Massacre, not misencounter

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

David March Fianza

The end section of the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway or TPLEX has been proposed to be rerouted by former Pangasinan congressman Mark Cojuangco, to exit at San Fabian instead of its original plan at Saytan, Rosario at the mouth of Kennon Road and Marcos highway. After reading the reasons for Cojuangco’s proposal, all the more that I saw them as smoke screens for other motivations known only to him. I know that politicians especially when elections are near, have many hidden reasons why they make proposals.

Benguet Rep. Ronald Cosalan openly opposed Cojuangco’s rerouting proposal to the 88.8-kilometer TPLEX saying, this will mean an additional five to seven-kilometer travel which will defeat the main purpose of the expressway, more toll fees, an additional construction cost of PhP1B, disadvantageous to the economy, the vegetable and tourism industries of Benguet Province as well as Baguio City.

Cosalan insisted on keeping the approved TPLEX plan and wants the DPWH to stick to the original planned exit at Saytan, Rosario. “I have to raise my voice otherwise they will say that we approved the plan. It is a sound proposal, according to mayor Domogan. For us in Benguet, it is an additional burden and an unsound plan for farmers who deliver agricultural products to Manila everyday,” Cosalan told newsmen.

In relation to the clamor for Cordillera regional autonomy, I thought Cordillera leaders were supposed to be united in fighting for the sentiments of fellow Cordillerans. But mayor Domogan’s comments in favor of the proposal of Cojuangco, a politician outside of the Cordillera, sends a wrong signal. While he stresses the need for unity in the campaign for regional autonomy, he contradicts the same by approving a road proposal that is detrimental to his region. Double talk.  

***

What disturbs many with regards the gruesome death of 44 elite lawmen and serious injury to 12 others from the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) is that the incident was in truth a premeditated massacre. It was not a misencounter as described by government officials involved in pushing the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). Of the 44 police heroes, 13 were from the Cordillera. My condolences to their bereaved families.

Around 400 policemen were dispatched on January 25, 2015 to serve arrest warrants for Jemaah Islamiyah leader Marwan and foreign-trained Abu Sayyaf bombmaker Abdul BasitUsman. Instead they ended up in a day-long firefight at Mamasapano, Maguindanao against three armed groups – the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, breakaway group Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and a private army. The MILF claimed that 17 of their fighters who were “acting in self-defense” were killed.

Secret witnesses revealed facts which the policemen’s relatives and I are inclined to believe. Many of them said that there was betrayal and an evil intent by the MILF, BIFF and the private army to kill the policemen as they were never counted as a “friendly force”, even while a ceasefire agreement was signed in March last year by both.

It was told that the SAF and army camps were being monitored daily, their activities being watched so that any movement by more than 400 men would obviously tip off the rebels who simply positioned themselves comfortably waiting for the right time to pounce on the SAF troopers like sitting ducks. 

An unnamed MILF insider said the BIFF was the group that ambushed the SAF in cold blood, even shooting two policemen who were about to surrender. Some rebels went closer to the policemen who were already down and shot them on the head with improvised .50 caliber machine guns. The SAF troops were double dead or died more than once because they were killed many times over by the lawless Bangsamoro fighters.

The bloody incident was not a misencounter in view of the number of casualties and length of time of the clash that took almost one day. The MILF-BIFF bandits had the upper advantage and they could have immediately stopped firing or ordered a cease fire if they recognized the SAF as a friendly force. This was not so even while they knew that MILF chief Mohagher Iqbal was negotiating with the government for the passage of the BBL that they say would benefit them.

There was treachery in the ambush as one of the survivors said that the rebels stole the guns, gadgets, night vision goggles and uniforms from the helpless bodies of SAF troopers. MILF chief Iqbal knows his men responsible for the massacre and was asked by some senators and congressmen to surrender them if they are really for peace and to return the gadget and firearms that they stole from the dead. Iqbal cannot just be signing agreements and making statements that are easy to say and easy to break.

Instead of replying positively, Iqbal said the MILF central committee will “study the request to return the stolen gadgets and the MILF soldiers will be tried under their own justice mechanism”. That puts into question their submission to the Philippine judicial system and rule of law. Iqbal’s choice is to turn over the perpetrators if he respects the Philippine judicial system, or it will be presumed that he has no control over the MILF which he claims to represent. The way it looks, the government peace negotiators were duped again by an actor pretending to be the leader of the MILF. A double speak fake.

Decommissioning armed groups and asking them to surrender their firearms is a serious issue. Just like our armed Cordillera brothers, Muslim rebels feel incomplete without their guns. How the MILF leadership would be able to convince his men to give up their weapons is a dream by OPAPP Sec. Deles, and how this will be done is her nightmare.

By coincidence, most if not all of the 44 SAF heroes were products of public schools and breadwinners of their families. This compelled Bro. Armin Luistro of the DepEd to assure scholarship grants for the children and siblings of the fallen 44. All 290 congressmen also agreed to deduct P10,000 from their salary to be divided among the 44 families of the policemen. These to me are faster and easier solutions to accomplish, compared to the double talk peace proposals for Muslim Mindanao.