The military’s
paradigm shift from combat orientation to building peace and professing human
rights observance has gained foothold in Maguindanao, particularly among
residents and groups privy to the fate of the Muslim province amid sporadic
armed confrontations.
Most, if not all,
of the so-called “surviving children of repressions” under the Martial Law era
are one in the belief that the present breed of soldiers in Maguindanao is the
“exact opposite” of Army troops that had sown fear and distrust in Muslim
communities of the province.
Civilian
residents in Maguindanao including this city, started showcasing renewed
respect and trust among soldiers in 2010 when combat troops – wielding spades,
forks and other tools instead of guns – swooped on portions of Pulangi and
Tamontaka rivers here and cleared carpets of water hyacinths that clogged the
footings of vital bridges for weeks.
Even combatants
of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) joined the soldiers in the
spectacular event that had drawn the presence of then newly-installed President
Aquino III, who led cabinet officials in giving assistance to residents from
the havocs of heavy flooding that year.
Soldiers had won
further public trust when they volunteered en mass and rebuilt in record time
some school buildings in Bonggo, an island village in Parang, Maguindanao, in
late 2010.
Since then, the
Maguindanao-based Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) continued to sponsor
gatherings for soldiers and cops to interface with MILF and Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) members and civilians in sport activities and other
confidence-building ventures.
On the other
hand, troopers from the 6ID and its infantry brigades have sustained combat
prowess, quelling threats and attacks from the brigand guerrillas of the
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and capturing a number of BIFF enclaves. In
such combat encounters, local human rights groups had reported no noticeable
abuses on innocent civilians by soldiers.
http://www.mb.com.ph/maguindanao-cites-militarys-shift-to-peace-rights-advocacy/
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