Reports reaching Manila indicated that President-elect Rodrigo Duterte is considering the possibility of declaring martial law in Sulu and Basilan with the aim of eliminating the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in line with his election campaign pledge to stomp off criminality and the illegal drug trade.
The Abu Sayyaf has engaged in high-profile abduction of kidnap victims, both locals and foreigners, and resorted to decapitating some of them after ransom demands were not met.
Duterte had said in one of his press conferences that he will not hesitate to "invade Sulu" if the ASG does not surrender.
The ASG in Sulu is still holding about 10 captives for ransom, including Canadian Robert Hall and Norwegian Kjartan Sekkingstad, and Hall's Filipino girlfriend Marites Flor. Just this April, ASG beheaded John Ridsdel, also a Canadian, after his relatives failed to deliver the P300 million demanded for his release.
The ASG set another deadline, June 13, for the relatives of Hall and Sekkingstad to deliver each their P300-million ransom, or else suffer they would suffer the same fate as Ridsdel.
The four were abducted last year by armed men at a resort in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos) and brought to Sulu.
In a related development, another Army battalion is reported to just have been deployed in Sulu, apparently in preparation for a massive offensive.
A source in the military said the deployment of the 45th Infantry Battalion in Sulu happened last week, coming from the 6th Infantry Division based in Maguindanao.
Presently, there are eight battalions deployed in Sulu, almost the same strength as the forces deployed in Basilan.
During the time of former president and now re-elected Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, martial law was declared in Maguindanao following the massacre in November 2009 of 58 people, 34 of whom were journalists, outside the town of Ampatuan by armed men allegedly identified with the influential clan of the late former governor Andal Ampatuan Sr.
According to another source, who is a high-ranking military officer who requested anonymity because he lacked the authority to speak on the matter, the martial law declaration in Basilan and Sulu will be complimented with the deployment of "at least two divisions" of soldiers.
Earlier, incoming Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff, the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya, said part of Duterte's marching orders to him is to eliminate the Abu Sayyaf menace in six months.
Visaya also said he himself suggested to Duterte to form a Presidential Task Force that includes the military to take part in the war against drug syndicates and private armed groups.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128847/duterte-eyes-martial-law-in-sulu-basilan-vs-asg
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