Defense Secretary talks tough to bandits in Mindanao: Surrender is only your saving grace

By Ronron
August 13, 2007

Responding to calls for an end to the military operations in Sulu and nearby terror-stricken provinces, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said Monday at Camp Aguinaldo that the offensives against Moslem rebels in Western Mindanao will only stop if they are neutralized or they raise the white flag.

Teodoro issued the statement in a news conference after he was given a briefing by the top brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) led by chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. about the military’s internal affairs and operations in the field.

“We cannot stop operations against the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) and lawless elements. The only time perhaps that military operations can cease is if the ASG puts down their arms and surrender to the fold of the law,” said Teodoro, who was sworn in as Defense Secretary last August 8.

Teodoro said halting the pursuit operations against the rebels in Sulu, Basilan and other terrorists’ laden areas would be “shirking our sworn duties under the Constitution.”

“We must go after these elements with the full force of the law taking due regard and careful regard to possible collateral damage and to make sure that the communities are affected the least possible degree,” he said.

The Defense chief bared President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order for the AFP to proceed with the operations, but with “special care” so as not disrupt also the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front.

The MILF has been dragged into the issue because its members are being hunted for the death of 14 Marine soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated, during the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, Basilan.

The MNLF, on the other hand, has renegade members who were with the ASG during the series of encounters and ambush last week in Indanan, Parang, and Maimbung towns in Sulu. It is believed that the mixed group are also coddling the wanted Jemaah Islamiyah bomb experts, Dulmatin and Omar Patek.

“The instruction of the President is to take special care in the conduct of these operations so as not to disrupt the peace process and precisely why yesterday, a dialogue with the local officials at my level has occurred, and the dialogue with the GRP-MILF negotiating panels as well as the International Monitoring Team is continuing,” Teodoro said.

With this directive, Teodoro said he is confident the military operations will not jeopardize the peace efforts with the MILF, and the peace pact with the MNLF.

Teodoro visited Basilan, Sulu and the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City on Sunday, together with the top brass of the AFP to assess the situation and meet with local chief executives of the province.

“We involved the local officials in a dialogue. They have articulated their concerns. I have given the request to the Armed Forces to reinforce the dialogue, continuous dialogue with the local officials. As a matter of fact, I myself am available to them anytime because the local officials are the arms of the law in those communities and they know their communities better than anybody,” he said.

Esperon, in the same press briefing yesterday, said Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who was tasked no less by Arroyo to oversee the operations in Sulu, will act as adviser to the operations commander.

“He can immediately serve as adviser, which he has been. But in some instances, his recommendation can be taken as an order. He has my full authority anyway,” Esperon said of Tolentino, who, incidentally, will already retire on August 24.

In an earlier interview, Tolentino foresees to accomplish his task within 10 days, or on August 22, two days before his retirement. “I think this (operation) will only be for a time. The rule of law must prevail. For me, (give me) 10 days.”

Esperon said they will take advantage of Tolentino’s “wealth of knowledge” about Sulu because he was once based there when he commanded the 104th Army Infantry Brigade in 2001.

But when asked when will the government forces finally end the ASG problem, Teodoro only said yesterday: “The instruction is at the soonest possible time but of course, we have many considerations and that rests on the judgment of the operational commander in the area.”/DMS