AFP file photo
Reacting to a proposal from Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said the idea of seeking a temporary freeze on the arrest warrant against Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari and Ameril Umbra Kato of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The proposed temporary lifting of the arrest warrants, said Rodriguez, is meant to make it possible for them to attend consultations on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will need thorough study by multiple sectors in Muslim Mindanao.
DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima said the proposal is not an easy matter to begin with, considering its legal implications and also since it concerns warrants issued by the courts, "as well as the fact that there is no precedent for such matter."
"I don’t know yet if it will be legally defensible, so there really is a need for the DOJ to study the proposal," De Lima said, adding that she made the various implications clear to Rodriguez.
"That -- to study the issue -- is our only commitment," she affirmed, articulating that DOJ cannot yet commit its support to the proposal.
Misuari is the subject of a warrant issued by a Zamboanga City court for rebellion and violation of International Humanitarian Law following the September 2013 siege undertaken by his followers on the city, which left hundreds dead and injured, and razed large portions of Zamboanga City to the ground before government troops successfully ended the three-week siege.
Kato on the other hand is facing murder and arson charges before the North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte Regional Trial Courts.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/95510/de-lima-cautious-on-proposed-temporary-freeze-on-misuari-kato-warrants
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