MILF: Field chiefs told to free hostages
By Ben O. Tesiorna and Peng Aliņo
But the central committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was quick
to say that the casualties on the civilian side during the attack on the town
were just "collateral damage."
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said they already ordered Kumander Aloy, overall
chief of the group in the Zamboanga peninsula, to coordinate with all the other
field commanders in the area to ensure the immediate release of the remaining
four civilian hostages if they are indeed in the hands of the rebels.
"Pero sabi kasi ng mga field commanders namin dun wala daw silang tinangay
na mga hostages eh," Kabalu said. (But our field
commanders in the area said they did not take any hostages.)
Kabalu also denied it was their intention to attack the civilian areas in
Siocon.
He said what happened was that the attack on the 44th Infantry Brigade (IB)
detachment, led by Kumander Maulana Mapadtawa, spilled over into the Siocon
municipal hall.
"At kung meron mang mga sibilyanng nasaktan at namatay ay tinuturing
naming collateral damage ang mga ito," he added. (And if there were
civilians hurt or killed, we consider them collateral damage.)
Kabalu said he had a long talk with Siocon Mayor Caesar Soriano, whom the MILF
official claimed was his friend.
He said he assured the mayor that the MILF central
committee did not order the attack on civilian areas nor was there an order to
kill Soriano.
"Tinanong kasi ako ni Soriano kung bakit
pinapapatay daw naming sya. Sabi ko naman sa kanya na wala kaming order na
ganun," Kabalu narrated. (Soriano asked me why we wanted him dead and I
said that there was no such command.)
The MILF spokesman said that after the fall of
On President Arroyo's branding of the Siocon attack as an act of terrorism, Kabalu
said the she should be fair in treating the issue at hand.
"Bakit nung gi-atake ba ng military ang mga Muslim areas sa Pikit kung
saan maraming sibilyang Muslim ang namatay at nawalan ng kabuhayan, hindi ba act of terrorism yun? Ilang libong residente ba ang patuloy
na naghihirap ngayon dahil sa kanilang military operations," Kabalu said.
(How about when the military attacked Muslim areas in Pikit, wherein a lot of
civilian lost their lives and means of living, wasn't that an act of terrorism?
How many thousands of residents continue to suffer because of military
operations?)
The military raised the death toll in the raid to 28 -- 10 civilians, seven
rebels, six policemen and five soldiers -- from 22 on Sunday.
Col. Daniel Lucero, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman, said three
males and a female civilian remain in the hands of the MILF rebels.
Lucero admitted they did not expect the MILF attack on Siocon town. He said the
military concentrated its security measures in the mining areas and other vital
installations in Siocon.