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John Unson - Philstar.com
March 10, 2026 | 7:31pm
The 30-year-old man who killed his nephew, who was known for his being unruly, is now detained in a police detention facility in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Philstar.com / John Unson
COTABATO CITY, Philippines — An uncle killed his nephew with an M16 rifle on Monday, March 9, irked by the victim's persistent criticisms over imperfection in his periodic recital of the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, in a mosque in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
The suspect, Polo Lindongan, who works voluntarily in their community mosque in Sitio Irrigation in Barangay Poblacion in Datu Odin Sinsuat, voluntarily yielded to personnel of the Datu Odin Sinsuat Municipal Police Station and admitted, in the presence of local officials, his having shot dead his 20-year-old nephew, Benzar Lindongan, outside of the worship rite.
Brig. Gen. Jaysen De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, told reporters on Tuesday that the 31-year-old Lindongan surrendered to the police through the intercession of Moro datus, among them a former member of Maguindanao's provincial board, Asnawi Sinsuat Limbona, and Muslim religious leaders in the adjoining Barangays Bonqued and Ambolodto in the municipality.
Local officials and traditional Moro leaders in Datu Odin Sinsuat said Benzar was known for his being stubborn and disrespectful of worshippers praying in the mosque in Sitio Irrigation in Barangay Poblacion.
“Sometimes Benzar would lie down on the floor of the mosque in the middle of a prayer rite,” a community elder, who asked not to be identified, told reporters who proceeded to the area to investigate the incident.
Relatives of Benzar said he has long been bullying Lindongan over his wrong pronunciation of Arabic words for the adhan, or call to prayer preceding each of the five daily obligatory Islamic prayers.
Benzar taunted and laughed loudly while Lindongan was reciting the adhan via a sound system on Monday afternoon, telling him that his voice was not pleasing right before worshippers gathered in the mosque.
After leading the prayer, Lindongan went out of the mosque, took an M16 rifle from a nearby house and shot Benzar twice in the upper torso, killing him instantly.
