COTABATO City, Philippines - Feuding factions of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Matalam, North Cotabato signed Thursday a covenant seen to end hostilities that rocked the town repeatedly in recent weeks and displacing 6,320 villagers.
Mansur Imbung of the MILF’s 108th Base Command and Datu Dima Ambil, chairman of the MNLF’s Sebangan Kutawato State Revolutionary Committee, signed the truce in the presence of local officials and representatives of the joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH).
The CCCH, comprised of representatives of the MILF, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, helps in the resolution of security problems in flashpoint areas in Mindanao.
The rival MILF and MNLF forces in Barangay Marbel, a farming area in Matalam, clashed for three times in the past three weeks, forcing thousands to evacuate to safer areas.
The hostilities erupted shortly before the May 13 elections when MNLF members in Barangay Marbel prevented MILF guerillas from attending a peace dialogue in the center of the barangay carrying guns and in their combat uniforms.
The preliminary security pact underscored the need for MILF forces to reposition away from Barangay Marbel, which is government-recognized MNLF community.
Combatants of the Army’s 602nd Brigade and a contingent from the North Cotabato provincial police office have been deployed in strategic spots separating the rival MILF and MNLF factions to prevent them from getting close to each other.