More US medical missions in South assured

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The commander of the US Navy Pacific Command gave assurances that he would recommend to US President George W. Bush to send more medical and humanitarian missions to Mindanao, a senior Filipino military official said.

"When he returns to the United States, he will tell (President Bush) to do more medical missions in the South," Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo, chief of the anti-terror Task Force Comet based in Sulu, quoted Admiral Gray Roughead as saying.

Roughead flew to Sulu Thursday to personally assess the ongoing humanitarian mission of US naval hospital ship Mercy, which is under the US Navy Pacific Command.

As part of his visit, Roughead, according to Aleo, also assessed the security situation in Sulu following unconfirmed reports that the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah are planning to disrupt the humanitarian mission of USNS Mercy, which is docked off the coast of Jolo, the capital town of Sulu.

"(Roughead’s) concern is to assess the relevance of the USNS Mercy in (their) mission in Sulu," Aleo said without elaborating.

Roughead stayed on board the USNS Mercy for about three hours, Aleo said.

The USNS Mercy has brought 360 Sulu patients for surgical operations on board, surpassing its initial target of 300.

Aleo said Roughead also visited the Sulu Integrated Provincial Hospital to assess what other assistance the US Navy Pacific Command could provide.