Moro leaders will respond to gov’t inquiries – Iqbal
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders involved in the peace negotiations with the Philippine government, as well as its members in the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), are ready to come to Manila to respond to inquiries on the Mamasapano, Maguindanao, incident in which 44 police Special Action Force (SAF) commandos were killed.
PRAYER FOR PEACE — Muslim women take part in yesterday’s ‘Prayer for Peace in Mindanao’ at a mosque in Quiapo, Manila. Muslim communities are concerned over recent events, particularly the killing of 44 police commandos in Maguindanao, that have stalled a major political settlement that promises lasting peace in the Southern Philippines. (Jim Guiao Punzalan)
The commander and the MILF members involved in the Mamasapano incident will also be allowed to answer investigators’ questions if the process is done on the ground, he said, apparently referring to areas in Maguindanao.
This was disclosed yesterday by Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the MILF Information Committee and chief negotiator of the MILF in the peace talks that led to the signing of the Bangsamoro peace accord. He spoke over DZRH radio yesterday morning.
On the prospect of a setback in the fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) now pending in Congreess, Iqbal said they will accept it as “coming from Allah.”
“I will repeat, the encounter was not expected (and unfortunate). So, as far as the MILF is concerned, we are doing everything possible, and if, despite our efforts, the BBL will still be delayed, what we are expecting will not be achieved. What is important is that we did every means,” he stressed.
“If that (delay) will still happen, as Muslims we will accept that as coming from Allah,” the MILF chairman of information committee said.
WEAPONS RETURN
Iqbal also said the MILF is seriously considering the appeal of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to return the weapons of 44 SAF commandos slain on January 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.Their weapons and other fighting equipment were taken by combatants of the MILF after what was described as “misencounter” by some government officials.
The MILF took exception to the term “ninakaw” (stolen) used in some reports in reference to the taking of the slain commandos’ firearms, saying the taking of the weapons was done as a result of the firefight. The PNP leadership has asked the MILF to return the weapons.
“On the firearms, this is a profound discussion,” Iqbal said. “There were many who died on our side and many from the SAF. So, it is a very emotional issue.”
“However, the MILF is trying to give a serious look at the (PNP) request and, probably, the decision of the MILF will be positive. But we cannot rush this,” he said.
The gesture would show the MILF is committed to a peace treaty it signed with Manila last year, he said.
“We are assuring the government that on the part of the MILF, we did not mean for it to happen,” the MILF chief peace negotiator said. “We are in mourning, too. We lost 18 of our men. We are also in pain.”
In response, Philippine National Police Spokesman Generoso Cerbo told the Agence France Presse: “This is one step towards accountability… This is a good development, although it won’t be complete unless the perpetrators are identified.”
FREE HOUSING
The National Housing Authority (NHA) will provide free housing to the families of the 44 SAF commandos killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, NHA Administrator Chito Cruz said as he ordered the agency’s regional directors to make the necessary arrangements.
President Aquino recently met with each of the families of the 44 SAF members and assured them of free housing project under the government’s “Killed-in-Action Program” for the Phiippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
In the event the bereaved families of the SAF members already own lots, Cruz said, that the NHA will shoulder the expenses of building or renovating the structures on the lots in any part of the country.
Earlier the PNP said that the families of the 44 police officers will get from P1.5 million to P2 million in death benefits. The death benefits include P250,000 from the President’s Social Fund.
http://www.mb.com.ph/milf-open-to-probe/
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