RP, US renew efforts vs terror

President Arroyo discussed yesterday with US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Adm. William Fallon, the commander of US forces in the Pacific, renewed joint efforts by Manila and Washington to fight terrorism as well as other security threats.

"Thank you for the things we are doing together in the South and everywhere else. Thank you also for helping take care of the victims of our disasters," Mrs. Arroyo told Kenney and Fallon at a breakfast meeting at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said Mrs. Arroyo stressed the importance of reducing poverty in the fight against terrorism.

"We talked about continuing our efforts to fight poverty and terrorism simultaneously," said Defensor, who was at the meeting. "There were also discussions that our joint exercises should continue alongside humanitarian and socio-economic projects from both sides."

Mrs. Arroyo also briefed Kenney and Fallon on the progress of the government peace negotiations with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

They also discussed the Philippines’ new security arrangement with Washington that would allow wider US military involvement in dealing with security threats in the Philippines, seen as a weak link in the US-led global campaign on terrorism.

"We also discussed… ways to forge more areas of cooperation between our two countries under our security framework to address non-traditional threats," Defensor said.

The new arrangement, however, has come under scrutiny from some senators, who are concerned that it may circumvent the constitutional prohibition on foreign troops engaging in combat on local soil.

Fallon flew to Sulu, which has been plagued by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, to visit US troops who are battling terrorism by treating the sick and helping to build roads and schools.

The predominantly Muslim island of Sulu, about 940 kilometers south of Manila, is a crucial front in the war against Islamic militancy in the Philippines.

It has served as a stronghold of the small but violent Abu Sayyaf group, which is on a US list of terrorist groups, and has suffered from a festering image of lawlessness and violence.

Ahead of Fallon’s visit, the Philippine military said early yesterday it has received information from multiple sources that Abu Sayyaf militants were planning to attack government security forces and US troops within the next 24 to 48 hours.

A statement distributed by the Philippine Army’s 104th Brigade urged the public to report any suspicious people and information that may help thwart the militants’ plans.

Hundreds of US troops in the southern Philippines have played a key role not only in training Filipino soldiers but in development projects needed to isolate the terrorists and win over local populations.

A US Navy hospital ship, the USNS Mercy, steamed close to Sulu’s shore a few days ago to provide free medical services to poor villagers. Other American troops on Sulu have helped repair roads, bridges and schools and treat the sick for months.

Troops from the Mercy have set up three hospitals surrounded by concertina wire in Jolo town, as US medical personal and aid workers have treated 300-500 patients a day for fever and cataracts while sending patients aboard the Mercy for more complicated surgery, US Air Force Maj. Anne Carbowski said.

Outside the hospital gates, Ayang Sahibudin, 70, was one of hundreds of residents waiting in line to be examined. The mother of 11 complained of coughing blood and said it was her first trip to a hospital.

"I like Americans because they are giving us medical attention," she said. Asked about the militants, she replied: "The Abu Sayyaf bring only violence and fear to our town."

The Abu Sayyaf, which has been linked to Osama bin Laden’s terror network, is notorious for deadly bombings, beheadings and kidnappings.

Although Philippine military offensives have whittled down guerrillas to a few hundred in recent years and kept them mostly on the run, the ragtag group has been blamed for recent bomb attacks and killings of several Philippine Marines in Sulu.

Security officials believe the Abu Sayyaf’s elusive leader, Khaddafy Janjalani, may be hiding on the jungle-clad island possibly with a few Indonesian allies from Jemaah Islamiyah, an Indonesian-based group blamed for terror attacks and plots across the region.

The guerrillas have plotted against but have failed to harm heavily protected American troops in Sulu, a police intelligence official said on condition of anonymity. — Paolo Romero, Roel Pareño, Pia Lee-Brago, AP