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Lakas supporter’s killing a robbery incident — police


KIDAPAWAN CITY — The killing of a Lakas-Kampi CMD campaigner in the town of Magpet on Friday afternoon was a highway robbery incident and not related to politics, a police officer said on Saturday. “It was purely robbery and the victim was just passing by the scene when shot by the robbery suspects," said Insp. Luis Pederio, the chief of police in Magpet town. Pederio identified the victim as George Cale, a political campaigner of a local candidate running for the House of Representatives in the second congressional district of North Cotabato. Two of his companions — Jerry Tacara and Andy Angot — were wounded in the shooting incident. Pederio said Cale was driving his motorcycle on his way home in the village of Magca-alam when the robbery suspects shot him. Cale died after he was shot in the head. But Pederio said the victim’s death was coincidental. He said the suspects had robbed the vehicle of the Pangao-an Cooperative and shot Cale twice in the head after mistaking him for the cooperative's security escort. The suspects left the crime scene with P60,000 from the cooperative collection. They fled towards the nearby village of Kinarum. Responding policemen recovered several .45-caliber pistol shells from the crime scene. Cale was the second political campaigner killed in North Cotabato this month. On February 11, a Liberal Party campaigner was also killed by unidentified armed men in the town of Carmen in North Cotabato. The victim, Edwin Bandila, was driving a motorcycle with his wife when he was shot in front of the Carmen municipal cemetery. North Cotabato Vice-Governor Emmanuel Pinol claimed politics was behind the killing of Bandila. The politician, however, declined to divulge the identity of the suspects, but asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the killing. — Williamor A. Magbanua/CGL/NPA, GMANews.TV
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