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Monday, December 23, 2024

US planes to spy on ISIS-linked terrorists

WASHINGTON is donating two turbo prop Cessna Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance aircraft to the Philippines that would hasten the military’s maritime interdiction of suspected terrorists using the country’s porous shoreline as transit points.

News of the donation coincided with a travel advisory issued by London against all travel of its nationals to western and central Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago due to the continuing battle between government troops and ISIS-inspired Maute terrorists in the country’s far south.

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In the Senate, meanwhile,  Senator  Loren Legarda wants the Senate to inquire into the rehabilitation of  war-torn Marawi City  as another senator sought the creation of an ad hoc committee for this purpose.

Under her proposed Senate Resolution No. 439, Legarda directed the Senate Committee on Finance to look into the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation plans of Task Force Bangon Marawi for Marawi City and all other areas affected by the armed conflict between government forces and the Maute group.

President Rodrigo Duterte, through Administrative Order No. 3, has established “Task Force Bangon Marawi” to facilitate the recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in Marawi City and all other localities affected by the current conflict in the area. 

“We must restore hope, dignity and peace in Marawi City and other affected areas. Much more needs to be done to provide basic necessities to families affected by the crisis,” said Legarda.

The two US Cessna planes which arrived in the country last week would be officially transferred by US Ambassador Kim Kay to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana in simple turn-over rites at the Philippine Air Force grounds in Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla, spokesman of the Armed Forces, said the transfer of two US Cessna 208 was part of the maritime security initiative forged by the two allied countries purposely to enhance Philippine military maritime intelligence operations.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla

In an advisory, the British government said its citizens should avoid all but essential travel to the remainder of Mindanao, excluding Camiguin, Dinagat and Siargao Islands; and to the south of Cebu province, including the towns of Dalaguete and Badian, due to the threat of terrorism.

“There’s an ongoing armed conflict between government forces and militants in Marawi City, Mindanao,” the advisory said.

“Martial law is in place across the whole of Mindanao until 31 December 2017. There may be curfews and checkpoints. Monitor media reporting and follow the instructions of local authorities,” it advised.

“You should cooperate with the Philippine authorities and allow extra time to pass through security checks,” the advisory added.

The advisory said: “Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in the Philippines, including in Manila.”

The US Cessna donation came barely a month after the US military provided two PT3-Orion surveillance aircraft for intelligence utilization in the Marawi City conflict against the movement of terrorists fighting security forces.

Aside from the US, the Japanese and the Australian governments had also offered similar aircraft with the same intelligence monitoring capabilities to detect and intercept terrorists in Marawi conflict zone.

The US Cessna aircraft had an effective capability to digitally plot, conduct surveys and collect information below while airborne.

“These two aircraft would enhance our capabilities to gather several information in most of our archipelagic waters like coastal areas and in guarding high seas for potential foreign intruders,” Padilla said.

In the Senate, Legarda said: “We must ensure that in addition to immediate aid, they [victims of the Marawi conflict] also have access to emergency employment and livelihood assistance even as the conflict continues.”

She said the fighting had led to widespread destruction of critical public infrastructure and facilities and private property.

The latest report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs on the conflict in Marawi City estimates that the number of internally displaced persons has reached 351,168, with the number of IDPs staying at evacuation centers at 17,389 and the number of IDPs living with family/friends at 333,779. 

Moreover, it has been reported that the lack of sanitation and drinking water in overcrowded ECs has led to a significant rise in incidence of water-borne diseases and upper respiratory tract infections, and the need for shelter assistance is also a critical concern given the high probability of long-term displacement of affected residents.

“Rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Marawi and neighboring areas should include in its coverage not only public infrastructure but also private buildings and residences that have been destroyed in the fighting, taking into account the value of preserving local heritage, culture and religion,” Legarda said.

Senator JV Ejercito cited  the need for the creation of an ad hoc committee which shall exercise jurisdiction over all matters directly and principally relating to the construction and rehabilitation of Marawi City and other affected areas.

In his Senate Resolution No. 18, Ejercito said the gravity of the destruction brought about by the Marawi crisis calls for a committee to oversee the  process of rebuilding Marawi City although several members of the Islamic State-inspired Maute bandits are still holed up in some areas resisting government forces.

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