Gov’t ready to battle Nur’s MNLF
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2019 07:42:22 +0000
MISUARI
The government is prepared to fight back if Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari launches a war over federalism, Malacañang said yesterday.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Duterte made a “counter-threat” to Misuari that they would “die together” if the federalism initiative fails.
“May response naman siya, ‘We celebrate if we will succeed.’ And as a response to going to war, then ‘We will die fighting each other,’” Panelo said about the President’s response to Misuari’s threat of war if the shift to federalism is not pursued.
“The President’s response is also a threat…That’s a counter-threat. Ibig sabihin lalabanan kita. ‘Yun ang ibig sabihin ni Presidente. Lalabanan mo gobyerno e di labanan din kita,” he said.
But for now, Panelo said, the two sides “want peace” and would soon start discussions on the federalism initiative.
Panelo said the President has proposed the two parties to create their five-member panels to tackle the proposed shift to federalism. Duterte reminded Misuari though that the final federalism proposal was still up to Congress, he said.
“Whatever the product of that discussion, they will have a one-on-one meeting and then he said, ‘After which we will celebrate for its success and if it fails we will die together.’ That was the response of the President,” Panelo said.
“If he goes to war, then he will be fighting the government. So if he is fighting the government and the head of the government is the President, he would be – they would be fighting with each other,” he said.
Panelo said Misuari was actually “happy” with the President’s proposal for the federalism talks and expressed hope it could be attained within his term.
“He reminded the President that federalism was one of the promises he made to the electorate. And he is confident that within the three years remaining term of the President, federalism would fit in,” he added.
“Knowing the chairman who has been fighting for a peaceful solution in Mindanao, and knowing the deep, friendly relationship between the two leaders, I am confident that there will be an agreement, a modus vivendi between the two sides and and we will have peace in Mindanao,” he said. (Genalyn Kabiling)