Some 3,000 families or 15,000 individuals have been displaced by the ongoing military campaign in Central Mindanao meant to go after lawless elements in the region, including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
Malacanang said that the government is now ensuring the welfare of these displaced families.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., cited a report of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the displaced families and on the actions being done by the government to help the affected civilians.
Coloma said that the military and the police are now working together to neutralize criminal elements and terrorist groups such as the BIFF, while ensuring the safety of the civilian population in the area.
This came about as President Aquino ordered a military operation against these groups.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, already ordered an all-out offensive against the BIFF in Central Mindanao where the Moro rebel group had launched a series of bomb attacks.
Catapang said the offensives were meant to protect the communities against the BIFF, which broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
According to reports, the BIFF had raided Kabasalan Complex in Pikit, North Cotabato. BIFF forces also reportedly fought with the MILF in Pagalungan, Maguindanao, where they burned down houses.
Catapang earlier said that more than 20,000 had been displaced by the violent attacks of the BIFF in these villages.
“We will do our best to protect the people and allow them to go back to their homes,” he said.
Members of the BIFF, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), and other armed groups have been implicated in the bloody clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao which resulted in the death of 44 members of the police’s elite force last January 25. (Eagle News Service)
