Senators tell MILF: Turn over killers

MANILA, Philippines - Only by turning over to authorities those involved in the slaughter of 44 police commandos last Sunday by Muslim rebels can the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) prove its sincerity and commitment to peace in Mindanao, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

The same demand was made by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, who stressed it was meant to calm “fired up emotions” and not to stoke passions.

At the House of Representatives, Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles urged the MILF to disarm and confine to quarters its men involved in the killing of the policemen.

Drilon admitted that the deadly encounter in Mamasapano in Maguindanao, which left 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) dead, could lead to the scuttling of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which is awaiting congressional approval.

“I hope that this won’t negate all of our efforts toward peace. My appeal is that if ever this is not passed, we won’t be in the same situation as we were before,” he said.

As an initial step toward rebuilding confidence, Drilon said the MILF should immediately surrender Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) commander Basit Usman and the others who engaged the SAF commandos in a lopsided battle in remote villages in Mamasapano.

“This act of goodwill, if demonstrated, will without a shadow of a doubt prove the MILF’s sincerity and support to the government’s peace and development program,” Drilon said.

He emphasized that the cooperation of the MILF in efforts to ensure justice for the slain policemen would determine the course of the peace process.

“If they will surrender the suspects in these heinous acts and help arrest Usman, the MILF will show that they are one with the government in the pursuit of genuine and lasting peace, and that the government has made the right decision in negotiating a peace pact with them, because they are and will always be on the side of justice and harmony,” Drilon said.

“This is a test of sincerity on the part of the MILF on the one hand, and a test of faith in the peace process on the part of the government and the Filipino people, on the other hand,” he added.

Ceasefire as shield

Recto, for his part, said the MILF should not use the ceasefire agreement to shield its men from arrest and prosecution.

“That document does not inoculate anyone who had committed a grievous wrong from prosecution. You cannot claim immunity in the name of the peace process,” Recto said.

“Achieving peace in Mindanao and attaining justice for those killed can be pursued simultaneously if the MILF has the guts to punish the guilty and give justice to the dead,” he pointed out.

“By all means let us proceed with the peace process but first you must stop coddling your men so we can also proceed with the important job of giving justice to those who have been killed,” Recto said.

“This is a reasonable demand not meant to inflame passions but precisely to calm the fired up emotions of the people,” Recto maintained.

“The only way forward is for the MILF to surrender their men who were responsible for the killing of the policemen,” he added.

Recto also warned the MILF that giving refuge to terrorists runs counter to efforts at finding and keeping peace in the region.

“Any group in talks for permanent peace with the government should not be giving sanctuary to terrorists,” Recto said.

“It should not allow zones it controls to be used as rest and recreation areas for wanted fugitives who, by their skills and bloody curriculum vitaes, present a clear and present danger to the nation,” he pointed out.

Drilon’s and Recto’s Senate colleagues Francis Escudero, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Juan Edgardo Angara, Teofisto Guingona III, Pia and Alan Peter Cayetano, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Grace Poe and Joseph Victor Ejercito also demanded justice for the slain policemen.

“The government cannot simply brush aside the fact that a lot of our policemen died performing their duty. Someone must be held to account, even MILF members if they will be found to be at fault. The lives our policemen gave must not be for naught,” Escudero said.

Poe, chairman of the Senate committee on public order, said she wants to validate reports that suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima was behind the Mamasapano operations.

Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento also called on the MILF to cooperate with government investigators. An investigation, he said, “will definitely require the cooperation of the MILF to ensure that all parties involved will have a free exchange of information, which would give light as to what really happened.”

The Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AFGO) also demanded that the MILF surrender its men involved in last Sunday’s killings as well as return the firearms and equipment taken from the dead policemen. With Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Edith Regalado, Jess Diaz, John Unson, Christina Mendez, Jaime Laude