The return of firearms and other sophisticated equipment, such as night-vision goggles, taken from the 44 dead commandos by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is wishful thinking on the part of the government.
The government has set the return of the firearms as one of the preconditions for the resumption of the peace process with the MILF.
It’s like talking to the wind: They will never return the war booty.
It is often said that they love guns more than their wives.
Those firearms and night-vision goggles have been added to their armory and will be used against more government troops.
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The government should stop the nonsense that the MILF still wants to talk peace because Moros get bored not having enemies to fight to the death.
They have been waging wars against members of other clans or tribes and against outsiders like the Christians during the Spanish times and even now.
What’s the reason for their inordinate love of guns—to add to their collection? No, it’s for killing their enemies.
If they don’t fight among themselves, they fight non-Moros or the government.
They’ve been doing that for centuries.
If the government wants peace in Mindanao, it should give the Moro provinces to the Moros and let them form their own republic.
That way, they can fight among themselves and not involve others in the carnage.
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Why do you think the Maguindanaons, the Moros of Cotabato, broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front, composed mostly of Tausogs and Yakans of Sulu and Basilan, and formed their own group, the MILF?
Why do you think some elements within the MILF broke away and formed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF)?
Because they can’t agree among themselves, settling disagreement through bloodshed.
The MILF and BIFF are now at war with each other not because they wants peace with the government but because they want to create a new enemy out of its own people.
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Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice has proposed that the military take over the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) in the wake of reports that convicted drug lords live in luxury inside the facility and run their respective syndicates outside their cells.
The administration ally’s proposal to place the NBP under the temporary management of the Armed Forces of the Philippines merits serious consideration.
The majority of the guards and officials at the NBP receive bribes from the convicted drug lords and other moneyed inmates.
If some of the officials and guards do not receive bribes, they are given money by those who accept bribes to buy their silence.
The officials and guards at the NBP have become like the Mafia: those who tell on their colleagues are in danger of being rubbed out.
Besides, most of the NBP guards are related to one another by blood or affinity. Their strong bond, like most relationships in this country, makes them protect one another’s back.
All of the NBP guards should be retired, dismissed or transferred to other prison colonies in various parts of the country.
Army troops or Marines, who are disciplined and only follow orders from their superior officers, would make very good replacements for the NBP guards.
But the stint of the Army soldiers and Marines at the NBP should be temporary because they have other duties.
The Bureau of Corrections, which supervises all national prisons, can recruit outsiders to take over from the Army and Marines who will first train them.
The relieved or dismissed NBP guards should never be returned to their old posts.