Let’s fight till the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu are crushed, and on Mindanao’s mainland, too

BAGUIO CITY – The President’s resolve to keep the offensive going in Sulu – without pause or quarter given – can only be applauded. Now that we’ve got the Abu Sayyaf terrorists on the run there, and the Misuari Breakaways, too, our troops must keep hammering away at them, and counter-attack every time they attempt guerrilla action.

The urong-sulong tactics of the past must not be repeated. Every time our military and police used to be handcuffed by a ceasefire when they were on a roll, the enemy managed to regroup, re-arm, and hit our boys with murderous force anew, negating every gain we had made previously. Enough is enough. This time, I’m glad, the President isn’t yielding to the pleas of the Sulu politicians (one wonders on whose side they’re on) and the importunings of her own Surrender Gang.

Hurray, Mrs. President! That’s what our soldiers and marines are cheering all the way from Sulu to Baguio.

We won’t wipe out the Abu Sayyaf in one offensive push in Sulu or elsewhere in Mindanao – they’re elusive as a will o’ the wisp – but the more cadres we "get", the fewer will be left to bomb buses in Makati, blast malls and terminals in GenSan and Davao, or sink SuperFerries.

The capture of terrorist "Boy Negro" – alias Gappal Banah y Sali – shows how vicious and dangerous are the Abu Sayyaf. "Boy Negro" may have been forced to surrender in Mambulo Nuevo, Libmanan, Camarines Sur, in Bicol, but he had been one of the Abu Sayyaf "team" which planted those lethal explosives in the doomed Makati bus in the evening of Valentine’s Day.

In fact, Gappal Banah (his real name) had been entrusted with the TNT by his Abu Sayyaf controller, a certain Abu Khalil last November 2004, and he had concealed this cache in Maharlika Villages, the Muslim enclave in Taguig, Metro Manila.

This Abu Khalil had then summoned Gappal to a meeting in the Caltex Station Tenement, FTI Taguig, on February 13th, the day before Valentine’s and instructed him to use the explosives in his keeping – the 8 kilos of TNT, the biscuit container with black powder, the 10 detonators – and the NOKIA cellphone (rigged to trigger-off the bomb in the bus by long-distance).

It’s believed Boy Negro himself "planted" the bomb on the bus, but that’s to be proven.

Gappal, age 24, was actually born in Taluksangay, Talahanan, Zamboanga City, on March 8, 1980. His Manila residence was listed as Blk 3 Lot 4, Maharlika Village, Taguig, Metro Manila. You can see that the terrorists hide among "peaceful" Muslims in their communities – and ever since former First Lady and ex-Metro Manila Governor Imelda R. Marcos had built the Golden Mosque in Quiapo and the Islamic Center in Maharlika, alas, these districts have become outposts of militant Islam.

It seems that Gappal, who was recruited by a certain Abu Solaiman in 2003, and trained in bomb-making and other techniques in the mountainous part of Marawi (an Abu Jacky was the instructor) is so versatile on tongues. He speaks Tagalog, Bisaya, Chabakano, Tausug, Sinama (Badjao), Iakan (the dialect of Basilan) and has been posing as a construction worker. In short, the Abu Sayyaf could be anywhere, and everywhere.

Everytime our military can corner any Abu Sayyaf elements, they must smite them, hip, and thigh – otherwise they’ll "bomb" us.

The President’s firm resolve to fight to the finish in Sulu shows that, finally, our Commander-in-Chief understands that to win hearts and minds, first she must win the war – not the other way around.

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What can I say about the honor given this writer by the officers and Cadet Corps of our Philippine Military Academy? It was a touching ceremony, and I thank them sincerely. The "silent drill" was magnificent, the march-past splendid and conducted with the discipline and precision of movement, that extra snap and panache which has made the black-plumed long gray line legendary.

The Corps is making a determined effort to restore its lustre, and its reputation – a bit tarnished by recent, surprising events – for honor and integrity. In fact, the graduating class, some 149 of them, has called itself the Sanlingan Class, invoking that old, classical Tagalog term for honor. Most of them are volunteering to serve – and fight – in Mindanao.

Under the leadership of their PMA Superintendent, Lt. General Cristolito Partido Balaoing (PMA ’72), who took over on July 27 last year as the 50th Superintendent – a fighting general himself – the Academy is determinedly moving towards the future.

In my address to the cadets in the Yap Hall, after the Parade and honors rendered on Borromeo Field in Loakan, I told the cadets to take heart, forget the so-called scandals, and stand on their own integrity and honor. The PMA, founded in 1898, I reminded them has produced many more great men and great leaders than those disgraced by scandal and corruption.

General Balaoing is underscoring 24-hour leadership and character development in his curriculum. He is stressing adherence to the Honor Code which declares, "We, the cadets, do not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate among us those who do."

To date, the Academy has graduated over 7,000 officers, including 38 graduates from the United States, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Germany and Puerto Rico and 10 recipients of the Medal of Valor, the highest military award for gallantry in action.

At present, the cadet population is 1,037, with 932 males and 105 females. To date, since women were admitted, the PMA has graduated 65 female officers – most of them engaged in combat duties today.

I’ll write more, of course, hopefully. But deadline has caught up with me, up here in the Pines City.