RAJAH BUAYAN, Maguindanao del Sur — One person was killed and two others were injured in separate shooting incidents in Barangay Mileb, Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao del Sur, on Sunday afternoon, September 13, 2026, with one of the injured men later arrested following an alleged exchange of gunfire with responding police officers.
Police identified the fatality as Unting Mabini Makapana, a resident of Barangay Sampal, Datu Abdullah Sangki. Rasid Kalim Sissay, a resident of Purok Bayanihan, Barangay Kamasi, Ampatuan, was injured and subsequently arrested.
The incidents began with the reported shooting of Nasrullah Utto Ampatuan, a farmer and resident of the area. According to the initial police account, Ampatuan was allegedly shot by two unidentified armed men riding a motorcycle.
Ampatuan sustained a gunshot wound and was immediately brought by relatives to Lambayong Hospital for medical treatment.
Following the shooting, personnel of the Rajah Buayan Municipal Police Station, led by Police Captain Amerkhar C. Sapiin, together with a Quick Response Team from the Police Regional Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, under Police Major Junry P. Artajo, responded to the area after receiving a report from a concerned resident.
The police arrived at approximately 4:11 p.m. and launched a clearing operation in the vicinity.
During the operation, authorities reportedly spotted a man hiding behind a house. Police said the man suddenly opened fire toward the responding officers as they approached.
The officers returned fire, according to the police account, in what authorities described as a response to the armed attack.
The man was wounded and incapacitated. He was identified as Sissay, who was given initial medical treatment before being transported to the Sultan Kudarat Provincial Hospital in Isulan.
Sissay was subsequently placed under arrest while receiving medical treatment.
As police continued searching the area, they also found Makapana suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to the Bangsamoro Regional Medical Center, but doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Authorities said they recovered from Makapana a caliber .45 pistol, one magazine and one live round of ammunition.
Police are still determining the circumstances surrounding Makapana’s presence at the scene and his alleged involvement in the earlier shooting. Investigators are also working to establish whether the two men were connected to the shooting of Ampatuan.
The motive for the attack on Ampatuan remains unclear, and the identities of the alleged motorcycle-riding gunmen involved in that initial shooting have yet to be established.
Police have coordinated with the 34th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and neighboring police stations for dragnet and checkpoint operations, as well as additional intelligence monitoring in the area.
Authorities continue to investigate the separate but potentially connected incidents and are working to identify other individuals who may have been involved.
The police account remains subject to further investigation, and the identities and roles of those involved have yet to be established in court.