Injured	Killed
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Date: 06 March 2010
Source: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=555604&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Town official shot dead in Lanao
(philstar.com) Updated March 06, 2010 09:06 PM

COTABATO, Philippines (Xinhua) – Gunmen in the southern Philippines shot and killed a town official on Friday but cops said the attack has nothing to do with the upcoming elections, police said on Saturday.

The victim, Ismael Macatoon, 42, town councilor and president of village officials in the township of Poona Piagapo in Lanao del Norte, was heading home on board his motorcycle when attacked by armed men shortly after )9:00 p.m. local time.

Investigator police officer Cedic Disomemba said the victim died instantly from multiple gunshot wounds. He discounted politics behind the slaying, citing the victim belongs to a family locked in clan war.

In the southern Philippines, clan war or rido is common among warring clans and sometimes the hostilities could last for decades until a peace pact is reached by protagonists, usually through mediation by religious leaders and the payment of blood money.

Among major causes of rido include land disputes, particularly those caused by disputed government surveys or ancestral land claims; political rivalries, mostly election-related; crime- related, including murder and proliferation of illegal drugs, competition over resources and businesses.