President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he does not want the arrest warrant for fugitive Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari implemented.
Misuari is currently in hiding after a court issued an arrest warrant for him in connection with the bloody Zamboanga City siege in 2013.
Duterte said arresting Misuari would scuttle his efforts to reach a peaceful settlement with the Moro groups in Mindanao.
''Ako man ang hepe ng pulis at military. Sabihin ko, huwag niyong galawin,'' Duterte said in a news conference.
(I am the commander-in-chief of the police and the military. I will tell them not to lay a hand on Misuari.)
''There's a warrant for his arrest. All I have to do is not implement it against him because if you arrest Misuari, you place him under the custody of police and if he dies for whatever reason, kompormiso na tayo (our efforts will be compromised)."
He said any adversarial act towards Misuari would result in "conflagration" as ''he is the only known leader who has the influence and stature'' among Moro rebels.
He also assured Misuari in a phone conversation last night that he won't be arrested.
"I told him, 'Nur, I have no intention of detaining you or placing you in the custody of government. You can simply walk out there, ask any soldier and police to escort you,'" he said.
MALAYSIA MEETING
Duterte also revealed that Misuari wants to meet with him in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
Duterte said he is interested in meeting Misuari in an attempt to end the decades-long conflict in Mindanao.
''Nur and I talked last night and he said he wants to meet me in Kuala Lumpur,'' Duterte said.
''He said let's do a signing in two days so we could end this fight," he added.
Duterte said Misuari wants the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to mediate the meeting.
The OIC helped broker the MNLF's final peace agreement with the government in 1996.
ZAMBOANGA SIEGE
Misuari led the siege in 2013 to protest the decision of the government of then-President Benigno Aquino III to hold talks with MNLF's renegade group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The Misuari faction of the MNLF accused the government of abrogating its agreements with the group when it held negotiations with the MILF which led to the creation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
A botched anti-terrorism operation where alleged MILF fighters killed elite cops in January 2015 scuttled the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the enabling law of the CAB.
The Duterte government is now in the process of consolidating all agreements with all Moro groups to finally achieve peace in southern Philippines.
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