Bantay Ceasefire names 11 ‘villages to watch’

KOLAMBUGAN, Lanao del Norte - The Bantay Ceasefire, a grassroots-based ceasefire monitor that is monitoring election-related violence that could affect the truce between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), has identified at least 11 “barangays to watch" in this province on Monday's election. Rexall Kaalim, coordinator of Bantay Ceasefire, said that six of these 11 villages are in the town of Munay. He identified Poblacion, Tambo, Pindulongan, Matampay One and Matampay Two, and Kadayunan. The Bantay Ceasefire earlier announced it would not be monitoring the conduct of the elections but “potential hotspots" where violence could erupt and affect the ceasefire between the government and the MILF. The Bantay Ceasefire, Kaalim said, would closely coordinate with the Bantay Halalan organized by the Joint Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (JCCH) of the government and the MILF, which set up a coordinating center in Cotabato City. Maj. Carlos Sor Jr, head of the secretariat of the JCCH, said they “would not go by the hotspots identified by the Police and the Army" in stressing that his group, which has mobilized all local monitoring teams in Mindanao, would only monitor “areas of concern" where there is potential for the MILF and government troops to be dragged into election-related violence. Kaalim explained that some of these areas have candidates fielded by local chief executives running against contenders who are either supporters or relatives of the MILF, which earlier announced they would “distance" itself from the political exercise. Aside from the six barangays in Munay, Kaalim also identified Barangay Dilabayan in Kauswagan, Big Banisilon in Tangkal, Mentering in Maigo, Lumbac in Magsaysay and the interior Mandulog village of Iligan City. “These are areas we identified in series of consultations with our volunteers in the field," he said as he announced that they had gone around the provinces of Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and North Cotabato the past week to “assess the situation and set up coordinating mechanisms with out volunteers." In Lanao del Sur, Kaalim joined the optimism of the Commission on Elections, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and the Citizens-CARE for peaceful elections, citing the many barangays where “there would practically be no elections as candidates are running unopposed." In Maguindanao province, he said that the entire town of Pagalungan is “on top of our list." Pagalungan, which the Army considers also as an “area of concern," was hotly contested by the Matalam and Montawal families in the last local elections. The electoral contest has resulted in a “rido" between the two clans which were once political allies. Days before the local elections in Pagalungan last year, a Bantay Ceasefire volunteer who was also a barangay kagawad at the Poblacion, was shot dead minutes before he arrived in his house from a nearby school where he assisted evacuees who fled their homes following armed encounters between warring families. Aside from Pagalungan, Kaalim said they would also closely watch some barangays in Shariff Aguak and Datu Piang. Last week, one civilian died and another was wounded in a crossfire between two contenders of the barangay chairmanship in Kalipapa, Datu Piang. In North Cotabato, Kaalim said that the barangays to watch for possible election-related violence are Mudseng, Rangeban and “all other barangays along the river dividing Midsayap and Datu Piang." Aside from the volunteers in the field, he said that they would be fielding two roving teams, one covering the North Cotabato and another for Maguindanao. “Our field volunteers have been oriented to assess the situation from time to time and immediately report tensions so we could coordinate with the JCCCH in quickly responding to them before tensions blow up to actual armed encounters," Kaalim said. He also announced that some of their volunteers in the islands of Basilan and Sulu have also been informed to monitor election-related violence. - Romy Elusfa