GRP-MILF draft pact on Bangsamoro homeland

[Revenant]

If this is true... damn

'Fend for yourselves
if attacked by MILF'
C'bato exec bares threat by Esperon

BY VICTOR REYES
http://www.malaya.com.ph/aug07/news1.htm

NORTH Cotabato Vice Gov. Emmanuel Piñol has accused Hermogenes Esperon, presidential adviser on the peace process, of threatening to leave the people of his province to fend for themselves in case of an attack by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Piñol made the statements Tuesday night in an interview over ANC's Strictly Politics program.

Esperon, in a radio interview, denied telling Piñol that the military will not respond if the MILF attacks North Cotabato.

"Unang-una, yung Armed Forces ay tumatalima sa primacy of the peace process. Pino-protektahan ang mga communities diyan. Pa'no mo masasabi na hindi kayo pino-protektahan?" he asked.

Esperon, however, implied that the military will not respond against the MILF in the same way as it did in 2000 during the all-out war waged by the President Joseph Estrada , saying the situation is different now. "Ang ginagawa ng gobyerno ngayon ay isulong ang lasting peace sa Mindanao," he said.

Piñol, in the interview, said Esperon made the threat before the Supreme Court issued Monday a temporary restraining order on the signing of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF.

Piñol said he called Esperon over the phone after they were interviewed by the same television station over the MOA signing, which Piñol had questioned before the Supreme Court.

"I sensed actually that there was anger in his voice so after the program I decided to call him up and I said, `You know, I heard that you are kind of peeved at me because you heard reports I insulted you in public,'" he said.

Piñol said he told Esperon that the next time he is offended, Esperon should verify it first with him "because we are friends."

Piñol stood as a godfather to one of Esperon's children, when Esperon was still a brigade commander in North Cotabato from 1999 to 2001.

Piñol said that after making the clarification, he informed Esperon that the tribunal might grant North Cotabato's petition for a TRO. He said he also asked for Esperon's understanding on the province's refusal to be part of the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which is contained in the MOA.

"I hope you will understand that I'm just representing the interest of my people. I want to protect their rights, gusto naming mabasa yung MOA and we would like to question the provisions of the MOA," Piñol recalled telling Esperon.

"Pero ang sabi niya sa akin, `Pare, kapag na-TRO kami diyan bahala na kayo sa sarili niyo. We are not going to sacrifice the lives of our soldiers to defend you. Hindi isa-sakripisyo ang buhay ng aming mga sundalo para sa inyo," Piñol said.

Taken aback, Piñol said he told Esperon, "If that is the government policy, then we will be forced to defend ourselves."

He said he then composed a text message and spread it.

The text message read: "My beloved people. Tonight I was told by a top government official that if our opposition to be included in the ARMM will result in MILF attacks, the Armed Forces will not be able to help us all out because that's the policy of this government. Let us be brave and stand firm. God is with us."

PLEASING THE MILF

Piñol said he told his people to send the message to "our leaders so that they will understand that we should not expect a lot from the Armed Forces because right now, their (government) attitude is they are willing to sacrifice us just to please the MILF."

Piñol said he had admired Esperon when he played a role in the government's all-out war against the MILF in 2000.

"To us in the province of Cotabato at the time of the conflict in 1999 up to 2001, he was our hero... We were surprised by the dramatic transformation of Jun Esperon from the warrior that we knew him from the defender of the people of the province of North Cotabato to his new role of being a peacemaker," he said.

He said Esperon appeared to have taken his new job to the point that "he forgot that what he is saying would already affect the trust level of the people in the province of North Cotabato to government."

Esperon became a peace adviser in June, a month after retiring as AFP chief.

OPTIONS

Piñol stressed the need for the people of North Cotabato to prepare to defend themselves if they are attacked by the MILF. "What are our options if the Armed Forces will not defend us according to Secretary Esperon? We will be forced to defend ourselves. What else do we do?" he said.

Esperon appealed for a stop in the spread of text messages that he said tend to undermine the peace process. "Huwag ng magkalat ng mga text upang maghanda at lumaban. Di ito nakakatulong sa sitwasyon. Mabuti ng mag-usap tayo bago tayo maglabanan," he said.

AFP chief Gen. Alexander Yano said there is no policy restraining the soldiers from protecting the people of North Cotabato and those in the other areas.

"We are duty-bound to protect the communities from rebel atrocities and we do not renege on our mandate... We would like to assure that any violation of law regardless of whatever group is perpetrating these violations, your Armed Forces of the Philippines will deal with it," said Yano.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said: "It's very irresponsible for a government official to even say that the government will desert us and we have to take up arms to defend ourselves. There could be some drama there."

Dureza said Piñol continues to agitate his people despite knowing that his force is no match to the MILF.

"I think it's stretching a little bit too far," he said.

'SACK ESPERON'

Sen. Manuel Roxas, former Senate President Franklin Drilon, and the United Opposition (UNO) called for Esperon's removal.

Roxas said he talked with Piñol Tuesday night and the local executive told him of Esperon's threat.

