NABALAWAG, Special Geographic Area, BARMM — A municipal councilor narrowly escaped death after being shot at by unidentified gunmen in Barangay Olandang, Nabalawag, on Wednesday night, October 30, 2025.
Police identified the victim as Taimama Kamidun Tapanding, 44, a sitting municipal councilor of Nabalawag and resident of Barangay Olandang.
According to PNP-BARMM spokesperson Lt. Col. Jopy Ventura, Tapanding was inspecting his vehicle parked outside his home at around 8:11 p.m. when two unidentified suspects suddenly appeared and opened fire at him using still-unknown firearms.
Fortunately, the councilor was unharmed after managing to take cover and avoid the hail of bullets. The gunmen immediately fled toward the direction of Kadigasan, another area within the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Police and military units, including personnel from the Nabalawag Municipal Police Station, Alpha Company of the 34th Infantry Battalion, and the 1405th Regional Mobile Force Company, launched a hot pursuit operation to track down the fleeing suspects.
Authorities are still determining the motive behind the attempted assassination, while the local government and security officials have condemned the attack, calling it a cowardly act of violence against an elected public servant.
Lt. Col. Ventura assured that PNP-BARMM is intensifying its efforts to identify and arrest the perpetrators, stressing that such acts of lawlessness will not be tolerated in the region.