Trust factors: Countdown to BBL, return of firearms

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal RAFFY LERMA/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Along the road to Camp Darapanan, the headquarters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao province, is a billboard with a countdown to the establishment of an autonomous Bangsamoro region.

It would appear that with this great expectation made manifest that the MILF is seriously pursuing the peace process.

On Jan. 28, three days after the Mamasapano debacle that put a strain on the peace process, there were 463 days left.

The countdown was pegged on the date of the May 2016 elections, supposed to be the day when the Bangsamoro people would be voting for the leaders of their new region.

But the deadline is now uncertain, as lawmakers have expressed misgivings about the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), faulting MILF fighters for what has been described as an “overkill” in the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos who took down international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” on Jan. 25.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told the Inquirer in a text message on Thursday that the MILF would still continue the countdown, but mentioned a caveat.

“Yes, if it can be done,” Iqbal said in reply to the Inquirer question about keeping the countdown and the timelines set in the peace agreement.

Sincerity

“If not, what can we do?” he added.

The MILF returned the firearms of the slain commandos to the Philippine National Police on Wednesday to show its sincerity in forging peace.

But security officials said yesterday that the MILF must fulfill its pledge to return all weapons and belongings of the commandos.

63 firearms in all

A total of 63 firearms were seized by rebels from the scene of the clashes based on the list of SAF firearms lost during the staging of “Oplan Exodus” to take down Marwan, according to the PNP.

On the list were 33 Ferfrans/Rockriver assault rifles, 4 Savage sniper rifle, 4 M60 machine guns, 10 Ferfrans M203 grenade launchers, 8 Glock pistols, 2 Beretta M92 pistols, a 90-mm recoilless rifle and 1 CZ pistol.

Roxas said he was not sure whether there were still firearms in the hands of the MILF since BIFF rebels and other private armed groups were also involved in the fire fight.

“We cannot really know that’s why we are asking the MILF as our partners in the peace negotiations to help in the recovery of the firearms and the personal effects of those who were killed,” Roxas said.

The government is exerting parallel efforts through civil society groups and local government units to recover the other guns, which may be in the hands of the MILF, the BIFF, private armed groups or civilians in the area.

“We have no communication with the BIFF. We don’t know which firearms are in possession of what group,” Roxas said.

‘Efforts not over’

While security authorities welcomed the return of 16 high-powered firearms, security officials said they expected the MILF to return all the belongings of the slain commandos and to hand over Marwan’s Filipino deputy, Basit Usman.

“What we are asking for, that is the measure of how much we can trust them to help us, the measure of their sincerity [is] to return the belongings of our SAF troopers,” Defense Voltaire Gazmin said at yesterday’s presentation of the firearms in Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Quezon City.

An MILF delegation led by Iqbal returned the rifles to government representatives at the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao province, on Wednesday.

“Our efforts are not over with the turnover of the 16 firearms. We are trying to find out if there are still others remaining in the hands of our members,” Iqbal said.

The MILF also handed over a mobile phone from a slain commando and five ammunition magazines.

Extra mile

At the turnover, Iqbal said the MILF took the extra mile in returning the firearms for the sake of the peace process in Mindanao.

The clashes in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25 between the police commandos and the MILF and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) left 44 SAF members, 18 MILF fighters and five civilians dead.

The clashes came shortly after the SAF killed Marwan, a Malaysian-born terrorist and a senior figure in the Indonesia-based terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

The death of the SAF members fueled public calls for retribution and put in jeopardy the peace talks with the MILF aimed at ending more than 40 years of Moro insurgency in the south.

Deputy Director Gen. Leonardo Espina, Philippine National Police officer in charge, said the guns would be turned over to the Board of Inquiry, which is conducting an investigation of the Jan. 25 incident.

“This certainly is a welcome development. This certainly is a positive beginning,” Espina said as he thanked his Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr., the AFP chief of staff.

Catapang was among the government officials who received the guns from the MILF on Wednesday.

The firearms turned over by the MILF were 10 M4 carbines, an M4 carbine with holographic scope, an FN Minimi machine gun, an M60 machine gun and two M4 carbines with grenade launchers.

Also turned over to the PNP was the upper receiver of an M4 carbine.

Espina said the PNP would double-check the recovered firearms using their serial numbers and verify the completeness of their parts, citing the case of the M4 upper receiver without its stock and barrel.

“We expect that all the demands and requests we gave to the other party—the surrender of Basit Usman to the government as well as those who will be held liable for killing our people—will be met,” Espina said.

The head of the AFP public affairs office, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, noted that almost 90 percent of the recovered firearms had missing accessories, such as tactical lights, although the guns may still be used.

Catapang noted that while it welcomed the MILF’s gesture as a sign that the group wanted to sustain the gains of peace, the government would not stop until all the lost firearms are in government custody.

“We are urging our MILF brothers to return all the firearms and personal belongings that were taken from our SAF brothers during the encounter,” Catapang said during the presentation of the guns.

Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said there were 44 SAF troopers slain in the encounter and 15 others wounded, who lost their firearms.

The BIFF, a group that broke away from the MILF, said it would not surrender the firearms its men had taken from the slain policemen.

The group has in its possession at least 10 rifles from the SAF, including 4 M16s, a Bushmaster rifle, 3 M16s with M203 grenade launchers and a 90-mm recoilless rifle, according to BIFF spokesperson Abu Misri Mama. He said the rifles would be given to new members or old fighters without weapons.

Roxas said it was dangerous for the loose firearms to be in the hands of civilians, rebels or private armed groups as these could be used against the government or innocent civilians.

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