COTABATO CITY, Philippines, 19 July — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday warned that it will hold the military responsible should there be breakdown in its cease-fire agreement with the government in some areas in Central Mindanao.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu issued the warning as he accused members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGUs), the government’s paramilitary unit, of widespread atrocities against MILF members and civilians.

“There will come a time when a 3-cornered fight between civilian and MILF against CAFGUs will take place should the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) fail to impose sanctions against erring and abusive CAFGU members,” Kabalu said.

He cited numerous incidents where CAFGUs, mostly poorly-educated local residents, misused their guns to “suppress basic human rights of the people in the community.” Kabalu cited one incident early on July 15 in the village of Bagyangan in barangay Minabay of Buldon, Maguindanao province. He said two civilians were killed and two MILF fighters were injured when they were fired upon by CAFGU member Alonto Kalbi.

The incident had already been brought to the attention of the government peace panel through the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), as CAFGUs are directly under the full control and supervision by the AFP.

When disgraced President Joseph “Erap” Estrada declared “all-out war” against the MILF two years ago, the military recruited 70,000 CAFGUs in Mindanao alone.

The idea was to utilize the CAFGUs as “occupation forces,” thus freeing the regular forces to continue their offensive activity in the southern regions.

Despite strong objections from the country’s civil society groups, the military has continued to push through with its plan recruitment of militias, Kabalu noted.

During the unlamented regime of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, members of the militia then known as the Civilian Home Defense Unit (CHDF) had also been tagged as the top violator of human rights in the country.

The most notorious of them is Norberto Manero, who is serving time in prison for murdering and eating the brain of Italian Catholic priest Tulio Favali in the Cotabato area sometime in the 80s.