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By Isagani Palma, Correspondent
SARANGANI: The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)
will double its infantry and produce more armaments by next year,
its chairman, Nur Misuari, said on Wednesday during a peace rally
here participated in by its commanders and combatants, and top
government and military officials. This move, according to Misuari,
will boost the government’s quest for peace. He hinted, though,
that MNLF rebels will fight alongside government troops.
In nearby General Santos City, Army officers
based there promised to upgrade infantry firepower by mounting
mortar cannons on armored personnel carriers and light armored
vehicles in efforts to intensify the military’s anti-terrorism and
counterinsurgency drives in southern Mindanao.
Misuari was released recently after posting bail
to avoid prolonged detention at the Philippine National Police
Academy in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. He disclosed MNLF’s plans in a peace
symposium and dialogue billed as “Peace and Unity for Development
in Mindanao” held in coastal Malapatan town.
“We will increase [the number of] our reserved
combatants, now at 150,000, and double their number. [We will] set
up new sophisticated armaments and make use of more or less 86,000
loose firearms in Sulu, if needed, by next year,” Misuari said,
claiming this will favor government.
“The expansion of our forces would benefit
both MNLF and the government in our search for lasting peace. We,
including the Philippine Army-MNLF integrated forces, will be united
in maintaining peace and in promoting the needed development for
entire Mindanao,” he added.
The former governor of the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao had sought the approval of Department of the
Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, through
Philippine National Police chief Avelino Razon, to hold a month-long
peace caravan in Mindanao, specifically in Sulu and the outlying
islands of Palawan, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan.
The caravan will provide information to the
Bangsamoro people (composed of Muslims, Christians and Lumads or
highlanders) on the current status of the tripartite agreement
signed in 1996 by Manila and the MNLF.
Misuari said he had ordered MNLF leaders and
followers to stay in their camps to avoid involvement in the clashes
between the military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in other
parts of Mindanao. Like the MNLF, the MILF seeks an independent
Islamic homeland in southern Philippines.
Sarangani Governor Miguel Dominguez promised
to support Misuari’s peace efforts. “We always welcome
everyone who loves peace in our area. The holding of a peace
caravan, and peace itself, would be vital means for development,”
he said.
Misuari said he is set to implement a
regionalized federal system of government in Mindanao once the
proposed autonomy of the Bangasamoro region is approved by the
Philippine government. “I can now feel the realization of a
federal government. It’s now not far from today. And I am sure,
[we will win],” he added.
Besides .50 cal. machineguns on Simba and
Scorpio tanks, most of the military’s support vehicles, including
those used in transporting soldiers, will be mounted with 81mm
mortar cannons to support infantry assaults, said Lt. Col. Rex C.
Palma, commanding officer of the Second Light Armor Battalion.
Palma added that Army vehicles could now be
faster in transporting “big guns [mortar cannons]” unlike in the
past when mortar cannons and shells were usually carried by
soldiers.
The light armor unit in Central Mindanao that
supports the Army’s 10th Infantry Division is operational and in
good condition, he said. Officials are studying the fleet’s use of
diesel to escape incessant gasoline price hikes.
The 10th Infantry and Second Light Armor
Battalions are assigned to protect the provinces of Sarangani,
Compostela Valley, North and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat,
Cotabato, Davao del Sur and del Norte, and the cities of Tacurong
and General Santos.
From only a few brigades in the 1980s, the Light
Armor Division has grown into five battalions and three mechanized
infantry battalions, with two separate light armor companies
deployed in various parts of the country, Palma said.
Light armor units could easily be repaired
because of availability of engine spare parts in the local market.
In contrast, the high cost of high-octane fuel and the
unavailability of engine parts prompted the decommissioning of the
F-5 fighter fleet in 2005.
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