Roxas: I tried to end Zamboanga siege early

MANILA, Philippines—Interior Secretary Mar Roxas on Thursday said he negotiated with Commander Habier Malik, a senior aide of fugitive Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari, during the early part of the Zamboanga siege in September.

Roxas was one of the resource persons during Thursday’s Senate committee on national defense’s inquiry into the Zamboanga siege.

“There were efforts to talk. I myself had at least two or three telephone conversations with Habier Malik where I implored him to have a ceasefire, have his men stop what they were doing because the condition of the Armed Forces was that they would only stop firing when the other side did,” said Roxas, who was in Zamboanga overseeing government efforts at the time.

Secretary Teresita Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, told the Senate panel that up to now, the government was trying to reach out to the Misuari faction and the rest of the MNLF to get them on board on developments in the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Just last Monday, I had a two-hour meeting with Labawa, the vice chair of Misuari,” Deles said, adding that she still had scheduled meetings with other MNLF commanders.

She said efforts to meet with Misuari proved futile.

The government has set aside P2.8 billion for the rebuilding and rehabilitation of communities in Zamboanga City, four months after Misuari and his MNLF faction laid siege to the city.

Roxas said the bulk of the amount—some P2.481 billion—would be spent on the construction of houses. Some P302 million would be spent on land acquisition, while over P35 million would go to road widening and improvement.

According to Roxas, the proposed housing sites could accommodate 3,172 housing units on a total area of 12.62 hectares.

“The plan is to rebuild the damaged communities and make them better, safer and more pleasing for the people of Zamboanga City,” Roxas said in a statement.—Norman Bordadora