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Kalamansig Mayor Rolando Garcia identified a certain Commander Boyet of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the one who led the attack and ordered the villagers to vacate the place.
Commander Boyet and his men were reportedly based in nearby coastal Palembang town, also in Sultan Kudarat, and were armed with high-caliber firearms, according to Garcia.
Due to fear, Garcia said thousands of Ilocano and Ilonggo settlers from Barangay Sangay in Kalamansig fled to the poblacion of Kalamansig.
The attack came just as the farmers were about to harvest their rice and corn plants.
Garcia condemned the attack as harassment.
The MILF has claimed the village as a Moro area, but farmers said they have titles to prove they own the land.
Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the MILF, said he had yet to receive reports from their field commanders in Kalamansig about the incident. “I have not received any information as regards the attack,” said Kabalu. (MindaNews)