FEUD SETTLEMENT. Brig. Gen. Donald Gumiran (right), Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade commander, welcomes Tuesday (April 18, 2023) Butch Malang (left), chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ceasefire panel, and Anwar Alamada (center), also from MILF ceasefire committee, at the 602nd IBde headquarters in Carmen, North Cotabato. The three worked together for the settlement of a clan war that involved MILF members in adjacent Pagalungan town, Maguindanao del Sur province. (Photo courtesy of 602nd IBde)
COTABATO CITY – The Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade (602nd IBde) has facilitated the settlement of a “rido” (clan war) involving Moro families in Pagalungan town, Maguindanao del Sur, a military official said Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, the Army’s 602nd IBde) commander, said the “rido” settlement on Tuesday afternoon was also made possible by the backing of Anwar Alamada, chairperson of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Adhoc Joint Action Group, and Butch Malang, chair of the MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH).
The three leaders gathered the families of Datu Kenti Matalam, chairperson of Barangay Kilangan, and those of Datu Nayang Timan and Norodin Abubakar, both MILF leaders in the same village, for the peace dialogue at the 602nd IBde headquarters in neighboring Carmen town.
During the meeting, the officials commended the warring parties for heeding the call of the 602nd IBde to face each other and end their hostilities in Barangay Kilangan that started early this month.
“It’s good that both sides readily agreed to a cessation of hostilities,” Gumiran said in a statement, adding that the Army has helped in the return of internally displaced persons (IDP) to their homes.
Both sides have incurred an undetermined number of casualties at the height of the hostilities that sent more than 3,000 civilians leaving their homes.
The BARMM government has earlier extended batches of food aid to the displaced families. (PNA)
