4 dead in Basilan clashes on eve of elections

PAGADIAN CITY, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR, Philippines — Four persons were killed in armed skirmishes in a village of Hadji Mohammad Ajul town in Basilan province on Sunday, the eve of Election Day.

According to a report from the Hadji Mohammad Ajul police office, the armed encounter happened near the primary school of Barangay Langil, an island village, at around 9 a.m. on Sunday.

The village chief, Amna Pawaki, the wife of town Mayor Talib Pawaki, was leading the installation of a perimeter fence around the school, which will host a voting center for Monday’s polls, when they discovered some men gathered in a nearby house.

Two of Pawaki’s male volunteers went to check on the men but were fired upon as they neared the house, killing both.

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Police identified the two as Addahang Abdulla, 45, and village Councilor Hajarani Maha, 63.

Upon hearing the burst of gunfire, Mayor Pawaki rushed to the school, along with his armed aides, to secure his wife.

They engaged the group of armed men in a gunfight that resulted in the killing of two of the suspects, later identified as Jul-Asbi Misuari, 44, and Jun Awang, 39, both residents of Langil.

Police have yet to determine if the incident was related to the midterm elections. Mayor Pawaki is running for reelection against Muhammad Hassan. —Leah Agonoy