BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES

WAO, Lanao del Sur -- The families of the six villagers killed in a spate of related attacks last week in this town are seeking help in prosecuting the culprits whom they believe are just roaming freely in the municipality.Vice Gov.

ESPERANZA, Sultan Kudarat-- Motorcycle-riding men on Wednesday killed in Esperanza town a trader whom police said had a shady personality” and touted as a drug trafficker in disguise.Rakel Delna was driving his jeep at a stretch of a highway straddling through the town center of Esperanza when one of two men riding a motorcycle together repeatedly shot him from behind with a pistol.Delna was pronounced dead on arrival by attending physicians in a nearby hospital where he was rushed by responding policemen and community leaders.Local police probers said the suspects sped away after Delna sl

KORONADAL CITY - For a couple here, illegal drug pushing and selling was a good business and that money comes easy.However, anything illegal does not last long, Alson Ledesma and his wife Grace realized after they were arrested and jailed.Supt. Nestor Salcedo, Koronadal City PNP chief, said the couple who reside in Agan subdivision, Barangay Sta Cruz,Koronadal City was placed under surveillance following reports it has been pushing prohibited substance.A poseur buyer went to the couple's location, at a lodging house along Guanzon Village in Barangay Sta.

COTABATO CITY -- An emergency team from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and a local crisis committee joined ranks Wednesday to hasten relief works for families affected by atrocities that rocked Wao, Lanao del Sur over the weekend.Officials dispatched to Wao a contingent from the Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) of the ARMM regional government to provide relief and rehabilitation services to villagers.Six villagers (not seven as earlier reported), among them children and a pregnant woman, were reportedly killed last week in a spate of seemingly related bl

KORONADAL CITY - Police arrested six persons believed to be involved in illegal drug trade here andinPolomolok, South Cotabato, police said today.Quoting reports from Polomolok PNP,Senior Supt. Jose Biones Jr, South Cotabato police director, identified the suspects asRashid Jailon alias Jimboy, 42, a van dispatcher,Ferdinand Pajigal, 48, passenger vandriver and resident of BarangayLabangal, General Santos City, Sahabudin Mamadra, 25 and Henjie Chamal, 39, both residents of Purok 5, Barangay Rubber, Polomolok, South Cotabato.

COTABATO CITY -Officials have been trying since Sunday to peacefully resolve a spate of seven related killings over the weekend in Wao town in Lanao del Sur.Among the seven fatalities in the atrocities, which sparked panic among local folks, were children and a pregnant woman.Reports reaching the office here of Gov.

ALAMADA, North Cotabato - More than 700 indigent residents of three remote villages here have availed of free circumcision and medical dental services from the Bartolome and Demetillo families and from the provincial government of North Cotabato.The outreached activities were conducted in the villages of Bao, Malitubog and Parayawan.Retired Philippine National Police Director Gen. Nicanor Bartolome and his wife, Dr. Noime Demetillo Bartolome led the services in partnership with the office of Gov.

TULUNAN, North Cotabato – A village councilor here was shot dead by his own constituent after he mediate a heated altercation on a land boundary issue in his area. Police identified the victim as Alex Alcarde, councilor of Barangay Minapan in Tulunan. The suspect was identified as Elay Absalon, 38, also resident of Barangay Minapan. Police said Alcarde just intervened when he saw his aunt quarreled with the suspect about her lot. Her aunt accused Absalon of crossing the boundary of her land.

KORONADAL CITY - A man who uses a minor in robbing cash frompersonsemerging from banks has been arrested by police here Monday.The man is believed to have victimized dozens of individuals, mostly elders who withdrew money from banks.On Monday morning, one of the police intelligence operatives of Koronadal City PNP noticed the suspect, identified as Danny Bacalso of Digos City, standing in front of a bank, obviously waiting for his next victim.When the arrest of Bacalso was reported on DXOM-AM Radyo Bida Koronadal, several people who he victimized in the past went to police station and point

KIDAPAWAN CITY - Five members of the communist New Peoples Army (NPA) operating in North Cotabato have returned to the folds of the law to live normal lives, an Army official said.Through the efforts of the 57th Infantry Battalion, the five NPA guerillas decided to surrender due to difficulty living in the mountains and running away from law enforcers, according to Capt.