KOTA KINABALU, March 12 — The Philippine government were aware that Malaysian-born terrorist Zulkifli Hir alias Marwan was being protected by rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) but ignored the information, said a Philippine politician.

The Philippine Inquirer quoted Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as telling the senate yesterday that the government and peace panel were aware of the MILF protection and that the group was not a trustworthy peace partner.

Cayetano claimed that this is reason enough to replace the members of the government’s peace negotiating panel with negotiators who would better represent the country’s interests.

He said the Philippines’ peace panel had cleared MILF commander Wahid Tundok of involvement in a January 25 civil clash in Mamasapano that reportedly killed Marwan, and 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos, and identified him as the one who reported the encounter and brokered the ceasefire.

“Despite knowing that Tundok protected Marwan, the peace panel worked to free the MILF commander in February 2014 after he was captured,” Cayetano said, adding that Tundok is implicated in several cases of murder, arson, robbery and other crimes.

Intercepted e-mail exchanges between Marwan and his brother Rahmat Hir showed that Tundok had acted as the protector of the Malaysian bomb expert, the senator claimed.

 “Another message showed that Tundok had warned Marwan to be on high alert and not to sleep because soldiers were planning to attack, and a third indicated that Tundok told Marwan to watch out for drones, he said.

“The government knew this information. The peace panel knew this. Why did they disregard this? Why did they believe Commander Tundok instead of the evidence in a US court [that] the US government itself filed? They knew Commander Tundok was the protector of Marwan,” he added.

Common sense would also show that the MILF knew of Marwan’s presence. Marwan was a wanted terrorist with a six-million dollar reward on his head, and was the target of at least 10 government operations, he said.

He went on to ask what the government got in exchange for Tundok’s freedom, and also wondered why Tundok and his fighters were absolved in the Mamasapano clash.

“The peace panel must answer this. We must know the truth,” he said.

Marwan, a bomb maker believed involved in several terrorist groups, including Jemaah Islamiyah and Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, was on the US Federal Bureau of Investigation most wanted list and had a US$5 million (RM18 million) bounty on his head.

The Johor-born Zulkifli was in hiding in Mamasapano under the protection of the southern Philippine rebels until his death.

After two decades of negotiation, a comprehensive peace deal was signed between the Philippine government and MILF in March 2014.