Video by Cathy Miranda
THE peace negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) denied that local bomb maker Basit Usman was killed as a sacrificial lamb to save the proposed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL).
During the House of Representatives Metro Manila Development committee hearing Thursday, Mohagher Iqbal said the MILF’s pursuit that killed Usman was one of its commitments with government to track down lawless elements in MILF territory under the terms of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG).
The AHJAG is “the mechanism between the MILF and the government that responds to criminality and terrorism in areas with MILF presence.”
“Ang importante sa amin, yung obligation namin… It’s not directly linked to the BBL or to the money. Hindi naman namin kailangan yung pera. We do not sell the souls of our people,” Iqbal said.
Usman had a bounty of P6.3 million from the Philippine government and $1 million from the United States.
Iqbal said it has long been an order by the MILF leadership to track down Usman, despite allegations that the Moro group coddled lawless elements, including top international terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan who was killed in the botched raid in an MILF territory in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.
The raid dubbed “Oplan Exodus” resulted in the deaths of 67 persons in a gunfight between Special Action Force (SAF) troops and MILF fighters despite an existing ceasefire. Usman then was able to escape the operation.
“That obligation under the terms and references of the AHJAG has been (long-standing) already… Kung may pagkakataon, then we’ll do it,” Iqbal said.
“(It’s because of the AHJAG) kaya nadali namin si Usman. It’s not directly related to the BBL. It was a natural step of the MILF na kunin si Basit Usman,” he added.
Usman was killed Sunday when he fought back after being captured and escorted by an MILF command to the group’s central command in Maguindanao.
The military earlier claimed one of Usman’s bodyguards who was a government asset killed Usman but it later backtracked and said it was the MILF that killed the local bomb maker.
The ad hoc Bangsamoro committee led by Cagayan De Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez has asked the MILF to help the government capture Usman as part of confidence-building measures in the aftermath of the Mamasapano incident.
But Iqbal said the slaying of Usman was not intended to regain the trust of lawmakers who after the Mamasapano tragedy questioned the passage of the BBL.
“As a consequence, it can be part of confidence building measures but it’s not related to that. We have done that because it is our obligation,” Iqbal said.
The ad hoc Bangsamoro committee is expected to vote for the passage of the BBL which seeks to implement a government peace deal with the MILF by creating a more politically autonomous Bangsamoro region. AC