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MAYOR Rodrigo Duterte said the bloody encounter between
Police Special Action Force and elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao was not the fault of the rebel group.
“I lament the needless loss of lives,” Duterte said, “I share the
grief of the nation because I know this is hurting us, but you also cannot just
take revenge against the MILF or the guys there inside the territory.”
Over 40 members of Police Special Action Force were killed in a
clash with elements of 105th command base of the MILF
Sunday. The police commandos were supposed to arrest Malaysian bomb expert
Zulkifli Bin Hir and Abu Sayyaf Group member Basit Usman.
Both the government and the MILF said the incident was a case of
“misencounter” brought by the absence of proper coordination.
Duterte said it was the government troops
that entered the territory of the rebels, saying it was a violation of the
agreement between the MILF and the government.
The carnage could have been avoided if only
the government respected the agreement to not encroach MILF territories while a
ceasefire is being observed.
“The loss of lives was really terrible,” he
said. “Nanghinayang ako (I feel bad about it), because it was needless. But you
can’t just enter that territory.”
Asked who is to blame? Duterte said “I am not going to blame the
MILF because definitely it was in their territory, where we were not supposed
to enter.”
Duterte noted that the Philippine government – “to a certain
extent” – has surrendered a portion of its sovereignty over a “piece of
property” controlled by the MILF in its bid to end the Moro rebellion waged
over the past 40 years.
“There is war and we are fixing it,” he said. “That is the reason
(why the government gave the MILF its territory).”
Dangerous
Meanwhile, the mayor said it would be very
dangerous if the government and the MILF will end up abandoning the peace
process following the carnage.
And declaring war against the MILF is like
“creating a monster.”
“We can’t just abandon the peace process because of the faux pas,”
he said.
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