Army: The end is near for Commander Bravo

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/22/2008 3:11 PM

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The spokesman of the Philippine Army on Wednesday said the days of Moro rebel leader Abdullah Macapaar alias "Commander Bravo'' are numbered following his announcement that he will pursue the independence of the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao.

In a statement, Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said Bravo had "vested interests" in the ongoing war as revealed by his pronouncement that he is no longer interested in the proposed ancestral land deal between the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

"Bravo said that he will continue fighting, which only reveals how truly a bandit and common criminal he is...What actually drives him is not the 'cause' of the Bangsamoro people but his egotistical motive of seizing the MILF leadership and gaining grounds for his own interest," Brawner said.

"War is the only language Bravo understands and does not really care about the safety of even his fellow Muslims for as long as he achieves what he wants."

The Army spokesman said Bravo has failed to uphold the teachings of Islam by pursuing violent and not peaceful means to solve the Mindanao conflict. He added that Bravo's statements strengthened the Army's determination to capture the rebel leader.

"Bravo has defied the orders of the MILF who are already willing to talk about peace, he has also violated so many local and international laws of the land, thus he should be willing to face the consequences of his actions and be punished for that. As Frank Sinatra says in his popular song ‘My Way’, the end is near for Commander Bravo, and he should stop doing it his way," he said.

Commander Bravo is one of three wanted MILF commanders currently pursued by the military for deadly attacks in Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato provinces last August. The other two are Umbra Kato and Salim Pangalian.

The government has warned it will stall negotiations with the MILF unless the Moro rebel group turns over the three MILF commanders.

In an exclusive story aired by ABS-CBN last Monday, Bravo where the rebel leader blamed the non-signing of the proposed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) for the continuing hostilities in Mindanao.

Bravo, who has a P10 million bounty on his head, admitted that his forces under the MILF 102nd Base Command wreaked havoc in Kauswagan and Kolambugan towns in Lanao del Norte province last August after the government reneged on its promise to sign the land deal.

He denied, however, killing civilians and blamed the murders on his former subcommander Alvin Cuntu.

"They were the ones who burned the houses in the area of Lapayan, Kauswagan. We were pursuing them because the MILF wanted to court-martial them but they escaped and surrendered to the Philippine government," he said.

He said he was surprised that Cuntu and 30 of his men were feted by the government after they surrendered. He said Cuntu and his men were used by the government to destroy the legitimate struggle of the Bangsamoro people.

as of 10/22/2008 3:12 PM