Army soldiers eat their meal Friday, April 25, 2008 at the Jolo port in Sulu province in southern Philippines as they wait for a navy ship that will ferry them to Mindanao. Thousands of army soldiers have already left Sulu since February this year as part of a new deployment strategy to effectively fight insurgency. Marines have taken over the places vacated by the army in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan provinces, all in the Muslim autonomous region as part of the so-called Fleet Marine Concept. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 25, 2008) – Dozens of Army soldiers on Friday left Sulu as peace and order continue to improve in this province, once a hotbed of Muslim insurgency and terrorism in the southern Philippines.
“We are on our way to the headquarters and just waiting for the others and the boat that will take us there,” said one soldier, who declined to give his name and rank, as he and some infantrymen took a break from the sweltering heat of the sun in Sulu.
He and several dozen others were just part of thousands of Army soldiers who have been recalled back to barracks as part of a new deployment strategy to effectively fight insurgency and terrorism in Mindanao.
“This (redeployment) is good for the army because we have to be more effective in winning the war on terror and in fighting insurgents. Sulu is improving a lot and the situation is very good right now and the threats posed by the Abu Sayyaf are diminishing,” the soldier said.
Marines have also taken over the places vacated by the Army ending more than two decades of army dominion in the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan, all part of the Muslim autonomous region.
In January, thousands of army soldiers were also pulled out from Sulu and deployed to other provinces in Mindanao. Officials said the latest pull out of soldiers will realign Marine and Army forces in the Sulu Archipelago and Mindanao.
The Army troops would be deployed in Central Mindanao, a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest Muslim sepa¬ratist rebel group.
Ten of thousands of troops were sent to Sulu the past years to fight the Abu Sayyaf group that is tied to al-Qaeda of Osama bin Laden and the Indonesian militant Jemaah Islamiya.
But many of the Abu Sayyaf's known leaders had either been killed or captured, and the group has dwindled over the past decade from more than a thousand fighters to about 200. The group is also fragmented and without a leader after Army special forces killed Khadaffy Janjalani, its chieftain, in a firefight on September 2006.
Marine Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, Sulu military chief, said there is no need to maintain a huge number of soldiers in the province because the troops have already accomplished their earlier missions with the killings and capture of many Abu Sayyaf members.
"Sulu needs fewer troops since the threat problems have remarkably dropped and the threat level is now more manageable," Sabban said.
He attributed the success of the military operations to effective intelligence, and various develop¬ment and humanitarian projects in partnership with the Sulu provincial government.
Soldiers in the southern Philippines have also praised military chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon for the many reforms and morale and welfare programs he introduced.
“The morale of the troops in Mindanao is very high. General Hermogenes Esperon, who is retiring next month, has done a lot for the welfare of the soldiers and civilians not only in Mindanao but in the whole of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” said Army Maj. Eugene Batara, spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.
He said under Esperon, a new military hospital was built in Sulu not only for the soldiers, but civilians as well. He also ordered the renovation and expansion of the military hospitals in different areas in Mindanao and built housing projects for soldiers and their families.
“And although he is retiring soon, the humanitarian and development projects still continue aggressively in many areas in the southern Philippines, particularly in poor communities and all these part of General Esperon’s programs and that’s why soldiers are happy and satisfied with his good leadership,” Batara said.
Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said Esperon is one of the proponents of many AFP-related humanitarian programs in the province. Tan hailed Esperon for the creation of the National Development Command, a new unit in the Armed Forces of the Philippines that especially focus on the basic socio-economic development and infrastructure projects in conflict-affected areas.
Through the NDC, the Armed Forces contribute in the convergence of efforts by the different line agencies of government in the repair and construction of schools, health centers, sources of potable water, roads and bridges and in the process rebuild lives that have been disrupted by terrorist activities and violence.
“General Esperon has done a very a good job,” Tan said.
A veteran army commander in Mindanao, Esperon was originally to retire on February 9 at age 56, but President Gloria Arroyo extended his term so he can continue his programs and reforms in the military. Esperon is the 35th Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and is set to retire on May 9.
Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, also said the troops in central Mindanao are all praised for Esperon because of his professionalism and dedication to his duty.
“The soldiers have nothing but praised to General Esperon not because he is our Chief of Staff. He is a good commander, a kind father and an understanding brother for every soldiers and officers in the military.”
“He takes care of the morale and welfare of the men. He has done so many projects for the soldiers and improved the image and professionalism of the AFP. He is competent and capable,” Ando said.
Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano is said to be the next Chief-of-Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Esperon has begun his farewell visits to military camps outside Manila. (Mindanao Examiner)
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