Army chief lauds troops in countryside

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Philippine Army Chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano com­mended the troops for staying focused in its internal security operation (ISO) in southern Philippines and were not swayed on calls of adven­turism.

Yano issued the statement as he is making rounds on army camps in Mindanao as his pre-Christmas visit to the army forces.

“I am not here to conduct loyalty check,” Yano said following his recent visit at the headquarters of the 10th Army Division under Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac in Northern Mindanao.

“There is no need for me to do so (to conduct loyalty check). The continuous security operations you are conducting is enough proof the troops remain focus in our task in providing security to our countrymen,” Yano added citing the recent calls from “misguided officers” that walked out from a Makati court and marched to challenge the administration of President Gloria Arroyo.

Military unit commanders in Mindanao initially conducted check on its forces following claims of detained former Scout Ranger Regiment commander Brig. Gen. Danny Lim, who was among those who led the Makati march, that some of the military units were joining them in bringing down the Arroyo administration.

Yano lauded the army troops under the two area commands – Eastern Minda­nao Command and Western Mindanao Command – and encouraged them to further the operation against various armed threat groups, specially the New People’s Army (NPA), given the three-year timetable of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in neutralizing the communist’s armed wing.