Wednesday, March 21, 2007 AFP, MILF join forces in fight vs criminals By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) conducted at least 19 joint military operations against lawless elements in Mindanao last year.
In a 2006 progress report submitted to Secretary Silvestre C. Afable Jr., chair of the government peace panel in talks with the MILF, the government-MILF Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) stressed that such collaboration "has been a big factor in preventing armed misencounters between government and MILF forces on the ground, and has significantly contributed in safeguarding the ceasefire and the peace talks."
The report was signed by AFP Major General Ben Dolorfino for the government AHJAG and lawyer Abdul Dataya for the MILF AHJAG.
This teamwork yielded terrorists and kidnappers and had contributed to the strengthening of the ongoing peace process between government and the MILF.
The joint military operations were carried out from North Cotabato to Sultan Kudarat, from Iligan City to Maguindanao, from the Lanao provinces to Basilan.
Nineteen separate incidents were recorded by the AHJAG, showing how AFP-MILF cooperation had resulted in the rescue of kidnap victims, the recovery of stolen animals, the arrest and/or killing of known lawless elements, and the confiscation of their firearms.
Rescued in separate occasions were six-year-old Kris Kurt de Gracia (Parang, Shariff Kabunsuan); Andrew Gentiles, Henry de Guzman, Rodiardo Abe-Abe, Bonifacio Kalibo, Jinky Paglinawan, and Bonifacio Sorono (Lanao del Norte); Aga Mutin a.k.a. Ayobkhan Shariff, Palao Diamla, Eduardo Abragan, and Jaime Berdon (Lanao del Sur); and Donna Mae Ramos and Grace Gonzales (Basilan).
Perpetrators were either arrested or killed in rescue operations.
In a statement, Afable cited AHJAG’S efforts as "clear manifestation of goodwill from both sides, proves positive that peace reigns in the hearts of our soldiers and our brother Muslims."
Challenging conventional wisdom, the AHJAG was created in 2005 based on a government-MILF joint communiqué mandating it to uphold a bilateral agreement on the cessation of hostilities.
It has since operated with "the consensus that the presence and activities of criminal groups, including the so-called Lost Commands, inside or near MILF communities, impede the peace process, hamper the implementation of rehabilitation programs and the delivery of basic government services in conflict-affected areas."
