| Villagers flee
retreating Abu bandits By
Faber Concepcion
ZAMBOANGA CITY—Hundreds
of families have fled their homes in Upper Tungawan, a coastal barangay of Tungawan town
in Zamboanga del Sur, after 500 suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels “invaded” the area
to flee military pursuers.
The report
reaching the Southern Command here confirmed earlier claims that rebels had managed to
slip through the naval blockade around Jolo and other islands of Sulu province.
While this
development raised new complications for civilians in southern Philippines, the government
assault against the Abu Sayyaf allowed former rebels of the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF) to take on a new role—providing havens for fellow Mindanaoans fleeing the
conflict.
Although they have
been exposed to danger due to spillover violence, most ex-guerrillas have succeeded in
convincing Mindanao protagonists to respect the peace of their 82 Peace and Development
Communities (PDCs)—the name coined for the havens they have established with
assistance from a UN-backed multi-donor program of the Southern Philippines Council for
Peace and Development and the NEDA.
But they are the lucky ones.
Signs
In Upper Tungawan,
the sight of fierce, wounded guerrillas sent hundreds of households fleeing to safer
ground.
The report
prompted the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade to send a combat reconnaissance team to
the area.
Government forces
returned with statements from residents but without actually sighting the alleged rebels,
although they scoured the whole village and nearby Sibuco town, 70 kilometers from this
city.
Soldiers, however,
said they found signs of the recent presence of a big number of armed men, including
bloodstains on the grass and shrubs.
Lt. Gaspar
Panopio, of the Army’s Special Forces Company stationed in Quiniput, in Vitali
District on the east coast of this city, said at least five motorized bumboats landed
Thursday in Tungawan town.
“We received
the reports from residents about three days ago and we immediately went to the area to
verify,” said Lt. Panopio.
The military
tagged Tungawan as the jump off point of rebels who pillaged Ipil town in 1995.
Crossfire
Like other
civilians in Mindanao, ex-MNLF fighters have to contend with the tempers of the war’s
protagonists. Its past records also expose them to suspicion from all sides.
One hair-raising
incident took place in an MNLF Peace and Development Community in Muntai, Kolambugan,
Lanao del Norte, where soldiers came looking for a wounded man suspected of being an MILF
member.
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