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| GENERAL CATAPANG |
"There's one thing that a senior military commander cannot be and
that is to be a moral coward. That is why senior military people are
held in so much esteem throughout the world because senior military
commanders are expected to make difficult decisions and give orders in
the face of extreme stress or pressures and with huge moral implication because they
pertain to life and death."
By Anne de Bretagne
for the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
and for the Defenders of Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
13 February 2015
General Catapang, chief-of-staff, Armed Forces of the Philippines said that 'he
did not inform President Aquino about the clash Mamasapano clash
although they were aware of it and they were with him all day on January
25' nor of a request for reinforcement at the height of the
deadly encounter with the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the
Bangsamoro Islamic Liberation Front forces that cost the lives of 44
officers and men of the PNP-Special Action Force. Actually the minute
Catapang did not inform the president, he should have realised that he
was already MAKING a command decision and that decision entailed COMMAND
RESPONSIBILITY. He should be relieved.
Obviously, General
Catapang (translated in Pilipino, 'catapang' means 'so brave') acted
that way because he had "read" Noynoy's wishy-washy body language and
admitted that he knew of the president's position, i.e., MILF first,
that the so-called peace agreement 'should not be jeopardised' so he did
not make a move nor provide reinforcement. What a disaster!
Catapang
should have set aside all that and moved! After all, without a direct
order from the president for the AFP NOT TO MOVE, i.e., that AFP was not
to provide reinforcement no matter what, Catapang should have made his
own command decision to provide reinforcement... He had those four stars
to use as commander of the entire military at that specific instance.
IT WAS REALLY NOT DIFFICULT TO MAKE A COMMAND DECISION at that specific
moment: shots were fired and being fired, help was being asked for, people were obviously dying and would die still!
I
still can't believe that General Catapang could even dare declare that
the AFP gave no artillery support to SAF to avoid 'war' with the MILF
There they were, the PNP-SAFs being shot at and being killed by combined
MILF-BIFF rebel forces, were clearly under war-like attack, needing
urgent troop reinforcement and at the very least, small artillery
support, eg., mortars, but Catapang withheld that support for what? To
avoid war with the MILF? Avoid war with the MILF? But the MILF-BIFF were
already killing your brothers-in-arms, General!
General
Catapang, how do you expect men to obey your command in the future,
fight for you and even prepare to die for you if they believe they might
not get the support they need when they ask for it during the heat of a
battle because of some dubious political consideration?
They
were killing your brothers-in-arms, General! How could you not have sent
reinforcement and not given them small artillery support?
Catapang,
a military officer that he is, should have realised that THE PEACE
AGREEMENT WAS BEING BROKEN AT THAT VERY MOMENT and that by staying mum,
doing nothing could not spell anything but bad poor, execrable military
commander's judgement. He knows and must have known as a four-star
general that the minute shots were fired, the CEASEFIRE WAS BROKEN!
Hence, there was nothing holding back the Armed Forces of the
Philippines from providing reinforcement to their beleaguered colleagues
in the face of the enemy.
Therefore, to have refused to provide
reinforcement to his beleaguered brothers-in-arms, clearly under attack,
was a violation of the moral code of conduct of any serving military
officer. This four-star officer should be stripped of his stars and be
sacked!
But who will sack him? President Noynoy Aquino? The
commander in chief, who believes that he has no command responsibility
for what happened? The commander in chief who has no clue that the
minute he ordered the other troops to stand down, he was in fact taking
DIRECT OPERATIONAL CONTROL and therefore assumed direct and full
responsibility for the murder of those SAF44... So, never mind Noynoy.
He is useless!
As ever, military officers, even if they happen to
have four shiny golden stars on those broad or narrow shoulders (in the
case of Catapang), are only as good as their ability -- or inability,
to be good and brave officers and commanders when the going gets tough.
But there's one thing that a senior military commander cannot be and
that is to be a moral coward. That is why senior military people are
held in so much esteem throughout the world because senior military
commanders are expected to make difficult decisions and give orders in
the face of extreme stress and with huge moral implication because they
pertain to life and death.
I accuse General Catapang of being a moral coward, an execrable senior military officer and poor commander!
~~~~O~~~~
Mamasapano clash: Who told Aquino when?
"But
before a just and lasting final peace agreement can be achieved, the
MILF must lay down their weapons -- a 'condition sine qua non',
surrender the murderers of the PNP-SAF44 and recognise and submit
to the laws of the Republic. Without these actions in good faith by the
MILF, all these talks about wanting peace are useless."
By Anne de Bretagne
for the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
and for the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
12 February 2015
Mr Iqbal,
First of all, thank you for appearing before the nation.
You said before the Congress Mamamsapano hearing today Congress Mamamsapano hearing today that:
"...the
peace process is important to us – and to everybody. It has brought us
the promise of a good life for our people – free from fear, want, and
discrimination. It contains our hopes and our dreams – it is not for us,
for our children. We have waited for this opportunity for 17 years. We
promised our people that peace will be our legacy. We seek your help in
making this promise possible. We cannot do it by ourselves. We ask you
to help us live in peace."
