Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
There will be no letup in military and police operations nationwide against all “enemies of the state,” particularly the terrorist groups Abu Sayyaf and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), as the country observes Holy Week, according to Malacañang.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma yesterday said that both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police had been directed by President Aquino to secure the peace between Palm Sunday until Easter Sunday.
“The AFP and PNP, and even the Philippine Coast Guard, are working together in collaboration with local government units in keeping the peace during Holy Week,” Coloma, head of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, told the Inquirer.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang earlier ordered the troops to press the campaign against the Abu Sayyaf and the BIFF to downgrade their capability to inflict harm on civilians.
Catapang directed military field commanders in Sulu and Maguindanao provinces to pursue the two groups without letup but to avoid collateral damage involving civilians.
He called for an all-out campaign against the al-Qaida-linked terrorist Abu Sayyaf group and the secessionist BIFF, based in Sulu and Maguindanao, respectively.
Abu losses
The Abu Sayyaf, notorious for the kidnapping and beheading of foreigners and bomb attacks on civilians in Mindanao, has reportedly lost at least 24 members in five days of fighting in Patikul town, Sulu.
The BIFF, an Islamist militant organization based in Mindanao, reportedly joined forces with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in attacking the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, during the Jan. 25 encounter.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the House Ad Hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), wants justice served sooner for the SAF 44, saying the government should “neutralize” individuals or groups who would stand in the way of the military and police deployed to arrest the killers of government troopers.
Wheels to roll
He said he expected the “wheels of justice” to roll in the next two weeks, with the Department of Justice (DOJ) prepared to file charges and arrest warrants against those responsible for the deaths of the policemen.
“Our government is going to make sure there will be arrests. That’s nothing to worry about. Let’s continue. They don’t want to surrender, we’re going to get them. The people will see that we’re going to go get justice for them,” Rodriguez said in an interview on dzBB radio.
“If those who are going to be arrested are in their territory, the government will enter the territory and implement the warrants of arrest. If they will not stay on the side, then we are going to neutralize them,” said Rodriguez.
The military campaign against the Abu Sayyaf is an ongoing law enforcement operation that began in November last year, according to AFP spokesperson Col. Restituto Padilla.
He said the drive against the terrorist group was focused on Jolo, the capital of the island-province of Sulu.
Recent military operations against the group were “follow-ups to what we began last year. There will be no letup until the Abu Sayyaf is decimated,” Padilla said.
Change tactics
Padilla noted the Abu Sayyaf had changed tactics, avoiding direct engagement with government forces and fragmenting into smaller groups.
He said the AFP had yet to encounter a sizeable force of the group, as the terrorists tended to disengage when the military launches an offensive.
Government troops are also going after bombmaker Basit Usman, who eluded arrest when PNP SAF commandos went to Mamasapano to get him and his Malaysian cohort, Jemaah Islamiyah bomb expert Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan.” The SAF commandos killed Marwan.
More troops were reportedly sent out last week to scour the Liguasan Marsh for Usman’s hideout.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima is scheduled to announce in the next few weeks the results of the DOJ probe into the Mamasapano incident, specifically the individuals who will be charged with the murder and robbery of the SAF 44. The board of inquiry and Senate reports point to the combined forces of the MILF, BIFF and private armed groups as being responsible for the death of the troopers.