ZAMBOANGA CITY – Top Philippine defense and military officials arrived Wednesday in the southern port city of Zamboanga after inspecting troops in Sulu province where security forces are battling the Abu Sayyaf rebels.
Defense chief Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces’ chief General Gregorio Pio Catapang and other officials went straight to the headquarters of the Western Mindanao Command where commanders led by Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero briefed them on the current operations against the Abu Sayyaf and other threat groups.
“A briefing on the Internal Peace and Security Operations was presented by Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero, commander of WESTMINCOM, wherein Secretary Gazmin lauded the intensified support to law enforcement operations undertaken by the Command as its ground units continue to make progress against the Abu Sayyaf Group, resulting to a reduced rate of kidnapping activities in the area,” said Marine Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command.
She said Catapang also ordered the Western Mindanao Command to further intensify security efforts in Zamboanga City and nearby provinces through the strict implementation of checkpoints and community watch activities in collaboration with the local governments and the police.
The visiting officials came from the headquarters of the 501st Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Marine Brigade in Sulu where local commanders also briefed them on the current campaign against the Abu Sayyaf, blamed by authorities as behind the spate of terror attacks in the southern region.
The visit also coincided with fierce fighting in Basilan province that killed and wounded at least a dozen rebels, according to Muyuela. (Mindanao Examiner)
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