President Benigno Aquino III
PALO, Leyte—President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday thumbed down calls for an all-out war with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after its forces killed 19 soldiers in a clash in Al-Barka, Basilan province, on Tuesday.
Asked whether there was a need to review or even suspend the ceasefire agreement with the MILF, the President said: “(Are) we advocating (an) all-out war… that redounds to an improvement to the situation?”
He made the remarks following his speech at the 67th anniversary celebration of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s landing here.
“(W)e have to learn. Nobody benefits from war,” Mr. Aquino said in dismissing suggestions that the government go all-out against the MILF following the attack in Basilan that many branded as treacherous.
In his speech, the President said the players in the Leyte landing—Filipinos, Americans, Australians and Canadians on one side and the Japanese on the other—had become partners in cooperation and no longer viewed the other side with enmity.
War is over
“The war is over. The peace needs to be won completely,” he said in ending his speech.
The President appeared to continue believing in the MILF’s good faith in the ongoing peace negotiations with the government, although he said an investigation was in order to determine which side was at fault.
“If there’s one rotten egg, should the whole basket of eggs be tagged as bad? It would be good if we would investigate what happened. Who’s at fault? Who committed an abuse, etc.,” he said.
“When you get all the details, they will point you to the course of direction. But if you’d jump to conclusions, without facts, that would be irresponsible,” the President added.
The military and MILF rebels blamed each other for starting Tuesday’s clash and planned to protest before a joint ceasefire committee.
‘Accidental’
Government negotiator Marvic Leonen said that the clash was accidental and that the peace talks would continue.
The battle was one of the deadliest since 2008, when peace talks bogged down and ignited widespread clashes that killed hundreds and displaced 750,000 people.
The rebels have waged a bloody insurgency for self-rule in Mindanao, the homeland of minority Muslims in the Philippines.
Since the clashes in 2008, a Malaysia-led peacekeeping contingent has kept watch to prevent further battles and keep the atmosphere ripe for peace talks.
Suspend talks
Muntinlupa Representative Rodolfo Biazon, House defense committee chairman, called on the government to suspend the peace talks with the MILF.
Speaking over a local radio station in Cotabato City, Biazon, also former defense secretary, said instead of talking with the rebels, the government should concentrate on hunting down those involved in the Al-Barka clash.
“We have to suspend the talks,” he said.
Soft
An incensed Joseph Estrada said the Aquino administration was being “soft” on the MILF.
The former president condemned the attack, saying it smacked of “treachery as always” from the secessionist movement.
“Malambot (soft),” he told the Inquirer by phone, referring to the government’s handling of the MILF.
“Poor soldiers,” said Estrada, who launched an all-out war against the MILF in 2000. “So many of them have died in this conflict.”
Meeting in Tokyo
The former President noted that the attack came despite Mr. Aquino’s fresh efforts to negotiate peace with the Moro rebels.
Estrada cited Mr. Aquino’s unusual, one-on-one meeting with MILF chair Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo in August, a move apparently intended to provide a major impetus to the peace talks.
“And still, the MILF keeps attacking our troops,” Estrada said. “They cannot be trusted. There’s treachery as always. It’s a vicious cycle. It has to end.”
Suspend ceasefire
The spokesperson of the Philippine Army suggested a temporary suspension of the ceasefire agreement.
“If you ask my opinion, it’s clear that we should pursue the MILF rebels and temporarily suspend the cessation of hostilities, specifically in Basilan,” Colonel Antonio Parlade Jr. said in a radio interview.
He said it would not be the last violent incident. “This is the eighth or ninth time that they did something like this,” Parlade said, citing occasions when Army men were pursuing notorious Abu Sayyaf troops “only to find MILF rebels also in the area.”
He said the only solution was to suspend the ceasefire in Basilan to enable the government forces to fully establish law and order in the province.
For peace process
But Biazon’s and Parlade’s comments were not seconded by the Armed Forces of the Philippines leadership, which expressed its continued support for the peace process.
At a briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos, chief of the AFP public affairs office, said the military was not prepared to suspend the ceasefire, and that such a move would have to be made at the level of the peace negotiations.
A Catholic bishop overseeing Basilan condemned the clashes but supported the peace talks. “Continue the peace talks and don’t get tired so that peace and harmony will be attained,” said Bishop Martin Jumoad.
He also called on the government to address the root causes of the rebellion.
Uncoordinated military
Mohaqher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, maintained the Al-Barka clash was prompted by uncoordinated military actions and that the rebel group should not be faulted for it.
Leonen said the Al-Barka clash could be tackled when the peace panels meet in Malaysia next month.
A Malaysian official assigned with the International Monitoring Team (IMT) said it was working doubly hard to restore order in Basilan.
“We are doing our best to restore peace in that island province. We have rules and procedures to follow under the signed ceasefire agreement between the MILF and the Philippine government,” said Major General Dato Mahdi Bin Yusof, IMT head of mission.
He said the IMT’s intervention would be fair and would not jeopardize the government’s peace process.
Fleeing homes
Close to 900 families from five villages of Al-Barka in Basilan fled their homes following the clash.
Lilia Bucoy, Basilan social welfare officer, said the villages deserted by residents were Kailih, Cambug, Macalang, Danapan and Lunuan. With reports from Jerome Aning, Christine Avendaño and Cathy Yamsuan in Manila; and Jeoffrey Maitem and Charlie Señase, Inquirer Mindanao