ZAMBOANGA CITY - Security has been tightened in Cotabato City's Awang airport and the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division and three towns in Maguindanao following reports of a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) "plot" to attack these places.
According to a highly informed source, an MILF unit, led by one Commander Putao, is positioned to pound the government installations with mortars. The targeted towns are Talayan, Datu Piang and Shariff Aguak, all in Maguindanao.
The planned attacks, the source said, are meant to divert the attention of government forces conducting an offensive in Carmen, North Cotabato where at least 14 Moro guerrillas have been killed in sporadic clashes.
MILF officials, however, denied such an attack plot, saying their forces were merely on the defensive.
This developed as Lt. Gen. Edgardo Espinosa, chief of the Armed Forces' Southern Command, said the military has set up blockades in coastal areas in Central Mindanao to thwart any landing of arms shipments for the MILF, as reports indicated.
Espinosa said the Philippine Navy has intensified patrols in Matimus Point and Malabang in Lanao del Sur, and in the coastal areas of Sultan Kudarat, Saran-gani and Maguindanao.
The MILF also belied the alleged arms shipments, saying it manufactures weapons at Camp Abubakar, its largest camp in Buldon, Maguindanao.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Gre-gorio Camiling, commander of the Army's 6th Infantry Division, said the military has cleared three villages in Carmen, North Cotabato of MILF guerrillas, following an intense bombardment and ground assault.
Soldiers have temporarily sealed off the Cotabato-Bukidnon highway due to the presence of 500 armed MILF rebels.
Senators Teofisto Guingona and Robert Barbers called for the deployment of Marines to Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte and other parts of Mindanao because of "harassment and terrorism" being waged by the MILF. - Efren Danao, Alvin Tarroza