Ilaga founder denies reactivation of group - report

MANILA, Philippines - One of the founders of the “Ilaga," a group of Christians that once fought Muslim rebels in Central Mindanao, has belied claims that the group has been reactivated. The fear of the group's reactivation surfaced recently after suspected members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) launched attacks against some towns in several provinces and a masked man admitted the Ilaga's reactivation in a television interview. In an exclusive report, GMA News' Raffy Tima interviewed one of the group's founder. It was aired on 24 Oras on Wednesday. In the 24 Oras report, Ligaya Mumbay alias Commander Ligaya said she has nothing to do with a group of armed men that were interviewed by media claiming to be members of Ilaga – or the Integrated Liberator and Government Advocates. Ligaya recalled that she was just 16-years-old then when she joined the Ilaga to fight the rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Among the most celebrated officers of Ilaga is Norberto Manero, who was imprisoned for killing Italian priest Fr. Tulio Favali in Cotabato on April 1985. Aside from killing the priest, there was talk that Manero ate Favali’s brain. In 1987, Manero was convicted for the killing Favali. But in January 2008, after 22 years in jail, Manero was pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. We're Not ‘Aswang’ In Tima’s interview, Commander Ligaya denied the allegation that Ilaga members eat flesh or parts of their enemies' bodies. “Hindi totoo yan na magkain kami ng tao. Yun sinasabi nila na nagkain siguro yun tinatawag nilang aswang. Pero hindi naman kami aswang," Commander Ligaya explained. However, the lady commander admitted that they sometimes cut off the ears of their enemy. “Yung lang mga taenga ang ginakuha namin… nilalagay namin sa mga damit namin," she said. When the MNLF sealed a peace accord with the government in 1996, Tima said Ilaga members also laid down their arms. The dreaded group's name cropped up again last month when news reports came out saying that the Ilaga has been resurrected. “Hindi ako ‘yan ang nag-order. Nandyan yan sa government side. Walang mga Ilaga," Commander Ligaya stressed. But former lady commander declined to name who could be the government official behind the armed men who identified themselves as Ilaga members. For his part, MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, directly pointed to North Cotabato Vice Gov. Manny Pinol, as the one that calls for the Ilagas to come-out. “As far as document show and all his inflammatory statements points to one direction, that he is in control of the Ilaga. Ultra rightist group can only exist with the blessing or tolerance of the government," Igbal said. Pinol belittled Iqbal statement as MILF propaganda. Commander Ligaya, in the TV interview, said that the name of the Ilaga must not be used in the ongoing war in Central Mindanao provinces. She said that it would be better to just let group be, just a part of the history in the struggle for peace in Mindanao. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV