Follow the law, Malacañang warns Ilaga vigilante group

MANILA, Philippines - Wary of a civil war that may erupt, Malacañang on Thursday warned a Mindanao-based armed group calling itself the Ilaga against using arms to fight the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Ilaga members should control themselves lest they engage the MILF in a never-ending war. "At first glance akala natin pwede natin sang-ayunan yan. (Pero) 'pag may civil war doon ... Hindi maaring pabayaan nating laban nang laban (at magiging) walang katapusan ang laban (At first glance, you would think we will allow them to engage the MILF in fighting. But what if civil war breaks out? We cannot allow this fighting to go on indefinitely)," Ermita said in an interview on dzBB radio. The Ilaga, or rats, came to national prominence in the 1970s when the government unleashed the military-backed vigilantes to help combat the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) of Nur Misuari. Ermita also warned them they may face charges of possession of deadly weapons if they indeed use arms to "defend" their villages against the MILF. "Ating rendahan sila, meron tayong batas na pinaiiral (We have to keep them in check. We have laws to follow)," he said. In a statement on Thursday, the MILF said the government should be held responsible for Ilaga members' actions, claiming the government created, or at least tolerates, the group. "We hold the Philippine government responsible for whatever savagery, barbarism, destruction committed by this gangster group against the Bangsamoro people," said MILF deputy spokesman Khaled Musa in the statement posted on the MILF website. "Rightist groups such as Ilagas cannot exist in the Philippines without the authority or at least the go signal from the dirty trick department of the national security department or the Armed Forces of the Philippines," he added. Musa said that as far as the MILF is concerned, the Ilaga is a mere “conglomeration" of Civilian Army Geographical Forces (CAFGUs), Civilian Volunteers Organizations (CVOs), and “private armies" of North Cotabato vice Governor Emmanuel Piňol and his “cohorts." Piñol is one of three Mindanao officials who publicly opposed the signing of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF on August 5. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV