Security Directives Related To Basilan/sulu Battles

General Orders

General Order No. 7

GENERAL ORDER NO. 7

SECURITY DIRECTIVES RELATED TO BASILAN/SULU BATTLES

WHEREAS, twenty-six troopers were massacred in Sulu;

WHEREAS, The Army Commander has been ordered to move to Mindanao and directly prosecute Basilan and Sulu campaigns;

WHEREAS, the Sulu ambush has shown that conflict escalation can easily happen;

WHEREAS, it is absolutely imperative to keep solid focus on the overriding strategic goal: Maintain the ceasefire and peace efforts with the MILF;

WHEREAS, the government needs to perform a delicate balancing act between firm security response and continued peace initiatives;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA M. ARROYO, President of the Philippines and Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces of the Philippines, by the powers vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the land, do hereby order:

1. Keep Basilan and Sulu operations firmly controlled to minimize civilian casualties, with NDCC help in evacuating them, and respect ceasefire guidelines in close consultation with the International Monitoring Team, whose mandate should be extended before it expires next month, and GRP-MILF ceasefire committee.

2. Hold urgent...