Yt Framework

Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) headed by OIC Governor Mujiv Hataman have expressed grief on the death of innocent civilians and security forces who were caught in the skirmishes that occurred in Mindanao State University Marawi (MSU) Campus and in the succeeding incident in downtown Marawi.

Quoting a verse in the Holy Qur'an: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji' un (Who, when a misfortune overtakes them, say: 'Surely we belong to God and to Him shall we return), the officials said in their joint statement said no stone will be left unturned in seeking justice for the victims of  the unfortunate circumstance.

"We will see to it that there will be no white wash on any case that will be filed on the matter," their statement said.

The statement also said while the regional government supports law enforcement agencies' action aimed at curbing drug syndicate activities or other illegal acts, they do not condone any human rights violations.

They called for an independent probe from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in ARMM and Philippine Nattional Police (PNP) on the recent skirmishes.

Meanwhile, the Security and Social Service Cluster of the ARMM convened on Wednesday, August 15, 2012, to address all concerns on the peace and order situation in ARMM, to include the Marawi City incident.

Task Force Kalilintad was created to forge a peaceful resolution. While recognizing the fact that this Task Force is not an end-all-be-all solution to the problems we face, we hope to at least put safety-nets for the community, according to the ARMM leaders' statement.

"We would like to stress that the Regional Government will exert every effort to ensure MSU and Marawi’s safety and security. We recognize that these things are not supposed to happen inside the four corners of an academic institution which has been the bastion of academic freedom and cultural integration."

Meanhwile, they appealed to all of their constituents at MSU and Marawi City to maintain their sobriety while exercising vigilance. "Let us not put matters in our own hands. Let us allow due process to take its course. We assure you that we are doing everything as expediently as possible."

By Hader Glang