Arroyo assures safety of ASEAN Summit; AFP vows to get next the high-value terrorist targets

By Ronron
January 8, 2007

Jolo, Sulu – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo personally assured here on Monday the safety of delegates to the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit, which will be held in Cebu from January 10 until the 15th.

In a speech she delivered before presiding over the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) command conference here, Arroyo said: “As we face the ASEAN Summit, we would like to assure all our allies in East Asia and beyond that the Filipino soldiery and people are on watch every hour of the day. They’re determined to do their share to defeat terror for a more secure and safer world.”

The assurance came a day after Australia issued a travel advisory to its citizens, prohibiting trips to the country, especially in Cebu, because of an alleged prevailing threat of terrorism.

Over the weekend, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the AFP also reiterated that all security measures for the ASEAN Summit are already in place, and that no threat of terrorist attack has been monitored, so far.

“Our meetings in Cebu will sustain the momentum in our collective fight against terror and in mopping up all forms of instability that affect the run of trade, cooperation, and people-to-people solidarity in this part of the world,” the President said at the Philippine Army’s 104th Infantry Brigade headquarters here.

She pledged that the Philippines “will continue to be a strong player in security and trade, in fighting poverty and building prosperity.”

“This is our commitment to the Filipino people, to the peoples of East Asia, and to all our allies like the United States,” she said.

The Philippines has been fighting terrorism over the last few years after its Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) gained support from Osama Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda network and its southeast asian cell, the Jeemah Islamiyah (JI).

The AFP on Saturday scored against the ASG/JI group by killing at least five of its members in an encounter off the waters of Tawi-tawi, located south of this island province.

In a press conference after the closed-door command conference with the President, AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. indicated the improbability of the ASG and JI sowing terror during the regional leaders’ meeting in Cebu.

Esperon said that one of the reasons for the no-let up operations here against the ASG and JI is to make sure their operatives do not slip out of the island and “disturb the summit.”

Esperon said the recent travel advisories of foreign countries are not even “that necessary,” citing the AFP’s successful operation last Saturday against the terror group.

“We are confident that we will see the end of the high value targets. We will not allow them to leave Jolo. The initiative is on our side,” the top military commander said.

He disclosed that Arroyo instructed them to pursue the terrorists here, “keep them off balance, and if not, neutralize them.”

Aside from bombings, the ASG has been responsible for a number of high-profile kidnappings in the country over the last few years.

The terrorist group is believed to have a strength of not less than 400, while the JI is no more than 30, according to military intelligence information./DMS