March 9, 2010 - A senatorial candidate by the name of Dr. Zafrullah Alonto running under the Bangon Pilipino party of presidential candidate Eddie Villanueva is being introduced in his political biodata and to the public as “former MILF spokesman”. Video clips posted in the Bangon Pilipino website apparently taken during campaign forums of Bangon Pilipino show Villanueva himself introducing said Zafrullah Alonto as “former MILF spokesman”.


Some media establishments, which appear to having been deceived by this false representation, have also been referring to him as “former MILF spokesman” and/or “representative of the Bangsamoro people”.
The MILF wishes to inform Bangon Pilipino and the public that at no time since its founding did the MILF ever had a spokesman by the name Zafrullah Alonto. No person by such name is also a member of the MILF.

The MILF also clarifies that as an Islamic revolutionary liberation organization, it is not involved in Philippine partisan politics. This is a matter of policy.

When sought by Luwaran to comment on this issue, a standing member of the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel, Maulana Alonto, said that “Zafrullah Alonto” is a close relation “who has lost touch with the family for about six years.”

He further said: “We never heard from Zafrullah Alonto and have never seen him in all those years. He had some psychological problems and we were worried that his mental state would get him into trouble. So some family members exerted efforts to find him, but to no avail. He just vanished. We foresaw the danger that because of his mental condition, some groups or people will exploit him for their own ends. Apparently we were right. But now that he claims to be what he is not, I have to set the record straight. The Alonto family has nothing to do whatsoever with Zafrullah Alonto’s running for senator under the Bangon Pilipino. He is not, and has never been, a ‘former spokesman of the MILF’ let alone a member of the MILF or a ‘representative of the Bangsamoro people’ as being said by him or his handlers in public. This claim is as sinister as it is a fantasy, and it puts our family, not to mention the MILF, in a bad light. In strongest terms, we denounce this brazen prevarication and we urgently advice those involved in it to stop this shenanigan.