MANILA — In the aftermath of a botched raid that left 44 elite police officers dead, several key lawmakers in the Philippines have withdrawn their support for legislation that would formalize a peace agreement with Islamic rebels in the country’s south, jeopardizing the landmark deal that was meant to end more than four decades of violence.
Some congressmen have called for retribution and the surrender of insurgents involved in the clash on Sunday that killed only a handful of rebels. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed the peace deal in March, was involved in the fighting.
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On Tuesday, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, Maria Lourdes Sereno, made a rare public statement, calling for sobriety in reaction to the fighting and continued support for the peace process.
“A call for war and retribution should never be made lightly and should remain always a final option,” she said. “It should certainly not be made in the heat of the moment and in the face of, as yet, unclear facts and confusing narratives.”
