Lawyer Israelito P. Torreon, legal counsel of Mayor Khadafeh “Toy” Mangudadatu of Pandag, Maguindanao del Sur recently held a press conference in Davao City correcting information and reports concerning the reported shooting incident during the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) 2023 on October 30, 2023.
The incident resulted in the death of Ramil Bernan Guimaludin, a relative of Mangudadatu.
“We have to clarify everything at least it be imprinted in the minds of the people of Pandag that my client is guilty, he is not guilty and we are here to clarify all things so that the truth will come out. The victim is my client and his family. We have the videos to show the actual incident and my client had to crawl from the precinct where he voted to his car where his wife and daughters were present. There was no attempt to fire at the precinct otherwise the police would have already taken pictures showing that there were even gunshots that were imprinted in the walls of the precincts,” Torreon said.
Torreon sent a letter addressed to Ernesto M. Rivera Jr., chief of police of Pandag, Maguindanao del Sur, requesting for correction of entries in the Incident Record Form (IRF).
“This is to correct the entries in the investigation in the IRF so that the truth will come out and should be reflected in the IRF that the local police prepared,” he said.
Mangudadatu denied the reports that he had anything to do with the said violence and that he has live videos to show the actual incident during the said elections.
“Kung talagang may baril doon, hindi dapat kamag-anak ko ang namatay at lalong hindi kamag-anak ko ang malubhang nasugatan,” Mangudadatu told the media.
Mangudadatu said he already consulted Torreon on what legal actions to be taken with regards to the said incident.
In his letter, Torreon pointed out that the subject IRF pertains to the death of Guimaludin, thus the IRF must revolve around the circumstances leading to his death.
He also cited the Standard Operating Procedure Number 20120-001 re IRF (Procedure in Recording Incident Reports in the Police Blotter), the entries in the IRF must be filled out by the complainant or the victim.
“Interestingly, however, the IRF did not even narrate the exact time of his death, other wounds sustained, if any, and other relevant matters surrounding his death. The IRF did not also mention who was with Mr. Guimaludin at the time of the incident and how he ended up in Pandag, Maguindanao when he was supposed to be a resident of Buluan, Maguindanao. The attached IRF is not even clear as to who is the supposed complainant on the death of Mr. Guimaludin,” Torreon said in his letter.
Torreon mentioned in his letter that the entries in the IRF do not accurately depict what happened during the shooting incident.
Torreon concluded that the subject IRF “should be corrected to delete/remove the objected statements as already propounded above and to show the circumstances leading to the suspicious death of Mr. Guimaludin.”
Meanwhile, Torreon clarified that Toy Mangudadatu is not a self-proclaimed mayor as he has a Certificate of Recognition from the Minister of Interior and Local Government of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILG-BARMM).
It can be recalled that the municipality of Pandag in Maguindanao del Sur has two claimant mayors: Khadafeh “Toy” Mangudadatu and Mohajeran “Odjie” Balayman.
Mangudadatu was proclaimed winner by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) while Balayman won the electoral protest filed in the Regional Trial Court even in the final judgment issued by the Comelec and took his oath of office as mayor of Pandag before Judge Angelito Razalan of the Municipal Trial Court in Cotabato City.
“The issues are still in the Supreme Court as to who between him and Murajihad Balayman is the rightful mayor of Pandag. But according to the law creating the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), he is the one who won the election and the one recognized by the BARMM government,” Torreon said.
On the other hand, Balayman issued a statement following the Mangudadatu’s press conference in Davao City.
“Di ko alam bakit hindi pa sya maka-move on hangang sa ngayon,” he said.
This is Balayman’s answer to Mangudadatu’s statement that he is the real mayor of the town.
“Ano ang basehan nya ngayon? May nakukuha ba syang sweldo? May access ba sya sa IRA?,” said Balayman.
Balayman said the local government of Pandag is back to normal and its projects and services to the public continue.
“Nakukuha na natin ang IRA since our assumption. Nakakapagbigay na tayo ng serbisyo at may infrastructure programs na tayo na naimplement na. Nagpalabas na rin ang law department ng legal opinion. Pati ang civil service, natanggal na at na-declare na na AWOL yung mga tao nya na di pinareport?” he said.
Balayman said Mangudadatu allegedly is making noise because his allies were defeated in the recently concluded BSKE.
“Acceptable sa mga tao yung naging resulta ng election. Sa kanya lang hindi acceptable kasi natalo yung mga kandidato nya. Sa general, masaya sila kasi walang dayaan,” he said.
