The situation in Tipo-Tipo has returned to normal after gunmen attacked the town center on Tuesday, with evacuees returning to their homes and traders reopening their businesses, Basilan Gov. Mujiv Hataman said yesterday.
Security was tightened around the province as Philippine National Police personnel intensified peacekeeping and investigative operations, acting PNP chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. said.
Although the Moro Islamic Liberation Front was earlier tagged in the attack, the MILF denied any involvement, saying its members who participated acted on their own and were not sanctioned by the organization.
‘If there were members (who participated), they were on their own, perhaps because they were relatives,’ said Hadji Dan Asnawi, commander of the 114th Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces-MILF unit.
Tipo-Tipo Mayor Tong Istarul said the attack was not a rido (retaliatory clan conflict) as the gunmen had targeted the town hall.
‘If the attackers were just lawless elements, they could not have reached as many as 200 people with high-powered firearms,’ Istarul said.
Hataman said the tension and firefight subsided as the gunmen withdrew after accepting the assurances of the provincial government and police to render justice in the killing of Ustadz Nadzmi Tarahin, a barangay councilor and religious leader who was shot dead at a bus terminal in Lamitan City on Oct. 21.
‘The PNP remains steadfast in pursuing justice for the slain barangay official while ensuring that peace is sustained through continuous dialogue and law enforcement cooperation,’ Nartatez said in a statement.
According to reports, the gunmen who were from Barangay Baguindan attacked the town center in an attempt to seize a member of the municipal security team they believe to be responsible in the killing of Tarahin.
The attack forced 7,000 civilians to evacuate to safer ground to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Hataman assured the public that the situation had returned to normal, while stressing that ‘the situation remains sensitive and should be handled carefully.’
He urged the families and supporters of Tarahin to wait for the result of the investigation and to file a case ‘against the real suspect.’
Abdulrauf Macacua, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao chief minister, said the attacking groups have repositioned away from the town center.
Macacua also heads the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development delivered on Tuesday 2,500 family food packs in Tipo-Tipo to help ease the plight of families affected by the gunfight, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said yesterday.
‘The 2,500 family food packs arrived in Isabela City last Tuesday as initial assistance to the families evacuated because of the tension in Tipo-Tipo. Our coordination with the local government for additional support and intervention continues,’ Gatchalian said in his Facebook post yesterday.