Saying there will be no let-up in military operations to get them, President Arroyo told Abu Sayyaf bandits yesterday that surrendering was their only option.
"To the Abu Sayyaf therefore, I say to them: If you value your lives then surrender now," she said in Filipino at a press conference at Edwin Andrews Air Base in Zamboanga City.
Mrs. Arroyo said the objective of the all-out military offensive is to put an end to the Abu Sayyaf’s reign of terror in Sulu and other parts of Western Mindanao.
"I have said it before and I will say it again; I’m not a happy warrior but if this is what the situation calls for to defend the lives of our people and pursue peace and order, so be it," she said.
Mrs. Arroyo ordered the military yesterday to "fight to the finish" to rescue American Muslim Jeffrey Schilling and Filipino dive instructor Roland Ullah, who have been held captive by the bandits since last year.
"I told the Armed Forces that there is no deadline for this operation," she said. "They have all the time...they can stay here as long as they want to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf."
Mrs. Arroyo also rejected calls reportedly from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to stop the military assault against the Abu Sayyaf bandits.
"The Abu Sayyaf are not political rebels," she said. "They are terrorists, and that’s the way we will deal with them. So there is no peace with the Abu Sayyaf."
Mrs. Arroyo also reiterated her administration’s policy toward the attainment of peace and order in the country, especially in Mindanao.
"Domestic and foreign investors must not be terrorized, their operations here hampered by gunfire and bomb blasts," she said. "I also warn bandits to cease and desist, otherwise the administration’s war against them will be sustained vigorously."
Mrs. Arroyo flew to Zamboanga City and Jolo, Sulu yesterday with Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes and Armed Forces chief Gen. Diomedio Villanueva.
At the same press conference, Villanueva denied reports that most of the Abu Sayyaf members who were captured in Talipao town early this week were farmers.
"We’re very sure that those captured in Talipao are Abu Sayyaf," he said. "They were far away from the residential places."
However, Villanueva said the military has not made progress in the operation to rescue Schilling and Ullah but that they believe that the two are still alive.
"There are some indications that there is such a place which we would rather not reveal at the moment," he said.
At Camp Crame in Quezon City, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Leandro Mendoza ordered the five police districts in the National Capital Region yesterday to be on alert for Abu Sayyaf terrorists who could be hiding in Metro Manila.
Mendoza told The STAR yesterday that police intelligence agents are still verifying reports of Abu Sayyaf infiltrators in Muslim communities in Manila, Quezon City and Caloocan City.
"There are still no confirmatory information but we cannot dismiss the reports that some Abu Sayyaf members could be hiding in Metro Manila," he said.
In Davao City, the government has reportedly sought the help of MILF leaders in convincing the Abu Sayyaf to free Schilling and Ullah.
Moner Bajunaid, chairman of the MILF technical committee in the peace negotiations, told The STAR yesterday the MILF has already helped in the release of several hostages that the Abu Sayyaf had held captive.
However, Bajunaid said the MILF has nothing to do with the kidnapping of Schilling and Ullah.
"The MILF absolutely does not have anything to do with those kidnappings," he said. "The MILF’s help has always been sought because of the fact that the Abu Sayyaf members are also Muslims."
Meanwhile, the United States has advised its citizens to avoid traveling to some areas in the country because of reported hostilities.
In an April 8 advisory, the State Department urged Americans to exercise "extreme caution" based on bombings in Metro Manila and Mindanao last year. – Roel Pareño, Marichu Villanueva, Christina Mendez, Edith Regalado, Aurea Calica