Village chief survives, son dies in ambush

A 12-YEAR-OLD boy was killed while his father, a Subanen tribal leader, was wounded in an ambush in the province of Zamboanga del Sur.

Army’s First Infantry Division spokesman Captain Alberto Caber said the incident took place around 6 a.m. Tuesday at the junction of Matin-ao and Dagatan villages, Bayog town, Zamboanga del Sur.

Caber identified the child as Jordan Manda, who was fatally hit and died on the spot. Wounded was Manda’s father, Timuay Luceno Manda, a village chief of Conacon, Bayog town.

The death of Manda’s eldest son, who was a Grade IV student and is in the top five of his class, is a big loss to the family as he is also being trained as a future Timuay (chieftain) of his community.

Caber said the elder Manda was driving his motorcycle with his son on their way home when five unidentified gunmen intercepted and ambushed them.

Caber said the Bayog police are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the motive of the ambush and identify the suspects.

He said the elder Manda is also an anti-mining advocate, and has been receiving threats in the last three years.

Troops from the Army’s 53rd Infantry Battalion were deployed to assist the police in tracking down the suspects.

The Alyansa Tigil Mina said Tuesday that Manda has been leading his tribe in claiming and protecting their ancestral domain in the last 10 years after his cousin Timuay Giovanni Umbang was slain in 2002.

Both Timuay Umbang and Manda have questioned the entry of logging and mining in their ancestral domain without their Free Prior and Informed Consent as required under national and international laws.

Manda is leading an effort to unify the Subanens in the Central Zamboanga Peninsula to claim and protect their remaining ancestral domain. (Bong Garcia)