MILF rebels torch 130 civilians’ houses in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY —Suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels torched 130 houses of civilian residents and toppled a steel transmission tower of the National Power Corp. (Napocor) in separate attacks in Maguindanao yesterday.

Officials said the rebels succeeded in dousing with kerosene several houses in neighboring Barangays Andavit and Te in Datu Piang town following an hour-long gunbattle with responding government troops in the area.

The skirmish came after MILF rebels burned 30 houses in Barangay Salvo of the same town in a failed attempt to take over two roadside Army detachments, said Maj. Gen. Generoso Senga, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Senga said soldiers of the 37th Battalion were verifying the reported presence of armed men extorting from the villagers in the two barangays when the firefight erupted.

Senga said the fleeing rebels turned their attention to the houses which they set afire to evade pursuing government troops.

The rebels succeeded Sunday night in toppling the 138-kilovolt steel tower of the Napocor in Sitio Bentad, Barangay Kayaga, plunging the whole town of Buluan and neighboring communities in darkness, Senga said.

Military reports said the rebels, led by a Commander Amino Nando, attached homemade bombs to the steel pylon.

Three civilians were also wounded after being ambushed by MILF rebels in a separate attack in Pikit, North Cotabato.

Col. Cardozo Luna, commander of the Army’s 602nd Brigade, identified the wounded as Raffy Sugucao, 38; Abdul Kamar, and Abing Tuguias, both 16 years old.

Luna said the three were on their way home from a night prayer in a nearby village when the rebels opened fire from different directions before fleeing.

Unperturbed by the attacks, President Arroyo proceeded to Pikit, North Cotabato to accompany some 45,000 evacuees back to their homes.

Mrs. Arroyo symbolically walked with the evacuees from the 15 barangays of the town, who had been displaced by the military offensive against the MILF.

The military launched a massive assault last February on Buliok complex in Pikit, a known MILF stronghold in the town.

Thousands of families were evacuated with over 200 rebels killed in the offensive.

Last month, Mrs. Arroyo declared the town a "zone of peace" and authorized the release of P30.6 million to rehabilitate the town.

Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Affairs Jesus Dureza said as many as 36,000 residents, comprising 6,000 families in the 15 barangays of the town, would stand to benefit from the declaration of the "zone of peace."— With Roel Pareño, Mike Frialde, Marichu Villanueva