AFP to construct a forward base in Zamboanga City

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 4): AFP to construct a forward base in Zamboanga City

To prevent another repeat of the bloody Zamboanga City siege, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that it will construct a forward base at Barangay Rio Hondo to prevent rebel groups and other threats from infiltrating in the locality.

The project is worth P3.2 billion, AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said over the weekend.

He added that the new forward base will be designed so that it can detect threats outside Zamboanga City.

"They (troops) manning it can check threats from the outside and it can also be used as a staging base (to intercept and neutralize attackers)," Catapang said in Filipino.

The forward base will also have facilities to maintain and house the new helicopters and the ships the Navy has acquired along with a Marine unit.

With these assets in place, Catapang said the AFP will able to control the movement of people going in Zamboanga City and monitor its approaches more efficiently.

And when asked on where these threats might possibly come from, the AFP chief mentioned Basilan, Jolo, and Tawi-Tawi.

"We want to normalize the lives of the people, because if they see that there are soldiers around, they become more comfortable and they feel that they are safe," he added.

Catapang expects the forward base to be completed by next year and stressed that its construction has the blessing of the local government unit.

He said that its construction is also part of the AFP's shift to territorial defense, adding that there is need for the country to secure its border more closely considering that threats are more global in nature these days.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=669270