1 ASG killed as WesMinCom intensifies operation in Sulu

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 32^nd 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.