AFP setting up detachments in BIFF lairs

MANILA, Philippines - The military will set up detachments in former lairs of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) to prevent the rebels from staging atrocities.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said military presence in the area is important to maintain stability.

“The mere presence (of the military) is deterrence for the enemy not to return. The presence is a way for us to patrol a bigger portion of the influence area and rid the influence area of the enemy,” Zagala said.

“We are already there. We will stay. We will set up our own presence so we can continue clearing the area from BIFF. We will put detachments there,” he added.

Zagala said the military would establish detachments in Barangays Ganta, Daswad, Bakat and Damablas, all in Maguindanao.

No timeline has been set for the clearing operation, which seeks to track down BIFF remnants and to remove explosives left behind by the rebels.

“What is important is we look for them so they won’t bring harm to our citizens and communities there,” Zagala said.

The detachments will be manned by troops from the Army’s 6th Infantry Division. Zagala declined to say how many soldiers will be assigned to the detachments, citing security reasons.

Government forces launched offensives against the BIFF last Jan. 27 under “Operation Dark Horse” to capture the leaders and the four rebel camps and an explosives factory in Maguindanao.

However, the group’s leader Ameril Umbra Kato and his senior aide Muhaiden Animbang remain at large. Kato is facing several criminal charges for mounting attacks against civilians in Mindanao in 2008.

Security officials said 52 BIFF fighters and one soldier were killed during gun battles in Shariff Saydona, Rajah Buayan and Datu Piang all in Maguindanao and Pikit in North Cotabato.

Last Sunday, the military announced the termination of Operation Dark Horse as it claimed that the BIFF’s capability to launch attacks has been reduced significantly.

Meanwhile, the military reminded members of the media to undertake precautionary measures when covering conflict.

“Our Constitution guarantees freedom of the press and our armed forces will not curtail that freedom. But we would like to appeal to media to think of safety first before any story,” Zagala said.

He urged the media to wear protective gear such as helmets and armored vests and to hold safety seminars.

“I believe we should just have more consultations in terms of safety and put in measures when media is with the military, especially on critical operations,” Zagala said.

On Saturday, 12 people including two journalists from TV 5 were wounded in a blast in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao.

Three days later, an improvised explosive device went off shortly after a 10-vehicle convoy passed by Barangay Tuka in Mamasapano town.

The convoy, which consisted of two Simba fighting vehicles, three KM 450 military trucks, two vehicles owned by the local government and vehicles of ABS-CBN, GMA 7 and TV 5, was about several meters from the explosion site.

No one was hurt in the incident, which happened as the military was conducting clearing operations.

The military operation against the BIFF was launched after the government successfully concluded peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in order to end decades of fighting that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The BIFF is opposed to the talks and has previously launched attacks such as bombings in order to derail the peace process.

Positive conclusion

Mindanao’s indigenous communities are looking forward to a positive conclusion to the 17-year peace talks between the government and the MILF, tribal leaders said yesterday.

Bae Magdalena Suhat Herbilla, presiding chairperson of the Council of Elders of the Federation of Matigsalog-Manobo Tribal Council (FEMMATRIC), and Habbas Camendan, deputy chair of the Mindanao Peoples Peace Movement, said in separate statements their respective groups have also been very supportive of the government’s peace overture with the MILF.

Herbilla and Camendan are both acknowledged traditional leaders of the indigenous people in Central Mindanao.

“The Lumads do not want to experience war again and our fervent wish now is for peace to reign, which we firmly believe can be ushered in by the upcoming GPH-MILF peace agreement. Then we shall continue to thrive in peace in our tribal homelands,” Herbilla said.

Herbilla’s group has about 35,000 members scattered in tribal ancestral lands in the adjoining North Cotabato and Bukidnon provinces.

Herbilla said they are confident any final peace deal between the government and the MILF will bolster the socio-economic, political and ancestral rights of highland non-Moro communities, which are protected by the Republic Act 837, also known as the Philippine Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.

Camendan has allayed fears of possible dislocation of Lumad communities if the MILF assumes control of the Bangsamoro political entity that the rebel group and the government aim to establish to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). –John Unson