Philippine Army (PA) troops and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) allegedly backed by some lawless elements figured in an armed encounter in Basilan, the military confirmed Wednesday, Nov. 9, in what was seen as a surprising hostility between the two forces after the latter reached a peace agreement with the government eight years ago.
Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway, commander of the 101st Infantry Brigade and Joint Task Force (JTF) Basilan, said the firefight started around 12:25 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, and was ongoing as of this writing in Brgy. Ulitan in the municipality of Ungkaya Pukan in Basilan province.
Residents in Brgy. Ulitan have also evacuated and there were no more civilians in the village, according to Gobway.
He said initial information showed there were at least five soldiers who were wounded-in-action (WIA) while casualties on the MILF’s side was undetermined.
He said the fighting started due to the presence of lawless elements in Brgy. Ulitan who were allegedly coddled by the MILF. The lawless elements are believed to be fabricating improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used in recent attacks in the province.
He said the troops had been conducting clearing operations against lawless elements in Brgy. Ulitan and Brgy. Baguindan in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan since September. The lawless elements are tagged in the twin explosions in Isabela City last May 30 where two civilians where hurt, and the bombing of Lamitan City Hall last June 20.
“Ang problema, itong mga MILF dito sa Baguindan and Ulitan, kina-coddle nila itong mga lawless. Noong nagkaroon kami ng operation sa Baguindan, lumipat ‘yung lawless sa Ulitan so nagclear ulit kami sa Ulitan (The problem with the MILF in Barangays Baguindan and Ulitan is that they coddle the lawless . When we conducted an operation in Brgy. Baguindan, the lawless moved to Brgy. Ulitan so we had to clear Ulitan again),” Gobway said.
On Monday Nov. 7, Gobway said that the MILF sent a letter of coordination to them thru the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), informing the military that they will return to Brgy. Ulitan after the troops have cleared the area. Apparrently, the MILF left the village to give way to the military operation.
Gobway said he ordered the commanding officer of the 64th Infantry Battalion, Lt. Col. John Ferdinand Lazo, to coordinate with the MILF and inform them that they could return to Brgy. Ulitan as long as they would not bring any firearm.
Apparently, there was a program by the military in the area that the transportation of small and light firearms is prohibited since it is sometimes the cause of rido (clan war), according to Gobway.
But the military learned that the MILF had already returned to Brgy. Ulitan on the evening of Nov. 7, bringing with them firearms.
Gobway said Lazo went to the MILF community in Brgy. Ulitan to coordinate with the commander of the MILF community on the morning of Nov. 8, but the commander would not face him. Tension peaked when one of Lazo's men was allegedly sniped and hit in the body. Fortunately, the soldier was wearing a Kevlar vest so he was able to survive.
But the sniper shot sparked the fighting between the two groups since the soldiers retaliated.
“Fierce ‘yon. May mga nagre-reinforce at may mga caliber 60 na eh (It was a fierce . The kept on reinforcing and they were armed with caliber 60 firearms already),” Gobway said.
At present, Gobway said the troops were on the defensive mode as they were being attacked by a combined force of at least 100 MILF fighters from different communities and the lawless elements they allegedly coddle.
The fighting is seen as a setback after the MILF and the national government signed the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB) in 2014 which paved the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The national government has also established the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group or AHJAG, the cooperative mechanism between the government and the MILF that responds to criminality and terrorism in areas with MILF presence.
“As of now, continuing kasi nagre-reinforce ‘yung ibang MILF. Ang sabi sana namin ‘wag na magreinforce kasi magwi-withdraw lang naman ‘yung MILF sa Ulitan eh. Ang problema umaatake sila ngayon kaya nasa defensive ang military (As of now, the fighting is continuing because the MILF kept on reinforcing. We told them not to reinforce because the MILF in Ulitan will withdraw. The problem is they are now on the attack mode and the military is on a defensive mode),” Gobway said.
OPAPRU chief reacts
Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) Sec. Carlito Galvez Jr. said he was "deeply concerned" with the ongoing armed incident.
"First of all, we would like to assure local government officials and the residents of Basilan that when the hostilities broke out, the OPAPRU reached out right away to both parties in order to deescalate the situation," he said.
Galvez, a former military chief and veteran of the Marawi siege, said peace mechanisms, particularly the CCCH and AHJAG, were already on the ground and "doing everything possible to diffuse tensions, and most importantly, prevent further the loss of lives."
"We would therefore like to call for sobriety, as we wait for the results of the CCCH and AHJAG inquiry to be disclosed," he said.