MANILA, Philippines -- Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said he was "alarmed" at the reemergence of the “Ilaga” (literally rats in Visayan) vigilante group, saying this would not help end hostilities in Central Mindanao.

The Ilaga, which gained notoriety in the 1970s for its savagery during the government campaign against the Moro National Liberation Front, threatened to kill 10 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters for every civilian killed by the secessionist rebels.

The group’s atrocities triggered tit for tat fighting with the Blackshirts and Barracudas, which Muslims organized to counter the Ilaga.

"It's an alarming thing for me. I am quite alarmed by the resurgence of such kinds of groups. It does not help solve the situation," he told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo.

"I think the policy of having police auxiliaries is sufficient just to protect the communities but the Ilaga, with their connotation of having some quasi-cultural significance in conflict, is quite alarming," he added.

The Philippine National Police recently announced it had shipped 1,000 shotguns to arm civilian “police auxiliaries” and would send even more if the plan worked.

When asked whether the military would go after the Ilaga group if it pushed through with its threat to engage the MILF, Teodoro said: "Naturally that would be a consideration, not primarily, perhaps, for the military, but for the police."