Erap: Martial law in Maguindanao unnecessary

Former President Joseph Estrada on Saturday said the declaration of martial law is not necessary to maintain peace and order in Maguindanao, nor to bring justice to the victims of the Ampatuan massacre. In a press statement, the former state leader said that back in 2000 his administration was able to overrun the 46 camps, including Camp Abubakar, of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao without the need to declare martial law. “They should be able to arrest those behind the Magindanao massacre and bring justice to the victims without declaring Martial Law," Estrada said. He claimed his administration defeated the MILF when he declared an all-out war against the separatist group which, after several negotiations with the government, allegedly continued to violate peace agreements, and burned the Kauswagan town hall as well as a school with children inside, aside from abducting priests and raping women. For his part, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, Estrada's running mate in the 2010 polls, said what is needed in Maguindanao is for the government to fully enforce the law. “It is ironic that the Arroyo administration now considers martial law as a last recourse to discipline a political ally. Ang mga mamamayan ng Maguindanao ang maaapektuhan ng kakulangan ng pamahalaan na ipatupad ang batas," he said. He added that the situation in Maguindanao is the result of the Arroyo administration’s unequal application of the law. He identified the root cause of the lawlessness as the current administration's protracted tolerance of the misdeeds of political allies such as the Ampatuans to the extent that they consider themselves above the law. Estrada and Binay are the presidential and vice presidential bets of the United Opposition party. In the same press statement, Agusan del Sur Rep. Rodolfo Plaza warned that declaring martial law will cause more hostilities instead of achieving justice, peace, and order in Mindanao. Although the administration has confined martial law to Maguindanao, Plaza said that it might spill over into other parts of Mindanao. "Martial law is the more dangerous approach because any attempt to disarm a member of the MILF, whether intended or mistaken, will lead to further, possibly greater hostilities. It entertains a possibility of an escalation of violence, even to other areas of Mindanao, keeping the situation open-ended," he said. - JHU, TJD, GMANews.TV