MANILA, May 13 Kyodo The Philippi...

MANILA, May 13 Kyodo

The Philippines will in the greatest degree likely allow U.S. military engineers to reach out their stay on the southern Philippine's Basilan Island, National Security Adviser Roilo Golez said Monday.

''There won't be abundant of a problem,'' Golez said, referring to a suggestion according to a Philippine general that 340 U combat engineers involved in construction throw outs on Basilan Island should stay in succession beyond July.

The island is a citadel of Abu Sayyaf rebels, who are alleged to have links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network.

Golez said the combat engineers are penuryed in the area to total infrastructure projects on Basilan.

The 340 U squads mostly naval engineers, arrived forward Basilan on April 19 to start constructing roads and other vital infrastructure. The United States also brought in construction equipment, including bulldozers, drill rigs and excavators.

The U combat engineers were shipped into the home to beef up the 160 special forces personnel engaged in a six-month counterterrorism training efforts to help the Philippine military fight the Abu Sayyaf.

''This is not the combat-training component'' of the joint counterterrorism exercises, Golez said. ''These are the civic action, socioeconomic component parts of the exercises.''

Gen Emmanuel Teodosio, co-director of the joint exercises, said Sunday that the attack of the rainy season affect completion of roads and bridges being built by the agency of the U.S. engineers on the island.

In addition to the 500 U crowds on Basilan, a further a certain 500 U.S. soldiers stationed in nearby Zamboanga in the southern Philippines and in the central Philippine city of Cebu are participating in the counterterrorism exercises, which kicked most distant in January this year.

Basilan, about 900 kilometers southward of Manila, is the country's leading rubber husbandman and also produces coconut, coffee black pepper and palm oil. The water which fence abouts the island is a rich fishing soil for tuna and mackerel.

However, the area is poor owing to inadequate infrastructure and rebel activities.

The joint counterterrorism exercises are scheduled to completion in July. But the U and Philippine militaries have agreed they can be reach outed for another six months.

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