House Deputy Speaker and lone Basilan district Rep. Mujiv Hataman. Photo from the congressman’s office
MANILA, Philippines — Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman denounced the gun attack on Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. on Saturday, calling it a “brazen act of violence.”
Adiong and two of his aides were hurt while four of his police escorts were killed in an ambush on Friday, February 17, near the boundary of Lanao del Sur and Bukidnon.
“Nakikiramay ako sa mga kaanak ng mga biktima ng pagpatay, at hangad natin ang mabilis na recovery ni Gov. Adiong at ng kanyang kasama,” Hataman said in a statement Saturday.
(I sympathize with the victims’ relatives and hope for the speedy recovery of Gov. Adiong and his companion.)
“This attack was a brazen act of violence, perpetrated against no less than the highest local executive official of the province of Lanao del Sur and his companions,” he added.
READ: Lanao del Sur gov Mamintal Adiong hurt in slay attempt; 4 aides dead
Similarly, Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Commissioner Faydah Dumarpa has condemned the incident and expressed hope the perpetrators will be brought to justice.
“I condemn the ambush in Maguing, Lanao del Sur yesterday […] Violence such as this does not achieve anything except to undermine our nation’s quest for sustainable peace and stability, especially in Mindanao,” Dumarpa said in a separate statement also issued Saturday.
‘Punish them’
The seemingly growing number of violence in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) this year is concerning, according to Hataman.
He cited the killings in Pikit, Cotabato, and the ambush of a marine sergeant and Philippine National Police officer in Lanao del Sur, among others.
READ: Police sergeant killed in another ambush in Lanao del Sur
“I call on the law enforcement agencies to identify and arrest the perpetrators of these incidents. The perpetrators must be brought to justice in these cases, lest we give them an impression that the law cannot punish them,” the lawmaker said.