Sacked Army spokesman: Soldiers want ceasefire suspension

MANILA, Philippines - Sacked Philippine Army spokesman Col. Antonio Parlade today said soldiers on the ground share his view that the government should declare a temporary suspension of the ceasefire agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to allow the government to pursue those responsible in the killing of 19 Special Forces members in Al-Barka, Basilan last Tuesday.

"I stand by my statement... I was just echoing the sentiments of the soldiers," Parlade told Philstar.com in a phone interview this morning, adding that his proposal for the suspension of talks with the separatist group was also his personal opinion.

Parlade is one of the three military colonels who have been ordered relieved following the killing of the 19 Army Special Forces members in Sitio Bakisung, Barangay Cambug.

Thirteen of the soldiers died during the encounter while the other six are believed to have been killed after being abducted by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters after the encounter. Their bodies were recovered a day after the nine-hour clash.

The other two officials ordered relieved were Col. Alexander Macario, commander of the Special Operations Task Force of the Philippine Army, and Lt. Col. Leo Peña, commanding officer of the 4th Special Forces Battalion.

Peña was ordered relieved a day after the encounter. Macario was relieved for allegedly committing "operational lapses."

Parlade told Philstar.com that he has "no bad feelings" against the military leadership for his relief.

President Benigno Aquino III had dismissed calls for the suspension of talks and proposals to declare an all-out war against the Moro rebels due to the latest attack in Basilan.

Meanwhile, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that spokespersons are not supposed to announce their personal opinion to the public.

"The fact remains that as spokespersons we are not policy makers... We are supposed to stick to what the policy is. It should be clear that as spokespersons of the government, we cannot give our personal opinion," Valte said in an interview over state-run radio, Radyo ng Bayan.

After presiding over a command conference at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Aquino went to the Libingan ng mga Bayani Friday night to pay his final respects to 15 of the 19 soldiers killed in the encounter.

He told reporters that the military is already conducting a thorough investigation to determine the lapses that may have been committed by Army officials during the operation.

He said that the result of the investigation may be released by the AFP next week.

"At kung kinakailangan magkakaroon tayo ng court martial kung may mga nagkulang, na lalabas sa magiging resulta ng imbestigasyon na ito," Aquino said.

No operations vs. MILF

AFP spokesman and deputy chief for operations Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta, facing media after the command conference yesterday, said that President Aquino has reiterated during the meeting his position against proposals to declare an all-out war against the Moro rebels.

Mabanta said that President Aquino has also ordered the military to stop the hot pursuit operations against the MILF group that may be involved in the soldiers' killing.

“There is no hot pursuit operation conducted against the MILF at this point in time because of the existing ceasefire mechanism,” Mabanta said.

“We have no plan (to attack Al Barka). Peace is on top of our minds. Eventually, we want to attain peace. We have to wait. We can’t just act. We have to assess the situation,” he added.

Mabanta, meanwhile, said that pursuit operations against the Abu Sayyaf bandit group and other lawless elements in Basilan and other areas in Mindanao will continue.

He added that President Aquino has allowed the military to run after the MILF who staged two ambuscades in Zamboanga Sibugay on Thursday night which left four soldiers and three policemen dead.

“We’re conducting operations against these forces in Zamboanga Sibugay. As for the Basilan incident, we are not conducting pursuit operations against them,” Mabanta said.

The MILF, which owned up to the attacks, said that members of the 114th Base Command were responsible in the attack. The rebel group's leaders said the attack was a retaliation to the military's continuous shelling of their positions in the province.

Aquino dissatisfied with AFP

Mabanta admitted that the President was dissatisfied with the military’s performance due to recent incidents like the communist rebels’ attack against mining firms in Surigao del Norte and the clash in Basilan that left 19 soldiers dead.

“He (Aquino) expressed dissatisfaction on the series of events that what happened starting with the Taganito (attack on mining companies),” he said.

Mabanta said Aquino also instructed them to review the military's organizational set-up in critical areas, particularly in Sulu and Basilan to prevent similar incidents.

“We are looking at things that have to be undertaken, to look (into possible) changes in the organization. We need to reorganize… We need to upgrade our capabilities. We are looking at all aspects,” he said.

Mabanta said the military was taking Aquino’s dissatisfaction positively.

“We took it in good stride and we will have to step up our operation and improve our operations,” he said.

Military not demoralized

Mabanta denied that the troops are demoralized by the death of the 19 soldiers. “That’s not true there is no demoralization.  Demoralization may be a hindrance to our duties,” Mabanta said.

“It’s really sad, but we have to move on,” he added.

Parlade, meanwhile, said that more attacks from the MILF may happen in the future if the ceasefire agreement with the Moro rebels is not temporarily lifted.

“I’m sure this would not be the last time or the last incident. I think this is the eighth or ninth they (MILF) have done this. Every time we engage with the Abu Sayyaf, suddenly, there are MILF (members) in that area,” Parlade said in a separate interview yesterday.

Mabanta, however, said Parlade’s statements do not reflect the official stand of the military.

“It (Parlade’s statement) was not the line of thinking of the institution he represents,” he said.

Mabanta admitted that they could only resort to legal battle for now due to the ongoing ceasefire. He said multiple murder charges would be filed against the perpetrators.

“We’re waiting for legal papers,” he said. -- Dennis Carcamo and Alexis Romero