Makati Mayor and UNO president Jejomar Binay said Esperon's statement "was irresponsible and very unprofessional, and betrays a mindset that ignores civilian rule."

"A person who threatens to withhold military support to a civilian population out of spite has no business being the country's leading peace advocate," he said.

EXPLOITATING TENSION

Christian and Muslim lawmakers called on all Mindanao leaders to pacify the region as they warned that tension and misunderstanding arising from the suspended MOA signing could be exploited by extremists to start a conflict.

Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr. and Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Simeon Datumanong said the situation on the ground is not very tense although groups who are outside the ambit of the peace agreement, like the remnants of the Abu Sayyaf, might be tempted to make mischief.

Lanao del Norte Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo said the GRP and the MILF "have gone too far in the peace process" to turn their backs on this path.

Anak Mindanao Rep. Mujiv Hataman said all sectors must be vigilant saying, "It will take only one man out of 20 million Mindanaoans to create mayhem."

Reps. Maria Isabelle Climaco (Zamboanga City), Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza (North Cotabato) and Darlene Antonino-Custodio (South Cotabato) urged transparency on the intents and provisions of the MOA.

They pointed out that much of the tension and misgivings are borne out of suspicions about how the agreement might affect the lives of the people and the political situation of the region.

[Jun aka Pekto]

What's a government to do? It's really in a no-win situation. If it can't broker a lasting peace in the region, any development will be fraught with danger which may not be limited to the southern regions.

The MILF have a very specific set of demands and probably weren't willing to budge much in the first place. I don't envy the negotiators who have to deal with them.

The only recourse left would be to eradicate the MILF which is easier said than done. If the Philippine government had the means to wipe them out, there wouldn't be any negotiations.

The only chance the Philippines has would be to go on a total war footing and send every able-bodied Pinoy down south to fight. Even then, there's no guarantee they'll succeed. Plus, if life is hard now, wait until the Philippines go on a total war footing. All the money needed to buy war materiel will have to come from somewhere.

The only resource the Philippines have plenty of is manpower. Institute the draft and send them south as cannon fodder.

[badsekktor]

i think this is similar to the east timor situation before?

[1D4LV]

i've heard in the news this morning that the MILF is giving the government a deadline until tomorrow to comply or else war will resume.

i think GMA should flex her muscles on here, as what erap did before. no one should give deadlines to the government.

its all esperon's fault...

[coiter]

i've heard in the news this morning that the MILF is giving the government a deadline until tomorrow to comply or else war will resume.

really??? ang kapal!! ubusin na mga yan! what right do they have to impose a deadline and threaten the government? at akala nila iilang tao lang kasuap nila. hindi nila inisip na buong bansa ang binubully nila.

ibalik si erap! if only for the purpose of eradicating the milf! gawin na lang syang defense secretary!

[claRkEnt]

well, it looks like GMA's ploy of agitating Mindanao is working...

[Altis6453]

I'm just wondering if the MILF is willing to risk the possibility that this MOA on the muslim "Ancestral Domain" will incite ordinary civilians into an all-out conflict with them. Up to this point, the MILF has not dealt with any such enemy. But, if you are fighting for your home and your way of living and are pushed against a wall, then I guess people will start arming themselves and try to resolve this decisively if only to preserve what they have.

If you read into what Vice Governor Manny Piñol is saying, he's actually telling his constituents to prepare to fight against the MILF if the situation comes down to it.

[Galactus]

What's a government to do? It's really in a no-win situation. If it can't broker a lasting peace in the region, any development will be fraught with danger which may not be limited to the southern regions.

The MILF have a very specific set of demands and probably weren't willing to budge much in the first place. I don't envy the negotiators who have to deal with them.

The only recourse left would be to eradicate the MILF which is easier said than done. If the Philippine government had the means to wipe them out, there wouldn't be any negotiations.

The only chance the Philippines has would be to go on a total war footing and send every able-bodied Pinoy down south to fight. Even then, there's no guarantee they'll succeed. Plus, if life is hard now, wait until the Philippines go on a total war footing. All the money needed to buy war materiel will have to come from somewhere.

The only resource the Philippines have plenty of is manpower. Institute the draft and send them south as cannon fodder.

Eh?? I sure hope you were merely joking with this insensitive quote of yours. I don't find this funny at all. I have a lot of friends & relatives who are of draft-age, and describing them as cannon fodder is not a nice thing to say (and I'm being VERY polite).

[vito corleone]

what can we expect?. . .esperon specializes in wars and people disappearances, not in forging peace between entities. . .that is why he is placed there by darth pandak

[vinrem]

Hay ano na ang nangyayari sa mga politicians natin, wala na talaga silang respeto sa mamamayang Pilipino, ive met and talk with some foreigners (from different countries) here in china, majority of them (not all but most of them) said that, they think that we were much better off during marcos times, i know some of you wont agree with this, pero sa situation natin ngayon, parang i have to agree with them....sabi nila that pinas is a very rich country, di pa lang tayo nakahanap ng magandang leader...and its true!!!!

tama si coiter, ibaliks i erap and gawin syang defense secretary, and also gawin na din syang commander ng southern command sa mindanao.