Manhunt underway after cop, civilian killed in Lanao Sur ambush

By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan, Philippine News Agency

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. (Philippine National Police/facebook)

MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday launched a manhunt for the gunmen behind the killing of a police corporal and his companion in Lanao del Sur.

The PNP said directives have been issued to ground commanders, particularly in the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), to identify and arrest the perpetrators.

“We strongly condemn this senseless and cowardly ambush. We will not let this pass, and the Philippine National Police will respond with full force of the law,” PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said in a statement.

Nartatez added that the PNP is coordinating with the military to strengthen security measures across BARMM to prevent further violence in the region.

Police identified the victims as Corporal Walid Buleg Sangcopan and a civilian companion. They were riding a gray Toyota Innova when gunmen attacked them along a secluded highway in Barangay Paglamatan, Saguiaran, Lanao del Sur before dawn on Saturday.

The incident occurred just hours after a separate deadly ambush in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, which left five police personnel dead and three others wounded.

The PNP said the Maguindanao ambush could be linked to a local terror group, following recent police operations that led to the neutralization of several of its members in previous months.

Nartatez said operations are in full swing to track down those behind the two attacks.