Gov’t sets conditions to bring back trust in MILF

BESIDES giving up firearms they stole from police forces, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) must heed two other government demands to restore enough support to pass a law giving Muslims self-rule in Mindanao, a House official said.

The third condition asks the MILF to aid in the pursuit of terrorist Abdul Basit Usman which Mr. Rodriguez said is “possibly still in their area.”

Mr. Rodriguez, chairman of the House ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), told reporters that he and several other officials met with MILF leaders in Jakarta last week to discuss these three “confidence-building measures” to help ensure the law’s passage.

In a briefing yesterday in Maguindanao, MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Q. Iqbal and government peace panel official Miriam Coronel-Ferrer witnessed the return of 16 firearms to the government. These firearms were taken by members of the MILF from police commandos, 44 of whom were killed in a botched mission to hunt down Usman and Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian terrorist who was supposedly killed during the operation.

During the mission, 18 MILF members and several civilians — including a five-year-old girl — was also killed.

“Once the names of their commanders and men are identified and there is proof that they have participated in the killing of the 44 SAF men, then they should surrender,” Mr. Rodriguez said in an ambush interview, referring to the ongoing investigation of the Department of Justice (DoJ).

“The third one [the surrender of MILF fighters] is the most problematic one. MILF Chairman (Al Haj) Murad (Ibrahim) and Iqbal said they want an independent commission to investigate the killing,” he said.

For its part, Malacañang said that officials are still waiting for “more concrete proof” that the MILF is still committed to the peace pact by fulfilling the two other measures.

“We need to understand that those requests, as told by the President, would give a concrete manifestation if the MILF can still be trusted as a partner of the government,” Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma, Jr. said in a separate press briefing.

BACK BY MARCH
After the Jan. 25 clash between the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) and Moro fighters in Mamasapano, Mr. Rodriguez admitted an “erosion of support” for the Bangsamoro Basic Law among the 75-member ad hoc committee and in the entire House of Representatives.

Once all three requests are fulfilled, the panel can resume talks on the law, which Mr. Rodriguez eyes to begin on March 3.

“We will resume once we receive the report. We will resume the discussion, not the voting, if these issues could be [resolved]. Otherwise, we don’t get support from the members,” Mr. Rodriguez said.

The ad hoc panel decided on Feb. 9 to suspend hearings on the proposed measure, pending investigations of authorities and of the House’s own probe.

The House’s Mamasapano inquiry has also been postponed to await the results of the PNP’s Board of Inquiry (BoI).

In a phone interview, Mr. Iqbal said they will “not necessarily” adhere to the findings of the BoI and the DoJ.

“We have our own investigation. We are still calling for an independent commission,” Mr. Iqbal said.

CHANGES TO BBL
Mr. Iqbal also maintained that he is against any changes to the proposed law, as announced by lawmakers from both the House and Senate.

The Palace said it is the right of Congress to alter the proposed law to ensure it conforms to the confines of the Constitution.

“The BBL is based on a Framework Agreement, hindi tayo pwedeng umalis doon. Yun ang kasunduan (The BBL is based on a Framework Agreement, we cannot abandon it. That’s the agreement),” Mr. Iqbal said.

Mr. Rodriguez and fellow committee members earlier said that the BBL would have to be amended to ensure its legality, alongside improved “safeguards” against possible abuse of power in allowing local police and military forces to be placed under the proposed Bangsamoro region which will replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. –Melissa Luz T. Lopez and Imee Charlee C. Delavin