Lobregat said he explained to the team during their courtesy call last Wednesday that Zamboanga City is not part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and should not be made venue of the office.

Lobregat also said he suggested to the Malaysian team to set up office in the conflict-affected areas in the ARMM.

The proposed office would have been guarded jointly by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the MILF. But Lobregat warned he would order the arrest of armed MILF members who would come to the city, stressing the city “recognizes only one armed forces and that is the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”

He said he would not allow any armed MILF member to roam the city, adding the local government in coordination with the military and police is strictly enforcing the gun ban.

Because of Lobregat’s opposition, Jun Mantawil, chair of the MILF peace panel secretariat urged the Philippine government to be decisive in handling ‘dissenters’ within its ranks if it wants the peace process to move forward and succeed.

Mantawil said that during the 5th GRP-MILF Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on February 19 to 20 this year, the government proposed the main headquarters of the IMT would be Zamboanga City.

But the MILF, he said, proposed Cotabato City, claiming the main power base of the MILF is in Central Mindanao.

The Malaysian contingent of the IMT arrived in Manila on October 9 and is now dispatched to five cities in Mindanao - Zamboanga, Cotabato, Iligan, Davao and General Santos.

A 10-man team from Brunei is expected to arrive on October 20 and will fly to Cotabato City where they are to be assigned.