Priest willing to broker talks between MNLF, gov't

COTABATO CITY, Philippines  – A Catholic priest who had served as Nur Misuari’s deputy in the now defunct Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) has offered to broker a ceasefire between state and guerrilla forces now fighting in Zamboanga City.

Oblate missionary Eliseo Mercado Jr., who is executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance, said he can act as an intermediary between the military and the rebels to pave the way for a dialogue to ease the tension between  them.

Mercado said a ceasefire is needed to enable relief workers to attend to the needs of thousands of evacuees driven from their homes by sporadic clashes since Monday dawn.

“We continue to pray for a peaceful end to the standoff and appeal for the release of all the hostages. We also appeal to all concerned to opt for a political solution to problem. Military solutions will not be the answer to the crisis,” Mercado on Tuesday wrote on his Facebook timeline.

Mercado, an expert on Mindanao Moro issues and whose on-going peace-building projects are being assisted by  Konrad Adenauer Foundation Germany, was one of Misuari’s most trusted political advisers when he was still chairman of SPCPD.

Ceasefire needed

The now defunct Misuari-led SPCPD served as the transitory mechanism for the implementation of the September 2, 1996 final truce between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front.

“If there is a need for somebody to help facilitate talks now between the parties concerned, I am willing to lend myself,” said Mercado, who belongs to the Vatican-based Oblates of Mary Immaculate congregation, which has existing missions in Moro-dominated areas in the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, both known strongholds of MNLF.

The vice-governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman, said they have dispatched a team of relief workers to Zamboanga City to help its local government unit attend to the needs of thousands of residents displaced by hostilities.

Lucman, who is the region’s concurrent social welfare secretary, said they also sent a truckload of relief supplies to Zamboanga City for distribution to evacuees, as instructed by ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman .

“We are worried of the safety of our workers, but that’s part of their job, to expose themselves to risk for the benefit of others, Lucman said.
Backdoor dialogues

Tawi-Tawi Rep. Ruby Sahali, who was social welfare secretary of ARMM from 2005 to 2007, has appealed for a peaceful resolution of the hostilities in Zamboanga City, where she has a liaison office.

Sahali said there is a need for an immediate ceasefire for government social welfare and health workers to check on the condition of residents trapped in the crossfire.

Sahali’s younger sibling, Tawi-Tawi Gov. Nurbert Sahali, has reportedly been assured by MNLF leaders in the island province that they would not  join Misuari’s followers in their hostile forays in Zamboanga City.

The newly-elected governor and his patriarch, former Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali, along with influential Muslim elders, have been initiating backdoor dialogues since Monday with local MNLF leaders to prevent any spillover of the hostilities to the province.