Violence rises in Mindanao as elections near

Former mayor in Sulu previously accused of conspiring to kill then governor in critical condition after attack

A mayoral candidate has been shot in Zamboanga City, weeks after an outgoing official was also ambushed ahead of the May 9 elections.

Chief Superintendent Nonito Asdai, commander of the Tetuan Police Station 6 told reporters that Ahmad Nanoh, a former mayor of Pangutaran town, Sulu is in critical condition following the shooting Thursday afternoon.

Asdai said Nanoh was onboard his vehicle when he was fired on by an unidentified gunman and suffered multiple gunshot wounds to different parts of his body.

“Further investigation is still ongoing,” the police chief added.

Nanoh is running for mayor, after having served in the post between 2001 and 2010, but losing his rerun bid in 2013.

Nanoh had reportedly received death threats from political opponents in the past.

He was one of three Sulu politicians implicated in an Aug. 2010 bombing at Zamboanga City’s airport that killed two people and injured 25 others — including the province’s then governor of Abdusakur Tan.

Police had accused the three politicians of having “conspired” to kill Tan, and charged them with multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges, as well as the illegal possession of explosives.

Nanoh had also been targeted in an ambush in 2009 that resulted in two of his security personnel being killed and his teenage daughter being abducted by an alleged suitor.

The attack on Nanoh was the second in Zamboanga City targeting a victim who had served in a mayoral post.

Early last month, the mayor of Bongao town, Tawi-Tawi island province, Jasper Que had been riding his vehicle when he was fired at by attackers on a motorcycle.

Clan wars — called “rido” in the local Moro dialect — are prevalent in the southern Philippines, usually precipitated by land disputes, intense political rivalries and affronts on family pride and honor.

In mid-January, the Philippines kicked off its five-month election period for the upcoming national and local elections by declaring a ban on carrying firearms.

On May 9, tens of millions of Filipinos will go to the ballots to elect officials for more than 18,000 posts including the country’s new president and vice president, as well as 12 senators.

Other posts being contested include those in 81 provinces, 145 cities and 1,489 municipalities.

In the southern Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, residents will be voting for a new governor, a vice governor and 24 assemblymen.