IT IS EASY to start a battle but difficult to end one. How did the ceasefire mechanisms under the peace pact between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front helped in stopping the clash between rebel forces and members of the Special Action Force in Mamasapano, Maguindanao province?
Below is the infographics from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
Chronology of Events-Mamasapano Incident
We are also publishing in full this report originally published on the website of the OPAPP.
GPH, MILF ceasefire mechanisms contribute to success of law enforcement ops
MANILA – Several successful law enforcement operations that led to the neutralization of terrorists and capture of criminal lairs in Central Mindanao were facilitated by the ceasefire mechanisms of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
“This shows that our ceasefire mechanisms work,” Brig. Gen. Manolito Orense, the chair of the government side of the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) said, noting that law enforcement operations can be “smoothly implemented thru a collaboration of all parties and by adhering to the ceasefire protocols.”
The AHJAG ?is one of several ceasefire mechanisms under the GPH-MILF peace process. It was established in May 2002, through a joint communiqué between the GPH and MILF? and formally organized in 2005. Its mandate is to coordinate, monitor and disseminate information between and among the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) for the Government, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) for the MILF, to effect the apprehension and arrest of the identified selected criminal elements within the “MILF areas/communities.”
The AHJAG, along with the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), are vital to the implementation of the ceasefire accord signed by the parties in 1997. A joint CCCH ?was established as provided for by the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities and was designed to activate and respond immediately to de-escalate any reported hostile armed confrontation between the Government and MILF forces, with no need for Presidential nor Cabinet Secretary level instruction.
Orense made the statement following the Senate hearing on the unfortunate incident in the town of Mamasapano in the province of Maguindanao, where a police operation against two high-value targets led to a deadly firefight with the MILF and other armed groups in the area. Cited as reason in the misencounter between government troops and the MILF is the lack of coordination, which is an important component in the Revised AFP/PNP Guidelines for the AHJAG signed by the leaderships of government security forces in 2013.
Successful operations
Orense cited at least three operations that were successfully carried-out following the protocols under the ceasefire agreement and operational guidelines for the AHJAG.
He said a military operation under the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade and its 1st Infantry Division made a significant blow against the Killafah Islamiyah Mindanao at Lumbaca Unayan, Lanao del Sur on November 2, 2013. The military overran the group’s training camp and seized subversive documents and other war materials. The group has been tagged as perpetrators of previous bombing incidents in some parts of Mindanao.
According to Orense, the success of said operation was assured when the joint CCCH and AHJAG were notified at least 24 hours prior to the actual combat operation.
Another case was on February 2, 2014, when a joint operation was conducted by operatives of the Philippine National Police, the military’s 6th Infantry Division, and the Joint Task Force Central Mindanao to run after key leaders of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in the town of Shariff Saydona Mustapha, Maguindanao province.
He said a major camp of the BIFF, where the regional terrorist group Jemah Islamiyah had established a foothold, was seized and their armaments were confiscated.
In said case, the CCCH and the AHJAG of both the GPH and the MILF were notified at least 72 hours prior to the conduct of operation.
He said the coordination led the fighters of the MILF to “pull-out of the area to pave the way for the successful operation.”
Meanwhile, the most recent operation facilitated by the ceasefire mechanisms was in November last year, where the military launched an operation against bomb-making expert Abdul Basit Usman and his cohorts, who are members of the BIFF in Barangay Libutan, Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
The operation resulted to the death of Usman’s father-in-law.
“These operations were coordinated through the ceasefire/AHJAG mechanisms and resulted in the recovery of sizeable improvised explosive devices and other bomb-making components including high-powered firearms and other war materials,” Orense said.
Mary Ann Arnado of the Bantay Ceasefire attested that “all these years, the joint CCCH and IMT mechanisms were proven and effective.”
She said if only the Special Action Force used the ceasefire mechanism the tragic Mamasapano incident would not have been happened.
“Even in the recent Mamasapano [encounter], they (CCCH and AHJAG) were instrumental in disengaging the warring forces. The efficacy of the mechanism lies in the cooperation of the parties. Coordination spells survival because we are dealing with combatants on both sides who have only known language thru guns,” she said.
As per official records, there have been no reported skirmish between government and MILF forces since 2012 until the unfortunate encounter in Mamasapano? last month.