Velasco had scathing
words for the government’s peace negotiators
Retired Supreme Court
(SC) Associate Justice Florentino Velasco derided today Philippine peace panel
chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and Peace Adviser Secretary Teresita Deles for
their perceived sell-out to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
“Our negotiators are
not the brightest in the world,” Justice Velasco was quoted as saying by
Inquirer reporter Tetch Torres-Tupas.
Tupas said Velasco had
scathing words for the government’s peace negotiators who struck a deal with
the MILF for the creation of a Bangsamoro region in Mindanao. The passage of
the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is being rushed in both houses of Congress
despite criticisms it is unconstitional.
During the Senate
hearings on the Mamasapano incident that claimed the lives of 44 Special Action
Force (SAF) troopers, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano reached the same conclusion
as Justice Velasco.
In one particular
instance, Cayetano asked Ferrer whether the Philippine government has a policy
of striking deals with terrorist groups, to which Ferrer said she does not
know.
An exasperated
Cayetano castigated Ferrer for not knowing that the Philippines, like many
other countries, does not compromise or strike deals with terrorist
organizations or with groups like the MILF which had been linked to terror
groups.
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