Palace: Maguindanao martial law won’t affect talks with MILF

Published December 5, 2009 8:47am

The state of martial law imposed on Maguindanao in the wake of last monthâ€™s Ampatuan massacre will not affect peace talks between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to Palace officials.

Full text: Arroyo's declaration of martial law in Maguindanao

Proclamation 1959: Proclaiming a State of Martial Law and suspending the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in the province of Maguindanao except for certain areas. Whereas, Proclamation No. 1946 was issued on 24 November 2009 declaring a state of emergency in the provinces of Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and the City of Cotabato for the purpose of preventing and suppressing lawless violence in the aforesaid areas. Whereas, Sec. 18 Art. VII of the Constitution provides that â€œin case of invasion or rebellion, when public safety requires it, the President may, for a period not exceeding 60 days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law." Whereas, Republic Act 6986 provides that â€œthe crime of rebellion or insurrection is committed by rising publicly and taking arms against the government for the purpose of depriving the Chief Executive or the Legislature, wholly or partially, of any of their powers or prerogatives." [Read full text here]

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Saturday that the government has already informed the MILF of the matter through "back channeling," before announcing the declaration of martial law Saturday morning. "They have been informed in advance and properly advised. It excludes areas contained in agreements crafted before the negotiations between the government and the MILF. So MILF forces in the area have been informed," Ermita said at a press briefing. MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar affirmed that martial law will not affect their peace efforts with the government. "Meron kaming official instruction through our chief of staff ng tropa sa MILF commanders sa field to stay put and igalang itong declaration ng martial law, avoid movement, at kung may movement na di maiwasan sapagkaâ€™t napakaimportante, makipagugnayan officially sa gobyerno through the ceasefire committee," he said in an interview on dzBB radio. (We instructed our members in the field to stay put and respect the declaration of martial law. They are to avoid movement, but if movement is necessary, they are to coordinate with the government through the ceasefire committee.) Negotiating panels of the government and MILF are set to meet in Kuala Lumpur for exploratory talks on December 8 and 9. When asked if the state of martial law will affect the talks, Jaafar said, "Wala, sapagkaâ€™t magpapatuloy ang naka-schedule na opening at meeting ng exploratory talks (It will not affect the peace talks. The opening of the peace talks will continue as scheduled)." On Saturday, MalacaÃ±ang declared martial law in Maguindanao in the wake of the Ampatuan town massacre on November 23 that killed at least 57 people, including 30 journalists. - JHU, TJD, GMANews.TV

Tags: martiallaw, maguindanao, maguindanaomassacre, milf