Solons blame gov’t.

MANILA—Had President Benigno Aquino III helped Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his followers negotiate their claim over Sabah, the standoff would have been resolved peacefully, a lawmaker said Saturday.

Rep. Neri Colmenares (Bayan Muna party-list) said the Philippine government “mishandled” the three-week Sabah standoff between the Malaysian armed forces and Kiram’s followers.

“Our claim of Sabah is very strong especially since Malaysia paid rent to the Sultanate as early as during the British occupation. In fact, it is as strong as our claim over Panatag shoals. It was a wrong move for the Aquino government to distance itself from the claim, even portraying the claim as nuisance and threatening the Sultan’s men with arrest when they return,” he said.

Wrong path

President Aquino, in a statement posted on Malacañang’s website Saturday, said the path chosen by Kiram’s group was wrong. He said that the only correct thing for the Sulu gunmen to do is to surrender.

“To those who have influence and the capacity to reason with those in Lahad Datu, I ask you to convey this message: surrender now, without conditions,” Aquino said.

The President reiterated the government’s objective to “avoid loss of lives and shedding of blood” since the start of the standoff.

“However, you did not join us in this objective. Because of the path you have taken, what we have been trying to avoid has come to pass,” he added.

Shootout

Two Malaysian police officers and 12 followers of Kiram died in a 30-minute shootout on Friday in the coastal village of Tanduo in Lahab Datu town. Sabah Police Chief Hamza Taib said it was Kiram’s followers who opened fire and that they “have no option but to return fire.”

“The attack of the Malaysian military is an attack on Filipinos which requires accountability, and the Philippines must lodge a strong protest and the government must defend our territory. Aquino should face this territorial dispute with patriotism,” Colmenares said.

Rep. Mitos Magsaysay (Zambales) and Rep. Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers party-list) also criticized the government for issuing conflicting statements regarding the incident.