Comelec Maguindanao employee shot dead while playing chess in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY - A casual employee of the Maguindanao Provincial Election Office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) was killed in a broad daylight shooting incident on Tuesday while playing chess in Cotabato City.

City Police Precinct 2 commander Captain Rustum Pastolero identified the victim as Jonathan Pagadas Ganta, 43, and a resident of Purok Balabaran, Rosary Heights 10 where the crime happened.

The incident took place at around 8:30 a.m. while the victim was playing chess with friends. An unidentified suspect fired his M-16 automatic rifle, killing the victim instantly.

A "padyak" driver, identified as Guiamad Utto Akmad, was also rushed to a hospital after he was hit with stray bullets.

Pastolero said based on initial investigation, Ganta seems to have been the only target of the suspect.

“Based on the revelations from the close relatives, it could possibly be [due to] a work-related motive,” he said.

The victim’s body is set to be buried on Tuesday according to Muslim burial tradition in Guindulungan, Maguindanao. 

The burial will be attended by his co-employees from Comelec. —KG, GMA News