Misuari to be temporarily released soon?

Detained former governor Nur Misuari of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao may be temporarily freed after Malacañang and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) agreed on the early resolution of his rebellion case to help bring peace and development to Mindanao.

However, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita cautioned that Misuari’s case might set a precedent.

"Misuari is a high-profile political figure, being the chairman of the MNLF and former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and this is something being looked into very, very carefully because we do not want also to isolate Misuari’s case from others since he is charged with rebellion," he said in a press conference.

"Please note that there are other people charged with rebellion so we do not want to use him as a template for something that later on might become a precedent so we will have to address the case of chairman Misuari in accordance with our judicial system."

Misuari is charged with rebellion, a non-bailable offense, and that is why he remains under detention, and his lawyers have filed a motion before the Supreme Court to return him to Mindanao, he added.

Meanwhile, the Moro National Liberation Front urged the Department of Justice yesterday to resolve and dismiss Misuari’s rebellion case so he could take part in a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in July.

Kong Jamasali Abdulrahman, MNLF acting spokesman, said as far as they are concerned there is no case against Misuari because all the witnesses against him have recanted their statements.

"If the government is sincere in seeking peace in Mindanao, the DOJ must resolve and dismiss the case against Chairman Misuari," he said.

Abdulrahman strongly reacted to a report quoting Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez that Musuari must plead guilty so the court could convict him and President Arroyo could grant him executive clemency.

"Why should Chairman Misuari plead to a non-existing crime?" he asked.

Abdulrahman warned the government against fabricating evidence against Misuari.

"Chairman Misuari is indispensable as far as the peace process in Mindanao is concerned," he said.

Abdulrahman said the Makati Regional Trial Court has returned the rebellion case against Misuari to the DOF for reinvestigation.

"The national government has enough time to resolve the case and allow Chairman Misuari to attend the OIC meeting in July," he said.

The government and the OIC have agreed that Misuari must be temporarily released so he can play a key role in the peace process in Mindanao.

"The early resolution of the pending case against Chairman Nur Misuari, within the framework of the Philippine judicial process, will have a positive effect on the common effort to bring peace and development in Mindanao," the government and the OIC’s expanded mission said in a joint statement yesterday.

Headed by Ambassador Sayed Kassem Al-Masry, the OIC expanded mission just concluded a three-day sortie in Mindanao last weekend to assess the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement between the government and the MNLF.

The OIC expanded mission expressed hope that Misuari would be able to attend the high-level tripartite meeting among the MNLF, the OIC and the government sometime in July in Jeddah to review the implementation of the 1996 agreement.

"We appreciate the efforts of government for humanitarian reasons to have allowed Chairman Misuari a medical checkup at St. Luke’s Medical Center and then putting him in house arrest in Manila," Al-Masry told reporters during the mission’s brief stopover in Davao City over the weekend. — With Perseus Echeminada, Edith Regalado