What a fool believes

The yellow candidates for the midterm polls led by the perennial also-ran Mar Roxas had boasted that former President Noynoy Aquino need not impose martial law to address the 2013 Zamboanga City siege.

“The handling of crisis situations by Noynoy and Rody is incomparable since indecision rules under Noynoy while resolute action is Rody’s trademark.

Roxas, in a televised senatorial debate, had the gall to compare Noynoy’s handling of the siege with Rody’s resolute response to the Islamic State (IS) occupation of Marawi City.

What Roxas who was then Interior Secretary failed to mention was that Noynoy was the direct cause of the conflict after he set aside the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and former President Fidel V. Ramos.

MNLF founder Nur Misuari declared a Bangsamoro Republik based in Zamboanga City after Noynoy abandoned the agreement in exchange for a deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

For the duration of the siege, all Noynoy and Mar did was to negotiate with Misuari and Ramos who were both offended by the move of Noynoy.

Ramos, after emerging from a meeting with peace adviser Ging Deles, blasted at Noynoy, saying his handling of the MNLF had led to the standoff and that Indonesia should have been allowed to mediate to end the conflict.

In August 2013, Misuari declared independence for his so-called Bangsamoro Republik composed of Mindanao, Sulu, Palawan and the contested territory of Sabah, saying he had no other choice but to secede because Noynoy terminated the FPA.

Noynoy then moved to inform the Organization of Islamic Conference of the termination of the agreement with the MNLF.

Not implemented in the FPA was the wealth-sharing provision, which, under the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro with the MILF, surrendered 75 percent of what can be obtained from the autonomous region.

Ramos said Noynoy bungled the handling of the situation in abandoning the deal.

Thus, Noynoy and Mar held off from taking a decisive move against the MNLF since both were pointed to as the direct causes of the problem.

During the siege, it was Mar who was trying to negotiate with Habier Malik who led the MNLF siege on the city.

Days after the siege, Noynoy and Mar did not know what to do with Misuari who continue to taunt both saying that it was Noynoy’s fault that the conflict broke out.

Then the Palace through spokesman Edwin Lacierda tried to pacify Misuari as he insisted that the Aquino administration still honored the FPA despite the obvious signal from Noynoy and Deles that it was already scrapped.

Noynoy and Mar contented themselves by calling the perpetrators of the Zamboanga melee as rogue MNLF members.

The disastrous handling of the Zamboanga City standoff was comparable to the bungled operation to end the bus hostage crisis in August 2010 which was the first test of leadership on the then newly elected Noynoy.

The screw-up resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists.

The whole day that the hostage situation played out, Noynoy was not seen or heard by the public with then Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim being the highest official giving orders on the field.

Noynoy suddenly popped out when the crisis was over in an obvious photo opportunity as he was shown on television appearing to inspect the scene.

By that time, elements of the Manila police force already bungled the rescue before killing the lone hostage-taker, 55-year old retired Senior Insp. Rolando Mendoza who had a long grudge over a case filed against him that led to his removal from the service.

The handling of crisis situations by Noynoy and Rody is incomparable since indecision rules under Noynoy while resolute action is Rody’s trademark.

There was no martial law then in Zamboanga City siege since Noynoy and Mar did not have the balls to declare it.