Philippine police eye to cooperate with MILF in Mindanao

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is looking forward to launching more aggressive operations against lawless elements in southern Philippine inland of Mindanao after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had committed to support PNP against local criminals, a senior police officer said Tuesday. PNP Chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome said the police appreciate the commitment, which was made by the former rebel group MILF under the framework agreement with the Government of the Philippines (GPH), believing it's a magnanimous gesture of support to efforts by the PNP to crackdown on "lawless elements" in Mindanao. "With this commitment by the MILF, the PNP can look forward to more aggressive police operations against lawless elements similar to the recent operations launched in Sultan Kudarat and Basilan that led to the capture of two sub-leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group, " he said. Bartolome said the PNP considers the Abu Sayyaf Group, Jemaah Islamiyah, and the so-called breakaway groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) as lawless elements because of their continued violation of the law. As such, these groups will be subject to relentless law enforcement operations, he added. MILF, the country's largest rebel group which has been pushing for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao, signed a peace framework agreement with the Philippine government on Oct. 15.