Father, son killed in General Santos City ambush

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A father and son from a family reportedly locked in a land dispute with relatives perished in an ambush in General Santos City on Friday.

The General Santos City Police, in a report on Saturday to Region 12 police director Brig. Gen. Jimili Macaraeg, said that the fatalities, Rafael Dela Merced, 52, and his 28-year-old son, Jhonnel, both died on the spot from multiple bullet wounds.

The victims were riding a motorcycle together when they were attacked by men armed with pistols in a stretch of a barangay road in Purok 9 at the Paradise area in Barangay Mabuhay in General Santos City, killing the two of them on the spot. 

Their attackers immediately escaped after they fell one after another from their motorcycle, according to witnesses.

Sources close to the victims had told reporters there is a possibility that the ambush that resulted in their deaths could be related to their family’s longtime land ownership quarrel with relatives. 

Both sides are reportedly squabbling for control of the property.