3 Cabinet officials to visit Basilan, Zambo Sibugay on Friday

President Benigno Aquino III will send three of his Cabinet secretaries to Basilan and Zamboanga Sibugay provinces — sites of recent bloody clashes between government troops and Moro rebels — to personally see the security situation in those areas. Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman, presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Deles, and Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo will be visiting the provinces on Friday. “Pupunta sila sa Zamboanga Sibugay at sa Basilan to personally inspect what’s happening [there, and] to hold a peace and order conference," said Ricky Carandang, head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office. “We will get the latest from them after the conferences." He said the conferences will be attended by representatives of local government units and law enforcement agencies. “We just wanted to know what’s happening. We wanted to get the latest information on the ground about how the operations are doing. It’s one thing to hear about it when we are here, it’s another when you are actually seeing the results," Carandang said. He said the three are expected to give a report to the President on how the law enforcement operations are proceeding, the situation regarding the families displaced by the fighting, and how efficient is the coordination between the national and local governments regarding security forces. First-hand look “They want to get a first-hand look at how the operations are going. They’ll do an assessment on the ground of those things," Carandang said. A combined military and police team launched an offensive in Zamboanga Sibugay on Monday to dismantle a kidnapping and extortion group led by one Waning Abdulsalam, who is allegedly associated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The group’s camp was reportedly overrun by the troops Wednesday night. In Basilan, meanwhile, 19 soldiers were killed in an encounter with MILF rebels in Al-Barka town last Oct. 18 — a clash that undermined the peace negotiations between the government and the rebels. Safety Carandang said despite the skirmishes, he believes it is safe for the three secretaries to go there. “They are going to some areas where it is calm already, there are still operations going on in some areas so hindi lahat pwede but the three secretaries will go to areas where their safety will be assured," he said. He said it is best for the secretaries to go to the provinces and “verify [the situation] themselves and listen to what the concerns are of the people on the ground." “Something this significant, I think it is only proper that we go down there ourselves and verify that’s why the three secretaries will be there," Carandang said. Asked if there is a possibility that the violence in the provinces will spill over to other areas, Carandang said they are not seeing anything right now. — KBK, GMA News