MALACAÑANG said on Tuesday that it is aware of efforts by some groups to exploit the situation in Mindanao for their political leverage but does not find the move alarming enough at this point to classify it as a destabilization attempt or a coup plot.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Abigail Valte made the statement in a news briefing when asked if Malacañang is seriously looking into coup rumors spawned by the position taken by the government on recent clashes between the government forces and “lawless elements” in Mindanao.

“That has reached us. If you remember, the President mentioned in his statement yesterday [on Monday] that there are those who wish to take advantage of the situation for political leverage. We are aware that there are efforts to do this,” Valte said.

Asked if Malacañang is alarmed by such efforts, he said that “as of the moment, I have not sensed that.”

She said the efforts are being done through “spreading misinformation” and “trying to arouse” negative emotions among the public, by certain groups.

When asked, Valte clarified that the efforts cannot be categorized as destabilization.

“I wouldn’t go as far as calling it destabilization because it’s not to that level.... It’s really more of taking advantage.... I really do not know what their end is but what we’re sure of is there is nothing more than political means; whether some people will call it diversionary or just to throw a spanner into the works,” she said.

Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) said that “there are no destabilization reports, there are no coup plots but there are people who are agitating or trying to inflame the situation.”

“To use the term coup or destabilization is too much. People might be unduly alarmed,” Carandang said.

On criticisms about President Aquino’s actions and directives regarding the Basilan incident, where 19 soldiers were killed during an encounter with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels and Abu Sayyaf bandits, Valte explained that the Chief Executive’s approach is “we cannot sacrifice thoroughness for speed.”

On possible retaliatory attacks by some groups within the MILF against the government troops, Valte maintained the government’s position that it will continue to pursue “lawless elements.”

“The President was very categorical: regardless of affiliation, if you violate the law, you will be liable and we will come after you,” she said.

Senate inquiry into MILF encounters sought

TWO Senate committees were asked to conduct a joint inquiry into alleged “culpability of the leadership” of the MILF, as well as the “operational and tactical lapses” of the Armed Forces in the recent bloody encounters with the MILF in Mindanao.

In filing a resolution paving the way for the Senate hearings, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV asserted that senators must look into possible “accountability and culpability” on the part of the MILF leadership for the bloodbath which transpired amid ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the separatist group.

“Someone has to be made accountable for the deaths of our troops in Mindanao,” Trillanes, a former Navy officer said, adding that “possible operational and tactical lapses on the part of the Armed Forces might have led to the death of our soldiers.”

He asked the Senate Committees on National Defense and Security and on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation to look into the circumstances surrounding the clashes between the MILF and the government troops against the backdrop of ongoing peace talks.

In a separate statement, Sen. Ralph Recto recommended that “backseat generals” should “stay in the sidelines for now.”

“The President should be lauded and supported for his effort to explore all peaceful means while engaging aggressively those criminal elements in the area and bringing them to justice,” Recto said.

He added that the President is expected to devote more funds for the immediate medical evacuation for emergency care of wounded soldiers “so that no lives will be lost while in transit.”

Sen. Chiz Escudero explained that short of an all-out war, the government could lift the cease-fire in certain areas to enable soldiers to conduct hot pursuit operations and go after “lawless elements.”

For his part, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III prodded the government to require the MILF to surrender those behind the killing of 19 soldiers in Basilan last week.

He warned that the peace talks and cease-fire agreement between the government and the MILF are at risk of being abandoned “if they do not cooperate in bringing to justice the perpetrators of this mass murder.”

Aside from the killing of the 19 soldiers, Pimentel called for actions by the government on similar attacks said to be perpetrated by MILF gunmen, but said that he supports the President’s stance not to engage in an all-out war.

“We should talk peace and of justice for the aggrieved parties, not an all-out war which would involve attacking the Maguindanao camps of the MILF even if the killing of the soldiers we are protesting happened in Basilan,” said Pimentel.

While the Armed Forces as well as Malacañang have denied there is widespread demoralization within the ranks of soldiers, Pimentel said President Aquino should pre-empt the issue by boosting the morale of the troops at every opportunity as the Commander in Chief.

On the suggestion from some quarters that a third-party peacekeeping force be deployed in Mindanao, Pimentel said the Armed Forces is in control of the situation and thus, there may be no need for peacekeepers.

(With B. Fernandez)