AFP forbids soldiers from using cell phones in sensitive missions

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has barred its officers and personnel from carrying their mobile phones at security briefings and high-level security conferences.

A senior military official said this is to prevent possible enemy tracking activities and eavesdropping.

This security countermeasure, however, is only being imposed on a case-to-case basis, the official said, pointing out the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) policemen who were killed by Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25 were stripped of their weapons and belongings, including cellphones.

The official explained ground troops normally use their own communication equipment in all major operations.

“We don’t use cellphones. We use our own communication during operations,” Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang earlier told the Senate inquiry in justifying the absence of fire support for the beleaguered SAF policemen in Mamasapano.

Catapang said there was no direct line of communication between the SAF commandos and the reinforcing Army troops.

Relieved SAF commander Director Getulio Napeñas has been saying before the congressional inquiry that he had relayed his appeal for artillery support to their counterparts at the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in the morning of Jan. 25.

The request was coursed by SAF officers through their mobile phones and later during a conference held at the headquarters of 1st Mechanized Brigade based in the nearby town of Shariff Aguak.

The fire support, in the form of white phosphorous delivered thrice by howitzers, came only late in the afternoon that same day, at a time when all the SAF commandos had been pinned down and overwhelmed, and subsequently killed by Muslim rebels.

In Mamasapano, most of the SAF commandos involved in the operations were allowed to bring their mobile phones to serve as communication backup.

These mobile phones ended up in the hands of rebels, some of whom even sent text messages to the relatives of the fallen policemen that their loved ones are dead.

“All mobile phones used in the operations that resulted in the neutralization of Jemaah Ismaliyah bomb and demolition expert Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, were in silent mode during the operations so as not to compromise police movements in the area,” a senior security official said.

At the height of the fighting, the SAF commandos used their mobile phones to communicate with their ground commanders, the official said.

The incident also prompted the Army to retrain its artillery support personnel.

Artillery fire training held

Maj. Rosa Manuel, spokesperson for the Army’s Artillery Regiment, said the month-long training for the Marines’ Fire Direction Center (FDC) is being held in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

“The training was aimed at reviewing and equipping the designated members of the FDC in order for them to deliver the needed artillery fire support timely and accurately,” Manuel said.

Maj. Roy Nuez, commandant of the Artillery Training School, said 10 personnel from Field Artillery Battalions and six Marines assigned in Sultan Kudarat would undergo training.

Six operatives of the Joint Special Operations Group were killed by friendly fire after a 105-mm howitzer round landed in their forward command post in Patikul on June 19, 2014.

The incident happened during heavy fighting between the Marine Force Recon and the Abu Sayyaf.

Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto, chief of the 2nd Marine Brigade, was relieved from his post after the incident.

The training is also being held amid questions on the supposed failure of the military to provide fire support to SAF commandoes who figured in the Mamasapano clash last Jan. 25.

Military officials, however, said they were not able to provide immediate fire support because the SAF had failed to provide enough information about the location of the beleaguered police commandos.

Amid the finger pointing as to who should be blamed for the encounter, Army Artillery Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Leandro Loyao III said there should be proper coordination between his unit and the forces that need assistance.

“Our units are not operating independently. It is the primary responsibility of the friendly government troops to inform us that they are operating somewhere or when the need immediately arises, they should be able to provide their location and the direction where they want the artillery fire dropped,” he said.