spot_img
27.5 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Bad legacy

- Advertisement -

Many Filipinos choked with emotion when they came to know of the massacre of 44 policemen in Maguindanao last weekend. What happened, really? Government officials gave vague explanations, which in turn fueled speculation.

The policemen moved in during the night last Sunday into the Muslim rebel stronghold in Mamasapano to arrest two most-wanted terrorists: Marwan and Usman. The wanted men — one of whom had a $5-million prize on his head — were responsible for deaths of hundreds of peoples in series of bomb attacks in the Philippines and Malaysia and have eluded authorities for many years. A battalion of 392 men tried to arrest the two terrorists; at the break of dawn the bodies of 44 dead policemen littered the cornfield and many more lay wounded. 

Two rebel groups, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and its breakaway faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), were allegedly involved in the attack. The MILF, which has entered into a peace agreement with the government, immediately placed the blame on the military for venturing into the area “without proper coordination.”

But angry outbursts in Congress and by retired generals indicate a political fallout that put the peace agreement with the Muslim rebels in jeopardy. President Aquino has brushed aside calls for an all-out war against the Muslim rebels, but several members has called for suspension of deliberations of the Bangsamoro Basic Law that could derail the peace agreement.

Members of the minority also called for impeachment of Aquino and 4,000 members of the police academy threatened to go on mass leave to mourn and protest their deaths. It was unlikely that Aquino will get out unscathed in what could one of the most disastrous failures in the history of the police service.

- Advertisement -

Aquino makes a grave error if he resorts to fuzzy and circular arguments and tries to paper over the people’s sentiment.  The massacre of the 44 policemen will be a blot that will forever haunt his administration.

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles