by Rene V. Carbayas
ISABELA CITY, Basilan, July 18 (PIA) – Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao OIC Governor Mujiv Hataman gave cash assistance to
the victims of July 11 Tumajubong ambush in Basilan.
Regional Governor Hataman, together with
Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad and 104th Brigade Commander Col. Arthur
Ang visited the wounded victims at the Infante Hospital and the cadaver of the
five of the six victims at the Basilan Memorial Chapel in Isabela City.
Hataman handed envelopes containing some
P20,000.00 to each of the wounded victims and some P50,000.00 to the families
of those who died in the incident to help defray the cost for medical treatment
and funeral services, respectively.
Reports said that at least six people have
died, five of them are cooperative workers, and some 20 were wounded, mostly
rubber plantation workers in the ambush on Wednesday morning in Tumajubong,
Sumisip in Basilan.
Most of the victims were said to have become
victims too of the similar ambushes last October 2011 and April 2012 that also
claimed lives and wounded others.
In a report, Hataman assured justice for the
victims. He also directed the Department of Agrarian Reform-ARMM to investigate
and look into the case of the Tumajubong Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries
Integrated Cooperative (TARBIDC), which has been the target of harassment by
lawless elements in the area.
Basilan Army Chief Col. Ang said that the military’s
pursuit operation against the perpetrators is going on in the area, which is
also part of the tightened security being conducted in the province in
connection with the ongoing ARMM Voters registration. (RVC/PIA9-ZBST)