Task force formed to end ‘rido’ in Pikit
THE Bangsamoro government has formed a task force to address the conflict between armed clans in pikit town, north cotabato that claimed the lives of at least 12 persons in the past few months.
Bangsamoro Interim Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim convened regional officials to finalize the creation of Task Force Reconciliation last Sunday to resolve the killings in Pikit.
Ebrahim stressed that the reconciliation committee has been tasked to prevent the recurring retaliations from feuding parties and resolve the conflict in Pikit.
“We should identify the root
cause of the problem and strengthen the reconciliation so that we could start to negotiate as soon as possible,” Ebrahim said.
During the meeting, land disputes and injustices in the past surfaced as among the causes of the conflict.
The task force will be headed by Senior Minister Abdulraof Macacua. It will be composed of representatives from the local government units in North Cotabato, the 6th Infantry Division, Police Regional Office-BARMM, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, among others.
Recently, Pikit Mayor Sumulong Sultan sought the assistance of the Bangsamoro government in addressing the peace and order condition in the town.
Sultan, however, belied reports on social media that depict Pikit is now a “ghost town” due to the rampant killings.
Sultan added that it is business as usual in Pikit.
At least a dozen individuals have been killed recently in Pikit, eight of them in separate incidents in August, reportedly due to rido or clan war.
In some skirmishes, innocent civilians were displaced.
Last month, North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza appealed to the people of Pikit to help authorities solve the spate of killings in the area.
“We need the people of Pikit to unite and fight for peace together,” Mendoza said.
Most of the killings reportedly occurred in the villages of Pikit that are part of the Bangsamoro special geographic area (SGA).
Twenty-two of the 42 villages in Pikit opted to join the BARMM. From the six towns in North Cotabato, 63 villages are under the BARMM. Pikit town, however, still remains part of Region 12.