Police chief, companion dead in Lanao Sur ambush

LANAO DEL SUR --- Gunmen killed an acting municipal police chief and a civilian companion in an ambush at dusk Monday in Barangay Bandaraingud in Pagayawan town in this province.

Master Sergeant Amen Lucman Macalangan and Ramel Pangcatan died on the spot from multiple gunshot wounds.

Macalangan was officer-in-charge of the Binidayan municipal police.

They were attacked while en route to the town proper of Binidayan from the Lanao del Sur provincial police office in Marawi City.

Their companions, Asliah Adiong, a civilian employee of the Binidayan municipal police office, and Patrolman Nasser Dumaraya, were unhurt.

Col. Madzgani Mukaram, director of the Lanao del Sur police, said Macalangan was able to disembark from their vehicle and return fire but was eventually outgunned by their attackers who were armed with assault rifles.

Macalangan is known in Binidayan for his active involvement in programs complementing the national government’s peace process with Moro sectors.

Mukaram said the ambushers, positioned at one side of the road in Sitio Banisilan in Barangay Bandaraingud, managed to escape before responding personnel of different police units from nearby areas could reach the scene.

Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr., chairman of the Lanao del Sur provincial peace and order council, condemned the incident and urged local officials in the neighboring Pagayawan and Binidayan towns to help investigators identify the culprits.