COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 13, 2012) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, handed over to the military two army soldiers caught spying inside a guerrilla base in the southern region of Mindanao.
The two infantrymen – Sergeant Sammy Pasadilla and Private First Class Jamer Maulana – were apprehended by rebels inside Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town during a recent plenum attended by hundreds of thousands of MILF members and supporters.
“The soldiers were nabbed inside Camp Darapanan. It was espionage alright and they violated the provision of the cease-fire agreement. We handed the duo to the military after interrogating the soldiers,” Von Al-Haq, a rebel spokesman, told the Mindanao Examiner.
It was not immediately known whether the soldiers were armed with guns, but one of them was carrying a camera. The plenum was led by the secluded leader of the MILF, Murad Ebrahim, and his deputies.
“Both soldiers were clad in civilian clothes and had tried to blend with the crowd when rebels spotted them acting suspiciously,” Al-Haq said.
The two men were turned over by the MILF – which is currently negotiating peace with Manila – to the international cease-fire observers in Cotabato City who handed them to the Philippine military.
The two soldiers belong to the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao province.
The MILF is fighting for decades for a separate Muslim homeland in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
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