Maranaw clans end deadly clan war

MARAWI CITY, Philippines - Officials on Sunday settled in Marawi City a deadly clan war involving ethnic Maranaw groups in Balabagan town in the second district of Lanao del Sur.

Leaders of the Mangadang and Masbud families swore over the Qur’an to put an end to their rido (clan war) in the presence of Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr., Vice Gov. Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and representatives from the police and the military.

The reconciliation of the rival ethnic Maranaw clans ended a drawn-out conflict that exacted fatalities on both sides and repeatedly caused the dislocation of innocent villagers in areas where they figured in one bloody encounter after another.

The rival families agreed to reconcile on Sunday through the joint intercession of Adiong and Lucman, who is concurrent social welfare secretary of the ARMM regional government.

The two groups, armed with assault rifles and 40 millimeter grenade launchers, had repeatedly clashed several months before in Balabagan, a seaside town southeast of Lanao del Sur, some 90 kilometers from the provincial capital, Marawi City.

Lt. Col. Mike Santos of the Army’s 6th Infantry Battalion, which has jurisdiction over Balabagan and nearby Lanao del Sur towns, also helped Lucman and Adiong convince the two clans to reconcile.

The animosity between the two families was sparked by territorial disputes and other irritants, including their allegiance to rival political quarters.

Lucman said the mayor of Balabagan, Edna Sampiano, and her relatives and provincial board Member Tanjie Macapodi were also instrumental in the resolution of the conflict.

The two groups last fought about three months ago in stretches of the Secretary Narciso Ramos Highway in Balabagan, causing closure of the thoroughfare to traffic for three days, stranding hundreds of commuters and motorists.

Lucman said he is also grateful to Maranaw Islamic preachers in Balabagan for helping reconcile the two clans.

Lucman said the office of the Lanao del Sur provincial governor paid for the obligatory diyya, which means “blood money,” to the families of the fatalities in the conflict.