The Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines said this after MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal stated that his group will not surrender its members who joined in the bloody confrontation on Jan. 25, which left over 60 people dead, including 18 MILF fighters.
Iqbal said his group would instead impose sanctions on its members, who engaged in the deadly clash with the PNP-Special Action Force (SAF) men.
AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc told GMA News Online that while the military wants the surrender of the MILF men, it would be up to the government’s peace panel to decide on the matter.
“Panawagan sana namin ‘yon, along with the surrender of the rest of the SAF 44’s equipment, pero it will be up to the peace panel to decide,” he said, adding, “Sila kasi ang nakikipag-negotiate [with the MILF].”
For his part, PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Generoso Cerbo said PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director-General Leonardo Espina has called on the MILF to surrender its members responsible for the deaths of his men.
But, Cerbo stressed the PNP they will follow orders based on the decision of the peace panel.
The implementing guidelines of the ceasefire agreement signed by the MILF and the Philippine government in 1997 state that the parties “will make appropriate actions on their respective forces” who violate the pact.
GMA News Online tried to contact presidential peace adviser Secretary Teresita Deles for comment on Iqbal’s statement, but she has yet to make a reply as of posting time.
On January 25, 44 PNP-SAF members were killed in a firefight with the MILF and its breakaway group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The clash happened despite a peace deal signed by the MILF and the Philippine government last year.
The police commanders supposedly entered an MILF-controlled area to arrest Filipino bomb maker Abdulbasit Usman and Malaysian terrorist Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan,” who government authorities said was killed in the operation and whose DNA sample from confirmed by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. — Amanda Fernandez/LBG, GMA News
