Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Muhammad Dolorfino has apologized for the preemptive air and artillery strikes against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits in Indanan, Sulu, that coincided with Eid’l Fitr Day on Sept. 20, stressing it was not intended to disturb the Islamic festival.

"Due to compelling military necessity, it is but unfortunate that a preemptive military action happened at the time of the culmination of our holiest month," Dolorfino said.

Using air and artillery strikes for the operation, he said, was of "extreme military necessity" meant to protect the soldiers from the terrorists' heavy resistance.

"It was also done while taking extreme caution and precision so as not to inflict or cause unnecessary damage to civilian properties," said Dolorfino.

The Wesmincom chief absolved Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who is being blamed by Muslims for the military action they believed showed a lack of respect for Islam's festival.

"That is not true. It was my decision," said Dolorfino yesterday in a text message.

Eid’l Fitr is the Islamic world’s annual celebration of the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting. It starts with a prayer congregation at about 7 a.m.

The military operation against the ASG in Sitio Talibang, Barangay Buansa, Indanan, angered Moros, not because it was against the ASG, but for being staged on the first day of one of Islam’s only two major festivals.

Some of the Moros said it will not happen on Christmas Day.

Dolorfino said the timing for the operation to launch the attack was supposed to be at 5 a.m. using air support.

"Bad weather, however, delayed the operation. It was unintentional that the attack aircraft came at about 7 a.m.," he said.

Dolorfino, himself a Muslim, sought to allay the anger of Islam's Filipino faithful, particularly the Tausug people, many of them reportedly have joined retaliatory attacks against the elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the island.

Days after the AFP action, the Wesmincom commander wrote Ustadhz Shariff Julasiri Abirin, the mufti (highest Islamic religious leader) of Jolo, Sulu, met with local government officials, and reached out to civil society groups to clear the controversy surrounding the Eid’l Fitr Day offensive.

He said they accepted his explanation after hearing the AFP's side.

“This is to express our sincerest apology and explain our side in response to the statement of displeasure by the Darul Ifta and the Sulu Ulama Council for Peace and Development (SUCPD),” said Dolorfino in his letter reaching the Manila Bulletin.

“It was not the intention of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly the Western Mindanao Command, to disturb the celebration of our holiest month of Ramadan. Just like the Council of Ulama for Peace and Development whose ultimate goal is to have peace and development in the Province, our ongoing campaign aims to end the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and their Jemaah Islamiyah cohorts that are mercilessly terrifying the civilian populace, disrupting peace and hindering the development in Sulu and other nearby island provinces, including the Zamboanga Peninsula," he said.

Did the AFP intended the attack to come on Eid'l Fitr Day? Or the ASG terrorists forced the military to act post-haste to forestall any violence?

Intelligence gathered by Wesmincom operatives, showed that on Sept. 20 the Abu Sayyaf mustered 200 fully-armed combatants at Sitio Talibang, four kilometers from Jolo, Dolorfino said.

He said 40 of the terrorists arrived from nearby Basilan island on the eve Eid'l Fitr Day.

"The aforesaid action (of the ASG) heavily affected the security situation in the entire province, considering that terrorist attacks are usually launched by the ASG immediately after Ramadan, and that the very sudden massing of such a very large number of fully-armed terrorists in one place so close to downtown Jolo constituted a direct threat to the people of Jolo, vital government installations, business establishments, banks and military camps, thereby necessitating the Armed Forces to take action to protect the people and the aforementioned installations and facilities from whatever attack the ASG was planning against the town of Jolo," said Dolorfino.

He cited as examples the Feb. 1974 burning by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) of Jolo and the April 1995 pillage of Ipil, now capital of Zamboanga Sibugay province as reasons for the AFP to exercise vigilance and proactive stance to ensure public safety.