Peace dialogues to resume after Ramadan

MANILA, Philippines – With the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the government will hold dialogues and consultations with local communities and other stakeholders to achieve a genuine and lasting peace in Mindanao.

Secretary Hermogenes Esperon Jr., presidential adviser on the peace process, said President Arroyo wants the government to talk with the communities instead of confining the dialogue to armed rebel groups.

Speaking to reporters at the tree planting ceremony marking the end of “National Peace Consciousness Month” in Marikina City, Esperon said stakeholders in the peace process must give peace a chance.

“It is better to talk than fight,” he said. “What’s important is that we orient ourselves to peace in word and deed.”

In South Cotabato, residents of a remote barangay are arming themselves to defend their village against an expected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attack.

Reports reaching The STAR said people in Barangay Ned in Lake Sebu town are buying guns to protect themselves from the rebels.

Early Tuesday, 70 armed men believed to be MILF rebels attacked the house of kagawad Indab Labian in Sitio Upper Salvan in Barangay Ned.

Three MILF rebels were killed and several others were wounded after a shootout with barangay militiamen at around 5 a.m., according to the South Cotabato police.

No casualties were reported from the militiamen.

Reports said the residents, including Labian, had no choice but to defend themselves after they saw the rebels firing at them.

The rebels fled towards the jungle in Sitio Yama when they sensed that Army troops were heading towards them.

In Maguindanao, hundreds of Muslim families fled their homes to escape the fighting between government troops and the MILF in Barangays Pagatin, Sambulawan and Madia in Datu Piang town.

The fighting has razed more than 40 houses.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, 6th Infantry Division spokesman, said three soldiers, not seven as earlier reported, were killed in the hostilities.

Bai Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi, solicitor-general of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan has dispatched relief workers to attend to the needs of the evacuees.

Troops closing in on Kato, Bravo

Government troops are closing in on MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato, Abdurahman Macapaar alias Commander Bravo and Aleem Sulaiman alias Commander Pangalian.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, AFP public information chief, said with Ramadan over, military commanders can now call on air strikes and artillery to support ground troops.

“The end of Ramadan was declared the other day, so we have already reverted back to the rules of engagement that we had before the start of Ramadan,” he said.

However, Torres said troops are under orders to use only a “proportionate amount” of force against the MILF.

The military was able to weaken the rebels’ manpower and firepower after nearly two months of fighting that has claimed the lives of 30 soldiers and eight militiamen and wounded 146 troops and 10 militiamen, Torres said.

Last Monday, three soldiers, including an officer, were killed, while 12 others were wounded in separate clashes between government troops and MILF rebels in the towns of Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Datu Piang in Maguindanao.

P50 M for Mindanao relief

The Department of Social Welfare and Development has received some P50 million from the Department of Budget and Management for additional assistance to war victims in Mindanao.

Social Welfare Secretary Esperanza Cabral said the P50 million has been released to the DSWD’s Quick Response Fund.

In a statement, Cabral said the DSWD has provided more than P30 million in emergency relief assistance for families caught in the fighting between the military and MILF in the provinces of Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat in Central Mindanao; Lanao del Norte in Northern Mindanao; Basilan, Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan in the ARMM.

DSWD social workers also conducted supplemental feeding for children aged up to six years in evacuation centers in Cotabato and Lanao del Norte, she added.

Cabral said the DSWD has also provided construction materials for bunkhouses as temporary shelters of internally displaced persons.

“The Department of Public Works and Highways will build the bunkhouses, while the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority or TESDA will provide the training,” she said. — With Ramil Bajo, John Unson, Helen Flores, James Mananghaya