Police called in to fight Sayyaf

The military has called in the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the ongoing operations against Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan.

PNP chief Director General Leandro Mendoza and Army chief Lt. Gen. Jaime de los Santos met at Camp Crame yesterday and jointly announced "a well-coordinated military and police campaign against the Abu Sayyaf."

While the joint press statement did not disclose details of the "well-coordinated military and police campaign," top police officials welcomed the announcement.

The military, they said, has been complaining that its forces have been having difficulty eliciting information from Basilan residents because soldiers fear that the residents may be related to Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Retired Gen. Ramon Montano, former chief of the defunct Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police, also lamented that the military treats the civilians like bandits when they could help the military locate the Abu Sayyaf and their captives.

But the police officials said, aside from the PNP Special Action Force, local police forces in Basilan, Sulu and other areas of western Mindanao are not only familiar with the residents of their jurisdictions but also the terrain.

The police officials said another Abu Sayyaf hostage, American Jeffrey Schilling, was rescued in April by a policeman who later sought assistance from a local Marine detachment.

The officials said Delos Santos’ visit to Camp Crame as the guest of honor in the PNP’s Distinguished Visitor Program was timely especially since the military has been heavily criticized for its handling of the operation against the Abu Sayyaf in Lamitan, Basilan.

But unlike the military high command, the PNP did not hesitate to admit there was an operational lapse in the Lamitan operation.

Mendoza said the police were also caught flat-footed when the bandits attacked St. Peter’s Church and the Jose Torres Memorial Hospital in Lamitan, presumably to seek medical attention for their wounded.

"(But) the armed forces are quite prepared this time because the troops were then focused on the search and rescue operations over an area covering the islands of Palawan, Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga," Mendoza said.

Mendoza, however, refused to comment that the botched operation was actually a cover-up for the ransom payment of construction magnate Reghis Romero and his companion.

Mendoza instead said a joint intelligence task force has been formed with the military and is currently consolidating reports and information.

The PNP, through the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), is the lead agency coordinating with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in gathering evidence regarding the hostage crisis.

Mendoza also said the PNP has drafted an operation plan for "intensified all-out" war against the Abu Sayyaf should the ongoing negotiations fail.