Banditry may undo 2001 ceasefire with MILF – AFP

(Updated 9:20 p.m.) The military on Friday emphasized that the 2001 ceasefire agreement between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) can stand some review and even changes because the active presence of bandits and criminal gangs in western Mindanao has altered the variables that led to what is now a shaky truce. Armed Forces of the Philippines Peace Process Office (PPO) chief Col. Dickson Hermoso said, “the situation in the last five or ten years is different from now. Terrorists, the criminals, the kidnap-for-ransom groups, the plain bandits, extortionists capitalize on the provisions of the cessation of hostilities." Chief negotiator Marvic Leonen and his MILF counterpart “are reviewing the guidelines of the previous agreement on this," said Hermoso. “If ever there is a need to amend it, they are going to sit down and discuss it." The review is consistent with the bilateral processes that led to the forging of the 2001 ceasefire pact," Hermoso noted. The PPO chief said the negotiators are "ironing out" details of the ceasefire agreement so it could address or "fit" the current situation in areas of conflict. “They are looking into the 2001 General Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities that includes implementing guidelines on provocative hostile acts, condoning and harboring criminal elements," Hermoso said. Peace negotiators' call He clarified that the AFP does not have any say on what provisions of the ceasefire agreement should be reviewed. “That’s the call of the negotiators, not ours. We’ll just follow whatever will be the political decision," he said. The PPO was created earlier this year to oversee the implementation of the AFP’s Internal Peace and Security Plan, which seeks “permanent and peaceful closure of all armed conflicts by giving primacy on the peace process." It coordinates with the “senior military advisers" assigned to the peace panels of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). The review commenced as the AFP completed an internal inquiry into the operations that resulted in the death of 19 Army Special Forces troops on Oct. 18 in Basilan. "The result of the board of inquiry is for our internal consumption but our troops, and I’m sure the general public, will notice the actions that will be taken by the Armed Forces of the Philippines," said AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos. While the findings are confidential, he appealed for patience and assured the public that the measures to be taken be visible to all. "On the side of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we want to assure you that the investigation was conducted fairly and we will do the corrective measures, depending on the results of the investigation. We will just have to wait for the result of the investigation," Burgos said. On the battlefield in Zamboanga Sibugay, military forces have seized control of the lair of a bandit group led by Waning Abdulsalam. The bandits' camp sustained heavy bombardment from the Philippine Air Force upon orders of President Benigno Aquino III. GMA News' Raffy Tima was there in Zamboanga Sibugay.
The military said it is checking if Abdulsalam was wounded or killed in the air raid. Officials said government troops will be deployed long-term in the area to prevent the bandits from reclaiming their former lair. — VVP/ELR/VS, GMA News