Video by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net
MORO Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal listed five scenarios the country may face if the Bangsamoro basic bill, which seeks to implement the peace deal with the MILF, is not passed due to the Mamasapano encounter.
During the House of Representatives investigation into the antiterror raid that left 67 persons dead, Iqbal said peace remains the only option despite the MILF’s involvement in the 12-hour gunbattle with the Special Action Force (SAF) commandos who were sent on a mission to hunt down international terrorist Marwan in Mamasapano town last Jan. 25.
“No matter what happens with the Bangsamoro basic bill, the MILF will still engage in the course of peace in Mindanao,” Iqbal said.
For the first scenario, Iqbal said failing to pass the Bangsamoro bill would mean “we miss the opportunity and it has been said that the opportunity knocks only once.”
He added: “That opportunity may not come up again, so you missed the opportunity.”
Those remarks seemed to contradict his previous statement that the MILF will remain to be in the course of peace even if the Bangsamoro bill fails.
Iqbal then said the second scenario is that lawlessness may continue to grip Mindanao, which has seen decades of bloodshed due to the Muslim secessionist movement.
“The frustration of the people will rise above the normal level. It would certainly give way to lawlessness in many parts of Mindanao. The problem will continue to fester us,” Iqbal said.
He said the third scenario would be for the MILF to sink “to the lowest levels” and that the MILF will remain to be armed because the exit agreements were not signed and the decommissioning process not completed.
“If the bill is not passed, the MILF clout and popularity will sink to the lowest level… The MILF will not be decommissioned. It can lead to a scenario where radicals will have a say on how the situation will develop in Mindanao,” Iqbal said.
Iqbal said if the Bangsamoro bill fails, the bodies formed in the course of the peace process such as the International Monitoring Team, the decommissioning body, among other transitional bodies, may not be retained.
Lastly, Iqbal said the failed peace process would scare away investors and thus affect country’s economic growth.
“We hope the Bangsamoro bill will pass Congress,” Iqbal said.
The chamber is investigating the debacle that threatened the passage of the Bangsamoro bill due to the involvement of the MILF in the attack against the SAF. AC