(Update)Exclusiveand Tribal leader shot dead in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY - A tribal leader of South Upi, Maguindanao was walking to buy food at a roadside store in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao was shot dead Friday morning, the second tribal leader from South Upi to have been killed in more than a month.The shooting occurred in broad day light and in front of commuters and people in Barangay Tenorio, Datu Odin Sinsuat, about one month and 15 days after another tribal leader from the same town was shot dead.Tribal leaderMelencio Ramugon, also avillage councilman of Barangay Pandan in South Upi town was shot dead by still unidentified men riding on a motorbike at about 10 a.m. Friday, the Mindanao Peoples Peace Movement (MPPM) said.A member of MPPM who asked not to be named said the killing of Ramugan appeared to be related to his advocacy for indigenous peoples rights and conflict overTeduday ancestral lands. In June, one Teduday was killed by still unidentified men.Teduray supreme chieftain Sammie Bello was quoted as saying that Ramugan was walking to buy food near theSt. John’s Episcopal Church when shot in the head.Bello said the tribal community was puzzled why Ramugan was assassinated since he was a very ordinary man and has no known enemy.The killing of Ramugan came a day after the MPPM issued a statement calling for the resolution of the October 2killing ofLeoncio Arig, a Teduday tribal leader and member of the Minted sa Inged (Council of leaders of the Timuay Justice and Governance).He wasshot in front of his horrified family in Barangay Ramonggaob, South Upi.In a statement posted on its Facebook account, the MPPM saidand It has been more than 40 days since Timuay Lencio Arig, 56, an indigenous Teduray leader was killed by an unknown gunman on his way home to Sitio Keninan, Brgy. Romongaob, South Upi, Maguindanao on October 2. The perpetrator still remains at large. Police investigation is presently stagnant. His family’s insecurity increases day by day as justice is not served.