AFP dogs to dog Sayyaf’s every step in Sulu

By: Bong Lozada - 10 years ago

MANILA, Philippines – Keeping track of the hostage situation in Sulu, the Armed Forces of the Philippines is set to up the ante against Islamic rebels in Sulu.

Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc, AFP Public Affairs Office Chief, said the AFP would deploy 10 K-9 teams, which would leave the Villamor Airbase in Pasay aboard a C-130 Plane on Tuesday.

The K-9 teams would augment the ground troops who are pursuing the Abu Sayyaf rebels who held hostage at least five foreign citizens, including two Germans, Cabunoc said.

He added that K-9 units from the Philippine Army and the Philippine Navy would be deployed “as soon as possible” to Sulu together with the 501st Infantry Brigade in compliance with AFP chief Gregorio Pio Catapang’s order.

Catapang said that the operations would not endanger the captives.

“We support the government position not to negotiate with terrorists, but we will work closely with the local crisis management committee,” Cabunoc said. “The Chief of Staff has ensured that the primary concern of the AFP is to make these actions as safe as possible for the hostages.”

With K-9 teams at their disposal, military troops can track the insurgents and their hostages faster as the dogs can trace scent details.

Also, with a faster tracking, the AFP can now dictate the tempo on the hostage situation and put added pressure on the rebels.

“We have to put pressure all the time, if we don’t do that the Abu Sayyaf can roam freely, they are the ones dictating the tempo, we should be the ones dictating the tempo,” Cabunoc said.

He likened the current situation to a similar hostage rescue operation in 2000 when military troops surrounded the Abu Sayyaf, who captured 13 members of the Jesus Miracle Crusade, inside a three-kilometer mangrove field where the Muslim rebels freed their hostages to ensure their safety.

Before the deployment of the dogs, the AFP has been conducting patrols in Sulu.

“The people must know that we would not abandon the hostages, regardless of race,” Cabunoc said.