MNLF attack as diversionary tactic from pork scam highly plausible—Magdalo

By: Kristine Felisse Mangunay - 11 years ago

Government troops man an intersection where renewed fighting between government forces and Muslim rebels enters its second week Monday, Sept. 16, 2013 at Zamboanga city in southern Philippines. The standoff, which began last Monday when troops foiled an attempt by the rebels to march and hoist their flag at Zamboanga’s city hall. The rebels, who arrived by boat from outlying islands, barged into five coastal villages and took more than 100 hostages as human shields. AP/Bullit Marquez

MANILA, Philippines—A Magdalo party-list lawmaker on Wednesday called on the government to pursue what he described as the “very plausible” angle that those involved in the pork barrel scam gave at least P40 million to some members of the Moro National Liberation Front to attack Zamboanga City.

This was despite the statement issued the day before by MNLF spokesperson Emmanuel Fontanilla, who called the Magdalo pronouncement a “lie,” and added the MNLF) would “never accept funds from a corrupt source.”

“Our interest in divulging this to the public, after we told the government, is we want the government to pursue this lead because it’s really, really plausible,” Rep. Francisco Ashley Acedillo said at the weekly Fernandina forum in San Juan City.

Without naming names, the former Air Force pilot said that whoever had their “back against the wall” in the pork barrel scam would “find a convergence of interests” with the MNLF, who “feel that they have been sidelined in the peace talks between the government and the (Moro Islamic Liberation Front).”

While P40 million was “not enough to sway the scheme of things in one direction or another,” Acedillo said it was “enough to create trouble.”

“Any trouble outside of the (pork barrel scam) is I think a welcome development (to those involved). Because…without naming names, it is of interest to them that the government is preoccupied in so many fronts,” he said.

He said the siege in Zamboanga was “telegraphed” considering peace rallies declaring an independent Bangsamoro Republic had been held in Davao and Cagayan de Oro prior to the attack of the MNLF faction led by Ustadz Habier Malik.

Acedillo said that stepping into the shoes of those in trouble over the pork barrel scam, he could understand why they would readily reach out to the restive MNLF faction and encourage them to stage more “peace” rallies. “I will fund it and you will see that that will become (messy). I imagine that’s how it happened,” he said, speculating the time frame involved was small.

When told about a different scenario where people facing problems linked to the pork barrel scam would not risk facing “more” problems by being pinpointed as the source of funding by fallen rebels, Acedillo said that would be believable if not for the politicians’ desperation.

“Again, yes, I will give both thieves and politicians as much credit as they are smart and rational. But I will also not underestimate their tendency to commit mistakes especially when desperate,” he said.