As Vilma’s son-in-law, Mohalidin Unsi, also began to sob, the Bangsamoro Youth Leaders’ Forum, the organizers of the press conference, quickly turned off the Powerpoint Presentation of photographs and video footage of what happened here Monday morning of September 8.

It took some time for Vilma and Mohalidin to regain composure, Vilma, especially, because since Monday, she has had to recount the tragedy of losing an entire family, before investigators, NGO representatives and relief workers, neighbors and the media. She had just visited her son, 13-year old Guiamaludin, who is recuperating from leg wounds. Immediately after the press conference, she was going to rush back to Datu Piang to breastfeed her newly-born,  Fairudz,  a survivor of war.

Fairudz was 16 days old  when she lost her father and five siblings.

Vilma and Mohalidin stressed “there was no firefight” in Barangay Tee early that morning as the military alleged. “The planes just came and fired away.”

“There was no encounter between government and MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) forces. The planes suddenly arrived and bombed the pumpboat,”  Vilma said in Maguindanao.

”There was no encounter. The planes just suddenly came,” Mohalidin said.  He counted “three double-bodies (apparently referring to Layang or SF 260); two OV-10s and two helicopters.”

In the rush to flee Barangay Tee, Vilma, who was carrying her baby, Fairudz, and Mohalidin, got separated from the rest of the family and boarded another “pumpboat” (actually a small motorized banca) towards this barangay, at least a kilometer from the highway).

Their boats were at the tailend of a convoy. How many boats were in the convoy, neither Vilma nor Mohalidin could say.

Vilma’s boat was 10 to 15 meters away from the boat carrying her husband, Daya Manunggal, and their six children – the pregnant Aida, Guiamaludin,  Bailyn, Zukarudin,  Adtayan and Faidza — when a bomb – or a rocket fired from the sky – exploded near the boat.

Only Guiamaluddin survived from that boat. His eldest sister and three younger siblings died instantly. Another sister, Bailyn, died on the way to the hospital in Cotabato City, some 54 kilometers away. Daya’s body was recovered the next day.

Mohalidin said Daya, apparently fearing the boat would capsize because of their number and because a sack of rice was also loaded on it, stopped at an  “island” (a small land mass) with about two or three huts, and had just asked his children to disembark when the something exploded a few meters away.

Mohalidin counted seven aircraft hovering when villagers rushed to their small motorized bancas, to flee Tee for “safer grounds” in Butilen, across the marshland. In the third week of August, the start of the renewed hostilities between government and the MILF, the Mandi-Manungal family had fled Sitio Dagaren in Barangay Tee for sanctuary in Barangay  Butalo and returned home on September 1.

Mohalidin  doesn’t remember how many bombs exploded the morning they sought refuge from war.  In his limited Pilipino, he said, “di ko kayang bilangin, basta marami” (I can’t count how many, but plenty)

Zainar Mukalan, who lives close to the highway and Butalo bridge, told MindaNews  there was no exchange of gunfire before the bombs were dropped.

Military sources say the exchange of gunfire in a setting such as a vast marshland, can be heard from as far as five to seven kilometers away at daytime or 10 kilometers at nighttime.

Zainar, in his 50s, says the planes came at around 9 a.m. but did not fire until around 10. He said he heard three explosions, one of which, he later learned, killed the children.

The view from the highway beside Zaimar’s house. Photo by CO Arguillas

From the back of his house and from the highway itself, one could get a good view of what was happening that morning.

The best vantage view was from the Butalo bridge, some 30 meters away from Zainar’s.house.

Zainar said soldiers stationed at the bridge, who could clearly see who was approaching along the river and the marshland, were on ready-fire position. None of them managed to fire, however, as residents and the barangay captain of Tee told asked them hold their fire as the convoy of at least five boats carrying villagers from Barangay Tee, was  approaching Butilen.

Zainar was from Barangay Tee himself but during an evacuation five years ago, opted to live here close to the highway, the bridge and the barangay hall of Tee (the barangay hall was moved from Tee to Butilen about a decade ago as more residents of Tee evacuated to Butilen. As of August 1, 2007, the National Statistics and Coordination Board recorded Tee’s population at 1,724 out of  Datu Piang’s 49,971).

Musib Uy Tan, the mayor’s executive assistant told MindaNews that reports reaching them also indicated that residents heard no exchange of gunfire before the bombings. 

The government’s Information Coordination Center on September 9 reported that military authorities denied Air Force planes dropped bombs in Barangay Tee.

“The government forces were continuing its limited operations against the forces of the rogue MILF leader Umbra Kato but were adopting an adjusted law enforcement operations in deference to Ramadhan.  Col. Marlou Salazar, the 601^st brigade commander, whose forces were involved in the military operations, said that the troops were in the barangay based on civilian reports that Wahid Tundok, Kato’s right hand man, and possibly Kato himself, were in the area. As the troops entered the barangay, they were met by gunfire from the MILF forces in the area. Heavy exchange of fires between the forces commenced at around 9:55 a.m,” the report said.

Towards dusk. Another view from the highway Photo by CO Arguillas

“Ground troops are still in the area and are engaged in sporadic firefights as they go through their clearing operations. The group commander of the air force planes that flew over Barangay Tee, Colonel Jojo Robles, likewise denied reports that bombs were used in the military operation,” the report said. 

The report noted that the “the helicopters, Layang (SF 260) planes and OV-10 planes were sent upon the request of the ground forces to assist them in their operations against the lawless MILF in the area.

Their mission, the report said,  was to conduct “persuasion” and “reconnaissance flights over the river and marsh areas “to assist the ground forces in locating and determining the involvement of the lawless MILF forces.”

“According to Col. Robles, initially, the Air Force helicopters and planes did not find the MILF troops on the river, marsh area and the ground so they were ordered to return to base.  However, on the way back, the Layang planes were fired upon by the MILF forces. Since the rules of engagement of the air forces is to retaliate if fired, upon, the planes fired back after verifying and confirming the location of the lawless MILF forces from the ground forces,”  the report said.  (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)