Lanao del Sur

Prevent tension in Mindanao by using tech for better coordination – Pimentel

Herbie Gomez

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Prevent tension in Mindanao by using tech for better coordination – Pimentel

KOKO PIMENTEL. Senate Minority Leader Senator Koko Pimentel answers questions from the Senate media on November 15, 2022, regarding his statement to realign confidential and intelligence funds from civilian agencies to agencies that need funds most.

Angie de Silva / Rappler

Officials blame the Lanao del Sur incident on the lack of coordination between the Army and the MILF, which could have led to a repeat of the infamous Mamasapano encounter in Maguindanao in 2015

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III called on the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to improve communication and coordination through technology on Thursday, February 9, to avoid tensions like the one that gripped Lanao del Sur earlier this week. 

In the incident, former secessionist rebels held more than three dozen soldiers for over 24 hours, highlighting the poor communication and lack of coordination between the military and the MILF on the ground. 

The incident also highlighted the delays in the decommissioning of former MILF rebels, a process that has been ongoing for years as part of an agreement to end the decades-long armed conflict in Muslim-majority areas in Mindanao.

Despite the decommissioning of 19,345 MILF combatants and 2,175 weapons since 2015, the process has been delayed for the remaining 40,000 fighters. So far, only 5,250 of the 14,000 MILF members targeted for decommissioning in the third phase have gone through the process.

Police reported that on Tuesday, February 7, soldiers from a Special Forces battalion under the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro were held captive for a day at a Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) camp in Maguing, Lanao del Sur. The soldiers were freed after negotiations on Wednesday, February 8.

Officials have downplayed the incident, including the reported disarming of the platoon members, since Wednesday, with the chairman of the government’s ceasefire coordinating committee, Brigadier General Eduardo Gubat, referring to it as merely a “procedural gesture.”

In a statement released on Thursday, February 9, Defense Secretary and Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity Carlito Galvez said the incident was simply a case of miscommunication between the Army and the MILF. 

He said the resolution of the situation after a day was a testament to the parties’ “deep understanding” of the peace process and ceasefire guidelines. 

Galvez also claimed that the MILF merely provided the Army troops with a safe space for the night and followed established procedures with the joint ceasefire mechanisms.

On Wednesday night, Colonel Michele Anayron Jr., commander of the Army’s 403rd Brigade, told Rappler that the soldiers were released after members of the government and MILF’s coordinating committees on the cessation of hostilities arrived at the area.

Anayron said the soldiers strayed close to the MILF-BIAF camp after conducting an operation against Maoist guerrillas, the New People’s Army (NPA), near the area.

Officials blamed the incident on the lack of coordination between the Army and the MILF, which could have led to a repeat of the infamous Mamasapano encounter in Maguindanao in 2015.

The Mamasapano town incident was a deadly encounter between the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) and MILF forces, resulting in the deaths of 44 policemen and 18 MILF fighters.

Senator Pimentel urged the government and the MILF to continue to uphold the peace settlement, including the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB). 
Pimentel said miscommunication and lack of coordination posed potential threats to the ongoing peace process. – Rappler.com

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Herbie Gomez

Herbie Salvosa Gomez is coordinator of Rappler’s bureau in Mindanao, where he has practiced journalism for over three decades. He writes a column called “Pastilan,” after a familiar expression in Cagayan de Oro, tackling issues in the Southern Philippines.