| SPYING ON
MUSLIM REBS A TOUGH JOB - AFP CHIEF ARMED Forces chief of staff Gen. Angelo Reyes
admitted that the AFP intelligence network has found it difficult to “nurture”
assets within the Muslim community, which could have helped stop the Moro secessionists
from carrying out terrorist activities.
The main reason, Reyes said, is the close family ties
among Muslims which hampered military intelligence agents in penetrating their
communities.
“We
can’t do that. It’s difficult to do that,” Reyes said during the AFP “Night
of the Generals” last Friday at the Manila Hotel sponsored by the Manila Overseas
Press Club (MOPC).
Reyes added that intelligence gathering is a
hit-or-miss operation because “it’s not 100 percent correct. It’s not easy.”
He also acknowledged that there is a proliferation of
firearms in Mindanao, saying: “Muslims treasure their firearms. It’s a Muslim
value.”
In recent weeks, the intelligence—gathering
services bungled on critical matters when they failed to ascertain reports of various arms
shipment to Moro guerrillas and Abu Sayyaf terrorist leader Khadaffy Janjalani eluding the
dragnet on Basilan Island.
But what is admittedly the government forces’
biggest blunder so far was their discovery of several fortified Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) tunnels which the Moro guerrillas built for years without their knowledge.
In the same forum, Reyes clarified reports that they
have bloated figures of soldiers’ casualties.
“There is no over fascination with the body
counts,” Reyes said. “Media asked for figures.”
There is no reason to hide the figures as the military has
daily reports to accomplish, one of which is to inform the families of the victims, Reyes
said .
--Manny B. Marinay
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