COTABATO CITY (PNA) – The Philippine Army’s (PA’s) 6th Infantry Division here said that the ceasefire committee of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is cooperating in curtailing the movements of Moro guerrillas as thousands of government troops perform security measures in Maguindanao as an off shot of the November 23 massacre of 57 people in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao.

“There has been no untoward incident involving soldiers and MILF rebels in all areas where our troops operate since November 23,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, 6th Infantry Division (ID) spokesperson, said.

“This is an indication that low-level security agreements enjoining the government and the MILF to cooperate in addressing security concerns are working,” Ponce said.

For his part, MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said their fighters were under strict orders to remain in their respective areas and “do not take any action that would complicate the situation in Maguindanao.”

“There is an existing ceasefire and we are religiously abiding with it,” Kabalu told reporters.

“We have been cooperating because there are existing bilateral security agreements between us and the government mandating both sides to help one another in addressing security problems in areas covered by the ceasefire,” Kabalu said.

As this developed, Ponce said more soldiers and armored combat vehicles were fielded Wednesday in Shariff Aguak, capital town of Maguindanao, to guard the houses there of members of the Ampatuan clan after the prosecutors filed at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 15 in Cotabato City 25 counts of multiple murder charges against Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in the slaughter of more than 50 people, many of them journalists, in Barangay Salman in Ampatuan municipality.

“Military manhunt operations against the gunmen that perpetrated the massacre are still continuing. There are areas still being scoured by soldiers to search for the suspects and firearms used in the massacre,” Ponce said.