CPP dismisses Abu Sayyaf presence in Bohol as US, AFP yarn

The recent news regarding the presence of suspected members of terrorist group Abu Sayyaf in Bohol could have been born out out of a conspiracy between the Philippine military and US intelligence, the Communist Party of the Philippines has alleged.

"The news stories regarding the supposed arrival and presence of members of the Abu Sayaff criminal bandit group in Bohol island smacks of a US yarn," the CPP said in a statement on Saturday.

"The AFP media office, known for spinning fake news stories, has produced a highly dubious story of no less than 60 fully armed men who travelled 300 kilometers by boat from Sulu to Bohol, unhampered by the whole AFP establishment, then upstream to a place unknown to them with only a general plan to “target tourists.”

The CPP claimed that such a story was "typical" of the "tall tales" spun by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and their conspirators within the Philippine defense and security establishment.

"The Filipino people find most of the press statements released by the military, police, and local government officials as highly suspect," it added.

The CPP claimed that the "tall tale" of Abu Sayyaf presence in Bohol forms part of a plot by the US to strengthen its foothold and increase the presence of its troops in the Central Visayas region.

"It broke out just a week prior to the ASEAN ministerial meeting scheduled for later this month Cebu. It is no secret that the US military has long been eyeing to establish facilities in the Mactan air field," it said.

"The US military also aims to establish itself more firmly in the Eastern Visayas region having established US facilities in Guian, Samar under the guise of post-Yolanda rescue operations," it added.

The communist group took note of the annual Balikatan exercises, which are set to start on April 24 in Leyte, "just north of Bohol."

"The full extent of the plans surrounding the 'Abu Sayaff in Bohol' yarn will likely unravel itself in the coming days and weeks," the CPP said.

"The Filipino people should keep a critical eye and spot the fakery in all these," it added.

Citing information from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), the CPP said that military and police forces were deployed on April 11 to Inabangan, Bohol.

Government troops clashed with suspected members of the notorious terrorist group, which resulted in the killing of three Army soldiers, one policeman and five bandits.

"Two among the so-called 'bandits' killed by the military was a 65-year old couple identified by barangay officials as Constancio and Crisente Petalco who were residents of Barangay Napo, where the clash occured," the CPP claimed.

It said that the Philippine Air Force dropped nine bombs in Barangays Napo, Calenti and Banahao in Inabangan, which forced at least 1,200 local residents people to evacuate.

"The CPP joins the Filipino people in condemning the 'overkill' military operations conducted by the AFP in Inabangan town which have endangered the lives of civilians," the communist group emphasized.

However, the CPP finds the operation dubious as "the fact that three days prior to the encounter, the US embassy in Manila released a travel advisory warning their citizens against travelling to Cebu and Bohol because of supposed information of a 'terror threat' in these places, which the AFP and PNP had no idea of."

It alleged that the operators of the Abu Sayaff criminal bandit group have long been collaborating with the AFP and the US military.

"Recall that the Abu Sayaff was originally formed in the 1980s by a group of armed men recruited by the US military to join the Taliban group which waged a CIA-hatched 'jihad' against the then Soviet-supported Afghanistan government," the CPP said.

The communist group further suggested that the Abu Sayaff has since been used by the US and AFP as a "multi-tool" to discredit the Moro people’s struggle for self-determination.

"It has been used to carry out terrorist bombings and other dirty jobs for the CIA to justify its 'war on terror' and the presence of US foreign troops in the country," it said.

It also claimed that bandit activities, mainly kidnapping-for-ransom, has been lucrative for the Abu Sayaff ringleaders and their AFP handlers.

"For more than fifteen years now, the AFP has been downplaying the strength of the Abu Sayaff and making claims it can easily wipe out the criminal bandit group. The Abu Sayaff bandit groups, however, repeatedly reemerges depending on the need of the US and AFP," the CPP said.

"Military officials now claim it can wipe out the Abu Sayaff in its operations planned up to June 2017," it added. -NB, GMA News