2 warring groups in Basilan town settle dispute

TWO groups, who belong to one family, have agreed to settle their seven-year-old dispute in the municipality of Tabuan-Lasa, Basilan province.

Tabuan-Lasa Mayor Muctar Junaid said the two contending groups came face-to-face on Wednesday at the town multi-purpose hall.

The first party was led by Sulloh village chief Basid Aba and Manguy Jaharum; while the second group was headed by former Sulloh village officials Abdul Jarin, Hadji Nurjan Dapug, and Kalbi Jawarin.

Junaid said the dispute between the two groups was caused by political differences when they contested against each other in the 2010 barangay elections.

No one was killed by the long dispute but it damaged properties on both sides

The second party and their family members have decided to settle in the village of Lanawan, Lanawan Island as they were driven away from their homes by the group of the first party.

The name of the Tabuan-Lasa town is an acronym of the four islands that comprises the municipality, namely: Tapiantanah, Bubuan, Lanawan and Saluping.

The village of Sulloh is located in Tapiantanah Island, the largest among the four islands.

Junaid said the two groups agreed to settle disputes with the intercession of the town’s Council of Elders in coordination with the Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) and the Local Monitoring Team (LMT).

“I just provided them the venue where they conducted the peace settlement ceremony. It was the Council of Elder and the MPOC and the LMT who convinced them to settle their dispute,” Junaid said.

Junaid said role of the LMT is to ensure that both parties adhere to the conditions they agreed in ending their dispute.

“If the International Monitoring Team stands as observer in the peace talks, we have our LMT to monitor settlement of disputes,” he said in jest.

Both Aba and Dapug said they agreed to settle their disputes since they realized they have nothing to gain if they continue fighting.

They said their families as well as their livelihood have already been affected.

Junaid has advised both parties to unite and help each other for the betterment of their family members.

“Forget about the past. Think of the future,” Junaid told the two parties.