MILF seeks third-party probe on horrific Datu Paglas incident
KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 22 June)—The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has asked the Government of the Philippines (GPH) to let an independent third party investigate the recent law enforcement operation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur that killed seven MILF members.
The group also called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to give “paramount importance to justice, peace and security” in the Bangsamoro region amidst their call for investigation on the matter.
In a resolution made public Thursday, the MILF’s Central Committee stressed the failure of state security forces to coordinate the law enforcement operation with the front was a gross violation of the ceasefire agreement and undermines the primacy of the Bangsamoro peace process.
MILF chair Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, who is also the interim Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Abunawas “Von Alhaq” Maslamama, acting MILF Central Committee secretary and concurrent BARMM Senior Minister, signed the resolution on Tuesday, June 20, following a special meeting called by the front’s main organ at Camp Darapanan, the MILF’s headquarters in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.
The front confirmed those killed were legitimate MILF members belonging to its National Guard Front, 11th Brigade, Inner Guard Base Command. They were identified as Nasser Yousef Husain, 34; Norjihad Husain, 29; Nasrullah Mamay Singkala, 38; Ivan Pumpugay, 18; Izrael Laguiab, 42; Morsid Madidis, 50; and Mama Karim, 53.
“This horrific incident happened in an MILF community where the victims already filed their applications for amnesty,” the resolution said.
The amnesty program is an integral component of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), which the GPH and the MILF signed in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations.
Alhaq said the “loss of lives and injustice” could have been prevented had the operating team followed the guidelines of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG).
AHJAG is a cooperative mechanism in the Bangsamoro peace process that responds to criminality and terrorism in areas with MILF presence.
Triggered by the bloody incident, the MILF Central Committee also sought the convening of the Joint Peace Implementing Panels of the GPH and MILF in Malaysia, the third-party facilitator during the peace negotiations, in July “in keeping with the signed agreements and towards efforts of resolving divergent views on some aspects of implementation.”
The MILF singled out the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group – BARMM for the tragic incident in Barangay Damawato, Datu Paglas in the wee hours of June 18.
The military also took part in the operation.
Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, PNP director in the BARMM, said the two main targets, the Husain brothers, were allegedly involved in criminal activities, including the bombing of a power line of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and the 2021 attack and occupation of the Datu Paglas public market
Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, commander of the military’s Joint Task Force Central, said the operating troops were serving search warrants for the Husain brothers for alleged violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.
Rillera said the troops were met by gunfire, forcing them to retaliate.
A policeman was wounded in the clash.
He said the armed men were members of the Islamic State-aligned Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which the MILF disputed. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
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