MILITARY officials and evacuees from Lagonglong town have failed to reach an agreement that will allow the “bakwits” to go home in a dialogue brokered by the Provincial Government last Friday, June 8.
Sarisa Acosta, spokesperson of the bakwits said the military will not agree to pull out all of their soldiers from their area, which she said, is their primary request.
“Among nasabtan nga gusto nila himuon among lugar nga eco-tourism mao daw nagtukod sila ug detachment para makahimo na dayon sila ug tulay ug mga dalan, pero supak mi niini. Dili pwede nga himuon ug eco-tourist spot among lugar kay mawala ang bili sa tradisyon ug among kultura (We learned that they want our place to turn into an eco-tourism that's why they are building a detachment so they can build bridge and roads but we are against this. We won't allow our place to be an eco-tourist spot because the tradition and our culture will be lost),” Acosta said.
First Lieutenant Tere Ingente, 4ID spokesperson, confirmed that they are building a military detachment in their area, an initiative supported by the local government unit and even tribal groups, she said. The detachment is one to two kilometers away from the community, she adds.
But Acosta said the detachment is just beside their usual route near their barangay and not kilometers away.
“Dili mi musugot kay pananglitan na dunay engkwentro sa ubos, asa man muagi ang mga tawo sa komunidad para mulugsong nga sa dalan man (We won't agree because if there is another encounter, we cannot escape because the detachment is in our way),” she said.
Acosta said they hope that the military and evacuees can finally agree, as they need to go home the soonest possible especially that their children are getting sick.
The evacuees claim they left their homes in Sitio Camansi, Banglay, Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental, because gun battles between soldiers and the NPA have been continuing since May 27.
But the 4ID said the area has been cleared of military operations since June 2, and that it is safe to go home anytime.