Maguindanao town councilor survives ambush

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 8, 2021): Maguindanao town councilor survives ambush (By Edwin Fernandez)

AMBUSH SITE. The map of Barangay Lamud in South Upi, Maguindanao where Municipal Councilor Basit Kamid was ambushed on Friday (Jan. 8, 2021). The local official escaped unscathed in the incident. (Photo courtesy of Army 6ID)

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – A town councilor of a conflict-affected town in Maguindanao survived an ambush by suspected members of the Islamic State-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), the Philippine Army here said Friday.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Pondanera, commander of the Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion, said the vehicle of Basit Kamid, member of Sangguniang Bayan of South Upi, Maguindanao was fired upon by gunmen along a dirt road in Barangay Lamud around 7:30 a.m.

Pondanera said Kamid, a resident of Barangay Biarong, was on board his vehicle, with his armed escorts, was unharmed.

“He was safe, and nobody in his group was hurt,” Pondanera said in a report to the Army's 6th Infantry Division (6ID), adding that he could not say if the ambushers suffered casualties.

The ambush occurred near the Lamud Elementary School, the Army said.

Pondanera, quoting the town official, said his armed escorts exchanged gunfire with the attackers for about five minutes until the gunmen fled.

Members of the Bravo 57IB Bravo Company and South Upi police proceeded to the area to secure the civilians and run after the suspects who fled to the village.

“Pursuit operations against the perpetrators are still ongoing as of this time,” Pondanera said.

Initial investigation showed that the ambush was due to a long-standing land conflict in the area that the local government was trying to address to prevent bloodshed.

The ambush on Kamid came five days after BIFF gunmen also ambushed the convoy of South Upi Mayor Reynalbert Insular that left one hitchhiker dead and three others injured.

On New Year’s Day, some 30 houses of indigenous peoples were burned by BIFF terrorists that also forced members of the Teduray community in Barangay Itaw to flee to safer grounds.

On Jan. 3, the mayor and some relief aid workers were heading for home after distributing relief goods to displaced families from the village when the ambush occurred in nearby Barangay Pandan.

Insular was unscathed in the incident.

Maj. General Juvymax R. Uy, the 6ID commander and concurrent chief of Joint Task Force Central, is working with the Maguindanao provincial government and municipality of South Upi to find ways to end the harassments and provide a solution to the land dispute.

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, through the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples' Affairs, will hold a meeting with concerned individuals in South Upi on Jan. 14.

A municipal peace and order council meeting will also be led by Insular on the same day to ensure the security and safety of the communities.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1126786