CAMP SK PENDATUN, Maguindanao — Police authorities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) are looking into the possibility of filing proper charges against personnel of the Bacolod-Kalawi municipal police in Lanao del Sur for its failure to prevent a clan war that left five people hurt over the weekend.
Chief Supt. Graciano Mijares, ARMM police regional director, said he has ordered the deployment of police peacekeepers in Bacolod-Kalawi composed of police officers not related to the warring Ammanodin and Dipatuan clans that clashed Friday and Saturday due to a long-standing family feud.
Armed with high-powered weapons, both the Ammanodin and Dipatuan clan members figured in a running gunbattle in the villages of Dipatuan, Bubong, Poblacion and Madanding in Bacolod-Kalawi.
The fighting left five people injured and displaced about 200 civilian families.
In a statement, Mijares said he could not see any reason why the police failed to prevent the armed hostilities when Mindanao is under martial law.
Mijares said criminal charges are being prepared against the warring families. The ARMM police is coordinating with the office of Lanao Sur Gov. Soraya Alonto-Adiong for a peaceful settlement of the problem but warned the opposing clans that police will not think twice of implementing the law on firearms. (PNA)
