THE insurgency in various parts of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm), particularly in Central Mindanao, has been steadily decreasing since the full establishment of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) in 2019, according to recent reports from Bangsamoro military officials.
Colonel Rey C. Rico, the assistant personnel officer for the Chief of Staff of the Civil-Military Operations of the Army's Sixth Infantry Division (Kampilan Division), told Mindanao journalists during an immersive training session that reports of violent incidents since 2020 have been greatly exaggerated.
Contrary to claims made by various groups, Rico clarified that only 21 armed clashes have been monitored since 2020. These clashes involve various armed factions, including private armed groups, local terror organizations like the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and Dawla Islamiya, as well as units of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
“While the MILF has already entered into a comprehensive peace agreement with the government, the involvement of some MILF fighters can be attributed mainly to family and clan disputes, locally known as rido,” Rico explained on March 19, 2025, at their headquarters in Cotabato City.
He went on to note that the government forces had successfully neutralized one faction of the BIFF, with many of its members choosing to surrender, a trend echoed in the remaining BIFF factions and in Dawla Islamiya.
Meanwhile, the official also emphasized that while he could not provide specific numbers for all areas within the Moro-dominated region, the pattern of conflict decline was similar throughout the region.
The newly divided provinces of Maguindanao and the scattered barangays of North Cotabato, which voluntarily opted to join Barmm and are now referred to as the Special Geographic Area (SGA) belong to the area of the responsibility of the 6th Infantry Division (6ID).
Rico also described the reduction of violent incidents as “very significant” compared to previous years. His statement was in response to claims from the civil society organization, Climate Conflict Action (CCA), which expressed concerns over what it described as a rising trend in election-related killings since mid-2024.
The CCA claimed that 2024 saw the largest increase in violent conflicts since the 2017 Marawi siege, with 4,000 incidents reported, compared to fewer than 1,000 in 2011.
However, the Bangsamoro Peace, Security, and Reconciliation Office (PSRO) reported that the Bangsamoro government had successfully mediated 50 out of 75 major conflicts registered with the PSRO in the past year, mostly in the two Maguindanao provinces and the SGA.
The CCA also noted that many of the violent incidents were driven by extremist groups and individuals.
Rico acknowledged that such a rise in violence was “somewhat predictable”, as the country typically experiences increased tensions during an election year.
Currently, according to Rico, MILF has been cooperating and assisting government forces to dismantle the influence of terrorist organizations in Moro communities. DEF