Bus driver slain while traversing North Cotabato highway

KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Two gunmen, both posted as bus passengers, shot dead the vehicle’s driver while traversing the national highway in Makilala town in North Cotabato, around 430 a.m., Friday, reports said.The Makilala PNP identified the victim as Jessie Taray, driver of the Mindanao Bus Star and a resident of Barangay Malabuan, Makilala.Investigators said the suspects boarded the bus at the Kidapawan City’s overland terminal and when they reached Barangay Malasila ordered the driver to stop the vehicle.Before the suspects disembarked from the bus one of them pumped bullets onto the driver’s chest and head which resulted to the victim’s instantaneous death.Bus passengers, who witnessed what happened, scampered for safety after the suspects left the place.Relatives of Taray have yet to determine the motive behind the killing.One of them told police investigators he can’t think of any reason why Taray would be summarily executed, just like that. Taray’s wife is an overseas Filipino worker whose job is at the Middle East.Meantime, the bus management has yet to issue a statement as regards the murder, which is the first since they start the operations in North Cotabato in 2015.