If
you are sincere -- which we'd like desperately to believe you are -- I
can assure you that my friends and I, as well as thousands of members of
the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum, want peace as much as the MILF wants
and needs it.
But we are not convinced today nor will we be convinced
tomorrow that the MILF, a revolutionary organisation which you admitted
it is and which, furthermore, is sufficiently armed to dismember the
Republic, needs the Bangsamoro Basic Law to achieve it.
Your
revolutionary organisation and all state actors involved in this peace
process need to go back to the drawing table and re-start the drafting
of a final peace agreement that will not violate the Constitution but
draw one which will serve, what you say, the MILF's desire for just and
lasting peace.
But
before a just and lasting final peace agreement can be achieved, the
MILF must lay down their weapons, a 'condition sine qua non', surrender
the murderers of the PNP-SAF44 and recognise and submit
to the laws of the Republic. Without these actions in good faith by the
MILF, all these talks about wanting peace are useless.
In fine, I would like you to answer one of the questions posed by a member of the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum:
"If
Mr. Iqbal said that MILF and BIFF are 2 different organizations...so,
they do not work together, meaning they are a separate group. So, what
gives the MILF the right to talk with the Government in the name of all
Bangsamoro if he already said that they are different groups.
"Why
[does] the govt. allow MILF to represent the whole Bangsamoro? If our
Govt. will ever talk about peace, let it be based on the equality of all
and not only for the benefit of one side. Only one law and no special
power to anyone, no exemption, no armed group except the AFP."
Thank you. Deus vult.
~~~~O~~~~
FULL TEXT OF MR IQBAL'S STATEMENT AT THE MAMASAPANO HEARING
12 February 2015
Let me speak straight from the heart.
First,
the encounter between the MILF and the SAF was an unfortunate
encounter. It was something that nobody planned or wanted. We thought
that we have effective protocols and mechanisms in place that would
prevent things like these from happening. In the end, 44 SAF, 18 MILF,
and many more died in that encounter. We must honor them by making sure
that their sacrifice would not be in vain. While we cannot change the
past, we can do something in the future. We can work together to make
sure that something like this will not happen again. Thus, we are
already investigating the conduct of our men during that encounter to
see it anyone violated the rules of conduct.
Second,
the MILF was not the only group that was present in the area. The SAF
fought other armed individuals belonging to different networks and
groups – BIFF, private armed groups, local militias, etc. The delicate
task of finding out who did what, especially the reported atrocities,
cannot immediately be blamed on the MILF. That would be unfair. We need
to investigate. On the part of the MILF, aside from our own
investigation, we push for a truly independent group that would conduct a
fair and impartial investigation of the incident.
Third,
the MILF was immediately working to effect the ceasefire as early as
6:30 in the morning. But because of the limitations in communications
and because of the on-ground situation of battle, the ceasefire was
obtained only in the afternoon. MILF members who were part of the joint
ceasefire committee risked their lives to effect the ceasefire. We were
trying to save those men.
Fourth,
credit must be given where credit is due. Through the efforts of the
MILF, 28 SAF were rescued from imminent death that day. The 28 SAF were
part of the first team and holed up in an area one kilometer northeast
of Tukanalipao. They were already being fired upon by unidentified armed
groups. The 28 SAF are alive today because of the efforts of the MILF
and finally, it is the will of God.
Fifth,
the MILF is against all forms of terrorism. We have made a solemn vow
to fight terrorism in our areas. Terrorism is consistent with Islam and
has no place in the orientation and principles of the MILF. Our previous
actions bear witness to our commitment against terrorism. To tag the
MILF as a terrorist group is unfair.
Sixth,
the MILF did not harbor Marwan or Usman. The MILF has no links with
these terrorists and terrorist organizations. Marwan or Usman were in
areas outside the MILF-controlled areas.
Seventh,
the MILF and the BIFF are different organizations. We do not share the
same goals and objectives. There is no truth to the allegation that we
are conniving with each other.
Eighth,
we are committed to peace. We have been in negotiations with the
Philippine Government for 17 years. Our present partnership with
President Aquino has been durable – there has been no recorded armed
hostilities between the government and the MILF since 2011. We signed
the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the Comprehensive Agreement
on the Bangsamoro, and the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law. Each of these
agreements is a testament to our commitment to pursue our objectives
through peaceful means.
Ninth,
the peace process is important to us – and to everybody. It has brought
us the promise of a good life for our people – free from fear, want,
and discrimination. It contains our hopes and our dreams – it is not for
us, for our children. We have waited for this opportunity for 17 years.
We promised our people that peace will be our legacy. We seek your help
in making this promise possible. We cannot do it by ourselves. We ask
you to help us live in peace.
Finally,
justice is at the core of our struggle. We have been seeking justice
for a long time. Thousands of our brothers and sisters have died
pursuing this cause. We see an opportunity that peace can be
established. Please do not let this unfortunate incident be used to
derail 17 years of hard work and lessen our resolve for peace and
justice. Let peace be our legacy. Let us me partners for peace.
~~~~O~~~~
