MILF rebels free 67 hostages from Lanao del Norte raid

MANILA, Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels released yesterday 67 hostages taken during their coordinated raid in five towns in Lanao del Norte and Maasim, Sarangani last Monday that killed more than 40 people, including an Army lieutenant colonel, and wounded several others.

Brig. Gen. Hilario Atendido, chief of the Lanao-based Task Force Tabak, said the rebels are still holding two hostages, a civilian and an Army soldier that belonged to the group of slain Lt. Col. Angel Benitez, executive officer of the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade, who was shot dead by the rebels together with three other soldiers after their vehicle was ambushed in Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte.

Atendido said the retreating guerrillas led by Abdullah Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, and Ameril Umbra Kato have freed most of the hostages that were used as human shields to hamper military pursuit operations against the rebels who withdrew from the towns of Kolambugan, Kauswagan, Linamon, Maigo and Bacolod in Lanao del Norte.

Atendido said the soldier, whose name was withheld for security reasons, was earlier reported as missing. The civilian hostage was not immediately identified.

He said the military has no official report on MILF casualties but witnesses and the some freed hostages said many rebels were killed and wounded but the retreating guerrillas took the bodies.

“They have all the luxury of time to retreat and retrieve their casualties because they are using the civilian hostages as human shields,” Atendido said.

Atendido said 25 civilians were killed in Kolambugan while in Kauswagan, seven farmers and a policeman identified as Police Officer 1 Dexter Salvacion were also killed.

The military suffered 10 fatalities: Benitez, three Army soldiers and six members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit. Some 16 soldiers were also wounded.

Two persons were also killed in Maasim, Sarangani, when the guerrillas indiscriminately fired at the local public market and nearby buildings.

Belated police reports showed that a militiaman and a resident were also killed when suspected MILF rebels attacked a remote village in Kalamansig, Sultan Kudarat province last Thursday.

Senior Superintendent Casimiro Medes, spokesman for the Central Mindanao police office, said 20 rebels raided the Barangay Sangay that triggered a firefight between the guerrillas and the police.

Medes said Jacinto Bachiler, a member of the 5th Sultan Kudarat Civilian Army Auxiliary (SKCAA), and Robinson Cuaresma were killed in the encounter.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Alexander Yano vowed to track down the MILF rebels.

“You all know we have bent as far backward (as possible) to give peace a chance,” Yano said.

“The patience of our soldiers in trying to uphold the primacy of the peace process is very commendable but at some point we really have to act decisively.”

Yano said the MILF leaders have no control over field commanders.

“If they can’t control them, the government will certainly control them and we will undertake our mandate to protect the people and the communities and we cannot renege on that constitutional mandate,” he said.

“We will pursue and take aggressive action against the perpetrators of the dastardly acts committed against innocent civilians.”

Atendido said the MILF rebels have sought refuge in the mountains of Lanao del Norte.

“The terrain where the rebels are presently taking refuge is treacherous and heavy with vegetation. But our forces are trailing them. We will not stop until we get them for their criminal acts,” Atendido said.

Atendido said reinforcement troops have arrived but he refused to give more details.

The MILF attacks came amid the uncertainty over a controversial peace agreement between the government and the MILF that gives the rebels more territory. The accord was put on hold after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order stopping the signing of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last Aug. 5, after protesting local officials petitioned the court for a TRO.

The escalation of the rebel offensive started last Sunday after MILF rebels killed four soldiers and three militiamen while 11 others were wounded after an ambush in Barangay Ilian, Mulondo, Lanao del Sur.

Military units have earlier forced out more than 100 rebels that occupied several villages in Aleosan, North Cotabato after the Supreme Court stopped the signing of the peace accord.

Muslim and Christian leaders condemn MILF attacks

Muslim and Christian leaders in Lanao del Norte and Iligan City condemned the MILF attacks.

Aleema Sharifa Macarandas, a Muslim women’s group leader based in Lanao del Norte, assailed the rebels for attacking civilians, both Christians and Muslims.

She called for unity of the residents and urged the government to continue the peace talks.

Sim Quina, an Iligan businessman, said millions of pesos were lost because of the MILF attacks and most business establishments in the city closed earlier because of the threat of violence.

Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz, who is opposing the inclusion of eight local barangays to the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), had ordered stricter security measures to be implemented after at least 10,000 residents from Kauswagan, Kolambugan, Linamon, and Maigo towns in Lanao de Norte evacuated to the city at the height of the MILF rampage.

The Sangguniang Panglunsod (SP) had also authorized Cruz to declare a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for all adults and minors. The curfew started last Monday night.

The mayor in coordination with the Department of Education also suspended classes in all levels in the city’s schools yesterday due to various bomb threats.

Members of the Cagayan de Oro-based 8th Infantry Battalion, led by Lt. Col. Eric Binuya with four armored personnel carriers, arrived in Iligan City to conduct security patrols.

Rep. Vicente Belmonte of Lanao del Norte’s First District filed a proposed House resolution calling for the government to review, revise and evaluate the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) and hold proper consultations with all stakeholders.

‘Garci’ in-laws killed by MILF raiders

MILF rebels hacked and shot to death the father-in-law of former Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio “Garci” Garcillano and his brother-in-law when the guerrillas attacked Barangay Lapayan in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.

Garcillano identified his father-in-law Miguel Daytia, 94, and his brother-in-law Ruben Daytia, 52, both residents of Barangay Lapayan, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte.

Reports claimed they were hacked and shot to death allegedly by MILF rebels at the height of the raid on the town yesterday.

Garcillano plans to bring the remains of his in-laws to his house in Cagayan de Oro City if the national highway to Lanao del Norte is opened to motorists.

Authorities have closed the national highway to and from Iligan City to Kauswagan, Kolambugan towns since yesterday afternoon.

However, the Cagayan de Oro City to Iligan City route is still open to motorists and is safe to travel, authorities claimed.

Cagayan de Oro to Iligan City is just 86 kilometers while Iligan City to Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte is only 27 kilometers.

Meanwhile, MILF rebels attacked an abandoned military detachment in Aleosan, North Cotabato.

Aleosan Mayor Loreto Cabaya said the residents are again restless after the latest rebel attack on the detachment, which was abandoned by troops that transferred to another outpost.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said many villagers are reluctant to return to their villages in Dualing and Dunguaan in Aleosan for fear of landmines planted by the MILF rebels, led by Amiril Umbra Kato, who occupied several villages last week before they were driven out by responding soldiers and policemen. – With James Mananghaya, John Unson, Lino dela Cruz, Ben Serrano, Ramil Bajo, , AP