Door slammed shut on ASG

Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go, Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Mujiv Hataman, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rolando Bautista, and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles at the sidelines of the Peace Assembly for the Ratification of Republic Act No. 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City on January 18, 2019. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Whatever flickering hope was left for Abu Sayyaf terrorists to cut a peace deal with the government was extinguished by President Rodrigo Duterte last Friday night as he vowed to “never talk” with the bandit group ever again.

The President stressed how much he loathed the ways of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), particularly the torture of innocent people.

“You do not kill an eight-year-old boy because (there was) no ransom paid. I do not simply like the idea of cutting heads of people, innocent people — even children. They kidnap people.

What’s the fuc**** sense of doing that?” Mr. Duterte said in a speech as he led the peace assembly for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in Cotabato City.

The Chief Executive’s latest remarks were a far cry from what he said last year when Mr. Duterte said he is leaving the door open for a dialogue with Abu Sayyaf leaders for lasting peace in Mindanao.

That was not the first time Mr. Duterte urged the bandits to end the violence in the region, particularly against the military and the civilians who end up as collateral damage in the armed conflict.

After assuming the presidency in 2016, he claimed that the ASG was not his enemy and reconciliatory talks between his administration and the ASG are possible.

However, the President had a change of mind as days passed, with the ASG — who became infamous for their kidnap-for-ransom practices, particularly against foreigners, continuing with their dastardly acts down South.

The ASG’s reign of terror was why Mr. Duterte has branded them not as ordinary criminals but terrorists.

“I will never, never, never talk with the Abu Sayyaf. No. Never. They’re terrorists,” he said.

How they go terrorizing people and even indulge in a killing spree, according to the President, is not the “way of the Filipino.”

Just earlier this week, Samsul Saguni, an Indonesian kept hostage by Abu Sayyaf since September, was freed and turned over by the Armed Forces to Indonesian defense attaches in Zamboanga.

Two of Saguni’s compatriots, along with a Dutch man, a Vietnamese, and four Filipinos, meanwhile, are still held captive by the bandit group.

Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Carlito Galvez, meanwhile, urged the Moro people to go out and cast their votes for the BOL plebiscite on 21 January and 6 February.

In a statement, Galvez is calling out to the Bangsamoro to be counted during the plebiscite.

“We would therefore like to call on everyone in the Bangsamoro not to waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cast your vote on 21 January and 6 February,” Galvez said.

“The plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law is a momentous event for the Moro as well as non-Moro people residing in the proposed territory,” he said.

“This political exercise is an opportunity for them to assert their identity and choose their own destiny. By casting their vote, they are re-defining the Moro narrative as well as charting the future of Mindanao,” he added.

The Presidential Peace Adviser also noted that the Duterte administration is pleased that policy and economic experts believe “the law will help unleash the full economic potential of the region and bring sustainable peace and development to the area.”

Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. (PTV Photo) Peace document

“But beyond the economic and other fiscal incentives the law aims to provide, the BOL is, first and foremost, a document of peace. The law builds on the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process and is a realization of the national government’s firm commitment to honor all signed agreements with the various Moro fronts,” Galvez said.

“The BOL will ensure that those who use armed violence will become irrelevant because the law will provide people with greater incentive to choose the path of peace and development,” he added.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it expects a high voter turnout of as much as 75 percent in the plebiscite.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said there are 2,839,659 registered voters in these areas and they cast their votes in 9,377 precincts (classrooms) clustered in 1,845 voting centers (schools).

The BOL aims to establish a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BAR) which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and once passed into law, a Bangsamoro Parliament — to be voted for by the residents — will govern the region.

The BAR will be entitled to five percent of the net national internal revenue collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs, and P5 billion worth of Special Development Fund every year for the next 10 years starting 2019.