Army battalion transferred from Samar to Maguindanao to join offensive vs BIFF

From InterAksyon (Mar 24): Army battalion transferred from Samar to Maguindanao to join offensive vs BIFF



Government forces fire howitzers against the BIFF (AFP file)

The Philippine Army has transferred a battalion from Samar to Maguindanao to beef up the “all-out” offensive launched last month against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the band of terrorists, led by bomb expert Abdul Basit Usman, they are allegedly coddling.

Captain Jo-Ann Petinglay, public affairs chief of the 6th Infantry Dvision, said the 34th Infantry (Reliable) Battalion of the 8th ID arrived at Camp Siongco in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao on March 21.

She said the battalion, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Edgar delos Reyes, “will augment the 6ID’s efforts in maintaining peace and security in its area of responsibility, which covers the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur province and parts of North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.”

“The deployment marks the start of the holding phase wherein government forces will establish encampments in former lairs of the BIFF in order to prevent the armed lawless group from going back to said areas. It will further pave the way for the implementation of various developmental projects in the different communities in 6ID’s area of operation,” she added.

On Monday, Armed Forces chief of staff General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said the offensive against the BIFF would continue, despite growing calls for an end or suspension to the operations, which have so far displaced more than 130,000 civilians.

Catapang said the military is providing the necessary support to local government units and government agencies, as well as nongovernmental organizations, taking care of evacuees.

On Sunday, government forces said they dismantled another clandestine bomb factory of the BIFF and Usman’s group in Datu Unsay town.

Catapang said it is the military’s mission to liberate Maguindanao’s so-called “SPMS box” -- for the towns of Datu Salibo, Pagatin, Mamasapano and Shariff Aguak -- from years of BIFF and terrorist influence.

“I think this is the output of our all-out offensive. We realized that these terrorists have turned that place into a terrorist haven and they have turned that place into an IED (improvised explosive device) factory haven. Mas sobra pa sa Bocaue ang ginawa nila,” Catapang said, referring to the Bulacan town that is the center of fireworks manufacturing.

“That is why we will have to sustain the operations. I told our [Defense] Secretary (Voltaire Gazmin), I told our President (Benigno Aquino III), that hindi pa po kabisado ng mga sundalo ‘yung entire na lugar (our soldiers are not familiar with the entire area) because for the longest time that was a forbidden area to penetrate. And now because of what had happened, we want to take advantage that our soldiers na nand’yan na ngayon (who are there now) should be familiar with the terrain and the areas and we have to clear it with terrorists, clear it from being a haven of IED factory,” he added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/107551/army-battalion-transferred-from-samar-to-maguindanao-to-join-offensive-vs-biff