CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- A Moro Islamic Liberation Front commander has warned against uncoordinated entry by police and military personnel into MILF communities after government forces deployed troops and armored vehicles near an MILF camp in Munai, Lanao del Norte.

Abdullah Macapaar, popularly known as Commander Bravo, said in a radio interview that police and military personnel had begun restricting the movement of MILF members in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur ahead of the first parliamentary election in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Macapaar said the MILF did not want trouble and was seeking to avoid violence but warned that its members would not back down if attacked or provoked.

He also complained about what he described as strict checkpoint procedures, saying authorities knew when a convoy belonged to him.

“We do not want trouble, but if provoke bahala na si Allah,” Macapaar said, claiming that tanks and armored personnel carriers had been deployed near MILF camps.

Macapaar said he could not guarantee a peaceful BARMM parliamentary election following the removal of Al Haj Murad Ebrahim as chief minister and if MILF members did not secure a majority in the new parliament.

He insisted that Ebrahim should return as chief minister and that the MILF should regain the 41 parliamentary seats it previously held.

An estimated 20 seats in the current BARMM government are held by MILF members.

Macapaar maintained that there would be no BARMM without the MILF.

He also warned that he would not allow Philippine National Police or Philippine Army personnel based in Lanao del Norte to enter areas under his responsibility without prior coordination.

The Armed Forces’ Western Mindanao Command rejected any unilateral declaration placing MILF communities off-limits to government security forces, saying such a declaration could not restrict the AFP and PNP from carrying out their legal mandates.

WestMinCom acting commander Maj. Gen. Jose Vladimiro Cagara said the command continued to respect the guidelines governing coordination between the government and the MILF, including arrangements for activities and movements in areas where MILF forces and communities are present.

The statement followed an incident in which a 28-vehicle convoy bound for Camp Bilal in Munai was stopped and turned back at a joint police and military checkpoint because the trip had not been coordinated with local and military officials.