Manero mum on Ilaga offer to fight MILF rebs

KORONADAL CITY – Norberto Manero, convicted priest killer and former supremo of the anti-communist Ilaga group, visited the wake in Iloilo of Lt. Col. Angelo Benitez, who was among those killed by marauding Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas last Monday, but kept mum on the reported offer of his Ilaga comrades to help the government in wiping out the rebels.

Manero, who was freed from prison last January, 23 years after he killed Italian priest Tulio Favali in 1985, said he was saddened with what happened to Benitez, his kasimanwa (townmate), and to the other government soldiers.

Benitez, along with six soldiers, was ambushed by MILF rebels in Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte last Monday while on their way to the headquarters of the Army’s Task Force Tabak in Iligan City.

The MILF rebels, led by Abduraman Macapaar alias Commander Bravo, attacked several villages in Lanao del Norte on Monday, killing at least 40 people, including Benitez.

The rebels also took several villagers as hostages as they burned and looted several houses in the mayhem. Monday’s attack was the bloodiest since a territorial deal with the MILF got stalled earlier this month.

In a Bombo Radyo interview, Manero said attacking innocent Christian civilians in Mindanao, particularly in North Cotabato, is just like waking up the “sleeping tiger,” referring to the anti-communist Ilaga group he formed at the height of the Moro rebellion in 1970s.

But Manero did not say if he would support the reported offer of three Ilaga commanders to the government to help its military forces in fighting the MILF rebels.

Also in Benitez’s wake were Secretaries Esperanza Cabral of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Gilbert Teodoro of the Department of National Defense, and some officials of the Armed Forces.

Teodoro reportedly handed to Benitez’s wife, Ma. Elena, the “distinguished conduct star medal” in honor for his “bravery” and for defending the country’s territory in Mindanao against the MILF guerrillas.

Reports reaching The STAR said a few days ago, three Ilaga commanders – Doruelo, Kilabot and Toothpick – secretly met in an undisclosed place in Central Mindanao and discussed how they, with their more than 5,000 followers, could help the government wipe out the Moro guerrillas.

Sources said the three Ilaga field commanders were “angry” because some of their families were displaced when the group of MILF Kumander Amiril Ombra Kato attacked five towns in North Cotabato.

In a statement sent to Bombo Radyo, Doruelo said the Moro rebels must pay for harassing and attacking innocent civilians in the provinces of North Cotabato, Sarangani and Lanao del Norte.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita urged the Ilaga members to control their emotions and let the government forces deal with the problem with the MILF rebels in Mindanao.