Troops seize 3 unregistered speedboats as focused military operations continue in Sulu

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 2): Troops seize 3 unregistered speedboats as focused military operations continue in Sulu

Troops of the Joint Task Force Sulu have intercepted three speedboats with expired registration amid the ongoing intensified focused military operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) brigands, a military official announced Friday.

Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) spokesperson, said the speedboats were intercepted near Maimbung Bay by the Navy ships that are conducting barrier negations patrol to prevent the ASG brigands from using the coastal and high seas as escape and reinforcement routes.

Tan said that two of the speedboats, namely M/B Lingisan and M/B Fumancho, are powered each by two 200-horsepower outboard motors while the third one, M/B Emperor has three 200-horsepower outboard motors that can speed up above 30 miles per hour.

He said the apprehension was a result of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police (AFP-PNP) and other government agencies, deputizing the AFP in the enforcement of regulations on the use of high-speed watercraft, at three gross tonnage and below, confiscating unregistered sea crafts, intensifying security in local ports, and dismantling illegally constructed ports in order to mitigate the movement of terrorists and criminal groups and to conduct acts inimical to national security.

The other signatories of the MOU are the Department of Transportation and Communication, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of National Defense, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Maritime Industry Authority, Office of the Transportation Security, Philippine Coastguard, Philippine Ports Authority and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Tan said the crew members of the speedboats, after profiling and documentation, were brought to the Municipal Office of Maimbung, Sulu, for proper disposition.

He said the three boats are in the custody of the Anti-kidnapping Group pending presentation of registration documents and be subjected to further validation with different intelligence agencies to confirm whether they are utilized in kidnapping foreign nationals on board seacrafts in the tri-border areas of Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines.

The ASG brigands have engaged in cross-border kidnapping of foreigners and herd the victims to the hinterlands of Sulu.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=919599