No more traces of foreign terrorists in Mindanao, Wesmincom says

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) on Thursday, July 23, 2020, confirmed the pronouncement of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana that they can no longer detect the presence of foreign terrorists in Mindanao.

"Hanap kami nang hanap sa kanila talagang parang hindi na, walang traces of their presence,” Wesmincom commander Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana told reporters on Thursday.

“Pero ganoon pa man, we do not lower our guards, we maintain our security posture," he added.

At present, Sobejana said there are 59 terrorists on their watchlist. They have yet to verify if they are foreigners or if they are affiliated with the ISIS-inspired terrorist group.

Earlier, Sobejana said they were monitoring at least seven foreign terrorists in Mindanao who were involved in training local terrorists particularly in Sulu and Basilan.

Among the recent terror attacks perpetrated by foreign terrorists were the suicide bombing in Jolo Cathedral in January 2019 and the bombing at a military checkpoint in Lamitan City in Basilan in July 2019.

The military said foreign terrorists enter the country by sea from Malaysia and Indonesia.

On Wednesday, Lorenzana said the military could no longer detect the presence of foreign terrorists in Mindanao.

He said the military was focusing its monitoring on local terrorist groups such as Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter and Dawlah Islamiyah. (SunStar Philippines)