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Monday, June 16, 2008
Troops kick off offensive in Sulu
By Bong Garcia
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Government troops based in Jolo fired several rounds of cannons towards the hinterlands of Sulu province where the group of ABS-CBN broadcaster Ces Oreña-Drilon is held captive by Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Troops were also sighted Sunday leaving a military camp in Jolo, the capital town of Sulu province.
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Reports said that the sounds of cannon fires reverberated to nearby towns of Indanan and Patikul.
However, it was not yet known if the target of the cannon fires that began around 3 a.m. Sunday are the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits who are holding captive Drilon, her cameraman Jimmy Encarnacion, and Professor Octavio Dinampo of the Mindanao State University.
In an interview Sunday morning with Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, chief of the Task Force Comet, he said: "no military operation is going on."
Lieutenant General Nelson Allaga, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), also said the firing of the cannons is not intended for the Abu Sayyaf group.
He added that the shelling made by the military was just a "rehearsal".
"We just like them to feel the military presence in the area," he said.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) Police Director Joel Goltiao also said Sunday that the barrage of cannon fires "was part of an offensive that has long been planned."
"It just so happened that there is this situation (kidnapping of Drilon and companions)," Goltiao added.
Drilon, Encarnacion, Dinampo and assistant cameraman Angelo Valderama were seized by the Abu Sayyaf bandits last June 8 in Kulasi Village, Maimbung town.
Valderama was released Thursday evening in Timbangan village, in the town of Indanan.
Goltiao said the kidnappers remain highly mobile since the day the hostages were seized.
On Saturday, Drilon and her companions requested through a text message sent to the son of Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji, who is heading the negotiations, to send them toiletries and medicines.
The medicine is intended for Dinampo, who is suffering from arthritis.
Goltiao said he hopes that the assault will not have an impact on the on-going negotiations for the release of Drilon, Encarnacion and Dinampo.
The military's Joint Task Force Comet (JTFC) had been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf bandits who are operating in the hinterlands of Sulu as fragmented groups since the death of Khadafy Janjalani, their so-called emir, last year.
The JTFC is tasked to pursue the remaining leaders and members of the Abu Sayyaf bandits that are hiding in the Sulu hinterlands. (Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Pampanga. (June 16, 2008 issue)
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