AFP, MILF gird for war

The military is bracing for a major confrontation with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the government’s deadline for the rebel group to turn over the fighters who killed 14 Marines ends today.

“We want them to surrender these individuals, if they don’t we will have to be the one to get them,” National Security Adviser and acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales warned at a press briefing yesterday.

Gonzales said he already relayed to Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. a Cabinet group’s recommendation “for the Marines to lead in the hunt for the perpetrators of the bloody killing of the 14 government troopers last July 10.” Of the 14 Marines killed, 10 were beheaded and mutilated.

The MILF insisted yesterday that its fighters were not involved in the beheadings, but warned that it is prepared to repel any military assault.

The government stressed its troops would only go after those responsible for the beheadings, but a broader campaign against the rebel group is evident, judging from the massive military preparation.

Even the Presidential Security Group is contributing to the military buildup by sending 65 of its members to Basilan to join in the hunt.

President Arroyo herself led the send-off ceremony for the PSG contingent at Malacañang yesterday.

“Fight for democracy, fight terrorism,” Mrs. Arroyo told the PSG team in her send-off message.

Amid the Armed Forces’ muscle-flexing, the government’s chief peace negotiator cautioned the military against launching a major offensive.

“An all-out war is not good for the peace process,” retired Army Gen. Rodolfo Garcia said at the weekly Kapihan sa Sulo media forum. But Gonzales emphasized the government is not abandoning the peace process.

“The law will be brought to bear upon the perpetrators and that no stone will be left unturned in seeking justice for the victims of this atrocity,” Gonzales said.

The Marines were returning to their camp after searching for Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi when ambushed by MILF rebels in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. Bossi was released late Thursday.

PSG head Brig. Gen. Romeo Prestoza said the PSG contingent – members of the 93rd Marine Security Escort Company – will stay in Basilan for 45 to 60 days.

Prestoza said the PSG’s deployment would not endanger security in and around the Palace.

“We have more than enough personnel here at the general headquarters. Even with the departure of this company we are still very capable of defending the seat of government,” he said.

In Basilan, villagers in the so-called “danger zones” started to move out yesterday as OV-10 aircraft and attack helicopters flew overhead on surveillance missions.

Gonzales said Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, had been instructed to ensure the safety of civilians in Basilan in the event of a military operation.

Esperon said two Marine battalions and 28 companies of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) would reinforce the two Marine battalions already in Basilan.

“That would be all that we would employ right now but we have forces on standby that can be employed depending on the situation,” he said, adding that air and naval forces may be deployed if necessary.

He added that the military is ready to deal with other forces sympathetic to the MILF.

Esperon said the military has 20 suspects on its list, a copy of which would be given to the MILF.

“Should they fail to turn over the perpetrators, then we will go ahead with our punitive police actions against these perpetrators. The operations will be launched in the most appropriate time,” he said. He declined to divulge the names on the list.

“We will not tell you yet the names because we are preparing, we have been preparing our forces, they are now actually near the targets so when the deadline lapses then watch out for it,” Esperon added.

But he confirmed information gathered by The STAR that one of the suspects in the beheadings is a certain “Commander Pulon.”

He said there are non-MILF members on the list and that warrants of arrest have been prepared for most of them.

The conduct of military operations against the perpetrators of the beheadings was raised before the diplomatic corps, who agreed to the military’s actions after they were assured that the government would still give primacy to the ongoing peace negotiations with the rebel group, the largest secessionist movement in the country.

Ready for battle

In a statement posted on its website, www.luwaran.com, MILF deputy chief for information Khaled Musa said the rebel group’s forces in Basilan are under “heightened alert” for a possible attack by government forces.

Von Al-Haq, chairman of the MILF’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, said the AFP should give him and his government counterpart, Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea, enough time to wind up their investigation on the incident.

“How can we point fingers to anyone when the two ceasefire committees have not even completed the joint investigation on the incident?” he asked.

“Let’s adhere to existing mechanisms formulated by the government and the MILF, that are supposed to guide us in addressing security problems such as the Basilan incident,” Al-Haq said. 

Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said the operation against those involved in the beheadings is not an all-out war but is meant only to arrest the suspects and help stop the proliferation of loose firearms in Mindanao.

He said the operation is in coordination with the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police.

Appeals for restraint

Punitive military action against the MILF will result in an “irreversible setback” for the ARMM economy, business leaders warned.

Hadji Haron Bandila, chairman of the ARMM Business Council, said the military’s launching of an attack on the MILF ahead of the release of the results of the investigation of the beheadings by the joint ceasefire committee would only worsen the situation in Mindanao.

He said pushing through with military action might lead foreign businessmen to think that Malacañang is not serious about resolving the issue peacefully.

“Businessmen in other countries are sensitive to all kinds of developments on the peace process. Anything that can project weakness of the government-MILF peace venture can scare them away,” Bandila said.

In a press statement, ARMM Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, chairman of the regional peace and order council, expressed concern that an outbreak of hostilities in Basilan woud affect the livelihood of poor residents as well as hamper the implementation of the socio-economic projects of the World Bank and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

“I’m appealing to the military to consider the safety of these projects if it launches an operation against those who ambushed the Marines in Albarka,” Ampatuan said.

ARMM Trade Secretary Ishak Mastura said allegations that Bossi was held in Basilan had greatly harmed the province’s image and that of ARMM in general.

“We welcome the release of Father Bossi as something providential because it disproved insinuations that he was held captive in Basilan, a component province of the autonomous region,” Mastura said.

ARMM Social Welfare Secretary Bai Rakma Ambolodto-Imam expressed fears of mass evacuation in the event of an armed confrontation.

“I’m appealing to the government and MILF peace panels to convene as soon as possible and discuss the security problems in Basilan on the negotiating table, in the spirit of mutual cooperation and amity,” Imam said. – With Jaime Laude, Marvin Sy, Perseus Echeminada and Roel Pareño