PNP, Army braces for BIFF harassment

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 20): PNP, Army braces for BIFF harassment

Police and military authorities here have been placed on heightened alert following public statement by outlawed Moro armed men it will attack the provincial capitol.

Senior Supt. Danilo Peralta, North Cotabato provincial government, said all exit and entry points of the province from Maguindanao have been sealed.

“We also increased our intelligence gathering activities because we are not taking any chances,” Peralta told reporters.

Earlier, Abu Misri Mama, speaking for the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) which is locked in an armed conflict with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), accused North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Mendoza of bribing the MILF to prevent the BIFF from entering the province.

”Gov. Mendoza is funding Jack Abas of the MILF to attack us,” Mama said.

Mendoza vehemently denied the charges.

”I have no business meddling with the MILF or BIFF,” Mendoza said. “My massive development projects in interior villages of Pikit could have been misinterpreted as a bribe to the MILF,” Mendoza said.

Mendoza was fuming mad when she heard Mama’s allegations. “I have no power over the MILF but my office has been providing livelihood assistance and projects to Muslim communities, including in areas where the MILF operates,” she added.

“We have intelligence information that the improvised bombs set off by BIFF in North Cotabato, particularly in Kabacan and Mlang towns came from the Liguasan marshland,” Peralta said.

Army Colonel Audie Edralin, 7th Infantry Battalion, said the Army is also on alert, providing back up to the local police in every municipality.

Clashes erupted anew between MILF and BIFF armed group in the village of Bulol, Pikit, North Cotabato Friday dawn.

Barangay Bulol was among the three villages considered by local officials as “no man’s land” after the warring groups locked in long standing family feud had been fighting since last week.

The clashes in Barangay Kalbugan, Pagalungan between BIFF and MILF has escalated to other communities in Pikit. Close to 18,000 civilians have been displaced.

The BIFF, MILF clashes which already claimed fatalities on both sides occurred three weeks after the Mamasapano debacle that left 44 elite police, 18 rebels, four civilians and Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Bin Hir alias “Marwan” dead.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=737397