ni84

Oct 28 2011, 06:47 PM

Funny thing the mediamen can meet the leader of this rebel group in person. I have a suggestion using the media us tracking beacon for our guided weapon in the future.

Hitman

Oct 28 2011, 08:27 PM

the media xxx was used as intel in the successful hostage rescue xxx In the war on terror there really are no rules, and the good guys will have to be creative to succeed in their tactics.

asianobserve

Oct 28 2011, 08:48 PM

I'm in favor of bugging and sending Korina Sanchez to the rebel camps to spy on them. So if she is caught and executed she won't really be a loss to the country...

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Military concludes probe into Basilan clash
KIMBERLY JANE TAN, GMA News
10/28/2011 | 04:44 PM

The investigating panel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has concluded its probe into the clash between government troops and suspected elements of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Al Barka, Basilan early this month.

Authorities, however, said contents of the investigation will not be disclosed to the public.

Military spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos said the board of inquiry headed by AFP Inspector General Maj. Gen. Irineo Espino will submit the board's findings and recommendations to Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Oban on Saturday.

"He (Espino) told me that he’ll submit the report to the chief of staff tomorrow," he said during a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo on Friday. The board began its investigation into the clash two days after it happened.

The clash left 19 soldiers, including four junior officers, dead and 14 others wounded. Nine members of the armed group were also killed in the Oct. 18 clash.

In stressing that the results of the probe would not be made public, Burgos said: "The result of the board of inquiry is for our internal consumption but our troops, and I’m sure the general public, will notice the actions that will be taken by the Armed Forces of the Philippines."

He likewise assured the public that they conducted the investigation as part of their efforts to improve the military's organization and avoid similar losses in the future.

"On the side of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, we want to assure you that the investigation was conducted fairly and we will do the corrective measures, depending on the results of the investigation. We will just have to have for the result of the investigation," he said.

Burgos said Oban is set to review and possibly approve the board's recommendations while President Benigno Aquino III and Defense Sec. Voltaire Gazmin may be furnished with the report.

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For the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the real issue in the October 18 encounter in Al-Barka, Basilan, was “coordination,” or more to the point, “uncoordinated movement of troops” – and the so-called “area of temporary stay” (ATS) was only incidental.

“The ceasefire agreement provides that such a movement of troops, granting that the MILF was not the target, should be coordinated first through the coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities or the ad hoc joint action group [Ahjag],” said Mohagher Iqbal, chairman of the rebel group’s peace negotiating panel.
The Ahjag was set up in 2002 as an avenue for joint efforts by the MILF and government in the “isolation and interdiction of all criminal syndicates, kidnap-for-ransom groups and other criminal groups, including the so-called ‘lost commands’ operating in Mindanao.”

Iqbal said the delineation of an ATS was not reflected in the agreements of the government and MILF peace panels. What were delineated or “acknowledged” were seven MILF camps although after the 2000 all-out war, the rebel group “abandoned fixed camping.”

A report of the MILF’s armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, of the October 18 incident said an ATS was designated for the rebel group in May-July 2008.

During this time, MILF forces and their families temporarily relocated to Barangay (village) Ginanta to give way to a military operation against the Abu Sayyaf bandit group in Albarka, Tipo-tipo and Ungkaya Pukan towns, the report said.
The MILF forces from outside Ginanta returned to their communities of origin after the military operations.

But even assuming that the ATS in Ginanta was still effective, Iqbal said, the deployment of the Army’s Special Forces troops was “five kilometers away from the highway.”

Iqbal said the Ginanta ATS was nearer the highway and “Cambug is deeper inside.”
This is why the MILF considers the October 18 encounter in Albarka as “the offshoot of a deliberate attack by government troops.”

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“It’s not a literature review that we’re after but taking lessons from the ground,” she added.

In a statement, Deles sought to allay fears raised by Senator Francis Escudero that the agreement between the government and the MILF for ATS could lead to a new version of the aborted Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

“ … ATS is a military term. From the point of view of the ceasefire mechanism, it is an area to temporarily hold MILF forces so that government forces may be able to accomplish their mission,” Deles said.

“It is of a different concept from the areas mentioned in the MOA-AD, which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The ATS therefore is an operational term, which qualifies that the areas held by the MILF, is only temporary,” she said.

Deles also said she was no longer the peace adviser when the MOA-AD was forged with the MILF during the Arroyo administration. (With a report from DJ Yap and Norman Bordadora in Manila)

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Just a matter of time

The AFP said it is now easier to pursue rogue Abdusalam after his fortified camp fell to the hands of the government forces.

Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, said while they cannot ascertain Abdusalam’s exact location, it will be easy for the police to locate him now that he is on the run.

Ferrer, who visited the captured camp, said invading government troops reached the target at nightfall but failed to conduct clearing operation since the place was rigged with traps and land mines.

He said Abdusalam’s group suffered more than 10 casualties and undetermined number of wounded.

He also announced the reorganization of the military forces in the province following the provincial peace and order council meeting presided over by Gov. Jum Akbar and attended by Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles at the provincial capitol yesterday.

The Cabinet officials and Ferrer flew to Basilan to personally assess the situation. They later flew to Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay and held similar Security Council meeting there.

Ferrer said he has activated Task Force Basilan composed of the Special Operations Task Force-Basilan and the additional forces of the 104th Army Brigade.

He said the new military unit will be headed by 104th Brigade chief Col. Ricardo Visaya, whose forces came from Lanao del Norte.

The troops under the joint Special Operations Task Force-Basilan is being directly supervised by the Special Operations Command based in Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija and General Headquarters even if the area is under the Westmincom.

The military occupation, operation and supervision in Basilan was previously handled by the Westmincom but was changed when Sec. Voltaire Gazmin sat as defense chief.

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Under existing ceasefire rules, the military cannot enter the area of temporary stay of rebel groups without proper coordination.

“Before, we only have to address one virus and that is the presence of the JI (Jemaah Islamiyah). Nowadays, we have kidnap for ransom, lawless elements and extortionists,” he said. “It was stated explicitly in the agreement with the MILF that they should not provide sanctuary to these groups.”

Hermoso said the amendments should lead to a framework that is more responsive to the situation in the ground.