Press statement of Senator M.A. Madrigal

The conflict in Mindanao was disaster waiting to happen. The Arroyo administration it seems, has sacrificed the peace process at the altar of charter change in order to perpetuate itself in power way beyond 2010. Unfortunately, they have sacrificed peoples' lives as well! Shame on you.

More important, all Filipinos must demand accountability from those responsible who have placed the people of Mindanao in this predicament. All Filipinos must demand for the immediate resignation of Gen Esperon as peace adviser. A new peace panel must be convened immediately to end this unnecessary bloody conflict.

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Peace and National Unification, I therefore call on every Filipino to call on the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to use the ceasefire mechanism in the Tripoli Agreement. To stop the further loss of lives, I ask the International Monitoring Team (IMT) to step in and help put an immediate stop to these unspeakable hostilities. Both parties should convene the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) to launch an immediate investigation into these attacks.