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For over a week government troops alongside—well,
probably not side by side—Muslim rebels have been scouring the
mountain jungles of central Mindanao in search of Italian priest
Giancarlo Bossi.
The 57-year-old Bossi was taken
by armed men while motorcycling in the coastal town of Payao in
Zamboanga Sibugay on June 10. He is the third Italian priest
abducted from the area in 10 years.
What’s curious about Bossi’s
case is that the MILF has shared in the work of securing his
release.
Initially tagged as the abductor,
MILF Commander Akkidin Abdusalam, or Commander Kiddie, had tracked
down the identities of the priest’s captors. The MILF sent two
MILF brigades to pressure the gang, described as amateur kidnappers,
into releasing Bossi. An MILF commander, Mohamad Nasif, is
negotiating Bossi’s release.
The Army is serving as blocking
force to contain their movement and prevent them from slipping out
of mainland Mindanao and into neighboring Basilan, where they
could “sell” the captive to the Abu Sayyaf.
Brig. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino
said that Bossi and his captors have left Zamboanga Sibugay. He
wouldn’t say where exactly—although there’s information that
they are in Nunungan town in Lanao del Norte—but he gives the
assurance that wherever they are the Army and the MILF are there as
well.
The Army and the MILF have
deployed additional men to cordon off the area. Supplementary MILF
units arrived Sunday night, marching past Army troopers already
deployed in Barangay Raraban without a hint of tension—this in
itself is an odd development. Dolorfino credits it to the close
coordination, meaning personal contact, between the military and
MILF commanders on the ground.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu would
prefer to limit the size of the Army positioned in the area,
cautioning that it could complicate negotiations with Bossia’
captors. But Dolorfino, who undoubtedly knows the importance of
negotiations in a hostage situation since he himself was hostaged a
few months ago, insists there is no other way to go about it since
Bossi’s rescue is their responsibility.
What’s remarkable about the
setup is that the military and the MILF are working together.
Did anyone think this was
possible in 2000 during then-President Joseph Estrada’s “all-out
war”? I think not.
I suppose coordination this close
with the MILF had been unthinkable until the aftermath of the 2003
assault on the MILF’s Buliok complex, a marshy area sheltered by
coconut trees. My memory is hazy, but I was told that the Buliok war
was precipitated by the abduction of a local public school teacher.
When the Army moved in for the rescue, the MILF retaliated thinking
they were the target of the operation.
The peace panel established
mechanisms to avoid misencounters after that.
A clear proof of the success of
these mechanisms was the rescue of German businessman Thomas Wallraf
and his three Filipino companions in Pikit, Cotabato province three
weeks ago. Minutes after the abduction was reported by civilians,
the government representatives are in touch with their MILF
counterparts who, in turn, notified their forces on the ground.
Within hours a blocking force of
two MILF units and the Army’s 7th Infantry Battalion was organized
to prevent Wallraf’s abductors—identified as alleged cattle
rustler Datukan—from going inside Liguasan Marsh. When the MILF
fired mortars near the location where Wallraf’s group was being
held, their abductors scampered away.
Lt. Col. Dickson Hermoso,
commander of the7th IB, said the abduction in Pikit could have
triggered another Buliok, but it didn’t precisely because of the
close coordination between the military and the MILF.
It’s safe to say they are
trying to duplicate this success in relation to the operation for
Bossi’s rescue.
The mechanism is there and it
looks like everybody’s abiding by the rules. Hopefully, all goes
well.
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