MILF, MNLF should cut ties with Abu Sayyaf —Duterte

PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija - President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he wanted the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to prove they are no longer connected with the Abu Sayyaf Group before making peace deals with the Moro groups.

"Ang gusto ko lang marinig sa MI at MN na iyang Abu Sayyaf na iyan, wala na ang koneksyon nila. Kasi ang armas ng Abu Sayyaf, iyon ang armas nila [MILF, MNLF] noon," Duterte said while addressing the Philippine Army's 7th Infantry Division at Fort Magsaysay.

After the botched Oplan Exodus of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in January 2015, the National Security Council (NSC) said the MILF, MNLF, Abu Sayyaf, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters had been coddling international terrorist Zulkilfi bin Hir alias Marwan, which is the main target of the operation.

The Duterte administration led by presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza is set to implement all the past peace deals signed by the government with the MILF and the MNLF and create a new enabling law to replace the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Dureza and MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim already had a meeting in Sultan Kudarat a few days before Duterte's SONA on Monday.

The President has said that he is ready to give MNLF chairman Nur Misuari a safe conduct pass for the peace process.

"Kasi kapag ayaw nila bitawan o nakakonekta pa rin sila sa Abu Sayyaf, I do not think there will be a significant result [on the peace talks]," he said.

Last week, while visiting Basilan, a bailiwick of the Abu Sayyaf, Duterte hinted that he is willing to talk to the bandits known for amassing millions in kidnap-for-ransom activities.

The bandit group is also known for beheading kidnap victims, whose families or governments fail to deliver their ransom demand. —ALG, GMA News