Marines in Sulu get new speedboat

COTABATO CITY - The provincial government of Sulu on Tuesday donated to the 2nd Marine Brigade a 600-horsepower speedboat to hasten the unit’s operation against Abu Sayyaf bandits.

Brig Gen. Martin Pinto, commander of the 2nd MBDE in Sulu, said the speedboat will boost their seaborne missions intended to prevent seafaring bandits from roaming freely in the seas separating the island towns in the province.

Gov. Sakur Tan Jr. senior officials of the provincial government, among them Sulu Vice Gov. Sakur Tan Sr., turned over to Pinto the speedboat in a simple rite held at the wharf in Jolo, capital town of Sulu.

The symbolic rite was witnessed by Brig. Gen. Orlando De Leon, deputy commander of the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City.

Tan said the provincial government, despite its limited fiscal capability, is keen on continuously extending mobility and other forms of support to military and police units in Sulu.

The Marine brigade in the province has six battalions deployed in hostile areas, which are considered strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf.