Barbers hits Balikatan 03-1 on Sulu island

Sen. Robert Barbers said he will check if the predominantly Muslim province of Sulu is still being considered as the site of this year’s joint military exercise between Philippine and US troops.

Incoming Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Narciso Abaya earlier said Sulu remained the top choice of the US military.

"I am checking on that, actually," Barbers told reporters in an interview. "I would like to check if he really said that because if that is true, that would be contrary to the pronouncement of the President (Arroyo) not to hold Balikatan (name of the exercises) in Sulu."

US military sources have said the US government wanted to reprise the success of last year’s exercises, which dismantled the Abu Sayyaf kidnap gang in Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf still has a faction in Sulu, which is holding four Filipina Christian preachers and one Indonesian sailor hostage.

Sulu was the original venue of the war games but was dropped due to opposition from Muslim residents, who still harbor resentment against the United States for its brutal campaign against Muslim unrest during the early years of the American colonial period.

Earlier, unnamed US military officials said US troops would fight alongside their Filipino counterparts against the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, which is considered a terrorist group by Washington.

However, the Arroyo administration strongly denied any combat role for American troops, citing a constitutional prohibition on foreign troops fighting on local soil.

Government officials insisted that the Americans would be restricted to the same guidelines used in last year’s maneuvers, which basically consisted of training exercises. US troops, however, may fire only in self-defense.