Thursday, August 14, 2008 MILF recruiting Mujahideens in hinterland Oro
REBELS identifying themselves to be members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have been actively recruiting fighters in at least three hinterland barangays in Cagayan de Oro, an official of one of the villages said.
Renato Rances, chairperson of Barangay Tignapoloan, said the recruiters have been observed prowling around his area and in the two other neighboring villages of Tumpagon and Besigan.
The three barangays are contiguous with the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and have a significant Muslim population. Of these, Besigan is the closest to the Lanao del Sur boundary.
To lure the locals to enlist in the MILF, Rances said the recruiters are offering locals P20,000 as monthly compensation; P50,000 for barangay officials.
He said the recruitment, which started when the peace negotiations between the MILF and the government panel collapsed early this year, has intensified lately.
Recruitment activities are particularly heavy in Barangay Besigan, where large portion of locals are registered residents of Lanao del Sur, he said.
Mayor Constantino Jaraula said the boundary issues affecting Barangay Besigan stemmed from a still un-repealed presidential decree of then President Ferdinand Marcos consolidating it under the Armm.
The three villages are not included in the disputed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), the mayor clarified, even as he appealed for residents not to give in to the recruiters.
Villagers are also being warned against scammers.
Major Michelle Anayron, spokesperson of the 4th Infantry Division (4ID), said there was no way to verify whether the recruiters are genuine MILF members -alluding to several recruitment scams in which residents are made to pay in exchange for future membership of a bogus organization.
But if the MILF has indeed been recruiting more people to its fold, Anayron advised the hinterland folk to think twice.
"Ultimately, it is their choice if they will join or not and if they believe they will be paid the promised sum," he said.
Anayron said 4th ID troopers could easily respond to threats in all upland areas in Cagayan de Oro barangays.
"We have cluster patrol bases of the Citizen Armed Geographical Forces Unit (Cafgu) under the 23th Infantry Battalion (23IB) in the immediate vicinities of the said barangays. If the clashes escalate we can easily reposition our artillery pieces to support," he said.
