Palace: No carpet-bombing of Basilan

Fighter planes and artillery will not carpet-bomb Abu Sayyaf positions as government troops advance inch by inch through the jungles of Basilan for the final offensive to rescue American missionary couple Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipina nurse Deborah Yap.

Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao told reporters yesterday the Air Force and the Army cannot indiscriminately bomb the jungle to smoke out the kidnappers as the lives of the three remaining hostages and the civilian population could be endangered.

"Our problem is we cannot carpet-bomb Basilan," he said. "We cannot indiscriminately fire mortars there not only because there are hostages but precisely because there are civilians in the area. So inch by inch the military is trying to scour the area where the (Abu Sayyaf terrorists) have been identified."

In Zamboanga City, Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu, Armed Forces Southern Command chief, said the Abu Sayyaf fired automatic weapons and hurled grenades to try to break the massive dragnet thrown around its hideout in Central Sampinit. But the Marines, Scout Rangers and Army Special Forces repulsed them.

"They tried to breach out, but the troops drove them back," Cimatu said. "There was no immediate report of any casualty as the bandits used the darkness in their retreat."

Cimatu said some 1,000 troops are scouring Central Sampinit in the Basilan jungle in search of the Burnhams, Yap, and their captors to end the six-month hostage crisis.

"As we have promised before (to rescue the hostages before Christmas), we will make it a reality," he said.

Cimatu said they have not set any time frame for the rescue of the three hostages and the destruction of the Abu Sayyaf so the troops would not be pressured.

"Instead, (we) have set an inspirational goal and if we can do it earlier, the better," he said.

On the other hand, Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, who arrived in Zamboanga City yesterday, said the military hopes to free the Burnhams and Yap before Christmas.

"That is our commitment to the Filipino people," he said. "Our commitment has not diminished. It even increased and we hope for a very white Christmas for the Burnhams."

Villanueva rejected reports that military commanders were allowing private individuals to negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf leaders for the payment of ransom for the freedom of the three remaining captives.

"Our conscience is clear, we do not believe that our officers, much worst our commanders, would be insidious while troops are fighting–we are being paid," he said. "I don’t think that is the kind of commanders we have here."

Any negotiation is "outside of the military’s turf," and that military commanders would not allow themselves to be involved in transactions to pay ransom to the kidnappers, he added.

Tiglao said military operations to rescue the Burnhams and Yap are still going on despite the bad weather in Basilan and that Mrs. Arroyo is hopeful the effort would be fruitful.

"The (President) recognizes the difficulties the military faces and now everyone is realizing that even with the biggest super power in the world, bombing, with all the high tech equipment, Afghanistan’s stronghold, they still haven’t been able to capture (Osama) bin Laden," he said.

Tiglao said foreign correspondents covering the rescue operation have reported that they are convinced that government troops are "closing in" on the Abu Sayyaf.

"But of course, the battleground is difficult," he said. "The (Abu Sayyaf) can easily move out, they can just disguise as civilians and they can escape." – Marichu Villanueva, Roel Pareño