By
HIROHITO ‘Jong’ D. CADION
PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga
del Sur (June 19,2018) – One member of Abu Sayaff Group (ASG) was
killed during a pursuit operation conducted by troops of the Joint Task Force
Sulu at Sitio Sailih of Barangay Panglayahan in Patikul municipality Saturday
at around 6:20pm (June 16, 2018).
Brigadier
General Divino Rey C Pabayo, Commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said that
the encounters started Saturday at exactly 3:20 pm at the said barangay when
elements of the 32nd Infantry Battalion under Lieutenant Colonel
Ronaldo Mateo engaged a group of around forty ASG led by a certain Hajaan
Sawadjaan.
Exchange
of fires lasted for 35-minutes with no reported casualty among the government
forces.
Government
troops recovered improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and personal belongings of
the bandits at the encounter site.
“We
are thankful for the information given by the local populace every time the
bandits come to the area. This only shows that the people is fed up of the
menace brought by the ASG and because they want to move forward towards peace
and development in their locality,” said BGen. Pabayo.
“Our intensified security operation against
the ASG is meant to finish off the bandits so that people in the area can live
in peace.
Aside
from protecting the people, we also have to secure on-going government flagship
projects there that are meant to deliver services to the communities,” Lieutenant
General Arnel B Dela Vega, WesMinCom Commander said.
“The
ASG has brought so much destruction in Southern Mindanao so we really have to
join hands in defeating them.
Of
course, they can yield to the government and opt to live peacefully with their
family”, Lt Gen Dela Vega explained.
For
this year alone, almost a hundred ASG members have re-joined their families
after yielding to the Armed Forces in coordination with the local government
units in various
municipalities
of Sulu and Basilan alone.
Immediate
assistance was extended to them while sustainable livelihood package is being
formulated to finally help them become productive members of their respective
communities.
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