Tension remains high in Maguindanao but local and Army officials plan IDPs return

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 20): Tension remains high in Maguindanao but local and Army officials plan IDPs return

While no major skirmishes between the military and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the last four days, tension remains high in Maguindanao's interior villages, local officials said on Friday.

Since Feb. 25, the military recorded 22 encounters.

Intelligence reports showed the outlawed armed group was reported to be re-grouping and planning to re-engage government forces.

In a peace and order council meeting, Maguindanao officials, led by Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, agreed to form committees that would determine if the internally displaced persons can now return to their places of origin after the Army shall have cleared their communities.

Brig. Gen. Manolito Orense, deputy 6th Infantry Division commander, said the massive law enforcement operations against the BIFF forced it to disintegrate into smaller groups to avoid detection. The Army is checking reports the BIFF have mingled with the evacuees.

More than 120,000 civilians have been displaced by the armed conflict that also affected 13 towns.

Orense said the military, like the civilians, wanted the law enforcement operations terminated soonest but as long as the threat remains eminent, the Army will continue pursuing the bandits.

“The Army and Marine units now present in those barangays cannot just simply leave without putting up security mechanisms mean to prevent the return of these armed lawless groups,” Orense said during the PPOC meeting.

Mangudadatu said the special committee could help the local government to decide whether the IDPs could return or not as of yet.

He said the committee would be composed of officials of affected local government units, the police, the religious communities, the military and barangay captains

Brig. Gen. Carlito Galvez, Jr., chairman of the government’s ceasefire committee dealing with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said they could even involve the MILF in the assessment process in keeping with existing security protocols between the group and the GPH peace panel.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=746509