Get Real Philippines made the false claim that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is a terrorist organization

CLAIM: The MILF is a terrorist organization

RATING: FALSE


In an April 2022 post, the Get Real Philippines blog wrongfully called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) an “Islamic terrorist group.”

The MILF, which signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 2014 and is now part of a Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao, is not classified as a terrorist organization by the Anti Terrorism Council. 

The State Department of the United States keeps a list of international organizations it classifies as terrorist groups

According to the State Deparment, an organization will be classified a terrorist organization if it engages “in terrorist activity, as defined in section 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(3)(B)),or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d)(2)), or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism.”

“The organization’s terrorist activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States,” it said.

The MILF does not appear on the State Department’s list.

Similarly, the website of government of the United Kingdom, does not list the MILF as a terrorist organization.

The claim of Get Real Philippines against the MILF is without any factual basis. — Rommel F. Lopez

PressOne.PH is a verified signatory of the Code of Principles of the International Fact -Checking Network (IFCN) at Poynter. The code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network is a series of commitments organizations abide by to promote excellence in fact-checking. We believe nonpartisan and transparent fact-checking can be a powerful instrument of accountability journalism.. 

PressOne.PH believes that fact-checking is essential to combating misinformation and disinformation, and in informing and educating citizens and voters. Read more of PressOne.PH’s Fact-Checking Policy by clicking here.

The public is welcome to send feedback or requests for fact-checks at factcheck@pressone.ph.

If you believe PressOne.PH is violating the Code of Principles of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), you may submit a complaint directly to the IFCN website: https://ifcncodeofprinciples.poynter.org/complaints-policy