COTABATO CITY – A notorious criminal with links to BIFF rebels was killed in a shootout with policemen and soldiers who were trying to arrest him on Sunday in North Cotabato’s Pikit town in southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said Datugan Gumaga alias Arnold Mamaluba opened fire on security forces near the village of Ladtingan sparking a firefight until he was killed.
“He fired on our soldiers and policemen who were serving the arrest warrant and a firefight ensued and Gumaga was eventually killed,” Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, a spokeswoman for the 6th Infantry Division, told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
She said the body of Gumaga was claimed by his relatives for burial, but none gave a statement on the bloody end of his long criminal career.
Police also linked Gumaga, who was one of North Cotabato’s most wanted criminal, to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, however it was unknown whether he participated in terror attacks in the restive region.
Gumaga was also implicated in many criminal cases involving illegal drug trades and murders in the province, Petinglay said, quoting a police report. (Mindanao Examiner)
Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mindanaoexaminer
Follow Us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MindanaoExamine
Read Our News on: http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/ and http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/
20