Maguindanao del Sur village councilor eyeing town council seat killed

COTABATO CITY — A village councilor in Barangay Poblacion who was eyeing a town council seat in Datu Hofer, Maguindanao del Sur was shot dead by unidentified gunmen along the national highway on Saturday night, police said on Sunday.

Toto Gogo Kensa, 45, was killed on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds in the head and body, according to Capt. Alberto Pansoy, Datu Hofer municipal police chief.

Kensa filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) for a seat at the municipal council under the Lakas-CMD party early this month.

Pansoy said Kensa was driving a motorbike with his wife on it from the town’s market around 6 p.m. on Saturday. They were heading home when two men riding on separate motorbikes opened fire, hitting Kensa, who fell from his motorbike.

His wife, Bai Norhaya, was unhurt.

“We are still unsure of the motive and the identities of the perpetrators but we continue to investigate,” Pansoy said.

Colonel Roel Serese, Maguindanao del Sur police director, has ordered the creation of a Special Investigation Task Group to speed up the investigation.

Kensa was the second village official in Maguindanao provinces killed in an ambush.

On August 18, gunmen ambushed and killed chairperson Esmael Mustapha of Barangay Bulibod in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte. His wife was also killed.

On Aug. 19, motorcycle-riding gunmen ambushed and killed 64-year-old Amado Serra, village chairman of Barangay Laguilayan, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, a province beside Maguindanao del Sur.