The Philippine military is ready to help police arrest leaders of a Muslim separatist group charged with last week's fatal bombings in Manila, an official said Sunday.
But a spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) again rejected the government's claim it was behind the bombings and warned their leaders would not go down without a fight.
Military southern command spokesman Colonel Fredesvindo Covarrubias said government troops could be tapped to help police in taking into custody leaders of the 13,000-strong MILF after they were accused of plotting the successive December 30 bomb attacks that killed 22 and injured about 100.
"The military is supportive of the Philippine National Police and if there is an arrest warrant for MILF leaders, troops could be used as backup to policemen in serving the warrant," he said.
He said however that troops would not hesitate to seize any wanted MILF leader in the event an encounter took place.
National police chief Panfilo Lacson on Friday ordered the filing of multiple murder charges against MILF chairman Hashim Salamat, his military chief Mohammad Murad, political adviser Ghadzali Jaafar and several other MILF members who allegedly took part in the attacks.
Lacson said there was clear evidence linking Afghan-trained MILF rebels to the bombings, adding that police planned to "neutralize the leadership" of the group.
President Joseph Estrada subsequently ordered suspension of peace talks with the MILF which were earlier planned to resume this year.
Talks collapsed last year when government troops overran the MILF's main headquarters in the south in a major offensive ordered by Estrada.
Estrada had recently made peace overtures with the MILF before the bombings occurred.
The MILF has been waging a 22-year insurgency aimed at establishing an independent Islamic state in the south.
"We cannot tolerate this. What they have done is a major blow not only in the lives of people but also in the livelihood of people, in terms of foreign investment, tourists and our economy," Estrada said on Saturday.
But MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu on Sunday flatly rejected the accusations, stressing that ongoing rebel offensives were confined to the main southern island of Mindanao and targetted only troops, not civilians.
He said it was "alright" for the government to suspend the talks, because "we are not the ones who are seeking its resumption."
Accusing the MILF of carrying out the bomb attacks was a "convenient excuse" for Philippine police who do not have leads on the real suspects, Kabalu claimed.
MILF leaders, he said, are not covered by Philippine laws because they do not recognize the constitution, and any attempts to arrest them could lead to bloodshed.
"We are ready to die for our cause. We are ready for any eventuality," Kabalu told AFP in a phone interview from his Mindanao base -- ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AFP)
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