ARMM pursues suspects in Lanao del Sur rape, killings

Map shows the remote town of Wao in Lanao del Sur, which has seen a spate of bloody incidents in recent weeks. Google Maps

MANILA, Philippines — The inter-agency peace and order council in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) ordered the immediate prosecution of the culprits in last week's seven related killings in Wao, Lanao del Sur.

Among the seven fatalities in the atrocities, which sparked panic among local folks, were children and a pregnant woman.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, presiding chair of the council, said he has directed the regional police office to dispatch a special group of probers in Wao to help investigate on the incident to hasten the filing of corresponding criminal cases against the perpetrators.

"The full force of law will be applied on them.  That's a promise," Hataman said in a text message, adding that he had also tasked his local government secretary, lawyer Anwar Malang, to help in the investigation.

He said he also requested the General Headquarters of the Armed Forces to look into allegations that militiamen were involved in some of the killings.

Officials have been trying since Sunday to peacefully resolve the spate of bloody incidents in Wao, which shook the remote town and prompted some residents to flee to safer areas.

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Report that reached Hataman's office indicate that the bloody incidents started with the rape and murder of a teenage girl by cattle thieves on Friday.

"That is something that we need to investigate on first and validate. We need the cooperation of the people in Wao, regardless of whether they are Maranaws or Visayans," Hataman said.

ARMM officials said Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. already held an initial dialogue with sectoral leaders in Wao to defuse the tension spawned by the incident.

The suspects in Friday's alleged rape and murder of a Visayan girl also killed another child who was watching over family-owned water buffaloes in a hacking frenzy near a river in a hinterland barangay in Wao, a component town of ARMM.

Relatives of the victims on Saturday reportedly shot houses with assault rifles in another barangay, where the suspects were believed to have come from, instantly killing four villagers, one of them a pregnant woman.

The ARMM police reported that one of the eight villagers wounded in the attack died later in a hospital.

Wao Mayor Elvino Balicao, presiding chair of the Wao municipal peace and order council, said the local police is now investigating on the incident with the help of barangay leaders.

The mayor said the gruesome incidents forced dozens of families in the affected barangays to evacuate to safer areas.

The ARMM's Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Response Team (HEART) dispatched on Tuesday a team to attend to the needs of the displaced Wao residents.

"The HEART will provide them relief and rehabilitation services in coordination with the office of (Lanao del Sur) Gov. Adiong," Hataman said.

Source: philstar.com - Nation