MILF urged: Recall protest vs shelling

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao — Muslim clerics and political leaders here urged the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday to withdraw its formal protest against the military’s shelling of its guerrilla forces in the province.

The Moro guerrillas are said to be coddling Commanders Said Pakiladatu and Amiril Kato Ombra, both tagged in the June 23 bombing here that left seven people dead and caused injuries to more than a dozen others.

"The residents of Shariff Aguak (are the ones who) should file a protest against the MILF for not turning over the bombing suspects to the police for questioning to determine the extent of their involvement in the atrocity. (Denying) their involvement (in) radio (interviews) is not enough," said Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Ampatuan, who survived the bombing.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said in radio interviews that the front has filed a protest against the military for shelling its strongholds here and in neighboring Datu Unsay and Mamasapano towns.

Retired Gen. Ramos Santos, head of the government’s committee on the cessation of hostilities, said they have yet to receive the MILF’s formal complaint.

"There was bombardment from the military side and it is a clear violation of the truce," he said, adding though that they were determining what prompted the military to shell MILF positions.

Senior Superintendent Lomala Gunting, Maguindanao police director, said the Moro guerrillas have been fighting with village militias in at least five barangays since Thursday.

Gunting said the rebels provoked the hostilities when they opened fire on policemen tasked to serve arrest warrants for Pakiladatu and Ombra.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu, however, has denied that Pakiladatu and Ombra had a hand in the bombing, saying there was no solid evidence linking them to the attack.

Military sources said the shelling was a "pre-emptive strike" to prevent more than 500 MILF rebels from marching toward this town to reinforce their comrades battling with civilian volunteers and militiamen in five barangays.

The MILF has a low-level agreement with the government, mandating its leaders to cooperate with the military and the police in going after criminals in ceasefire-covered areas.

The accord also restrains the MILF and the military from conducting tactical maneuvers without prior coordination.

Pakiladatu and Ombra were also implicated in the Dec. 23, 2003 bombing in Datu Piang town, which killed 18 people, including Ampatuan’s mayor-son, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, and municipal treasurer Nash Macapendeg.