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Friday, March 29, 2024

Peace adviser coddling MILF men, Binay fumes

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VICE President Jejomar C. Binay on Sunday denounced presidential adviser on peace process Teresita Deles for taking up the cudgels for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters who took part in the massacre of 44 Special Action Force (SAF)  commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

Deles

In a statement, Binay said Deles went to great lengths to exonerate the MILF, with which the government has negotiated a peace agreement.  “How can one justify the brutality inflicted on the wounded SAF officers who were shot in the head and stripped of their uniforms and personal effects?” asked Binay.

Autopsies showed that 27 of the 44 slain police commandos were shot at close range, many of them in the head. Others were stripped of their bullet-proof vests before they were shot.

That it is not the MILF but a Cabinet secretary defending the brutality is disturbing to say the least,” said Binay.  “I am deeply saddened by the statements attributed to Secretary Teresita Deles in a newspaper report today.  If the statements are accurate, it shows insensitivity at the very least,” said Binay.  He said Deles is so eager to rush the approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that she is willing to ignore the death of 44 SAF commandos on Jan. 25.

While he supports the call for peace in Mindanao, the Vice President said he believes that the country cannot achieve peace without justice and accountability after what happened in Mamasapano.  “[This is] all the more reason not to rush the approval of the BBL,” said Binay.  In a digitally recorded audio file of the conversation that spread through Facebook, Deles tried to convince Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  that the police commandos were at fault for not informing the MILF that they were entering an area under their control to capture international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hr alias Marwan.  “Imagine the situation of the MILF… you have 50 to 80 armed people (entering your territory),” she told Marcos. She added that the MILF helped in treating the wounded SAF commandos “and bringing the bodies out.”

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Senators Francis Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano also criticized Deles for acting like the spokesman for the MILF instead of pushing the government’s agenda.

Escudero said Deles could not toe the line of the government and act as the MILF mouthpiece at the same time.

“You are not between a rock and  a hard place. You are in the government. Don’t forget that,” Escudero reminded Deles.  Speaking before the Senate public order investigation of the massacre, Deles said she understands the MILF was then in a difficult situation.  She said the SAF should have coordinated their operation to give a heads-up to the government and the MILF Joint Committee on Cessation of Hostilities (JCCH) due the existing ceasefire agreement with the MILF.

She noted that by prior coordination, the SAF could have informed the JCCH what armed forces are being mobilized precisely to avoid a “mis-encounter.”

But Escudero said he resented the term “mis-encounter,” saying that the killings in Mamasapano were disturbingly brutal and barbaric, and had no place in civilized society, citing a video that went viral on the Internet showing the execution of SAF men by the rebels.  In the hearings, Cayetano also chided Deles for making excuses for MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal for not showing up at the first two hearings.

Also during the hearing, Deles disputed Cayetano’s allegation that the MILF had coddled Marwan, saying this was still the subject of investigation.

Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. on Sunday urged the government to give the MILF a 15-day ultimatum to return the firearms and personal effects of the 44 slain commandos and surrender the fighters who were involved in the killings.

If the MILF fails to meet these conditions, the BBL should be scrapped, Revilla added.

He also challenged MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ibrahim to submit to the Senate the names and pictures of those responsible for the killing of the SAF 44 so the authorities can start looking into their criminal records.

“We respect the internal investigation being conducted by the MILF but we believe they should not dictate on us the timeline,” Revilla said.

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