While Lanao del Sur is a majority Muslim province,Lanao del Norte is a bit different.While a fair number of Maranao (Maranaw) tribesmen,Muslims,do live in Norte,it has a rapidly increasing population of Bisayans (Visayans),a thoroughly Christian ethnicity.Bisaya are not native to this part of Mindanao and most are 2nd or 3rd generation transplants from the Visayan Archipelago,chiefly the island of Cebu at the archipelago's eastern extreme.Yet unlike other Muslim areas where Bisayans have settled,Lanao del Norte rarely suffers from communal violence.A huge exception to this co-existence was the"2008 War,"an event that I will get to eventually.
The largest population centre,Iligan City,is fairly safe and generally free from the overt violence effecting Lanao del Sur and many other areas of the island.All the more so since the very recent re-districting which created a 3rd Congressional district just for the city,the Lone District of Illigan City,Lanao del Norte Province.One exception however is the town of Pantao Ragat,ruled by the Lantud family.All other towns in the province are ruiled by the Dimaporo clan,a solid political dynasty who,if they are not ruling a town themselves have closely positioned allies who do so.This interesting dynamic resulted in a moderate flare up in this year's Election Season.
The Dimaporos,controls 21 of the provinces 22 municipalities and have long been at odds with the much smaller Lantud family,despite a blood relationship.Vice Mayor Lacson Mangotara Lantud is married to a Dimaporo,Eleanor Dimaporo Lantud who assumed her husband's former role as mayor when he finished his 3rd (and maximum term) in 2007.Vice Mayor's maternal relations,the Mangorara family are arch rivals of the Dimaporos and so the Lantuds have thrown their lot in against the province's strongest clan.
Eleanor Dimaporo Lantud is not only a Dimaporo,she is the 1st cousin of the clan's sitting patriarch,Congressman Abdullah Dimaporo who represents the province's 2nd Congressional District.It was Congressman Dimaporo who on December 6th,2009 asked the government to extend Martial Law over the town of Pantao Ragat.Martial Law had just been declared 1 day previously for Manguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provinces along with Cotabato City,to also cover Pantano Ragat.His rationale he claimed was that Vice Mayor Lantud personally controlled a 200 man paramilitary in the form of CAFGU (Civlian Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit,a cornerstone of the AFP,or Armed Forces of the Philippine's counterinsurgency programme).No mattwe that CAFGU are an official arm of local government sublimated to the AFP.He cited an example where he claims Lantud burned an entire barangay in his own municipality simply because he wanted to gain control over a considerable number of coconut palm trees growing there.He refused to name this barangay,didnt produce a single witness or piece of corroborating evidence.Not suprisingly then,his application was denied.
Of course Congressmen,or"Solon"as they are called in the Pilippines,are not allowed to even actually apply for such things.Only a provincial governor can actually make the request.It helps though when the governor happens to be your own son,who took your place when you had served the maximum number of terms.Governor Khalid Quibranza Dimaporo then went on the offencive and ordered a"Preventive Suspension"of 60 days for Lantud,effective January 21st,2010.
On Feburary 5th, 2010 Lantud filed a Petition with the governmental authority for elections,COMELEC,claiming that the suspension was illegal for having been implemented during an Election Season.Lantud cited 2 statutes:
I)Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code which states that such suspensions must first have COMELEC authorisation,
II) COMELEC Resolution,promulgated in December of 2009 which offers that such illegal suspensions are punishable by 6 years imprisonment.He charged Gov.Dimaporo,Acting Provincial Administrator Joselito Quibranza (a relative of the governor,et al) and PNP (Philippine National Police) Director of the PPO,or Provincial Police Office,Orlando Benas.
On March 18th, 2010,fourty well armed men belonging to a Dimaporo allied paramilitary entered Pantao and attempted to storm city hall.In running gun battles that lasted much of that afternoon the AFP's 43IB (Infantry Battalion) and the"Lantud paramilitary,"the 5IB CAFGU were able to defeat the invaders despite their having been significantly reinforced shortly after the initial push.Only 1 person was reported killed,a Dimaporo guerilla.
During the melee it was reported that Congressman Dimaporo personally phoned the 43rd's local pointman and asked for a ceasefire,telling the man,"They are my men."Reportedly the AFP officer responded that Dimaporo,as a politician for many years,should be well aware of the circumstances since a COMELEC weapons ban was in effect for the entire Election Season.Dimaporo then went on local radio station DXIC to deny any culpability and connection to the invading force.
Interestingly,most media have reported the event as a relatively minor event where"some armed men"went to"visit"an "ally of Dimaporo's."Lantud reportedly jumped the gun and called in the AFP who in responding were fired upon, responded and inadvertantly killing 1 man.That is as far as the reporting goes.As for background,all sources have only offered a single activist's assertion,defending the Dimaporo version of events.
On Tuesday,April 22nd, 2010 at 330PM in the town of Maguntao in Lanao del Norte Province,Lantud's father was himself involved in an incident.Inurac Lantud is running for mayor of the town,much to the chagrin of Dimaporo ally,incumbent Mayor Jabber Azis.On the day in question,Inurac's chief Organiser,Kunum Radto Manguranda was surrounded by 9 men on motorcycles,including the aforementioned mayor's brother Samuel Bocor Azis.Samuel Azis told Manguranda that his brother,the mayor,wanted to talk to him at city hall about his support and legwork for Inurac Lantud.He then ordered Manguranda to get on the back of his motorbike.Not feeling as if he had a choice the man complied.
Approaching Barangay Poblacion (the location of city hall) Manguranda shifted his weight so as to spill the motorcycle and did so in front of Lantud's campaign headquarters. When the accident happened Lantud supporters ran to the scene including 1 of Lantud's 2 PNP (Police) officer bodyguards.Attempting to stop a physical melee the police officer was pulling his pistol when Samuel Azis beat him to the draw,to avoid being shot himself the officer fired a single round in Azis' stomach.This of course led to much more pitched violence and so the 601 Brigade's Col.Leo Ferrer ended up deploying the 15IB under LtCol.Allan Hambala to try and prevent the violence from spreading. Shortly afterwards he also redployed 2 APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers) via the 43rd IB.
In the end a possible massacre was averted so that all in all one can say that it was a"peaceful election" as far as Mindanao goes.
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