The military regained control of the Secretary Narciso Ramos Highway in Maguindanao yesterday as Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels withdrew from their positions along the key road.
But the MILF redirected its offensive to another front, wounding two militiamen in an attack yesterday on an outpost in the town of Lamitan on Basilan island.
The military said about 200 to 500 guerrillas led by a certain Commander Hansa Sapinto attacked after dawn, sending frightened residents fleeing and forcing businesses to close.
They tried to occupy the town but were repulsed by militiamen and Army soldiers, alerted since last Sunday about the MILF plan, in a heavy two-hour gunbattle.
Col. Hilario Atendido, spokesman of the military's Southern Command, said the attack could have been meant to divert the military's attention from Abu Sayyaf rebels who have been holding several hostages for weeks now.
The military earlier accused the MILF of cooperating with the radical Abu Sayyaf, which the MILF denied.
At the nearby Narciso Ramos Highway, near Cotabato City in Maguindanao province, MILF forces continued to withdraw from their positions although sporadic gunfire could still be heard.
National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre said soldiers moving from opposite directions toward a seven-kilometer MILF-controlled segment of the 184-kilometer artery finally linked up Monday night.
The military said the highway might be opened to traffic next week.
The MILF announced last Monday they would unilaterally pull back over a 48-hour period starting 6 p.m. Monday, as part of a peace overture to the government.
Eid Kabalu, MILF representative of a joint ceasefire coordinating committee said the bulk of their forces had left late yesterday and that he hopes the "repositioning" will be completed by today.
Lanang Ali, chairman of the MILF's ceasefire committee, said he hopes the withdrawal "would give way to the resumption of formal peace negotiations."
"We are still open to a negotiated settlement," he said.
Malacañang has cautiously welcomed the peace offer, saying it was studying the move. The government had previously demanded an MILF withdrawal prior to the resumption of peace talks.
Military spokesman Capt. Lito Aso said "the highway has been cleared of Moro rebels," adding that the insurgents appeared to be keeping their word to pull back forces by one kilometer toward the "defense perimeter" of their main base, Camp Abubakar.
He said scattered skirmishes were still going on as the MILF withdrew. Although the military had ceased their air and artillery strikes, no order has been issued to stop their operations against the MILF, Aso said.
Mayor Nasser Imam of Matanog town, the scene of heavy fighting earlier, said parts of the highway previously occupied by the MILF were deserted, based on visits there. But, he added, the highway remained dangerous because of sporadic gunfire.
Col. Jaime Canatoy, chief of the Public Affairs Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said troops were encountering resistance at a strategic four-kilometer stretch where the gateway to Camp Abubakar is located.
"The entire highway is now clear but we are still encountering stiff resistance from MILF forces in the Langkong Crossing," Canatoy said.
"We have no intention at the moment of entering Abubakar. Our primary mission is to clear the highway of MILF checkpoints."
The military will set up detachments in positions to secure the highway and prevent the rebels from returning and harassing motorists.
"We just hope that what the MILF lost in this highway, they will not regain on the negotiating table," said Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio, commander of the 1st Marine Brigade which lost a dozen men in the fighting.
"If we will be assigned to guard this highway," Teodosio said, "our first concern is how to implement humanitarian projects through our regular civil-military operations for the people here to tell that the government is not an adversary but a friend."
Red Cross volunteers yesterday finally started searching for soldiers missing in action and for bodies to be given a decent burial. The military thrice prevented them from entering the battlefield because of the fighting. The stench of rotting corpses lingered in the air.
Fighting erupted in late April when the military moved in to break up MILF checkpoints along the highway which motorists complained were being used for extortion.
The ensuing clashes prompted the rebels to walk out of the peace negotiations. Later they unilaterally declared a ceasefire when it became clear that their forces were in danger of being decimated. But the government ignored the ceasefire declaration, suspecting it to be a ploy to enable the rebels to consolidate their forces.
Deputy House Speaker Daisy Avance-Fuentes of South Cotabato urged the government to watch the MILF closely, citing past experiences wherein the rebels have attacked despite declaring a truce.
The government's cool reception toward the MILF pullout drew criticism from a religious group. "The MILF might lose its patience since this is their second act of goodwill, yet the military continued to bomb their positions," the Promotion of Church Peoples' Response said yesterday. -- With reports from AP, AFP, Mike Frialde, Allen Estabillo, Sandy Araneta