Noy on siege: Never again

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino visited Zamboanga City yesterday, vowing to come down hard on the faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels occupying the city and holding civilians hostage since Monday.

Aquino warned the MNLF faction led by Nur Misuari that “this problem has taken long enough” and measures are being implemented to ensure a “situation like this does not happen again.”

Aquino flew to Zamboanga City to personally assess the situation and rallied the troops not to leave anything to chance and ensure 100 percent success in their operations.

“I’ll be here until the situation is resolved... We are planning this carefully – clearly, not high risk, and not merely a high chance of success, but an absolute chance of success, with no lives harmed unnecessarily,” Aquino told the troops.

Aquino said it was clear why these groups were branded as enemies of the state and of the people whom government must protect.

He called the attack on Zamboanga City by the MNLF faction as a “desperate” move to derail the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“As you can see, we also have an overwhelming number of troops here, to ensure that those who have ill intentions will not succeed. This is a process that we’ll have to go through. There are some who won’t join us on the road to peace. And as I’ve said before, and I think you’ve heard it: To those who want to talk peace, we’re there to exert ourselves at full force and at full speed. To those who don’t, those who want to sow terror: It is our obligation to ensure the welfare of our countrymen,” he said.

Aquino was briefed on the situation by Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, along with the city government crisis management committee, at the Western Mindanao Command.

Afterwards, Aquino told reporters that the government has the ability to overpower the rebels, but did not go into operational details.

“Suffice it to say that I wouldn’t be here if clashes have not been contained,” Aquino told a group of journalists in a hastily arranged informal interview after he made the surprise visit.

As he pitched for the safety of the residents in the city, Aquino maintained the national and local governments are on top of the situation despite sporadic skirmishes.

“I will have to repeat, our security forces are sufficient from the very start, and by now they are really overwhelming, not only in terms of numbers but also in terms of equipment,” he said.

Aquino revealed elite forces were sent to the area but he refused to discuss operational details for security reasons.

“I cannot tell you all the details on what our security forces will do, otherwise it’s as if I gave them a script where they can plan a counter-attack against us. This is because they will simply make another script that will derail our operations,” he said.

What is most important is that there will be no more casualties in the skirmishes, Aquino said.

“What is our prime objective? To ensure that there will be no unnecessary loss of blood. The preservation of life is the paramount mission,” Aquino said.

The President stressed he wants to bring back Zamboanga City to normalcy as soon as possible.

“The government will help the constituents for as long as it can. We want to bring back the lives of the people here before the situation forced them into this kind of ruin,” Aquino said in Filipino.

At the same time, Aquino appealed to residents in the city to be patient as government tries to resolve the matter at the soonest time possible.

At least 15,000 people have fled their homes because of the fighting, which is contained in six heavily populated areas of the city of nearly one million. 

Officials said nearly 200 civilians have been seized as hostages and are being used as human shields by the MNLF gunmen, who have also set fire to parts of the six coastal districts.

Aquino flew into Zamboanga through the Edwin Andrews Air Base, a kilometer away from where some 400 MNLF rebels led by Habier Malik were holding out against government forces.

Aquino said they were trying to convince some of the rebels that they might have been misguided by Misuari into laying siege in the city.

Aquino said he is giving the rebels enough time to think things over.

“There is a limit line and once they will breach (that), we are obliged to use the (full) might of the armed forces,” Aquino said.

“We’re not setting a deadline but we have decisive points. If they harmed hostages, resorted to arson and crossed other lines that should not be crossed, our security forces have instructions on what to do,” he told reporters. Aquino said all efforts are being exerted by the government to negotiate with the MNLF faction, even as he expressed doubts over reports that Misuari has disowned the attacks.

Aquino also ordered the military and police forces to brace for potential “sympathetic attacks, diversionary attacks and opportunistic attacks” by other armed groups in the region.  – Delon Porcalla, Roel Pareño