Senators want MILF tagged as terror group

MANILA, Philippines – Senators urged the government to classify the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as a terrorist organization following the deadly attacks in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte.

Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Rodolfo Biazon, who both served as defense chiefs, said the MILF should be included in the list of terrorist organizations and file criminal charges against its leaders for the brutal and violent attacks that killed over 40 people, including an Army colonel.

The communist New People’s Army and the extremist Abu Sayyaf are already in the list.

Enrile, who served as defense chief of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, said government should file criminal charges against the MILF for violation of the Human Security Act.

“If I were the government, I will charge them under the Anti-Terrorism Law... They fall squarely under the Human Security Act. You have to charge them. The fact is they committed a crime,” Enrile said.

Enrile also joined his colleagues in urging the government to suspend peace negotiations with the MILF until law and order is restored in Mindanao.

Biazon, for his part, said the MILF has crossed the line between rebellion and terrorism.

“The MILF attacks against the towns of Sarangani, North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte were characterized by the murder of defenseless civilians, arson, kidnapping, hostage taking and destruction of properties,” Biazon said.

“These are all predicate crimes that constitute one of the elements of the crime of terrorism, the other element is when these are committed in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand,” Biazon added.

Biazon noted the announcements of the MILF leadership that the attacks were apparently meant to force the issue of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), which was supposed to have been signed with the government and could have allowed the rebel group their own turf.

The Supreme Court put on hold the signing of the agreement because of constitutional issues.

“Based on the pronouncements coming out of the MILF leadership, these acts had been committed to push MOA-AD. The only remaining act of government is to officially declare that the MILF is now categorized as terrorists like the Abu Sayyaf,” Biazon said.

In bad faith

Biazon said the government will have to “radically” change its dealings with the MILF by pulling out from the peace negotiations and push for the arrest of the guerrilla leaders behind the attacks.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and his elder sister Sen. Pia Cayetano also said the government should suspend the peace talks with the MILF following the attacks.

The Cayetano siblings urged the government to review its dealings with the MILF.

The elder Cayetano said the MILF must first show willingness to discipline its own ranks and punish the rebel leaders behind the attacks.

“The MILF leadership must first display a firm commitment to its reported call for ceasefire by helping in the capture of the so-called lost commands who attacked civilian communities in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte,” she said.

The younger Cayetano said the MILF should be disarmed before appearing at the negotiating table.

Sen. Loren Legarda, for her part, called on the MILF to surrender the two guerrilla leaders behind the attacks.

Unless peace and order in Mindanao is restored and the two MILF commanders are put behind bars, Legarda said the government should not entertain any discussion with the MILF.

“Only when the perpetrators of those criminal and inhumane acts are apprehended and made to answer in a competent court can the MILF come to the negotiating table,” she said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson slammed the MILF for what he described as doublespeak by the rebel group.

He said the MILF acted in bad faith in the peace negotiations.

“What the head says, the body does not obey. Or, it is plain doublespeak by the MILF.  Whatever it is, good faith is lost,” he said.

Lacson said the government should exact justice from the MILF for killing of innocent civilians and destruction of property in North Cotabato and Lanao del Sur.

He added that government should not hesitate going after the perpetrators, dead or alive.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel said the government should first restore law and order before dealing with the MILF at the negotiating table.

He urged the government to charge those behind the attacks before going back to the peace negotiations.

Saving face

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the attacks launched by the MILF in Central Mindanao could be considered acts of terrorism.

Teodoro said the government is studying the possibility of filing criminal charges under the Human Security Act against the MILF guerrillas involved in the attacks.

Teodoro said the criminal charges to be filed against MILF commanders Amirel Umbra Kato and Abdullah Saber Macapaar already carry maximum penalties under present laws.

At the same time, Teodoro said the MILF should surrender its commanders who were involved in the attacks.

“They are caught between trying to save face of one of their own and really wanting to pursue the negotiations... The best thing to do for them is to surrender these people to us so that we can prosecute them and for protection that the law accords to citizens of this republic,” he said.

Teodoro said the MILF could not justify the attacks staged by its fighters.

MILF chief Al Haj Murad Ebrahim told ABS-CBN that he had ordered the two rebel leaders to stop the attacks in Central Mindanao.

“This is an unexpected situation. We have been very faithful in the peace process and we hold the supremacy of the peace process. We are very saddened by this situation and we hope, we are still optimistic that everybody will cooperate and save the situation and the peace process,” Murad said.

According to Murad, the attacks staged by the rebels were borne out of frustration from the aborted signing of the MOA-AD.

“We are trying our best to restrain our commanders in order to save the situation,” he said.

Murad also expressed his desire for both panels to go back to talks and put an end to the decades-old conflict in Mindanao.

For his part, former President Joseph Estrada said the government should totally abandon dialogue with the MILF.

Estrada said the MILF demand for self-rule in Central Mindanao is tantamount to dismembering the country.

In a speech before the business group Philippines Inc., Estrada explained why he pursued an all out war against the MILF during his presidency.

“It was clear that I was dealing with a group that was not seeking peace but power, an entity that was not only seeking autonomy but sovereignty.”

“I believe in peace but not at the expense of our territorial integrity. I believe in negotiations but this must be from a position of strength, not of weakness,” he said.

Estrada said the MOA-AD that would have allowed the MILF juridical disposition over a large area in Mindanao “is treachery and treason under the illusion of achieving peace.”

Local officials also slammed the MILF for the treacherous attacks in North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte.

The Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) led by Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos said the atrocities perpetrated by misguided elements of the MILF are barbaric and criminal acts which contravene the spirit of the peace negotiations between the government and MILF. –With James Mananghaya, Jose Rodel Clapano