MANILA, Philippines—Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno has refused to believe the claim of Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. that the secessionist rebels were behind the massacre of 57 civilians in Maguindanao.

“I think there’s no basis in saying that,” Puno said Friday when asked about Ampatuan’s allegation that Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels carried out the killings.

“It’s a public knowledge that nobody can enter that area without the consent of the Ampatuans,” he said in a mobile phone interview.

Ampatuan had blamed the MILF after a multiple murder case was filed against him by state prosecutors shortly before he was flown to Manila from General Santos City.