ZAMBOANGA CITY, 28 July 2007 — Amid pressure from peace advocates and donor countries, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday suspended a planned military offensive against rebels blamed for the deadly July 10 attack on government troops in the southern island of Basilan.

Arroyo gave the order after a meeting with top military and police commanders in the southern port city of Zamboanga, said armed forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. later said.

Arroyo, who wore a camouflage fatigue vest with a presidential seal, did not issue any statement.

“We’re suspending offensives until the investigation on the beheading incident is through,” Esperon told a news conference, referring to a joint team from the government, the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and non-government organizations that was formed to investigate the attack.

Among the objectives of the investigation was to pinpoint who were responsible for decapitating 10 of the 14 Marines killed in the nine-hour gunbattle in Al-Barka town on July 10.

The MILF has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Marines, but disowned the beheadings, which military intelligence say may have been done by the private armies of local politicians.

Also to be looked into by the probe team was the MILF’s claim that Marines encroached into rebel territory in violation of a standing cease-fire agreement between the government and the separatist group, prompting the attack.

The military has said the soldiers were returning to their base in nearby Lamitan town in the morning of July 10 after a vain search for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi in Al-Barka town when they were ambushed by guerrillas.

Bossi, who was kidnapped on June 10 from his parish in Zamboanga Sibugay province in mainland Mindanao, was released last week in Lanao del Norte province, far from Basilan.

An MILF official has said the military was fed false intelligence and led into rebel territory.

Last weelend, Esperon himself MILF until Sunday to surrender the those behind the attack and decapitations or face an offensive.

Adding fuel to the fire, President Arroyo herself sent a company of her own elite presidential guards to Basilan to join the offensive, prompting hundreds of residents to empty villages in Al-Barka town.

As the MILF rejected the government ultimatum and vowed not to surrender anyone, the possibility of an escalation of violence grew.

But a warning by Japan and Canada to pull out of vital aid projects in the southern Philippines if Manila carries out punitive operations appeared to have taken an effect on those pushing for war.

The embassies of Japan, Canada and the World Bank wrote to the government this week expressing concern about the possibility of a military offensive in the south, where they have aid projects.

World Bank Mindanao coordinator Mary Judd called for restraint, warning that “an escalation would threaten the chances of achieving a peaceful resolution to this crisis, or much worse, totally derail the ongoing peace process.”

She wrote that due to the peace process, “several donor-supported programs and projects are now under implementation in Mindanao for roads and bridges, agricultural development and education, among others.” Fighting in Basilan is also potentially embarrassing for Arroyo, who will host foreign ministers from the ASEAN, Japan, China, the European Union and other countries in Manila next week.

Esperon, in explaining yesterday’s “no offensive” decision, said it would also give the courts time to issue an arrest warrant against those behind the mutilations.

“We’re also waiting for the local court to issue the warrants of arrest against those suspected to have taken active part in the carnage,” he said.

The police in Basilan yesterday filed murder charges against 40 members of the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf militant group, who were suspected in the attack.

The predominantly Roman Catholic Philippines’ hopes of an early restart to peace talks with the MILF, which had been hampered by disagreements over the coverage of an autonomous Muslim region. (Additional input from agencies)