Nothing wrong with US help–DFA

Secretary for Foreign Affairs Albert Del Rosario. AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario on Wednesday said he did not see any problem if the United States had helped in the capture of now slain Malaysian bomb expert Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” as long as Washington did not violate the constitutional provision that bars foreign troops from engaging in actual combat here.

“I think we all realize that the fight against terrorism is… a cooperative effort among all nations. So I don’t see what the problem is in terms of any assistance we may have gotten,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said.

Scourge

“International terrorism is a scourge. We need to have the cooperation of responsible nations,” Del Rosario said, adding that the Philippines and the United States have agreements to cooperate in the fight against terrorism.

DFA spokesman and Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said the two countries have a “long-standing cooperation” in counterterrorism and that Manila’s agreement with the US joint operating task force-Philippines involved training, intelligence-sharing and assistance.

There were reports of US men being sighted in the Jan. 25 Mamasapano mission to hunt down the two terrorists, as well as the use of US drones to scour the area before the actual operations.

The US embassy in Manila has denied any US role in the resulting clash between the police commandos and the Moro rebels that led to the death of 44 members of the Special Action Force, other than responding to the Philippine military’s request for it to evacuate the dead and wounded.

Speaking to reporters, Del Rosario said he has no information on the extent of US participation in the police operations against Marwan and Basit Usman, commander of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, although he said he was checking on it.

But it was “something [he was] not concerned about,” the DFA official added.