Anti-crime forces in Cotabato are ‘paper tigers’

COTABATO CITY — "Paper tigers."

This was how the Mindanao Cross, an influential Catholic weekly newspaper here, described the various local task forces helping the police fight criminals but are failing in their efforts to address the city’s nagging security problems.

Various sectors are alarmed over the spate of killings, mostly happening in busy places, and are now urging the city government, the police and the Department of National Defense to impose a special program to reduce the number of firearms proliferating here.

One of the serious threats to the city’s peace and order are the armed conflicts among Muslim families who hail from Maguindanao but have residences here.

The executive department of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and Maguindanao’s peace and order council will start reconciliation dialogues among the feuding Muslim families next week to prevent further escalation of hostilities.

Lawyer Nabil Tan, ARMM executive secretary, said the regional government is ready to extend support to the campaign of Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema against the carrying of firearms here.

He said they intend to ask the regional departments to limit the number of security escorts politicians from surrounding towns can bring when they come to this city.

Tan said they are now thinking of formulating bills for legislation by the ARMM assembly, that can complement the pacification efforts of local authorities.

While Cotabato City is geographically under Region 12, its police force is under the operational control of the ARMM police command.

Local leaders called on President Arroyo the other day to intervene on the spate of high-profile atrocities and vendetta killings here, a move prompted by Thursday night’s gunbattle between Marines and unidentified gunmen which left four people dead and six others wounded.

One of those killed was Marine Pvt. Reniel Navida. The firefight erupted when armed passengers of a van he tried to stop for routine inspection at a checkpoint opened fire, killing him on the spot and wounding his companion, Cpl. Edgar Nilo.

The gunmen fled toward Maguindanao’s Sultan Kudarat town on board their bullet-riddled green, heavily tinted van.

Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan said plainclothes police agents, with the help of religious leaders, are now tracking down the gunmen.

Since late last year, some 50 people have been killed here by suspected guns for hire, some of them with links to big kidnapping and extortion syndicates.