MILF behind Basilan attacks committed war crimes—Sen. Santiago

MANILA, Philippines — Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) allegedly responsible for the series of attacks in Mindanao are guilty of war crimes, Senator Miriam Defensor- Santiago said on Monday.

“No quarter is given by the rebels, and they have killed protected persons, as this term is defined under The Hague and Geneva Conventions and Protocols. The rebels are guilty of war crimes,” Santiago said in a statement.

And the commission of such crime, she said, was a justification for government troops to enter rebel havens described by the existing ceasefire agreement as “areas of temporary stay…”

Under the new law known as the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Santiago said government troops are allowed to cross jurisdictional lines “if required by military necessity.”

“Military necessity” is defined by the law as “employing measures which are otherwise indispensable to achieve a legitimate aim of the conflict and are not otherwise prohibited by international humanitarian law.”

“Military necessity trumps any ceasefire agreement. The murder of 19 soldiers could have been avoided, if the Philippine military and police were allowed to apply the doctrine of fresh pursuit.  This rule allows government soldiers to cross jurisdictional lines in fresh pursuit of rebel guerrillas who have committed war crimes,” said the senator.

If the rule against invasion of areas of temporary stay continues to be observed, then Santiago said the Philippine military would be “so severely hampered in its law enforcement functions that the Philippines would be flirting with the status of a failed state.”

“We don’t have to wait for the next round of peace talks in Kuala Lumpur.  Great necessity requires great action to defend the state.  We do not need the approval of the International Monitoring Team or the MILF,” she said

Under the principle of command responsibility, Santiago said MILF leaders should also be held answerable for the attacks perpetuated by their renegade guerillas.

“If the MILF argues that the attacks were carried out by rogue or renegade guerrillas, then that would be a confession that the MILF leaders have no effective command and control. In that case, there would be no point continuing peace talks with them,” she said.