Troops guard recovered camps of BIFF

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines - Hostilities between the military and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters have waned, but soldiers remained in strategic areas in  Datu Piang and Shariff Saidona towns to prevent bandits from regaining control of the enclaves they abandoned last week.

The provincial government deployed on Monday relief and rehabilitation workers to areas affected by the five-day BIFF-Army skirmishes to attend to the needs of thousands of Moro evacuees who fled to safer areas  to avoid  the crossfire.

Col. Edgar Gonzales, commanding officer of the Army’s 1st Mechanized Brigade based in Shariff Aguak town, also in Maguindanao, said their intelligence operatives have stepped up  monitoring of the movement of BIFF bandits driven away by soldiers last Friday from their stronghold in Barangay Ganta in Shariff Saidona.

“We are not taking chances. We will not lower our guard,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales said the BIFF is known for its practice of targeting public places and farming villages both for diversionary attacks and to retaliate for losses incurred in encounters with government forces.

Gonzales said their units are now focused on securing relief groups attending to the needs of evacuees.

Gonzales and Brigadier Gen. Edmund Pangilinan, commander of the Army’s 601st Brigade, led soldiers in hoisting the Philippine flag at the parade ground of the captured BIFF camp in Barangay Ganta on Saturday.

Barangay officials have confirmed that the group had trained “child warriors” and women on guerrilla warfare and fabrication of improvised explosives in the camp, which fell after five days of air, artillery and ground assaults.

Lynette Estandarte, chief provincial budget officer, said the office of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Magudadatu initially delivered on Monday 1,219 food packs to relief sites at the border of Datu Piang and Salibo towns.

Estandarte said the food packs consist of rice, canned good, and instant noodles.

“There will be succeeding relief missions to other evacuation sites in the coming days,” Estandarte said.

Laisa Alamia, the executive secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said members of the ARMM’s inter-agency Humanitarian Emergency Assistance and Relief Team (HEART) had also been dispatched to serve people displaced by last week’s fierce BIFF-Army encounters in the province.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said tactical operations against the BIFF have ended, but efforts to prevent them from regrouping continue.

“All of our security efforts are being closely coordinated with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) through the joint ceasefire committee,” Hermoso said.