AFP pulls out troops in Metro Manila

By Ronron
May 10, 2007

Military men deployed in Metro Manila for civil-military operations since November of last year have started going back to barracks last Wednesday after the completion of their mission and to save them from allegations of electioneering.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. ordered the junior officers and soldiers, who belong to the Civil Military Operations (CMO) Battalion of the Philippine Army, to leave the barangays where they are deployed not later than today (Friday).

“I have a given a deadline of May 11 so that we will be out of here before the elections to remove the suspicion and all attributions from groups that we are here for election purposes, (which is) not at all,” Esperon said in an interview Wednesday at a slum area in Quezon City.

He denied that it is a response to the petition of some sectors at the Supreme Court for the same purpose.

AFP National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino said the 260 personnel have so far completed eight engineering projects, mostly day care centers, and several medical and dental missions through the six-month period, aside from successful dialogues with local residents among 19 barangays in the cities of Caloocan, Taguig, Manila and Quezon.

On Wednesday, Esperon and Dolorfino launched the newly built Day Care Center at Upper Nawasa, Commonwealth, Quezon City.

“I’m sure that as the soldiers were immersed here, friendships have been forged. And so, from the friendship, there could be more unity and cooperation. It may be little to others but for us, it is very important,” Esperon said.

In an earlier interview, Esperon and Dolorfino admitted that the CMO operations of the troops in Metro Manila is in support of the AFP’s anti-insurgency campaign since Left-leaning organizations, according to them, take advantage of the people’s poverty to convince them to rebel against the government.

Dolorfino said yesterday that so far, the troops assigned in Taguig City already pulled out as of Wednesday, and those in Caloocan and Manila cities followed yesterday.

He said that only those in Quezon City are expected to pull out today (Friday), thereby completing the extraction process.

Dolorfino could not immediately give a percentage as to the number of troops already pulled out as of yesterday.

Asked of a possible return of another batch of troops to the communities in the capital, Esperon said: “We are reviewing, assessing the matter. And if there is a need for us to further deploy in the same formation, then we will.”

The deployment of troops in Metro Manila was met with several criticisms from both cause-oriented groups and those in government as it allegedly reeks of Martial Law and they are allegedly being used to campaign against party-list organizations critical of the government/./DMS