A U.S. congressman heading a bipartisan delegation to the volatile southern Philippines said on Saturday he will push for more American aid for the country's fight against al-Qaida-linked terrorists. The five-members of the congressional mission traveled to southern Zamboanga city, where they met Philippine military and government officials and U.S. troops training and assisting Filipino soldiers fighting the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group on Basilan and Jolo islands farther south.
"We will continue to pour support to boost whatever efforts both countries have done to fight terrorism," said Representative Silvestre Reyes, a Democrat from Texas and chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
Reyes, also a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters in Zamboanga he will review U.S. military assistance to the Philippines.
A statement issued before the group flew to Zamboanga, about 860 kilometers (530 miles) south of Manila, said Reyes' group wants to "learn more about the many strong aspects of the U.S.-Philippines relationship, and to talk about ways that we can make our relations even stronger."
The delegation's visit to the south follows a massive U.S.-backed offensive against Abu Sayyaf, which has gained notoriety for beheadings, kidnappings and bombings. The group, which is on a U.S. list of terror organizations, has been suspected of setting off a bomb at a Zamboanga park that injured 14 people four days before the American congressmen's visit.
The delegation met U.S. troops inside a Philippine military camp. Journalists were not allowed to enter.
The Philippine constitution bans foreign troops' involvement in combat. The U.S. military presence in the south, which began in 2002, has raised concerns over whether they have already established bases — also prohibited by the constitution.
Retired army general Edilberto Adan, head of a commission overseeing visiting U.S. forces, has dismissed these concerns, saying U.S. troops only have living quarters inside Philippine military camps.
A Thailand-based research and activist group, Focus on the Global South, said there were indications that the U.S. military presence appeared to be more permanent.
It cited a US$14.4 million (€10.6 million) contract awarded to the Contingency Response Services, a Texas-based company, to finish by January 2008 providing "facilities support services" to the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, the U.S. Special Operations Command unit deployed to the country's south.
