ARMED Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon
Jr. directed military officers to henceforth hold dialogues with
the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in neutral ground
following the incident last week where Marine Maj. Gen. Benjamin
Dolorfino and several companions were taken hostage by MNLF
leader Ustadz Habier Malik.
"If you could meet in other places that are
more neutral, then that should be what should be done," said
Esperon after a lunch with members of the media and military
officers in celebration of his 55th birthday.
He said, however, that he is not taking back
Dolorfino’s assignment to hold dialogues with the MNLF.
Dolorfino and his party were not allowed to
leave the MNLF camp in Panamao, Sulu last Friday after settling
issues concerning two mis-encounters between government and MILF
forces in Sulu last month.
The MNLF signed a peace accord with the
government in September 1996.
Malik only allowed Dolorfino’s group to leave
the camp on Sunday afternoon after the MNLF was given assurance
that its tripartite meeting with government and the Organization
of Islamic Conference will push through next month.
Esperon said he sent Dolorfino, a Muslim
convert who heads the military’s National Capital Region
Command, to Sulu to solve "some problems." He added: "All those
things that I told him to fix were fixed, that is how efficient
general Dolorfino is."
Esperon admitted that the military would have
executed a plan of action if Dolorfino and company had not been
released last Sunday. "If worse comes to worst, we had a
military plan but I was confident it would never even take off
the ground," he said. The agreed upon time of release was 1 p.m.
but the AFP chief this was delayed by the roasting of a calf.
Esperon admitted that Dolorfino and Office of
the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process undersecretary
Ramon Santos, a retired Army general, were "too valuable to be
expended in that kind of situation."
"There is another thing that would have been
expended also: That is the prestige of the units that are
operating in the area and of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines," he said. At least 7,500 soldiers are deployed in
Sulu. – Victor Reyes
