Binay: Misuari, Gazmin agree to a ceasefire

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay said Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founder Nur Misuari and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin agreed to a ceasefire in Zamboanga City.

In a phone interview Friday night, September 13, Binay told Rappler that he spoke with Misuari and Gazmin over the phone at about 11 pm, and the two agreed to a suspension of fighting.

“What is important is that this evening, the agreement between the two parties is a ceasefire tonight and I will arrive there in Zamboanga tomorrow morning to talk about the mechanics of a peaceful settlement,” Binay said.

“Let’s disseminate the information. Mag-ceasefire muna.” (Let’s hold a ceasefire first.)

The Vice President said he is not aware if President Benigno Aquino III was already informed about the ceasefire but he conveyed the information to Gazmin.  

Binay said Misuari authorized him to disseminate the information through the media. 

Binay refused to give details on how talks for the ceasefire began and who initiated the ceasefire, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

He said though that he discussed a peaceful settlement of the Zamboanga crisis with Misuari. Binay could not say how long he will be in Zamboanga.

“Hopefully I’ll try to bring [the two sides] together in order to finalize the peaceful settlement, but there’s already an agreement on peaceful settlement, it’s more of the methodology,” he said. “I’ll have to see to it that everything will be in good faith.”

Binay said that he and Misuari were classmates at the University of the Philippines. “There were even instances we were seatmates. We were classmates in political science.”

The Vice President said details as to who will be present in the talks about the peaceful settlement have yet to be finalized but it is possible that MNLF spokesperson Emmanuel Fontanilla will be invited.

“Before I leave, I would have resolved already sino ang magrerepresent kay Chairman Misuari. Ang importante diyan is both of them agreed to a peaceful settlement. (I would have resolved already who will represent Chairman Misuari. What is important is both of them agreed to a peaceful settlement.)

The announcement came on the 5th day of the crisis that claimed the lives of at least 22 people and wounded 52 others. Military spokesman Lt Col Ramon Zagala told Agence France-Presse that 19 of the gunmen have surrendered or were captured. 

The fighting forced at least 15,000 people to flee their homes. Officials said nearly 200 residents were seized as hostages and some used as human shields by the gunmen.

The gunmen also set fire to parts of the 5 barangays or villages where the MNLF members holed in. – Rappler.com