MILF rebels to join military if peace accord signed

Thousands of qualified Moro Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas will be integrated into the Armed Forces once a peace agreement is signed between the government and the MILF.

A senior military commander said the Armed Forces is now preparing a military training program for the MILF rebels.

"Given the proper training and right motivation, these MILF fighters can be as good as their former MNLF counterparts in the battlefield as they’re all battle tested," he said.

Recently, Defense Secretary Eduardo Ermita hinted that the Armed Forces would like to get qualified guerrillas after the signing of a peace agreement.

"After hostilities has ended, we will also discuss how we will take care of the armed groups of the MILF," he said.

The plan is based in the successful integration of former guerrillas of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), who were taken into the Armed Forces after the rebels signed a peace agreement with the Ramos administration in September 1996.

Known as military integrees, the MNLF fighters operated behind the scenes in the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf, including the capture of bandit leader Ghalib Andang, alias Commander Robot.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero, Armed Forces public relations chief, denied reports that the Malaysian monitoring team will investigate the presence of the Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists in Mindanao.

"They are here to conduct surveys on certain areas, and to find out where the forthcoming members of the international ceasefire monitoring teams will be deployed following their arrival," he said.

Malaysia has been pushing for a peaceful end to the war in Mindanao.

A monitoring team from Malaysia has arrived recently for a seven day mission in Mindanao in preparation for the resumption of peace talks next month.

Headed by Gen. Zulkifi Mohammad Zain, the 10-man Malaysian monitoring team is conducting surveys in Mindanao.

Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Brunei have also pledged monitoring teams in support of the government’s peace efforts in the trouble-plagued island. — Jaime Laude