COLLATERAL DAMAGE A vehicle sustains a cracked windshield after being hit by rocks thrown by supporters of political candidates during a clash in front of the Shariff Aguak municipal hall in Maguindanao del Sur on Tuesday (Oct. 8, 2024), the last day for filing certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the 2025 local elections. The violence left one village guard dead and six others, including a police officer, injured. (Photo courtesy of Shariff Aguak MPS)
COTABATO CITY (PNA) – A village watchman was killed and six others were injured during a violent commotion near the municipal hall of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, on Tuesday morning, the final day for filing certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the 2025 local elections.
Lt. Col. Reggie Albellera, chief of the Shariff Aguak municipal police, confirmed that Bara Bauinda, a member of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT), died after being struck by stray bullets as rival political supporters exchanged gunfire around 11 a.m.
“The altercation erupted just outside the municipal hall grounds where the COC filing was taking place,” Albellera told a local radio station on Wednesday.
Among the six injured was Cpl. Montassir Eskak, a police officer with the 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company.
The rest were supporters from both camps.
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Albellera said the trouble started when the town’s Commission on Elections (Comelec) office rejected the documents of a vice mayoral candidate due to incomplete requirements.
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“The candidate only presented a certificate of nomination but did not have his COC,” Albellera said, adding that when police escorted him out of the hall, they discovered that the individual had outstanding warrants for murder.
The rejection enraged the candidate’s supporters, who clashed with rival supporters, hurling stones and exchanging gunfire.
They also damaged passing vehicles, forcing a temporary closure of the highway in front of the town hall, police said.
The candidate later filed his COC at the Comelec regional office in Cotabato City.
The situation calmed after about an hour when the crowd dispersed, and the highway was reopened.
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Mayor Akmad Ampatuan condemned the violence and called on police and military forces to enhance security around the town hall to prevent further incidents.