MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. lauded the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) troops in Mindanao for weakening the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other enemies of the state.
In a speech during his visit to the headquarters of the 11th Infantry Division (ID) at Camp Teodulfo Bautista in Jolo, Sulu, Marcos said the troops were successful for minimizing threats of terror groups in the province.
“I have to congratulate all of you who have worked to achieve this success, who have worked very hard and have made many sacrifices so that we can now say that the capabilities of the main threat, which is the ASG, have been severely reduced,” Marcos said.
But he added: “That does not mean that the mission is over. As you can imagine, mayroon pa diyan na papasok na baka gustong mag-organize ulit kaya’t kailangan pa rin nating bantayan.”
“Ang assessment na nga ay ‘yung threat is only from individual actors. Wala na silang units na gumagalaw as a u nit. They are… basically (neutralized)… We have dismantled their machinery for causing, for bringing terror,” the President further said.
President Marcos also learned from the AFP troops assigned in the area about the diminishing threat posed by other terrorist groups.
“We also spoke briefly about the continuing threat of outside terrorist groups coming in, ‘yung mga Al-Qaeda-inspired, ‘yung mga ISIS-inspired na dating nakikita nating pumapasok dito ay mukha namang hindi na… tayo masyadong nate-threaten tungkol sa ganyang klase,” Marcos said.
The Chief Executive also mentioned that AFP’s shift to external defense amid the emerging regional threats, particularly in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“(I)to ‘yung mga gagawin natin para maging mas secure tayo lalong-lalo na dito sa area ninyo dahil I’m sure that there are many, many instances na mayroon tayong report na mga dumadaan na barko,” Marcos said.
He added: “So, we just have to keep vigilant and to continue to watch what is going on and to make sure that namo-monitor natin lahat ng nangyayari.”/PN
