Cayetano’s stance reflects poor grasp of peace process – security expert

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano (right). INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines – A counterterrorism expert on Tuesday warned against Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s calls to fire government peace panel members amid his claim that they were siding with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Masyadong sweeping, hardline ‘yung ganyang klaseng panawagan. Kasi hindi naintindihan ‘yung magiging strategic implications n’ya,” Rommel  Banlaoi, executive director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, told Radyo Inquirer 990AM on Tuesday.

(That kind of call is too sweeping, hardline. He doesn’t understand its strategic implications.)

Banlaoi disagreed with Cayetano’s assertion that the members of the government peace panel and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) were speaking for the MILF, which was involved in the Mamasapano clash, which left more than 60 people dead, including 44 policemen.

He explained that both sides are only “empathizing” with each other, an act that is not surprising given the long years of negotiation.

“Ang tendency ng dalawang partido protektahan ang gains ng kanilang ginawa. Kasi hindi naman biro ‘yung kanilang negotiation,” he said.

(The tendency of the two parties is to protect the gains of their actions. Their negotiation was not easy.)

It was only last year, after 17 years of negotiations, that the Philippine government and the MILF signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Both houses of Congress are still debating on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will create a new autonomous political entity in Mindanao and will implement the final peace agreement.

Despite delays and arguments during the negotiation, Banlaoi said the two peace panels continue to hold on to the principle that it is still more important to have peace talks instead of an all-out war.

Banlaoi said one way to look at the Mamasapano clash is that it is a “tactical incident with tremendous strategic implications” and that the strategic goal is to “save the peace process.”

He warned against impending political instability, which may affect the economic gains of the past years.

The security expert said a lot of questions still remain, among them the possible lapse in civilian oversight over the security sector.

After the incident, it was revealed that while President Benigno Aquino III knew about the mission, the Philippine National Police (PNP) chain of command was left out of the loop. Instead, it was then suspended, now resigned, PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima who reportedly directed the operations.

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