Moro municipal school official killed in gun attack

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A popular municipal education official attacked by gunmen in Radjah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur on Tuesday, June 10, died in a hospital a day later.

Relatives of Alamansa Ambito, known for his extensive involvement in community peacebuilding activities, confirmed on Thursday morning, June 12, his death in a hospital, late Wednesday, after he was shot repeatedly by attackers while in a roadside eatery in Barangay Zapakan, near the campus of the Zapakan Elementary School.

Alamansa was an acting principal of the Zapakan Elementary School and, at the same time, functioned as a supervisor, in concurrent capacity, in the Radjah Buayan Schools District Office under the Bangsamoro education ministry. 

Radjah Buayan Mayor Maruja Mastura has condemned the murder of Alamansa and urged the personnel of their municipal police and the officials of the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office to identify his killers and prosecute them in court.

Alamansa is known for his involvement in the joint peace and security programs of local officials, the police and Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion covering Radjah Buayan and his hometown, the nearby Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao del Sur.

His assailants casually approached him while having lunch in a food store in Barangay Zapakan, opened fire and escaped using a getaway motorcycle.

Despite his condition, Alamansa managed to ride a tricycle that brought him to a police detachment less than a kilometer away, where policemen on-duty immediately brought him to a hospital, where he eventually died from the gunshot wounds in different parts of his body.