KIDAPAWAN CITY, 9 August — A town official of Mlang in North Cotabato province yesterday said a turf war between two armed groups, not an attack by Moro separatists, was the cause of tension in the area lately.
And contrary to media reports, no attack happened whatsoever, said Vice Mayor Lito Piñol. He said the leaders of two armed groups fighting for control over the area were just quarreling.
The official’s statement effectively belied an announcement by his own brother, provincial Gov. Manny Piñol, who said on Monday that Barangay Tibay in Mlang was under attack by forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) because the residents refused to pay “revolutionary taxes.”
Reports of violence reportedly drove dozens of families to flee, but they returned later after being told about the false alarm.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu immediately denied the governor’s accusation, saying the Front is not engaged in collection of revolutionary taxes, especially from non-Muslim communities. “Maybe what is in the mind of Governor Piñol is the system being adopted by the other revolutionary organization which is not applicable to the MILF,” Kabalu said.
Kabalu went on to castigate the governor for “repeatedly slandering the MILF with false and malicious accusations.” He said the latest of this was Piñol’s claim that MILF fighters were planning to assassinate him.
Piñol also blamed the MILF for a bomb that exploded in Mlang’s town center, only to issue a clarification that culprit was Gani Saligan, whose surrender months ago was negotiated by the governor himself. “Apparently, there was a breakdown of trust between Saligan and Piñol due to promises made by the latter which he failed to fulfill,” said Kabalu.
