Palace warns MILF against terror attacks
Malacaņang on Friday warned the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) against launching terror attacks in
Presidential Chief of Staff Rigoberto Tiglao said the palace received
intelligence reports that an MILF special operations group has planted tons of
improvised bombs in some areas of
Tiglao said MILF rebels are ready to detonate the bombs, some of
which are reportedly planted in public markets and schools.
"These are intelligence reports, but we are warning them
that any attack on civilians... will only confirm the growing perception that
[the MILF is] indeed a terrorist organization," Tiglao said.
"We hope that they would be brave enough to face our soldiers
in the field rather than detonate bombs in markets," he said.
In Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte, residents evacuated on Friday to
Labuan, Zamboanga City, after hundreds of suspected MILF rebels arrived.
Vener Virgilio Jaime of the Department of Interior and Local
Government said the evacuees are staying with friends and relatives.
Barangay officials are monitoring the evacuees to prevent MILF
infiltration.