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'MISCOMMUNICATION,' SAYS GOV'T

39 soldiers briefly held by MILF members in Lanao del Sur


Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members in Lanao del Sur on Tuesday night briefly held 39 government soldiers and confiscated their firearms in what the government said was a case of miscommunication.

Interviewed on Dobol B TV, Army spokesperson Colonel Xerxes Trinidad said the MILF members subjected the soldiers, who were from the 1st Special Forces Battalion, to a "verification process."

"'Yung pagharang, temporary pag-hold sa ating kasundaluhan, ito po ay isang verification process. Hindi makakaila meron po kasing mga incident na itong mga [New People’s Army fighters] ay nagpapanggap na government soldiers na pumapasok din sa area nila,” Trinidad said.

(Our soldiers were temporarily held for a verification process. There were incidents where NPAs were pretending to be government soldiers and entered their area.)

Trinidad said the MILF needed to do the verification process to avoid a misencounter. According to him, the soldiers were safe and were able to return to their command post in Bukidnon on Wednesday.

The 1st Special Forces Battalion of the 403rd Brigade, which is under the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), went to Lanao del Sur in response to information about NPA members in the area, Trinidad said.

Trinidad said the Army had coordination with Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), which covers Lanao del Sur, for the expansion of the brigade's area of cooperation. This was also coordinated with the MILF, he added.

"Kung mapapansin niyo sa parte po ng Bukidnon itong under ng 403rd Brigade. Parte po ng Lanao del Sur, na-coordinate po natin yan dito sa Westmincom. Kung saan po coordinated din po 'yan sa ating mga kasamahan sa MILF,” he said.

(If you noticed, the 403rd Brigade covers Bukidnon. The part of Lanao del Sur was coordinated with Westmincom. It was also coordinated with the MILF.)

Asked why the firearms of the MILF have yet to be decommissioned, Trinidad said the decommissioning is being done by phases. He said they are coordinating with the Coordinating Committees on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) on the matter.

'Miscommunication'

In a statement on Thursday, the Implementing Panel of Government of the Philippines said the situation has been resolved by the parties following the intervention of the CCCH in the area on Wednesday.

“It was a simple case of miscommunication between a platoon of Army Special Forces under the 4th Infantry Division passing through the area of MILF-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (MILF-BIAF) during an operation against the communist NPA,” it said.

“To ensure the safety of the AFP troops, the MILF-BIAF provided the troopers a safe space to spend the night on February 7 and to effect the established procedures with the joint ceasefire mechanisms,” it added.

The panel said the miscommunication was due to poor signal in the area. —KBK, GMA Integrated News

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