In a rare and bloodless competition, a guerrilla of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) single-handedly defeated the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police (PNP) — during an amateur singing contest held in General Santos City, radio reports said yesterday.
Manila radio station dzBB said organizers of the singing competition sponsored by the city government of General Santos declared MILF representative Omar Ginta as winner of the yearly "Singing for Peace" amateur contest.
Ginta, who won a cash prize of P10,000 for his rendition of Magsimula Ka, defeated Police Officer 3 Rolando Lara and representatives from the army, fire protection and jail management and penology bureaus.
But Ginta failed to unseat defending champion Roberto Cantolado, an intelligence officer of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
According to the report, Ginta descended from the hinterlands of Pikit still wearing his combat uniform to participate in the contest. He was selected to represent the MILF before government forces launched an all-out attack on the MILF stronghold in Liguasan Marsh last week.
The contest was also participated in by representatives from the navy and other uniformed services of the Armed Forces and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Second prize went to Lara who got P7,000, while Henry Tuguib, a security guard at Telstar Security Agency, won third.
The report said the Singing for Peace contest was launched by General Santos City Mayor Pedro Acharon to promote camaraderie among various uniformed government and security agencies, and the MILF and MNLF rebels in the area.
Despite the renewed skirmishes in the region, the competition was declared a success by organizers.
It was not, however, reported if the MILF amateur singing champion went back to the hills after claiming his P10,000 prize.