MILF ‘to be hit’ if it blocks arrest of members involved in Mamasapano, lawmaker warns

From GMA News (Mar 29): MILF ‘to be hit’ if it blocks arrest of members involved in Mamasapano, lawmaker warns

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) “will be hit” if it blocks the arrest of members believed responsible for the killing of 44 police Special Action Force troopers in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25, a lawmaker has warned.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Sunday urged the MILF to heed President Benigno Aquino III’s advice for the group to step aside and let the government bring those responsible for the Mamasapano tragedy to justice.

Rodriguez, chair of the House ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), said the government will make good on its word to seek justice for the fallen police commandos even as it remains committed to pushing ahead with the peace process by passing the BBL.

“The president said they (MILF) have to step out of the way because we're going to arrest [those responsible for the Mamasapano clash]. Certainly, the full force of the law will be used to implement the [case that will be filed by the Department of Justice] and the warrant of arrest that will be issued by the court. They have to step aside. Otherwise, they will be hit along the side,” he said in an interview with dzBB.

In a nationwide address last month, Aquino warned the MILF against getting in the way of the government’s manhunt for suspected terrorist Abdul Basit Usman, one of the targets of the Mamasapano police operation. He also said he was counting on the MILF's assistance in seeking justice for the police commandos who died in Mamasapano and in the manhunt for terrorist bomb maker Basit Usman.

"Sa mga kasapi at liderato ng MILF: Mula pa noong umpisa, tinuturing ko kayo bilang mga kapatid sa paghahangad ng kapayapaan. At hanggang ngayon, umaasa ako na tutulong kayo na hanapin ang hustisya. Kailangang panagutin ang lahat ng may sala, lalo na kung totoong may mga sugatan at hindi makalaban na tuluyan pa ring pinatay," Aquino said.

Law enforcement operations against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, whose members are believed to have also been involved in the clash and are hiding Usman, have been ongoing since February.

More than 100,000 residents of Maguindanao have been affected by the operations and thousands have had to flee to evacuation centers.

Own sanctions

But MILF chairman Al Haj Murad, in an interview with GMA News on March 19, was adamant that members found to have been involved in the Mamasapano clash would not be surrendered to the government but would instead be sanctioned under the group's own regulations and under Shariah Law.

The MILF has completed its own investigation on the deadly Mamasapano clash where over 60 people, including 44 police Special Action Force (SAF) commandos, were killed. The clash occurred despite the peace deal signed by the government and the MILF in March last year.

While the DOJ has yet to wrap up its own probe on the incident, Rodriguez said the Moro group will have to let the government arrest the concerned MILF members because they are Filipino citizens.

“They (MILF) will have to follow the warrant of arrest. And they already know that the government is going to implement it. There's no more coordination [needed]. Sasagasaan talaga sila, if that is needed. There [will be] no compromise when the cases have already been filed,” he said.

Asked what the consequence will be if the MILF refuses to heed the arrest warrant for its men, Rodriguez said: “Then they will be hit. Anybody who will stop the warrant of arrest, they can be neutralized by the government.”

Perception of weakness

The lawmaker said the government would have to put its foot down and enforce the warrant of arrest because it would be perceived as weak if it does not.

“We are a government. Ano ba tayo, are we just a government that cannot implement its own order?” he said.

Once the DOJ files cases against those involved in the clash, Rodriguez said the MILF cannot cite the ongoing peace process to arrive at a compromise with the government.

“It (arrest warrant) may compromise it (peace process), what can we do?” he said. “After the DOJ files the case, the court issues the warrant of arrest, the full force of the law should be implemented by all law enforcement agencies of our government.”

Updates from De Lima, Ferrer

For its part, the House independent minority bloc called on Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel Ferrer to provide Congress with an update on government efforts.

In a press conference last week, bloc leader Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez pointed out that the government has yet to move to arrest the individuals who killed the SAF troopers more than two months after the incident occurred.

“The MILF has finished its own report on the Mamasapano massacre and has submitted copies of it to the government. Therefore, the government can no longer claim [it] has yet to identify the killers of the SAF 44,” he said.

According to the lawmaker, the bloc will ask the House to investigate the government’s slowness in prosecuting the killers of the 44 SAF troopers even if Congress is on recess.

“We have a lot of questions to ask to a lot of people. To the best of our ability, the bloc will do everything we can to help ensure justice for the SAF 44 as soon as possible,” Romualdez said.

The MILF has insisted that its fighters acted in self-defense, disengaged when a ceasefire was declared, and has denied involvement in acts shown in a viral video of an armed man shooting a wounded SAF trooper and looting the body.

"It is a known fact that there are other armed grounds in the area, including the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups. Any of these groups could have entered the encounter site after the MILF pulled out of the areas after a ceasefire was affected, as was in fact witnessed by the withdrawing 105BC (Base Command) men," it said in its investigation report, a copy of which was sent to the Senate.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/461130/news/nation/milf-to-be-hit-if-it-blocks-arrest-of-members-involved-in-mamasapano-lawmaker-warns