Pregnant mom recalls ordeal in Wao strafing

“Pregnant mom recalls ordeal in Wao strafing” was first published in ndbcnews.com.ph on May 1, 2015

By Ferdinandh Cabrera with reports from Jeffrey Allen Paclibar, Carelle Shane Bacordo/USM DevCom intern/ndbcnews.com.ph

WAO, Lanao Del Sur — A pregnant woman here thought she would not survive a strafing incident in her community during the early hours of April 25.

Lailyn Ali, a 20 year- old mother, survived unharmed, but her two friends who were also pregnant were not as lucky.

Four persons died when three men armed with assault rifles sprayed with bullets a line of houses in Sitio Magtampong, Barangay Park Area, Wao, Lanao del Sur.

It has been a week since the bloody incident, but police authorities in this bustling town in Lanao del Sur are yet to identify and file charges against those responsible in two separate but believed to be related incidents that stunned the peace- loving residents of the farming town.

Before the April 25 strafing, two minors aged 15 and 13 were killed, and the work animals they were taking care of taken by the attackers.

Residents of Sitio Magampong, mostly Maranaws, immediately fled to safer ground.

Among them was Lailyn who was nine month pregnant.

“That situation was so hard for me, especially when we started fleeing our community,” Ali said in the center of Barangay Park Area where about 1,100 villagers sought temporary shelter.

“Two of those who died were my friends, both pregnant. One was four months pregnant and the other, two months,” she said.

Police investigation found that a witness allegedly saw one of the suspects washing a bloodied machete. When the man saw the witness, he ran toward Sitio Magampong.

The next morning, the strafing of at least five houses transpired in Sitio Magampong in what police earlier theorized could be a retaliatory attack after the death of minors the day before.

Killed in the strafing in Sitio Magampong were Hanifah Sumayan-Mangutara, 29 and four months pregnant, her younger sister Almera Sumayan-Mandoc, 22 and two months pregnant, Emran Manabilang, 2 years old, and 50-year-old Master Pendatun. Eight others were rushed to the hospital.

Among them were Mylene Sumayan, Faisal Sumayan, and Raima Sumayan, siblings of the slain pregnant women. Raima was in comatose at the hospital in Bukidnon due to serious bullet injuries.

Police investigators admitted difficulty in getting statements from possible witnesses as they refused to cooperate with lawmen.

The bloody incident was still fresh in Lailyn’s memory. Visibly traumatized, she demanded speedy justice for the victims.

Teenager Nobaisa Lalao said she was so scared while bullets were hitting her home. “I was so scared; I thought all of us would die.”

Another survivor, Anisah Casan, said she was uncertain what will happen to her farm now that her family is in the evacuation site. She said they really want to return home.

At least 495 families or about 1,828 individuals have been displaced by the armed conflict. On Thursday, the ARMM-Humanitarian Emergency Action Rescue Team (ARMM-HEART), headed by ARMM Vice Governor Al-Rashid Lucman extended relief assistance to the displaced families and cash assistance to the families of the slain civilians and the wounded.

“You cannot quantify the suffering of the families who lost their dear ones. But we can at least help ease their suffering,” Lucman said.

Lucman also urged the residents of Wao to remain calm and cooperate with authorities in solving the problem.

“Crimes happen even in Metro Manila, even in the Vatican for that matter, even in Mecca, the holiest places on earth. This one is an isolated incident. As far as we know, Wao is one of the peaceful places on earth and we should not allow any individual to destroy that,” Lucman stressed.

Mayor Elvino B. Balicao, Jr., together with Chief Inspector Erickson Baniaga, Wao police chief, have separately assured the people that it would be the first and last crime to ever happen in Wao.

Lanao Del Sur Governor Mamintal “Bombit” Adiong has called for an emergency meeting with local officials to help contain the situation and prevent its escalation.

A local crisis committee, composed of Tribal leaders, Moro-Muslims and Christian-Settlers together with Sanguniang Bayan members, police and military representatives, has been formed to restore normalcy in Wao.