N. Cotabato evacuees return home to celebrate Christmas

KIDAPAWAN CITY -At least 116 families who evacuated three weeks ago after armed Moro men attacked their village in Tulunan, North Cotabato have already returned home, two days before Christmas, a local executive said. Tulunan Mayor Lani Candolada said these families could now celebrate the yuletide season in the comforts of their homes. The skirmishes, which stemmed from series of cattle rustling, led Ilonggo settlers and B’laan natives to leave Barangay Maybula – located along the boundary of the provinces of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Maguindanao. They settled for the time being in nearby Barangay Kanebong, also in Tulunan, while local chief executives from towns of Tulunan in North Cotabato Datu Paglas in Maguindanao and Columbio in Sultan Kudarat tried to help resolve the conflict. Candolada described the incident in Barangay Maybula as a ‘recurring conflict.’ Even before she became mayor of Tulunan, the ‘conflict’ has already been there.Candolada became mayor of Tulunan for three consecutive terms. Many efforts, she explained, were already undertaken in the past to put an end to it, but, as always, a small mis-understanding, ‘mix-up’, or ‘error’, can ignite the ‘fire’ and the conflict would again arise.” It was a deep-seated land conflict, which, she stressed, should be resolved, not just by the LGUs, but by the national government, in particular the Department of Agrarian Reform. Both, the Ilonggo settlers and the Moro inhabitants, claim they own the piece of land in the area. The incident in Barangay Maybula resulted to six deaths – three were Ilonggo farmers from Tulunan town and the other three were Moro inhabitants from Columbio, Sultan Kudarat.