Establishing peace in the community after a Rido conflict
rido
(n.) a Maranao term describing the type of conflict characterized by sporadic outbursts of retaliatory violence between families and kinship groups as well as between communities (The Asia Foundation 2007).
Barangay Buricain can be found deep within the Municipality of Pigcawayan, Cotabato. Upon reaching the tip of the barangay, one can see a few inhabited houses and perhaps children running on the side of the road. At the center of the community, the elementary school stands with more children enjoying the summer sun. Their laughter can be heard as they play tag in the open area in front of the school.
The women and mothers are taking a rest from their morning activities and catching up on the daily gossip beneath the mango tree near the school grounds. Meanwhile, the men are on the far side helping each other, working hand-in-hand to build a new structure for the school.
This is the life in Barangay Buricain - simple, thriving, and humble.
However, these people have known more fear than happiness. They know more pain and sadness than joy. They know more tears than smiles. This peace came from a life tainted by internal armed conflict in the barangay that suspended classes, halted crop planting, and forced them to evacuate to other areas for their own safety.
“Nung unang barilan, nakabakwit na kami. Ala-una ng hatinggabi, naglalakad kami papunta sa isang ligtas na lugar. Mahirap ‘yun kasi pati mga bata ay karga-karga namin at hindi nila alam kung saan pupunta dahil nga nagkakapalitan ng putok (During the first encounter, we are already evacuating. It was one in the morning and we were walking to a safer zone. It was hard because we were carrying children and we had no idea where to go because of the crossfire),” Rudy Abas, a local farmer, said in Maguindanaoan as he recounted his experience during the engagement between the warring groups of Barangay Chairman Abdulsalam Maranguiar and the soldiers of 105th Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Force (BIAF) Battalion Commander Arpe on 03 November 2015.
“Itong paglalakad namin sa gabi ang isa sa pinakamahirap naming karanasan habang nagkakaroon ng rido dito (This walk at night was one of our most difficult experiences during a rido),” he further recalled.
His wife, Rukeia Abas, witnessed a woman give birth in the forest while on their way to the evacuation center in the farther village as they were caught in the exchanges of gunfire between the two parties. “Kasama naming nagbabakwit yung mga bata, dalaga, at pati na mga buntis. Mayroon ngang babae na kabuwanan niya ng maganap ang rido at kailangan niyang manganak sa gitna ng paglikas namin (Women, children, and even pregnant mothers were with us during the evacuation. There was a pregnant woman who was due to give birth when the rido happened and she went into labor in the middle of our move),” she recollected.
Rudy voiced his fear that the firefight might happen again and that the past encounter would trigger a phobia among the local residents. “Kaming mga sibilyan dito ang unang gusto namin ay kapayapaan (All of us civilians here, the first thing we want is peace),” he said.
The first casualty
A rido can begin with something that may seem rather trivial to outsiders. This particular rido started with the shooting incident between Zucarno Mamaloba and a certain Antaban that transpired on 31 October 2015. According to barangay officer Magsaysay Dagadas, Antaban had been teasing Lady Lumijib, Zucarno’s daughter, whenever she went home from school. This caused Zucarno to confront Antaban and this led to a fistfight. After a few days, Zucarno went to Antaban for reconciliation but the latter brought out a gun and shot Zucarno to death.
In the days that followed, the residents observed that there were fully armed strangers roaming around the community. With this situation, the principal and the teachers of Buricain Elementary School called the attention of Barangay Chairman Maranguiar on 02 November 2015. They informed the chairman of their fear of being caught in the crossfire in case retaliation happened since the suspect was living near the said school. Zucarno was known to have family ties with one of the members of the BIAF-MILF under Commander Arpe and his death might have provoked the group to come to their area in an effort to retaliate.
The chairman understood the problem and drafted a letter addressed to the immediate District Supervisor of the Department of Education to suspend classes. After the meeting and while on his way to his house, he was ambushed by unidentified armed men and his 16 year-old nephew, John Paul, who was accompanying him, was killed.
