Muslim leader denies plot to kill Bayani

"We have no plan of hurting the good Chairman Bayani Fernando. In fact we are solidly behind his efforts to put order in the streets."

This was the reaction of Datu Amerol-Gulam Ambiong, chairman of Metro Manila Muslim Peace and Order Coordinating Council (MMMPOC), to reports that his group was planning to assassinate the head of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) over the latter’s relentless drive against sidewalk vendors.

In a telephone call to The STAR, Ambiong said he was earlier misquoted by a tabloid reporter who then relayed the wrong information to Fernando.

"What I told to that reporter was that if ever Chairman Fernando visits Mindanao, he might not return alive due to the hatred of some Muslim vendors who were unjustly and cruelly driven away from the streets," Ambiong said.

He added that Muslim vendors don’t deny violating certain MMDA ordinances, but his people are appealing to MMDA personnel to drive them away "in a humane manner."

Vendors are decrying the burning of their goods and violent dispersal operations, one of which has resulted in the death of two Muslim vendors, according to Ambiong.

These vendors, he said, left Mindanao to escape the fighting between government troops and separatist rebels. They want to live peacefully in Metro Manila and simply earn a living.

"However, they cannot compete with moneyed traders who can afford the P5,000 rent for a stall. Worse, during dispersal operations, their goods are either burned or confiscated," Ambiong said.

He also clarified that his group is composed of peace-loving Muslims and will not resort to violence to further their cause.

"In fact, PNP chief Gen. Arturo Lomibao had supported the upgrading of the MMMPOC to the national level of which I am also the chairman," Ambiong said.

To defuse further animosity between his group and the MMDA, Ambiong said he will seek a dialogue among his leaders and Fernando.