President Gloria Arroyo has cancelled a scheduled trip to the southern Philippines after an armed Muslim rebellion there left over 100 people dead, a senior aide said Thursday.
Arroyo was to have flown to Cotabato city and other points in the southern region of Mindanao shortly after her arrival Friday from a visit to the United States and Mexico.
The trip was called off due to the "security problem in Mindanao", Presidential Management Staff head Victoria Garchitorena told reporters.
Nur Misuari, the former guerrilla leader who is governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which has Cotabato as its de facto capital, has launched a fresh revolt against the government in a bid to scuttle next Monday's elections there.
The fighting, which began on Monday, has left more than 100 people dead and scores wounded in the southern island of Jolo.
Arroyo is supporting a Misuari rival for the gubernatorial post, while a lower court in the Philippines on Thursday ordered the arrest of the Muslim leader on charges of rebellion which are punishable by a 20-year prison term.
The military on Thursday said intelligence reports indicated Misuari had already fled to Malaysia and was trying to make his way to the Middle East, but Kuala Lumpur denied the report.
Press Undersecretary Manuel Sanchez said officials were trying to verify whether Misuari had in fact slipped out of the country.
If this were true, "we will try our best to bring Misuari back to face the rebellion charges against him," Sanchez said.
Arroyo's original Mindanao itinerary included a visit to Zamboanga city to meet top military officials leading the government's assault against Misuari's men on nearby Jolo island.
Tension in the city however remained high Thursday amid a standoff between some 100 armed Misuari supporters and the military. Misuari's men had entrenched themselves on a hilltop complex just a few kilometers (miles) from the city's airport. -- AFP
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