Family feud re-ignites in North Cotabato; 120 families displaced

MLANG, North Cotabato, Philippines—A 21-year-old land dispute which has already claimed at least 15 lives erupted anew last week, pitting two relatives and their respective followers in combat, according to Mlang Mayor Joselito Piñol.

At least 120 families, composed of 309 individuals, were displaced anew when the groups of Gani Saligan and Isabel Manuang, both commanders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, clashed in Barangay Dugong here last Friday, Piñol said on Wednesday.

It was not known if there were casualties from the renewed fighting, Piñol said, adding that residents feared more skirmishes were likely due to continued conflicting claims over a 10-hectare property in Dugong.

Piñol said he and other local officials were talking with local religious leaders for possible mediation by them in the conflict.

“Actually these MILF commanders are relatives. I told them to stop fighting and instead suggested that both parties sit down and talk to resolve the decades-old land conflict in Barangay Dugong,” he said.

In Cotabato City, the police chief of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said feuds involving a total of 42 warring families constituted the biggest headache for regional authorities.

Chief Superintendent Beinvenido Latag said a united peace-keeping effort was needed to resolve the feuds because more often than not, the resulting violence triggers waves of evacuation by people who fear getting caught in the crossfire.

“We cannot do this alone. We need the cooperation of local executives, the religious sector and families not directly involved but affected by the clan wars,” he said.

Latag said the problem was compounded by the involvement in the feuds of some local officials in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Foremost among them is the political feud between the Mangudadatu and Ampatuan clans in  Maguindanao, which resulted in the 2009 massacre of 57 people, mostly journalists.

“The killing of a family member could be due to politics, power struggle, land ownership dispute or other personal animosities that traditionally lead to retaliatory attacks and more killings,” said Mindanao State University professor Salipada Tamano.