MILF denies anew hiding Al-Ghozi

Fugitive terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi is not under the protection of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), its spokesman said yesterday.

However, Eid Kabalu said the Philippine National Police (PNP) has sent emissaries to meet MILF representatives, apparently to ask for help in tracking down Al-Ghozi.

"He (Al-Ghozi) is not under our protection," he said in a telephone interview. "We have standing orders to capture wanted criminals and surrender them to government authorities."

Kabalu also denied reports that PNP chief Director General Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has been negotiating with the MILF rebels for Al-Ghozi to be turned over to the government.

"We cannot give what we do not have," he said. "We have nothing to talk or negotiate about."

Nothing happened in the meetings as the MILF has always maintained that Al-Ghozi is nowhere near its camps, he added.

It was reported earlier that Ebdane has been negotiating with an MILF band for Al-Ghozi’s surrender.

Reports said Al-Ghozi has sought sanctuary in an MILF camp in Kabuntalan, Maguindanao.

Al-Ghozi escaped from Camp Crame in Quezon City last July 14, along with Abu Sayyaf bandits Abdulmukim Edris and Omar Opik Lasal, alias Meram Abante.

Police say Al-Ghozi, who carries a P10-million bounty on his head, has admitted taking part in the Dec. 30, 2000 bombings in Metro Manila.

Al-Ghozi was sentenced to 10 to 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to illegal possession of explosives.

He led police to a ton of TNT explosives, which police believe was intended for attacks on Western targets.

Edris, head of the Abu Sayyaf’s urban and special operations and explosives team, was killed by soldiers last month while allegedly trying to grab the gun of his military escort on the way to a military camp in Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Lanao del Norte. — Mike Frialde