US troops were not ordered to pull out in the southern Philippines.
Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) clarified there has been no withdrawal of US troops in the southern part of the Philippines.
This is amid repeated comments by President Rodrigo Duterte that he wants American soldiers out of Mindanao, as what he has announced in Japan.
On Wednesday, Duterte said that he wants no foreign troops in the Philippines within the next two years.
According to Lt. Gen. Mayoralgo dela Cruz of Westmincom, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has yet to issue any order for the Americans to leave.
As of now, the troops are confined to an area in Camp Don Basilio Navarro.
“They (US troops) are in their quarters. If there is [a] withdrawal, that will be announced immediately by the higher headquarters. We are just hosts to them, the decision is up to policymakers in the higher headquarters,” Dela Cruz said.
Dela Cruz also confirmed that some US soldiers left the Philippines early this month, but is was part of their regular rotation.
According to him, a contingent from the US Marines left and was replaced by US Army personnel.
“That is why when they left, they also brought with them their equipment,” Dela Cruz said of the pullout of US military equipment on Oct. 4.
He elaborated that there are around 110 US military personnel at Camp Don Basilio Navarro who coordinate with their Filipino counterparts at Westmincom.
“Actually, ang pinaggagamitan lamang natin sa kanila ay may fund-raising for humanitarian (activities), assistance to wounded soldiers and, most of the time, they are just inside camp,” Dela Cruz said.
“In the absence of a decision from the higher headquarters, it’s business as usual,” he added.
The US military regularly rotated troops through regions in Mindanao within ten years, from 2002 to 2012, under the US Special Operation Task Force-Philippines.
The Philippine government invited them back to advise and assist the AFP against the Abu Sayyaf Group in southern Philippines.
