Gov’t told to restore order in Mindanao before crushing MILF
By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:50:00 08/20/2008
Filed Under: The Southern Campaign, Mindanao peace process, Congress
MANILA, Philippines -- The government should restore “law and order” in conflict areas “before taking a pro-active stand” to crush the military capabilities of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, members of the Senate minority bloc said in a joint statement Wednesday.
Senators Pimentel, Benigno Aquino III, Rodolfo Biazon, Panfilo Lacson, Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, Manuel Roxas II, and Antonio Trillanes IV said that the government must do its duty to protect the lives of innocent civilians and government troops caught in the violence in North Cotabato, Lanao del Sur, Saranggani and other areas that were forcibly taken over by so-called “renegade forces” of the MILF.
“The first thing that the government should do is to restore law and order and maintain control in areas where the sovereignty of the republic is being challenged by armed men,” Senate Minority Floor Leader Pimentel said.
He added that the government “should by no means tolerate” situations that would lead the public to think that there was more than one government or armed forces in the country.
Pimentel said that the government should not abandon the peace negotiations despite the tension in Mindanao as the minority bloc challenged the MILF to “discipline their ranks and not allow them to wreak havoc” if they were serious in achieving peace in Mindanao.
The Arroyo administration should also not use the federalism proposal and the peace process to justify the petition for Charter Change which would only fuel the current raging violence in Mindanao, the senators added.
“[Those who are] responsible for unleashing the dogs of war in Mindanao like General [Hermogenes] Esperon and his ilk should now demonstrate their leadership to show us that there is a reasonable way out of the spiraling violence other than more violence,” Pimentel said.
Meanwhile, Pimentel clarified that though the Senate minority bloc has rejected the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain due to “grave flaws,” it did not mean that they were refusing peace negotiations.
“The Senate minority wants the government to correct these flaws by renegotiations and consultations between the executive branch and members of Congress, political leaders and other stakeholders in the peace process to ensure an atmosphere of transparency,” Pimentel said.
“This problem we are now facing in Mindanao is far from being insurmountable. There are solutions within the context of the Constitution that will bring about the peace that we seek,” Pimentel said.
The minority senators in their joint statement also pledged to support the enactment of a “supplemental budget” to beef up the intelligence capabilities and purchase weapons and equipment for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
They also called upon the Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Interior and Local Government and other concerned government agencies to “extend assistance” to the thousands of civilians displaced by the ongoing violence in Mindanao.
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