CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City—The Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Ricardo R Visaya ordered the 125,000-strong military to use all available “tools of war” against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) during the 3rd Quarter Command Conference held last Friday, October 14, at the Tejeros Hall, Commissioned Officer’s Club here.
General Visaya gave the order after the AFP gained significant headways in the focused military operations against the ASG in their known lairs in Basilan and Sulu since the Commadner in Chief and President Rodrigo R Duterte ordered in July the total decimation of the terror group.
“Let us use all available tools of war in inflicting not just physical destruction, but also in rendering a psychological blow against the ASG. Ensure their isolation from their local support system and make the communities resilient against the influence of terrorists,” General Visaya said.
For the third quarter of the year, AFP operations resulted in the neutralization of 130 ASG personalities; 102 of whom were killed, seven were apprehended, and 21 have surrendered. The figure includes the death of key terror personalities Mohammad Said, Jamiri Jawhari, Musanna Jamiri, and Nelson and Braun Muktadil.
The AFP also recovered and confiscated 165 fastcrafts that are being used as means of transportation by the ASG. This development reduced the Group’s mobility and ability to cross borders around the Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi (ZAMBASULTA) provinces.
In line with this, General Visaya ordered to take advantage of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the DOTr that empowers the AFP to enforce regulations on the use of high-speed watercrafts, confiscate unregistered sea crafts, and dismantle illegally constructed piers and wharves.
“This must be enforced not only in the ZAMBASULTA area but throughout the country to significantly reduce enemy capabilities, further constrain their movement, and deny staging areas for their atrocities,” General Visaya said.
“We need to hit the ASG harder. Our goal is the total defeat of the ASG and the destruction of its cells the soonest possible time,” General Visaya added.
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