FRANCISCO S. TATAD
In his first joint command conference of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police in Malacañang last week, President Rodrigo Duterte declared he wanted the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group “crushed.” This should have been said on the first day of his administration. The bandit group has gotten away with various kidnappings and terrorist activities in Mindanao and is reported to have forged some inchoate ties with ISIS. DU30’s new directive allows a shift in his current peace and order drive, which since July 1 had zeroed in solely on illegal “drugs,” resulting in over 6,000 drug suspects killed, amid an outcry on human rights abuses.