The 300 errant cops who will be sent to Basilan on Tuesday can now heave a sigh of relief after no less than the military chief of staff assured that they would not be tapped to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
Gen. Eduardo Ano, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), also disclosed that the deployment of the 311 cops from Metro Manila will not be concentrated in Basilan alone.
“Our discussion with the PNP (Philippine National Police) is not only actually Basilan but they will beef up forces in priority areas,” said Ano.
“Their main job is to take care of the town centers, urban centers so that the AFP will concentrate on the hinterlands,” he added.
Ano admitted that the arrival of 311 policemen in conflict-torn areas in Mindanao is a big boost in terms of augmentation of the existing police and military forces.
He said the police deployment means more than 300 pairs of eyes watching for threats against civilians in urban centers.
The 311 policemen from five police districts in Metro Manila, headed by an official with a rank of superintendent (lieutenant colonel in the military), are facing various offenses from being habitual tardy to involvement in illegal drugs, will be flown to Zamboanga City on Tuesday on board a C-130 cargo plane.
They will then be immediately shipped to Basilan as instructed by President Duterte.
“They are of big help in urban centers especially in manning checkpoints and conduct of civil military operations,” said Ano. (Aaron Recuenco)