4-decade clan war in Lanao Sur ends

MARAWI CITY — A four-decade feud between relatives in Masiu and Poona-Bayabao towns of Lanao del Sur ended Wednesday, August 14, in a settlement witnessed by local government and military officials.

Officials of Masiu and Poona-Bayabao hailed the settlement as historic for both towns as the clan’s animosity has stifled the development in their communities.

Locally known as rido, feuds usually feature violent retributions among the warring clan members, resulting to deaths and destruction of properties.

To escape the cycle of violence, members of involved families flee their communities, leaving their farms idle, and incurring debts to start over in new places.

Army Lt. Col. Edgar Allan Villanueva, 49th Infantry Battalion Commander, said the warring families involved in the settlement are Baraontong, Macud, Rangeris, and Magandia on one side, and Ditopor and Faisal Lumamba on the other.

Political rivalry

The feud between the relatives since 1979 was due to political rivalry and land dispute, said Villanueva.

Villanueva lauded the efforts of Masiu Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr. and Poona-Bayabao Mayor Lampa Pandi in facilitating the settlement, ending one of the longest-running clan wars in Lanao del Sur.

Villanueva said one of the Army’s thrust in the province is provide the atmosphere for these feuds to be settled to ensure peace in the communities, emphasizing the bigger role of local governments.

During the formal rites to signify their settlement, the clan leaders involved in the feud signed the Kapasadan (agreement) and pledged to the Qur-an “to show sincerity in ending the clan war.”

It was done at the 103rd Infantry Brigade headquarters here, in the presence of Masiu and Poona-Bayabao local officials and top commanders of Army units in the province.

Culmination of all rido

During the rites, both parties also yielded two M-16 rifles, magazines and ammunitions.

Pandi said the rido settlement involving the six families “is the culmination of all rido” in Poona-Bayabao, suggesting that the minor ones have also been resolved with it.

“They are now free to move around,” Pandi added.

The young Pangandaman noted that the rido predated his birth, hearing much about it from his parents while growing up in Masiu.

“We must unite and we should not allow our younger generations to inherit the grudges and the rages we’ve had in our past,” counseled Army Brigadier General Romeo Brawner, Jr., 103rd Infantry Brigade Commander, a native of rido-prone Cordillera. /lzb