MILF pushes for 'impartial' probe on Maguindanao blast

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) called Saturday for an investigation into the deadly explosion of two improvised bombs in Maguindanao Thursday night. Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) spokesman Von al Haq made the call amid claims that the MILF was behind the incident. "We are calling for the probe in response to the baseless pronouncements of the government police and military officials pointing to MILF forces as the perpetrators of the deadly blast," he said on the MILF website. "Perhaps, the Malaysia-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) and its Civilian Protection Component (CPC) can conduct the immediate investigation," he added. He said that Col. Benjamin Hao of the Army's 6th Infantry Division had linked "lawless MILF group" to the incident in an interview with a local radio station in Cotabato City. The explosion hit a military convoy passing along Kabingi village in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Al-Haq branded claims that the MILF was behind the blast as "baseless, malicious and unprofessional." "The MILF has no hand in this incident. The MILF cannot benefit any from this incident, which can only affect the ongoing peace process between the government and MILF. But an impartial investigation must be conducted in order to really find out the truth," he said. Al-Haq assured the MILF will fully cooperate on the investigation. Said Shiek, Chairman of the MILF Ceasefire Committee, added the IMT has the mandate to investigate the incident. "With the many lawyers working with the IMT CPC, we are confident that the IMT can conduct and complete a credible investigation," he said. According to the MILF, the convoy of the Army's 29th Infantry Battalion came from Datu Paing after participating in a peace covenant signing held at Datu Salibo town for the Oct. 25 elections. A burst of gun fire supposedly ensued following the powerful blast as the military fired their assault firearms in retaliation toward suspected positions. Two village officials were found dead and another soldier was wounded. No casualty was found on the suspected position of the perpetrators. Salik Talipasan, barangay captain of Liab, Mamasapano and barangay councilor Hadji Nasser of Libutan were the fatalities. The two were onboard a multi-cab transport and was at the vicinity of the explosion area. Accordingly, they also came from the covenant signing. "However, information from various sources in the area said that immediately after the blast, the government soldiers just opened fire, which could have possibly hit and killed the two barangay officials. There was also no gun battle between the government soldiers and the alleged perpetrators. There was only one way firing from the positions of the government soldiers," the MILF explained. - TJD, GMANews.TV