By Ronron
January 27, 2007
US President George Bush personally commended Philippine leader Gloria Mapacagal-Arroyo in a phone call late Friday while the latter is in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum (WEF) for the latest successful operations of Philippine troops against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
A statement from Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye’s office on Saturday said Arroyo received Bush’ call at around 4pm in Davos (11pm in Manila) where the latter thanked the Philippine’s chief executive for her continued support on the global war on terror.
In return, Arroyo thanked Bush for the US’ support to the Philippine’s campaign against terrorism, particularly against the Al Qaeda-linked ASG and its Southeast Asian counterpart, the Jeemah Islamiyah, said Bunye.
The support comes in the form of civic action in terror-stricken parts of the Philippines, and intelligence fusion of US forces with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
The AFP has claimed victory against the ASG following the confirmation of the death of the latter’s chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, and its second leader Jainal Antel Sali, Jr., alias Abu Solaiman, several days ago. Each has a $5 million reward on their heads from the US government.
Military officials admitted that US forces in Sulu province contributed their technical capabilities in detecting the whereabouts of the bandits that resulted to the successful neutralization of the ASG leaders.
Arroyo is attending the 37th meeting of the WEF in Davos and is expected to return to the Manila on Sunday./DMS
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Fight against terror in Mindanao doesn’t end with neutralization of leaders – AFP
By Ronron
January 26, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) may be in high spirits these days after a series of successful operations in Sulu that led to the neutralization of the top two leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and many key followers.
But the commander of the unit doing the ground works admits that despite all the praises the AFP is receiving, including from the international community headed by the United States government, the battle will not end in the complete neutralization of the terrorist group, which also coddles members of Jeemah Islamiyah (JI).
“The effort in Sulu will not end there. It must be continuous… My suggestion is … problem should be approached in a wholistic manner or wholistic approach,” Brig. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of the AFP’s Joint Task Force Comet tasked to run after the terrorists in the jungles of Sulu, said in a recent interview.
The AFP has so far neutralized ASG chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, second leader Abu Solaiman (Jainal Antel Sali, Jr. in real life), ASG Urban Terrorist Group leader Binang Sali, subleader Jundam Jamalul (alias Black Killer), and many other key operatives, including one JI member.
On Wednesday night, over 70 of the AFP officers and men who were involved in the Mindanao operations were treated to a special dinner at Malacanang Palace and given due recognitions. Some of them were accorded on-the-spot promotions by no less than their commander-in-chief, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
But Rafael said: “This time around, whether it’s the final battle… it is always difficult.”
That is why, he said, the government troops in Sulu will “always expect the worst thing that will happen” as they continue the operations there.
Rafael emphasized that the death of the key ASG leaders does not make the battle easy for them because in every operation, “what is at stake is the life of the soldier.”
“Whoever is the leader that they will get (to replace Janjalani), we will go after them… I have enough forces there to go after this (group),” Rafael said. The AFP has more than 7,000 troops in Sulu, who were deployed since it launched Operation Plan (OPLAN) Ultimatum last August 1, 2006.
Rafael did not underestimate the remnants of the ASG, saying they will always have the capability to launch terrorist activities.
But he said these will not be as bold as those orchestrated by their fallen leaders, citing for example subleader Radullan Sahiron’s old age and poor health (he is reportedly suffering from diabetes).
In fact, the strategy of “targeting the center of gravity” of the ASG proved to be effective for the military since it left the members on their own, without a single direction to take, said Rafael.
He did not give a deadline or timeframe as to when the battle will be over but he said they will just speed up their operations to finish off the ASG the soonest, in accordance with the guidance set by Arroyo.
The ASG was formed in the late 1980’s as al-Harakatul al-Islamiyyah (Islamic Movement) by Janjalani’s elder brother initially with a similar objective as that of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which is to seek independence from the Catholic-dominated Philippine government and establish an Islamic State for the Bangasamoro (Moro nation).
Over the years, it resorted to kidnappings and bombings, among others, that earned for it the title of a terrorist group by various governments./DMS
January 26, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) may be in high spirits these days after a series of successful operations in Sulu that led to the neutralization of the top two leaders of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and many key followers.
But the commander of the unit doing the ground works admits that despite all the praises the AFP is receiving, including from the international community headed by the United States government, the battle will not end in the complete neutralization of the terrorist group, which also coddles members of Jeemah Islamiyah (JI).
