MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Jan. 27 (PIA) – Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has called on all stakeholders not to let Sunday’s violent incident in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao derail the ongoing peace process.
The incident, involving elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), claimed the lives of 49 police officers belonging to the elite Special Action Forces (SAF) and five MILF fighters.
Hataman called on both government and the MILF not to let the case affect the ongoing peace process.
He also cautioned that detractors might use the incident for their own agenda and try to sow discord and derail the peace process.
“As stakeholders, we must guard the gains in the ongoing peace process,” he said.
Hataman said even the MILF concurs that the operation launched by the SAF team was legitimate.
He and Secretary of Interior and Local Government Manuel Roxas called the incident a “misencounter.”
The misencounter, according to Roxas, happened when the SAF team maneuvered inadvertently to an area controlled by the MILF without advance coordination after deciding to withdraw their action to arrest Usman and Marwan.
He believes the incident is the “single largest loss of life in the security sector.”
At present, a Board of Inquiry (BOI) has been organized to investigate the incident. A debriefing was also conducted to the other operatives involved.
For its part, the ARMM government through its Humanitarian Emergency Action Response Team (HEART) is preparing to send in 600 packs of relief goods to assist around 563 families that have been displaced due to the conflict.
The affected families are residents of barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano. They immediately proceeded to the nearby evacuation center located at barangay Daladap Madrasah after the confrontation. (Bureau of Public Information-ARMM/PIA-10)
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