THE feuding families of the slain Basilan Board Member Nasser Asarul and the suspect, Basid Kari Karim, have peacefully settled their dispute in the presence of government and military officials.
This, as Basilan Governor Hadjiman Hataman-Salliman, and Brigadier General Alvin Luzon, 101st Infantry Brigade commander, together with the town officials of Sumisip have successfully brokered the rido settlement between the two feuding families.
The 101st Infantry Brigade said on Thursday, January 18, that the Asarul and Karim families formally signed the peace covenant on Wednesday, January 17, during the program held at the brigade headquarters in Tabiawan village, Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.
In the presence of Salliman, Luzon and Sumisip Mayor Jul-Adnan Hataman both families together with their respective followers pledged not to provoke each other anymore.
Karim shot Asarul dead in broad daylight in Basak village, Sumisip, on November 8, 2023.
During Wednesday’s settlement rites, Salliman exhorted both families to obey their peace covenant as they desired to reconcile their differences.
Luzon commended the Asarul-Karim reconciliation, bolstering the culture of peace and harmony on the island province of Basilan.
He said no less than Salliman has been promoting and advocating the culture of dialogue and reconciliation in Basilan.
Luzon also cited the local government units for their unwavering support to the peacekeeping efforts of the military, the police and other law enforcement agencies in Basilan.
He warned the Asarul-Karim families and their followers that they would never hesitate to enforce the full force of the law against any of them should they avenge each other again after the signing of the peace agreement.
Under Luzon’s leadership, the 101st Infantry Brigade has embarked on a series of settlements of long-standing feuds between families and their mortal enemies, thus ensuring a genuine and lasting peace in Basilan. (SunStar Zamboanga)