Eight dead in three days: Mamasapano militiamen, a Buldon preacher, two men in Datu Paglas and a farmer and his infant son in Pikit

Mamasapano, Saturday morning

The first attack came at about 10:40 a.m. on Saturday, November 7 in Sitio Philippine Trade, Barangay Manungkaling, Mamasapano, Maguindanao del Sur. Samsamin Labay Kabagani and Danny Minandang, members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit, and Esmael Manabilang, a wood gatherer, were riding two motorcycles from Barangay Barurao in Sultan sa Barongis toward the Army's Bud Wire detachment in Shariff Aguak when gunmen on two motorbikes, one of them a Honda CRF, opened fire.

Kabagani and Minandang died at the scene. Manabilang was declared dead on arrival at the Bangsamoro Regional Hospital and Medical Center. A fourth rider, Mohamidin Udal Usman, 18, was wounded and is in stable condition. Investigators recovered a .45 caliber pistol, spent casings, the two motorcycles and a cellphone. Usman told police the group had been on its way to cut trees. The Army said the attack might be connected to the militiamen's work. Persons of interest have been identified, one of them allegedly a member of an armed group.

Buldon, Monday at dawn: the ninth preacher

At about 5:10 a.m. on Monday, November 9, Alim Saad Casad Abdulhamid, 38, an Islamic preacher and resident of Barangay Mataya, was shot dead at the barangay's public market in Buldon, Maguindanao del Norte. Buldon police said he died at the scene from gunshot wounds to the body. Mataya is in the town's hinterland, and barangay officials said the gunmen were gone before volunteer watchmen could reach the market.

Philstar counted him as the ninth Muslim preacher killed in Region 12 and the Bangsamoro region since January. Captain Steffie Salanguit, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office for the Bangsamoro region, said on Tuesday that Buldon's mayor and municipal police were working on the case. No suspect or motive has been named.

Datu Paglas and Pikit, the same afternoon

On Monday afternoon gunmen shot Ali Madsid Mling and Akmad Matabalao Pendililang, who were riding one motorcycle, in Sitio Olongapo, Barangay Poblacion, Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur. Both died.

About two hours later and across the provincial line in Pikit, Cotabato, a farmer named Norhan Mangulamas was driving his family in a tricycle through Barangay Dalingaoen toward Sitio Tubak in Barangay Pagangan, Aleosan, when gunmen fired on the vehicle. Mangulamas and his son, aged 12 months, were killed. His wife was badly wounded and taken to the Cotabato Regional Medical Center. The Cotabato Provincial Police Office and the Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade are investigating together.

A year of unsolved killings

The preacher killings started early. On January 10 Ustadz Hassim Subo was shot in Midsayap, the fifth preacher killed since 2024 in the Special Geographic Area, the eight towns inside Cotabato province that belong to the Bangsamoro region. On May 21 Ustadz Nasrudin Abubakar was killed in Barangay Makir, Datu Odin Sinsuat, the same day radio announcer Nestor Micator was shot in Malidegao. On September 29 Ustadz Ebrahim Madidis was killed in Barangay Olandang, Nabalawag, and Ustadz Salindab Madidis was left in critical condition. This year also brought a grenade attack on missionary Hajim Halil's van in Datu Saudi Ampatuan and the death of Patrolman Faisal Alang, found in Carmen.

In 2025 the dead included Ustadz Mohammad Hessam Midtimbang, shot in Cotabato City on August 25, and Ustadz Abusadid Landasan, an Aleosan school principal whose body was found in Taviran. Ustadz Israel Silungan Padao survived an attack. Pikit's Barangay Dalingaoen had its own case in February 2025, when Johari Santi was killed, and on February 28 this year Alvin Mascud Alimat and Norhaya Mascud Alagasi were shot in Barangay Kulambog. An April ambush in Datu Paglas was the twelfth deadly ambush in Maguindanao del Sur since December 2025, and none of the twelve has been solved.

Three days, four towns, no suspects

Late October brought five killings in 36 hours and one arrest. The three days from November 7 to 9 add eight dead across four towns in three provinces, all at dawn or in daylight, all by gunmen on motorcycles who were gone before responders arrived. None of the four cases has a named suspect.