KIDAPAWAN CITY — Police authorities in North Cotabato have launched a manhunt against two men who gunned down Monday the municipal agriculture officer of Arakan, North Cotabato.
“Our police are still digging deeper into the case,” Chief Insp. Aldrin Gonzales, speaking for the Police Regional Office (PRO-12) based in Gen. Santos City, said of the killing of Edgar Araña, Arakan town agriculture chief, at around 8 a.m. Monday
The 57-year-old Araña was driving his motorbike from his residence in Sitio Napanlahan, Barangay Poblacion, heading to the town proper when killed.
Investigation showed two men riding on separate motorbikes were tailing him and opened fire, killing the official on the spot.
As the municipal official slumped on the roadside, the gunmen sped away. Motive of the attack and identities of the suspects remain unknown as of this time.
Arakan, an upland town in North Cotabato, has been the center of atrocities committed by communist rebels over the past two months.
Last month, three off-duty militiamen were killed in Arakan that Maj. Silver Belvis, Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion spokesperson, has blamed on the communist New People’s Army. (PNA)
