MILF in Lanao provinces, not a threat says PNP

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 2): MILF in Lanao provinces, not a threat says PNP

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Northern Mindanao is not a threat to the people in the region, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Monday.

Pol. Supt. Gervacio Balmaceda, the PNP spokesperson in Northern Mindanao, said that the MILF has a camp in the boundary of Lanao Del Norte and Lanao Del Sur under Abdurahman Macapaar a.k.a “Kumander Bravo.”

Although the group of “Kumander Bravo” is not a threat to the people in Northern Mindanao, the PNP is not taking chances for fear that another group would sabotage the peace agreement between the government and the MILF, Balmaceda said.

Kumander Bravo led the infamous siege of the municipal town of Kauswagan in Lanao Del Norte sometime in 2000, Balmaceda said.

He said that Kumander Bravo is the only known MILF group in Northern Mindanao with an estimated 1,000 followers spread in the provinces of Lanao Del Norte and Lanao Del Sur.

The group of Bravo has a camp on the borders of the Lanao provinces, but most of the members are living with their families outside the MILF camp, Balmaceda said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=731587