Marine unit in standoff shipped to Tawi-Tawi

The hundreds of Marine officers and servicemen who figured prominently in the six-hour standoff at the Marine Corps headquarters in Taguig City last Feb. 26 were ordered sent to the frontlines by the Navy top brass yesterday.

Without qualms or any air of protest, more than 300 troops of the Marine Battalion Landing Team-2 (MBLT-2) under the command of Lt. Col. Achilles Segumalian boarded ship on the way to their new assignment in Tawi-Tawi.

Officials led by Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. and Navy chief Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga saw off the Marines during the Navy’s 108th founding anniversary at the Navy headquarters on Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

Segumalian led a contingent of supporters barricading the Marine headquarters in protest of the relief of Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda as Marine commandant on Feb. 26, two days after the failed coup attempt against President Arroyo.

The group then was reportedly taking orders from Marine Col. Ariel Querubin, who was later relieved as 1st Marine Brigade commander in Marawi City.

At the height of the standoff, the emotional Segumalian declared the Marines were used for political purposes by the administration to commit fraud in Mindanao in the May 2004 general elections.

"Alam namin ang nangyari sa Lanao. Binababoy nila ang Marines (Everyone knows how the Marines were used in Lanao)," Segumalian was quoted as saying in an interview.

Segumalian, along with his men, was spared but Querubin was not as fortunate.

"To tell you the truth, the 2nd Marine Battalion only did its job (on Feb. 26). In our definition, there was no standoff. There is no standoff as far as the organization is concerned," Mayuga later told reporters.

When asked if Segumalian was investigated over the incident, Mayuga said: "Wala naman (There’s none)."

The Navy chief claimed the standoff apparently "changed" his outlook in life along with Segumalian.

"After the Feb. 26 incident, my personality changed, even Segumalian. His personality is not the same. That day was very tense," Mayuga said.

Navy spokesman Capt. Geronimo Malabanan said the MBLT-2 would be relieving MBLT-11 for deployment in Sulu.

The MBLT-11, on the other hand, will assume the duties of the MBLT-7 who are due for retraining at the Marines headquarters at Fort Bonifacio.

Malabanan also said the redeployment of the MBLT-2 to Tawi-Tawi marked the official launching of the Fleet-Marine Team Tandem.

"This is the Navy’s contribution to the internal security and counter-terrorism operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines," Malabanan said of the MBLT-2 deployment to far-flung Tawi-Tawi.

He said the MBLT-2 will play a major role in the Navy’s "Exercise Pagsisikap" to be held in Mindanao next week.

The exercise is designed to enhance the present operational capability of the Navy in the conduct of internal security and external defense operations that include sea and land-based activities for the different units and assets of the Philippine Fleet and the Marines.

Malabanan said the naval exercise will culminate in an amphibious landing at the southernmost beach of mainland Mindanao before the end of the month.

Malabanan, however, failed to elaborate how the MBLT-2 can contribute to the exercise since they will be redeployed in Tawi-Tawi.