Here is very disturbing news which was revealed during a Congressional budget hearing for the Defense Department that weapons and ammunition being used by the terrorist Maute Group in Marawi City and found by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during their clearing operations came from a government arsenal in Limay, Bataan. Mind you, this is not the first time that we have heard of this story that ammunition belonging to the AFP have been found in enemy hands and used against our own soldiers.
What was equally disturbing was that, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana did not deny that the ammunition boxes with "Government Arsenal" markings were among those recovered in the areas that were cleared by government troops in Marawi City. Apparently, many ammunition boxes with ARMSCOR Philippines markings were among those discovered by the authorities during clearing operations in Marawi City.
Armscor Philippines is a local gun and ammunition manufacturer, dealer and importer. Meanwhile, Government Arsenal chief Jonathan Martir, claimed they could not monitor the distribution of ammunition that are manufactured in the Government Arsenal Bataan plant after turning them over to the AFP's Logistics Command. The million-peso question here is, whether the AFP high command would be conducting a thorough investigation how this ammunition fell into the hands of the Maute?
Todate, the total number of casualties during the fighting in Marawi City since May 23, 2017 has reached close to 700 dead. Of this figure some 523 of the casualties belong to the ISIS linked Maute Terrorist men. From these dead Maute members, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were able to retrieve 602 firearms. The number of civilians dead remained at 45 people. From the reports of people who escaped from their Maute captors inside Marawi City, the Maute terror group has dwindled to 40 fighters who are holding nearly a hundred hostages. This is why the fighting in Marawi City still rages on three months after it started last May.
Still on the military front, the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO), a group of retired officials of the AFP with some 800 members have thrown their full support to Maj. General JovitoPalparan who is facing serious illegal detention charges before the Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) for the disappearance of University of the Philippines (UP) students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño in 2006.
In the official statement of AGFO its President, General Edilberto Adan (Ret) said, "We sympathize with the families of the victims of this long running insurgency whether they are civilians or soldiers. But branding Maj. Gen. Palparan as a 'berdugo' and playing it up in the media does not help the quest for justice. Let him have his day in court and defend himself against his accusers. He is entitled to due process. Our justice system presumes that he is innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law."
Gen. Adan, who was once the spokesperson of the AFP further said, "Professional soldiers like Major General Palparan faced hardships and risks, and had put his life on the line like countless Filipino soldiers in the service of the country, starting as a junior officer in the 1970s. His courage and leadership had saved lives and protected communities. His sacrifices should be taken into account. If he had abused his power and authority or committed any crime against anyone as the militants claim, then allow him to face his accusers, and they should present evidence for evaluation by competent authorities so that justice maybe served. Lest we forget, this is how it works in a democracy."
The AGFO group must have read my column asking for the immediate release of Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan and send him back to fight the New People's Army (NPA) where he was perhaps one of the most effective soldier in our four decades struggle against those who seek to destroy our democracy. But like I said, the AFP always loses in the propaganda war vs. the commies.
But last December 17, 2010 the Morong Municipal Trial Court ordered the release of the so-called "Morong 43" who was caught red handed posing has Health Workers, but they were really training the NPAs. But President Aquino freed them saying that their arrest was illegal. But the AFP said it was a legitimate operation that captured the Morong 43. More on this tomorrow.