Security forces say ARMM remains peaceful amid Zambo crisis

CAMP S.K PENDATUN, Maguindanao - Members of the Moro National Liberation Front in the five provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have remained confined in their villages, the ARMM regional police said.

Chief Supt. Noel Delos Reyes, director of the ARMM police, said that based on their monitoring, local folks have no reason to be worried that the tension in several areas in Zamboanga would spill over into other places.

He said he has been providing ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman with an hourly update on the security situation in the five ARMM provinces, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao, and the scattered Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Lawyer Anwar Malang, the ARMM’s local government secretary, said the autonomous region has been peaceful and calm since a handful of Nur Misuari’s followers staged violent attacks in several villages in Zamboanga City after dawn Monday.

Malang said the ARMM's 116 mayors and five provincial governors have been initiating backchannel dialogues with MNLF officials in their respective areas.

“The autonomous region has relatively been peaceful,” Malang told The Star noontime Monday.

The ARMM’s regional executive secretary, Laisa Alamia, said the regional government is on “alert status” amid the hostilities in Zamboanga City.

“Gov. Hataman has advised local government officials in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi to heighten security in their respective areas and help guard against the movement of suspicious groups or saboteurs,” Alamia said.

“We also condemn in the strongest possible terms this act of violence and the use of people as human shields, as we continue praying for the safety of civilians now suffering from this unfortunate incident,” she added.