BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES

COTABATO CITY -- Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo on Monday urged Catholics in the archdiocese to pray for peace in Mindanao during the nine-day Misa de Gallo starting Tuesday dawn.

MAGUINDANAO (Dec.15) --- The brigand Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) on Monday claimed responsibility for the attacks on strategic Army positions including the attempt to bomb a roadside detachment in the province in the past three days.Abu Misry Mama, spokesman of BIFF, said their fighters were behind the atrocities.He said the attacks were in retaliation for the military’s offensives two weeks ago that flushed bandits out of their lairs along riverbanks at the border of Pikit, North Cotabato and Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

COTABATO CITY -- Human rights groups said the country's security sectors remained as the leading human rights violators in the country but an Army general said the situation has greatly improved.Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, 6th Infantry Division commander, said unlike during martial law years, the military has considered promotion and protection of human rights as its advocacy.The Philippine Army, Pangilinan said, has adopted and promoted the International Human Rights Law.

KORONADAL CITY - An escaped inmate of South Cotabato Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center is now back behind bars. Raymnond Nerpoil, was arrested in his home in the village of Lambingi, municipality of Banga, a day after he run away from his personal guard. Felicito Gumapac, OIC provincial jail warden of South Cotabato, said after negotiating with his family, Raymund Nerpiol was picked by the provincial jail guards in the village of Lambingi, Banga, Tuesday.

MAGUINDANAO -- The police on Wednesday dispatched a peacekeeping team to pacify relatives of a barangay chairman and four others killed in an ambush Tuesday in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in the province.The fatalities, Michael Sinsuat Dalidig, chairman of Barangay Dimapatoy, barangay councilor Jonathan Benito, his spouse and their two children, died from multiple gunshot wounds sustained in the attack.

KIDAPAWAN CITY– Suspected communist guerillas torched Sundaythree heavy equipment located in a hinterland village here, officials said. Acer Perez, chairman of Barangay Mua-an here, said at least 12 armed men on board six motorcycles arrived at the village and started to pour gallons of gasoline on the equipment and burned them at about 11:45 p.m. Few minutes after, the rebels started firing guns on the vehicles and left. Perez said that as the rebels started to withdraw from the area, they seized a barangay tanod identified as Tata Cardion, who, until now is still missing.

KORONADAL CITY
– A farmer in South Cotabato who paid respect to the wake of a dead village
mate was found dead by villagers in the town of Lake Sebu, police said today.

The Lake Sebu
police told Radyo Bida Koronadal that Jobert, 24, transient resident of
Barangay Poblacion, Lake Sebu, sustained several stab wounds when villagers
found him at a roadside.

Police
investigation showed Salucan had a drinking spree over the weekend with a
friend, identified by police as Sueno Mindal.

MLANG, North Cotabato - People are missing it. People are talking about it. They want more.Roasted pigs offered for free in this town during the 6th Kawayanan Festival. Mlang Mayor Joselito Pinol said the local government hadroasted 15 pigs at 80 kilograms each and were offered to all visitors and locals celebrating the festival at the town plaza.At least 52 lechon were offered with 37 villages providing each to feed its people.

Storm signals

KIDAPAWAN CITY
– A baby was decapitated during delivery at the Buluan district hospital last week to save mother's life, health authorities today said.Dr. Elizabeth Samama, chief of Buluan district hospital, said physicians had to perform caesarean operation and decapitate the baby because the baby is already seven days dead inside the mother's womb. This is to
save the mother so we decapitated the head of the baby,” Samama told DXND Radyo
Bida in an exclusive interview Tuesday.