February 8, 2000, The Philippine Star, Mercado slams MILF for arms build-up, by Paolo Romero,

February 8, 2000, The Philippine Star, Mercado slams MILF for arms build-up, by Paolo Romero,

Peace talks or delaying tactic to regroup for a protracted war?

Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado accused the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) of stockpiling munitions and boosting their ranks with new recruits while peace talks with the government are stalled.

Mercado made the accusation despite President Estrada's decision to give the peace efforts with the MILF a June deadline.

"The MILF has taken advantage of our hiatus, of the period when we are negotiating," he told reporters.

"That particular period also was a period of consolidation and acquisition of arms and recruitment and the same is being undertaken today," he said.

Mercado said, however, that "this will not stop us from trying to pursue our efforts at peace."

Peace talks are to resume on Feb. 21 after several skirmishes around the town of Carmen in North Cotabato, where the government is trying to restart a dam project amid rebel opposition.

MILF rebels ambushed a military vehicle in Carmen on Sunday, wounding three soldiers, a military spokesman in the southern Philippines said yesterday.

A second MILF attack near the southern town of Naga on Saturday left three people dead.

The military placed the MILF strength last year at about 15,000 guerrillas.

"We have reports that the MILF is indeed taking advantage of the peace talks and that is the reason why we continue to respond everytime there is a violation," Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes told reporters in Manila.

Mercado said the government believed greater effort should be placed on the peace process rather than on military means.

"But the position of the President is clear -- we are going to put a deadline to the talks because interminable talks will not produce peace. It will only produce strength on the part of those who are taking advantage of the peace talks."

Mercado at the same time confirmed the government has been receiving reports of arms shipments to the MILF rebels but refused to name the countries of origin, saying it might hamper military operations or cause a serious diplomatic row.

"I'm sure they're (MILF weapons) manufactured somewhere else. Whether there is a foreign power involved ... we will not comment on these matters (which are) in the realm of dangerous diplomatic grounds," he said.

Last weekend, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who was defense minister during the Marcos regime, warned of a "big war coming in Mindanao," with the MILF targeting Christian-dominated cities in the island. He said the attacks would include Metro Manila to divide the attention of the national government.

Enrile also said that the rebels are expecting a cache of high-powered weapons to arrive soon from the Middle East, and that the "game plan" of the MILF is to create a situation similar to that of Bosnia and East Timor.

Citing "very reliable sources," the senator said that even women and children in Lanao del Sur have armed themselves in preparation for a stepped-up offensive, even as key highways in the province have been allegedly secured by the rebel group.

The MILF is a 1978 offshoot of the larger Moro National Liberation Front, which signed a peace treaty with the government in 1996, ending more than two decades of guerrilla action to set up an Islamic state in the southern tip of the Philippine archipelago.

The breakaway group has however remained adamant in setting up a separate Islamic state in the south. And despite a ceasefire agreement, MILF rebels and government troops have continuously violated the accord.

Last Jan. 30, about 10,000 people were displaced by renewed clashes, and there were reports that guerrillas torched the houses of Manobo tribe members in North Cotabato. -- With AFP