PH Army: No change in soldiers' deployment to Basilan
Philippine News Agency
By Priam Nepomuceno
June 10, 2025, 3:50 pm
MANILA -- The Philippine Army (PA) will not reduce the number of personnel deployed to Basilan province despite being declared as free from the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), its chief said Tuesday.
"It will remain because we still have this role of, to be able to sustain the peace which is very important, sustaining the peace and making sure development will flow in that area. So confidence building is now on the works," PA chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said during a media briefing at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
As of this time, Galido said there are an estimated six PA battalions in Basilan.
He added that the ASG's presence on the island is now very "minimal".
"Your role is very important in informing the public that indeed this place, Basilan, is peaceful," the PA chief stressed.
On Monday, Presidential Peace Adviser Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr. officially declared Basilan as ASG-free, the culmination of decades of strategic military operations, multi-stakeholder cooperation, and sustained peacebuilding interventions.
The official declaration of Basilan as ASG-free is anchored on the joint resolution issued by the Provincial Peace and Order Council and the Provincial Anti-Drug Abuse Council on Feb. 6, 2025. (PNA)
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