EDITORIAL - Another breakaway group

The Moro Islamic Liberation front broke away from the Moro National Liberation Front during the original peace process with Muslim secessionists. When it was the MILF’s turn to talk peace, another group also broke away – or at least that’s what the nation has been led to believe – and formed the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters or BIFF.

MILF commanders have claimed to have no control over the BIFF, attributing to the splinter faction armed attacks on government forces during a ceasefire and coddling of top terrorists. The true nature of ties between the MILF and BIFF has been questioned after the two groups joined forces in Maguindanao against police commandos who tried to capture Jemaah Islamiyah bomb makers Zulkifli bin Hir or Marwan and Basit Usman, the former MILF special operations group commander.

No explanation seems to be forthcoming from the MILF. Now there are reports that the BIFF itself has its own splinter group, calling itself the Justice for Islamic Movement or JIM. Like the MILF when it broke away, the new rogue faction tends to be more violent and vicious than the mother unit, further complicating a peace process badly shaken by the slaughter of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25.

Malacañang has vowed to nip JIM in the bud. Going by the record in neutralizing the BIFF, however, there are valid concerns that the government will be unable to deliver. The government said the MILF would help fight the JIM. Again, after what happened in Mamasapano, this is hardly reassuring.

The new group is supposed to be headed by a commander who had a falling-out with the BIFF’s ailing leader Ameril Umbra Kato. The commander is said to be a radical Islamic cleric trained in extremist violence in the Middle East and who used to raise foreign funding for the BIFF. The new group is allegedly providing sanctuary to Usman, who escaped the police commando raid in Mamasapano, and at least five other terrorists. The JIM’s emergence raises more questions about the extent of control that the MILF has over the armed groups operating in Mindanao.