COTABATO City ― Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod ‘Al Haj Murad’ Ebrahim has directed Public Order and Safety Minister Hussein Muñoz to form and lead an investigating body on the killing of nine Moros in Kabacan, North Cotabato.
During the Bangsamoro Government’s 41st cabinet meeting, Ebrahim said that the tragic incident needs to be thoroughly investigated. Since the brutal incident happened outside of the Bangsamoro’s territory, Ebrahim said that the investigating body shall properly coordinate its actions with the provincial government of North Cotabato and the municipal government of Kabacan.
He also likewise called on the Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission (BHRC) to conduct its own investigation.
Aside from the formation of an investigating body, Ebrahim also said that the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) is set to discuss, on September 9, the brutal killing and the recent bombings in Jolo, Sulu.
Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Abdulraof Macacua said that with the provision of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, specifically on Section 12 of Article VI, “other agencies can also be involved because it is about the protection of the Bangsamoro living outside of the Bangsamoro territory.”
Sect. 12 of Article VI states that “the National Government shall ensure the protection of the rights of the Bangsamoro people residing in communities outside the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.”
Ebrahim said, “We can write to other National Government agencies like the National Bureau of Investigation and Department of Defense but we will not wait for their actions. Our investigation has to be immediate.”
Interior and Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo and Social Services and Development Minister Raissa Jajurie said that cash and relief assistance will be provided for the victims’ families. Both ministers will also visit the victims’ families upon the direction of the Chief Minister.
On August 29, nine individuals were gruesomely shot in broad daylight in the town of Kabacan, North Cotabato. Eight of them died instantly while Nasher Guiman, a minor, died in the hospital. The Commission on Human Rights of Region 12 has since tagged the case as an “extrajudicial killing.” (BPI-Barmm with reports from Teng Datu)
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