Manila: Police are searching for two gunmen who ambushed and killed a local government employee on Sunday. Lt. James Warren Caang, spokesperson for the Cotabato Police Provincial Office, identified the victim as Joseph Ferdinand Gimenez, a regular municipal government employee and resident of Barangay Poblacion.

According to Philippines News Agency, an investigation is underway to determine the motive and the identity of the perpetrators. Investigators are scheduled to meet with the family to gather information significant for resolving the crime. Based on the initial investigation, Gimenez was driving a government pick-up truck when the unidentified riding-in-tandem on a motorbike tailed and opened fire at him on Sunday morning along the section of the national highway in the area.

Police recovered 14 slugs and empty bullets for a .45-caliber pistol at the crime scene. The incident was the first shooting since the implementation of the election gun ban, along with intensified police visibility and checkpoints.

Meanwhile, police authorities are also hunting down a former police inmate who tossed a grenade at a police patrol car on February 21 in Kabacan town in this province. Caang said the suspect, whom he declined to identify pending a police operation, was arrested earlier for illegal possession of firearms but was out after posting a bail bond.

Caang revealed the suspect's motive, stating, "He was mad because he was arrested for gun possession, and he wanted to get back at any police officer," referring to the 10:00 p.m. grenade attack in Barangay Osias, Kabacan. Police officers manning a checkpoint in the village flagged down two men acting suspiciously while riding a motorcycle. However, the men sped off, leading to a police chase.

"The two, however, managed to escape using the darkness of the night as cover," Caang explained. As the police officers were returning to their parked patrol car, a suspect tossed the hand grenade under it, which detonated and damaged the patrol vehicle. Fortunately, no police officer was wounded in the incident.