COTABATO CITY – Following his revelation the government paid a huge amount of money to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in exchange for police weapons it seized from slain Special Action Force commandos, Catholic priest Father Eliseo Mercado is now being ridiculed, slandered and maligned on social media for his alleged immorality and vices.
Quoting his sources, Mercado, who is based in Cotabato City, said the government paid for the weapons the MILF surrendered recently to the military in Maguindanao. And the Aquino government strongly denied the priest’s allegation and even challenged him to prove his claims.
One man even posted a photo of the priest drinking beer and left a note on Facebook: “Isang pari na palainom ng ipinagbabawal na alak, moral teacher at religious preacher, sinungaling at makasalanan, lasengero.”
“Father ng mga Satanas, Eliseo Jun Mercado, sobra ang kanyang pagsisindi ng apoy upang masunog ang Mindanao. We Moros ay nagnanais ng kapayapaan. We don’t like war, we want peace, ngunit hindi kami tatanggi ng labanan kung yan ang gusto ninyo,” reads another note.
They accused Mercado of lying when he said the Aquino government, particularly the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process headed by Teresita Deles, paid huge amount of money for the return of the SAF weapons. There was no immediate statement from the priest about the barrage of criticisms being hurled at him on social media.
Mohagher Iqbal, an MILF vice chairman and the group’s chief peace negotiator, said the handover of the weapons was a gesture of their sincerity to the peace process.
Police commandos were on their way to re-join their more than 300 SAF members after killing Malaysian bomber Zulkifli bin Hir in a secret operation deep inside MILF territory – and cutting off his finger for DNA analysis when MILF forces, aided by Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, attacked them and sparking daylong clashes in Tukanalipao village in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town.
At least 18 MILF and 5 BIFF were reported killed in the fierce fighting that the Aquino government claimed was a mis-encounter. Muslim human rights groups also claimed that 7 civilians were also killed by the police, but this could not be independently confirmed.
But in an exclusive interview by television giant on Murad Ebrahim, the secluded chieftain of the MILF admitted paying money to rebels and civilians in exchange for the police weapons – automatic rifles and a machine gun – they took from the slain commandos.
Ebrahim said they paid up to P3,000 to rebels and civilians for each SAF weapons surrendered by the MILF to the government. “It was a token amount (that we paid). Mayroon P1,000, P2,000, P3,000,” he said.
He also said the MILF will not surrender rebels involved in the killings of the police commandos. “As far as the ceasefire violations are concerned, I recalled that both parties shall take charge of the imposition of punishment to their own people,” Ebrahim said.
Ebrahim also denied that MILF rebels finished off wounded police commandos after a video clip surfaced on Facebook that showed a gunman repeatedly shooting a SAF member in Tukanalipao village in Maguindanao’s Mamasapano town.
“Noon mangyari yun pagbaril sa wounded na SAF (member), our men have already withdrew from the area dahil nagkaroon na ng ceasefire,” he said.
The admission of Ebrahim that they paid money for the SAF weapons caught the Aquino government by surprise and quickly denied it knew about the payoff.
Ebrahim also appealed to lawmakers to ass the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which was shelled by Congress following the killings of 44 police commandos by MILF and BIFF rebels.
He warned that failure by Congress to pass the BBL may result in renewed violence in the restive southern region. “The timing now is very important. They have to see that there’s a solution in place, otherwise it will send a wrong message to people who may say this is all hopeless,” Ebrahim said. “We are committed to the peace process pero ultimately, kung wala nang mangyayari, eh di the people will decide by themselves. Hindi natin kontrolado iyon.”
Aquino signed the BBL only last year after a long delay and revision and submitted to Congress for ratification before it can be decided on a plebiscite in Muslim areas in southern Philippines that would make up the new Bangsamoro autonomous region and replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that has suffered from decades of poverty, corruption, and conflict.
But the House of Representatives suspended the review on the BBL after deadly fighting erupted between police commandos and MILF members.
And despite a massive government campaign for the BBL, many politicians are opposing it for fear that many provisions in the proposed law may include their areas in the new Bangsamoro regional government and unconstitutional.
The creation of Bangsamoro autonomous region would have to be decided on a referendum in the autonomous region and in areas where there are large Muslim communities. The BBL will pave the way for the establishment of the Bangsamoro region in 2016. (Mindanao Examiner)
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