THE Zamboanga City Government has pledged to provide financial aid to families and survivors of the victims of a gun attack Monday, January 9, that killed 8 fishermen in an island off the city.
Zamboanga City Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar went to the fishing port in the village of Sangali where the bodies of the slain fishermen were unloaded for transfer to the morgue for embalming procedures.
“The families will be assisted by the local government,” Salazar said.
The City Social Welfare and Development Office under Socorro Rojas provided the necessary assistance.
Personnel from the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office with medic responders initiated retrieval procedures for the eight victims.
The mayor condemned the incident and tasked concerned authorities to further strengthen sea patrols and other security measures to run after the perpetrators and to prevent similar incidents in the future.
rWestern Mindanao Command spokesman Filemon Tan Jr. said the incident occurred around 8 p.m. Monday in the vicinity of Siromon Island in the village of Dita, Zamboanga City.
Tan said the identities of the fatalities were not immediately known except that they were all crewmen of F/B NR owned by certain Mumar of Sangali village, this city.
Investigation showed the fishing boat was returning to Sangali coming from Sibuctuc Island in the village of Limaong, when five gunmen aboard on two motorboats, locally known as “jungkung,” accosted them.
The gunmen divested the fishing boat crewmen of cash and valuables and opened fire killing instantaneously eight of the 15 crew.
The remaining seven crewmen survived as they managed to jump overboard and swam to Siromon Island.
However, it has been noted that the hands of the slain fishing boat crewmen were hogtied when retrieved based on the footage shown on a local television station.
Salazar said the slain crewmen were hogtied and killed by the gunmen.
Tan said the motives of the incident could be rivalry between two fishing groups and extortion.