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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Mindanao devider Cotabato guv condemns violence in municipality

Cotabato guv condemns violence in municipality

Published Feb 7, 2026 02:45 pm
MENDOZA and Valdevieso. (Provincial Government of Cotabato)
MENDOZA and Valdevieso. (Provincial Government of Cotabato)
KIDAPAWAN CITY – Cotabato Gov. Emmylou "Lala" Taliño-Mendoza has condemned the series of shooting incidents in Matalam town, including the ambush on Friday, Feb. 6, of a retired Army officer.
In a statement, Mendoza urged the police to hunt down the suspects behind the ambush of retired Army Col. Leonardo Songcaya as well as the other victims of shootings incidents in the municipality.
Matalam Mayor Oscar Valdevieso also condemned the killing of the 68-year old retired Army officer and offered a P500,000 bounty for the arrest of the perpetrators.
Valdevieso ordered the police to track down the suspects behind the spate of shooting incidents in the municipality.
Songcaya was ambushed while driving his pickup truck on Kidama Road in Barangay Poblacion. The victim was alone when he was shot.
He was killed two days after Pedro Rebuta was shot in Barangay Estado. Police said Rebuta was onboard a motorcycle with a companion when he was waylaid by unidentified suspects. Rebuta’s companion sustained a bullet wounds and taken to a hospital.
The victims were on their way home after harvesting sugar cane in a remote part of the barangay when they were shot.
Cotabato Provincial Police Office spokesperson Police Lt. James Warren Caang believes that unresolved land conflict could be behind recent shooting incidents in the municipality.
Caang said that initial investigation showed that both incidents are possibly related.
These shooting incidents happened amid a series of dialogue since last year.
Former Matalam Vice Mayor Ralph Ryan Rafael condemned the series of shooting incidents in the municipality.
“I am deeply saddened and disturbed by the killing of former Philippine Army officer Col. Leonardo Songcaya. He was not only a good friend but also a dedicated public servant who served as president of the Federation of Senior Citizens Association of the Philippines in the province of Cotabato,” Rafael said.
The killing of Songcaya is a painful reminder of the need to protect the peace and safety of communities, he added.
These killings have brought fear anew in the municipality as previous incidents remain unsolved.
Last November, seven persons were killed in an encounter between two feuding clans over a piece of land between Barangay Estado in Matalam and Barangay Malinan in Kidapawan City.
The CPPO believes that a dialogue is the best way to resolve the land dispute, Caang said.

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Cotabato Matalam Gov. Emmylou Mendoza
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