Why root for the MILF?

Notwithstanding strong public clamor to junk the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, the government’s negotiation team led by Miriam Coronel Ferrer and the Office of the Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process (Opapp) under Secretary Teresita Deles insist on their strong defense of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The public outrage over the actuations of these two government officials grows each day as more and more issues surface.

Mohagher Iqbal’s nationality and real name have been questioned, but Ferrer seems to see nothing wrong with her counterpart’s use of an alias. It appears that Ferrer knew about the falsity from the start but she continued to negotiate with him nevertheless. This may be alright between the two of them, but this is not proper in so far as the rest of the Filipino nation is concerned.

The Opapp report failed to mention the names of the Special Action Force commandos who died in the deadly operation against Marwan, but the names of the MILF rebels who died were all listed and labeled as “martyrs.” Since when did we consider members of enemy rebel groups in the country martyrs? For a rebel group fighting the State to be funded by the State is total absurdity. The entire idea of the Bangsamoro entity is an absurdity. The Opapp should be ashamed for not mentioning the fallen 44 SAF men and the dead civilians, even as it called enemies of the State “martyrs.”

Like President Aquino, Ferrer and Deles, two supposedly brilliant women in their own rights, seem to be aspiring for greatness as peace champions. But whenever they talk about peace, they appear to be fighting for the rights of the MILF and sound combative toward the majority of the Filipinos who are loyal to the Constitution.

—ALBERTO MANALILI, [email protected]