The Philippine military provided one battalion to go against each subgroup. On September 9, following the meeting between President Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo, an agreement was reached to pursue the Abu Sayyaf. The Philippine President said in a statement:
Following a meeting between President Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on September 9th, an agreement was reached to target the Abu Sayyaf group. The Philippine military deployed one battalion against each of the subgroups.  The Philippine president declared that they would pursue the Abu Sayyaf group.