De Lima: Premature to ask MILF to surrender forces

MANILA, Philippines – Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said that the Philippine government cannot yet ask the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to surrender its forces involved in the Mamasapano clash.

De Lima said her department’s investigation into the incident is still ongoing, along with parallel probes. 

She responded to senators’ questions on whether there is already a “demand” from the government for the MILF to give up its members who allegedly killed elite cops in the January 25 encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

“We have no coercive power at this point for the MILF to surrender those involved. We have to identify first who was involved, and allow the appropriate legal process to take place, like the issuance of a subpoena for preliminary investigation,” De Lima said in a Senate hearing on Monday, February 23.

Yet De Lima went a step farther, and said the MILF need not wait for a demand as it is engaged in peace talks with the government.

“It should really be a palpable gesture of confidence building on their part,” she said.

De Lima’s statement comes after MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that the rebel group will not surrender its forces, and instead impose its own disciplinary actions, in line with the MILF’s ceasefire agreement with the government.

In an editorial posted on its website Luwaran.net on February 21, the MILF said forcing the group to surrender its forces “is not found in any of the agreements of the parties.”

“Please do not force the MILF to turn over our combatants. This will not only violate the very principles that guide the Parties in their 17 long and harsh years of negotiations, but it also destroys the very core values that we are willing to defend unto death if our integrity as a people and the justness of our cause are violated,” the group said.

The MILF pointed out that it already returned to the government last week 16 firearms of the Special Action Force (SAF) troopers its members got after the clash. “And we have reiterated our full commitment to work with government to defeat terrorism in this country.”

The editorial added that the peace talks are guided by “basic principles” like “not to deliberately put the other party [in] a humiliating position.”

Yet Senator Ralph Recto pressed De Lima and Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Quintos Deles on whether the government will make the “demand.”

“The medico-legal report says the SAF were killed in close range. We are talking about accountability and the peace process,” Recto said.

Deles responded that the Department of Justice (DOJ) must first establish who the suspects and what the charges are.

“Unless we know the specific persons, we don’t know who to demand for from MILF. We issued a strong demand for accountability, but with regard surrendering, we need specific names and crimes,” said Deles.

The Senate is investigating the SAF mission to arrest top terrorists in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, that resulted in an encounter between the policemen and armed groups. The clash killed 44 SAF troopers, 18 MILF members, and at least 3 civilians.

It is the biggest security crisis of the Aquino administration, and put at risk the peace process between the government and the MILF after a historic deal in 2014.

MILF can’t say when to give report

Senators asked Iqbal in the hearing when the MILF can submit to the Senate the report on its own investigation into the clash. The chamber is about to conclude its inquiry and has received the initial reports of the military and the police.

Iqbal could not commit to a date, but said the MILF investigation is almost done.

“It’s around 90% finished. There are issues that require further validation on the ground. Our chair is in Saudi Arabia on a minor pilgrimage. We are still discussing how to proceed,” Iqbal said.

The MILF leader was referring to the group’s chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.

De Lima cited Iqbal’s statement in explaining that the DOJ cannot yet conclude its investigation.

Senate: No need to coordinate with MILF

Senators Cynthia Villar and Alan Peter Cayetano took the MILF and government peace panels to task for blaming the SAF’s lack of coordination with the MILF as a factor behind the heavy death toll.

Villar and Cayetano said that it was the position of the Senate that coordination was unnecessary because Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan was considered a “high value target,” and therefore an exception to the need for coordination under the ceasefire mechanism.

The provision in the agreement became a point of contention in the wake of the clash. The Implementing Guidelines of the Joint Communique of 6 May 2002 states that:

Except for operations against high priority targets, a list of which shall be provided by the GPH Panel to the MILF Panel, the AHJAG shall inform the GPH and the MILF CCCH at least 24 hours prior to the conduct of the AFP/PNP operations in order to allow sufficient time for the evacuation of civilians and to avoid armed, confrontation between the GPH and MILF forces.

Senators interpreted this to mean that no coordination is required for high value targets. In contrast, Brigadier General Carlito Galvez Jr, chair of the government side of the Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, said the provision meant coordination was still required but the notice can come less than 24 hours before the operation.

“If you insist on no coordination, we will have another Mamasapano incident again,” Galvez said. “Since 1997 to 2012, because of that rule, 256 were killed and 500 maimed because there was no coordination.”

Cayetano heatedly responded to Galvez’s statement, reiterating his accusations against the MILF.

“People died not because there was no coordination but because the MILF killed them,” the senator said. “Can you mention to me how many Marwan and Usman killed? So we will coordinate and they will escape?”

“We will have another Mamasapano because the MILF coddles terrorists,” he added.

Cayetano asked De Lima to clarify the interpretation of the provision, but she too could not give a categorical response. 

“We need to ask the framers of agreement what was original intent because it’s vague, ambiguous,” De Lima said. – Rappler.com