Gov’t, MILF to strengthen partnership

From the Daily Tribune (Jun 25): Gov’t, MILF to strengthen partnership

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have vowed to continue to strengthen their partnership on the ground beyond the Peace Corridor by helping to rebuild Marawi City.

Assistant Secretary Dickson Hermoso, the government’s focal person for the Peace Corridors, said the partnership would continue. Outside of the Marawi crisis, Hermoso said the MILF already showed it is continuously working with government.

He cited the incident two days ago in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato where the government and MILF ceasefire mechanisms worked together in helping the military contain the situation.

Hermoso said the MILF blocked Malagakit and Simsiman areas from the incursion of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF). These two barangays are known MILF communities.

“That is why, if you noticed, the BIFF started attacking Barangay Malagakit at 5:30 in the morning and it ended at 5:30 in the afternoon because of the help of the MILF,” Hermoso said.

“The MILF now is really a partner for peace and development in Mindanao,” Hermoso told reporters during the Mindanao Hour on Friday at Lispher Inn, Davao City. He even vouched for the sincerity of the MILF and their volunteerism, their spirit to help government in the peace corridor.

The peace corridor was established following the Marawi siege. It is manned by a composite government and MILF teams providing a safe passage of humanitarian aid and civilian protection activities straddling from Malabang, Lanao del Sur to Marawi City. This includes the areas around Lake Lanao.

Hermoso said there are 50 members of the MILF, all from Maranao tribe. They were organized into five teams, who bravely go inside the ground zero in Marawi to retrieve trapped civilians. “And, they did good,” he added.

Knowing the risk is high, Hermoso said the MILF team still took the challenge and volunteered to go into ground zero.

“The only thing is they’re also Maranaos. They know what is happening inside the ground zero. They equally share the burden of those people being trapped and still continuing up to this moment.”

So far, the government and MILF peacekeepers were able to retrieve and recover 277 trapped civilians, wounded persons, children, women, elderly and those that are really in need of this humanitarian effort.

“We coordinated this with the emissaries to connect us to the Maute and we bridged this to the government leadership in Marawi City for us to be given a respite of taking out or retrieving the trapped civilians,” Hermoso stressed.

Hermoso said they are all aware that there are more civilians need to be retrieved especially the wounded, children and elderly.

He also underscored the significance of opening the peace corridor for trapped civilians in the lake.
“For all we know, we thought that the IDPs of Marawi City are just in Iligan but there are so many that evacuated to the Lake, to the towns along the Lake Lanao. There are so many,” he said.          
http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/gov-t-milf-to-strengthen-partnership