Thursday, August 21, 2008 MBC chair: No need to arm businessmen
THERE is no need for businessmen and traders to arm themselves amidst the growing tension in Central Mindanao, at least not yet.
Mindanao Business Council (MBC) chair Vicente Lao does not believe that it is needed for the business sector to take up arms, even if it is only intended for self-defense.
"It is not necessary to take up arms," Lao said in an interview Tuesday.
Based on his assessments, Lao believes that the military is still able to react immediately to the attacks perpetrated by the rebel group.
However, Senator Loren Legarda expressed Wednesday abhorrence on the killing of innocent civilians caught in the middle of the conflict areas.
Legarda said the MILF leadership should not wash its hands from the bloody occupation of several Lanao del Norte villages purportedly by rogue MILF units, but should also effect the arrest of the alleged rogue elements of the MILF so they can be brought before the bar of the justice system.
The senator added that this is the only course of action that would prove the MILF's statement that it had not sanctioned the attacks staged by its units.
Legarda said the taking of hostages is not an option for ideologues but is an activity usually resorted to by lawless elements.
She said the reported willful killing of civilians and the taking of hostages would not help the MILF cause any, thus its leadership must crack the whip on its "loose cannons." (CPM)
