US backs beefed-up AFP drive vs Sayyaf

MANILA, Philippines - The United States is supportive of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ bid to intensify its operations against the Abu Sayyaf and to defeat the terrorist group within the next two months.

Lt. Cmdr. John Perkins, deputy public affairs officer of the Joint Special Operations Task Force, said while the US cannot engage in direct military operations, it will assist in developmental programs.

“I can say we have an active role with the AFP and the community, building bridges, helping schools, building roads, water wells, you know, one of our main goal is to (bring) prosperity in these regions,” he told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City the other day. 

“Our main goal is to help the AFP provide that level of security, for the people of Southern Philippines, for the Mindanao area and surrounding areas to have a better way of life. We believe it’s done not only through military force but more specifically through education, health services, facilities, roads, buildings,” he said.

Perkins said they are confident that the military would achieve its goal to substantially reduce the Abu Sayyaf’s capabilities within the next two months.

“We would not be in support of the (AFP) if we did not have faith in their capability, if we do not believe we could provide some level of contribution to what is happening in the Southern Philippines,” Perkins said. 

“If our AFP counterparts believe it can be done in two months and if they want to do it in two months, we are going to do everything we can to help accomplish that goal,” he added.

Aside from armed operations, the AFP is also employing the so-called “soft approach” which involves development programs, in addressing terrorism.

Meanwhile, Army chief Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu said an Army battalion has been sent to Sulu to augment troops tasked to run after the Abu Sayyaf.

“We deployed a battalion to increase our manpower in Sulu. We will ensure that the operations against the Abu Sayyaf are continuous,” he said in Filipino.

Mapagu said the battalion, composed of around 500 soldiers, will complement the Marine brigade stationed in the province.

He said among the indications that the Abu Sayyaf’s capabilities have been substantially reduced were the normalizing of economic activity in areas where the bandits are believed to be in hiding, the neutralization of the group’s key leaders, and the initiatives by citizens to report without fear about the whereabouts of the group’s members.

Founded in 1991, the Abu Sayyaf, which has links to international terror group al-Qaeda, has been tagged in various abductions, killings and bombings.