Deputy Speaker and Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speaker Mujiv Hataman is calling for a full-scale and impartial investigation on the killing of a Basilan mayor and his bodyguard on Monday morning.
Hataman, who also represents the lone district of Basilan, has strongly condemned the slaying of Al Barka town mayor Darussalam Saguindilan Lajid and a bodyguard – both shot dead by four still unidentified gunmen in Barangay Baliwasan, Zamboanga City at 8:31 a.m., Monday.
The incident also left Akbar town mayor Alih Awal Sali in critical condition.
“Hindi man kami magkasama sa partido, pare-pareho kaming mga Basileño nila Mayor Lajid at Mayor Sali na naghahangad ng mabuti para sa aming lalawigan at mga kababayan,” Hataman said in a statement.
(We may not be under the same party, but we are all Basileños who want to improve our province and improve the lives of our constituents.)
“We hope that a thorough and independent investigation be conducted into this incident, and we hope for the speedy recovery of those who were wounded in the shooting. And we pray that justice will be served on those who are guilty in the crime,” he added.
Hataman said that such crime “has no place in a society that is deeply anchored on peace and a shared faith.”
“I condemn the people behind the shooting, and I call on the authorities to thoroughly investigate the murder of a public official and the wounding of another,” Hataman said.
The two mayors were walking towards a mosque along the Baliwasan seaside when four unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen attacked them, using caliber .45 pistols.
READ: Basilan mayor, bodyguard slain, another mayor critical in Zamboanga City gun attack