Bodies of crewmen of three fishing boats attacked by gunmen of Basilan province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 29, 2012) – Police recovered Sunday a headless body of a man and an abandoned fishing boat near the island town of Banguingi in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, officials said Sunday.
Officials said the body is already in the state of decomposition when it was recovered by islanders floating near the village of Tabialan
“We are still unsure whether the victim was crew of the fishing vessel also recovered near the area. There is an investigation going on to determine whether these are all connected and who was behind the killing,” Senior Superintendent Antonio Freyra, the provincial police chief.
He said the boat, locally known as “Palakaya,” has a marking “Tandu Buay” and was found by local fishermen late Saturday afternoon.
“Police in the island was only notified by fishermen on Sunday about the boat and the decapitated body. The fishing vessel has a bullet hole in the front and had no crewmen. We don’t what happened to them and who owned the boat,” Freyra said.
It was unknown whether the boat was attacked by pirates or part of three fishing boats strafed by gunmen off Basilan province on January 23. Police and military said 15 of the 18 crewmen had been killed in the attack near Sibago Island
Only four bodies had been recovered by authorities off Sibago Island
The attack was allegedly carried out by local fishermen, who earlier warned the crew of the fishing boats to stay away from their ground, according to Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.
He said the victims were mostly from Zamboanga del Sur province where they are based, but sailed to the troubled province Basilan on three boats – Palakaya 1, 2 and 3 – to catch fish.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attacks. (With a report from Ely Dumaboc)
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