Mother, Children Among 8 Killed in Drug-Related Violence in Philippines

A mother and her two young children were among eight people killed in the Philippines this week during a bloody nationwide crackdown on drugs that has been criticized by human rights groups and is set to come under scrutiny at the United Nations.

On Tuesday, police backed by soldiers in the southern province of Maguindanao raided the home of a suspected local drug lord, identified as Willie Akil Utto, a member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

BIFF members are ex-guerrillas of the 12,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s main Muslim separatist group that signed a peace pact with Manila three years ago in favor of limited autonomy in the southern Philippines.

The raiding team was about to enter the suspect’s hideout in the village of Panadtaban, about 1,600 km (1,000 miles) south of Manila, when they were fired upon by Utto’s men, who also lobbed a grenade, police said.

A woman identified as Minah Baluntintic and her two children, Hassan, 5, and Maharba, 3, were killed by the blast, which also injured two other children. The woman was near the area and was fleeing with her children when the violence broke out, police said.

A running gunbattle ensued during which one of Utto’s men was also slain, provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Agustin Tello told BenarNews on Thursday.

“The suspects later withdrew toward the town’s secluded area. The raiding team recovered assorted guns, mobile phones, drugs and four motorbikes at the hideout,” he said, adding that a manhunt had been launched.

Officials did not say how many men clashed with the soldiers and police officers.

Town Mayor Zamsamin Ampatuan said the slain woman and her children were buried Wednesday and local officials were helping two other wounded children.

“The situation is slowly getting back to normal. The slain woman and her kids have been buried,” he told BenarNews. “The security operation was terminated after the incident, but I would presume it will again resume. But we can’t say for now when and how.”

He said Utto is believed to have 40 men under his command, but his group is considered to be more of a criminal gang than militants waging a separatist cause.

“They are involved in cattle rustling and they also operate as guns for hire. They are known to control two villages,” he said.

Full story: BenarNews

Jeoffrey Maitem and Mark Navales
Cotabato