PNP News Releases 2008

CLEARING OPERATIONS CONTINUE IN NORTH COTABATO: FRESH TROOPS JOIN AIR AND GROUND OPERATIONS

Police and military troops continue clearing operations in some barangays in North Cotabato to restore normalcy in areas that have been occupied by MILF forces.

At the same time, fresh troops from other Mindanao regions were rushed to North Cotabato to join the operation to "liberate" occupied barangays from MILF control and provide security to returning evacuees.

More than 72 hours since the August 8 deadline for the pull-out of MILF forces from at least nine barangays in Pigcawayan, Aleosan, Libungan and Midasayap, the PNP noted that the number of evacuees have more than doubled.

"Since Friday, we have yet to see the pull-out that was agreed upon by the MILF," PNP Chief Director General Avelino I Razon Jr. said.

"What is highly irregular is the fact that these contentious barangays, whose residents were driven from their homes and farmlands, are not even part of the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) that is the subject of ongoing negotiations," Razon emphasized.

Razon explained that instead of a pull-out of forces, what has been accomplished so far by the 105th Base Command of the MILF is literally a "maneuvering" of its units in other barangays, thus, widening the scope of the conflict and causing more civilians to evacuate.

Security forces and local government units are assisting civilians displaced by the unexpected takeover of new areas by "maneuvering" MILF forces.

The MILF high command has admitted having some difficulty in implementing its instructions to lower units to pull-out from North Cotabato.

The Joint Task Force PALMA has been working closely with the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) to ensure the immediate pull-out of MILF forces. The present situation has been brought to the attention of the International Monitoring Committee, Razon said.