MILF wants probe findings on Basilan clash disclosed to public
“But we can’t release it unilaterally to the media without the concurrence of the government’s peace panel,” said Datu Jun Mantawil, chief secretariat of the MILF’s peace panel.
Mantawil said if announced to the public, the findings of the nine-member fact-finding team could help defuse the tension in Basilan.
The nine-member fact-finding team commissioned by the joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) to investigate the incident was composed of representatives from the MILF, the military and Bantay Ceasefire, comprised of various cause-oriented groups and non-government organizations involved in peace-building activities in the South.
Mantawil said they are worried the result of the investigation can be “distorted” by certain sectors seeking the escalation of tension in Basilan. He did not elaborate.
Mantawil said while they want the result of the joint investigation released to the media immediately, protocols duly agreed on by the government and MILF peace panels in the handling of documents prepared by both sides constrain them from distributing copies to media outlets in the country.
“There is standard operating procedure wherein official documents cannot be declassified without the concurrence of the other party,” Mantawil said.
The MILF has owned up to the killing of the 14 Marines during the July 10 encounter in Albarka, a newly created town in Basilan, but denied its fighters beheaded ten of the slain combatants.
Basilan Rep. Wahab Akbar, in a privilege speech last week, said four members of the Abu Sayyaf were responsible for the beheadings.
Akbar said the four (unnamed) suspects perpetrated the mutilation of the Marines after the MILF fighters that fought the soldiers had retreated from the scene.
Also found beside the dead Marines was the mutilated cadaver of Imam Matarul Hakim Alknanul, a preacher who worked in a mosque near the ambush scene. The MILF has accused the Marines of killing Alkanul.
MILF and military sources said the fact-finding team failed to establish the circumstances surrounding the death of Alkanul due to conflicting testimonies by witnesses, MILF rebels and soldiers asked to shed light on the incident.
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In his resolution, Rep. Mujiv Hataman of the party-list group Anak Mindanao said there were reports that the “treacherous ambush” was perpetrated not only by the MILF but also by armed followers of Rep. Akbar and Mayor Karam Jakilam of Albarka town.
Akbar is the former governor of Basilan.
Hataman said Akbar’s armed followers, aided by the mayor’s men, were reportedly involved in the beheading and mutilation of the bodies of 10 dead Marines.
“It is incumbent on the House of Representatives to clear its members from accusations which, if later on found to be malicious, would affect not only the House member but the entire House as an institution,” he said.
Police action, not punitive action
The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) denied the contingency meeting with all the local officials and government line agencies is preparatory to the outbreak of hostilities between the military and the MILF in Basilan.
The NDCC also clarified its earlier statement that there are only 6,984 civilians displaced and most of them are home-based or staying with relatives.
“I can not answer the war thing, there is no war,” NDCC administrator Ret. Gen. Glen Rabonza said when asked if the closed-door executive meeting with all the governors of Sulu, Basilan and the Zamboanga provinces was in preparation for the military offensive.
Rabonza said the conference, called by acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, was part of the contingency planning by the government and its line agencies in coordination with local government leaders.
Ranking military officials also dismissed the reported punitive actions to be staged by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against the rebels.
“It will be a police action and there’s no such thing as punitive action,” said Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag, commander of Naval Forces Western Mindanao Combined.
Defense Undersecretary for civil affairs Ernesto Carolina said the meeting was more on pro-active stance of the national government to make sure all the agencies concerned are “synergized” with their action. – With Jess Diaz, Roel Pareño, Marvin Sy, James Mananghaya
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