Municipal treasurer dies in explosion

CAMP SIONGO, Maguindanao—A municipal treasurer and his son, and two other passengers of a van were killed when Moro breakaway rebels set off a homemade bomb in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town on Tuesday night, according to the military.

Three other passengers were wounded and brought by government forces to Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City, said Lt. Col. Warlito Limet, commander of the Army’s 2nd Mechanized Infantry Battalion.

The fatalities were identified as Caloy Macabangen, treasurer of Datu Salibo town, and his son Kenken; Alex Apas and Bensar Agapay.

They were riding on a Mitsubishi Delica van bound for Datu Salibo from Cotabato City, when the bomb went off at 10:30 p.m. in Barangay Lower Salbu in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Linet said. They died on the spot, he added.

The explosive could have been aimed at government forces, Limet said.

He said the van had earlier backed off from intense fighting between soldiers and members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front after the latter pursued peace negotiations with the government in 2008.

The clash was the latest in a series of violence involving BIFF forces in the province.

Days before Tuesday’s explosion, 30 BIFF rebels attacked Army detachments in Barangays Tee and Sambolawan, both in Datu Salibo. Two soldiers were slightly wounded. The assault began about 4 a.m. and the ensuing battle lasted until 7 a.m., said Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson.

“The number of BIFF attackers was rising and they used the marshland as launching pad, making it difficult for our troops to fire back, so we need to use our air assets,” Petinglay told the Inquirer.

Two MG-520 attack helicopters pounded BIFF positions with rockets for about an hour, she said. But she could not say how many BIFF were killed or injured.

Since Feb. 5, when the BIFF started harassing a government dredging project in Barangay Butalo in Datu Salibo, one soldier was killed and six others, including an Army captain,  were hurt, Petinglay said.

Abu Misri Mama, the rebels’ spokesperson, confirmed his group’s involvement in Tuesday’s skirmishes, adding that five soldiers were killed and at least three armored personnel carriers were destroyed.

“Our fighters destroyed three tanks that is why the Army used attack helicopters,” Mama told the Inquirer sin a phone interview.

The Army fatalities could not be independently confirmed, but Petinglay denied the rebel leader’s claim of destruction.  “Our military hardware were hit by bullets,” she said.

The two-week sporadic skirmishes have displaced more than 2,500 families in Datu Salibo’s five adjoining villages. Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao