COTABATO CITY, 25 July —The largest Muslim separatist rebel group in the southern Philippines has issued a shoot-to-kill order against leaders of a notorious kidnapping-for-ransom syndicate, a spokesman said yesterday.
Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said a massive manhunt was under way for Pentagon gang leader Faizal Marohombsar and his lieutenant Tahir Alonto in the southern region of Mindanao.
“We have ordered our forces to arrest Marohombsar and Alonto,” he said. “And if they resist, the order is to shoot and kill them.”
Kabalu said the order aims to show the MILF’s sincerity in helping the Philippine government fight kidnapping-for-ransom in Mindanao and dispel accusations by the military and police that the rebel group was harboring the Pentagon leaders.
“It is time to put an end to the illegal activities of the Pentagon gang,” he said. “It’s either they reform or face death.”
The Pentagon gang has been held responsible for a series of abductions of foreigners in Mindanao last year, including an Italian priest, a South Korean businessman and four Chinese nationals, two of whom were killed.
Police authorities have also issued a shoot-to-kill order against Marohombsar who was arrested in February while visiting relatives in Manila but escaped from detention in June.
Earlier, Kabalu accused some sectors in government of using the MILF as scapegoat by accusing the group of protecting kidnappers.
“This is what be called confidence building. We want to tell the government that the MILF is sincere in the peace talks and we really want to help the authorities curb criminality in Mindanao,” Kabalu said.
The MILF has been fighting for the establishment of an independent Islamic state in Mindanao since 1978. The rebel group is holding peace talks with the government in a bid to reach a political settlement to its struggle.
