ZAMBOANGA CITY,2 January 2008 — The Philippine military commander in Western Mindanao has ordered a formal investigation into reports that US troops have prevented a hospital in Jolo Island from operating at night.

Maj. Gen. Nelson Allaga said he wanted to get into the bottom of the controversy as US military officials assigned in the southern Philippines stuck to their earlier statement denying such meddling.

Maj. Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the military’s Western Mindanao Command, said: “The directive to investigate is to determine the truthfulness of the allegations and the result of the investigation shall serve as the basis in recommending the appropriate punishment to the guilty party or mediate the differences or misunderstanding between the parties involved if any.”

“The Western Mindanao Command chief further stressed that the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall uphold the sovereignty and integrity of the Filipinos and shall bring the matter to proper US authorities if warranted, pending the result of the investigation of (Philippine Army’s) Joint Task Force Comet (in Sulu).”

Dr. Silak Lakkian, head of the hospital, has complained that a certain Master Sergeant Ronburg from the US military ordered the closure of the district hospital at 6 p.m. every night starting last Nov. 30, without giving any reason.

Because of the complaint, US troops have been told to keep off the hospital, and Brig. Gen. Ruperto Pabustan, the Philippine Army Special Forces commander, claimed the American soldiers have apologized.

But the continued refusal of the US military command in Zamboanga City to admit the fault of their troops have only served to prolong the controversy.

“All those (pieces of) information are pure allegations and those allegation are not true,” Lt. Commander Melissa Scheurmann, a spokesman for the US Joint Special Operations Force, has been quoted by local media as saying.

Batara acknowledged that the reported US meddling had an “adverse impact” on the humanitarian projects of Filipino and US forces in the area.

It had also drawn widespread criticism from provincial and regional officials and sparked calls from political activists in Manila for Congress to look into the incident.

“We are calling on both Houses of Congress, to call for respective investigations on the matter...We have to uphold our sovereignty if not then foreigners will just trample it under their feet,” Rafael Mariano, a member of the House of Representatives and chairman of militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) said in a statement.

Even Sulu provincial governor Abdusakur Tan, a supporter of the US military’s civic activities in his province, angrily criticized the intervention, saying US troops did not have the authority to make that order. Tan has ordered the resumption of the hospital’s full operation to cater to emergencies. (With a report by the Inquirer News Service)