Maguindanao municipal mayor survives ambush

MAGUINDANAO --- A municipal mayor in Maguindanao survived an ambush at past 5and00 p.m Thursday while in a stretch of a national highway in Barangay Kibleg in North Upi town.Mayor Reynalbert Insular of South Upi, about 30 kilometers from the town proper of North Upi, was on his way home from Cotabato City, along with his security escorts, when gunmen, armed with assault rifles, fired at his vehicle.Members of the 5th Marine Battalion escorting the mayor managed to promptly return fire, forcing their ambushers, armed with M-14 and M-16 assault rifles, to scamper away. The North Upi municipal police said no one from Insular’s group was hurt in the shooting frenzy.The mayor and his companions hurriedly left the scene and proceeded to the headquarters of a Marine unit in North Upi to report the incident.North Upi Mayor Ramon Piang, chairperson of the municipal peace and order council, has ordered the local police to investigate on the ambush, identify the culprits and file corresponding criminal cases against them.