Gov condemns killing of 2 DPWH-ARMM workers

COTABATO CITY: Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman has condemned the killing of two field workers of the Department of Public Works and Highways in ARMM (DPWHARMM) while they were building infrastructure projects in the province of Basilan.

An Abu Sayyaf gunman stood in the middle of the Basilan Circumferential Road and shot a DPWH-ARMM dump truck and a transit mixer with an M203 gre of both heavy equipment vehicles last week.

Two more DPWH ARMM personnel who were with the slain drivers are in the intensive care

“Even as we mourn these deaths, we condemn the attack on them and the assaults on the personnel of the ARMM who have been working to ensure that government services are delivered well so that lasting peace may become a reality here,” Hataman said.

“The perpetrators of these acts of violence hampered our efforts for the development of the region,” he added.

The Abu Sayyaf persists in at- tacking the ARMM government’s ongoing construction of arterial road networks in Basilan.

It has been doing this since 2012 because these roads enable law enforcement and military personnel and their vehicles easier access to Abu Sayyaf lairs on the island.

“These roads that the DPWHARMM are building are vital to connecting the communities in our region and facilitating growth and development that will offer our people better opportunities for prosperity and peace,” the ARMM regional governor said.

Don Mustapha Loong, DPWHARMM regional secretary, said their district engineer has been attacked twice with hand grenades, and the DPWH-ARMM itself has been subjected to numerous threats, including extortion.

- mination to continue building the infrastructure our people need. Yes, we grieve, but these attacks will not deter the ARMM regional government from continuing its efforts to provide the infrastructure and vital services our people need,” Hataman said.