ZAMBOANGA CITY—The military on Monday filed a cease-fire violation complaint before the Joint Committee on Cease-fire and Cessation of Hostilities (JCCCH) against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), whom it accused of starting the fighting in Basilan, on Sunday.

Two MILF rebels were killed while 17 Marines, including an officer, were wounded when fighting broke out early Sunday after the MILF attacked a Marine detachment in barangay Tong Batu in the town of Ungkaya Pukan.

The commander of Naval Forces Western Mindanao, Rear Adm. Emilio Marayag, on Monday said that from all indications, the attackers are members of the MILF.

Marayag said the MILF could not deny that the attackers are not its members, saying the two slain rebels’ remains recovered were in MILF uniforms.

The JCCCH is the body authorized to accept and investigate cease-fire violation complaints.

At the same time, the Armed Forces asked the MILF leadership to delist from its rolls two commanders who were responsible for the attack on Sunday.

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres Jr., Armed Forces information officer, said the military demanded that Malista Malangka and Hamsa Sapanton be stricken out of the rolls of the MILF.

Torres said the two commanders allegedly invited al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits to join MILF fighters in attacking a Marine detachment in barangay Tongbato, Ungkaya Pukan town.

The government and MILF forged a cease-fire agreement in 2001, paving the way for peace talks aimed at ending the decades-old hostilities in Mindanao. 

Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, Marine Corps commandant, on Sunday said the attackers were led by a certain Hudli Maya and backed by Abu Sayyaf bandits.

The attack took place while Marine Battalion Landing Team-8 (MBLT-8) was preparing to leave Basilan, for retraining and refurbishing at the Marine base in Ternate, Cavite.

They will be replaced by the newly retrained and refurbished MBLT-10 that disembarked Monday morning from a Navy boat at Majini Pier of the Navforwem Headquarters in this city.

“This [attack] happened on the eve of the regular rotation of a Marine battalion. As a consequence, the military filed today [Monday] a formal protest before the coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities to stress our commitment to the ongoing peace process and the rule of law,” Marayag said.

He exhorted the MBLT-10 troops “to put into action what you have gained during your retraining.”

He said the marching order of the MBLT-10 is to implement the basic framework of triad operations that include combat, intelligence and civil-military “guided by the mature judgment of ground commanders.”

“As a reminder, the current detractors of peace, harmony and socio-economic growth are dynamic adversaries who operate within a complex, interconnected operational environment. The conventional military environment of time and space has gradually transformed into what is now referred to as ‘PEMSII’ environment, or political, economic, military, social, infrastructure, and information,” Marayag told the MBLT-10 troops.

“It is not just a battlefield where clear lines are drawn to segregate friendly and enemy territories. It is now termed as a battlespace where friends and foes are not easily identified. This environment is where you will be deployed,” he added.

The MBLT-10 commander, Lt. Col. Ramon Mabalot, said his troops are ready to face the “situation on the ground,” citing that several of his officers and men have been assigned previously in Basilan.

“We are trained for that [situation] and we will try, really, to deal with that kind of situation,” Mabalot said in an interview.

In Sulu, meanwhile, the Joint Task Force Comet commander, Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, said troops from the Army’s 6th and 4th Scout Ranger Companies recovered a caliber .30 machine gun from Abu Sayyaf bandits. Z. Solmerin

Sabban said the machinegun was recovered in an abandoned house owned by an Abu Sayyaf recruit on Saturday in barangay Pantao, Talipao, the former stronghold of bandit leader Ghalib Andang alias Command Robot.

It was recovered after a civilian tipped off the JTFC about the machinegun hidden in the area, Sabban said.

CA to Meralco: Refund P.5M to couple

THE Lopez-controlled Manila Electric Co. must pay a couple P500,000—lower than the demanded P1.38 million—as “temperate damages” for a defective electric meter that resulted in an unreasonable increase in their electric bills.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The military on Monday filed a cease-fire violation complaint before the Joint Committee on Cease-fire and Cessation of Hostilities (JCCCH) against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), whom it accused of starting the fighting in Basilan, on Sunday.

PRESIDENT Arroyo on Monday sent off a 30-member medical mission to Burma to help in international relief efforts for victims of a devastating cyclone that hit that country early this month.

AS the rainy season starts and a number of typhoons are expected to hit the country, billboard advertisers assured that they have complied with the regulations set by government agencies concerned and met the latest engineering standards.

NATIONAL Police Traffic Management Group (TMG) personnel on Monday conducted a crackdown on violators of the “no plate, no travel” policy and bagged at least 50 violators inside Camp Crame, Quezon City, the force’s general headquarters.

THE volume of motor-vehicle traffic in the island-province of Basilan has posted a marked increase during the last two years.

It may be an indication of the increase in economic activities on this island, which was associated in the past with Abu Sayyaf-linked fighting and kidnappings.

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) started on Monday its series of public demonstrations and presentations on automated voting for the August 11 elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), at a public forum organized by the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), an election watchdog.