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COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 21 February) — A prosecutor in Maguindanao survived an ambush Friday afternoon in this city but his two companions were still battling for their lives in a local hospital.
Fiscal Tucod Ronda, deputy provincial prosecutor of Maguindanao province, sustained minor wounds, witnesses said.
Ronda was about to leave his house together with his unidentified companions when the assailants opened fire using M16 rifles and .45 caliber pistols.
The prosecutor was sitting on the front seat of a Toyota Grandia van.
An eyewitness who refused to be identified said at least three men onboard a white Toyota Innova waited at the corner of Kalaw Street, Ferderville subdivision, Rosary Heights 11 around 1:45pm and opened fire as Ronda’s car was about to turn right.
Police Captain Rustum Pastolero, chief of Station 2 in Cotabato City confirmed that a policeman-neighbor of Ronda’s fired warning shots upon seeing that the gunmen were about to open the van.
The warning shots prompted the attackers to flee the scene, witnesses said.
The responding policeman-neighbor drove the victims to the hospital.
Local police are still investigating the incident. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera/MindaNews)
