The military on Saturday called on Moro guerrillas involved in clan feuds to make amends and help restore the province’s denuded forests by planting more trees. Brigadier General Ernesto Aradanas, chief of the 603rd Army Brigade based in Matanog town, said Moro guerrillas involved in skirmishes among several families in Maguindanao could lead a more productive community life by also taking part in massive tree-planting efforts in Barangays (the Villages of) Kabasaran and Nabalawag here. The two villages constitute a major part of the erstwhile Camp Abubakar of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).Commanders and guerrillas of both the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front were reportedly embroiled in personal conflict involving some of their relatives among locally prominent families, particularly in Barangay Meti in Datu Blah Sinsuat town. “We may not have fully convinced all the residents to take part in this community endeavor, but we understand that many of its immediate beneficiaries are themselves MILF sympathizers, who care for the future of their children and the children of their children,” Aradanas said.
Aradanas, who is married to a Tausog Muslim, said a greater challenge for Moro guerrillas involved in clan conflicts would be to meet the standards of the essence of jihad, by helping rehabilitate the fast-diminishing forest cover.