MAGUINDANAO DEL SUR, Philippines – A violent clash between two armed groups left at least 13 people dead in a village in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur on Wednesday, October 30, in a conflict reportedly sparked by a land dispute.
Authorities found a dozen bodies at the encounter site in Barangay Kilangan, with one more succumbing to injuries in a hospital, according to Tim Ambolodto, assistant head of the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO).
Local sources, however, reported a higher death toll of 19, with at least seven others wounded.
The intense skirmish, which began around 1 pm and continued for several hours, involved a group led by one Engineer Alonto Sultan and another associated with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders Ikot Dandua and Bawsi.
The clash occurred just days before the filing period for certificates of candidacy for seats in the regional government of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), although officials have dismissed political motives as a factor in the violence.
Sultan has claimed ownership of a property occupied by the MILF commanders’ group, who asserted that they inherited the land from their ancestors, Cotabato-based broadcaster DXMY reported.
Speaking on condition of anonymity due to security concerns, sources close to Sultan’s family said soldiers had initially accompanied the engineer’s group for a land survey in a disputed area.
They said the opposing group allegedly launched an attack, some using bladed weapons, as soon as the soldiers left, killing many in Sultan’s group. The group identified with the MILF commanders lost at least two men.
“One of those killed was my nephew. He had just accompanied his relatives to see the land owned by his father when the unfortunate and gruesome killings happened,” a relative of Sultan said.
Captain Michael Eugenio, spokesperson for the Army’s 90th Infantry Battalion, told DXND-Radyo Bida that the feud involved members of MILF’s 105th base command, as well as forces from the Front’s 128th and 129th commands.
Eugenio appealed to the MILF, through BARMM’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), to intervene and help restore order.
“We are calling on the MILF leadership to help resolve this conflict peacefully. We need to ensure the safety and security of the communities in the area,” Eugenio said.
Army troops were deployed to secure the area, while authorities worked to de-escalate tensions and helped displaced residents, said Pagalungan police chief Major Zukarnain Kunakon said.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office said it was assessing the situation and still determining the number of families who fled their homes in search for safer grounds as a result of the violent clashes.
Land disputes have been a recurring cause of violence in the Bangsamoro region, often fueled by unclear property boundaries, conflicting claims, and formalization processes that disrupt long-held communal ownership.
A 2022 report by International Alert Philippines documented hundreds of such disputes across the Muslim-majority region, contributing to violence, forced displacements, and loss of livelihoods in affected areas. – Rappler.com