Wrong radio frequency renders military air assets useless during July 10 clash – report

Ronron
August 3, 2007

Air fighters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were more than ready to assault the Moslem rebels who ambushed Marine troopers in Basilan last July 10 but the wrong radio frequency fed to them prevented them from doing their purpose.

AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said Friday that the “miscommunication” incident is just one of the lapses discovered by an internal investigating body of the military committed during that intense battle that happened in Al-Barka town for almost nine-hours.

Fourteen Marine soldiers died in said incident, 10 of whom were mutilated.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) owned up the encounter against the government troops for allegedly intruding in their territory without prior coordination, but it denied being responsible for the beheading of the soldiers.

A joint probe by the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the government and the MILF has identified Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members as among those who beheaded four of the 10 mutilated soldiers.

Bacarro disclosed that when the elements of the 1st Marine Brigade finished verifying reports about the sighting of Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi and his captors in said area earlier that day, they came under fire at around 10 am when one of their trucks got stuck in mud.

The surprise, heavy firing prompted authorities to request for air support from the operational base of the engaged troops, which is the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) in Zamboanga City.

Television reporter Jun Veneracion, who was with the engaged Marine soldiers, said the air support only arrived almost two hours later, or before 12 noon, and hovered the area without firing a single shot.

Bacarro said the Wesmincom sent a Huey chopper, an MG520 attack helicopter, and an OV10 bomber plane to the encounter site, but all failed to assault the perpetrators.

Veneracion said he saw the choppers and the plane leave the area between 1 and 2 pm.

“(Based) on the investigation conducted by the Inspector General (IG), there were some miscommunications, and one of those miscommunications (stemmed from) the conveyance of the (radio) frequency… the transmittal of the frequency from the Marine Brigade to Wesmincom,” Bacarro said.

The investigation was conducted for one week starting July 14.

“It was on general terms when the report said that the frequency that was sent to the Wesmincom was the alternate frequency. It was not the primary frequency (of the troops engaged on the ground),” Bacarro said.

And because those aboard the choppers and bomber plane had the alternate frequency, they could not communicate with the troops on the ground.

“They were not in the same frequency, that’s why initially there was no communication,” Bacarro said.

Thus, for fear that government troops and civilians might be hit due to miscalculation, the air assets opted not to fire, he said.

Bacarro was not aware if those on the choppers and bomber plane had the frequency of their base on the ground - either at the Marine Brigade headquarters, which is located in Tabiawan, Isabela City in Basilan, or at Wesmincom in Zamboanga City – where they could have sought for the correct frequencies.

“The Philippine Marine Inspector General would be the one to conduct more detailed investigation, including the other lapse pertaining to the ammunition (of 81 mm mortar that failed to fire),” he said.

Asked why those on the choppers and bomber plane did not try to change frequency when they noticed they could not establish communication with the troops on the ground, Bacarro explained: “You have to have to the primary frequency first so you can communicate each other… You cannot change frequency without the concurrence of the other.”

Bacarro said the IG report had already identified the personnel who gave the wrong frequency but his identity could not be released for now as he still remains under investigation.

“The Inspector General report has recommended to the Chief of Staff for the conduct of an investigation by the Philippine Marines Inspector General relative to some of the administrative liabilities that arose from the incident in Basilan,” he said.

But Bacarro expressed certainty that what happened was not a deliberate error.

He said they are not discounting also the possibility of the investigators laying out the criminal liability of those who are found responsible for the lapses.

Bacarro said he is not aware as to how many personnel are under investigation or may be held liable for the incident.

Asked if it would have made the situation much better for the government troops if contact was established between the air assets and those on the ground, Bacarro replied: “I would say that the air component is integral to the operation. But in this specific case, as to what would be the contribution of the air component, I cannot say. But doctrinally, the air component is crucial, is an important part of an operation.”/DMS