PRESIDENT ENDS MARTIAL LAW IN MAGUINDANAO, CLAIMS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002548 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2019 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINS MOPS KDEM KJUS KCRM ASEC RP SUBJECT: PRESIDENT ENDS MARTIAL LAW IN MAGUINDANAO, CLAIMS GOALS ACHIEVED REF: A. MANILA 2502 (MARTIAL LAW IMPOSED) ¶B. MANILA 2448 (CLAN VIOLENCE) Classified By: DCM Leslie A. Bassett, reason: 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) President Arroyo on December 12 lifted martial law in Maguindanao province. The government announced the eight-day period of martial law had achieved its objectives after the government arrested suspects in the November 23 massacre and disarmed the Ampatuan clan's well-armed private army. A state of emergency remains in effect in Maguindanao. It is unclear whether the Supreme Court will dismiss petitions protesting the imposition of martial law; the congress continued its joint session on the issue but canceled plans to register members' views through a vote. The imposition of martial law appears to have helped promote accountability for a heinous crime, but civil society protests made it clear that Filipinos remain extremely sensitive about the use of martial law. Elsewhere in the southern Philippines, an armed group freed detainees from a prison on Basilan island, and a group of kidnappers in Agusan del Sur province released dozens of hostages they had taken in the context of a feud between rival, heavily-armed clans. End Summary. MARTIAL LAW ENDS -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The president's Press Secretary announced on December 12 that President Arroyo had lifted martial law and restored the writ of habeas corpus in Maguindanao province. Martial law had been in effect for eight days. A state of emergency remains in effect in Maguindanao, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) maintains a significantly larger presence there than it did prior to the November 23 massacre (ref B). ¶3. (C) The recision of martial law, well in advance of the constitution's 60-day deadline, followed congressional debate over the President's act and critics' requests that the Supreme Court declare this imposition of martial law unconstitutional. House Speaker Prospero Nograles said publicly that the congress' joint session would continue on the afternoon of December 14 so that legislators could express their views on the President's proclamation (ref A), but the congress would not hold its previously-planned vote, as the matter was now moot. Supreme Court staff told us the Supreme Court will decide on December 14 whether to dismiss petitions against the martial law proclamation. DECLARING VICTORY -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Press Secretary claimed that the government's declaration of martial law had achieved its objectives, namely: - Arresting and charging suspects in the November 23 Maguindanao massacre and in rebellion; - Breaking up armed groups that threatened security (read: the Ampatuans' militia); and - Restoring local government functions and the criminal justice system in Maguindanao. ¶5. (SBU) Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said publicly on December 13 that the government was prepared to prosecute former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan, Sr. and 23 others for carrying out an armed uprising. As of December 12, the authorities had also charged three persons with murder in connection with the massacre. One of the three is Andal Ampatuan, Jr.; the media has printed witness accounts claiming he personally shot many of the massacre victims. Hundreds of others remain under investigation for both murder and rebellion. As of December 12, the government claimed a total of 529 arrests for rebellion or involvement in the massacre. ¶6. (SBU) Devanadera has sought to dispel suspicions that charges of rebellion would subsume murder charges relating to the massacre. Critics of the government have expressed concern that flaws in the government's claim of state of rebellion would allow those charged to avoid all MANILA 00002548 002 OF 002 accountability. Devanadera has stated publicly that the government will pursue separate rebellion and murder charges, as appropriate. PRISON BREAK ON BASILAN -------------- ¶7. (C) In a separate development in the South, an armed group stormed a prison on the island of Basilan on December 12, freeing 31 prisoners, one of whom is associated with a rogue element of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). According to media reports, Abu Sayyaf Group member Furiji Indama and rogue MILF figure Long Sulaiman led the raid. Two attackers and a prison guard died. Military contacts told us the AFP is pursuing the group of raiders and escapees, focusing on a mountainous area of southwest Basilan. HOSTAGE DRAMA ENDS -------------- ¶8. (SBU) A group of armed men in the province of Agusan del Sur (northeastern Mindanao) took 75 people hostage on December 10; the gunmen were part of an organized group led by a man named Ondo Perez, whom the government sought to arrest following an incident of violence against the family of a member of a clan feuding with Perez's. Perez seized the hostages in an effort to forestall his arrest and the disarmament of his group, according to press accounts. Some were freed soon after their abduction. Local authorities successfully negotiated the release of all the hostages held by Perez's group on December 13 after agreeing to shift Perez's case to a tribal court, and agreeing to disarm both clans (rather than only Perez's). COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) The President's supporters can claim that she moved boldly toward ensuring accountability for an egregious crime, and she disbanded a powerful warlord's exceptionally well-armed militia; she did this without significant casualties or disruption to the government's peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This progress was highly controversial, however, as the President's critics complained that the declaration of martial law was not justified, as the constitution requires, by an act of rebellion, and that Arroyo's actions reveal an authoritarian streak that imperils democracy. Clearly, though -- as the recent incidents in Basilan and Agusan del Sur demonstrate -- there are many areas in the Philippines like pre-massacre Maguindanao, where armed groups have proliferated and the national authorities have a very limited capability to impose order. KENNEY