Key MILF figure gets ‘VIP treatment’ in military custody

From the Daily Tribune (Mar 3): Key MILF figure gets ‘VIP treatment’ in military custody

Humane treatment or VIP handling?

The military yesterday said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front thanked the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) for humane treatment of Ustadz Wahid Tundok, commander of the MILF’s 118th Base Command, after his arrest last Feb. 23 in Cotabato City.

Tundok was turned over by the military to Mayor Zamsudin Dimaukom of Datu Saudi Ampatuan two days after his arrest in compliance with a court order.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) was the first to announce about Tundok’s release.

During his two-day stay at the 6th ID headquarters, Tundok was not detained or even confined as he remained at the Kampilan Hotel inside Camp Siongco in Maguindanao.

Kampilan Hotel is under the 6th ID and it caters to transient visitors of the military command either military or civilians and VIP or very important person.

In a statement, Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of 6th ID, said the MILF “sincerely thanked” 6th ID commander Maj. Gen. Romeo Gapuz for the “humane treatment” the command accorded to Tundok.

“Ustadz Tundok was treated humanely by 6th ID while staying in the Kampilan Hotel which is located inside the camp. His family and friends stayed with him and his visitors have free access of him,” he stressed.

“The MILF expressed (its) sincere thanks and recognizing the statesmanship of Maj. Gen. Gapuz to handle the situation for the sake of peace,” the military official added.

A thanksgiving or kanduli in local dialect was held at the camp before Tundok was turned over to Dimaukom.

In attendance during the “kanduli” were Maj. Gen. Dato Fadzil bin Mokhtar of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team; Toks Ibrahim of the MILF general staff, Abbas Salung of the MILF-Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities; Mayor Zamsamin Diumaukom; Mayor Bai Zahara Ampatuan of Shariff Aguak, Engr. Abdulrakman Asim who represented Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu; Brig. Gen. Romeo Gan, assistant division commander of 6th ID and concurrent chairman of GRP-Ad Hoc Joinat Action Group; and Senior Supt. Rodelio Jocson, Maguindanao police director.

Hermoso said Tundok’s “misimpression” was changed as he promised to persuade his comrades and other members of armed groups in Maguindanao to join the GRP-MILF peace bandwagon.

The military’s treatment of Tundok, however, was again met with disappointments within the ranks following his release.

“That is really too much. This man was involved, or may have led, attacks against our comrades and civilians and we treated him like a VIP. Humane treatment is different from VIP treatment,” a junior officer told the Tribune.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/key-milf-figure-gets-vip-treatment-in-military-custody