Sunday, August 19, 2007 Defense chief reports ‘positive outcome’ of gun ban in Basilan
DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Saturday that the enforcement of a gun ban in Basilan borne out by the July 10 ambush that left 14 Marine soldiers killed “is positively working.”
“The reports state that it’s going very well. As a matter of fact, to prove this there is no untoward incident,” Teodoro said referring to the military’s enforcement of the gun ban as part of their punitive actions against 130 Abu Sayyaf, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and lawless elements involved in the ruthless killing of the 14 soldiers.
A local court has already issued warrants for the arrest of the suspects.
Teodoro could not say if the troops have already seized firearms from unauthorized people to carry one.
The military is in the process of coordinating with the MILF in Basilan for gathering MILF forces in one area for them not to be involved in the punitive operations.
The measure is also implemented in the island province of Sulu where Abu Sayyaf and rogue Moro National Liberation Front forces killed 26 Army soldiers in skirmishes last August 9 in Indanan and Maimbung towns.
Meanwhile, Senator Gregorio Honasan said he expects to see more of Gilbert Teodoro “in action” as the new defense secretary, especially in Mindanao as armed hostilities continue to escalate in that part of the country.
Honasan said he finds “new hope for a good start” in Teodoro. “We look forward to seeing him in action in Mindanao. He is young, competent and determined but he has a long road to tread, eventually having to deal with armed services in the old - but not necessarily right - ways. He has my support,” Honasan said.
“Muslim Mindanao is not and has never been the problem. The problem lies in national policy makers - from economic development planners to politicians - who have done little to uplift the whole Mindanao,” Honasan said.
“Band aid solutions cannot stop the gaping wound in Mindanao. Piece-meal and half-baked approaches are simply no longer applicable there,” he added. (VR/CPB/Sunnex)
