Kidapawan city gov’t steps in to settle clans’ feud over lands

Mayor Joseph Evangelista. Photo from https://www.kidapawancity.gov.ph/

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines — The city government declared the villages of Patadon and Amas here as “no firearm zones” following the eruption of violence between two Moro clans.

According to Mayor Joseph Evangelista, a resolution has been passed by the city peace and order council, which he heads, asking the military to put up an Army detachment in the borders of the two villages to prevent the recurrence of shooting between the warring clans, one of which is headed by Patadon village councilor Satar Manalundong.

Last month, 34 families or about 100 individuals fled to Amas when Manalundong’s group attacked Sitio Nazareth in Patadon, where a group of settlers had laid claim to his family’s landholdings.

The city police and the military will now strictly enforce a gun ban in the two adjacent villages declared “no firearms zones,” according to Evangelista.

“Only soldiers and policemen and other law enforcement agency representatives are allowed to carry firearms in the two villages,” he said.

Jabib Guiabar, a member of the local monitoring team of the GPH-Moro Islamic Liberation Front ceasefire panel, said a dialogue involving the warring families has been going on with the objective of settling the land conflict peacefully.

He said both sides have expressed willingness to settle the dispute through peaceful means with the help of the Kidapawan City government.

Conflicting claims over land ownership often spark violence in various parts of Mindanao – especially in the areas included in the proposed Bangsamoro territory.

The MILF said it wanted these feuds addressed soon as it would hinder the development of the future region.

In December, MILF rebels led by a Zacaria Goma were also accused of harassing civilians in Barangay Pidsandawan in Rajah Buayan, Maguindanao.

Goma’s group allegedly wanted settlers evicted from lands owned by his relatives.

Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said he has also been helping address feuds in the region.

Hataman’s family was previously involved in a bloody feud with the Akbar clan of Basilan.

Other feuding families in the ARMM who had made peace said they did not want to prolong the violence and opted for settlement.

Among them were the Midtimbang and Omar clans in Talayan, Maguindanao.

Recently, representatives of the two clans signed a peace agreement.

“This is for the sake of our families,” Talayan Vice Mayor Ali Midtimbang said.

South Upi Vice Mayor Mohammad Omar Jr. said other clans involved in feuds should embrace peace as well and settle their differences amicably or through the proper forum.

“We will all suffer if we continue the rido while we will all benefit when we all embrace peace,” Midtimbang agreed.

Hataman said he has created the Regional Commission on Reconciliation and Peace to speed up the resolution of feuds.

“Its focus is to settle family feuds,” he said.