COTABATO Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo on Friday challenged the leadership of the terrorist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) to punish its members who desecrated the Catholic chapel of Malagakit in Pigkawayan, North Cotabato on Thursday. The prelate said that what the BIFF members did in Malagakit was no different from desecrating mosques and the Koran. Similar acts were also made by the Islamic State (IS)-linked Maute group when they destroyed statues and other religious symbols inside the St. Mary’s Cathedral in Marawi City last month. Gen. Gilbert Gapay, deputy commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, dismissed as “desperate” the threat of the BIFF to kill Duterte. “Actually, it’s not as serious as the one we’re fighting in Marawi because BIFF is contained in their stronghold in SPMS box and our troops there are doing very well in containing the BIFF,” Gapay said.

Source: Manila Times June 23, 2017 16:30 UTC