THIS PROBLEM SCENARIO PREPARED BY THE OFFICE OF THE

GROUP INSPECTOR GENERAL, CMOG-PN IS FOR EXERCISE PURPOSES ONLY

PHILIPPINE NAVY
HEADQUARTERS CIVIL MILITARY OPERATIONS GROUP-PN
CIVIL MILITARY OPERATIONS SCHOOL
NSJF, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City
hpn.cmog@navy.mil.ph

CMO Planning:
Western Mindanao

With the passage of the Republic Act 11479 or the Anti-Terror Law (ATL), the
Armed Forces of the Philippine is zeroing in on the remaining Abu Sayyaf troops in
Basilan and Sulu this year as it also grapples with the reported influx of foreign terrorists
in the region. Just this month, five members of the notorious group were killed while two
soldiers were left wounded in a before-dawn class on in the southern Philippine
province of Zamboanga Sibugay where the troops have been pursuing this band of
militants for four days. The encounter occurred in R.T. Lim town when the elite Navy
commandos caught up with the five militants led by Furujima Indama. Indama was the
mastermind behind the kidnapping of the 20 vacationers from Dos Palmas island way
back in 2001. An intelligence report mentioned that the said terrorist group landed on
the shore of Zamboanga on Sunday, and was on a mission to scout for bombing targets
or new kidnap-for-ransom victims. Indama was Isnilon Hapilon’s deputy in Basilan. The
government and the AFP firmly believe that the reign of terrorism in Mindanao will finally
cease once RA 11479 has taken its full effect.

However, with the full implementation of the ATL, the members of the Muslim
communities especially those from the Western part of the region who are tagged and
charged as members of the terrorist group together with their human rights lawyers and
advocates have joined the call for the Supreme Court to nullify the key provisions of RA
11479. In the 78-page petition that was crafted by Main Mohammad, an imam, inmate
Jimmy Bla and Nazr Dilangalen together with the Philippine Alliance of Human Rights
Advocate (PAHRA) and lawyers from Ateneo Legal Services Center (ALSC), the group
strongly condemns the tagging of persons as terrorist based solely on their religion.
They fear for their lives and their freedom since there were cases of Muslim people who
have been tagged as terrorist but was later on cleared by the courts for lack of
evidence. The group also mentioned the case of 94 people who were accused of
kidnapping teachers and students in Basilan. The Abu Sayyaf commander turned
witness himself said that only 12 of the 94 participated in the kidnapping while the rest
were innocent.

CONFIDENTIAL
 Moreover, the group has stirred the fear among the tribes in Western Mindanao
when it declared that one of their people, Pendong Pulam, was placed on a manhunt
with a bounty on his head even though the man with that name has been placed in their
detention since early 2000 and has been released in 2014 for lack of evidence.
Nevertheless, the enforcement of the ATL would only make the Muslim vulnerable to
being arrested, detained and later on butchered by the AFP on mere suspicion of being
terrorists even in the absence of a probable cause.

In order to prevent the spread of false information and the propagation of fear
among the people of Western Mindanao, the Commander, Naval Forces Western
Mindanao, under the guidance of the Western Mindanao Command, directed the
CMOU-WM to conduct appropriate CMO activities in their AOR utilizing the three pillars
of CMO. Moreover, CMOU-WM is also tasked to produce a CMO Plan or a Crisis Action
Plan to effectively and efficiently address the claims of PAHRA, ALSC and the Muslim
petitioners.

 Prepare a comprehensive CMO Plan to be presented to C,CMOG-PN and

the members of the panel.

CONFIDENTIAL