MILF says Mamasapano incident already ‘a closed case’

From GMA News (Jan 21): MILF says Mamasapano incident already ‘a closed case’

Probe to delay BBL

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Thursday expressed fear that the new Senate inquiry into the Mamasapano massacre could further delay the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

"To the MILF, Mamasapano is a closed case. It will affect the passage of the BBL," MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Iqbal also said he has "no plan" of attending the investigation in case he is invited by the committee.  Deliberations on the on the BBL were stalled after the January 25, 2015 incident.

The Senate Committee on Public Order is set to reopen next week its probe on the Mamasapano operation, where more than 60 people died, including 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) and 18 MILF rebels.

The SAF operation was meant to neutralize high-profile terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias Marwan.
It turned bloody after the SAF troops were engaged in a gunfight with the MILF, its splinter group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and members of some private armed groups.

Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile pushed for the Senate to reopen its probe supposedly because he had evidence to prove President Benigno Aquino III's direct involvement in the operation.
Iqbal, who attended Senate hearings on the incident last year, is not on the initial list of people invited to the probe's reopening on January 27.

A GMA News Online source from the office of Sen. Grace Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, said that the list of resource persons they released was based on the request of Enrile. No member of the MILF or the Office Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process were on the list.

Bongbong says BBL dead

Meanwhile, Sen. Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., who chairs the Senate committee on local government which reviewed the draft BBL, described the chances of the BBL being passed as "dead" on Thursday.

Congress has nine remaining session days for January and February, the senator explained, and three have already passed. The sessions that will be held in May after the election break will also be short.

Marcos tweaked the Malacañang version of the BBL which was crafted based on agreements made between the government peace panel and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and came up with his proposed version called the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR).

He said the Senate will still tackle the BLBAR but would be unable to submit the bill for third reading until the House of Representatives hands over its version of the BBL.

Despite the limited time , government negotiators remain optimistic that Congress will still be able to pass the proposed BBL before the Aquino administration ends.

"Kaya pa yan! We don’t give up, there is still hope," Miriam Coronel Ferrer, chief government negotiator told GMA News Online in an earlier interview.

"You don't give up when you still see a glimmer of hope," she added.

The BBL aims to create a Bangsamoro political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The landmark measure is a product of the peace accord signed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). It seeks to formalize the creation of a new political entity that will replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/552170/news/nation/milf-says-mamasapano-incident-already-a-closed-case