Gordon to AFP: Brief the nation
By: Paul M. Gutierrez - Journal Online
Sen. Richard Gordon wants the military top brass headed, by Chief of Staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, to brief members of Congress and the Executive branch on the “real” situation prevailing in the conflict-ridden areas in Mindanao .
“If I may offer an unsolicited advice, I suggest that the Commander in Chief, joined by leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives, call for a top-level briefing on the situation from the AFP high command and commanders in the field.
“We have to know how our policy is really faring in Mindanao and Sulu, the adequacy of support for our troops, the quality of intelligence they are receiving, the state of troop morale, and the general climate for peace and order in the affected areas,” Gordon said.
The lawmaker issued the statement in the wake of the recent bloody debacles in Sulu and Basilan that have cost over 50 casualties among government troops.
“The ambush and killing on Thursday of 20 AFP troops in Sulu by suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Brigade raises concern about the situation in the South.
“In a little over a month, the nation’s elite troops have twice suffered heavily at the hands of the forces of terror,” Gordon said.
Last July 10, twenty four Marines were similarly ambushed and killed in Basilan with ten of the victims being decapitated by their attackers.
“While we offer our sympathies to the families of the fallen, we have to look more closely into why our troops are suffering this high level of casualties. I believe Congress and the public deserve to know more about the real situation in the South,” Gordon said.
In calling for the briefing, Gordon said the objective is not to assign blame. “This is just a matter of how we can all pull together for the improvement of the situation in the South,” he added.
Gordon’s call came on the heel of Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan’s query to Esperon on why government troops are suffering a high degree of casualty in the South.
Sen. Richard Gordon wants the military top brass headed, by Chief of Staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, to brief members of Congress and the Executive branch on the “real” situation prevailing in the conflict-ridden areas in Mindanao .
“If I may offer an unsolicited advice, I suggest that the Commander in Chief, joined by leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives, call for a top-level briefing on the situation from the AFP high command and commanders in the field.
“We have to know how our policy is really faring in Mindanao and Sulu, the adequacy of support for our troops, the quality of intelligence they are receiving, the state of troop morale, and the general climate for peace and order in the affected areas,” Gordon said.
The lawmaker issued the statement in the wake of the recent bloody debacles in Sulu and Basilan that have cost over 50 casualties among government troops.
“The ambush and killing on Thursday of 20 AFP troops in Sulu by suspected members of the Abu Sayyaf Brigade raises concern about the situation in the South.
“In a little over a month, the nation’s elite troops have twice suffered heavily at the hands of the forces of terror,” Gordon said.
Last July 10, twenty four Marines were similarly ambushed and killed in Basilan with ten of the victims being decapitated by their attackers.
“While we offer our sympathies to the families of the fallen, we have to look more closely into why our troops are suffering this high level of casualties. I believe Congress and the public deserve to know more about the real situation in the South,” Gordon said.
In calling for the briefing, Gordon said the objective is not to assign blame. “This is just a matter of how we can all pull together for the improvement of the situation in the South,” he added.
Gordon’s call came on the heel of Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan’s query to Esperon on why government troops are suffering a high degree of casualty in the South.
Labels: afp, mindanao, senator gordon
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