Tap ‘Pacman’ to negotiate with Mindanao rebels, govt urged

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. on Monday urged the government to tap boxing champion Manny Pacquiao to seek a peaceful end in the hostilities in southern Philippines. Pimentel said now is the time for the world’s "best pound-for-pound fighter" in the ring to buckle up for work as the country’s ambassador for peace and understanding. “Pakinabangan na nila si Manny Pacquiao … Huwag munang all out offensive sapagkat lalong lalaki ang gulo. He should go out there and talk to the leaders of the rebels para tigil putukan muna [at] maghanap ng solusyon," he told reporters. (We should get Pacquiao to work as the peace ambassador instead of employing an all-out offensive because it would only worsen the situation. He should help find a solution to the problem by talking with the leader of the rebel group.) Pimentel gave the suggestion less than a week after government forces clashed with Abu Sayyaf rebels in Basilan, resulting to the death of 23 soldiers 31 combatants. Pimentel said Pacquiao would be a good negotiator since he is loved by both the Muslims and Christians. "As of now, for the immediate effect, palagay ko siya lang, for the moment, sapagkat ang gobyerno ‘pag magpapasok ng iba, kailangan may all inclusive proposal na matatanggap kaagad (I believe only Pacquiao is acceptable to both sides because anyone from the government needs to get the nod of the parties.) He noted that no amount of troops and war machines would put an end to the deep seethed Moro insurgency in Mindanao. "The more firearms you send there (in Mindanao), the more problem," said Pimentel, who comes from Cagayan De Oro City. Sincere groups Senator Francis Escudero agreed with Pimentel, but said Pacquiao should only talk with groups that are sincere in ending the hostilities in Mindanao. "Hindi siya dapat makipag-usap sa grupo ng terorista at sa mga walang-balak na tapusin ang gyera sa Mindanao. All-out offensive ang nararapat sa mga grupong kriminal at terorista. Sa MILF, dapat itatwa nila ang mga kasamahan na naghahasik ng karahasan," Escudero told reporters. (He should not talk with terrorist groups and those who have no intention of ending the war in Mindanao. An all-out offensive is the proper response to terrorist and criminal groups. And for the MILF, it should disown the terrorists and criminals within its ranks). Escudero was referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest secessionist organization in the country that is gearing up for the resumption of peace talks with the government. Several atrocities in Mindanao, including attacks on predominantly Christian communities, have been blamed on "rogue" members of the MILF. Senator Rodolfo Biazon, however, expressed doubts on how Pacquiao would be able to handle the negotiation. "What does Manny Pacquaio have that can surpass the effort of the government?" he said in a press conference. "The problem of being a negotiator is you must be given a high level of authority to conduct the negotiations. I don’t know what kind of authority the government is willing to put in the hands of Manny Pacquiao," Biazon, a former military chief, added. Suspend peace process Biazon said what the government should do is suspend the resumption of the peace process with the MILF. "I think that the government must reevaluate its position in dealing with the MILF with the admission both by the (military) and the MILF that the one that ambushed the troops that resulted in the death of 23 soldiers was the MILF," he said. He said Major General Ben Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command chief, has said he coordinated with the MILF about the movement of the troops in Basilan. "Now to me this is treachery -- taking advantage of an agreement that whenever there is a movement of (government security forces) there must first be a coordination with the MILF. Meaning, they gained information on the movement of the troops and they definitely ambushed very easily the troops that were moving," Biazon said. The senator said he would file a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that there should be a suspension of the resumption of peace talks with the MILF until the government is able to put together a new position on how to deal with the rebel group. He said this is even before a formal final agreement is entered into "so that we may be able to fix responsibilities if there is going to be any violation of pre-agreement agreement between the two sides." "Nakakagalit. Why do we have to coordinate with the MILF? We are performing the tasks of chasing bandits and terrorists. We are supposed to be the only authority in our territory. Nobody else and we do not need to coordinate with any armed group whenever we perform our national security task," Biazon said. - GMANews.TV