Basilan clan standoff ends: Elders broker withdrawal in Tipo-Tipo

INQUIRER Files

MANILA, Philippines—The clash between government forces and armed men in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan, ended Tuesday after successful negotiations, according to Joint Task Force Orion and the Philippine Army’s 11th Infantry Division commander, Maj. Gen. Leonardo Peña.

“Around 11:20 a.m., the elders of Basilan, together with the local government of Basilan, negotiated with them. The factions have pulled out of the area in Tipo-Tipo,” Peña said in a phone interview with reporters in Camp Crame on Tuesday.

“Our troops are only facilitating it so that their return to their respective communities is safe and to avoid possible further conflict,” he noted.

Peña confirmed one person was wounded in the clash but did not name the casualty.

According to the Army division commander, the incident was a “clan conflict” stemming from the killing of Ustadz Bahang, a barangay councilor and former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) member.

“It just so happened that one of those they wanted to take revenge on was a local barangay captain of a barangay in Tipo-Tipo,” Peña explained. “They wanted them to be sanctioned.”

The military commander did not identify the clans involved.

READ: Basilan town ‘under siege’; Army confirms ‘incident’

He said armed men took to the municipal hall early Tuesday morning, prompting the deployment of at least 150 soldiers.

Asked to comment on whether it was accurate to report that the town was “under siege,” Peña said, “No, it was not. There was already de-escalation.”

“It was pacified through the collaboration of our elders [and] of our local government. The PNP and the AFP personnel’s presence there is just to ensure there will be no further escalation of conflict,” he added. /apl/abc