‘Usman wounded, still hiding in Maguindanao’

MANILA, Philippines - Wanted terrorist Basit Usman was wounded during the Special Action Force (SAF) operation in Mamasapano last Jan. 25 and might still be hiding in the area, Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu bared yesterday.

“Basit Usman sustained a wound in his shoulder. He is in the area,” Mangudadatu told radio station dzBB in Filipino.

Citing his sources, the governor said Usman, who has a $1-million bounty on his head, is being secured by at least 10 persons.

“They are hiding in Mamasapano” and may be moving from one area to another to evade pursuers, Mangudadatu said.

Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said the information “is unverified but someone texted the military about it.”

Mangudadatu’s statement confirmed earlier reports that Usman is hiding in a marshy area in Mamasapano.

Reports have quoted unnamed sources as saying that Usman was known as “Teng” in the community where he stayed. He served as interpreter and bagman of Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, the Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist who was killed by SAF commandos during the operation in Mamasapano.

Marwan trained JI, Abu Sayyaf and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas in bomb making.

Usman is also a bomb expert and has been indicted for his participation in bombing incidents in Mindanao, including the bombing in General Santos City in 2002 which killed 15 and injured 60.

Usman and Marwan were the targets of the operation in Mamasapano. The SAF was trying to capture them but the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and a private armed group attacked the SAF, resulting in the carnage of 44 policemen.

SAF members killed Marwan shortly before the clash but Usman managed to escape.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. reiterated yesterday that the government would go after Usman and make him answer for the crimes he committed.

The MILF promised the government that they would help search for and arrest Usman in a bid to save the ongoing peace talks derailed by the massacre of SAF commandos in Mamasapano.

‘Avoid war, pursue peace’

Government officials are also urging lawmakers not to give up on the peace talks with the MILF.

Vice President Jejomar Binay said he opposes the call for an all-out war against the Moro rebels because it would only result in more death and poverty in Mindanao. But he reiterated that the peace agreement of the government and MILF should be in consonance with the law and justice.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the Mamasapano incident should not discourage lawmakers from supporting the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the product of the peace talks and the measure that will create an autonomous Bangsamoro entity in Mindanao that is seen to inspire peace.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles also insisted during Thursday’s Senate inquiry into the Mamasapano incident that the best way to disassociate legitimate revolutionary movements such as the MILF from terrorist groups is to engage them in a peace process.

However, the decision on whether or not to pursue the peace talks with the MILF or any other non-state actor is determined by the assessment and recommendation of the Cabinet Security Cluster.

6,620 displaced, buried in poverty

As of Thursday, 6,620 people in Mamasapano have been displaced because of the firefight, according to international aid organization Oxfam that had a mission in Barangay Tukanalipao, the battlefield during the armed encounter.

At least three civilians, including an eight-year-old girl, were killed in the gun battle.

The damage to public and private property reached P1 million, while crop losses amounted to P500,000.

Oxfam Mindanao program staff Lyca Sarenas said some of the displaced civilians in Mamasapano are women who own cornfields but were forced to leave their farms because of the clash.

One of them is Bai Puti Kusain, a 37-year-old mother who depends on her farm to feed her 10 children. But after the armed encounter, she cannot even go near her farm for fear of dormant grenades suddenly exploding.

Kusain lamented that without her farm, there is no way to provide for her family and her children will starve.

Kusain’s cousin, a farmer named Badrudin Langalan, also died in the firefight.

“Aside from grieving the death of her cousin, Kusain is worried where she will get the money for the daily expenses of her 10 children and for the loans she previously made to buy fertilizer for her land,” Sarenas said.

Other displaced civilians are also worried about losing their loved ones, their homes and sources of income, burying them deeper in poverty.

“The recent tragedy should compel us to be more unyielding in pursuing the path towards just and lasting peace. The suffering and ongoing cost to all Filipinos is evident,” Sarenas stressed. – With Janvic Mateo, Aurea Calica, Jose Rodel Clapano, Edith Regalado