The Philippine National Police (PNP) will be filing a string of murder and other criminal charges against the Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in connection with the death of 23 soldiers during a bloody gun battle in Tipo-Tipo town last week.

Director General Jesus Verzosa, PNP chief, said he had already instructed the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Western Mindanao to gather pieces of evidence in the filing of charges against the group of Furuji Indama, the leader of the local extremist group in Basilan.

Among the charges that will be filed, Verzosa said, are 23 counts of murder, 21 counts of frustrated murder for the wounding 21 government troopers including a policeman, and direct assault.

"We will also be determining if they committed robbery or looting and will file the charges if necessary," said Verzosa in an interview.

The criminal charges stemmed from the reports culled by the PNP that the group of Indama was responsible for the attack in Sitio Kurellem in Barangay Silangkum in Tipo-Tipo town on August 12.

Military reports earlier revealed that there was a minimal casualty on the side of the attacking elite Army and Marine troopers during the operation but the list of fatalities and the wounded ballooned when the group of a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commander based in the nearby Al-Barkah town reinforced the ASG and ambushed Marine commandos.

Verzosa, however, said they are yet to collect testimony or evidence that will link the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to the attack although Major General Ben Dolorfino, military’s Western Mindanao Command chief, in an interview over the weekend said that the picture of the slain leader of the MILF who reinforced the ASG is a proof of the Moro rebel’s involvement in the attack.

Dolorfino added that they have already filed a protest before the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), a panel composed of military and MILF officials that oversee the implementation of the ceasefire agreement.

Verzosa said the filing of charges will give the government with more reason to hunt down the group of Indama, especially if arrest warrants are already released against the Basilan-based ASG leader and his cohorts.

But right now, Verzosa said the pursuit operation against the group of Indama is on-going in Basilan by military troops backed up by police’s elite Special Action Force.

“They are on the run but government troops are in pursuit,” said Verzosa, adding that they are also continually assessing the overall security situation in the area.

Aside from pursuit operations, the official said policemen in Basilan, along with the military, are securing the communities in the troubled island province, particularly those displaced by the fighting.

Part of the community assistance role of the PNP, Verzosa said, is providing security for the road construction project from Lamitan to Sumisip.

"We are extending assistance to those displaced due to hostilities. We have deployed policemen to Tipo-Tipo to look into the affairs of the local populace for possible relief operations," said Verzosa.

Aside from 23 killed and 21 wounded in the government side, at least 31 ASG and MILF rebels, including some of its leaders, were also reported slain. (with a report by Jeffrey G. Damicog)