Residents express fears over series of shooting incidents in North Cotabato

KIDAPAWAN CITY (Aug 16) – Residents in North Cotabato have expressed fears about the series of shooting incidents that ‘rocked’ the province since August 1.The recent killings happened on August 15 where at least five shooting incidents took place in at least four different towns in North Cotabato.Harra Laquinan, 25, resident of Barangay Batasan, Makilala, said, It’s giving us chills. We could no longer do gimmicks, especially during night time. Mark Flores, 23, nurse from Barangay Sangat in M’lang, asked authorities, Do we have an organized crime group operating in North Cotabato? Why can’t they resolve the killings? Since Monday, at least five males were victims of ‘summary executions’ in four separate towns in North Cotabato, police reports said.In Arakan town, two drivers of passenger motorcycles locally known as ‘habal-habal’ were shot dead after attending a funeral in Barangay Macalangot, past 7 p.m., on Monday.The Arakan police station chief, Senior Inspector Arjay Celeste, said families and relatives of Jake Pajenado, 25, and Marlon Alarba, 35, both drivers of passenger motorcycles and residents of Centro Macalangot, could not find reasons why they were murdered. We discount the possibility that they were victims of mistaken identity since the gunmen made sure their targets were executed.As to reasons, however, we have yet to dig deeper in our probe, Celeste said.In Matalam town, a former communist guerilla identified as Emiliano dela Pena, 55, was killed by a gunman while he was ‘barking’ for passengers along the highway, around 7 p.m., Tuesday.Dela Pena worked as dispatcher of passenger vans plying Cotabato-Kidapawan route after he surrendered to authorities few years back.In Pikit town, a security guard identified as Dennis Adam Maganod, 32, of Barangay Fort Pikit, was ambushed by still unidentified gunmen while on board his motorcycle along the highway in Barangay Ginatilan.In Makilala town, a still unidentified body of a male, about 5’9 in height and with fair complexion, was recovered in a grassy lot in Barangay Poblacion, around 6 a.m., on Tuesday.Police are still clueless as to what caused the killings.The latest killings brought the number to 14 since August 1, data from the local police showed.