Bounty for Baguio imam’s killer
BAGUIO CITY – The Muslim community here raised a R1-million bounty for the identity and arrest of those responsible for the murder of Abejedim Abdullah, an imam who was shot dead last December 6.
Islamic leaders in this city also allayed fears of reprisal or violent acts following the murder of Abdullah and committed to maintain peace and guard against activities that pose threat to the city’s security.
Mayor Mauricio Domogan, in a meeting with National Commission on Muslim Filipinos-Northern Luzon headed by legal officer Yaser Guru, along with the heads of other Muslim associations in the city assured that they will close their ranks against any activity that would disrupt the peaceful and harmonious relationships of people from different religious groups amid the death of Abdullah.
Abdullah, a known propagator of Islamic teachings here and abroad, was shot and killed in broad daylight along Kayang Street by a lone gunman.
The Baguio City Police Office, which formed a task force for the Abdullah case is still facing a blank wall on the identity of the suspect and the motive of the attack.
“For many years we have been supportive of the city government’s policies and programs and order and you still have our unwavering support in the pursuit of peace,” Guru told Domogan,
“Rest assured that we will protect Baguio because being residents of this city, we love Baguio and we will not allow any destruction to come upon it as well as the harmony and camaraderie that we enjoy with our fellow residents.”
He expressed their readiness to report any suspicious persons and activities that pose threats to the city’s security and cooperate with the police authorities for any lead that will help solve the killing of Abdullah.
Domogan sought the meeting to seek the Muslim community’s help in quelling any restiveness that may have been building up as a result of the killing even as he assured that the city government and the BCPO are exerting their best efforts to get to the bottom and eventually close the Abdullah case.
BCPO Director Eliseo Tanding released photos of the suspect which they recovered from closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed near the crime scene.