Four members of a faction of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed on Wednesday in a firefight with soldiers on the outskirts of Datu Paglas, Maguindanao, the military reported.
Troops pursuing members of the BIFF-Karialan faction clashed with the group and killed four of its members, whose bodies were recovered along with a high-powered firearm.
Members of the group attacked Datu Paglas over the weekend and briefly occupied its public market before they retreated following a firefight with soldiers from the 601st Brigade and negotiations by local officials.
The Karialan faction was the subject of an operation by the military in areas and municipalities adjacent to Datu Paglas where some of its members escaped to Datu Paglas and occupied its market.
The military said the early morning clash happened after the visit of President Duterte to the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, on Tuesday.
At the camp, Duterte met with military commanders and local officials of Central Mindanao and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao wherein he called on the local officials to help him in addressing the extremist and terrorist threats in Central Mindanao.
The Commander-in-Chief also ordered the military to intensify its operations in order to prevent terrorist groups from attacking civilian communities.
Meanwhile, in the campaign against insurgency, the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) defended its designation of eight spokespersons, saying all of them are not going to receive any salary from the task force.
“I don’t see any reason why some sectors should fear what is not there. Contrary to their baseless speculations, our designated spokespersons are not offered any monetary reward for this extra work. It is basically gratis et amore for them and I am personally grateful that they rose up to the challenge,” NTF-ELCAC Vice Chairman and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said.
On Tuesday, Esperon also announced the designation of six other officials as spokespersons of the task force aside from Lt. General Antonio Parlade and Presidential Communications Operations Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy.
The six are Undersecretaries Joel Sy Egco, Jonathan Malaya and Severo Catura, Asst. Secretary Celine Pialago, lawyer Marlon Bosantog and Gay Florendo, who would be paid by their respective agencies.
“In fact, there are many other local NTF-ELCAC regional spokespersons who, like their national counterparts, do not get extra privileges. It’s just all extra work in line with the whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach in ending this senseless armed conflict,” Esperon said.