Four MILF rebels killed in gun battle

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — Four rebels were killed and a soldier wounded in a six-hour shootout between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao last Thursday.

Wounded was Pfc. Ramon Escalaban of the Army’s 6th Infantry Battalion. He is now recuperating at the 6th ID’s dispensary here.

Capt. Antonio Arriba, 6th ID acting civil-military relations chief, said the firefight started after troops on patrol caught the rebels in the act of collecting so-called "revolutionary taxes" from farmers in the community.

Rebels deployed in Barangay Tatapan opened fire as the troops approached their position to verify reports that armed men were roaming the area, he added.

Arriba said residents of Barangay Tatapan have long been complaining of MILF rebels encroaching in what is supposed to be a "demilitarized zone."

Officials of Shariff Aguak identified two of the slain rebels as Salik and Putaw.

For the past two weeks, MILF rebels have been displaying their firepower in the towns of Shariff Aguak, Datu Piang and Talayan, according to sources in the Maguindanao Peace and Order Council.

A spokesman said the Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade cannot allow the rebels to roam with their firearms in the demilitarized farming communities.

The military had to push back the rebels because they were already on their way to a nearby national highway which traverses the farming communities, he added.

However, Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, said their fighters had to defend themselves against the military which had used excessive force to drive them away.