Maximum restraint being observed by MILF

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) maintained Tuesday that it would exercise maximum restraint while the police serve arrest warrants on 130 people suspected of killing and mutilating Marines in Basilan last July 10. MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal also said they will continue to abide by the actions of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) and the Malaysian government. "We will observe maximum restraint," Iqbal said in an interview on dzRH radio, reiterating what the MILF said on July 26 was its standing order to its fighters. However, Iqbal said MILF forces under "Commander Bravo" will have to "defend themselves" if they find themselves attacked. The same holds true for other MILF forces in the area, he said. "They (Military and police) know and we know they had nothing to do with the beheadings," he claimed. Some 250 police personnel jumped off at 4 a.m. Tuesday to serve arrest warrants on 130 men linked to the killing and mutilation of Marines last July 10. On the other hand, Iqbal reiterated that what happened last July 10 was a "legitimate encounter" as the Marines who were looking for kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi never "coordinated" with them. However, Chief Superintendent Joel Goltiao, police director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, admitted that the police do not know how the suspects look like. Senior Superintendent Alex Macapantar, Basilan police chief, said his office received arrest warrants Monday for 127 identified MILF and Abu Sayyaf members on charges of multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder. The case was filed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines before the Zamboanga City prosecutor's office but it was forwarded to the Basilan court, said Macapantar. "It is different from the case we filed last Thursday at the Basilan provincial prosecutor's office," he said, adding that the court may just consolidate later instead the two sets of charges. Macapantar said the warrants were issued by Basilan Judge Leo Jay Principe last July 26. Military forces in Basilan, that now total about 5,000, will assist the police in serving the warrant. About 1,000 families or 5,321 people have been evacuated from six villages of Al-Barka town. - GMANews.TV