Authorities in Maguindanao del Sur are pursuing an armed group suspected of decapitating tribal leader Nel Lupos in Datu Hoffer Ampatuan town on Tuesday afternoon.
Col. Sultan Salman Sapal, provincial police director, said the municipal police station has been ordered to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice. “The indigenous peoples’ (IP) tribal leader, Nel Lupos, was allegedly beheaded by still unidentified armed men,” he said.
Lupos, 60, a former village councilor of Barangay Mantao and resident of Barangay Limpongo, was found dead beside a dirt road at around 6 p.m.
Tribal chieftain Leticio Datuwata of the IP political structure Timuay Justice and Governance said Lupos belonged to the Teduray-Lambangian community. He was attacked while resting alone in his nipa hut, dragged outside by armed men, and killed for reasons still under investigation.
Datuwata noted that Lupos had previously moved after another tribal leader, Baywan Angan, was shot dead in December last year. The chieftain believes Lupos was targeted for refusing to give up his farmland to the gunmen, who claimed ownership.
