On June 3rd,2011 LGU (Local Government Unit,as in municipal or provincial government) executives were put on edge over a flurry of sightings concerning columns or armed men moving through the jungle on both sides of the South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat Provincial border.Unlike the NPA,which also operates in that sector (Front 72 and the recently re-activated Front 73),these guerillas were wearing the distinctive tiger pattern camoflauge fatigues that serve as a uniform of sorts for the BIAF,or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces,the military wing of the MILF.
The BIAF Base Command within that AOR (Area of Responsibility,as in Area of Operation) is the 107th but since the beginning of 2010 that element has come close to de-activation with its leadership falling in joint actions by the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP's (Armed Forces of the Philippines) 73IB (Infantry Battalion) with the latter having been intially deployed to the area in August of 2008 to neutralise the Base Command for having gone off the reservation with 3 other Base Commands in the 2008 War.The 107th,then under Kumander Abdulrahman"Aguilar"Malayo,who is usally referred to by his alias Jayson Saliganan had very stupidly pissed where it slept as the saying goes.The 107 Base Command's main camp,ibn Walid,is in Barangay Daliao's Sitio Maca Uno in the mountains of Maasim,Sarangani Province.In May of 2008 the 105 Base Command under the infamous BIAF Kumander,Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato and his strongest sub-Kumander,Alo Binago,attempted to relocate their AOR to Sarangani Province.
Arriving at the main 107 Base Command camp Kato et al began discussions about the envisioned re-location.Finding the 107 less than receptive the 105 prepared to de-camp to the Binago Clan stronghold in Barangay Kidayan in the municipality of Palimbang,in the adjacent province of Sultan Kudarat.As the 105 moved towards the border it crossed an MNLF camp perimeter in the municipality of Maitum,the last town on the Sarangani side of the border.A large firefight brokeout with the 105 Base Command overunning the small MNLF camp and occupying most of two barangays as well as positions in Palimbang,on the other side of the provincial line.Trying to dislodge the 105 Base Command Sarangani's Governor,then AND now,Miguel"Migs"Dominguez personally conferred with Kumander Kato and was able to have the 105 withdraw from Sarangani Province completely.
Fast forward to the August 4th,2008 TRO,or Temporary Restraining Order,issued by the Supreme Court against the Government which was preparing to sign the MoA-AD,or Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain,with the MILF/BIAF the next day (August 5th) in Kuala Lampur,Malaysia.In response to that TRO,the very same Kumander Kato,by now back at his designated AOR on the Maguindanao and North Cotabao Provincial border,launched a full scale assault on the PALMA Complex.The Complex,consisting of 5 North Cotabato municipalities with Ilonggo (non-Muslim ethnicity from the Western Visayan Islands in the Central Philippines) majorities,burning,pillaging and of course killing Ilonggo,Bisaya and Lumad (the Bisaya are a Christian ethnicity from Eastern Mindanao and the Eastern Visayan Islands,the Lumad are a collection of Animist Hilltribes) in an orgiastic expression of violence that sought out any non-Muslim.
Kato's raid was then followed by the Kumanders of two other Base Commands,Kumander Abdullah"Bravo"Macapaar of the 102 Base Command with an AOR covering most of the two Lanao Provinces (del Norte and del Sur),and Kumander Ustadz Aleem"Mars"Sulaiman Pangalian of the 103 Base Command whose AOR was supposed to cover a portion of Lanao del Sur Province into the Lanao side of the Liguasan Marsh.Looking for new Christians to terrorise,Kumander Kato deployed sub-Kumander Alo Binago back down south to Sarangani Province.
Just after sundown on August 17th,2008 as the AFP was intently focusing on the 102,103,and 105 Base Command AORs Binago led nearly 50 guerillas from the 105 on four motor-bancas (motorised skiffs) out of the Pulangi River (Rio de Cotabato) and south along the coast,finally pulling up on the shores of Maitum just before midnite,August 18th.Rendevouzing with less than two dozen guerillas from the 107 Base Command under sub-Kumander Datu Mama Abpa the combined forces of nearly 80 guerillas moved towards Barangay Poblacion,arriving at 130AM.Storming a pawn shop and pharmacy they looted both,then shot 3 civilians in cold blood,killing two of them:
1) Joleto Ulmas,age 34
2) James Raymund Ruiz,age 21
The third civilian,a 20 year old man was crippled for life.Moving towards the LGU compound housing both the town hall and the PNP MPO,or Municipal Police Office,they launched a poorly co-ordinated full scale assault.Without success,the force withdrew after running out of RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) rounds.Last seen moving through outlying barangays in the direction of the mountains and Camp ibn Walid,the alert went out.
