the firearms used by the suspects and the responding policemen.
Cotabato City Mayor Bruce Matabalao condemned the daylight shooting, describing it as “an offense against peace, order, and the values of public service that our city stands for.”
He offered a P500,000 reward to anyone who could provide the police with the information about the perpetrators that could lead to their arrest and prosecution.
The Bangsamoro Youth Commission, where Matanog was a member, also condemned the attack.
“His untimely departure is not only a great loss to his family and loved ones but also to the youth and community he served,” Bangsamoro Youth Commissioner Nasserudin Dunding said in a statement. (PNA)