Army Brigadier General Danilo Lim and other detained soldiers on Sunday threw their support to the troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) now fighting the bandit Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Basilan as they honored the heroism of some 23 soldiers killed during the clash last Wednesday.

“It is with mixed feelings of pride and sadness that we received the news of the raging clashes between our troops and the ASG in Basilan this week,” said Lim, stressing "pride, because we know that our soldiers fought valiantly in the face of death. And sadness, because many of our good soldiers continue to die in this senseless war.”

The AFP has reported that 23 government troops and 31 bandits were killed in the day-long clash in Ungkaya Pukan town. Authorities said the clash resulted in the biggest single-day military losses in recent years.

In August 2007, fighting in Basilan killed 25 soldiers and 27 militants, a month after 10 Marines were beheaded in an ambush.

Lim said his fellow-detained soldiers pray for and throw support to those who are still fighting in Mindanao.

"We throw our unqualified support to the members of the Armed Forces now fighting the war in Mindanao. Unfortunately, our government has wasted all initiatives to win the peace in Mindanao that’s why our soldiers are forced to win the war,” Lim said.
 
Meanwhile, Lim was given a three-day special pass by the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) to allow him to register as qualified voter at the local Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya on Tuesday.

Lim, who is detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, Quezon City on rebellion charges, will be allowed to leave his detention cell on Tuesday to proceed to Solano, his birthplace.

In his three-day visit to Solana, the 54-year-old Lim was also given the privilege by the court to meet his relatives, former classmates and friends in Solano where he was born and later finished his elementary and high school education before studying at the Philippine Military Academy.

For topping the PMA entrance examination, he was automatically given a slot for his college education at the West Point Military Academy in the United States.

Lim, who served as commanding general of the Army Scout Ranger Regiment before he was relieved from his post for his alleged involvement in the February 24, 2006 attempted coup against President Arroyo, will be escorted back to his detention cell in Camp Crame on Thursday by elements of the PNP Special Action Force (SAF), it was learned.

Lim, along with former Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade and now Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, led a group of Magdalo rebel soldiers who walked out during a hearing at the Makati RTC on November 29, 2007 to stage an uprising at the Peninsula Hotel in Makati City. A few hours later, Lim and Trillanes surrendered when government forces stormed the premier hotel.

Lim is reportedly eyeing a seat in the Senate in the May 2010 elections amid offers from different opposition parties to join them on their slate. The controversial Army officer, former founding chairman of the Young Officers Union (YOU) who has now joined the ranks of the Magdalo rebel soldiers, has to decide as to which political party he will join. (with a report by Aris R. Ilagan)