Government forces identify 3 Sayyaf hideouts

Military and police forces have already pinpointed three possible locations of Abu Sayyaf bandits who are holding 18 hostages in Basilan and are just waiting for the weather to clear before launching a massive strike.

Army Col. Hermogenes Esperon, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade and the composite task force pursuing the bandits, told Camp Aguinaldo reporters three major operations would be launched once the weather improves.

"We have lined up three massive ground and air strike operations against the bandits and to rescue the remaining hostages," Esperon said.

The bandits are still holding 18 hostages, four from the Dos Palmas resort, four from the Jose Torres Hospital in Lamitan and 10 from the Golden Harvest farm, also in Lamitan.

He revealed 78 highly-trained troopers, led by six officers from the Armed Forces Anti-crime Task Force, were flown into Basilan island last week to help crush the bandits.

The newly-formed elite unit is composed of elements from the Marine Reconnaissance Force, Army Special Forces, Air Force Special Operations Wing and Navy Seals.

Esperon said the massive strike operations is expected to finally end an ongoing "mini-war" that opposition senators claim is costing the government some P8 million per day.

"The failure of the Arroyo administration to resolve the Mindanao war has not only caused the dissipation of state resources but also the loss of domestic and international goodwill," said opposition Sen. Edgardo Angara.

Angara noted the Arroyo administration has already spent P1 billion for the military operations and has released another P1 billion to sustain its troops and logistics.

"The P8 million-a-day expense involved in the mini-war against the Abu Sayyaf has already used up massive resources that could have been allocated to fund school building programs and other basic and urgent services of government," he said.

Angara said the fresh fund release to the Mindanao "mini-war" was discovered after the opposition checked the recent expenditure items of the Armed Forces.

"We found out that the money was released not to the different services but directly to headquarters," he added, indicating that funds were channeled to the Mindanao military operation. – With reports from Efren Danao and Ricky Bautista