Son of late governor, 4 others killed at North Cotabato checkpoint
Credit to Author: mfrialde| Date: Sat, 06 Jul 2019 00:04:48 +0000
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Five people including the son of a former late governor in Maguindanao were killed as they passed by a checkpoint late Friday night in North Cotabato, a military official said Saturday.
Brig. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, commander of the Army’s 602nd Brigade, told a radio station that soldiers securing the road in the village of Inug-ug in Pikit town stopped a gray Nissan Patrol heading toward this city but the passengers allegedly refused.
Instead, the passengers opened the window of the sports utility vehicle and allegedly opened fire at the soldiers manning the checkpoint, the military said.
Rosario said the soldiers returned fire and killed five people inside the vehicle, among them Datu Hashim Matalam, a son of the late Maguindanao governor Norodin Matalam.
“They did not stop,” Rosario said.
Last year, President Rodrigo Duterte directed the police and the military to intensify the implementation of checkpoints. He also ordered law enforcers to kill those who would resist being inspected.
“If you carry a gun and you passed by a checkpoint and you refuse to stop because you are with the governor or mayor, my order to the police and to the military, son of a bitch, kill them. Let’s try,” the President told reporters during an ambush interview on December 27 last year in Daraga, Albay.
“Even if you’re a governor or a mayor, if there is a check point,” Duterte said, then. “Those who refused to stop and fight with you,” he said, referring to the police and soldiers, “My order is shoot them. Let’s not talk about human rights,” he added.
Rosario said soldiers belonging to 7th Infantry Battalion were placed on alert due to a confrontation between families locked in a clan war in a nearby town.
Rosario said three high-powered guns and a grenade were recovered from those killed inside the SUV.
“Let’s respect our men in the checkpoint because their only purpose is to secure our safety,” Rosario said. (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)