BUTUAN CITY – The Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) party-list, in strongest terms, condemned the gruesome murder of at least 46 civilians including several working journalists in the vicinity of Masalay, Maguindanao, on Monday morning.

“The massacre in Maguindanao shows the violence and utter disregard for human life prevailing in that province,” said ANAD Rep. Jun Alcover in a press statement as he expressed concern that the highly volatile situation could easily escalate thus adversely affecting the lives of its people.

“Despicable and grossly condemnable is the loss of life of several media personalities whose only purpose being with victims’ group was to ensure media coverage,” said Alcover.

“A no-nonsense, fair, and impartial investigation on the incident must be conducted to ferret out the truth and punish those responsible for this dastardly and despicable crime against humanity,” added Alcover.

Meanwhile, ANAD calls on the government and its security forces to step-up their security preparedness and measures to ensure peaceful and credible elections in 2010.

“What happened in Maguindanao may be a tip of the iceberg, in terms of election-related violence, leading to the 2010 elections,” said Alcover.

Alcover made this statement in the wake of reports on the proliferation of high powered firearms and armed groups in Mindanao and other parts of the country.

“It is high time for government to make serious moves to dismantle armed groups, and seize their firearms,” said Alcover as he pointed to the unstable and eerie peace and order condition in Mindanao brought about by several factions and groups of heavily armed  political personalities. (Mike U. Crismundo)