Leaders of the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats on Tuesday denounced the killing of Al Barka, Basilan Mayor Darussalam Saguindilan Lajid in Zamboanga City on Monday morning.
Lakas-CMD president and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez urged authorities to identify and arrest those behind the ambush.
“We call on our law enforcement agencies to exhaust all means possible to identify those responsible for the gun attack and to put them all behind bars,” Romualdez said.
“We also mourn the death of Mayor Sali’s security aide, Farrad Nurrudin, who was with the Basilan mayors when unidentified gunmen attacked them after disembarking from a sea vessel in Zamboanga City early Monday morning,” he added.
According to Romualdez, the two mayors took their oath as Lakas-CMD members last September 11.
In a separate statement, Lakas-CMD chairperson and Davao City Rep. Sara Duterte also condemned the Zamboanga City shooting.
Duterte also expressed her sympathies to the mayor’s bereaved family. “His untimely demise is truly tragic and heartbreaking. This cowardly act deserves our collective outrage and condemnation,” Duterte said in a statement. Lajid is a member of the Lakas-CMD and a personal friend of Duterte.
The BBM-Sara UniTeam of Presidential aspirant Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. condemned the ambush.
Asked for comment during his visit to Lanang in Davao City, Marcos Jr. commented that it is time to end politically-motivated violence in the country. He encouraged everyone to join the UniTeam’s call for unity amid personal and political differences.
Marcos hopes that this incident will not happen again and that all parties should instead always focus on finding a better solution to avoid violence.
“I hope that this is the last time that we hear this kind of news and I enjoin everyone to not bring these political differences that we might have into violence. We should always be able to find a better way,” Marcos said.
The BBM-Sara UniTeam extended its deepest sympathies to the families of Mayor Darussalam and his aide, also offered prayers for the speedy recovery of Mayor Sali.
The BBM-Sara UniTeam also called for the immediate arrest of the perpetrators and the masterminds behind the attack.
“May the perpetrators behind this appalling attack be immediately brought to justice,” the BBM-Sara UniTeam said.