BIFF threats put police in Cotabato on alert

From InterAksyon (Feb 20): BIFF threats put police in Cotabato on alert

Police forces go on alert as the spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters Abu Misry Mama said Friday that BIFF forces would have no choice but to launch attacks on the provincial capitol and elsewhere in Cotabato.

Mama said this was in case Governor Emmylou Mendoza and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Base Commander Kumander Jack do not let up on the harassment campaign to drive his men from the province.

In a radio interview with Brigada News Cotabato radio, Mama underscored that his forces do not wish to put the safety and security of non-combatants at risk, but added that Governor Mendoza is paying off the forces under Abas to drive BIFF out.

"Kumander Jack should not allow himself to be used by Governor Emmylou Mendoza," Mama said.

Police investigation has been pointing at elements of the BIFF as the source of recent peace and order disturbance in the province.

Skirmishes between BIFF and the forces under Kumander Abas broke out in early February, with the running battles resulting in the displacement of an estimated 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in and around the tri-border Buliok Complex.

For her part, Governor Mendoza has denied that she has any deal with any group aimed at driving out BIFF from her province, even as she ordered intensified peace and order operations by the law enforcement establishment to ensure peace and security for her constituents.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/105483/biff-threats-put-police-in-north-cotabato-on-alert