Communal violence rises in BARMM as polls near

COTABATO CITY, BARMM — Esmael Mustapha, village chief of Bulibod in Sultan Kudarat town of Maguindanao del Norte, was going home with his wife Rahima, the village secretary, on Sunday night when they were attacked by unidentified gunmen. They came from the municipal gymnasium where they earlier joined in the activities marking the town’s founding