Moro guerrillas ignore pleas to leave villages

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao — As if taunting the military, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels are still roaming around secluded spots in Talitay town, ignoring appeals for them to leave and allow the return of villagers who, fearing their presence, had fled their homes.

Maj. Onting Alon, deputy spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said their concern now is the gradual return of Muslim villagers displaced from Barangay Nunangan and surrounding areas, which marauding MILF guerrillas led by Commanders Markay and Talyo have plundered in recent weeks.

The groups of Markay and Talyo, long wanted for serious offenses, including cattle-rustling, kidnapping and extortion, have burned more than 30 houses in Barangay Nunangan and adjoining villages since April.

The MILF has disowned Markay, saying he and Talyo have long been removed from the front’s roster of guerrillas due to their involvement in illegal activities.

Local officials said the two commanders are both locked in a bloody rido or clan war with a Muslim family in Nunangan.

Last week, public school teachers in Talitay urged the military to help them reopen several public schools in their communities where the guerrillas have been roaming around freely since April.

Sources in Talitay’s municipal peace and order council confirmed that residents of Barangays Nunangan are hesitant to send their children to school due to the presence of MILF fighters inside campuses which they have transformed into garrisons.

Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan said it is now up to the military to initiate action against the groups of Commanders Markay and Talyo.

Ampatuan said the government peace panel should censure the MILF panel for failing to discipline the rebels now occupying several villages in Talitay and mulcting money from residents.

Quoting local leaders and provincial education officials, Catholic radio station dxMS in Cotabato City reported yesterday that teachers in Talitay refused to open schools in areas occupied by MILF rebels for fear of the safety of their pupils.

Col. Franklin del Prado, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said Talitay officials are still trying to convince the rebels to vacate Talitay and return to their strongholds in nearby marshlands.

The trouble in Talitay started when followers of Markay and Talyo raided Barangay Nunangan and burned dozens of houses after they failed to take over vast tracts of arable lands there.

Saidamen Midtimbang, a village official in Talitay, urged the 6th ID and the Army’s 604th Infantry Brigade to put up permanent detachments in the municipality to prevent the guerrillas from establishing a "shadow government" there and stop them from collecting "taxes" from villagers.