COTABATO CITY — Two Yakan clans in Tuburan town in Basilan locked in a longtime deadly “rido” reconciled on Monday through the intercession of local executives and officials of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade.
Rido is a generic Moro term bloody clan feud, usually triggered by either affronts on clan pride and honor, or squabbles for ownership of lands, or deep-seated political disputes.
Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, commander of the Philippine Army and Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, separately confirmed on Tuesday the reconciliation of the clans led by Ben Salain and Abdulajid Abukakar during a symbolic rite in Barangay Tablas in Tuburan.
Tuburan is one of the 11 towns in Basilan that also covers two cities, Lamitan and Isabela.
Local officials and Muslim preachers in Basilan told reporters that the rido between the Salain and Abubakar groups had exacted at least 10 individuals from both sides as a result of gunfights in the past ten years.
Nobleza said that the top official of the 101st Infantry Brigade, Army Brig. Gen. Alvin Luzon and his deputy, Col. Frederick Sales, local executives in Tuburan and Basilan Gov. Hadjiman Salliman and personnel of the Tuburan Municipal Police Station cooperated in convincing the leaders of both clans to thrive in peace again.
“Besides the 101st Infantry Brigade, we also ought to thank the police officials in Basilan for helping work out the reunification of these two clans,” Galido said.
Last December 16, the 101st Infantry Brigade and its units and officials of the Basilan Provincial Police Office also settled amicably a bloody rido each in Ungkaya Pukan and Al-Barka towns, according to reports that reached the office here of Nobleza on Tuesday.
Salliman, who is chairperson of the Basilan Provincial Peace and Order Council, the 101st Infantry Brigade and the Basilan PPO had settled nine clan wars in different towns in Basilan in the past eight months.