To understand better the Mamasapano Tragedy, it is good to trace the journey taken by the so-called peace process spearheaded by the government of President Benigno S. Aquino III. It is not anymore necessary to know the primary motivations of the Aquino government in giving high premium to this particular thrust in its agenda. We must presume its genesis derives from very noble ends concomitant with some comprehensive programs for national development. After all, the quest for lasting peace in our land long beset with rebellions has been a constant agenda of all the administrations of the Philippine republic since time immemorial.
This, in spite of some tale bandied around that the President’spea ce agenda is tied up to a rather self-serving motive—an eye for the Nobel Peace Prize. It is impossible to argue in support of this, albeit the undue haste with which the peace process has been undertaken with a prospective timetable of completion within the President’s term somehow lends a mist of doubt to the nobility of its motives.
But let us not dwell on baseless rumor, rather let us try to trace the paths taken by the peace process since its inception until it rammed into a serious setback with the explosive Mamasapano incident.
There’s no question that the Noynoy Aquino peace process had proceeded with a decidedly accelerated pace in the last two years of President’s term, having reached promptly the highpoint of drafting a Bangsamoro Basic Law—the BBL— which is to be the fundamental legal basis for the establishment of an autonomous Islamic state. True enough, the BBL is now pending enactment into law in Congress.
There are however some identifiable snags in its otherwise smooth journey along the way. First, the peace process has not been inclusive enough. The Government failed to consider and accommodate some groups that are legitimate stakeholders in the quest for peace in Mindanao. It dealt solely with the MILF to the exclusion of the MNLF led by Nur Misuari. As a matter of fact, the MNLF did register its objections and opposition to the moves of the government (GPH). It was imprudent or outright unwise for the government not to involve in its negotiations a significant force like the MNLF which has been a consistent entity in any peace settlement in Mindanao. It seemed the peace initiatives of the Aquino government was merely meant to surpass a similar act of the previous administration which involved the MNLF. And if so, the incumbent government’s peace undertaking is tainted with a lack of sincerity and would seem to be mainly geared towards the President’s interest in the enviable Nobel Peace Award.
Under the direct supervision of the President the responsible people charged with the task of implementing the peace process were acting like colonizers — adopting an exclusionist policy that resembles a “divide-and-rule” tactic—whi ch in effect contravened the administration’s avowed objective of establishing a lasting peace in the region. Ignoring the lessons of history, the peace strategists of the Aquino Government would inevitably me et serious stumbling blocks along the way. Their hyped enthusiasm in fast-tracking the peace process was bound to undergo a collision course with certain elements and sectors in society who are wary of the undue haste by which the President wanted the BBL approved by Congress.
Unfortunately for the BBL, its passage was overtaken by events out of the control of .the government or the President himself. The Mamasapano tragedy occurred. And it occurred in the most unwanted moment of its trek to realization. The pet project of the President came down in near shambles.
In the wake of this tragic incident, Mr. Noynoy Aquino’s mettle as Commander-in-Chief of the State security forces has been put into a severe test. And he did exceedingly well in trying to acquit himself by his lies and doublespeak. His back-up — the brilliant men and women in his cabinet— are also doing their best to salvage his befallen state with their own prevarications. The comedy of errors proved to be an excellent entertainment show in the annals of this republic.
Piece by piece the President’s façade of lies crumbles . . . bit by bit his mask of hypocrisy peels off. He is on his way to a veritable lameduck President.
But President Noynoy’s sad state is of his own making. He has allowed himself to be a devout puppet of the US imperialist government. In such a state of affairs, he can never stand in the way of what the US government would like to do in our lands, because if he does it is like signing his own death warrant. And so, he was pathetically helpless when the US agents— the FBIband presumably the CIA — demanded Marwan’s head. He had to give way to his US master’s agents in the supervision and execution of what was termed as Oplan Wolverine and/or Oplan Exodus.
And so Mamasapano became the centerstage of the covert operation with President Noynoy at the periphery. To give it a semblance of a purely Filipino undertaking, the domestic Special Action Force (SAF) of the PNP had to be dispatched as pawns in the special action. The outcome came out also as a “special” tragedy. And the President’s pet project—his much touted peace process—is badly wounded it would most likely also meet its tragic end.
But, of course, the President knew all along about the operation plan. He has read the script, so to speak. But he could not intervene in the US interventionist act. As a puppet his hands are tied, Or to put it more succinctly, his neck is leashed tightly as a most worthy “puppy”, controlled in a ridiculous figurative way, by the White House in Camp Crame.
Now. . .the BBL? The turn of events would point to a sabotage of President Aquino’s peace process. At a time when the BBL was deliberated upon in the halls of Congress soliciting the favorable action of the Senators and Congressmen for its prompt enactment with the end in view of putting a closure to the Moro Problem in Mindanao, here came a most unwanted occurrence at the most unwanted moment—the Mamasapano Incident. The logical deduction is that the Mamasapano incident was a clear sabotage. But the strangest thing is that it was the President himself who sabotaged his own pet project.
Could it be that he had lost interest in the Nobel Peace Prize? NO. It is his stubborn puppetry to US imperialism that made him a saboteur of his own peace process. If only he was not slavishly subservient to the US, he could have had absolute control of the situation in Mindanao. If only he had his way as Commander-in-Chief, he would not have had to accede to the US Oplan Wolverine and Oplan Exodus. He could have had his own will and command to set his own timeline for the capture of the terrorists. But the fact is, he did not have the luxury of such absolute authority and control because he was only a puppet of the Americans whose own plans must push through according to their own mandate and schedule.
In effect, President Noynoy Aquino, regardless of his willingness or unwillingness, had to derail his own peace process—his brainchild. This will go down in history as the strangest way by which the success of a supposedly worthy project is sabotaged by its own genitor. And it will resonate as a very interesting mystery narrative of political puppetry and military intrigues.
The sequel of the mystery story has yet to be woven, its plot and central character to be determined by the ongoing investigations in Congress. Already, such legal ”luminaries” as Senators Allan Cayetano and Bo ngbong Marcos have revealed their manifest ignorance of the four hundred years history of the Bangsamoro’sstruggle for national liberation. To their credit, they have identified the MILF revolutionary organization as a coddler of terrorists. Oh well, they should alert the members of Congress and the other branches of government, lest they have not known it yet—that the Philippine Government is also “coddling American soldiers” and other interventionist agents of the US Government, like the FBI, in violation of the Constitution!
These “illustrious” senators have chided the GPH Committee for the Cessation of Hostilities to stop defending the MILF and speak for the Government. Well, they should rather scold themselves too, and everyone else in Congress, as well as the AFP and PNP officers, the President and his Cabinet, including the DOJ and the DFA, for trying to cover up the US involvement in the internal affairs of the Philippine State, especially in the Mamasapano Incident.
President Noynoy’s rabid puppetry to US imperialism explodes in his face. Now, he is hard put trying to save his badly damaged face. It is doubtful if his image and status as a leader can still be salvaged. Another unforgiveable blunder ensues. In trying to salvage what remains of his capability to lead, his bagpipes are lying and lying, making him sink deeper into the bottom of irreparable infamy.
What they are actually trying to save is the US for its culpability and accountability in the Mamasapano tragedy. Noynoy should have already mustered enough courage to tell the truth in face of the overwhelming demands of the Filipino people. Instead of continuing to serve his US masters, he should now cast his fate into the arms of his real bosses—the people. This is his ONLY salvation. He should repent and ask forgiveness for his puppetry and armlink with the people in fighting against and driving away the US imperialist-interventionists from our lands. There is absolutely no other option.
