ISULAN, Philippines, 28 July — The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) yesterday threw its support behind joint efforts by government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to weed southern Mindanao of criminal syndicates.

Alano Bansuan, chair of the MNLF Central Kuatwato State Revolutionary Committee (CKSRC), cited the need by legitimate groups to take a ommon stand against criminal elements.

Bansuan said the campaign would cover the Pentagon Kidnap for Ransom Group of Faisal Marohombsar, who is now being hunted by the police and the object of a shoot-to-kill order by the MILF.

The MNLF participation in this particular issue, however, would be more on intelligence activity, said Bansuan, who is a member of the 14-man executive council that toppled MNLF chair and founder Nur Misuari last year.

Marohombsar, who escaped from maximum security prison at Camp Crame in Quezon City on June 19, was reported on Thursday to be negotiating his surrender to the government.

This came a day after the MILF announced its shoot-to-kill order on the ground that the Pentagon group was giving Islam as well as the revolutionary movement a bad name.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu yesterday observed that Marohombsar had been “singing a different tune” lately by claiming to media that he had at one time been connected with the MILF.

“That’s an outright lie!” said Kabalu, who said Marohombsar had never been a member or an ally of the MILF.

“Apparently, he wants to legitimize his planned surrender, which will be his 3rd, said Kabalu.

President Gloria Arroyo on Friday got a bum steer when she announce prematurely Marohombsar’s surrender, nly to admit the negotiations were still going on.

Marohombsar’s lawyer, Firdausi Abbas, who is negotiating for him, said yesteray the talks were still going on and warned that his client would not give in unless he received certain legal guarantees.

Abbas also charged that government officials were pressuring Marohombsar to surrender quickly in order to save face for Arroyo.

Norberto Gonzales, the Arroyo adviser who was negotiating with Marohombsar, said the fugitive wanted to meet with Arroyo “unconditionally,” before surrendering.

Gonzales said he was still due to talk on the phone with Marohombsar for further negotiations but would give no deadline for the fugitive to turn himself in.

Arroyo’s spokesman, Ignacio Bunye, said the president’s mistake was due to “pure miscommunication.”

He said that Marohombsar could not dictate conditions toward the government and that the only thing a negotiator could offer him is “a guarantee of safety and a guarantee of due process.”