NORTH UPI, Maguindanao del Norte — A father was shot dead in a brazen ambush Monday afternoon, April 13, in a remote village of North Upi, underscoring persistent security concerns in parts of the province.
The victim was identified as Panun Mundas, an adult resident of Barangay Nuro, described by relatives as a family man with a wife and children.
According to initial police and family reports, Mundas was riding his motorcycle when he was waylaid by still unidentified armed assailants at around 3:00 p.m. in Purok 14, Happy Valley, within the vicinity of Barangay Balala. The attackers, believed to have been lying in wait, opened fire without warning, hitting the victim multiple times.
Responding barangay officials and authorities rushed Mundas to the Datu Blah Sinsuat District Hospital in Upi in a bid to save his life. However, attending physicians declared him dead on arrival due to the severity of his gunshot wounds.
Reports from the Maguindanao del Norte Provincial Police Office and the Upi Municipal Police Station indicated that the suspects managed to flee the scene immediately after the attack and remain at large as of this writing.
Local officials in North Upi condemned the killing and called for swift justice, while authorities have launched a full-scale investigation to identify the perpetrators and determine the motive behind the ambush.
As of now, investigators are exploring possible angles, including personal grudges and other motives, though no definitive leads have been publicly disclosed.
The fatal shooting adds to a series of violent incidents in parts of Mindanao, prompting renewed calls for strengthened security measures and community vigilance.