DAVAO -- A councilor and a radio broadcaster figured in two separate ambushes Thursday, with the first incident associated with a rido (clan war) and the other is work-related.
A report from the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) showed that members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) 105th Base Command under Commanders Mando and Castro ambushed the group of Datu Saudi Ampatuan Councilor Tamano Mamalapat, who allegedly led a private armed group of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao province.
Rido is said to be the motive of the incident since the Ampatuans, during their governance in the province, were hunting down the MILFs, according to 6th Infantry Division spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan G. Ponce.
Mamalapat is reportedly a cousin of 106th Base Commander Datu Mama, and his group had allegedly been harassing the rebel group since 2003.
"The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), through the coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities, is constantly in touch with the MILF leadership as regard to the matter of rido involving members of their organization. We will not allow these personal grudges affect the current peace negotiations," said Eastmincom Chief Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer.
The incident happened in Barangay Dapiawan in Maguindanao, and firefight between the Moro rebels and Mamalapat’s group was ongoing as of Friday evening.
The second ambush, on the other hand, happened at Dulag Centro in Bantay town, Ilocos Sur on Thursday evening.
Eugene Paet, 47, an anchorman for Radio dwRS in Ilocos Sur, was in serious condition as of this posting Friday after gunmen on a motorcycle shot him. He was receiving treatment in the intensive care unit of a local hospital in the province.
The attempt on Paet’s life was the latest attack on a media worker after the November 23 Maguindanao massacre, which killed at least 30 journalists.
Paet was on his way home from work Thursday when he was shot in the stomach near police headquarters in Bantay township, said police chief Eduardo Dopale.
"Our police personnel are conducting thorough investigation on the incident. I have instructed the establishment of checkpoints and the conduct of dragnet operations in the area for the possible apprehension of the suspect," said Dopale.
Authorities are not discounting the possibility that the attack was linked to reported disputes in the victim’s personal life.
Paet's son, Eugene Jr., said his father may have been targeted because of his radio commentaries. (Ben O. Tesiorna/Liway C. Manantan-Yparraguirre/AP/Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)