Politician aiding Kato?

Manila, Philippines -  Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) leader Umbra Kato was hospitalized in Cebu City last month and assisted by a politician, according to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

In an article posted on its website luwaran.com, the MILF said the report from Cebu was corroborated by a government official in Maguindanao.

“We knew of Kato’s presence in Cebu one day after he arrived, but we kept the information close to our heart for humanitarian reasons,” the statement quoted an unnamed source as saying.

The MILF said Kato’s hospitalization was ”facilitated and bankrolled” by an unidentified politician.

Kato’s health condition prompted his lieutenant Mohammad Ali Tambako to take over the reins of the BIFM, it added.

Tambako, according to another source, is ”more radical” than Kato due to his closer contact with militant personalities while taking his Islamic studies in Khartoum, Sudan.

Kato, who has a P10-million bounty on his head, reportedly reassumed his post as BIFM chief last month.

“However, he was seen as very weak and frail even in reading his prepared speech,” the MILF statement said.

Some of the civilians displaced by the offensives of Kato’s group said the BIFM leader could neither stand nor walk around his bunker in Mount Firis without the help of at least two aides.

The military could not confirm reports that Kato was brought to Cebu last month for medical treatment.

But Col. Prudencio Asto, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Division, said Kato was brought out of his camp in Maguindanao during encounters with soldiers last Aug. 6.

The BIFM has been conducting offensives in Mindanao since Aug. 5.

The group first raided military detachments and camps along the Cotabato-General Santos Highway. The rebels also attacked areas near Datu Piang and Salibo in Maguindanao.

BIFM fighters also launched offensives in Barangay Magaslong, forcing thousands of civilians to evacuate.

Meanwhile, at least seven evacuees have volunteered to help the police identify and prosecute the leaders of the BIFM behind the attack on five Maguindanao towns.

The information office of Maguindanao said Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu expects more evacuees to testify against the BIFM commanders.

Mangudadatu’s chief information assistant, France Milla, said the governor is even ready to put up a reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspects.

Police director Manuel Barcena of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in South and Western Mindanao, earlier announced that a group of investigators, are documenting the BIFM-initiated atrocities in preparation for the filing of criminal cases against them.

– With John Unson