She accused the Muslim rebel group of using the truce they offered as a "ruse and a tactical ploy" to regroup their forces, which have been dissipated by the military offensives she earlier ordered against the MILF.
Mrs. Arroyo indicated that the government is ready to ignore the 10-day truce offer of the MILF after their latest attacks in Carmen, Cotabato and Maigo, Lanao del Norte.
"We will not accept peace with deception and we will not move our ground amidst constant threats to the people," she said.
The President said that "we will not stand for double talk. It is clear at this point that the declaration of ceasefire by the MILF is a ploy and a tactical ruse."
"Unless proof of sincerity is shown, punitive actions will continue until we can ensure our far-flung communities are safe from harassment," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo said the government welcomes "peace only with conditions of sincerity and justice... We have to see something more convincing than empty peace overtures on the part of the MILF."
The President made these statements yesterday in an open forum that followed her briefing yesterday on the result of her just-concluded US state visit before the leaders and members of various business associations held at the Dusit Hotel in Makati City.
She reiterated the government’s determination to bring to justice the perpetrators of a series of bomb attacks in Mindanao, with or without the MILF’s cooperation.
"The attackers in the most recent incidents yesterday will be pursued and punished, just like the terrorists that are the subject of sustained punitive operations," Mrs. Arroyo said.
In yesterday’s forum, the President reassured the business community that the peace and order situation in the southern Philippines have improved as a result of the "very successful" campaign launched by the government, with the help of the United States, to address the threats posed by the Abu Sayyaf and the MILF.
Mrs. Arroyo cited the US offer of "diplomatic and financial support" to help the government push its stalled peace negotiations with the MILF. This issue was raised by US President George W. Bush during their meeting at the White House.
"Provided that the MILF renounces terror. We have seen the diplomatic and financial support (of the US), especially the financial support for the peace process," she said.
The President cited the $33 million given by the US Aid for International Development (USAID) for the rebel returnees program of the government. This benefited the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) after they signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996.
There will be another $33 million for the rebel returnees program which demonstrates "that there is life after the conflict, after the peace agreement," she said.
The President, during her US state visit, was informed that the US government is set to allocate $30 million to $40 million from its budget to support the peace process in Mindanao.
"The $30 million is the carrot. If the MILF will sign a final peace agreement, this can begin the mini-Marshall plan that will address the issue of economic exploitation in the conflict area," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo said that the US offer of diplomatic assistance in the peace process will "complement but not supplant" the third party facilitation that Malaysia has been providing the government in its peace talks with the MILF.
Provincial and local officials whose areas were affected by the terrorist activities of the MILF declared yesterday that the conditions set by the rebel group for a permanent ceasefire are "non-negotiable."
The MILF rebels earlier demanded the government pull out from captured MILF camps and recall the warrants of arrest issued against them.
North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Piñol said he agreed with South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Fuentes and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte that the government should not give in to the MILF rebels’ demands and make them answer to the crimes they committed.
"Non-negotiable ’yung mga hinihingi ng mga MILF. We cannot negotiate the lives of the people that were lost from their terrorism activities," Piñol said.
He said history has shown that the MILF has never been sincere in its ceasefire declarations, and that the ceasefire is just a ploy to buy time for the MILF to reorganize.
"I’m looking at the ceasefire of the MILF with great caution. They are just trying to buy time because they are already pressured from the relentless military action and (the) government’s commitment to let those perpetrators answer to the crimes they committed," Piñol said.
He warned that he would rather resign from his post if the government heeds the demands of the MILF.
Piñol also rejected the MILF’s demand for the return of its former camp in Buliok complex at Pikit, North Cotabato.
The rebels’ presence has caused the government to lose its authority over those residing in the area, Piñol said. He added that the government has to protect its sovereignty against a pseudo-government of rebels.
"We will not agree to return the Buliok complex to the MILF. It is an unacceptable proposition. I would rather resign," Piñol said.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Roy Kyamko, on the other hand, ordered all military forces assigned to the southern Philippines to be on double alert to avoid being caught off-guard following an attack on two Army detachments in a remote village in Carmen, North Cotabato Thursday.
Kyamko said Thursday’s attack killed three members of the Citizens’ Armed Forces Geographical Unit (Cafgu) and five others were wounded in the attack. The rebels killed five civilians and torched 15 houses in Barangay Makabenban.
"The Cafgu members there were caught off guard by the declaration," he said.
Kyamko said offensives would go on against those responsible for the attack, and that the military will arrest five of the MILF’s most wanted: Hashim Salamat, Ebrahim Murad, Gadzali Jaafar, Eid Kabalu, and Aleem Aziz Mimbantas. Each of these MILF leaders carries a P5-million bounty on his head.
The local circuit trial courts of Maigo, Bacolod and Munai in Lanao del Norte issued another set of warrants against Salamat, Kabalu, Abdullah Macapaar, Yahyah Lucsadatu and 95 other John Does last Friday.
In these latest warrants of arrest, the MILF leaders were charged with multiple murder with no bail, multiple frustrated murder with P100,00 bail, robbery in band with P100,000 bail, and large cattle rustling with P20,000 bail.
Salamat and his cohorts also face charges of serious illegal detention and damage to property.
"If given the chance, we will arrest them. There are warrants for their arrest," Kyamko sad.
"The operation will continue against the perpetrators of the attacks. We are not after the MILF as an organization."
Kyamko said the government should not fall into the trap of accepting a ceasefire from the MILF.
"The MILF wants a ceasefire so the others who are wanted can join and escape from the crime they committed," he said. – With Roel Pareño, Ann Corvera, Bong Fabe, Jose Rodel Clapano, Mike Frialde