The AFP immediately deployed additional troops to supplement the 27IB which was spread far too thin.Not taking any chances the powers that be shifted an entire IB,the 73rd and had them ensconce themselves directly in Maitum itself with the primary objective being to capture Camp ibn Walid and effectively neutralise the 107 Base Command.It took the 73IB all of 6 days to do just that.It was,hands down,the best performance of any single IB during the 2008 War.
Fast forward to June 3rd,2011 and reports of guerillas roaming the hinterlands where Sultan Kudarat,Sarangani,and South Cotabato Provinces converge.Because of the GPH-MILF Peace Process the GPH,or Government of the Philippines,is walking on egg shells,terrified of accusing the MILF outright.Needing a whipping boy and at the same time appreciating any possible leverage against the MILF,he accusations were made against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters,or BIFF.BIFF is the new insurgency group created by the aforementioned Kumander Kato,formerly of the 105 Base Command.I will save the long winded back story of how Kato evolved from BIAF Posterboy to BIFF madman for an entry I am simultaneously working on,entirely devoted to Kato and BIFF (sounds like a Jap-pop band).Sufficient to say,it wasn't BIFF walking those trails.The idea is ridiculous to anyone at all knowledgeable about the insurgencies on Mindanao in that BIFF is confined to a very small area in the Liguasan Mash and the mountains above it in Maguindanao Province.It is more than a long walk from Maguindanao Province to the bottom of South Cotabato Province.That he could deploy columns traversing 3 full provinces on foot and in full battle array is just too ridiculous to even comment on (wait,I already did).
In fact,those guerillas happen to be from the nearly defunct 105 Base Command,Kato's Command while still in the BIAF.Where were they going?To Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat Province to reinforce the Binago Clan in two separate disputes.While BIFF would be noticed hiking through three provinces the BIAF would not because there are contigious MILF/BIAF AORs all the way down the trail from point A to point B.As long as BIAF guerillas remain within acknowledged perimeters they are ho hum.However,upon reaching the Surallah Valley in South Cotabato Province there are no more MILF/BIAF baliwicks and so...the columns did not escape notice.
The 73IB,still deployed in and around Maasim though since the end of the 2008 War in July of 2009,has been concentrating on going mano to mano with the NPA's Far South Mindanao Regional Committee,or FSMRC.Granted,it has had its hands full with the ressurection of a long dead guerilla unit,Front 73,but still,the top-notch IB from the 2008 War was caught unawares when on June 20th those BIAF columns from the 105 Base Command turned on their game face.
On the day in question,just before daybreak,four motor bancas carrying a total of 60 guerillas from the 104 Base Command under sub-Kumander Usop"Paradise"Pababangan,also known as Tato Musa,landed on the shores of Palimbang's Barangay Kidayan with lesser sub-Kumanders Dods"Ulo"Siman and Mama"Double M"Pangabangan at his side.Immediately upon wading through the surf onto the beach at Sitio Dongon the group found a gaggle of guerillas from the 105 Base Command and a firefight ensued.Yep,this one is BIAF on BIAF,the 104 versus the 105.I'm sure that the 73IB isn't too broken up about failing to read the situation correctly back on June 3rd.
The 104 Base Command,under Kumander Jud Caludtiag,is ensconced in Barangay Meti in the municipality of Datu Blah Sinsuat on the Maguindanao side of the Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provincial border.His name may be familiar to readers of this Blog (all 3.5 of you,hi mom!).Back in the Summer of 2010 his 104 Base Command went to war with the MNLF's newest faction,the MNLF-MMSC,or MNLF-Mainland Mindanao State Committee under Datu Faizal"Randy"Karon whose camp is just across the border in Sultan Kudarat Province,in the municipality of Lebak.Not content with having blown up most of his own hometown Kumander Jud saw fit to go to war against the 105 Base Command for two extremely important reasons:
1) Money
2) Money
Aaaaahhhhh,the root of all evil.It will do it everytime.Just as in that 2010 fracas Kumander Jud has his one good eye on a piece of prime real estate,guess he has a thing for beachfront lots in the middle of economically deprived warzones.More over,there is a bundle of extortion money up for grabs and THAT was what finally motivated Kumander Jud to send down the guerillas.
