00:00The vehicle was hit and burned by soldiers escorting it to the United Nations Development Programme in Basilan.
00:09Two soldiers were injured.
00:11According to the Philippine Army, the MILF was the only one behind it.
00:17Dune Veneracion was shot.
00:19This military truck was left behind.
00:26After being hit by lawless elements and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,
00:32or MILF, the Philippine Army troops were in Basilan yesterday.
00:43The soldiers were going to a barangay to provide security.
00:47The United Nations Development Programme had a project in the area of the ambush.
00:53The fire lasted for almost an hour.
00:55It started at 4 p.m.
00:57When the gunfire stopped, two soldiers and two of their enemies were killed.
01:02Twelve soldiers were injured.
01:04The Philippine Army condemns the strongest terms, the ambush of our soldiers here in Basilan.
01:14From Basilan, ten soldiers were brought to Zamboanga City.
01:18One of them was Corporal Orlando James Dammel.
01:21His wife and seven-month-old son were injured.
01:25When we called him, he was the one who answered.
01:28He was the one who gave us, our brothers.
01:32We were the only ones left.
01:34He was the only one who could work for us.
01:36Among those who were ambushed were members of the MILF,
01:40a rebelling group that had already reached an agreement with the government.
01:44Brigadier General Alvin Luzon, commander of the 101st Brigade of the Army, said
01:49that if the MILF is sincere in the peace process, they should surrender their members.
01:55According to the AFP, Western Mindanao Command,
01:58they will chase those who are behind the ambush
02:01so that they can stop causing trouble to the communities that are putting the lives of civilians and soldiers at risk.
02:08We are working closely with the local government units and other law enforcement agencies
02:17to ensure that these perpetrators will be put to the folds of the law
02:27and justice will be served to our fallen heroes.
02:34Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez also witnessed the incident
02:38along with a call to the MILF leadership to investigate and find the culprits.
02:44According to the provincial government of Bacilan, the incident was an isolated incident.
02:49Maybe this is a wake-up call for all of us,
02:53whether it's the MILF, the military, the combat crew, the national government, the regional government,
03:05and the local government units.
03:07We are all equal.
03:09The vulnerability is still there.
03:12But this is not a reason to stop the initiatives of Russia.
03:17The United Nations reached out to the families of the fallen soldiers.
03:22They said that the UNDP has nothing to do with the incident.
03:26But the ambush on AFP was already planned
03:29while it was going to the UNDP group to escort it to a community engagement.
03:35The AFP chief, Romeo Bronner Jr., immediately went to Bacilan
03:40one day after the bloody ambush
03:42to protest the joint MILF-GPH-CCCH meeting.
03:49The actions of our commander on the ground
03:52was that he wrote a protest letter to the GPH-CCCH.
03:58We are following the peace mechanisms.
04:03Bronner also insisted that there should be coordination
04:06and that the area of temporary stay should be removed.
04:09In his visit, the wounded soldiers were given medals and financial assistance.
04:14In a radio interview, the chairman of the MILF-ADOC Joint Action Group, Anwar Alamada, said
04:21that a group of military men entered their community without coordination
04:25that resulted in the encounter.
04:27He said that coordination is needed for them
04:30even though the AFP is still enforcing the ceasefire agreement.
04:35They also said that the encounter was not consensual
04:39and they also gave instructions on how to stop it.
04:44For GMA Integrated News, Jun Vanara, Sona Katutok, 24 Hours.
04:57For more UN videos visit www.un.org
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