The Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Thursday dismissed speculations that the group was involved in the bus blast in Makati City, saying the improvised explosive used was "ordinary" technology known to many armed groups and law enforcers.
MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal also offered to assist authorities in tracking down the perpetrators of the incident that killed at least five people on Tuesday, but said this may be done in an unofficial capacity as an agreement they signed with government to go after criminals had lapsed.
"Directly and officially we cannot help government, but in our own way we really want to help because the victims are civilians, which would be the concern of everybody," Iqbal said in an interview on dzRH radio.
He also brushed aside claims that the use of a mortar shell and a cell phone indicate that the MILF is involved in the Makati blast.
"Ang ganyang technology ay ordinary already. Maraming grupo na nakakaalam niyan -- ang AFP, PNP, ASG, NPA, kasama ang MILF," he said. Iqbal was referring to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, the communist New People's Army, and the Abu Sayyaf bandit group.
In a separate statement on the MILF website, MILF chief da'wah officer Sheikh Mohammad Muntassir said: “We do not target civilians. It is strictly prohibited in Islam that non-combatants are the object of war."
He called on the Aquino administration, especially the police and the military, not to make hasty statements linking the bomb attack to the MILF, saying "We are in a state of ceasefire with the government."
In the radio interview, Iqbal said in Filipino, "You have to look at the motive. What group has the most to gain from such an act? The MILF has no motive to do this."
Iqbal said the government and the MILF had formed an Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) but the group's mandate had lapsed. The AHJAG is among the topics to be taken up when the government and MILF resume formal peace talks in February.
"Signature" of bus blasts in Mindanao
Earlier, authorities said the use of an 81-mm mortar shell was the "signature" of past bus bombings in Mindanao.
In an interview on Unang Hirit on Wednesday, Metro Manila police chief Director Nicanor Bartolome said initial findings showed that a mobile phone was used to detonate the explosive device. He refused to say which group the authorities suspect to be behind the blast.
In a separate interview on Wednesday, Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said the initial findings indicate the bomb was similar to those used by groups in Central Mindanao.
"Ang gamit nito base sa karanasan nagamit ito sa Central Mindanao," Robredo told dzBB radio, referring to the buses bombed by extortion groups in the island.
He cited past incidents that used a similar improvised explosive device including the Rizal Day bombing on Dec. 30, 2000 and the Valentine's Day bombing of a bus in Makati City in 2005.
Cautious Aquino
President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday remained careful in pinpointing any groupor individual behind the Makati City bus bombing.
At a briefing after attending the 400th anniversary of the University of Santo Tomas, Aquino said members of the intelligence cluster of his Cabinet are reassessing the reports they have gathered so far.
“At this time, we will not point to any particular group," he told reporters. "We’re not even sure that the label ‘terrorists’ on perpetrators is most appropriate." Aquino said. — LBG/YA, GMANews.TV
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