The Vicente T.Lao Construction Company,based in the Panacan District of Davao City is one of the nation's biggest players in large scale construction projects.One minor project it is handling at the moment is the re-paving of the Kalamansig-Palimbang-Sarangani National Hiway.Aside from nearly 100 kilometers of re-paving it is also going to rebuild four old bridges on the northern side of Palimbang.Great,but not really.Knowing that they were going to be awarded the hiway bid on June 20th (bribes are funny that way) they taken a proactive stance and already doled out a very healthy sum to Kumander Jud in the guise of"Revolutionary Taxes."Though the stretch of hiway begins near the 104 Base Command AOR the bulk of the work,vis a vis those four bridges,will be taking place in Palimbang,controlled by the Binago Clan...whose family are heavily involved in the 105 Base Command (as well as the 106 and 109).The Binagos began shaking their fists at the 104 back in late May when they began squeezing the Lao Construction representatives and daring the 104 to stop them.Knowing what this might initiate they had the 105 Base Command,or what remains of it anyway,start sending reinforcements to Palimbang at the beginning of June.It took until June 20th for the 104 to react.
To date,today being July 3rd,there have been slightly more than 50 deaths,12 of them being innocent civilians.There are,according to official numbers now,nearly 10,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,as in"refugees") and official numbers are usually lowballed by at least 35% meaning that there are at least 13,500 people who are now homeless all because the MILF/BIAF is unable to control its deploding organisation.The IDPs are from six barangays that were eventually engulfed in the widening conflict by June 24th:
1) Kidayan,the original barangay
2) Namat
3) Kisek
4) Masla
5) Batang-Baglas
6) Kiponget
Originally Maganao Elementary School,in the barangay of the same name,served as the town's only IDP centre but by June 25th fighting engulfed Barangay Mangao as well,marking the seventh barangay to fall prey to this senseless violence.
Kumander Jud didn't have to look far for a more than willing sub-Kumander.Tato Musa had a bone to pick with the Binago faction of the 105 Base Command.Back on August 18th,2010,two years to the day since the raid on Maasim,Tato Musa had joined the 105 Base Commands sub-Kumander Alo Binago,the 107 Base Commands sub-Kumander Jafa'ar Maguid under the command of the 105 Base Command's sub-Kumander Scorpion,better known as Kumander 511 for a raid on a pawnshop.The proceeds were to go to a joint weapons purchase but Kumander 511,with Binago's support,had refused to give a portion of the weapons purchase to Tato Musa.He had been waiting for payback,in both senses of the word.
What has been the MILF's reaction to this mayhem?On June 24th the MILF's Central Committee sent a single emissary to try and resolve this widening sub-conflict.Of course he was unable to even meet with a single sub-Kumander because of heavy firefights in what was then six barangays.With the AFP pressuring the MILF for results the Central Committee decided to deploy a team of senior emmisaries with 2 detachments of BIAF guerillas from the recently re-constituted National Guard Base Command which in terms of the BIAF is a Special Forces detachment though no conventional military would even let them peel potatoes in the mess hall.Trying to observe agreed upon protocols the MILF,via its CCCH,or Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities notified both IMT-6,the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team,6th Deployment,and the GPH CCCH contingent that it was doing so.Immediately word came back forbidding the deployment of the National Guard Base Command guerillas.The AFP believes that there would be a significant chance that some or all of the National Guard gunmen would join the fray on one side or another.Judging by past performances it is an absolutely valid concern and so no further emissaries made their way to Palimbang.
What has been the GPH reaction?Intially responding to reports of a gunfight on the beach the Palimbang MPO responded on site and then ran for their lives when both Base Commands concentrated their fire on the PNP personnel and vehicles though the PNP was able to verify that they killed a single guerilla,Base Command unknown,without suffering casualties themselves.The next day,June 21st,while on patrol across the provincial border in South Cotabato Province's Barangay Ned in the municipality of T'boli,the 73IB ran across a thick column of 105 Base Command guerillas moving south to bolster their fellow fighters in Palimbang.A fierce engagement broke out before the BIAF withdrew into the jungle.Still,the AFP refuses to even condemn the MILF/BIAF for fear of upsetting the teetering Peace Process.
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