AFP to focus on civil-military operations in Mindanao – Esperon

After dealing the mortal blow on the Abu Sayyaf leadership, the military will now shift its focus to developing the region ravaged by the war against the bandit group.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the military would abandon Oplan Ultimatum and focus on civil-military operations in Mindanao.

"We are shifting to civil-military operations," Esperon said during an interview over ANC cable news television.

More than 5,000 troops under Oplan Ultimatum have been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf since last year and it had its successes following the killing of its chieftain, Khadaffy Janjalani, and his deputy, Abu Solaiman, late last year.

Esperon said the change in strategy was meant to address the problem of innocent civilians displaced by the encounters between government troops and the Abu Sayyaf.

"There have been a lot of people who have been displaced and so we want to go into their areas and tell them that we... did not intentionally displace them. This was all part of the security operations that would benefit them anyway," he said.

Esperon said the civil-military operations are a way of paying back the residents for offering tactical information against the bandit group.

Esperon, though, clarified that combat operations against the Abu Sayyaf will push through but this time, the troops will be focusing on community development programs to help the civilians displaced by the fighting.

Esperon said Oplan Ultimatum focused more on the offensive and troop deployment against the Abu Sayyaf.

He said the battle plan was also focused on the manhunt against Dulmatin and Umar Patek, the two Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) militants who are wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings in Indonesia that left over 200 people dead.

Both JI militants are being given refuge by the Abu Sayyaf, which has been the primary mission of Oplan Ultimatum.

The US government has offered a $10-million reward for Dulmatin and $1 million for Patek for the Bali bombings.

The government has also implicated Dulmatin as the top suspect in the bombing of the Davao international airport in March 2003 and the bomb attack on the Sasa wharf in the same city weeks later.

Dulmatin, also known as Joko Pitoyo, remains the most wanted of the al-Qaeda-trained operatives and one of the four top JI leaders known to have sought safe haven in the southern Philippines.

One of the ranking JI leaders also believed to be hiding in the Philippines is Zulkifli bin hir.

Security officials said Zulkifli was among those who planned the 2002 Bali bombings, for which the US government has offered a $5-million reward for his capture.

A ranking police intelligence official revealed that Zulkifli has married a Filipina and settled somewhere in Central Mindanao.

Esperon, for his part, admitted receiving reports that Zulkifli is in the country.

"I do not have as of now the exact reckoning date of when he started to be there but I remember that I received reports about Zulkifli in August last year," he said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe