Sarangani townsfolk fear attack by Moro guerrillas

GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Recollections of the savage attack on Ipil town in Zamboanga del Sur a few years ago give leaders of Mailum, Sarangani the shivers as they are apprehensive their municipality might suffer the same fate.

Triggering this fear is a letter purportedly from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) received by Mailum councilor Bernie Villanueva, threatening to attack the town on April 29.

But the Moro rebel group, Villanueva said, gave no reason for the threat.

Compounding the Mailum officials' fears are the more than a thousand MILF fighters posted at Camp Abu Obaida at the town's boundary with Palem-bang, Sultan Kudarat. The rebels belong to the MILF's 204th Brigade under Commander Tigre Jakiri.

Last year, heavy fighting erupted in the area, which left at least 15 people dead and sent more than 5,000 villagers fleeing their homes.

Villanueva called on the military to beef up its presence in the area and ensure the security of residents. He has given the purported MILF letter to the provincial peace and order council.

This city's mayor, Adelbert Antonino, alerted his constituents yesterday on the reported presence of an Abu Sayyaf hit squad in the city.

Although the military has yet to confirm the report, Antonino said city residents must be vigilant and report to authorities the presence of suspicious individuals or armed groups.

The Abu Sayyaf, a fundamentalist Moro group, has threatened to sow terror in major urban centers where it claimed to have active units.

The extremist group has been linked to a series of kidnappings for ransom, bombings, harassment and extortion activities in Mindanao.