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This does not look good — and there are supposedly photos to prove it.
“Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday, Feb. 24, asked Presidential Adviser for Peace Process Secretary Teresita Deles to investigate information sent by citizens that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is building a new camp in Sulu along with some photos supposedly showing MILF leaders talking to Abu Sayyaf members,” reports Ernie Reyes on InterAksyon.com.
The report noted: “In her opening statement at the Senate’s fifth hearing on the Jan. 25 Mamasapano debacle, Poe said the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs has received a communication from a concerned citizen on the ongoing massive recruitment and training being done by the MILF in the Municipality of Panglima Estino, Sulu, and the opening of an MILF camp in the town.”
Poe stated in Filipino, “From the photos, we can see them apparently beefing up their forces; if this is not checked, in a few years this can pose a problem threatening a stable future. The images show that high-powered firearms are being used during the training.”
Poe tagged the activities as “provocative actions which are inimical to the security of our people,” and which also “violate the Implementing Operational Guidelines on the Cessation of Hostilities between the Philippine government and the MILF.”
Addressing Deles, she said, “The OPAPP should watch this closely if we are to attain genuine peace.”
Deles, for her part, said the OPAPP would look into the matter.
The encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan 25 left 44 members of the elite Philippine National Police (PNP) Special Action Force (SAF) dead. The PNP-SAF troopers had been out to capture Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan” and Filipino bomb maker Abdul Basit Usman. Both men had bounties on their heads placed by the U.S. government: US$5 million for Marwan and US$1 million for Usman.
The operation turned bloody when members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said they had to fight back because the PNP-SAF had breached their territory. They alleged that they had not been informed about the operation to get Marwan and Usman. The hostile encounter lasted 11 hours. The MILF lost 18 of their fighters.
Both the government and the MILF are currently doing probes on the Mamsapano encounter to determine what went wrong, as the incident threatens the Bangsamoro peace deal. It has since been revealed that the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and even some armed civilians were also involved in the clash.
Photos: Sen. Grace Poe’s Facebook page and InterAksyon.com
