In a tragic incident in Tupi, South Cotabato, a retired police officer was ambushed and killed on Friday afternoon. The victim, identified as 79-year-old Teodorico Bastan, a former Senior Police Officer 3 from Barangay Datal Bob, Tboli town, was serving as the chief of village peacekeepers in Barangay Simbo at the time of the attack.
Bastan was riding a motorcycle with his wife when two assailants on another motorcycle approached from the opposite direction and opened fire. The attack occurred as the couple was heading home to Datal Bob. Bastan suffered fatal gunshot wounds to the head and body and died at the scene, while his wife, though deeply shaken, was unharmed.
Following the shooting, the suspects fled the scene. Police recovered three .45-caliber pistol shells at the site of the ambush. Lt. Richard Ho, the deputy police chief of Tupi, suggested that the motive might be linked to Bastan’s position as head of the village peacekeepers. The local police are actively investigating the case to bring the perpetrators to justice.