It turned out that the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has more updated intelligence data than the military when it claimed that civilians were among those slain and counted as members of the Abu Sayyaf group during a fierce firefight in Bohol that thwarted a raid of the bandits on a holiday resort.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday admitted two of those killed in the Bohol clash last week were a local couple, both senior citizens, who own one of the houses where the Abu Sayyaf terrorists were engaged by government forces in Inabanga town.
The CPP was the first to identify the couple as Constancio and Crisente Petalco, residents of Barangay Napo, Inabanga town where the clash between government troops and Abu Sayyaf terrorists erupted last April 11.
Col. Edgard Arevalo, AFP-Public Affairs Office chief, said investigations are now ongoing to determine why the couple remained in the conflict area during the firefight as he claimed the military ordered an evacuation. “It’s too early for us to conclude…if they are members, if they are coddlers, they were held hostaged, or they were actually killed by the Abu Sayyaf on suspicion that they have tipped off their presence to the military and the Philippine National Police (PNP) (these are) the subjects of the ongoing investigation,” Arevalo said.
He stressed that the operation in Inabanga town was “surgical” and focused only on certain areas and targeted personalities.
“It is our belief in the AFP that when we conducted the operation, there were no more civilians left in that area because they have already evacuated,” said Arevalo.
Arevalo, however, admitted that of the six slain in Inabanga, who were tagged earlier as Abu Sayyaf terrorists, only three were positively identified by the military as Abu Sayyaf members.
Capt. Jojo Mascarenas, civil military operations officer of the Army’s 302nd Brigade, said Crisente is an aunt of Joselito Melloria, alias Abu Ali, who allegedly served as guide to the group of ASG sub-leader Muamar Askali, alias Abu Rami.
Askali was among the four positively-identified Abu Sayyaf killed –the two others were a certain Abu Sufyan, one Edimar Isnain, alias Guruh Eddie.
“Accordingly, Cresinta was a relative (aunt) of Joselito Melloria alias Abu Ali who is believed to be the one who guided the other ASG members to the said place,” said Mascarenas.
“Investigation is currently ongoing to determine the involvement of the couple with the terrorist group and their participation during the encounter,” he added.
At the time of the encounter, Mascarenas said that the troops found the Abu Sayyaf terrorists swinging right inside the Petalco’s house while the couple were inside.
Earlier on Friday, the CPP scored the AFP and the PNP for the Bohol encounter, citing the killing of the Petalco couple.
The CPP claimed that the Philippine Air Force dropped nine bombs in Barangays Napo, Calenti and Banahao in Inabanga, forcing at least 1,200 local residents people to evacuate.
“The CPP joins the Filipino people in condemning the overkill military operations conducted by the AFP in Inabanga town which have endangered the lives of civilians,” it said.
The CPP accused the AFP of “spinning fake news stories” after claiming that Abu Sayyaf terrorists traveled 300 kilometers by boat from Sulu to Bohol, unhampered by the whole AFP establishment, then upstream to a place unknown to them with only a general plan to target tourists.
“This story is a typical of the tall tales spun by the US Central Intelligence Agency and their conspirators within the Philippine defense and security establishment,” the CPP said.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana lashed back at the CPP, accusing the communist group of being a fake organization for spreading false information regarding the Bohol clash.
AFP vows anew to wipe out Abus
The AFP added it will not be cowed by the brutal act against innocent people but instead will only motivate the soldiers to destroy the terrorists in reference to the Abu Sayyaf beheading of another captive.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Año said the beheading of Noel Besconde has only driven government troops to deliver the “lethal blow” against the Abu Sayyaf.
“While the AFP condemns this gruesome murder of this hapless kidnap victim, it all the more drives our soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines to deliver the lethal blow against this band of terrorists and rescue the remaining kidnap victims,” vowed Año.
“This terrorist group is all the more, by its recent barbarism, fueling the desire of the AFP to crush its beastly practice, stop its kidnap-for-ransom activities, and restore peace in Western Mindanao,” he added.
Besconde was beheaded on Maundy Thursday –apparently in retaliation for the killing of four Abu Sayyaf terrorists in Bohol, including sub-leader Muamar Askali, alias Abu Rami.
But Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the AFP’s Joint Task Force Sulu, expressed belief that the ASG beheaded Besconde because he was already sickly and impeded the movement of the Abu Sayyaf.
Sobejana also said that the Abu Sayyaf wanted to get P3 million ransom from the victim’s family but failed.
Besconde was the captain of FB Ramona 2 which was intercepted off Celebes Sea last December. He is the second Abu Sayyaf hostage to be beheaded under the Duterte administration –after German Juergen Gustav Kantner.
Año said that the 125,000-strong AFP will tirelessly pursue the Abu Sayyaf terrorists until they are destroyed as ordered by President Duterte.
“We will never falter. We will not rest even a bit in our conduct of combat, intelligence, and civil-military operations to protect our people. We will exhaust all means-legal and moral— to bring this war against terrorists to conclusion,” said Año.
The AFP chief said he also instructed Sobejana to locate the remains of Besconde for the family to accord him decent burial.
At the same time, Año called on the peace-loving people of Western Mindanao to assit the AFP and stopping the evil ways of the ASG.
“We continue to call on every God-fearing resident of Sulu, Basilan, and other parts of Western Mindanao to help your AFP and other security forces to put a stop to this criminal and evil act of the ASG. They have no place in our civilized society,” said Año.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/afp-yields-cpp-gave-accurate-bohol-clash-data
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