News of 4,000 MILF members defecting to MNLF 'not true'

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - A senior leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) brushed off and vehemently denied reports that roughly 4,000 of its fighters defected and joined the ranks of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) faction.

Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, branded the report as "incorrect" and a mere propaganda tactic to undermine the positive result of their peace effort with the government. 

“That’s not correct. It’s totally false,” he said when asked to confirm the claim of Ustadz Pendie Colano, MNLF commander based in Central Mindanao.

“No one has (broken away) from the MILF at this moment of time,” he added.

Colano, who claimed to be the overall chairman of the Selatan State Revolutionary Committee, a sub-wing of the MNLF was quoted in a report, saying that roughly 4,000 MILF fighters with four top commanders have joined forces with the MNLF.

The breakaway was reportedly a result of the discontentment of the "deserters" because they do not want to give up their high-powered firearms and ammunition as part of the normalization, an annex of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The MNLF leader claimed each of the commanders who severed ties with the MILF has 1,000 combatants.

The Annex on Normalization outlines steps to decommission MILF firearms. It is one of four annexes that comprised the CAB, which was signed by the government and MILF peace panels in Malacañang on March 27.

Under the Annex on Normalization, an independent decommissioning body composed of three foreign and four local experts will oversee the laying down of MILF guns.

Jaafar said no one from the MILF ranks is against the normalization process under the CAB.

“As a matter of fact, there are many people coming to our camp even before the signing of the agreement,” he said, adding “How much more (now that) we have already signed the agreement with the government of the Philippines?"

Jaafar also stressed that they are continuously engaging with leaders on the ground in order to update them on the peace process in Mindanao.

Jaafar appealed and called on the MNLF leadership instead to stand united with then and the Bangsamoro government to fully achieve peace in Mindanao.