Manila: The Philippines military has denied reports of unusual troop movements in the south, where the bulk of the armed forces are based.
Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer and Lt Gen Ben Dolorfino, who head the armed forces' Eastern Mindanao Command and Western Mindanao Command respectively, dismissed reports of unwarranted troop movements in their areas.
The eastern command has jurisdiction over military forces in the Davao Gulf area while the western command is tasked with security duties in the Zamboanga peninsula.
Reports quoted the two officers as saying they were not aware of any unusual movement of soldiers in their areas.
The denial was prompted by a statement issued by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities. It had protested the "uncoordinated and unusual movements" of the armed forces in many areas in March.
The panel said it expected to be notified of any movement of soldiers in areas of its influence so as to avoid confrontation and a fresh outbreak of hostilities.
The movement of soldiers was described by the MILF as "alarming and violations" of the ceasefire accord of 2001.
"Massive deployment and uncoordinated movements of GRP [government] and MILF forces which are not normal administrative functions and activities are prohibited provocative acts that violate the truce," the MILF said on its Luwaran website.
