AFP defend the military shelling happened in Sulu

Ma. Lourdes “Miami” Ebilane
June 16, 2008
Story 2: AFP defend the military shelling happened in Sulu

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has defended the military shelling happened in Sulu last June 15, at around 2:00 am.
Lt. Col. Ernetso Torres Spokesperson of AFP said the shelling is a long planned operations by the military against the Abu Sayyaf group.

“It is a separate incident and it is part of the ongoing operation against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group, it has been planned earlier and we are just pursuing that operation,” Torres said adding that it just so happened that the ABS-CBN reporter Ces Drilon and her crew were being hostage by the kidnappers on the said place.

“We would like to make it clear that the mortar shelling that was conducted by the military in Sulu last Sunday is not a part of the ongoing efforts to locate and secure Ms. Ces Drilon and her group,“ Torres said.

The shelling happened in Indanan, Sulu and in Talipao, Sulu, but the AFP is confident that the group of Ces Drilon is not at the area anymore, “They transfer in one place to another, that is why we are very sure that the place we bombard is the place of other ASG members,” Torres said.

He also clear that the shelling is not to make any rescue operations, “As of now there is no military operation being directed for the purpose of rescuing them so what we are doing now is trying to locate and continuously give our assessment to the crisis management committee but we would like to say that your military is always ready to react or to conduct any military operation when needed, when necessary,” Torres added.

Torres said that the military is being represented in the crisis management committee headed by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan but they are not involved in any actions that the negotiating team is doing. “They are on top of the situation. This situation cannot be solved by the military alone, or by the Philippine National Police alone so there is a collective effort in addressing this problem, he said.