Village councilor shot dead in Maguindanao

KIDAPAWAN CITY – A village councilman was shot dead Tuesday night by a still unidentified suspect in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province, a police official said on Wednesday. Senior Superintendent Alex Lineses, provincial director of Maguindanao police, identified the victim as Talib Salahudin, councilor of Barangay Kakal in Ampatuan town. He was killed 6 p.m. Ampatuan town was the site of the grisly November 23 massacre of 57 people, including women and journalists. Lineses denied that the killing of Salahudin was related to the massacre, which is blamed on the powerful Ampatuan clan. He said the victim was not related to Ampatuan Vice Mayor Rasul Sangki, the primary witness in the massacre case, as earlier reported. Salahudin was killed on the same day a cousin of Sangki was shot dead by militiamen allegedly led by a relative of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the principal suspect in the massacre. The victim was identified as Dok Uling, barangay chairman of Barangay Kakal. Buluan Vice Mayor and Maguindanao gubernatorial candidate Ismael “Toto" Mangudadatu, whose wife and two sisters were among the victims in the massacre, blamed the Ampatuans in the murder of Uling. The Mangudadatus are political rivals of the Ampatuans. Maguindanao is still under state of emergency following the November 23 carnage. It was placed under martial rule for eight days early December, from December 4 to 12. - Malu Cadelina Manar/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV