PNoy to Pinoys in Sabah standoff: Surrender without condition

With Malaysia going all out against the Filipinos who figured in Friday’s bloody shootout in Sabah, President Benigno Aquino III on Saturday afternoon appealed to followers of the Sulu sultanate there to “surrender without condition.” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda read a statement from President Aquino that also chided the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III for choosing the “wrong path.” However, the camp of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III on Saturday defied a call from President Benigno Aquino III for the sultanate's followers still in Sabah to surrender without conditions. In a radio interview after Aquino's statement was read at a press briefing in Malacañang, Kiram's daughter Princess Jacel Kiram said they value "honor over life." "Hindi sila uuwi rito kasi honor is above life," she said in an interview on dzBB radio. She also said they are saddened and dismayed by the Aquino administration's stand on the matter. She called for prayers that the situation would be resolved peacefully. "We are trying our best to understand bakit ganito ang trato ng gobyerno," she said. Path was wrong Aquino's statement came hours after he reportedly discussed the matter with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak Friday night and was told of Malaysia's all-out stance. “If you have grievances, the path you chose was wrong. The just, and indeed, the only correct thing for you to do is to surrender,” Lacierda read Aquino's statement at a press briefing in Malacañang. He added that from the very start, the government's objective has been to avoid the loss of lives and the shedding of blood. Yet, he said the followers did not cooperate. "Because of the path you have taken, what we have been trying to avoid has come to pass," he said. Aquino asked those who have influence and the capacity to reason with those in Lahad Datu area in Sabah to relay the message, "surrender now, without conditions." But now, Lacierda said the Malaysians have already disclosed they plan to go all-out against those involved in Friday’s incident. “(To) save lives, 'yan ang ating hangarin dito (To save lives, this is our objective),” he said in defending the call to surrender. Aquino-Najib talks A report on Malaysia's The Star online quoted Najib as saying he talked to President Aquino about the matter Friday night. He was quoted as saying the Malaysian government would give the Filipinos two choices: "surrender or face the repercussions at the hands of security forces." Najib also said the window for negotiations was closed, due to the hostile stand from the rebels. "The Sulu rebels have to surrender or they will face the action of our security forces," he told a press conference after paying his last respects to the remains of the two commandos. The bodies of slain Malaysian commandos Insp Zulkifli Mamat, 29, and Kpl Sabaruddin Daud, 46, arrived at the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Subang at 12:30 p.m. Najib was present at the site, where the remains of the two slain officials were accorded full police honors. Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar said the remaining members of the armed Sulu group at Kampung Tanduo must surrender or face "drastic action." "We have no other options but to take the necessary action to detain them," he said. He said the group was now "trapped" and face no alternative except surrender, adding the police were in complete control of the situation. PHL ship waiting to dock Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, meanwhile, said a Philippine ship is waiting to dock in Malaysia to provide medical aid and food. But he said it is up to Malaysia to give the go-signal for it to dock. Meanwhile, a separate report by radio dzBB's Cecilia Villarosa quoted Almendras as saying the Palace had sent high-level officials to talk to Kiram. The report said these included National Security Adviser Cesar Garcia Jr. and presidential political adviser Ronald Llamas. — LBG/VVP, GMA News