Life going back to normal in Mamasapano
COTABATO CITY, Philippines – A week after 44 police commandos were killed in clashes with Moro rebels, life in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao has started to go back to normal.
Mamasapano Mayor Benzar Ampatuan said residents have started working on their farms and trading at the village proper in Tukanalipao, the center of the fighting.
“We also have not monitored any movement from the military or rebels. It’s back to normal here now,” Ampatuan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by phone.
According to the region’s social welfare office, four civilians were also killed in the Jan. 25 fighting after members of the police’s Special Action Forces entered the town to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir, also known as Marwan, and Jemaah Islamiya bomber Basit Usman.
The police claimed it killed Marwan in the operation, but that Usman was able to escape.
Ampatuan said although tension has died down in his town, there has been a reported movement of Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway group of the MILF, in nearby Guindulungan town.
Members of the BIFF also participated in the Jan. 25 fighting with the SAF men.
Ampatuan said the civilian fatalities, including four others who were injured, “were trapped at the height of firefight and were hit by stray bullets.”
Resident Sarah Langalan said her husband Badrudin was killed by the SAF forces.
“He was heading to village proper when he was seen by policemen along the way. He was forcibly taken and then they tied his hands,” Sarah said.
“They executed my husband so he cannot tell others about their presence that time,” she added.
Meanwhile, the government is beefing up its forces for any retaliation following the reported death of Marwan.
Capt. Jo-Ann Petinglay, spokesperson of the military’s 6th Infantry Division, said that the Malaysian bomber was able to train bombers and instructors in his years of hiding in different locations in Mindanao.
“Marwan had been in the country for years. He was able to train many people who now have the capacity of making improvised explosive devices,” Petinglay said.
The military, however, could not give an estimate on the number of people trained by Marwan explaining that the group was careful in its security protocols.
“They were very careful about their security. Marwan trained in small groups of about five people,” Petinglay said.
Unfortunately, some of those trained by Marwan have become capable of teaching bomb making, she said.
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters wondered why the government feared retaliation.
“If they fear retaliation, we are also equally apprehensive that our communities will be attacked by government forces after the Special Action Force suffered heavy casualties in Mamasapano,” BIFF spokesperson Abu Misri Mama said.
Mama explained that the probability of an attack by government forces has been the reason why they have alerted all of their fighting forces on “intrusion” in their communities.
“We ordered our members to be always ready to defend their land and families,” Mama said.
Recently, rebels were reported to be massing up in several towns in Maguindanao after government forces also increased its visibility, sending tanks and setting up checkpoints.
A military source said bomb attacks might be launched to create an impression that the rebels have not been set back by the alleged neutralization of Marwan.
But Petinglay said the government would not cower in the face of these bomb attacks.
“We stand firm that we are for peace,” Petinglay said.
