Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Monday said he believed the roadside bomb that went off
in Basilan and killed a soldier was meant for regional and local officials
trying to reconcile Yakan warring families.
"I believed anyone could be a victim," Hataman
said of the blast in Tipo-Tipo town in Basilan Sunday. "That could be for
anybody, not only me."
The blast occurred hours before a convoy of vehicles
carrying public officials was to pass heading toward Sumisip town.
"Whoever was the target, the perpetrator should be
stopped in this senseless activities," Hataman said of the bombing which
the military and police authorities blamed on the extremist Abu Sayaff Group.
Gov. Hataman was with his older brother, Basilan Rep. Jim
Hataman, Army brigade commander Colonel Rolando Bautista and other local and
military officials.
A soldier was checking on an improvised bomb fashioned from
81 mm mortar planted under a tree in portions of the Lagayas-Cabangalan section
of the Basilan circumferential road in Tipo-Tipo town.
Bautista identified the slain soldier as Army Corporal
Hadjulla Manda who was part of the road security deployed by the military along
Basilan's circumferential road.
Last month, a similar IED also went off along the stretch of
the island's circumferential road as Hataman's convoy passed by minutes
earlier. Hataman and ARMM officials were to inspect government projects in the
area.
Despite the incident, Hataman insisted on proceeding to
Sumisip where a peace agreement signing involving Yakan warring families was
held.
Hataman and military officials witnessed the peace covenant
signing of families locked in armed conflict for decades.
He identified the Yakan families who agreed to a peaceful
settlement as Palinta and Tukul families, the Abdulmuin and Aspali families,
and the Sapaat and Aliman families in Barangays Guiong, Manaul and Kabengbeng
in Sumisip town.
Hataman personally knew the warring families and he was glad
he and his brother, along with the military, succeeded in bring the warring
families to the negotiating table.
Hataman also lauded the role of ARMM’s Regional
Reconciliation and Unification Commission and the Muslim Religious Leaders.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=789035
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