BY VICTOR REYES

GOVERNMENT forces have captured a major camp of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which served as headquarters of one of the rebel commanders who is being hunted for atrocities in Lanao del Norte.

Camp Bilal in Munai town was seized by security forces around 6:30 p.m. Wednesday without any resistance from Commander Bravo and his men from the 102nd Base Command, Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna, AFP vice chief of staff, said yesterday.

Bravo and his men are being held responsible for the August 18 attacks on Iligan City and four towns in Lanao del Norte. The attacks left 28 civilians, three soldiers and a policeman dead.

Last Friday, government forces seized Camp Vietnam, a satellite camp in Maguindanao where the house of Commander Wahid Tundok, the operations officer of Commander Umbra Kato, is located.

Umbra Kato, head of the MILF’s 105th Base Command based in Maguindanao, forcibly occupied 15 barangays in North Cotabato last month.

The military launched offensives against the commanders last week.

Luna, concurrent chief of the Joint Task Force Mindanao, said the capture of Camp Bilal was "significant and symbolic."

The camp fell into government hands in 2000 in an all-out war waged by the Estrada administration against the MILF. The camp was returned by the Arroyo administration to the MILF and classified as a place of temporary stay under peace negotiations.

Luna said troops were "sure" that Bravo was in the camp before government forces captured it "because that is where he hides."

The military did not say where Bravo was after the capture of the camp.

Col. Jomar Cuerpo, task force spokesman, said there was "no resistance" when troops stormed the camp.

"It could have been abandoned or they ran for their lives. This is supposed to be the base of Commander Bravo."

He said a complex inside the camp can accommodate up to 100 men.

"It’s a big camp...This deprives them of a safe haven," said Cuerpo. Luna said the camp was "most likely" the same size of Camp Aguinaldo, the military’s general headquarters in Quezon City.

COWARDS

Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro said the military could not use its "full might" against Bravo, Umbra Kato and Alim Pangalian because of the "cowardice" of the commanders who he said are using civilians as human shields.

Pangalian is also being held responsible for the Lanao del Norte attacks.

"That adds to the difficulty because you cannot just shoot everybody inside or bomb everybody inside. You really have to take extra care that civilians are not involved in the conflict," said Teodoro.

NO CEASE-FIRE

Teodoro said there may be some adjustments in the ongoing operations when the Muslims’ holy month Ramadan starts next week. However, he said there will be no halt in the offensive during the period.

"There were some solons who wanted a cease-fire but to me, a total cease-fire is unacceptable because of the fact that we have to enforce the law here... The overriding principle is that the enforcement of law is religiously neutral," he said.

"But we are also very sensitive to the fact that the Muslim communities are involved. I guess the best balance is that operating commanders should take into consideration community sensitivities," he added.

He said "tactical adjustments" during Ramadan will be decided on by the ground commanders.

ERADICATING MILF

Former President Joseph Estrada maintained his position that eradicating separatist activity is the only solution to peace in Mindanao.

He said the government might not achieve its aspiration for DDR (disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation) of the MILF when the rebel group is pushing "not only for autonomy but for secession."

President Arroyo on Monday said her administration is on a path of "all-out peace" and not an all-out war in Mindanao. She has said the recent developments in the South "lead to a change in the basic premise of our peace efforts," which means that "engagements with all armed groups shall be about disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation or DDR.

QUEST FOR POWER

Estrada said that his administration, before launching an all-out war, "also underwent extensive peace talks with the MILF."

He said he decided on an all-out war when the MILF, "within three weeks of signing the agreement," attacked the town of Kauswagan in Lanao del Sur and burned six children to death.