“Akala kasi ng kabila, pinabayaan namin yun [pagkamatay ni Zucarno] kaya kami inatake. Hindi naman pinabayaan ni Kapitan ang insidente. Sinubukan naming ayusin pero na-delay lang kasi wala kaming protocol para makausap yung kabila. Naghanap kami ng paraan kung paano kami makakalapit sa kabila. Sa araw sana ng Tuesday, 03 November, namin ise-settle ‘yun pero hindi na umabot kasi nagkabakbakan na (The other side thought we disregarded the death of Zucarno so they attacked us. The chairman didn’t disregard the case. We tried to fix things but it was delayed because we did not have any protocol to be able to talk to the other party. We tried to find a way. Tuesday, 03 November, was supposed to be the day to settle it but we weren’t able to because the shooting had already started),” Dagadas said.
The bloodied and mourning Maraguiar, as the head of the family and the barangay, called on reinforcement troops who were also residing near the area. These were their relatives and family friends who fought for the death of the child.
The shooting began on the night of 02 November between the forces of BIAF-MILF Commander Arpe and the group of Chairman Maraguiar. According to the GPH-MILF CCCH, they were able to confirm that the latter belonged to the Interim Base Command of the BIAF-MILF National Guard Base Command.
“Medyo malungkot kami noong panahon ng putukan kasi wala ng tao dito (We were sad during the firefight because there were no people left here),” Dagadas mournfully remembered.
Another barangay officer, Saidali Sampillo, shared his grief over losing his wife who left him due to her fear of the existing armed conflict. “Para sa akin, itong nangyari sa Barangay Buricain ay napakasama talaga sapagkat yung nangyari ay nakaapekto sa lahat (For me, what happened here in Barangay Buricain is really terrible because it affected everyone),” he said. “Magkakapatid naman tayo, magpinsan-pinsan, at magkakapamilya rin (We are brothers, cousins, and a family here).”
Ding Lumichig, another barangay officer, said there was famine during the encounter and that the cases of looting in evacuated houses piled up. “Takot kami nung unang sumiklab ang gulo. Gutom din dahil yung mga alaga naming hayop naibenta at kinuha. Napagnakawan din ang mga bahay na iniwan namin (We were afraid when the fight started. There was also starvation because all of our animals were either sold or stolen. Our houses were also looted),” he said.
Resurgence of peace
To contain the growing hostilities within the area and prevent more casualties, the GPH CCCH, MILF CCCH, and International Monitoring Team-Mindanao 10 (IMT-M10) went to Barangay Buricain in the morning of 03 November 2015 to establish a ceasefire between the warring parties. Upon their arrival, the team, led by GPH CCCH Head of Secretariat Major Carlos Sol and IMT-M10 Head of Mission Major General Dato Sheikh Mokshin Bin Sheikh Hassan, could still hear the exchanges of gunfire between the group of Maraguiar and Commander Arpe of the BIAF-MILF.
The team decided to send one group as an advance party to inform the warring groups that the ceasefire mechanisms were about to enter the area to establish a ceasefire and wanted to have a dialogue with them. The firefight stopped and the combined GPH-MILF CCCH met with the members of the opposing troops.
MGen. Hassan told the opposing sides that they had to live in harmony, that they needed to form a bond between them, and that they shouldn’t be fighting anymore. He also shared some of his observations while the team was on its way to the area. The BIAF-MILF forces were all wearing military uniforms and carrying high-powered firearms and this could easily alarm and cause panic to the civilian populace in the area.
Meanwhile, Maj. Sol stressed the need to withdraw the 105th Base Command directed by Commander Arpe because the group of Chairman Maraguiar was already informed that the ceasefire had been established. Afterwards, the members of the ceasefire mechanisms witnessed the withdrawal of the armed men. The MILF buffer force, through the insistence of both Maj. Sol and MGen. Hassan, was also sent back to Camp Darapanan because the top priority was to stop the firefight and pull out the MILF members who were not residents in the area.
“Mahalaga talaga na pumasok ang CCCH. Pagdating nila, pinauwi yung mga 105th na umatake sa amin tapos stand by na kamin. Umuwi na yung iba sa amin. Kinausap muna ang bawat panig kung papayag ba kami na makahanap ng peaceful solution para magkasundo kami. Kami ang unang tinanong kung papayag kami. Oo, basta’t sa kabutihan ng lahat ay papayag kami. Tinanong ang kabila at ganun din ang kanilang sagot (It was really important that the CCCH came into the picture. After they arrived, the 105th that attacked us was asked to go home and we went on stand by. Some of us left while others stayed. We were met and asked if we agreed to find a peaceful solution the conflict. We said “Yes” for the greater good. The opposing party was also asked and they said the same),” Dagadas said.
