By MANNY MOGATO
Reuters
Fighting for control of Catholic farmlands on the Philippines' southern island of Mindanao might spread due to Muslim rebel frustration over a stalled territorial deal with Manila, a rebel leader said on Sunday.
"The current situation on the ground is very fluid and very volatile," Mohaqher Iqbal, chief peace negotiator for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), told Reuters in an interview.
"There's so much uncertainty and the worsening situation on (the) ground could threaten the entire peace process."
An eventual peace deal would unleash up to $100 million in development projects from international donors and foreign investment, giving a major boost to the Philippines' poorest region, which sits on rich oil, gas and mineral deposits and vast lands suitable for plantations.
The military shelled hundreds of MILF guerrillas on Sunday after it said they refused to leave Catholic areas in the province of North Cotabato in Mindanao prompting hundreds of residents to flee.
Troops and armoured vehicles moved in after they said rebels opened fire, killing one soldier and wounding three.
The fighting comes amid frustration within the MILF after the Supreme Court last week put on hold a territorial deal the group had agreed with the Catholic-dominated central government.
Analysts had warned fighting could spike after the decision as both sides flex their muscles, but an all-out war is not expected because neither side has the resources for an outright victory.
The territorial agreement expanded an existing Muslim homeland in the south and would give a future government of the resource-rich area wide political and economic powers.
Legal experts say the court will likely rule that the agreement is unconstitutional and order both sides back to the negotiating table.
But Iqbal said that was not an option.
"We will not agree to any re-negotiation. We don't know how the government would re-start the talks if the deal is declared unconstitutional," he said.
"We'll stick to the agreement."
Manila and the MILF have been negotiating for over a decade to end a conflict that has killed over 120,000 people and displaced 2 million in fighting since the late 1960s.
Iqbal said Manila should have consulted with Congress and the courts before it agreed the deal on territory.
"We have given up our secessionist position and we're very committed to the peace process," Iqbal said.
"I hope the central government could show the same sincerity and commitment. We're getting frustrated and we can't forever be taken for a ride."