By Florante S. Solmerin

DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Friday said that while the suspension of military operations (SOMO) has been in effect it does not mean pulling out of forces from areas already cleared with Moro rebels and currently occupied by soldiers.

“The SOMO is not for our soldiers to order them to go back to barracks. They will protect the areas that they hold at this time,” Teodoro explained when asked to give about the extent of the SOMO.

He supported the military’s position of “active defense mode” to protect them from possible enemy attack and is considering the idea of deploying more troops to prepare the immediate return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their villages.

On Thursday, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to implement SOMO in conflict-affected areas covered by operations of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as a “confidence-building measure” for the resumption of peace talks.

While the truce was in effect, Teodoro said this would be also the best time for the military to work together with government agencies such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local government units (LGUs) to resolve the IDPs’ concern.

At present, Teodoro placed the number of IDPs, mostly living in tents in Maguindanao, to more or less 200,000.

“It’s good to let the IDPs go back because we have a less problem right now when formal peace negotiations resume,” he said.

Teodoro also reiterated the military’s position that the SOMO does not apply to most wanted Moro rebels already charged before several courts such as MILF leaders Ameril Umbrakato, Abdulrahman Macapaar alias Bravo, and Abdul Aleem Pangalian alias Pangalian, among others.

The wanted commanders were responsible for the attacks and carnage of innocent civilians in Central Mindanao in retaliation to the government after the Supreme Court (SC) declared the signed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) unconstitutional.

“First and foremost, the original objective of our military operations was to arrest the three wanted commanders. So the police can be left behind to do that,” he explained.