A Palace official said the return of weapons seized by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) from slain SAF commandos in Maguindanao is an indication of the rebel groups’ sincerity to the peace process but it must fulfill other obligations mentioned by the President in his previous address.
“Ang pagsauli ng mga armas ay bahagyang tumutugon sa naunang panawagan ni Pangulong Aquino na magpakita ng kongkretong katibayan ang MILF na sila ay maaaring pagkatiwalaan bilang katuwang ng pamahalaan sa prosesong pangkapayapaan,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a press briefing on Wednesday.
Aside from returning the SAF weapons, Coloma said the MILF must also heed other request of the President: help the government capture Basit Usman, assist the government in the identification and prosecution of individuals involved in the Mamasapano clash and return all the personal belonging taken away from dead SAF commandos.
The SAF assault killed Abu Marwan, one of the targets of the operation but Usman survived the raid. Maguindanao officials said Usman is wounded and hiding in the province.
Asked by reporters if the government also wants the MILF to convince the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) to return the firearms it seized from the slain SAF personnel, Coloma said the President wants the MILF to show its sincerity and its up to the group if it wants to persuade the BIFF for the surrender of the weapons.
The MILF on Wednesday returned 16 firearms seized from the police SAF during the deadly January 25 clash between Moro rebels and elite policemen in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
The weapons were turned over Wednesday at Camp Siongco of the 6th Infantry Division in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, weeks after the clash that killed 44 members of the Philippine National Police-SAF, 18 Moro rebels and three civilians.
The police said a total of 63 firearms were lost during the Mamasapano encounter.
During the Senate hearing last week, MILF for chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the MILF will return the firearms as well as personal belongings of the slain SAF troopers after they finish thorough accounting of the seized weapons.
He told lawmakers that the families of the dead MILF combatants initially refused to return the weapons and the MILF leadership had to convince them to surrender the firearms for the sake of the peace process. The rebel group said 18 MILF died in the January 25 Mamasapano clash.
The BIFF, a splinter group of the MILF, said it seized 10 high-powered firearms from the dead SAF members. The group said it will not return the weapons captured from the government side.
Some lawmakers said that the deadly encounter could possibly derail the ongoing peace process between the government and the MILF. PND (as) |