Govt peace negotiator: PHL, MILF truce panels acted immediately to stop clash

Government peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer on Tuesday said the joint ceasefire mechanism of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) responded immediately upon learning about the bloody clash in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao on Jan. 25.

 

A statement released by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) quoted Coronel-Ferrer as saying that upon learning that MILF members and PNP-Special Action Force troopers were engaged in a firefight, leaders of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) immediately organized a "Joint Ceasefire Crisis Team."

 

Coronel-Ferrer, who heads the government panel negotiating with the MILF, said that GPH-CCCH head Brigadier General Carlito Galvez Jr. and Dir. Carlos Sol, head of the GPH-CCCH secretariat, were in Butig, Lanao del Sur to accompany members of the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB) in a site visit to Camp Bushra, an identified camp of the MILF.

 

But upon learning of the incident in Mamasapano, she said the two immediately went to Cotabato to organize the crisis team, "whose mission is to negotiate a ceasefire, separate the two contending forces, assist in the evacuation of casualties, assess the situation of internally displaced persons, and help stabilize the situation."

During Monday's hearing at the Senate, Sen. Francis Escudero pointed out that it took six to seven hours before a ceasefire was implemented on the ground on January  25.

The Mamasapano incident resulted to the deaths of the 44 elite policemen, 18 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and four civilians. The MILF's breakaway faction, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter, was also involved in the encounter. 

 

Coronel-Ferrer said the CCCH and Ad Hoc Joint Action Group was not aware of the operation of the SAF troopers in the area.

 

She added that it was only when Rasid Ladiasan, head of the MILF-CCCH, sent a text message to Sol at 6:42 a.m. on Jan. 25, when they confirmed the incident.

 

For his part, Ladiasan said as soon as he learned of the firefight, he immediately informed the leadership of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) in Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao.

 

He said that achieving the ceasefire was difficult due to the "close encounter" of the troops. He also said that lack of coordination between the PNP-SAF and the MILF contributed why it took almost seven hours before the ceasefire was enforced.

 

"Yung pag-e-execute ng ceasefire, hindi madali,(executing the ceasefire is not easy) ‎considering the situation on the ground and communication constraints,"‎ he said.

 

Despite this, he assured that "buong puso po kaming nakikipag-coordinate sa government simula pa sa umpisa. Madami po kaming successes sa ganoong pagtutulungan."

 

The PNP-SAF's mission was to serve the warrant of arrest to two suspected terrorists -- Malaysian Jemaah Islamiyah leader Zulkifli bin Hir also known as Marwan and Filipino bomb maker Basit Usman who were confirmed to be hiding in the area at the time. 

 

Marwan, who has a $5 Million bounty on his head, reportedly died during the clash, while Usman managed to escape. — Amanda Fernandez/RSJ, GMA News