Maj. Sol pointed out that it was important for the ceasefire mechanisms to intervene in rido conflicts to prevent the escalation of firefights to a much larger scale with more actors such as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) joining the conflict. This was something to be avoided as much as possible.
“We are preventing the military and the police from interfering because the tension would shift from a family feud to their unity against the government forces. This would become a ceasefire problem later on,” he said. “If the conflict swings to going against the government, other armed groups that are trying to engage the government forces would merge (with them) and that might lead to a bigger problem.”
“The CCCH is only there to broker an agreement. We are just facilitating a dialogue in addressing the root cause of the rido conflict. We are not there for the answer because the feuding families or communities must find the solution to the problem themselves,” Sol further explained. “Once a dialogue starts, we see that there is a light of understanding coming from both parties. If they remain hostile, the CCCH intercedes by appealing to their senses that resorting to violent actions will not lead to a resolution.”
At around 3:30 in the afternoon of the same day, the joint GPH-MILF CCCH and IMT-M10 met with the local government officials such as Pigcawayan Mayor Herminio Roquero, Deputy Police Provincial Director Noel Kinazo, and AFP 45th Infantry Division Commanding Officer LCol. Romeo Bautista to brief them regarding the peaceful settlement between the two (2) warring parties of the MILF in Barangay Buricain.
In a matter of three hours, the GPH-MILF CCCH and IMT-M10 were able to establish a ceasefire that stopped the fighting, separated the opposing forces, and opened a discussion of the issues and concerns raised by both parties and the need for a dialogue to be spearheaded by the LGU.
Soon, on 14 February 2016, just in time for Valentines Day, Chairman Maraguiar and Commander Arpe signed a peace accord that settled the rido and addressed the injustice in the death of Zucarno. “Pinatawag kami sa Darapanan at pinapirma [ng peace agreement]. Binasa yung desisyon at yun, nagpirma kami doon. February 14 nung pinagkasundo kaming dalawang panig (We were called to Darapanan to sign a peace agreement. They read the decision and we signed it there. It was February 14 when we were reconciled),” Dagadas recalled.
Onward to a better community
Five months after the November conflict, Dagadas still wished that the rido had never happened and that they had found a peaceful solution to the case of Zucarno back then. “Mahirap pala ang pumasok sa gulo at sa rido. Sobrang saya ko na nai-settle na ito (It was hard getting into such a conflict and in a rido. I am so happy that we settled it),” he said.
“Mabuti na napag-aralan nating hindi pala ito maganda. Lahat apektado. Mabuting may klase na ulit ang mga estudyante. Walang katumbas ang kapayapaan (It is great that we have learned that war is not good. Everyone is affected. The children now can go to school. Peace has no equal),” Dagadas remarked. “Kung wala ang CCCH, siguradong hanggang ngayon putukan pa. Wala ng sigurong tao dito. Sila ang dahilan kaya nagbalik ang mga tao at nagtigil putukan (If the CCCH weren’t here, maybe there would still be fighting until now. Maybe there would be no one left to live here. They were the reason why people came back and why there was a ceasefire).”
Lumichig also lauded the CCCH for their job in keeping peace and order in the community that allowed people to go back to their homes in Barangay Buricain and rebuild their lives disturbed and disrupted by the armed conflict. “Masaya kaming naibalik ang kapayapaan. Sinasabi ng ibang civilian na mas naayos pa ang gulo ng mga taong walang baril at hindi sa mga may dalang armas (We are grateful that we have restored peace. Other civilians said that the conflict was resolved not by people with firearms but by those who did not have any), he said tearfully.
“Kayo (ang CCCH) ang daan namin at tulay para makamtan ang kapayapaan (You [the CCCH] are our way and bridge for us to reach peace),” Lumichig said as he looked upon the children running and playing cheerfully by the school grounds.
Commentaires