President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has commended government forces in Mindanao for minimizing threats in the province posed by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other enemies of the state.
In a news release on Saturday, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the President made the remark during his visit to the headquarters of the 11th Infantry Division (ID) in Camp Teodulfo Bautista in Jolo, Sulu on July 5, Friday.
“I have to congratulate all of you who have worked to achieve this success, who have worked very hard and have made many sacrifices so that we can now say that the capabilities of the main threat, which is the ASG, have been severely reduced,” Marcos said.
“Now, that does not mean that the mission is over. As you can imagine, mayroon pa diyan na papasok na baka gustong mag-organize ulit kaya’t kailangan pa rin nating bantayan,” the President said.
(Now, that does not mean that the mission is over. As you can imagine, some may plan to organize themselves, so we need to be vigilant.)
The PCO said Marcos, as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), was briefed by the military command in Sulu on the very constant drop in the insurgents’ capabilities, manpower, and number of firearms they possess.
“Ang assessment na nga ay ‘yung threat is only from individual actors. Wala na silang units na gumagalaw as a unit. (The assessment is that the threat is only from individual actors. They do not have units that operate). They are… basically (neutralized)… We have dismantled their machinery for causing, for bringing terror,” the President added.
The PCO said Marcos was also informed about the diminishing threat posed by other terrorist groups.
“We also spoke briefly about the continuing threat of outside terrorist groups coming in, ‘yung mga Al-Qaeda inspired, ‘yung mga ISIS-inspired na dating nakikita nating pumapasok dito ay mukha namang hindi na… tayo masyadong nate-threaten tungkol sa ganyang klase,” Marcos said.
(We also spoke briefly about the continuing threat of outside terrorist groups coming in, the Al-Qaeda inspired and ISIS-inspired groups that we used to see entering here. It seems that… we aren’t threated as much by these groups.)
West Philippine Sea issue
The President also mentioned AFP’s shift to external defense amid the emerging regional threats, particularly in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
He said the government carried out organizational change, especially the creation of a task force with a maritime force and the Navy, with the goal of beefing up the Philippine Coast Guard’s presence and police the area.
“(I)to ‘yung mga gagawin natin para maging mas secure tayo lalong-lalo na dito sa area ninyo dahil I’m sure that there are many, many instances na mayroon tayong report na mga dumadaan na barko,” Marcos said.
(We will do these so we can be secure, especially in this area, because I’m sure that there are many, many instances that we have reports of passing ships.)
“So, we just have to keep vigilant and to continue to watch what is going on and to make sure that namo-monitor natin lahat ng nangyayari,” he added.
(So, we just have to keep vigilant and to continue to watch what is going on and to make sure that we monitor everything that is happening.) — VDV, GMA Integrated News
