EDITORIAL - Take Misuari back

How do you solve a problem like Nur Misuari? Ideally for this administration, by dumping the problem on someone else’s lap – such as Malaysia’s. In case Malacañang hasn’t noticed, however, Kuala Lumpur is raring to get rid of the former chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front. Malaysia’s outspoken leader Mahathir Mohamad has already said Misuari’s prolonged detention in Sabah could sour relations between the two countries.

On Sunday, Malaysian police announced that no evidence has been found linking Misuari to the kidnapping of foreigners last year from the Malaysian island resort of Sipadan by the Abu Sayyaf, as alleged by Philippine authorities. The Philippine government’s response: Misuari has not yet been cleared by Malaysia, and no evidence has been found so far – meaning evidence might still turn up later. You can almost hear Philippine officials wondering plaintively: In the meantime, why don’t you Malaysians prosecute Misuari first for illegal entry?

The answer is that Malaysians simply deport illegal aliens caught in Sabah. Philippine officials should be happy enough that Kuala Lumpur, instead of giving Misuari asylum as it did in the past, decided to detain him and wait for word from Manila on what should be done with him. Misuari, after all, still enjoys some recognition before the Organization of Islamic Conference, which counts predominantly Muslim Malaysia as a member.

While the Philippine government is announcing to the world that it can’t deal with its own problem, some police officials in Manila are letting on that Misuari will get royal treatment if ever the administration seeks his deportation. Misuari, reports said, will be detained in the same comfortable bungalow in Laguna with air-conditioned bedrooms used by deposed President Joseph Estrada and his son Jinggoy.

Special treatment for Estrada you can understand; he is, after all, a former president, winning the post by the biggest margin ever. Now what did Misuari do to deserve similar treatment? Wasn’t it only last month that Misuari was leading a mini rebellion against the government, leaving more than 110 people dead? Put him in a regular detention center, in a military or police camp if needed. If the government is worried about his followers, it’s also the military’s fault for allowing hostage-taking MNLF terrorists to walk free in Zamboanga City. Whatever the government’s anxieties about Misuari, the country must deal with its own problem and take him back. Now.