Villagers benefit from truce of feudal Maguindanaon clans

MAGUINDANAO --- Life is again normal for dozens of families dislocated by a bloody rido between two clans in General Pendatun town that are now in peace with each other.Rido is a common term for clan war in many southern dialects, usually sparked by political rivalries, land disputes and affronts to family pride and honor.Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana of the Army’s 6thInfantry Division said Saturday tension has waned dramatically in farming enclaves where theSamama and Abdul families and their supporters figured in gunfights that exacted heavy casualties on both sides.Dozens of houses also got burned in areas where both camps fought each other using assault rifles and grenade launchers.Leaders of the Abdul and Samama families signed a covenant last week and swore over the Qur’an to reunite and restore normalcy in areas affected by their rido that dragged on for about half a decade.Sobejana said leaders of the two families, related to each other by blood, agreed to reconcile through the intercession of Assemblyman Khadafe Mangudadatu of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and officials of the Army’s 33rdInfantry Battalion.Mangudadatu, younger sibling of Esmael, who is incumbent provincial governor of Maguindanao, is a member of ARMM’s 24-seat Regional Assembly.Sobejana said it took Mangudadatu and officials of the 33rdIB a long time to convince both camps to settle their dispute, sparked by political differences and squabbles for control of vote-rich barangays in General Pendatun, Maguindanao.Leaders of the two families signed a peace agreement during a symbolic reconciliation rite last week held in the residence of Mangudadatu in Buluan, the capital town of Maguindanao. The 6thID is grateful to all who helped put an end to the rido involving the Samama and Abdul families, Sobejana told reporters on Saturday.Mangudadatu said credit also has to go to moderate Islamic religious leaders who helped reconcile the two families.He said some groups tried to settle the conflict early on but failed.