MANILA, Philippines—President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is pursuing a two-pronged policy in Mindanao—hunt down relentlessly those responsible for the recent wave of violence and keep peace talks open.

Ms Arroyo told a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday night that lack of control by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) over its field commanders “reflects the organization’s lack of sincerity to push for a successful conclusion of the peace process,” according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

“The President detests the MILF leadership’s lack of control over its so-called base commands,” Ermita said Wednesday, reading from Ms Arroyo’s statement. “This excuse has been abused for too long and the President now draws the line.”

“To attain these objectives, every arsenal at the disposal of the Armed Forces and the police will be utilized without let-up,” he said.

The military has held Ombra Kato and Abdulla Macapaar, more popularly known as Commander Bravo, responsible for the violence.

Army officials have said the two MILF commanders will be hunted down and the government has placed a bounty of P5 million on each.

Bravo said the two towns were attacked by “soldiers of Allah.” In an interview with Radio Mindanao Network, he said he was not responsible for the attacks, but would defend himself.

“If the government declares an all-out war, we will do the same,” he said.

Prepared to kill

“We are prepared to trade fire with them until we are decimated. If they cannot finish us, we will finish them,” Bravo said. “We are prepared to kill, we are prepared to be killed.”

“What the Muslims want is Islamic justice in Mindanao,” Bravo said.

“In the eyes of Allah we are not terrorists,” he said, reacting to accusations by some government officials that he and his rebel unit no longer followed the MILF chain of command.

Bravo is a senior MILF leader who controls large rebel areas in the mountains of Lanao in Mindanao. Short and of medium build, Bravo along with Ombra Kato, is a separatist hardliner who has repeatedly staged attacks despite ongoing peace talks.

Eradication policy

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. Wednesday elaborated on the President’s two-track position during a town hall meeting in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, where he heard agitated local executives angrily demand an all-out war against the MILF.

The rebels mounted coordinated attacks on Monday against five towns in Lanao del Norte that left about 40 civilians dead, according to the government.

“It might be a very popular policy here to have an all-out eradication,” Teodoro said.

“My policy is to secure and defend, in accordance with the law, innocent civilians and to preserve the integrity of the republic, but not by eradicating people like they are mice. Whether that is popular or not, I will stand that ground, and my oath of office depends on it,” he said.

‘We must not go overboard’

“The point is we must not go overboard,” Teodoro said. “We also have to heal (and) at the same time impose justice.”

Despite the rhetoric, there has been no major fighting in the region since Monday, although there were reports of sporadic gun battles Wednesday.

MILF chief Ibrahim Murad told ABS-CBN television news that it was still possible to return to the peace process.

“We didn’t expect this (the attacks) to happen,” Murad said.

“But we are optimistic we can still save the peace process. This can be the beginning of war if not properly handled, but there is still a chance of going back to peace.”

Murad said the fierce attacks on Kolambogan and Kauswagan towns in Lanao del Norte by MILF fighters on Monday were not sanctioned by him, but he ascribed them to the frustration of local commanders after the aborted signing of an accord on an expanded Moro homeland in Malaysia on Aug. 5.

After appeals from local officials in Mindanao that they were not consulted, the Supreme Court halted the deal that was meant to reopen formal peace talks to end a conflict that has killed over 120,000 people and displaced 2 million.

Downplays bounty

“From our side we are trying our best to restrain our commanders,” Murad said. “The first thing we have done is to restrain them from further initiating military movements.”

Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesperson, downplayed the bounty offer by the government on Bravo and Kato. He said the MILF would protect the two if warrants of arrest were issued against them without passing through the ceasefire committee.

“We will defend our field commanders if force is used against them by the government. We have mechanism about it and it would be good for all if the mechanism is followed,” Kabala said.

Respect for human rights

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño said the MILF had a lot of explaining to do.

“It will be up to the MILF to prove that it is still a liberation movement … that respects the International Humanitarian Law,” Casiño said, referring to conventions on war and internal conflict to protect noncombatants.

“It won’t help its image abroad if its troops don’t respect human rights,” he added. “Otherwise, it will be viewed as a rogue organization.”

“It is the MILF’s obligation to make public its findings in the investigation of the violations of either the international humanitarian law or the Islamic rules (of war),” Casiño said.

UN humanitarian aid

The UN’s World Food Program (WFP) Wednesday said it would dispatch an additional 250 metric tons of rice to Mindanao, on top of the 400 metric tons it delivered last week.

“In the current unpredictable security situation, vulnerable victims to these clashes urgently need to receive humanitarian assistance,” WFP country director Stephen Anderson said.

Anderson said there were concerns of a “worrying humanitarian situation in Mindanao.” With reports from Norman Bordadora, Edwin O. Fernandez, Richel V. Umel, Inquirer Mindanao, AP, Agence France-Presse