By Genalyn D. Kabiling, Aaron B. Recuenco, and Elena L. Aben Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — The Philippines has joined forces with fellow Southeast Asian nations in combating the threat of terrorism in the region, particularly mobilizing Filipino security forces for assault operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the al-Qaeda-linked bandits responsible for beheading a Malaysian hostage earlier this week. Making his final appearance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit here, President Aquino expressed his government’s resolve to enforce the full force of the law against terror elements following the beheading of Malaysian businessman Bernard Then Ted Fen. “President Aquino has directed the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and PNP (Philippine National Police) to further intensify operations against ASG and other terror threat elements,” Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told reporters covering the regional summit here. LAST A.S.E.A.N. SUMMIT – President Aquino links arms [...]
