Gayak said the guerrillas immediately set on fire the uprooted marijuana plants in the presence of community elders and barangay residents. Timan and Hamza and their followers carried out the raid after learning from vigilant villagers that a certain group was growing marijuana plants in Sitio Sinipitan. NORTH COTABATO, Philippines -- Moro rebels burned over the weekend hundreds of marijuana shrubs they uprooted in a clandestine operation in keeping with their 1997 anti-crime cooperation pact with the government. The order was issued after clerics in the MILF issued a fatwah (edict) declaring methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) as “haram” (forbidden) to Muslims. Nhor Gayak, a Cotabato City-based radio reporter who witnessed the operation, said he and the MILF guerrillas had to walk through open fields with rugged terrain to reach the marijuana farm.

Source: Philippine Star August 07, 2016 03:11 UTC