PNoy to keep truce with MILF in wake of Basilan encounter

President Benigno Aquino III decided to keep alive the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front after learning from top military officers that the deadly encounters between government troops and the MILF forces last Tuesday were the result of field-level miscalculations and miscommunication. Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Deputy Chief of Staff for operations, Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, revealed after Aquino’s command conference with the military Friday that the peace process is the government’s priority and troops will not be sent into MILF camp zones to go after those responsible for the deaths of 19 Special Forces troops. “Wala tayong planong ganun. First and foremost is still we want to… peace is the… is on top of our minds. Eventually, we want to attain peace and we have to wait. Hindi natin puwede ‘tong basta basta dali-dali na take things into our hand. We have to assess really the situation," Mabanta told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City after the meeting with the President. Aquino called for the command conference to find out in detail the circumstances that led to the bloody clashes between the AFP and MILF in Basilan on Oct. 18.
'Some sort of miscommunication' ‘Yung unang kailangan naming tingnan is ‘yung... we have to review the organizational setup of our forces in the two very critical areas. First, in Jolo and then — in this instance — in Basilan. So, we are doing that right now," Mabanta said. The Special Forces troops were going after “lawless elements — in particular the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) — and what happened was when we went in, apparently there was a… some sort of a miscommunication and the MILF joined the fray." Government is considering filing criminal charges against those responsible for the deaths of the soldiers in Basilan, the military official said. The AFP is communicating with MILF officials to uncover facts about the deadly clashes, he noted. Military commanders decided to not ask Aquino to urge the MILF to turnover its officers involved in the encounter. They opted instead to identify, with MILF help, the persons responsible for the deaths of the Special Forces troops. “Our intelligence will have to come up with the process of identifying and we are doing that right now. So what were doing right now is to reconcile and really come up with an investigation on what really happened,[with] both parties, meaning to say the MILF and then the government, coming up with inputs to come up with what really happened," Mabanta said. The AFP will not enter the MILF camps, but it will continue operations against the ASG and communist rebels, said Mabanta. The deputy chief of staff said the soldiers accept the challenges that come with wearing their uniforms. “… [L]lahat kaming sundalo, the first we took our oath, we pledged to act and become soldiers. This is already part and parcel of our job, and if we are fallen — as some of our comrades happened to be — then let it be. It’s part of our job." “The Philippine Army troops started its uncoordinated movement into Bakisung last night (Oct. 17) and the attack was launched this morning (Oct. 18)," the MILF said Tuesday in a statement on its website. “Uncoordinated movements of government in this case constituted a violation of the ceasefire accord between the two parties," it noted. The MILF asserted that the army also launched “deliberate, indiscriminate artillery strike" from an outpost in Tipo-Tipo. “This attack of the government forces blatantly violated the existing ceasefire accord between the Government of the Philippines and MILF, which only overstates the insincerity of the government and its armed forces with the ongoing peace process and ceasefire," the MILF also said. Hawkish and aggressive tack Also present at the command conference Friday were presidential peace process adviser Teresita Deles, chief peace negotiator Marvic Leonen, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda. While Aquino and the AFP opted to exercise restraint, former President Joseph Estrada, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Panfilo Lacson chose to take a hawkish and aggressive tack against the MILF. According to the former President, the only solution to the conflict in Mindanao is an all-out war against the Moro rebel forces, similar to what he did in 2000 when he was still President. "Tatapusin ko sila. Ilan nang sundalo ang namatay, tingnan mo naman. Pababayaan ba natin ganun na lang manatili ang ating mga kawal ay napapatay, mga sibilyan nakikidnap? We have to wage war to earn peace," he said, referring to the deadly clash on Oct. 18 which left 19 soldiers dead. The encounter happened despite a truce in place between the MILF and the government. Estrada's sentiments were echoed by his son, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, who even called for the resignation of Teresita Deles as presidential adviser on the peace process. "Contrary to what Secretary Deles had said, this is not an isolated case. Maybe she is too insensitive. Secretary Deles open [your] eyes… such incident is a blatant disregard of the ongoing peace talks with the MILF," the younger Estrada said in a statement Friday. "It's time for PNoy to do an Erap. Peace in Mindanao cannot be achieved unless a tactical victory is attained first by the AFP," Lacson told reporters in a text message Friday. Last Thursday, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile also urged Aquino to stop the peace talks because the MILF is not sincere in the peace efforts. Aquino rejected the idea, saying that an all-out war will not help improve the situation in Mindanao. "They better break it up and conduct an operation unless the MILF will surrender those people who committed that... One-way traffic ‘yang peace process na 'yan, 'di pwede ‘yun," Enrile told reporters on Thursday. "My God, that (presidential peace adviser Teresita) Deles should be fired if she insists on a peace process that she cannot handle... She's insisting on the peace process when the soldiers of the Republic are being killed," he added. Earlier, Deles and Leonen called the clash an "isolated" incident. Enrile, however, said that it was impossible that the hierarchy of the MILF did not give a clearance for the attack. "(If not) then this is the duty of the MILF to run after their renegade members if they are really sincere with the Republic," he said. 'We were only very lucky' The MILF claimed on Friday its Basilan fighters killed 31, not 19, Army Special Forces personnel. They also counted 12 soldiers wounded while six of their defenders died. “We were the ones attacked and the Special Forces, who are highly-trained, were in full battle gear and their mission was to kill as many MILF forces including Commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi. We were only very lucky, because we have received an A-1 intelligence report earlier from our agent in the military that they are going to attack us that very early morning; so we prepared ourselves." The scene of the encounter was deep inside MILF-held areas far from the highway, the group said. Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF Committee on Information, lashed back at Estrada, Enrile and Lacson. “You are supposed to be leaders of the whole nation and your call is reminiscent of the 16th Century policy of Spain against the Moros of Mindanao," Musa said. He claimed that in 1972, then Defense Secretary Enrile “faked his own ambush in order to help justify the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos where tens of thousands of victims were killed, injured, or incarcerated behind bars." “Your hands," Musa said in response to Enrile, “is still dripping with Moro blood and you have not yet paid for them." “Estrada has no moral authority to propose anything, because he was found guilty of plunder and other crimes; it is better for him to be silent," Musa added. — ELR/VS, GMA News