MILF still in 6 villages in North Cotabato -- PNP
By Alcuin Papa
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:08:00 08/08/2008
MANILA, Philippines—The 24-hour deadline given to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to vacate at least nine villages in North Cotabato came and went. But the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Friday that MILF are still occupying six villages.
Police Dir. Silverio Alarcio told reporters in Camp Crame Friday noon that they are giving way to negotiations to complete the pullout.
He also said the MILF leadership has ordered a pullout and that emissaries from the MILF’s 105th Base Command have been sent to fetch their troops still in the area “to complete the pullout.”
The six villages still being occupied by the MILF are Dualing and Pagangan in Aleosan town; Gumaga in Libungan town; Central Labas, Rangaban and Baliki in Midsayap.
“Medyo lumampas na sa deadline (the deadline has already lapsed) but what is important is they leave the barangays,” Alarcio said.
No timeframe was set for the end of negotiations but Alarcio said the pullout could finish within Friday.
“We will still give way for the negotiations to be able to convince the remaining MILF forces to leave … If they don’t leave, the PNP will come in to enforce the law,” he said.
PNP Spokesman Chief Supt. Nicanor Bartolome said that while negotiations are being held to complete the pullout, “our own troops have taken positions in neighboring villages to provide security and assistance to displaced residents when they return to their homes and farmlands.”
Both Alarcio and Deputy Director General Emmanuel Carta, PNP deputy national police chief for operations, could not categorically say whether the first deadline was extended or a new one imposed.
“Negotiations are ongoing. There are positive developments. But regarding the deadline, I cannot answer if it was extended,” said Carta.
“The hardheaded ones remain. They were told to pullout but they refused. Emissaries were sent to the area to convince them,” Alarcio said.
Nonetheless, Alarcio viewed the developments positively. “Our ground commanders have said this can be finished within the day. There are positive developments.”
He denied that the PNP was going soft on the MILF after the deadline came and went. “It's a process because our law enforcement has negotiations first. For as long as we can still talk, let’s not mess it up. The final option as far as the use of force is concerned is after everything has been done. There is no more hope. Then we have to use force to enforce the law.”
Once the MILF leave the area, the PNP would conduct an investigation to see if the Muslim group violated any laws. “If they violated the law, then we will be filing cases against them.”
Alarcio also said they have alerted their regional commanders to the possibility that there might be a “spillover” of the North Cotabato incident to other areas, including Metro Manila. “We are anticipating possible violence in urban centers since these are their usual targets… including Metro Manila.”
Alarcio said the PNP went on full alert nationwide Thursday after President Macapagal-Arroyo left for China for the Beijing Olympics. He added that PNP forces in Mindanao went on alert last Aug. 3 for the ARMM elections.
Bartolome also said Joint Task Force “PALMA,” which is tasked to clear the barangays in North Cotabato, under Chief Supt Felizardo Serapio Jr., the PNP Regional Director for Central Mindanao, has established a command post in Aleosan to supervise and monitor the pull-out of MILF forces from some barangays it earlier occupied.
According to Bartolome, PNP Chief Director General Avelino Razon has ordered Serapio to conduct an assessment of the situation and ensure that laws are upheld.
In a statement Friday, Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno said he was “optimistic” that MILF forces on the ground would comply with the directive of the MILF Central Command for them to “reposition” away from the affected villages.
Also on Friday, Puno ordered the PNP to conduct “assessment” operations to determine if the MILF had complied with the deadline.
He said he welcomed the news that the MILF had agreed to “reposition” its troops away from the occupied villages, saying it was a sign of “good faith” in the peace process.
“The MILF’s decision to reach a peaceful resolution of the standoff in several North Cotabato villages demonstrates that it is acting in good faith and that it is bent on forging with the Arroyo government a final peace settlement to end the decades-old conflict in Mindanao,” Puno said.
Puno also said he will first await the report of a joint PNP-military contingent to find out if MILF forces on the ground had indeed complied with the deadline so that authorities can advise displaced residents in these communities if it was already safe to return to their homes.
“I have asked the PNP to escort villagers back to their homes in areas where MILF forces on the ground had already left the occupied communities,” Puno said. “In other villages, the PNP will first determine if it is safe for the residents to return and clear these areas if they find out that there are still armed MILF forces occupying them.”
But Puno stressed that the PNP is also closely monitoring “potential areas of conflict in other parts of Mindanao.” The DILG chief said he has received reports that alleged MILF forces have been massing in other parts of Mindanao.
Alarcio added that police forces would remain in the area until the pullout becomes complete. He also said residents from the barangays were not yet allowed to go back to their homes just yet.
Puno said he has also asked the PNP to find out if members of civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs) in these villages have already complied with the law against the unauthorized carrying of firearms. Puno had ordered the PNP to strictly enforce the law against the illegal carrying and possession of firearms in the affected North Cotabato areas.
Alarcio said he has not received any report of any armed member of Civilian Volunteer Organizations (CVOs) being disarmed by the PNP.
On Thursday, Puno gave the MILF 24 hours to vacate the barangays or they would be “cleared” by police and military troops. He also gave orders to PNP chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr. to make ready three battalions to clear the towns. He also said the PNP should also disarm the CVOs.
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