‘Nothing sinister’ about Marines pull out, says AFP
11/02/2010The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) yesterday maintained there was nothing “sinister” about the pull out of Marine forces from Basilan, stressing the move was meant to focus the Navy’s specialized unit to areas influenced by the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) particularly in Central Mindanao.
AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta Jr., at the same time, denied that the move to pull out the entire 1st Marine Brigade under Brig. Gen. Eugenio Clemen from Basilan province, was designed to have the Army, the biggest service command of the AFP, corner all area commands.
“That has been discussed long before and the idea there is for the Marines to basically be deployed where there is prevalence of MILF forces,” said Mabanta.
Last Sunday, military sources expressed concerns over the pull out of the Marines from Basilan, which is directly under the AFP’s Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) under Marine Lt. Gen. Ben Dolorfino. They claimed the move could have something to do with the retirement of Dolorfino on Nov. 10.
The sources claimed the pull of the 1st Marine Brigade in Basilan would pave the way for the probable appointment of an Army general to replace Dolorfino. They branded such move as “unfair” to the Navy-Marines and the Air Force as area commands are the breeding ground for top AFP posts..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20101102nat4.html
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