Usman killing to help restore trust in MILF, says Drilon

MANILA, Philippines–The death of terrorist Abdul Basit Usman at the hands of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters will help restore trust in the rebel group after the Mamasapano clash, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Monday.

The military confirmed Monday that Usman was killed along with five followers in a fire fight in Guindulungan, Maguindanao province, on Sunday.

It was unclear, however, whether it was indeed MILF guerrillas or fighters from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) who killed him.

“Certainly, assuming it’s true that Usman is dead, it will help restore trust” in the MILF, Drilon told reporters at the House of Representatives, where congressional leaders met to discuss legislative priorities.

Drilon said this was a positive development in light of efforts by both houses of Congress to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by mid-June.

Separate from BBL

But Drilon added that the Mamasapano clash should be seen as a separate issue from the BBL.

“In the Senate, we have always maintained the position that the BBL is different from Mamasapano in terms of the substantive discussion,” he said.

‘Good gesture’

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who leads work on the BBL in the Senate, said on Monday that the MILF action on Usman “helps the peace process.”

“It is something that we have been asking the MILF and they have been part of the peace process with the neutralizing [of] Usman,” Marcos said.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said that if the reports are true, the killing of Usman is a “good gesture” by the MILF.

“[W]e can see they can be a good partner of the government. But the process of rebuilding the people’s trust is a long one,” Trillanes said.

Passage of the BBL will complete a peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF last year. But the deaths of 44 elite police commandos in a clash with Moro rebels, including MILF fighters, in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25 delayed the passage of the bill that would establish a new autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao.

Leaders of both houses of Congress, however, agreed to pass the BBL by June, before the 16th Congress adjourned.

The legislature resumed sessions on Monday, after a six-week break.

Limited time

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said on Monday that the BBL would be on top of the legislative agenda after the 75-member ad hoc committee approved the bill and submitted it for debate on the floor this month.

“We have a limited time ahead, and therefore we have to maximize the time” to pass the BBL, he told reporters.

Drilon said the two chambers would “give it [their] best” once plenary deliberations on the BBL began.

“We will exercise our leadership in both chambers to give priority to the debates on the floor,” he said.

The BBL committee in the House is expected to vote on the bill on May 11 or 12, according to its chair, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.–With a report from Christine O. Avendaño