Memorial to massacre victims vandalized, robbed

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu. AP FILE PHOTO

BULUAN, Maguindanao—Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu on Wednesday said the memorial site where 58 people were massacred in 2009 had been burglarized.

As a result, Mangudadatu urged authorities to fortify security around Barangay (village) Salman after three solar-powered panels in the area worth P83,000 each were stolen.

Mangudadatu told reporters he visited the site on Oct. 6 after filing his certificate of candidacy in Cotabato City and discovered that the panels were gone.

“It seems that thieves roaming the area had been slowly cannibalizing government properties there despite the presence of Army and police troops near the site,” he said. “It was a form of disrespect to the massacre victims and their loved ones.”

The panels were procured by the provincial government last year from Guangzhou, China, and were set up along the 3.6-kilometer road leading to the site. Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao