MANILA: The Philippines will file criminal cases against 90 rebels for the death of 35 police commandos during a deadly January clash in the south, the justice minister said on Thursday, to assuage a public outcry for justice.

Philippine leader Benigno Aquino faces his biggest political crisis over a botched operation to capture a top militant as his popularity ratings have plunged to their lowest in five years.

The demands for justice have heaped pressure on Aquino to abandon a peace deal signed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest rebel group in the main Catholic country, and seek retribution for the troopers’ deaths.