COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) official employed in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was shot and killed on Friday, February 7, in Pikit, Cotabato.
Johnson Endil, who served as the municipal chief of the Bangsamoro Land Transportation Office, was washing his sports utility vehicle outside his home in Sitio Amanah, Barangay Inug-ug, when two gunmen approached him from behind and opened fire. The assailants immediately fled the scene.
According to investigators from the Pikit Municipal Police Station and the Cotabato Provincial Police Office, Endil was rushed to a hospital by emergency responders but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Endil was the MILF’s secretary for the Ligawasan Area, which includes Moro communities surrounding the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta in Central Mindanao.
He also held a key position in the BARMM’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
Although Pikit is located in Cotabato province under Region 12, more than 20 of its barangays are part of BARMM’s core territory.
BARMM’s Minister of Transportation and Communications, Paisalin Pangandaman Tago, along with other agency officials, strongly condemned the attack and urged witnesses to cooperate with the police in identifying the perpetrators.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of a colleague in the Bangsamoro government. We hope for a swift resolution of this case,” Tago stated in a message to reporters on Saturday.
Senior MILF leaders in BARMM ministries noted that Endil had played a crucial role in mediating and resolving violent clan disputes in Pikit and nearby areas.
Many of these territories, where the MILF maintains enclaves, have since been recognized as peace zones by the national government.