August 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, Children among 16 dead in MILF attack,

Sixteen civilians, some of them children on their way home from school, were killed in an ambush by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in Carmen, North Cotabato last Friday, military and police officials said yesterday. Ten others were wounded in the attack.

The victims, including a two-year-old boy, were traveling separately in a truck, a mini-bus and a car on a highway near Carmen when they ran into a roadblock manned by some 100 Muslim separatists, said Col. Hermogenes Esperon, commander of the Army's 602nd Infantry Brigade.

When the vehicles stopped, the gunmen dragged the passengers out, robbed some of them before forcing them all into the mini-bus. The gunmen then unleashed a hail of gunfire at them, Esperon said. Of the 16 fatalities, only 12 have been identified so far. They are Melissa Debenito, 12, Cristy Debenito, 16, Michelle Debenito, 8, Allan Buenavidez, mini-bus driver Dodong Mantawil and his two-year-old son Bonbon, Michelle Diaz, Ernie Diaz, Jonathan Alcober, Hermogenes Pascual, Nono Carde and Levi Molino. Among those wounded were Fedelina Linez, Ricardo Canete, Rodillo Tiburcio, Teodorita Ybañez, Roger Molino, Benjie Debejares, Raffy Larozo and Inicito Labrador.

The victims were first rushed to an Army base in Sitio Campo, Barangay Malapag in North Cotabato then transferred to the Kibawe district hospital in Bukidnon. Survivors said the attackers were wearing military uniforms and were armed with automatic rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers, according to provincial police director Alex Paul Monteagudo.

One of the survivors, Benjie Villasis, told radio station dxND that the victims were ordered out of their vehicles and then robbed. The attackers then ordered everyone back inside and opened fire on the group, he said. Villasis said he survived by falling when he heard the gunfire and pretending to be dead underneath several bodies.

Another survivor, Ruben Donong, ran to a nearby village crying there had been a massacre, said Ali Togan, who was in the village when he arrived. Togan said he and several residents rushed to the massacre site, where the car motors were still running. Togan said they found bodies in all the vehicles.

Rodel Tiburcio, another survivor, told a radio interview that he, too, played dead. "Is this what they call jihad?" asked a teary-eyed Roger Murillo, whose wife was one of those killed. He said he heard one of the rebels saying they were out to execute those who helped the military identify the areas which they previously occupied. [Huh?]

Neneng, the wife of the slain mini-bus driver, asked what his husband's and two-year-old son's infractions were to suffer such a fate. "Bakit sila pinatay? Akala ko hindi gagalawin ng mga MILF ang mga sibilyan. Malupit sila (Why were they killed? I thought that the MILF won't harm civilians. They're ruthless)," she sobbed.

Esperon said the MILF rebels who took part in the ambush were heading for Kabacan town, also in North Cotabato, to join forces fighting the government in that area. He said he knew where the MILF attackers were and added the military would soon launch an offensive against them. "The problem with the MILF is that they are only good at killing innocent civilians. They do not attack our men in the field because these units will fight back," Esperon said. "This is banditry and terrorism," he added. MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said it was unlikely the Muslim guerrillas were behind the incident as they did not attack civilians. "No Muslim in their right mind would ever hurt another Muslim," Kabalu said. Furthermore, he said MILF forces stationed in the area are under order not to attack civilians.

In recent weeks, MILF guerrillas have been blamed for a series of attacks against civilians in Mindanao. A rampage in Sultan Kudarat province on July 31 claimed the lives of three villagers while 14 Christians were killed in an ambush in Lanao del Sur on July 22.

The attacks are believed to be part of the jihad, or holy war, declared by MILF chairman Hashim Salamat after the government overran the rebels' Camp Abubakar last month, forcing their chieftain to flee abroad. Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes said he has already ordered AFP Southern Command chief Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and Army 6th Infantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Gregorio Camiling to hunt the gunmen.

"We will not stop until this group is brought to justice," he told reporters. Villanueva said the attack was an act of cowardice. "They are hitting innocent and helpless civilians. This only showed their barbarism," he said.-- By John Unson, With reports from Jaime Laude, Roel Pareño, Raffy Magbanua, Allen Estabillo, wire services