'Speed up services to Basilan'

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo has ordered frontline government agencies to speed up delivery of basic services to the people of Basilan who have been affected by the latest clashes between government forces and Abu Sayyaf extremists.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the President has tasked various government agencies led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to assist particularly “internally displaced persons” (IDPs) in war-torn Basilan and help them back to their livelihood.

Remonde said Mrs. Arroyo also directed the Department of Agriculture to help the locals of Basilan in their livelihood and provide them with other basic services.

This developed as local officials led by Tawi-Tawi Gov. Hadji Sadikul Sahali blamed the firefights between government troops and the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Sulu for the region’s slow economic growth.

Mrs. Arroyo made the directives after she ordered the “rapid annihilation” of the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao following last week’s bloody gunbattle that left over 50 people dead and wounded.

Remonde said the President has ordered the war on terror in Basilan “to be rapidly concluded and all efforts focused on annihilating terrorism not only in the island but other parts of the country.”

Mrs. Arroyo on Saturday presided over the command conference of government security forces in Zamboanga City and gave the order for a full-scale assault against the extremist group.

But Mrs. Arroyo’s stern directive drew notice from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), which warned against possible human rights violations.

“The CHR calls on all parties to the renewed fighting in Basilan to respect human rights and humanitarian law even as they engage in combat, and urges government to quickly assist affected civilians,” the CHR said in a statement.

“Armed battle is not an excuse for anyone to violate the human dignity of opposing forces or to violate the rights of civilians,” CHR Chairperson Leila de Lima said.

De Lima reminded the combatants to observe the proper rules of engagement, noting reports that some of the soldiers slain in last week’s firefight were hacked and mutilated.

“It’s particularly ironic that this battle and reported atrocities such as hacking at soldiers were committed at the very same time the CHR was holding a National Summit on International Humanitarian Law to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Geneva Conventions which was on August 12,” she said.

De Lima said the CHR would work to bring the summit recommendations to “policy and action by the relevant actors, including rebel groups.”

CHR Commissioner Cecilia Quisumbing also called on the government “to make timely preparations for basic services and assistance to the affected communities.

“I hope we learned lessons from last year when it took months to respond to the needs of tens of thousands of IDPs, if not hundreds of thousands,” she said, referring to the clashes between government troops and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels last year.

The MILF, for its part, said they would protect their enclaves and communities against attacks by the military.

The MILF made the statement in its website yesterday after the President warned that the military would pursue the MILF guerrillas who took part in the bloody gunbattle in Basilan.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has filed notice before a joint ceasefire committee alleging that some MILF rebels helped the Abu Sayyaf during the gunbattle and ambushed responding troops, leaving 20 soldiers dead.

The MILF denied the allegations and said the troops opened fire on their men who were only trying to prevent the Abu Sayyaf from taking refuge in their enclaves when the firefight erupted.

Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) chief Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, however, denied attacking the MILF.

Dolorfino challenged the MILF to explain why their guerrillas aided the bandits during the encounters.

“That’s the same issue that we have raised in the complaint that we have filed two days ago, to fully explain the presence of an MILF group that was supposed to be in Albarkah, Basilan at that time,” he said.

Dolorfino insisted the MILF aided the Abu Sayyaf, pointing out the MILF group that was located in Baguindan town were not involved but another group from the adjacent municipality of Albarkah.

Dolorfino added some of the slain soldiers were even hacked and disfigured.

Despite what happened, Dolorfino said the military would continue to comply with the suspension of offensive military operations (SOMO) as ordered by Mrs. Arroyo to allow the peace negotiations.

“And in cases like these, the best thing to do is to file a complaint that will be resolved by the GRP and the MILF panel,” he said.

Dolorfino said the presidential order to finish off the Abu Sayyaf by the end of the year would harness all available means and resources to conclude the campaign.

“And operations are continuing on the ground as mentioned by Secretary of National Defense (Gilberto Teodoro), this will be coupled by enhanced civil-military operations,” he said.

As this developed, unidentified gunmen shot two helicopters carrying military officials and journalists in Barangay Limbo Upas, Albarkah yesterday.

Wesmincom spokeswoman Lt. Steffani Cacho said the helicopters were on their way back to Zamboanga City after a flag raising ceremony in the town when they were strafed by automatic gunfire from the ground.

Reporter Jorge Bandola and cameramen Egay Luciano and Louie Iglesia of state-run NBN 4 reportedly sustained injuries from splinters, reports said.

Cacho said the helicopters were forced to make an emergency landing in Barangay Tumawas in Lamitan. – Paolo Romero, James Mananghaya, Katherine Adraneda, Edith Regalado