COTABATO CITY— The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has condemned the attack by members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) against military outposts in the municipal center of Datu Piang town, Maguindanao province on Thursday night.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM spokesperson, said the attack has “caused damage to properties and generated fears among the civilian population in the town”.
The BIFF men burned an Army detachment and a police patrol car in Datu Piang. Maguindanao Governor Miriam Sangki-Mangudadatu said the situation in Datu Piang calmed down as additional police and Army troops were deployed in the area.
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“Beyond the material damage it (the attack) has caused, it also (has) painted an unnecessary portrait of the region as still the bastion of conflict at a time when we are slowly inching forward towards peace and development, as shown by the economic performance of the region where it registered a 5.9 percent GRDP (Gross Regional Domestic Product), becoming the second to the Davao region in terms of growth,” said Sinarimbo, who is also the BARMM’s Interior and Local Government Minister.-Taher G. Solaiman