Cops eye cattle rustlers in murder of Tupi police officer

KORONADAL CITY -- Police in South Cotabato eyes cattle rustlers in the murder of a police officer in Barangay Miasong here on Tuesday night.Police Officer 1 John Mark Escobillo, son of Tupi Vice Mayor Noel Escobillo, was heading for home on board a motorbike when unidentified gunmen shot him using a 12-gauge shotgun.Senior Inspector Rommel Hitalia, Tupi town police chief, said Escobillo was declared dead on arrival at a hospital with gunshot wounds in his abdomen.Escobillo heads the Tupi PNP Community Police Assistance Center (COMPAC).Senior Supt. Franklin Alvero, South Cotabato PNP provincial director, said initial investigation indicate Escobillo could have been killed by cattle rustlers operating in Tupi.Identities of the attackers remained unknown.