Palace: Passage of Bangsamoro law to give meaning to deaths of Fallen 44

The dream of Bangsamoro political entity will not be allowed to die, Malacañang said on Monday, adding that the passage of the law which would create the new autonomous region was one way to honor the memories of the 44 elite cops who fell in a bloody clash in Mamasapano last month.

 

“We do not [consider its failure a possibility] because we will continue to fight for the Bangsamoro Basic Law. We need to continue to fight for the peace agreement that we have forged. We need to build and engage all stakeholders in our country the importance of peace in the south. That is one of the ways of giving justice to our SAF commandos who fell during Mamasapano,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing.

 

The Mamasapano clash resulted in the deaths of the 44 members of the police Special  Action Force, 18 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and four civilians, despite an on-going ceasefire between the government and the MILF.

 

MILF's breakaway faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, was also involved in the encounter.

 

The police's mission in Mamasapano was to serve the arrest warrant to suspected terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Basit Usman, who were hiding in the area.

 

Marwan, a Malaysian national who has a $5 million bounty on his head, was killed in the operation, while Usman, a Filipino, escaped. 

 

Despite the significant loss of lives on both sides due in part to a lack of coordination, Lacierda said the alternative to peace would be even more costly.

 

“The alternative to peace is too costly for us to bear. It’s very difficult if we go to war and it’s not even something that we should be dreaming of. Apart from the casualties, you will have civilians who will be displaced, you have civilians who may become collateral damage to war. So that is something that is difficult for us to imagine, that’s why we need to go for peace,” Lacierda said. 

 

Lacierda added that ultimately, peace is the end goal of all stakeholders, and should not be set aside because of the Mamasapano incident.

 

“Peace I think is a premium that everybody values. You ask the congressmen who were former policemen, former generals, former soldiers, they will continue to fight for peace. It’s difficult right now owing to the sentiment of the public, owing to the death of our SAF heroes [but] it’s a continuous process of engaging the peace stakeholders,” he said.

 

The government and the MILF signed a landmark peace deal March last year. The Bangsamoro Basic Law will formalize the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity, which is set to replace the “failed” Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. —NB, GMA News