Another Muslim cleric in BARMM murdered
COTABATO CITY - Another Islamic missionary in the Bangsamoro region was murdered, less than a week after one was killed with a rifle after leading a nighttime Ramadan prayer rite.
The cadaver of the missing Ustadz Emran Langco Macadato, a Maranao, who went missing early this week, was found Friday in a secluded area in Barangay Maul in Marantao, Lanao del Sur, which is far from his hometown, Butig, in the same province.
He was stabbed repeatedly by his killer with a knife, according to investigators from the Marantao Municipal Police Station.
Relatives, among them a politician-lawyer, said Saturday Macadato was to collect payment for an overdue account from a friend in Marantao early this week and has not returned home since.
In a statement Saturday, the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region said investigators from the Marantao municipal police force and the Lanao del Sur Provincial Police Office are together trying to put closure on the murder of Macadato.
Macadato, an ustadz (preacher), was popular for his involvement in da’awah (preaching) activities meant to address violent extremism and foster interfaith solidarity among Muslims and non-Muslims.
Col. Christopher Panapan, Lanao del Sur police director, said they now have “persons of interest” and are to file criminal charges immediately after investigators have sifted through pieces of evidence and accounts of people who had contact with Macadato before he disappeared.
Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Jr., chairperson of the Lanao del Sur provincial peace and order council, has condemned the atrocity and called on local officials in Marantao to help the police investigate on the incident.
A 20-year-old Muslim cleric, Mutilan Como Ajanab, a Yakan, was killed with assault rifles in a daring attack by gunmen in Sapa Bulak in Sumisip town in Basilan six days before the lifeless body of Macadato was found in Marantao.
Basilan and Lanao del Sur are both component-provinces of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that also covers Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
Four companions of Ajanab, Rashid Hajibain Suraman, Abdulmalik Suraman Jumlatal, Hafidz Suraman Jumlatal, and Harisa Hajibain Hadjail, were wounded in the attack.
They have just emerged from a mosque in Barangay Sapa Bulak, after a nighttime Ramadan taraweeh prayer, when men brandishing assault rifles shot them from a distance and hurriedly escaped.
Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman has directed the members of the Sumisip municipal peace and order council and barangay officials in Bulak Sapa to help the police identify the killers of Ajanab for prosecution.