Residents fled as the death toll as of early last night stood at 14 in the resumption of armed conflict in Maguindanao. As in the massacre of 57 people in November 2009, the targets of the attacks this time were again supporters of the Mangudadatu clan, whose head, Esmael, is now provincial governor. Mangudadatu pointed to a commander of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front as the perpetrator of an ambush in Mangudadatu town that initially left eight followers of the governor dead.
The eruption of violence is a reminder that many of the conditions that led to the Maguindanao massacre still exist. The massacre was the worst attack in a long-simmering feud between two branches of the same family. Mangudadatu is a relative of the Ampatuans, whose key members are on trial on charges that they planned the massacre after Mangudadatu refused to withdraw from the race for provincial governor.
Military officials said the latest attack appeared to be part of another clan war between the Mangudadatus and a commander of the MILF, Tauting Salendab, who led about 50 Islamic rebels in the raid on Barangay Temuk on Sunday afternoon. The violence continued yesterday, prompting villagers to abandon their homes.
Maguindanao, like the rest of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is one of the poorest areas of the country. Guns proliferate, and political power simply shifts from one clan to another. The Ampatuans, given their first big break as a political force by Corazon Aquino, consolidated their power during the Arroyo administration, which saw the clan as a foil against the MILF and a reliable ally during elections. The paramilitary “force multipliers” that were organized during the heyday of the Ampatuans, which were involved in the 2009 massacre, are still around.
The Mangudadatus have not developed the notoriety of the Ampatuans for violence and large-scale corruption. But the conditions that perpetuate violence and instability in the region remain deeply entrenched, holding back development, education and poverty alleviation. The latest eruption of deadly violence highlights how much work needs to be done to improve lives in Maguindanao and the rest of the ARMM.