Catholic Bishop Elenito Galido and Army brigadier Benito de Leon during their meeting Friday, November 7, 2008.ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 7, 2008) - In a bid to secure support to dissipate the tensions of warring groups in Mindanao, an army commander met Friday with religious leaders of Lanao del Norte province for consultation on the prevailing security issues being instigated by some sectors to have cultural and religious undertones.
Col. Benito de Leon, of the 104th Infantry Brigade, met with Catholic Bishop Elenito Galido, of the Diocese of Iligan which covers Lanao del Norte province. Earlier this week, De Leon also had a similar meeting with Muslim religious leader, Aleem Elias Macarandas, at the Bishops-Ulama Office here.
Both Bishop Galido and Macarandas, who are members of the Bishops-Ulama Conference, welcomed the consultations as they were disturbed with the recent atrocities seemingly between Muslims and Christians, particularly in the town of Magsaysay.
On October 26, a group of Maranao residents were ambushed in Magsaysay town resulting to a number of casualties, and local militias called Ilaga, were being blamed for this violence. It was also alleged that this was the latest of a series of reprisals involving several groups in the area.
De Leon quickly deployed forces in the area to prevent further bloodshed. He said the 35th Infantry Battalion under Lt. Col. Jose Faustino also initiated dialogues with the local residents in an attempt to reach out to the conflicting parties and resolve their issues peacefully.
“Both religious leaders manifested continuing commitment to activities that promote peace and harmony among the Christians and Muslims,” De Leon said.
He also assured them that the military will give due protection to all citizens no matter their cultural or religious affiliations may be. (With a report from Merlyn Manos)
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