Filtered By: Topstories
News

AFP limits targets to 3 MILF base camps to achieve 'all-out peace'


MANILA, Philippines - The only military targets in Mindanao are the "recalcitrant" members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), particularly those in the 102nd Base Command under Abdurahman Macapaar (alias Bravo), the 103rd headed by Aleem Sulaiman Pangalian, and the 105th under Umbra Kato. The military has tagged the three commanders as those who led the attacks that targeted even civilians in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, and Sarangani. Military operations are necessary, without launching an "all-out war," for the government to achieve "all-out peace," President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said on Friday. "Peace should be anchored on justice," Arroyo said, repeating her call to the MILF leadership to turn in the three breakaway leaders so that they could face the charges filed against them by the Philippine National Police. The troops now in Mindanao are enough to go after the fugitives and protect the people from further terrorism, according to the Arroyo. The August 18 attacks killed at least 30 people dead, mostly civilians, prompting thousands to flee to evacuation centers, while scores of their houses were burned. The attacks came after the government and MILF peace panels reached an impasse with a pact that called for putting 300 villages under the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, an autonomous region that will cover 700 barangays in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte, and Zamboanga. The pact was supposed to have been signed by the representatives from the government and the MILF panels last August 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but was stopped by a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court. National and local officials in the areas that would have been affected by the proposed BJE objected to the deal. Those objecting to what they called unconstitutional provisions filed petitions in the Supreme Court to stop the peace panels from signing the pact. The President herself has announced that she would not sign the pact in its present form, calling for its thorough review.- GMANews.TV
LOADING CONTENT