Teacher's Murder Shocks Academic Community, Sparks Safety Concerns

Welcome Back, COTABATO CITY (MindaNews/4 July 2026)— The Notre Dame University (NDU) community is in mourning following the brutal slaying of one of its faculty members, identified as Evangeline Pantorilla Abdullah, who was shot Thursday evening, 2 July 2026 Abdullah, who teaches part-time at the university’s College of Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School, was also a dedicated teacher at the Cotabato City National High School. According to Police Captain Steffi Salanguit, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR), the incident occurred at approximately 7:40 p.m. on Thursday at Sitio Curbada, Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte. “Ms. Abdullah was standing near the national highway when an unidentified suspect approached and opened fire on her,” Salanguit said. The perpetrator immediately fled the scene in an unknown direction. Responding officers arrived shortly after, but despite efforts to provide first aid, the victim succumbed to the attack. Local police have launched an investigation to determine the motive behind the killing and to identify the perpetrator. In an official statement, Notre Dame University (NDU) expressed its strongest condemnation of the act, describing it as a “heinous and brutal” assault that has left the academic community in shock. “The killing of a teacher is an attack on the very soul of our society,” the university-issued statement said. NDU emphasized that violence has no place in a civil society, noting that targeting an educator is a direct assault on the dignity of institutions tasked with shaping future generations. The university has issued a fervent appeal to local and national authorities to conduct a swift, thorough, and transparent investigation to bring those responsible to justice. Beyond seeking justice for Abdullah, the university underscored the broader, alarming pattern of violence affecting educational institutions in the region. “May Ma’am Evangeline not become another name in the list of unresolved killings,” the statement said. NDU officials said the killing underscores the culture of impunity that continues to cast a shadow of fear over centers of learning. The university warned that until the safety and security of teachers and students are guaranteed, the pursuit of quality education in the Bangsamoro region will remain severely compromised. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera/MindaNews) MindaNews is the news service arm of the Mindanao Institute of Journalism. It is composed of independent, professional journalists who believe and practice people empowerment through media. PAGES Top StoriesNewsBusinessMindaViewsArts & CulturePhoto of the DayPeace ProcessFact CheckMedia ImpactBooks LOCATION