Fears of Ilaga revival aired after BIFF raid

THE armed men who attacked and occupied two barangays of Pigcawayan, South Cotabato, last week were identified as Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), one of several armed groups which have been raiding communities in Mindanao.

A BIFF force, variously estimated at a hundred to 300 men, had emerged from the Liguasan Marsh area and attacked an Army outpost in barangay Simsiman and occupied the elementary school in barangay Malagakit. They vandalized the school, writing messages on the blackboard and on the walls denouncing President Duterte and claiming to be “ISIS” – for Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, an extremist international Islamist movement which reportedly wants to set up a regional center in Mindanao.

The BIFF raid in South Cotabato appeared to be separate from the attack by the Maute in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, over 160 kilometers to the north, which had prompted President Duterte to declare martial law in all of Mindanao. While the BIFF and the Maute may have acted independently of each other, the Armed Forces see the rebel forces in Mindanao — notably the Maute, the BIFF, and the Abu Sayyaf — as connected to one another in their common goal of fighting government forces.

One family in barangay Malagakit described how they tried to hide in a rice mill but were discovered by one BIFF group which killed the head of the family, who had undergone training for the local Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU). It was not the first time the BIFF men had attacked the barangay, the residents said. Over the last 40 years or so, there have been armed clashes between the Christian residents of the barangay and Moro fighters from the Liguasan Marsh area.

The BIFF raid on Pigcawayan has raised new fears that the villagers may take up arms as they did in the 1970s when they organized what came to be known as the Ilaga. This was composed of Visayans, mostly Ilongos, who became a militia fighting alongside the Philippine Constabulary. It was a time of extremism and violence and the Ilaga became notorious for its excesses, including massacres and burning of Muslim homes in Cotabato and Lanao.

The people of barangays Malagakit and Simsiman were reported so concerned about the recent BIFF raid and their belief that it will be repeated sometime soon, that there is talk of the Ilaga being revived. It would most unfortunate if this happens, for the Ilaga in its time became a notorious group of marauders that the government for a time was not able to control.

There is a big problem of peace and order in Mindanao today but we are confident that the government forces of the AFP and the Philippine National Police have the situation well in hand. The people of Mindanao – of all tribal, religious, and ethnic groups – should all help in pursuing this goal of peace, and avoid taking steps that will only exacerbate the problem, like organizing a force along the lines of the old Ilaga.