Rural Filipinos Welcome U.S. Troops

Rural Filipinos Welcome U.S. Troops
Special Forces Deployment on Southern Island Is First Since World War II

By Philip P. Pan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 28, 2002; Page A13

LAMITAN, Philippines, Jan. 27 -- As the farmers of this rural town on Basilan island shuffled into the St. Peter's parish compound for Mass this morning, two Philippine soldiers dressed in green fatigues and armed with rifles scanned the crowd for suspicious faces.

The parish priest, the Rev. Cirilo Nacorda, delivered a hopeful sermon alluding to the island's struggle against the Abu Sayyaf, a violent band of Muslim rebels with a penchant for kidnapping. Then, retreating to the rectory, he removed his white robes, picked up a 9mm submachine gun with one hand and tucked a silver .45-caliber pistol into the waistband of his bluejeans with the other.

"It's for my protection," the Roman Catholic priest explained. "The Abu Sayyaf do not respect life, and the military cannot provide 24-hour protection."

Such is life on Basilan, a tropical island in the southern Philippines that is about to become the latest front in the global U.S. war on terrorism. Nearly 100 U.S. soldiers have already landed at nearby military bases, and 560 more are scheduled to arrive over the next three days.

Their mission is to provide training, equipment and technical support to the more than 5,000 Philippine soldiers chasing the Abu Sayyaf, which the United States says has ties to Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda terrorist network. About 80 Abu Sayyaf guerrillas are said to be hiding in the island's dense jungles, dragging along one Filipino and two American hostages. Another 500 fighters are believed to be operating on nearby Jolo island.

Although U.S. and Philippine military forces routinely conduct joint training exercises, this six-month operation will be the largest and most comprehensive in years. It also will be the first to take place in the largely Muslim islands of the southern Philippines, where U.S. troops have not been present since the end of World War II.

Public opinion polls show that a large majority of Filipinos welcome the U.S. soldiers, but a vocal and influential group of leftist and nationalist politicians have criticized President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for inviting U.S. troops back to a country that voted only 11 years ago to kick them out.

Of particular concern has been the role of 160 members of the U.S. Special Forces, some of whom will accompany Philippine units on "low-risk patrols" in combat zones on Basilan and will have the authority to defend themselves against attack. Critics say this opens a loophole for U.S. forces to launch their own attacks on the Abu Sayyaf.

Here on Basilan, where military checkpoints dot the dirt roads cutting through fields of coconut and rubber trees and students carry wooden rifles for training, many say they wouldn't mind if U.S. troops did just that.

"To be honest, I'd be very glad. I trust the Americans," said Wahab Akbar, a stocky former Muslim rebel who is now the island's governor. "We're very thankful the U.S. government has not abandoned this corner of the world."

Philippine officials have emphasized that the Philippine soldiers on the island will continue to do all the fighting and that the Americans are here only to train them in the use of new battle gear as well as high-tech surveillance and communication equipment. Hopes are high that this support will be enough to crush the Abu Sayyaf, which began its violent campaign for an independent Muslim state more than a decade ago but now appears more interested in kidnapping foreigners and wealthy Filipinos for large ransoms.

Military officials say the Abu Sayyaf fighters on Basilan are already haggard and on the run. "The hard part now is locating them. That's where we hope the American technology can help," said Capt. Noel Detoyato, spokesman for the Philippine military's Southern Command, noting that the military can't even intercept rebel telephone calls now.

Detoyato said more than 40 Philippine soldiers and 480 Abu Sayyaf fighters have been killed since May 27, when the rebels attacked the beach resort of Dos Palmas off the western island of Palawan and snatched 20 hostages, including three Americans. Two of them, Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries from Wichita and longtime Philippine residents, remain in captivity. The third, Guillermo Sobero, of Corona, Calif., was killed.

From Dos Palmas, the Abu Sayyaf used speedboats to travel to Basilan, where they sneaked into the town of Lamitan and stormed into the St. Peter's parish compound, apparently to steal medical supplies from the church hospital. Nacorda, the priest, barely escaped, clambering over a wall as the Abu Sayyaf celebrated over the corpse of his bodyguard.

The guerrillas also ambushed a company of army recruits walking past the compound, killing three soldiers and wounding several others, including Staff Sgt. Midke Araham, who is now missing a large chunk of flesh from his right arm.

"My advice to the Americans is just be careful, because they are very good marksmen and very determined to fight," Araham said, adding that if Americans engage in combat it might inflame local Muslim residents. "It could make the situation worse."

Sgt. Gerry Marbabon, 36, who also battled the Abu Sayyaf in Lamitan, was more enthusiastic about the prospect of U.S. support. But he warned that the Abu Sayyaf were fierce fighters accustomed to operating in a jungle so dense it is sometimes difficult to see more than a few feet through the foliage.

"They are always on guard, and they always know when we are coming. Every move we make, they know," he said. "The Americans shouldn't let their guard down, and they shouldn't wander around."

The battle of Lamitan was an embarrassment for the Philippine military. Though soldiers quickly surrounded the St. Peter's compound, the Abu Sayyaf managed to escape with even more hostages, including several nurses from the church hospital.

Nacorda accused the military of colluding with the Abu Sayyaf, deliberately letting the rebels escape in exchange for a share of the ransom money paid by one of the hostages' families. The military denied the charges and acknowledged only "tactical lapses." The Philippine legislature is investigating the incident.

"I welcome the Americans, but their presence isn't a guarantee of success," Nacorda said. "If the Americans want to solve this problem, they have to understand the full situation."

Filipinecia Taha, 34, who runs a soda stand near St. Peter's, also blamed the army for letting the Abu Sayyaf escape. "The Philippine military is making money from war," she said. "I hope the American military can help change that and improve the discipline of Philippine soldiers."

Sheila Tabunag, 25, a nurse at St. Peter's who was taken hostage by the Abu Sayyaf and released in November, said she hopes the U.S. troops will be able to rescue her colleague, Deborah Yap, the sole remaining Philippine hostage.

Asked how the men who held her captive for nearly six months would respond to the arrival of U.S. forces, she said: "The Abu Sayyaf hate Americans. They are probably very angry."


© 2002 The Washington Post Company