DAVAO CITY — About a thousand innocent civilians who evacuated from four villages of Mamasapano town in Maguindanao del Sur are asking the Bangsamoro government to facilitate dialogue and end the hostilities.
“Ang panawagan naming dito na kailangan talaga yong commitment nilana mag sit down ba, ang mga taong ito, kasi mga tao nila ito eh, once and for call kasi malaking abirya ginagawa nila ngayon (Our call here is that we really need the commitment of these people to sit down, because these are their people, once and for call because they are doing a big trouble now), Rogelio Gornez, the executive assistant, Mamasapano Municipal Government said,
After all, Gornez said the warring factions are all members of the MILF.
The skirmishes started on April 2 when a policeman who is a relative of the village chief of Barangay Pimbalakan whose clan is with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) survived an ambush try prompting retaliation towards another clan who also belong to a family of MILF members.
Relatives of the policeman against another clan caused the displacement of residents from the villages of Pimbalkan, and Tukanalipao and now reached nearby barangays Daladap and Dastil.
Displaced residents are congested in evacuation centers, two public schools have been occupied while others opted to stay with their relatives to seek refuge.
Police Lieutenant Christian ViIllones, commander of Mamasapano Police identified the leaders of the warning groups as Zainudin Kiaro and the other by a certain Commander Badruddin, who are both identified with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
“Rido and land dispute,” Villones said, caused the sporadic encounters.
The police, Villones said, filed a case against the ambushers of the policeman and reported the incident to the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation Hostilities (CCCH) and MILF leadership.
The local government of Mamasapano continuously provides food and other relief assistance to the residents and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office spearheads the distribution.
Reports have it that the two groups are squabbling for control of territories and are locked in a deep-seated animosity sparked by differences in choices of candidates during the October 30, 2024 synchronized barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
The Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division had separately expressed support for the efforts of MILF leaders and Mamasapano LGU officials to broker a truce to stave off more hostilities in Barangays Pimbalkan and Tukanalipao.
