Lanao del Sur Vice Mayor Arrested in Iligan Over Murder Case—But the February Shooting Holds a Bigger Story
ILIGAN CITY — A sitting vice mayor of Marantao, Lanao del Sur, has been arrested in Iligan City over separate murder and frustrated murder cases stemming from a shooting incident in Misamis Oriental earlier this year.
Police identified the official as Ali Eskandar Unte Alonto III, also known as “Bimmy Alonto,” 36, who was taken into custody by Philippine National Police (PNP) operatives at an inn in Barangay San Miguel, Iligan City, on August 21, 2026.
The arrest was carried out after police intelligence units and tracker teams confirmed that Alonto was in the area. Several reports, including those from Philippine Star, Bombo Radyo and other local outlets, placed the operation at around 8:45 p.m.
The arrest warrants were issued on July 15, 2026, by the Regional Trial Court Branch 44 in Initao, Misamis Oriental, according to the PNP.
Alonto is facing one murder case for which no bail was recommended and a separate frustrated murder case with bail set at P200,000.
From local official to wanted person
Before his arrest, Alonto had climbed the police wanted-person rankings, becoming the No. 1 most wanted person at the Marantao municipal level, No. 3 in Lanao del Sur and No. 4 in the Police Regional Office-Northern Mindanao (PRO-10) regional list, according to police.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said the operation demonstrated that government position does not exempt anyone from the enforcement of court-issued warrants.
The PNP said the arrest was part of its continuing effort to locate wanted persons and enforce warrants regardless of a suspect's status or position.
The February shooting that triggered the cases
The cases reportedly stem from a February 16, 2026 shooting in Barangay Tubigan, Initao, Misamis Oriental.
GMA Regional TV reported that a woman was found dead at the scene with a gunshot wound to the head, while another female victim was found nearby with a gunshot wound and survived.
Other reports identified the deceased victim as a 31-year-old solo parent, Jovy Reyna Lubcuban Esquillo, while a second woman survived the attack.
According to reports citing police investigators, the surviving victim later became an important witness in the case. The investigation eventually resulted in warrants charging Alonto with murder and frustrated murder.
However, authorities have been more cautious about publicly establishing the motive.
ABS-CBN reported that PNP Maj. Joann Navarro said investigators had yet to definitively establish the motive for the shooting and that the circumstances surrounding the incident would be further examined during the court proceedings.
That distinction is important: Alonto's arrest and the existence of the warrants are established facts, but the allegations against him have yet to be resolved by a court.
What happens next?
Alonto is now under police custody and will face the legal proceedings arising from the two warrants.
The case is being watched closely because the accused is not an ordinary private citizen but a sitting municipal vice mayor who had been listed among Northern Mindanao's most wanted individuals.
The PNP has emphasized that the arrest demonstrates its intention to enforce warrants regardless of a person's government position.
For now, the central question shifts from where the wanted vice mayor was hiding to what the evidence presented in court will ultimately establish about the February shooting.
Alonto's office was being contacted for comment in the initial reports, but no response from him or his representatives had been included in the reports reviewed for this article.
The arrest is not a conviction. The murder and frustrated murder allegations remain matters for the courts to determine.
WWC ONE MEDIA M.J.E