MANILA, Philippines -- Malacañang on Thursday warned the “Ilaga” (rat in Visayan) vigilante group against taking the law into its own hands and mounting operations against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Civilian personnel who are not authorized to carry firearms and are taking up arms [and airing a] threat of killing people in retaliation for certain incidents is pure and simple illegal," Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said at a news conference.

The vigilante group, which gained notoriety in the early 1970s for its savagery in the campaign against the Moro National Liberation Front, reemerged this week as the “Reformed Ilaga Movement” and threatened to kill 10 MILF members for every civilian the rebels killed.

"Whatever justification, whether to defend [your]self or run after [a] group, when you are unauthorized to carry firearms [what] you are doing [is] illegal," he added.

But Dureza said "certain arrangements" can be done "within the framework of the law" for groups or individuals who need to protect themselves, such as deputizing them as village guards.

Asked what the government intends to do with the Ilaga, Dureza said the Palace is leaving it up to law enforcers, particularly the Philippine National Police, to deal with the matter.