Results of different investigations on the Mamasapano incident are slowly coming to light. But how have the lives of people in Mamasapano changed after the January encounter that claimed the lives of 44 elite police commandos, 18 Moro rebels, and a number of civilians?
Tomorrow (March 20) in “Tapatan ni Tunying,” broadcast journalist Anthony Taberna interviews a resident of Mamasapano, Maguindanao who evacuated to Manila while security and opportunity in his hometown hangs in the balance in light of questions on the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the all-out war against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group of the MILF.
Twenty-six-year old “Sim” is one of more than a thousand families displaced by hostilities in Mamasapano. Sim left his house just four days after the “misencounter” with his wife and three children.
“Life has been hard for us. If you’re in the area, you would not know what to do. What you would just think of doing is getting your children out of the town because you’re afraid that something might happen to you,” Sim says.
Sim is currently in Manila, looking for a livelihood. He left his wife and children with his in-laws in Buluan, Maguindanao while he saves up enough money to bring his family to Manila with him.
