Esperon to killed soldiers in Basilan: “Their sacrifices will not be in vain”

By Ronron
August 19, 2007

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. vowed on Sunday that the death of 15 Marine soldiers and an Air Force pilot in an encounter the previous day in Basilan against Abu Sayyaf bandits will not go to waste.

“Their sacrifices will not be in vain because we will follow this up,” Esperon told Camp Aguinaldo reporters in a phone interview.

“We are making a promise to make the province unfit for those who want to rule it with arms,” he added.

Esperon said he has directed the troops on the ground “to continue their operations against the Abu Sayyaf” until the group is destroyed.

“We have seven battalions in the area and 28 CAFGU companies. If there is a confirmed presence of the enemy, then we will operate,” he said.

Esperon revealed that the ASG top leader for Basilan, Isnilon Hapilon, remains on the island province, although they are not sure if the was with the engaged bandits in Ungkaya Pukan town last Saturday where 15 Marine soldiers were killed.

The Air Force pilot who died was on an MG520 that was providing close-air support to the ground troops but crash landed at the shoreline of Bubuan Island in nearby Sumisip town at past 4pm allegedly due to engine trouble. The main pilot survived the accident that immediately caused the grounding of all MG520 attack helicopters of the Philippine Air Force.

So far, the military has only confirmed the presence and the deaths of ASG leaders Furuji Indama and his brother Umair, in last Saturday’s encounter. The military said there were 42 ASG rebels killed, but only seven bodies, including those of the two Indama’s, were recovered.

“Furuji’s group was involved in the beheading of Guillermo Sobero,” Esperon disclosed. Sobero, an American national, was among tourists abducted by the ASG in May 2001 from a posh resort in Palawan and was beheaded, according to the ASG, in June of that year as an Independence Day gift to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Esperon said the involvement of Furuji’s group in the July 10 incident in Al-Barka town where 14 Marine soldiers were also killed, 10 of whom were mutilated, was further proven by the recovery from the encounter site of an M16 rifle that belongs to one of the beheaded Marine soldiers.

“We will remain our large presence in the area… Casualties can be high but that is part of the fight against terrorism… The actions of the soldiers are commendable,” Esperon said.

Of the 15 slain Marine soldiers, five were junior officers.

Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo said the Marine troopers, who belong to the 64 Force Reconnaissance Company and the Force Reconnaissance Class 13, must have failed to assess the strength of the ASG, that is why they suffered heavy casualties./DMS