THE LEAGUE OF BANGSAMORO ORGANIZATIONS (LBO) EXPRESSES ITS STRONG DISMAY AND CATEGORICALLY CONDEMNS IN THE STRONGEST TERMS THE VERY RECENT CRIMINAL ATTACKS AGAINST AN MILF COMMUNITY AND THE COLDBLOOD MURDERS OF SEVEN MILF MEMBERS PERPETRATED BY PNP – CIDG – AFP IN THE CRAFTY GUISE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AT DAMAWATO IN DATU PAGLAS, MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR ON JUNE 18, 2023, HEREBY CALLS FOR A CONDUCT OF AN INDEPENDENT IN-DEPTH AND FAIR INVESTIGATION IN AID OF CORRESPONDING GOVERNMENT PUNITIVE ACTION UPON THE PERPETRATORS.
Last Sunday, June 18, 2023, members of the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) launched an uncoordinated and illegal enforcement operation, and in the guise thereof, attacked the peaceful-living MILF community during the early hours of the morning of June 18, 2023 at Barangay Damawato in the Municipality of Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur, which resulted in the cold blood murder of seven (7) Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members.
In a report gathered through a joint validation conducted by the League of Bangsamoro Organizations (LBO), Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), United Youth for Peace and Development (UNYPAD) and other CSOs, it disclosed that the joint raiding teams indiscriminately fired at the houses inside certain Husains’ Compound while everyone was sleeping as it was still an early dawn. Few minutes later they forcibly entered the victims’ houses without a search warrant, a warrant of arrest or any legal documents. They forced everybody to leave the house, and all men were arrested, handcuffed while the women were forcibly separated from their husbands, while having received punches, kicks and slaps in the event of their refusal to stay away. THEN, AFTER THEY WERE FORCIBLY PARTED AND SEPARATED AWAY, THEIR HUSBANDS-IN-HAND CUFFS WERE ALL SUMMARILY AND MERCILESSLY SHOT DEAD BY THE PNP-AFP RAIDING TEAM.
For the record, the subject TUTIN USOP a.k.a. NASSER YUSSEF, HUSAIN and DATDAT USOP a.k.a. NURJIHAD MADIDIS USOP, et al charged for the crime of Attempted Murder at RTC 12 Judicial Division Branch 20 in Tacurong City were granted of PROVISIONAL DISMISSAL by the Assisting Judge Lorna B. Santiago-Avila last May 5, 2023. Likewise, Paglas Mayor Abubakar Paglas categorically denied any presence of BIFF in his municipality which TUTIN USOP et al were suspected of.
Clearly, this raid-cum-massacre is not merely a serious violation of the human rights of the victims who have been living as civilians since the signing of the peace agreement, including those women, the elderly and children who have been assaulted, threatened, robbed and even murdered but also of the Peace and Security Aspects of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which would eventually reduce the entire peace process into the real casualty if repeated and held unchecked. Needless to say, these women and children and those elderly are traumatized, as they are still suffering from such intense fear brought about by such an unlawful enforcement, thus nightmarish operation perpetrated by the Philippine’s security sector i.e., police and military whose supposed state mandate is to protect them. At least, under Violence Against Women and Children (VAWC), the perpetrators are liable.
This incident is also a clear blasphemy and insult to the Islamic faith, as a Muslims’ house of worship was not spared from the attack because a hand grenade was thrown inside the Mosque which also killed the caretaker, a civilian, while he was deeply sleeping.
Said Mosque was also heavily damaged and is now beyond use wrought by a very strong explosion inside.
On that relation, LBO recommends the following to whom it may concern:
1) Provision of immediate relief assistance to the families and relatives of the victims,
2) For the BARMM parliament to conduct a parliament inquiry of the June 18 raid-cum-massacre and those previous raid-cum-massacres in aid of legislation,
3) For both the GPH and MILF Peace Implementing Panels to organize and conduct immediate independent and impartial fact-finding mission,
4) Full implementation and deployment of the Joint Peace and Security Team (JPST),
5) Convening of the GPH-MILF Peace Implementing Panels re: acceleration of both the Peace and Security as well as the Normalization Tracts of CAB including the fast-tracking of the Amnesty program et al.; and,
6) Re-involvement of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) in the peace implementing process and compliances to ceasefire agreements.
Indeed, this incident is tragic. Like previous raid-cum-massacres also perpetrated by PNP-AFP elements, including those in Kabacan, Gokotan, Polomolok, etc., these criminal incidents actively stir up discontent and fuel restiveness upon other members and relatives affiliated to the MILF, them who rejected the embrace of peace because of distrust, suspicion, and the lost of trust and confidence over the sincerity of the national government. This will also provide an opportunity for the peace spoilers to agitate the MILF to abandon peace and take up arms again against the government. Yet, categorically, the MILF does not want to forsake the gains of the peace process that it tries to preserve and protect through the BARMM. Likewise, the Moro people want to see the sincerity of the government to caution its security sector, educate PNP and AFP of the Peace and Security Aspects of CAB and remind them of the May 6, 2002 GPH MILF Joint Communique when launching enforcement operations, thereby prevent such incidents can be avoided in the future.
Done this 23rd of June 2023 in Cotabato City, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Philippines.
Reference:
MAHDIE AMELLIA
Spokesman
Cell No. 0956-446-1218
