JTF Sulu intercepts three speedboats off Sulu waters

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)