Warring MILF leaders in Maguindanao Sur agree to ceasefire

COTABATO CITY, BARMM, Philippines — Guns have gone silent in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur, as warring members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) agreed to a ceasefire, prompting families who fled their homes at the height of last Thursday’s clashes to finally return home.

A total of 300 families fled their homes when armed hostilities broke out between the two MILF commanders and their followers on Oct. 30, resulting in the death of 14 of their followers.

READ: At least 10 dead in MILF infighting in Maguindanao del Sur

The warring groups led by Alonto Sultan of the MILF 105th Base Command on one side and Commander Ikot Dandua of 128th Base Command on the other came up with the agreement during the dialogue on Saturday in the village center of Kilangan facilitated by Brig Gen. Nasser Lidasan, deputy commander of the 6th Infantry Division; Lt. Col. Rowel Gavilanes, commander of the 90th Infantry Battalion; Mayor Salik Mamasabulod of Pagalungan; Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) peace and reconciliation office head Anwar Alamada; and Butch Malang, chair of the MILF coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities.

As part of the local ceasefire agreement, both sides are prohibited from carrying or using firearms in Barangay Kilangan while solutions to the conflict are still being ironed out, Lt. Col. Roden Orbon, 6th ID spokesperson, said in a radio interview.

Pagalungan Vice Mayor Abdila Mamasabulod said the warring MILF commanders committed to respect the ceasefire agreement facilitated by the security forces.

Land issue

“They both agreed to allow government agencies in BARMM to determine the real owners of the 280 hectares [of] productive farmlands in Barangay Kilangan, which was the cause of the squabble,” the vice mayor said.

The disputed land covered other sitios of Barangay Kilangan and part of Sitio BPI, so named because it was part of the Bureau of Plant Industry’s (BPI) demonstration farm in the ’70s.

RELIEF Residents of Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur,who were displaced by clashes among ex-Moro rebel queue to receive aid from international relief agencies, with the help of soldiers, in this Nov. 1 photo. —Integrated Mindanaons Association for the Natives

Authorities in the Bangsamoro will determine the legal owners of the disputed land and come up with solutions acceptable to both sides, the mayor also said.

The displaced families had returned home after the military declared it was safe for them to do so after the ceasefire agreement was forged, the town officials added.

The Army also deployed troops and established checkpoints along the entry and exit points of the village to assure residents that it was safe for them to return.

But Bai Fahima Matalam, a resident of Kilangan, said many residents still feared hostilities might resume in the disputed lands, with some families near Sitio BPI opting to stay in nearby sub-villages at night, only going back to the area during daytime.