Two clerics, accused of murdering a relative, refused to be arrested and were shot dead by the police in Cotabato City on Friday, Feb. 5.
The fatalities were identified as Ustadz Yaya Montong and Ustadz Farhan Bacol.
Major Elexon Bona, chief of the Police Precinct 4, Cotabato City, said that police personnel were to serve them arrest warrants in Barangay Kalanganan, but they were neutralized when one of the victims pulled out a pistol and opened fire, hitting a policeman in the abdomen.
“It was just fortunate that my subordinate was wearing a protection vest then. He was not hurt,” Bona said.
One of the suspects also threw a fragmentation grenade at the police, however, the grenade did not explode.
“The grenade was immediately retrieved from the scene by a police ordnance team,” Bona said.
The Regional Trial Court Branch 15 in Cotabato City issued the warrants for the arrest of the two preachers.