MILF, BARMM Parliament Leader Welcome Malacañang Order on Datu Paglas Deadly Incident

edd1994

3 years ago

PEACE PROCESS. Left: Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., presidential adviser on peace, reconciliation and unity, and MILF Chief Negotiator Mohagher M. Iqbal, chair of MILF Peace Implementing Panel. Photo snapped by SDN — SciTech and Digital News at Crowne Plaza, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Metro Manila.

Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-rru

COTABATO CITY, June 24, 2023 (SDN) — Malacañang’s order for an impartial investigation on the police-military operation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur, was welcomed in the Bangsamoro region.

The operation on a Sunday, June 18, mounted by a combined elements of Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) netted seven dead legitimate Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members.

Killed in the joint police-military raid, as named by the MILF were Nasser Yousef M. Husain, 34; Norjihad M. Husain, 29; Nasrullah Mamay Singkala, 38; Ivan Pumpugay, 18; Izrael Laguiab, 41; Morsid Madidis, 50; and Mama Karim, 50.

Police Regional Office Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO BAR) regional commander Brigadier General Allan Nobleza said the law enforcers were serving search warrants on the brothers Husain, reportedly for past criminal activities.

Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on June 22 when he visited the 6 Infantry Division (6ID) Headquarters at Awang Airport, Cotabato City, along with Special Assistant to the President Secretary Anton Lagdameo, the subject of the operation, cited a report made by the law enforcers that said the operation’s subject belonged to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

But the MILF Central Committtee (CC) in Resolution No. 001, Series of 2023, asserted the seven killed were legitimate members of the MILF.

On Sunday, June 24, MILF Chief Negotiator Mohagher M. Iqbal and Bangsamoro Parliament Majority Floor Leader Mary Ann Arnado today, June 24, welcomed Malacanang’s order on an impartial investigation into the Philippine National Police (PNP) operation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur.

**Parliament Deputy Floor Leader Atty. Mary Ann M. Arnado. (Credit: MAMA)**

At the same time, Iqbal, also chair of the MILF Peace Implementing Panel, mentioned the importance of the return of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) led by third-party facilitator Malaysia.

Arnado, meanwhile, appealed for the return of the IMT for its independence as a third-party mechanism in the Mindanao peace process.

Related: Sen. Padilla Resolution Orders Senate Committee to Hold Inquiry on PNP Raid that Killed 7 MILF Members in Datu Paglas

“It is an affirmative action by the President. He should be thanked for it. But a truly independent, non-partisan investigation body is the essence of the MILF CC Resolution. I hope the IMT will be returned soon. This is part of peace agreement between GPH (Government of the Philippines) and MILF,” he said.

Arnado, a stalwart of Mindanao’s civil society movement, took note of the positive action of Malacañang on the Datu Paglas incident as she called for an “independent fact-finding” investigation body.

“We will highly welcome the conduct of an independent fact-finding investigation to ferret out the truth on what actually happened during the bloody raid in Datu Paglas. In the absence of a third-party investigation, it will be the word of the police versus that of the families of victims. We should pursue this investigation and seek truth and afford justice to the victims.” she pointed out.

“(W)e have lost the effective presence of the International Monitoring Team who played the role of an independent third party in cases involving the MILF and the security sector.

“We need the IMT now more than ever. We are in a very crucial stage of the transition and their neutral monitoring presence could help manage violenvce at the ground level. I appeal for the immediate return of the IMT,” Arnado said.

Iqbal is also an MP in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), and minister of the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), one of the 15 primary governance organs of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). — EDD K. USMAN (/)