GPH-MILF ceasefire panels move to 'normalize' situation in Maguindanao to prevent displacement of civilians

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 26): GPH-MILF ceasefire panels move to 'normalize' situation in Maguindanao to prevent displacement of civilians

Members of both the Philippine government (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ceasefire committees are now exerting efforts to "normalize" the situation in Maguindanao after the tragic encounter between the country's police force and armed groups.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the tragic encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao yesterday (January 25), involving the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and various armed groups," said GPH peace panel chairperson Miriam Coronel-Ferrer in a statement on Monday.

Coronel-Ferrer said that based on the reports of their ceasefire mechanisms, "all efforts are being exerted to retrieve the casualties and provide safe passage to other SAF personnel who remain in the affected areas."

Members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT), the government and the MILF ceasefire committees, the 6th ID of the AFP and the regional police are working closely together "to normalize the situation as soon as possible," she said.

"We laud the quick action of our mechanisms and their courage in immediately going to the conflict site. As soon as our ceasefire teams learned of the hostilities, they immediately effected a ceasefire. Our aim is to normalize the situation as soon as possible in order to prevent the displacement of civilians and give full swing to the humanitarian effort," she noted.

Coronel, however, said that due to the involvement of other armed groups, some intermittent fighting continued.

"This incident and other recent acts of violence by other armed groups manifest the diverse security challenges that confound the peace process. But our resolve to see through the process of legislating the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and implementing the different normalization programs, including the security components, is only further strengthened," she noted.

"With better cooperation we will be able to prevent these kinds of incidents," she added.

At present, more than 30 bodies were extricated from Barangay Tukanalipao, Mamasapano town following Sunday’s bloody "mis-encounter" between the PNP-SAF and members of the MILF 105th Base Command in the area.

Sunday’s clash was described as the worst "mis-encounter" between government authorities and MILF forces since the GPH-MILF peace process took off in 2011.

The PNP-SAF elements were after two highly-prioritized value targets in Mamasapano, identified as Afghanistan-trained bomb-makers Jemaah Islamiyah operative Zulkipli bin Hir, alias "Marwan"; and cohort Abdul Basit Usman when met by gunfire on Sunday dawn in Barangay Tukanalipao, an MILF–influenced area in the province.

Members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) camping nearby later joined the fray to wipe out the PNP-SAF team.

Von Al Haq, MILF spokesman, said the lack of coordination by the PNP-SAF raiding team with the MILF leadership led to the unfortunate incident.

Some 530 families who evacuated from five villages following Sunday’s clash in Mamasapano are also currently being assisted by Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) relief workers.

"This objective of arresting the growth of extremist cells lodging themselves in our interior villages and sowing indiscriminate violence remains," said Coronel-Ferrer.

‎"We say to our fallen policemen: for your selfless courage, for your steadfastness in answering the call of duty, for your sacrifices in the name of peace, we salute and honor you. To their families and loved ones, we convey our deepest condolences," she said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=729268