EDITORIAL - Jetsetting with Nur

It pays to take up arms in this country. You extort, pillage, set off bombs, kidnap and kill, and the government kneels in surrender, handing you the reins of any piece of Philippine territory that you want to rule like a gangster warlord, outside the reach of the national government except in the provision of funding support.

There have been several such privileged militants in this country. The public can only hope Abu Sayyaf commander Anduljihad Susukan, alias Idang, is not added to the list.

According to the military, Susukan needed to see a doctor for a checkup of his prosthetic arm. He had lost the arm in an encounter with government forces. So he traveled in style from Sulu to Zamboanga City, reportedly using an assumed name, on a private jet together with Moro National Liberation Front chairman Nur Misuari. Where does the MNLF chieftain get the funds for such luxury?

Susukan was part of the MNLF team that laid siege to Zamboanga City in 2013, amid Misuari’s opposition to the government’s peace negotiations with the rival Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The government placed the death toll from the siege at 140, with 268 wounded. Other reports, however, said up to 300 people died as an indirect result of their displacement due to the siege, including children who succumbed to illnesses in cramped relocation centers.

Misuari has denied involvement in the siege, for which he was later arrested. After Susukan was spotted in Davao last week together with Misuari, it was announced that the Abu Sayyaf bandit had decided to surrender through the MNLF chairman. Susukan was picked up by police in Davao on Thursday last week.

Defense and military officials aren’t buying the story of surrender, with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana saying Misuari could face charges under the new Anti-Terrorism Act for coddling Susukan. There are unconfirmed reports that Susukan was seeking an audience with President Duterte in Davao City. How many other Abu Sayyaf bandits are jetsetting with Misuari?