PAGADIAN CITY-- Amid
the intensified conduct of military operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group
(ASG), troops of the Joint Task Force Sulu under Brigadier General Arnel B. Dela
Vega intercepted Monday (August 29) three speedboats with expired registration
and permit to operate.
Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) spokesperson Major Felimon Tan
disclose that the said speedboats were intercepted off the sea waters near
Maimbung Bay, Sulu where navy ships are conducting barrier negations patrol to prevent
Abu Sayyaf members from using coastal and high seas as escape and reinforcement
routes.
Major Tan said, two of the speedboats, M/B LINGISAN and M/B FUMANCHO,
are rigged with two (2) 200-horsepower outboard motors, while M/B EMPEROR has
three (3) 200-horsepower outboard motors that can speed up above 30 miles per
hour.
Tan added that the apprehension
was a result of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
between the AFP-PNP and other government agencies, to include DOTR, DILG, DND,
ARMM, BFAR, MARINA, OTS, PCG, and PPA, deputizing the AFP in the enforcement of
regulations on the use of high-speed watercraft, at three gross tonnage and
below, confiscating unregistered sea crafts, intensifying security in local
ports, and dismantling illegally constructed ports in order to mitigate the
movement of terrorists and criminal groups and to conduct acts inimical to
national security.
After profiling and documentation, the crew members of the speedboats
were brought to the Municipal Office of Maimbung, Sulu for proper disposition,
while the boats are in the custody of the ATG pending presentation of
registration documents and be subjected to further validation with different
intelligence agencies to confirm whether they are utilized in kidnapping
foreign nationals on board seacrafts in the tri-border areas of Indonesia,
Malaysia and Philippines.(By Mary Joy Boholano)
No comments:
Post a Comment