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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Mindanao devider Maguindanao del Sur village chief, cousin murdered

Maguindanao del Sur village chief, cousin murdered

Published Jan 8, 2026 05:40 pm
COTABATO CITY – Police, backed by the 601st Infantry Brigade, have launched a manhunt against two gunmen who shot dead on Wednesday a barangay chairman and his cousin in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur.
“Manhunt is ongoing,” Police Lt. Col. Jopy Ventura, spokesperson for the Police Regional Office in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), said in a statement Thursday.
The ambush occurred at about 9:40 a.m. near the victim’s house in Barangay Panadtaban.
Police identified the victims as barangay chairman Norodin Sindatukan Utto and his cousin Arto Utto Mangilala.
Utto was riding in the back of a motorbike driven by his cousin when two men on separate motorcycles overtook them.
Without provocation, one of the two pulled a pistol and opened fire on the victims and sped off.
Mangilala died on the spot, while Utto was declared dead in a hospital.
“The ambush site was a few meters from the village official’s home,” Ventura said, adding that the official was on his way to the barangay hall to report for work when he was waylaid.
Follow-up investigation is ongoing.

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Barangay chairman Rajah Buayan Maguindanao del Sur Deaths Murder Crime
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