2 MILF commanders deny role in Cotabato blast

At least two Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders linked to an explosion in Cotabato City last Friday denied the accusation and vowed to fight off any attempts to arrest them. Sun-Star Davao quoted MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu as saying on Monday that MILF 105th Base Command head Said Pakiladato and his deputy Ustadz Hawon had denied involvement in the blast. “They are not afraid of the military, they will fight them," Kabalu said, adding two are active members of the MILF and are not afraid to protect themselves from unjust accusations. Kabalu said the authorities should investigate further before implicating any MILF leader in the bombings because doing so without basis could further endanger the peace process. The denial stemmed from reports that Sr. Insp. Samson Obatay of the Cotabato City Police Office accused the two of having a hand in the latest explosion that injured three civilians. Obatay cited intelligence information that Pakiladato and Hawon were responsible for the explosion that occurred outside a refreshment parlor along busy Makakua Street at 11 a.m. Friday. According to Obatay, Pakiladato and Hawon carried out the attack in the name of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI). Also, he said the two were also involved in previous bombings, including those in Tacurong, Sultan Kudarat and Makilala, North Cotabato. But Kabalu maintained that this recent accusation against MILF members could be tainted with politics, adding the explosion could be a warm-up for the elections. Pakiladato once ran for mayor in a town in Maguindanao but lost. The winning mayor was later killed and Pakiladato was the one blamed, but the charge was not proven. Earlier, Pakiladato had been tagged as the mastermind in the 2003 explosion that killed Datu Piang Mayor Saudi Ampatuan. - GMANews.TV