“RSRM Admission Highly Improbable, might be used for another crackdown against Muslims” – Anak Mindanao

Anak Mindanao strongly condemns the explosion at the Glorietta 2 last Friday, Oct.19, causing the death of 11 innocent individuals and the wounding of almost a hundred more.

“As the authorities remain clueless of the identity of the perpetrators and the motive behind the incident, AMIN joins the nation in reproaching this as a terrorist act,” read a statement released from the Office of Rep. Mujiv S. Hataman, Anak Mindanao Party List Representative. 

 Amidst initial reports that a main component of C4 explosives was used in the said bombing, and the suspicious alleged admission of a certain Sheikh Omar of the Raja Solaiman Revolutionary Movement through a text message, AMIN calls for an immediate, thorough investigation, an investigation that will accordingly cover each and every group or individual that may have the motive and will benefit from the said act of terror.

“We fear that in the haste to solve the case, it will just be attributed to extremist Islamic groups, resulting to indiscriminate arrest of civilians, and justify another crackdown, the target of which are mostly Mindanaoans, particularly Muslims,” the statement further read.

Anak Mindanao also echoes the skepticism of other members of society on the authenticity of the said RSRM admission. Aside from the inconsistencies of the said text message with previous messages of such groups, and the established conflict between said Sheikh Omar and Ahmed Santos, the release of whom is accordingly the demand behind the “bombing,” AMIN further raised the observation that such admission was made only after the Abu Sayyaf group, through a certain Commander Not in an interview over DZMM, denied that the ASG was behind the incident.

“It appears that in the actual denial of the usual scapegoat Abu Sayyaf, a culprit suddenly rose to the occasion. All these questions therefore must render the RSRM’s alleged admission highly improbable and must not cause the closing of the investigation,” said Hataman.  

 In reaction to the reported offer of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to help the government gather information on the incident, Hataman commended the MILF, saying it was highly laudable considering the averred successive offensives against the MILF’s territories in Sulu and Basilan, and the impasse in the GRP-MILF Peace talks.

Hataman noted that “It is a much welcomed move and a manifestation of sincere quest for peace, that hopefully the government will recognize and value.”