‘AFP has decimated Abu Sayyaf’
As far as the Malacaang is concerned, the Abu Sayyaf bandit group linked to the al-Qaeda global terror network has been “decimated” by the Armed Forces in its offensives in Mindanao.
“The Abu Sayyaf is more or less a bandit group already. Our Armed Forces has effectively decimated their numbers,” Secretary Edwin Lacierda, the official spokesman of President Aquino, told a news briefing yesterday.
Lacierda was reacting to a US Department of State report that still categorizes Mindanao as a “terrorist haven” due the presence of the Abu Sayyaf, which it tags as “foreign terrorist.”
The same is true with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).
Lacierda said this matter is expected from US authorities as part of their usual “alert notice” to American citizens who have plans to visit the region.
“Well, again, that’s part of their alert notice. I would assume that is part of the alert notice to their citizens. Very recently, they made a travel alert also. Again, this is part of their being prudent as someone who would like to protect their citizens here,” he said.
The Aquino administration is “aware” of the Abu Sayyaf threat which is “not a secret,” he said.
“But, again, this shows really that they (Abu Sayyaf) have been reduced to a kidnap-for-ransom group and that’s the status right now, and we continue to pursue lawless elements in the country,” he added.
Lacierda said it was also okay for the US government to tag NPA rebels as terrorists. “That’s how they would like to classify the CPP-NPA-NDF (National Democratic Front),” he said.