“The effort in Sulu will not end there. It must be continuous… My suggestion is … problem should be approached in a wholistic manner or wholistic approach,” Brig. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of the AFP’s Joint Task Force Comet tasked to run after the terrorists in the jungles of Sulu, said in a recent interview.
The AFP has so far neutralized ASG chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, second leader Abu Solaiman (Jainal Antel Sali, Jr. in real life), ASG Urban Terrorist Group leader Binang Sali, subleader Jundam Jamalul (alias Black Killer), and many other key operatives, including one JI member.
On Wednesday night, over 70 of the AFP officers and men who were involved in the Mindanao operations were treated to a special dinner at Malacanang Palace and given due recognitions. Some of them were accorded on-the-spot promotions by no less than their commander-in-chief, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
But Rafael said: “This time around, whether it’s the final battle… it is always difficult.”
That is why, he said, the government troops in Sulu will “always expect the worst thing that will happen” as they continue the operations there.
Rafael emphasized that the death of the key ASG leaders does not make the battle easy for them because in every operation, “what is at stake is the life of the soldier.”
“Whoever is the leader that they will get (to replace Janjalani), we will go after them… I have enough forces there to go after this (group),” Rafael said. The AFP has more than 7,000 troops in Sulu, who were deployed since it launched Operation Plan (OPLAN) Ultimatum last August 1, 2006.
Rafael did not underestimate the remnants of the ASG, saying they will always have the capability to launch terrorist activities.
But he said these will not be as bold as those orchestrated by their fallen leaders, citing for example subleader Radullan Sahiron’s old age and poor health (he is reportedly suffering from diabetes).
In fact, the strategy of “targeting the center of gravity” of the ASG proved to be effective for the military since it left the members on their own, without a single direction to take, said Rafael.
He did not give a deadline or timeframe as to when the battle will be over but he said they will just speed up their operations to finish off the ASG the soonest, in accordance with the guidance set by Arroyo.
The ASG was formed in the late 1980’s as al-Harakatul al-Islamiyyah (Islamic Movement) by Janjalani’s elder brother initially with a similar objective as that of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which is to seek independence from the Catholic-dominated Philippine government and establish an Islamic State for the Bangasamoro (Moro nation).
Over the years, it resorted to kidnappings and bombings, among others, that earned for it the title of a terrorist group by various governments./DMS
Friday, January 26, 2007
ASG’s Solaiman was shot dead immediately after responding to call of nature
By Ronron
January 25, 2007
Despite his notoriety, Abu Solaiman, the second highest leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), was shot dead last January 16 at a time when he was least prepared to fight.
The Philippine soldier who ended the ASG leader’s life disclosed to Camp Aguinaldo reporters on Thursday that Solaiman, whose real name is Jainal Antel Sali, Jr. and who carried a $5 million bounty on his head, had just responded to a call of nature when he was assaulted.
In a news conference, Corporal Raul Suacillo of the Philippine Army’s 8th Special Forces Company (SFC) said he was not aware at first that the man defecating some four to six meters in front of him at Mt. Dajo in Talipao,Sulu around 9am of January 16 was the planner of many ASG kidnapping and bombing activities.
In Filipino, the 33-year-old soldier narrated: “I waited for him to finish (defecating). When he was finished, I called his attention so we wouldn’t be compromised. I just really wanted to apprehend him. We even looked at each other eye to eye. I told him, come here, be quiet. But instead of approaching me, he run away and shouted, Allahu Akbar (Allah is Great)!”
Suacillo said this prompted him to fire his M14 rifle at the man he would know later as Solaiman.
Instantly, Solaiman’s body slumped on the ground and a fierce firefight would ensue for three hours, or until 12:15 pm, between the 60-man 8th SFC and the 60-strong ASG.
Two government enlisted men would then be wounded in the firefight.
The company commander, 1Lt. Almirante Mijares, said in the same press conference that the two bodyguards and other men of Solaiman tried hard but failed to retrieve their leader’s body because of the intense assault.
“As commander, it is my call of what is going to be the next command, (which is to call for) Fire! All of us opened fire to the encampment. Then after a volume of a suppressive fire, we did not hear a fire from the enemy. I called for a ceasefire. When there was a lull, they positioned an M203 towards us. I commanded again for a volume of fire,” Mijares recalled the clash in Filipino.
“The two aides did not leave the location because they wanted to retrieve the body of their boss (Solaiman). After one hour, one of them shouted Allahu Akbar but they no longer have any companions,” he went on.
