ARMM governors support PNoy stance against war with MILF

All five provincial governors of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) support President Benigno Aquino III's "all-out justice" stance against those who killed 19 soldiers in a firefight in Basilan, Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said Wednesday. In an interview with reporters at the sidelines of Wednesday's Maguindanao massacre trial in Taguig City, Mangudadatu said he and the other ARMM governors think that an all-out offensive against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front would only bring harm to their constituents in the region. The other governors include Abdusakur Tan (Sulu), Jum Akbar (Basilan), Mamintal Adiong (Lanao del Sur), and Sadikul Sahali (Tawi-tawi). "We don’t need an all-out war. The military is already conducting operations against specific lawless elements to bring them to justice," Mangudadatu said. “We have children whose parents were killed in the previous all-out war and even now, whenever they hear shouting, they still reflexively duck and search for a hiding place," he added. Past encounters between armed rebels and government troops resulted in the displacement of villagers in the region, and about 20 to 30 percent of them have decided never to return to their homes, the Maguindanao governor noted. Mangudadatu said the entire Philippines would endure the most of an all-out war against the MILF. “If we have war again, these children will not be able to go to school. And how will you provide food for them and their families? If war breaks out, they would again evacuate and the economy would be in shambles," he said. Instead of going against the MILF, the government should continue its development programs in the ARMM, which yielded the construction of at least 300 houses in Maguindanao, Mangudadatu said. “There won’t be any attacks because the people see that the government is doing something. Maybe the local government officials in Basilan could also do this," he said. — VS, GMA News