I need to open this with a rejoinder that this was a Second Quarter of 2011 incident. Ergo, this was months before the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines operation in October of 2011 that ended so badly with the loss of eighteen Scout Rangers in Basilan Province's municipality of Al Barka.
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On Saturday April 16th, 2011, at 615AM, the AFP's 3rd Special Forces Battalion (Airborne) once again captured the Abu Sayyaf Camp in the municipality of Al Barka's Barangay Makalang. Ironically the capture marked the end of a two month campaign against the ASG, or Abu Sayyaf Group's Jamiri Faction. That campaign began in February just after the AFP capture this very same camp.
According to standard military accumen, as well as according to AFP protocols, once a camp is captured it is turned over to the LGU, or, the Local Government Unit (as in municipal and/or provincial government). The LGU is supposed to then co-ordinate its local armed forces (CAAs, as in Civilian Active Auxiliaries, such as CAFGU, SCAA, or the CVO, the latter an LGU dedicated force under the supervision of the PNP, or Philippine National Police). The CAA, the progeny of the infamous Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF) of the Marcos Era, is then tasked with "Holding" the tract, repelling any counter-operations launched to re-capture it as well as any kind of subversive armed activities around it.
Al Barka however, is a relatively new municipality carved out of the adjacent town of Tipo Tipo. It receives no IRA, or Internal Revenue Allotment. This allotment provides the funding for CAA operations in any given municipality. Therefore, after capturing this same camp in Janurary, the AFP "Cleared" the sector and turned it over to the LGU, in this case the municipal government. The LGU, having no means with which to "Hold" it promptly abandoned it, hence the two month operation that basically had the AFP treading water. The operation centered on the town of Al Barka, particularly its Barangays Cambug, Linuan, Kailih, Danapah, Guinanta and of course Makalang in addition to the adjoining Barangay's Limba Upas and Baguindan in Tipo Tipo.
Fifteen ASG guerillas had been sighted moving through the jungles around Al Barka and so once again, the AFP found itself trying to capture the ASG camp in Barangay Makalang's Sitio Bohe Bu'ug. Al Barka's Barangays Guinanta and Kailih are BIAF controlled. The BIAF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, are the military wing of the MILF. Like all BIAF on Basilan they belong to the 114 Base Command. Naturally, as we were reminded in October of 2011, operating in close proximity to any BIAF position very often leads to extreme violence. In addition, there is a close relationship between the 114 Base Command and the ASG. Indeed, in both that aforementioned Janurary AND this latest incident, the BIAF DID engage the AFP after the latter inadvertently crossed the outer perimeter of the BIAF 114 Command's 3rd Brigade Camp- the same 3rd Brigade that would involve itself in the October 18th killing of AFP Scout Rangers.
On the day in question however, April 16th, 2011, at the ASG camp, only the ASG engaged the AFP. The AFP's superior forces outmanned the ASG who as noted had less than a single platoon's worth of fighters. When the smoke cleared the AFP managed to capture three M16s, one of which was fitted with an M203 rifle grenade launcher, and one M14. In addition to two dead ASG guerillas, three wounded guerillas were taken into custody. The two deceased were immediately turned over to the Barangay Captain of Makalang, himself a BIAF guerilla.
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