MARAWI, 20 September — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday said its command in Lanao del Sur province in the southern Philippines had started mobilizing a unit to help rescue the four teachers kidnapped last Friday by local bandits.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said they were intervening "in response to the clamor by various civil society groups urging the MILF to come into the picture in the name of humanity."
He said they are also taking action in fulfillment of an agreement the MILF signed with the government on May 6, in which its fighters would cooperate with government security forces in fighting kidnap gangs and other criminal syndicates in Mindanao.
The four victims were teachers of the Mindanao State University’s (MSU) elementary department in Marawi City.
Armed men seized them from a passenger jeepney while they were on their way home to nearby Iligan City.
Authorities had earlier tagged former MSU security personnel as prime suspects in the kidnapping. A ransom demand of two million pesos had been forwarded to the MSU officials, with a letter demanding the resignation of the university president, Dr. Camar Umpa.
Police have yet to pinpoint the exact location of the kidnap victims. Kabalu said they have information that the kidnap gang had brought their victims to an island in Lake Lanao.
