The slain Barangay Bongo, South Upi councilman Elvin Moires. (File photo courtesy of Timuay Justice and Governance)
COTABATO CITY – Police are pursuing a gunman who killed a village councilor and indigenous people (IP) leader during a wedding ceremony in South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur, on Tuesday night.
Leticia Datuwata, supreme tribal head of Timuay Justice and Governance, identified the victim as Elvin Moires, a councilman from Barangay Bongo in South Upi.
Moires was attending an IP wedding when an unidentified gunman attacked him, Datuwata said.
Villagers rushed Moires to a hospital in Poblacion Timanan, but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The motive for the killing remains unknown, but Datuwata noted that Moires was a vocal advocate on issues affecting IP communities, including land grabbing, harassment, and displacement caused by the presence of armed groups. He had survived a previous attack in 2018.
Since 2018, around 78 IP leaders and members have been killed in the upland areas of South Upi, Maguindanao del Sur, and North Upi, Maguindanao del Norte. (PNA)
