July 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, Orly to AFP: Take Abubakar--it's now or never, by Paolo Romero,

July 6, 2000, The Philippine Star, Orly to AFP: Take Abubakar--it's now or never, by Paolo Romero,

It's now or never.

Ignoring calls for a ceasefire, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado urged government troops yesterday to launch a swift takeover of Camp Abubakar, the last bastion of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Mindanao.

With government troops now at the doorstep of the MILF's main headquarters, the Army offered amnesty to secessionist guerrillas who will lay down their arms and peacefully surrender.

For its part, Malacañang belittled threats by the MILF to widen its guerrilla warfare in Mindanao.

"If we don't move now, in three to five years there will be a more serious problem. Now we have a very good chance of taking over Abubakar," Mercado stressed.

"The government can't just allow them to control a 10,000-hectare territory where you cannot enforce the law," Mercado said of the rebel camp, which is several times bigger than Singapore.

Testifying at a joint hearing of the Senate committees on defense, peace and reconciliation and unification, Mercado said the relentless attack against the MILF was meant to emaciate the rebel group's fighting force.

"We don't want to prolong this war any longer," Mercado said.

Maj. Gen. Gregorio Camiling, commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division (ID), said his troops were pressing the assault.

"Our clearing operations were ongoing. We have the momentum. If we reach (the heart) of Abubakar, that would be okay," an obviously excited general said.

The all-out attack on the rebels' largest stronghold in Mindanao was launched last week in retaliation to guerrilla assaults on nearby military outposts.

Army and Marine combatants gained added advantage yesterday when they captured six hills overlooking the MILF camp.

The troops continued to pound the MILF positions with 105-mm. howitzers and air-to-surface missiles, sending hundreds of rebels scampering toward the jungle southwest of Camp Abubakar, lugging their dead and wounded comrades.

Asked if President Estrada had given direct orders to take over Camp Abubakar, Camiling replied, "No direct order, implied only."

He added that the troops were encountering stiff resistance from the rebels, who were trying to recapture lost territories around the camp.

Another Marine battalion was dispatched to the warfront yesterday where two Marine brigades were already deployed against the MILF.

Navy chief Vice Admiral Luisito Fernandez and Marine Commandant Brig. Gen. Librado Ladia presided over the send-off ceremonies for the 8th Marine Battalion Landing Team at the Navy headquarters in Manila.

The government originally said the troops would not touch Camp Abubakar, yet the military launched a full-scale offensive after the MILF failed to meet the June 30 deadline to lay down its arms and renounce its secessionist struggle.

Col. Ernesto de Guzman, chief of staff of the Armed Forces' Southern Command, said the shelling was meant to knock down MILF gun positions.

De Guzman also said the rebels have planted land mines in the peripheries of Camp Abubakar.

MILF fighters flee for dear life

Camiling's offer of amnesty came on the heels of reports that over 300 MILF fighters have deserted Camp Abubakar amid mortar shelling and heavy bombardment by helicopter gunships and OV-10 bomber planes. 

Local community leaders and members of religious groups confirmed earlier reports that hundreds of MILF fighters, several of them still in their teens, have deserted and rejoined their families, leaving behind their uniforms and firearms.

"Some of them are in a state of shock. They have not eaten for days. Some are wounded. They virtually turned their backs on the MILF and are now with their families in evacuation centers," a 56-year-old Islamic missionary told The STAR.

School teachers said some of the deserters were their former students who suddenly dropped out shortly before the military's assault on MILF positions along the Narciso Ramos Highway last April.

Hadja Bai Monina, 52, said two of the 327 MILF deserters were her children, Mando, 18, and Abulkhayr, 16.

"I am worried for them. Their former companions in the MILF will certainly execute them. I hope they can avail (themselves) of help from the local government unit in the area where they are now," the mother said in halting Tagalog.

Ameer Kusain, 43, a farmer, said his nephew Barudi, 23, was also among the deserters.

Camiling said he has been receiving reports from various quarters saying hundreds of young rebels have deserted the MILF and returned to their homes in Matanog, Barira and Buldon towns in Maguindanao province.

"We are offering them (MILF rebels) amnesty and other support to start life anew if they decide to return to the fold of the law," Camiling said.

He also said the troops in the three municipalities were merely involved in "clearing operations" meant to drive away MILF hardliners who may disrupt government efforts to rehabilitate public facilities damaged by the fighting. Military sources said 14 MILF guerrillas were killed in skirmishes in four barangays inside Camp Abubakar yesterday.

Senior Superintendent Omar Ali, police community relations director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said they have been directed to monitor desertions by MILF guerrillas.

"We have to help concerned government agencies in rehabilitating these rebels because if we just let them roam freely without any proper guidance, we might be having more serious peace and order problems in the communities," Ali said.

Meanwhile, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said the MILF has lost its capability to wage full-scale guerrilla warfare due to the troop's relentless attacks which resulted in the capture of over 30 satellite rebel camps.

Zamora said the military's operations against Camp Abubakar were basically "preemptive, retaliatory and defensive."

Reacting to the MILF threat, Zamora said leaders of the rebel group have to say something "so that their own fighters are not demoralized as they already are." He belied the MILF claim that it has six divisions consisting of 130,000 fighters.

"We all knew this is not true," Zamora said, adding if the separatist rebels have that much strength, their camps could not be easily captured by government forces.

In another development, Press Secretary Ricardo Puno rejected a proposal by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. for a halt in the military offensive against the MILF.

"The military offensive against the MILF in Mindanao is a legitimate act to protect the citizenry, uphold the law and defend the Constitution," Puno stressed.

He said despite the fighting, the government continues to hold back-channel negotiations to restore peace in the South.

"We have our military objective to attain, but we are not saying that this is the only solution," Mercado said, leaving the possibility of negotiations open.

Ex-Libyan envoy belies MILF claim.

Former Libyan Ambassador to Manila Rajab Azzarouq belied yesterday the MILF's claim that it has been granted belligerency status by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).

At the same time, Azzarouq criticized the Philippine government for alleged failure to fully comply with its commitments under its 1996 peace accord with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Speaking at a forum on Prospects for Peace in Mindanao sponsored by the Asian Center of the University of the Philippines, Azzarouq indicated that a resolution passed by the 56-member grouping of Islamic states was merely a statement of concern over the political situation in Mindanao.

The document urged the Philippine government to call off its all-out offensive in Mindanao, but the MILF viewed it as a grant of belligerency status.

"From my legal point of view, there is no way to look at it that way," Azzarouq said.

He said the OIC was concerned that the government has failed to faithfully implement the terms of the peace accord it signed in 1996 with the MNLF.

The MILF has been lobbying for observer status at the OIC, a privilege granted earlier to the MNLF. The MILF, a breakaway faction of the MNLF, refused to honor the 1996 peace agreement.

Azzarouq also welcomed an OIC decision to send a team to Mindanao to monitor government compliance to the peace pact.

"It took us four years to work that (peace accord) out. But I'm sorry to say that today, you still don't know who is implementing what," he said.

He cited the case of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) which was supposed to be a transitory body set up to prepare Mindanao for full Muslim autonomy.

"Things did not prosper well under the SPCPD. If you go to the SPCPD building in Mindanao, (you'll find) it's full of ghosts, more than people," he said.

He faulted the Philippine Congress for dilly-dallying on the government's commitment to conduct a plebiscite on autonomy as embodied in the peace treaty.

The plebiscite is supposed to be held on Sept. 11 this year, but many legislators appeared bent on postponing it to coincide with next year's elections. -With reports from John Unson, Marichu Villanueva, Roel Pareño, Romel Bagares, Perseus Echeminada, AFP