By Edwin Fernandez | Philippine News Agency
COTABATO CITY — The military in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao on Friday successfully brought two warring Muslim families to a “peace table” inside its battalion headquarters to end a long-running conflict.
Lt. Col. James Fernando, commander of the Army’s 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion (1MIB), said it took a while to convince the Muslim families locked in a “rido” (clan war) to settle their dispute peacefully.
Fernando said he was thankful that their persistence paid off when they managed to convince the warring families of Datu Mando Tabungalan and Datu Tamano Mamalapat to sit down at the Army headquarters in Barangay Salbu, Datu Saudi Ampatuan.
Locked in a bloody “rido” for several years now, the families engaged in several armed confrontations at the boundary of Barangay Kitango and Barangay Kitapok, where they reside.
Fernando said the clan war resulted in the wounding and death of some of clan members.
“This ‘rido’ has created anxiety among residents of the Kitango and Kitapok villages,” he said.
Prior to the settlement, he said the 1MIB initiated a series of coordination and dialogues to the warring parties and Muslim religious leaders.
To formalize their reconciliation, the elders of the Tabungalan and Mamalapat families signed a peace covenant that compels them not to use violence in settling misunderstanding but through diplomatic means.
Mamalapat said he was glad the other party (Tabungalan family) agreed to a peaceful settlement. Tabungalan, for his part, said he was happy and welcomed the Army’s initiative.
