AFP still hands-off on MILF and breakaway former commander Umbra Kato

MANILA, Philippines—The Armed Forces of the Philippines remains hands-off on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Ameril Umbra Kato, who was its former commander and now leader of the breakaway group, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement.

In a press briefing, AFP spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos said Kato remains to be an internal issue of the MILF group and the Islamic group will have to decide on their plan of action regarding their breakaway commander.

“This has to be resolved by them. We will have to wait for the advisory from the peace panel,” Burgos said.

Burgos said the MILF leadership will have to decide on what course of action they will take against Kato and then forward their recommendation to the peace panel’s ad-hoc Joint Action Group and the Coordination Committee on the Ceasation of Hostilities.

The peace panel will then come up with its decision based on the MILF’s recommendation.

The military can only attack Kato and his men if they receive an order from the peace panel, Burgos said.

He added the police cannot arrest Kato who has a standing warrant of arrest until there is a recommendation from the peace panel since the rebel leader is hiding in the area covered by a ceasefire agreement in relation to the on-going peace talks.

“Until there’s no advisory coming from the peace panel then we will not execute, because as of now this is still an internal issue within the MILF,” Burgos told reporters.

Nevertheless, the military spokesman said the military will continue with their mandate to protect the people in case Kato’s men wreak havoc in Mindanao.

“As far as the Armed Forces of the Philippines is concerned, we continue our mandate, which is to protect the people and the state. Not any individual or group can prevent us from performing our mandate and we have to protect our people and our citizens,” Burgos said.

Kato was formerly the commander of the MILF’s 105^th Command, which was behind the atrocities in North Cotabato in 2008 after the Supreme Court ruled that the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain was unconstitutional. Kato’s groups splintered from the MILF early this year despite the resumption of peace talks between the government and the MILF’s central leadership.