AMPATUAN, Maguindanao, Philippines -- As a tattered Philippine flag was being hoisted at the town hall here on Monday, Anilan Umpa was busy loading her things to a waiting tricycle as she and her family prepare to leave this province long torn by violence, election fraud and political warlords.

Umpa, 37, said she would rather stay in her mother?s small nipa hut in nearby Sultan Kudarat than be subjected to unannounced raids of soldiers looking for the weapons used in the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people in this agricultural town.

?The soldiers have been arresting our neighbors. We don?t want to be caught in a war we really don?t have any knowledge of,? she said, as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Despite repeated assurances from military and police officials, hundreds of residents like Umpa fled their homes to avoid being rounded up by state security forces.

At the flag-raising ceremony marking the first working day in government offices under martial rule, Lt. Col. Edgardo de Leon of the Army?s 73rd Infantry Battalion announced that the military would not take control of the functions of the civilian government.

De Leon said military personnel were sent to Maguindanao to ?restore democracy? after some elected provincial officials were arrested over their purported role in the massacre.

?Today marks the new beginning of a new type of government here in Maguindanao,? De Leon addressed the 23 town officials who attended the ceremony.

?(This is) a government not under threat and intimidation, but one that is full of democracy under the watch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.?

De Leon later presided over the meeting of town employees to inform them that councilor Pendatun Magelna has been appointed caretaker of the municipal office.

?Should you hear of any misdeeds of my men, please feel free to inform me and I will punish any soldier found to have violated our rules of engagement,? he said.