Provincial Board Member Dionisio Victor Balite (3rd district, Bohol) appeared assertive on his call for congressional probe on the Abu Sayyaf Group’s incursion to Bohol even as he raised other issues during the Sangguniang Panlalawigan regular session on Friday.

 He reiterated his call in his privilege speech. “For the second time, may it be put on record Mr. Chair that his representation has wanted that the Abu Sayyaf invasion in Inabanga and nearby areas be subjected to a fact-finding inquiry and investigation in aid-of-legislation in the House of Representatives and/or in the Senate of the Philippines.”

 But at the end of his call for ASG probe, he ironically said, “This is just a wish. So wished Mr. Chair.”

 He added, “I will not move or put them into motion, but rather just continue wishing the following points, to wit” including the Php18 million or kilos of ‘Shabu’ seized from a high value-target Teofilo Tampus alias “Tamjun” in barangay Nahawan,Clarin town and the situation of a certain Porferio Casenas, alias “Lolo Peryong”, who fought with Abu Ubayda, who was reportedly receive no assistance from the government “after he asked the same as he sustained bruises, cuts in his head and genitals being brutally battered by the bandits on May 15, 2017.”

 This came after the failure of provincial board’s (PB) peace and order committee meeting to thoroughly discuss Board Member (BM) Dionisio Victor Balite’s proposal calling for a probe for ASG’s incursion to Bohol.

 After that meeting, Balite said he was disappointed over the said failure as this concern was apparently put on the sidelines.

 Instead of focusing on the said agenda, the said committee chaired by BM Ricky Masamayor, delved more on “other matters” including the letter of a habal-habal driver (name withheld) recipient who only received an amount of Php450,000 bounty after the killing of Abu Joselito Melloria in bloody clash in Clarin, Bohol, he said.

 Masamayor in an interview with media recently said he will call for another meeting to hopefully tackle Balite’s concern on the ASG incursion probe.

 BM Balite said his concern was not fully tackled but later on was appeased following Masamayor’s promise to call for another round of the committee meeting.

 In his earlier privilege speech, BM Balite moved for (SP) to pass a Resolution urging Congress “to conduct an investigation in aid of legislation on the Abu Sayyaf invasion in the province of Bohol.”

 His proposal for the SP to pass such Resolution hinges on the committee recommendations or until after the persons concerned are invited and shed light on the real score over Abu Sayyaf’s incursion to Bohol.

 A relative (name withheld) of Islam convert an Inabanga native Joselito Melloria, who accompanied ten Abu Sayyaf members in Bohol revealed that Melloria’s group had been visiting barangay Napo. They (ASGs) have been seen sometime in September 2016, the relative said.

 This was corroborated by police authorities after the ASGs sighting on April 10, 2017, a day before the gunbattle the following day.

 Balite said he’s confused as to how come the Abu Sayyaf bandits were able to penetrate the province. “I have no capacity to conclude and clear the clouds of doubts that have been lingering in my mind as regards to the Abu Sayyaf invasion to our province. As I tried to make things clear, the more they became blurred.”

 He said that Bohol is a tourism not a terrorism destination for it’s known as the friendly province following the Sikatuna-Lagaspi peaceful bloody encounter and its peace-loving people “until that fateful Inabanga and Clarin Abu Sayyaf encounters unfolded.” (rvo)