Government is prepared for possible intensified attacks from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) if it carries out its threats following Tuesday’s ratification of the bicameral conference committee report on the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

But Department of National Defense (DND) Sec. Delfin Lorenzana said members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) who will qualify to join the various branches will be ready to face threats to preserve peace in Mindanao.

The MILF and the MNLF, however, will have to be disarmed and decommissioned of its fighters before its members could seek qualification to join the military.

“There are several ways: we could absorb those qualified to join the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), or we could organize them into (auxiliary groups),” he added.

The DND chief also said the government, through the AFP, is willing to intensify its operations against the BIFF should it carry out threats to launch more attacks.

He added that they will seek the help of the MILF and MNLF to eliminate the threat.

Earlier, Lorenzana said he strongly welcomes the MILF’s announcement that it is willing to disarm and decommission 30,000 to 40,000 of its fighters once the BOL is passed into law.

The BOL seeks to create a new Bangsamoro political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

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