Police, military confident of MILF's commitment to peace process

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — Officials are certain the effort of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to control the spread of terrorists in Maguindanao will boost the Mindanao peace process.

Four militants in a group claiming allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria were killed while three others were wounded in an encounter with MILF forces in Sharif Saidona town on Wednesday

Two MILF guerrillas wounded in the three-hour skirmishes are now in a hospital, being assisted by the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

They were among dozens dispatched by senior MILF commanders to hunt down an ISIS-inspired group led by Esmael Abdulmalik.

He is a leader of one of three factions in the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Major Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said on Thursday that they will help in the medication of wounded MILF guerrillas Kamsa Karinda and Naeem Musico.

Dela Vega said the MILF’s effort to clear Barangay Pusaw in Sharif Saidona from occupation by Abdulmalik and his men was coordinated with military units in Maguindanao province.

Chief Superintendent Reuben Theodore Sindac, police director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, told The STAR via mobile phone Thursday that he is optimistic the MILF will sustain its support to Malacañang’s effort to prevent the spread of violent religious extremists (VREs) in the south.

The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, which are both in mainland Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“The gesture of the MILF is well appreciated,” Sindac said.

The hostilities on Wednesday in Barangay Pusaw erupted when gunmen led by Abdulmalik attacked MILF guerrillas out to check on the reported convergence there of VREs displaying the black ISIS flag.

Four militants were killed in the initial exchange of gunfire, according to local officials and barangay elders.

The government and the MILF are bound by an interim accord, the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities, to mutually cooperate in neutralizing terrorists and criminals in conflict-flashpoint areas in the south.