COTABATO CITY – The widows and the wounded soldiers of the recent all-out offensives and law enforcement operations against the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIFF) in Maguindanao appealed to the government to continue to on-going peace process and to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
“We, the wounded officers and soldiers especially the grieving widows of our fallen brothers in uniform who gallantly fought during the law enforcement operations against lawless terrorists in Maguindanao have mustered our courage to unite and call on all concerned to pursue the peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF),” the group said in a statement sent to the members of the media.
The widows, in particular, said that losing their husbands and the fathers of their children “weighed more than the thousands of bullets and armaments used in this continuing operations.”
“Pain haunted us through a number of hopeless days and nights as we gazed at our children whose faces now are painted with uncertainties,” the group added.
The law enforcement operation of the army and the PNP in Maguindanao is still going on, resulting to the reported displacement of thousands of residents in the area.
The operations have greatly affected the residents from the towns of Salibo, Pagatin, Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak.
Authorities recently claimed that 139 rebels were already killed during the operations, 53 were wounded and 12 were arrested.(davaotoday.com)
