Moro rebs’ satellite camp in S. Cotabato dismantled

KORONADAL CITY — Men of the Army’s 601st Infantry Brigade finally dismantled a satellite camp of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters in Tupi, South Cotabato last Friday afternoon.

The 27th Infantry Battalion, a unit of the 601st IB led by Lt. Col. Carlos Quita, raided the MILF camp in Sitio Bunawan, Barangay Polonuling after the members of the international monitoring team and the coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities inspected the area.

Quita said their move had the "blessing" of the MILF leadership.

Present during the raid were Tupi Mayor Valentin Mariano, 601st IB commanding officer Col. Alfredo Cayton, and local other government officials.

"Nang pasukin namin yung area, wala ng MILF combatants doon. Suspetsa namin umalis sila kaagad nang malaman nilang paparating na kami (There were no more MILF combatants when we entered the area. They must have left when they learned that we were approaching)," Quita told The STAR.

The government troops destroyed the structures and barricades and covered the foxholes and trenches in the Moro rebels’ camp.

Citing intelligence reports, Quita said a certain Kumander Diego del Moro of the MILF’s 107th Base Command put up the satellite camp in Sitio Bunawan.

Since then, the separatist guerrillas, brandishing high-powered firearms, had reportedly been roaming around the village, causing fear among the villagers.

Officials of Barangay Polonuling recently passed a resolution denouncing the presence of armed MILF members and seeking the help of the Tupi municipal government to drive them away.

The village officials accused the MILF rebels of "forcibly grabbing" their lands, intimidating and demanding food from the residents, and indiscriminately firing their guns.

Quita said he has deployed enough Army troops to secure the site of the dismantled camp.

Asked what the military would do if the MILF rebels would return to the area, Quita said, "My order to my men is clear: don’t allow them to return."