Members of the 'Ilaga' militia in North Cotabato (photo by Dennis Arcon, InterAksyon.com)
Fighting between the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and government forces in several towns in North Cotabato this week has prompted a militia that has been around since the 1970s to offer its help in fighting the rebels.
Mike Santiago, a North Cotabato commander and spokesman of the militia that calls itself the “Reform Ilaga Movement,” or simply “Ilaga,” claimed they have 45,000 members, 10,000 of these armed, throughout Mindanao who are ready to join the fight against the BIFF.
The Ilaga, which literally means “rat” in Hiligaynon, was organized in 1971, mainly by Christian settlers from the Visayas, and was used by the government to help fight the then fledgling Moro National Liberation Front.
It has also been used against the New People’s Army and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, most recently during the 2008 hostilities in Central Mindanao.
Like many militias that government has recruited in its counterinsurgency campaign, the Ilaga has been accused of committing human rights abuses, first against the Muslim populace and, later, among suspected communist rebels or their supporters.
Among the most notable cases was the murder of Italian missionary Tulio Favali in Cotabato in 1985.
Some accounts paint the militia almost as a cult, with members believing in talismans and other charms supposed to make them invulnerable.
Among its noted leaders were Commanders “Bukay” of M’lang, North Cotabato, and “Toothpick” of Upi, Maguindanao.
Fighting in North Cotabato broke out Monday when BIFF fighters attacked villages in Midsayap town and allegedly took hostages, including elementary school teachers and village officials, to use as “human shields” against pursuing troops.
Although most of the hostages were released, the rebels were accused of killing two farmers, one of whom was beheaded.
Three soldiers and four rebels also died in the clashes.
Fresh fighting erupted Wednesday night in Pikit, North Cotabato and Shariff Saidona Mustapha in Maguindanao, and the next morning in M’lang.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/71611/ilaga-offers-to-join-fight-vs-biff
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