27-5-2023 (MANILA) In a tragic turn of events, a public school teacher and a government nurse were brutally killed in separate ambush incidents on Friday, highlighting the escalating violence in the neighboring provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Cotabato in central Mindanao.
The first victim, Joel Reformado, 36, a dedicated teacher, fell prey to the ambush near the Maulanan Elementary School campus in Barangay Malaunan, Pikit, Cotabato. According to Lt. Col. John Miridel Calinga, the Pikit municipal police chief, Reformado and his colleague, Elton John Lapined, were riding a motorcycle when unidentified assailants, strategically positioned along the road, unleashed a hail of bullets upon them.
Tragically, Reformado succumbed to his injuries, while Lapined, critically wounded, is currently receiving medical treatment at a local hospital.
The municipality of Pikit has been making headlines for over two years due to the relentless cycle of violent gun attacks and clashes involving heavily armed Moro groups in the region. Disturbing records from the Police Regional Office-12 and the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade reveal that since late 2020, a staggering number of 42 individuals have been mercilessly murdered by gunmen in various barangays of Pikit. Shockingly, nearly 90 percent of these heinous incidents remain unresolved, with no perpetrators apprehended or brought to justice.
The second victim of Friday’s ambush was Sarifa Kabagani Gulam, a 35-year-old nurse working at the Cotabato Sanitarium Hospital in Pinaring, Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao del Norte. Sarifa, accompanied by her husband, Samir, 35, was driving their white Mitsubishi Montero back home to San Pablo Village after her shift when armed assailants with assault rifles, positioned on one side of the highway in Barangay Ungap, Sultan Kudarat, opened fire as the couple approached.
Lt. Col. Julhamin Asdani, the chief of the Sultan Kudarat municipal police, stated that Sarifa Gulam tragically succumbed to her injuries at the scene, while her husband sustained severe wounds during the nighttime attack.
As investigators work diligently to identify the culprits responsible for the ambush, the local community mourns the loss of these two individuals who dedicated their lives to public service. These tragic incidents serve as a chilling reminder of the escalating violence in the region and the urgent need for authorities to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.
