MANILA — The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) recovered items from sites where the troops encountered members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao.
Some of these items are Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) uniforms and t-shirts that say “BIFF of the MILF.”
However, 6th Infantry Division spokesperson Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay said that the shirts are not enough proof of connections between the BIFF and the MILF.
“It’s possible na suot-suot ng BIFF ‘yung uniform ng MILF or nabili [nila]. Hindi natin alam, hindi natin masabi sa ngayon kung bakit may MILF uniform doon pero hindi nakapagtataka,” Petinglay said.
(It’s possible that the BIFF just wore or bought the MILF uniform recovered in the site. We don’t know, we can’t say for sure why there were MILF uniforms in the site, but it’s not strange [to find it there].)
It is known that the BIFF is the faction of MILF which broke away after the latter decided to cooperate with the Philippine government in the peace process.
Meanwhile, government efforts and troops continue to pacify the forces of BIFF in certain areas in Mindanao.