DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao del Norte — A 35-year-old habal-habal driver was killed while his passenger was wounded in a shooting at Kilometer 14 in Barangay Labungan, Datu Odin Sinsuat, at around 12:55 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2026, with police investigating the possibility that the victims had been followed from another municipality.
The fatality was identified as Jerald Unao Zabala, a resident of Barangay Bugabungan, North Upi, Maguindanao del Norte. His passenger, Troy Escano, 24, a resident of Barangay Kabakaba in Datu Odin Sinsuat, survived the attack but sustained injuries.
Zabala was rushed to the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC), where he was declared dead on arrival. Escano was also brought to the hospital for medical treatment.
According to Police Captain Sammy Paning, deputy chief of the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station, police personnel responded after receiving a report from a concerned citizen at around 1:35 p.m.
Upon reaching the scene, responding officers immediately facilitated the victims’ transport to the hospital, while other police teams launched a hot pursuit operation to locate the fleeing assailant or assailants.
Police probe possible surveillance before shooting
Paning said initial information suggested that the victims may have been followed by their attackers from the municipality of Upi before the shooting occurred in Datu Odin Sinsuat.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that the assailants had already been tracking Zabala and Escano before they reached Kilometer 14 in Barangay Labungan. However, authorities have yet to establish whether the victims were deliberately targeted or what may have prompted the attack.
The suspected attackers fled in an undetermined direction immediately after the shooting.
Police recovered spent cartridge cases believed to have come from a 9mm pistol at the scene. The recovered evidence will undergo appropriate forensic examination as investigators work to establish the circumstances surrounding the shooting and identify those responsible.
Motive and suspects remain unidentified
As of the initial police report, the identity of the suspect or suspects and the motive behind the attack had not been established.
The ongoing hot pursuit operation aims to locate and apprehend those responsible, while investigators continue gathering information that could clarify whether the shooting stemmed from a personal dispute, a targeted attack, or another motive. These possibilities remain unconfirmed.
Authorities have not disclosed further details about the victims’ activities before the shooting or whether they had received any threats.
The investigation remains ongoing. Police findings, including the examination of the recovered cartridge cases and statements from possible witnesses, may help establish the sequence of events leading to the fatal shooting.
The suspects remain unidentified, and the circumstances and motive of the attack have yet to be conclusively determined.