Inter-faith blessing marks sixth month since Mamasapano clash

MAMASAPANO, Maguindanao – The corn has grown back in the field in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao six months after more than 60 people died in a law enforcement operation gone awry.

 

"We remember the four civilians, the seventeen MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) fighters, the forty-four SAF," Fr. Jonathan Domingo OMI, says before sprinkling holy water over what he said is hallowed ground.

 

Domingo is part of an interfaith blessing and peace ceremony to mark the sixth month since the clash.

 

A Muslim prayer and a Christian invocation follow.

The prayers are for peace that, Pastor Daniel Pantoja says, "would transform this ground and Mamasapano and all of Mindanao."

 

A short distance away is the bamboo bridge that has become symbolic of the fighting on January 25.

 

Upstream from it, a Public Works and Highways team is working on a P50-million bailey bridge.

 

The bridge, and the new road linking it to the highway, is expected to bring development to the distant village.

 

Kusalim Kusain, who works on the corn field where the fighting happened, hopes for the same peace that the religious leaders are praying for.

 

Kusain was directly touched by the fighting on January 25, and his house still bears a bullet hole from the clash.

 

He said that things are more peaceful in the area now and that farming has become better.

 

At a press forum on Friday, ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia said that Mamasapano, and the other towns in the SPMS Box — the area bounded by Salibo, Pagatin, Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak — are no longer considered a "no man’s land."

 

Kusain, speaking through an interpreter, said that the presence of soldiers in the area is no problem "as long as there is coordination and consultation."

 

The Mamasapano clash was partly attributed to a lack of coordination between the police and the MILF community nearby.

 

Kusain said that without coordination, similar clashes may happen again.

 

"Sigurado," he says.

 

Kusain said he is not fully aware of the details of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, passage of which has been derailed by the Mamasapano clash.

 

He believes, though, that passing it will bring "kapayapaan, kaginhawaan."

 

He said the government and the MILF have an agreement and that there is a need for "balance."

 

"Ibigay kung ano ang napag-usapan. Both sides [dapat magbigay]."

 

He added he believes the Bangsamoro should have its own government within the Philippine government.

 

Kusain lost carabaos and crops in the fighting, but has yet to receive restitution from the government.

 

Abdulmana Abubakar, foreman on the bridge and whose relatives also lost livestock, said a government official "from Davao" had already talked to them and promised payment but that has not happened yet.

 

Kusain is waiting for around P140,000 in payment for lost crops and livestock, but when asked by reporters what he would ask of President Benigno Aquino III, who is scheduled to give his final State of the Nation Address on Monday, the farmer had this plea: "Ilagay ang lugar namin sa kapayapaan." —ALG, GMA News