Priest alarm over reports civilian arming, Jolo Bishop Lampon misquoted, statement taken out of context

COTABATO CITY -- Mindanao’s renowned peace advocate Fr. Bert Layson of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) believed Jolo Bishop Angelito Lampon was misquoted and his statement was taken out of context.In GMA news online earlier quoted Lampon as saying Christians in Jolo, taking up arms for self-defense.” There was no such thing in Jolo right now,” Layson said.Layson, who chairs the OMI inter-religious dialogue, said he was deeply disturbed over the report.
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines(CBCP) website quoted Bishop Lampon as saying that some Christians in Central Mindanao, tagged themselves as Red God’s Army, are arming themselves against extremist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) because they are getting increasingly desperate.The CBCP online site also quoted Lampon as sayingand This kind of desperate attempt by Christians who are being attacked now and then by these armed groups.” Lampon was attending the Bishops Plenary assembly and International Eucharistic Congress in Cebu. But he did not mention about Jolo, Sulu civilians taking arms he happens to be the Jolo Vicariate Bishop and Jolo is in Western Mindanao part,” Layson explained.He added that Ampatuan town in Maguindanao where the Red God’s Soldiers surfaced is several hundred miles away from Jolo Island.
I received texts and calls from fellow priests and church people in Jolo, expressing concerns over reports civilians are arming now in Jolo, that is not true and we are so concerned on the consequences of these reports knowing Christians are minority in that region and had the history that a bishop was killed,” he said in a phone interview.
Layson who worked hard to win back peace after the all-out war in 2000 and authored Fields of Hope,” a book on a peace building effort, the report might be misinterpreted by other sectors and would lead to a wider divisiveness among the Jolo local residents.

Look what had happened in Rwanda in 1995, in just three months, it killed around a million people because of communal conflict, it’s so hard to control if we are tied to that situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Central Mindanao, 6th Army Major General Edmundo Pangilinan is doubtful and raises more questions on the militia group who came out as Red God’s Soldiers” and burned ISIS flag while wearing masks in the hinterlands of Central Mindanao.
He said based on their verification and separate investigation, there are uncertain facts about the group. We are most doubtful on the intention and motive behind when they conducted the clandestine interview,” Pangilinan said.
Pangilinan stressed that based on intelligence information, the group was not in its radar but admitted there are residents that by virtue of law has the acquired permission to carry firearms in their respective households for self-defense.
He denied the group is composed of 300 warriors. Very few, just several dozens,” he said of the group. The problem here is land conflict, where armed rebel groups are riding into the issue and the protagonists are defending themselves,” he said.Whatever the group intention was, Pangilinan said, the government will not tolerate groups arming themselves. He stressed that only government forces are the only authorized group to carry guns.He cited the case in Mlang, North Cotabato where civilians reportedly armed themselves against Moro rebels. It turned out the root cause was land dispute.