Burial of the 4 slain ASG bandits at Clarin Public Cemetery in Clarin town, Bohol. / Junjie Mendoza
IN keeping with Islamic laws on the burial of the dead within 24 hours, the four slain Abu Sayyaf members, including Inabanga native Joselito Melloria were buried at a public cemetery in Clarin, Bohol at past 3 p.m. yesterday.
Only Melloria’s body was claimed by his relatives from Barangay Napo, Inabanga. The three others remained unidentified.
The three bodies were individually wrapped with white cloth while Melloria was placed inside a white coffin.
Melloria’s family, including his mother, Maria Norma, attended the burial.
The distraught mother arrived at the morgue just 30 minutes before the burial, and cried bitterly upon seeing the body of her son.
She said Melloria was a “buotan nga anak (a good son).”
With the death of the four ASG members, government troopers are still hunting down three more, who were believed to be holed out in the mountains of Clarin.
“Based on our intelligence report, there are only three left,” said Capt. Jojo Mascariñas, 302nd Brigade spokesperson.
Of the three, he said, only one was armed, making it easier for the government troops to get them.
“With Joselito (Melloria) dead, there is no one left for them to serve as a guide. They are not familiar with the place,” he added.