Probe sought on MILF 'presence' in South Cotabato village

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 21): Probe sought on MILF 'presence' in South Cotabato village

The provincial government of South Cotabato has asked the government panel in the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to investigate the involvement of alleged MILF rebels in an encounter last week in a remote village in Lake Sebu town that left a militiaman dead. South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy Jr. said Monday the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) has passed a resolution requesting the government peace panel to elevate the matter to the Joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the International Monitoring Team (IMT). “We want them to conduct an investigation regarding the reported presence of MILF members in Sitio Kumilat of Barangay Ned in Lake Sebu,” he said.

The governor said they want to know why the rebels, who reportedly belonged to the MILF’s 105th base command, have set up encampments in the area. A militiaman was killed when troopers under the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion (IB) assigned in Barangay Ned clashed with around 40 fully armed rebels in at a portion of Sitio Kumilat last Jan. 12. The troops were visiting a portion of the village when they received reports from civilians regarding sightings of an armed group. The responding elements were conducting active defense patrol in the area when the armed group reportedly fired at them. Initial reports said a certain Udtog and a certain Mod, who were reportedly residents of Palimbang town in Sultan Kudarat, led the armed group.

Maj. Gerald Monfort, 27th IB executive officer, said the tension in the area forced some 96 families or 376 individuals to evacuate to the village’s center but cited that the situation there has already stabilized. He said their latest monitoring showed that the armed group has already left the province’s territorial jurisdiction. “We can assure the public that these lawless armed men who just recently were identified by the CCCH as members of the MILF’s 105th base are already gone and so far the evacuees have returned to their homes,” Monfort said.

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