MILF urged to explain role in bloody clash

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the House Bangsamoro ad hoc committee Photo from congress.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines–A leader of the House of Representatives on Monday said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) must fully explain its role in the clash that killed 64 policemen in Maguindanao province or the incident could become the deal-breaker in legislating an autonomous Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.

Hearings in the House on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) were suspended on Monday pending investigation of the clash.

“If it is shown that they were involved, there will be a reevaluation of the peace process. This will douse the enthusiasm of the people to continue with the peace process. [The MILF] has to clarify its role because they are our partners in the peace process,” said Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the House Bangsamoro ad hoc committee.

Alarmed by the implications of the clash, a Catholic Church leader urged both the government and the MILF to investigate the clash to ensure that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law would truly lead to peace in Mindanao.

“It is really alarming because the [BBL] is not yet enacted and they are still discussing it, but we already have this kind of problem. So how can we ensure that it will bring peace to Mindanao?” Bishop Broderick Pabillo, head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) public affairs office, told reporters.

Pabillo said that while the government and the MILF were talking peace, the military and the MILF must also work to build trust and avoid clashes like what happened in Maguindanao on Sunday.

“Since that already happened, I hope that they will really look into the incident because it could happen again,” Pabillo said.

MILF accused

While some House members refused to accuse the MILF of culpability in the clash, lawmakers who had served in the military and the police were more blunt and accused the MILF of “jointly perpetrating” the brutal encounter with their comrades in the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Representatives Romeo Acop, Leopoldo Bataoil, Samuel Pagdilao, Gary Alejano and Francisco Ashley Acedillo filed a resolution condemning the acts of the MILF 105th Base Command and the BIFF under Commander Guiawan and calling for the House committee on public order and safety to investigate the incident.

“Notwithstanding the pronouncement of the MILF regarding the failure of the PNP to coordinate with them, the brutal actions of the MILF fighters and the BIFF rebels cannot be justified and are in fact aggravated by the level of atrocity against legitimate security forces of the government as borne by the wounds of the dead police commandos,” the lawmakers said in their statement.

They said that based on videos and pictures posted on social media, the wounds inflicted on the commandos were not only consistent with an armed encounter but “also reveal dastardly infliction of postmortem mutilation.”

The group urged the government to prioritize the extraction of the bodies to prevent further mutilation and brutalization by the MILF and the BIFF.

Hearings suspended

Rodriguez announced that the committee, which has held 37 hearings on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law so far, has agreed to suspend its discussions on four key provisions in the draft involving national security, defense and public order until after the government agencies have made a complete report on the recent spate of violence in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), specifically the Mamasapano clash on Sunday and the bomb explosion near a bus terminal in Zamboanga City on Friday.

Rodriguez said the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the ARMM should determine who were responsible for these incidents—whether government troops or rebels or terrorists—and whether there was any violation of laws and ceasefire agreements.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon called for the suspension of the hearings on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law provisions on the fragmentation of national defense powers, creation of a separate armed forces, comparison of the chief minister’s power over the PNP with the existing powers of the local government executive, and the normalization process until the report on the violent incidents were submitted to the committee.

Biazon, however, expressed doubt that the House could pass the basic law before the March deadline imposed by Malacañang, especially after the Maguindanao clash.

Too many killed

Zamboanga Rep. Celso Lobregat said the members of the committee agreed during the executive session to suspend the hearings in deference to the large number of casualties on the part of the PNP. “We cannot proceed as if it is business as usual after what happened,” Lobregat said.

Lobregat refused to comment on whether trust issues were raised against the MILF in the executive session. “We don’t want to make any pronouncements or preempt the report on who is to blame or who is responsible. We cannot allude to any particular group,” he said.

Rodriguez said that as far as the committee was concerned, there was no reason to lose trust in the MILF even if the clash happened in its territory and that its members were part of the carnage.

“It happened in their territory but it doesn’t mean they are involved, we will wait for the full report,” Rodriguez said.

Biazon is also holding judgment until he gets a copy of the report.

“There is no mention of whom we trust and whom we do not trust. There is just mention of an investigation to know who is responsible. There are dynamics that tell us certain things, that we must be very, very clear in our need for coordination and I think the executive department must issue clear guidelines for the police and the [military] so they will know what to do,” said Biazon, who refused to rank the scale of the body count.

“Is one death acceptable?” he said.