BY VICTOR REYES

THE Armed Forces said it needs to replenish ammunition after more than a month of pursuing renegade Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in Mindanao.

But Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, chief of the AFP public information office, said this does not mean the military is running out of ammunition.

"For the past one-and-a-half months, we have expended a significant (quantity of) ammunition… so there would be a need to replenish for two reasons: one, to sustain the operation, and to increase the operational tempo," he said.

The military launched the offensive on August 18. Troops are running after MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato, head of the MILF’s 105th Base Command, Bravo (102nd Base Command) and Aleem Pangalian (103rd Base Command).

Kato led the occupation of 15 barangays in North Cotabato in July.

Bravo and Pangalian are being held responsible for attacks in Iligan City and four towns in Lanao del Norte last month. The attacks left 28 civilians, three soldiers, and a policeman dead.

The government has put up a P10 million reward each for Kato and Bravo and P5 million for Pangalian.

The MILF has refused to surrender the three commanders.

Torres said he was not aware if the military leadership has sought or would seek a supplemental budget to sustain the campaign against the MILF rebels.

Former President Estrada released billions of pesos to the military to fund an all-out war against the MILF in 2000. The operations led to the capture of dozens of rebel camps, including the MILF’s main headquarters, Camp Abubakar.

Torres said government troops would step up operations against the rebels when the Muslims’ holy month of Ramadan ends Oct. 1.

On the chances of the military accomplishing its mission in the coming weeks, Torres said: "It’s really hard to set a deadline but what we can say is that our operations is relentless, continuing…We have not set a timeline."

A Navy ship is set to leave Manila today to deliver 220 tons of ammunition for the troops involved in the continuing offensive, particularly the 103rd, 104th and 403rd Brigades.

Twenty-three Army vehicles will also be transported to support the operations in the South," said Capt. Leopoldo Alano, commander of the Naval Task Force 80.

Alano said the ship, BRP Benguet, will also deliver 338 tons of assorted food, medical supplies, disaster kits, detergents, tents and generators for the victims of typhoon "Frank" in Iloilo, Cebu and Tacloban City. The goods came from the social welfare department.

Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said the aid would also alleviate the conditions of people displaced by the ongoing offensive against the MILF rebels in Iligan City, Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, and Sharif Kabunsuan.

In North Cotabato Saturday, MILF rebels attacked two military detachments in Midsayap town.

Maj. Armand Rico, spokesman of the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command, said there were no reported casualties on both sides.

Rico said the rebels first attacked with mortar rounds a detachment in Baliki village under the 38th Infantry Battalion. This was around 6:55 p.m.

At 10:25 p.m., they attacked a patrol base of the 40th Infantry Battalion in Rangaban village.

Torres downplayed the attacks, saying the targets were far-flung detachments and the rebels failed to inflict casualties. "They are merely fire and go…It’s just to somewhat make their presence felt," he said.

Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel said members of the minority bloc are sympathetic to the request of defense officials to augment the AFP budget to beef up its fighting capability.

He said they would look into the proposal of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro Jr. for an additional P10 billion for the AFP budget for 2009, which amounts to a l7.7 percent increase in the P56.5 billion already earmarked for the military under the national budget submitted by Malacañang.

He said the eight-man Senate minority bloc had in fact earlier urged the executive branch to submit a supplementary budget to enable the AFP to purchase much-needed firearms and to recruit additional troops following the outbreak of armed hostilities in Mindanao.

According to Teodoro, the additional funding will be used to recruit more soldiers, repair ships and helicopters and buy more ammunition.

Pimentel, however, said the P10 billion is too big an augmentation fund for one department or instrumentality of government. He said it would be very difficult to grant the full amount requested considering that Congress is not allowed by the Constitution to increase the national budget beyond the level proposed by the President.