Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has vowed to continue the implementation of infrastructure projects amid attacks by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) against workers undertaking the program.
Hataman issued the statement after the members of the ASG killed two workers and injured two others in an ambush last week at Barangay Baas, Lamitan City in the province of Basilan.
The victims were employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways in ARMM (DPWH-ARMM) which is undertaking road construction projects in the province.
“We remain firm in our determination to continue building the infrastructure our people need. Yes, we grieve, but these attacks will not deter the ARMM regional government from continuing efforts to provide the infrastructure and vital services our people need,” Hataman said in an interview here.
He noted that the Abu Sayyaf bandits persisted in attacking since 2012 the ARMM government’s ongoing construction of transcentral roads in Basilan.
He said the bandits are against the projects “because these roads provide the law enforcement and military personnel and their vehicles easier access to the Abu Sayyaf lairs on the island.”
He said the transcentral roads they are building are vital to connecting communities in the region and facilitating growth and development that will offer the people better opportunities for prosperity and peace.
“The DPWH-ARMM builds roads so that development can reach the most isolated and poorest communities--even if our district engineer has been attacked twice with hand grenades, even as the department has been subjected to numerous threats, and attempts at extortion,” he added.
An improvised bomb exploded on Thursday, February 1, at the residence of Engineer Soler Undug while another explosive was safely detonated after it was recovered at the residence of Engineer Bong Lasatan in Isabela City, Basilan.
Undug is the Basilan provincial engineer of the DPWH-ARMM while Lasatan is the assistant engineer of the provincial engineering office.
“Even as we mourn the deaths of the two workers, we condemn the attack on them and the assaults on the personnel of the ARMM who have been working to ensure that government services are delivered well so a lasting peace may become a reality here (in Basilan),” Hataman said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1024065
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