Police pacify two warring clans in Maguindanao

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines – Police have averted a potentially deadly clash between two armed groups in the southern province of Maguindanao, which sent villagers fleeing their homes on Friday, an official said Saturday. Chief Inspector Zukarno Adil Dicay, officer-in-charge of the Maguindanao provincial police, said fighting had already died down and that the warring sides had "promised" not to engage each other again. "We told them not to do it again and not to use heavy firearms, or else we will be forced to confiscate their weapons because that is illegal," Dicay told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. The fighting was said to have forced villagers from Sitio Kiluran in Barangay Lower Delag in Pandag town, Barangay Sepaka in Datu Paglas town, and Barangay Damaluyas in Paglat town to evacuate to safer grounds. "Pero wala na. Peaceful na dito. Nakiusap na kami sa kanila na huwag nang mag-away because the civilians are the ones who suffer," Dicay said. An Army officer earlier said the warring groups belonged to the Adam and Mangelen clans, which are related and have members living not only in Paglat but also in nearby towns of Pandag, Buluan, and Datu Paglas, all in Maguindanao province. Col. Fred Labitan, commander of the Army’s 75th Infantry Battalion, said the Adam family is led by Piang Mangelen Adam, a retired police officer. The Mangelen clan is led by Bai Mangelen, chairman of Barangay Damaluyas. He said the two groups exchanged fire at about 3 a.m. Friday in Barangay Damalusay in Paglat, a small town in the southeastern portion of the province. Labitan said no one was reported killed or injured in the sporadic fighting as the protagonists were positioned three-kilometer away each other. The military suspected that a land dispute had triggered the two families to engage in a rido, a Maranaw term for family feud. Ridos in the region usually result in protracted fighting and retaliatory violence between warring families, groups, and even communities. Both the Adam and Mangelen clans claim ownership over a sprawling land in Barangay Damalusay. Politics? Dicay had a different view of the violence. He said the clash could not really be considered a "clan war" since it involved the mayor and vice mayor of neighboring Pandag town. "Their fight is all about politics. However, I am not yet sure if it has something to do with their political ambitions for the 2010 elections. It could have something to do with a personal grudge as well," he said, adding that investigation on the fighting was still ongoing as of posting time. Dicay also denied that the province's former police chief (Piang Adam) had a hand in fighting. "Wala siya diyan (He was not involved there). He was resting," he said. The identities of the warring groups could not be independently confirmed. Friday's firefight was only the latest of a series of clashes that had happened in the area since last week. Maguindanao has also seen sporadic fighting between government troops and fighters of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the past months despite a standing cease-fire agreement between the two sides. - GMANews.TV