Mijares explained that Allahu Akbar has become a battle cry for the ASG, which they use to prepare for an assault and order a fight back.
The 30-year-old officer said they were already aware of the presence of high-value targets at said encampment of the ASG because this was disclosed to them during a briefing prior to deployment.
Since they were not sure of the identity of the slain bandit, Mijares said they buried him first at the site after taking pictures of him. But when the confirmation came the following day that it was indeed Solaiman, they dug him up and brought to the military camp in Barangay Busbus, Jolo, Sulu.
He said there were reports that Jeemah Islamiyah bomber Dulmatin and ASG sub-commander Albader Parad were with that group and wounded, but no confirmation is immediately available.
Mijares said the encampment indeed had leaders because of its make up, and its placement at a higher level, some 200 meters away from their security blocking force downhill.
“We can say it is the commanders’ group because when we saw the bunkers, there were flowers. It looked like paradise. The pathway to the bunkers were filled with fresh flowers. And we saw them walking around with aides all the time,” he said.
And when they inspected the bunkers later after the encounter, they found some had beddings, comfort rooms, chairs, and sofa. With that set up, they suspect the camp had been inhabited for two to three months already.
A total of 17 bunkers were found at that site, with several improvised explosive devices, a Magellan GPS (Global Positioning System), six rounds of grenade launcher ammunition, 17 blasting caps, one tester, two soldering iron, assorted electronic materials used for bomb/explosives, assorted medical paraphernalia, and other combat stuffs.
Special Forces Commander Brig. Gen. Arturo Ortiz, in the same press conference, commended his men for taking the harder route to the ASG camp, which was to track the other side of the mountain to reach directly the commanders’ camp at the upper level.
Had the government troops taken the easier route, which is from the foot of the mountain, then they would have given the high-value targets the chance to escape while they are being confronted by the ordinary ASG fighters on blocking position.
Because of courageous act, Ortiz said Suacillo was given a two-rank promotion by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last Wednesday night at Malacanang Palace. He now holds the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Five other enlisted men were also given a one-rank spot promotion.
“We were given assurance that the rest (from the 8SFC) will also get one rank promotions… We are recommending (Mijares) also for promotion,” Ortiz said.
With the series of successful operations of the AFP in Mindanao, Ortiz said they hope that the terrorism problem there would be finished as soon as possible.
“We are really committed. We really intend to finish this group. That is why the objective of (OPLAN) Ultimatum is to neutralize up to the last Abu Sayyaf there is in Sulu, not only in Jolo, also Basilan, because we really recognize the threat of this group,” Ortiz said.
Aside from Solaiman, the AFP has also killed ASG chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani, subleader Jundam Jamalul (alias Black Killer), and ASG-Urban Terrorist Group leader Binang Sali, among others.
The AFP’s OPLAN Ultimatum was launched on August 1, 2006./DMS
Honasan, Trillanes allowed by Makati court to file certificates of candidacy
By Ronron
January 25, 2007
A Makati City court allowed on Thursday former Senator Gregorio Honasan II and Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, both detained over coup charges, to leave detention in February so they could file their certificates of candidacy for the Senatorial race in May.
In separate orders, Judge Oscar Pimentel of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 granted Trillanes’ request for a pass on February 6, and Honasan’s on February 7th so both could personally go to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Intramuros, Manila.
Trillanes was allowed from 8:30 am until 11 am, while Honasan is an hour longer since he would be coming from Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Trillanes is detained at the Bonifacio Naval Base in Taguig City.
Both will be escorted properly by their Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines custodians.
Pimentel barred the two from talking to the media about the merits of the case against them, which stemmed from their alleged participation in the Oakwood Mutiny in July 2003 at Makati City, as well as making any form of premature campaigning.
They are also warned against issuing inflammatory and seditious statements against the government.
The judge ordered the counsels of Trillanes and Honasan to submit “a written manifestation within 24 hours to the Court and the prosecution regarding the completion of the filing of” their certificates of candidacy.
The two officers had said that they will run as Independent senatorial candidates even if they are in jail in pursuit of their dedication to serve the country.
Philippine laws does not bar any person on trial from seeking an elective post in government./DMS
January 25, 2007
A Makati City court allowed on Thursday former Senator Gregorio Honasan II and Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, both detained over coup charges, to leave detention in February so they could file their certificates of candidacy for the Senatorial race in May.
In separate orders, Judge Oscar Pimentel of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 148 granted Trillanes’ request for a pass on February 6, and Honasan’s on February 7th so both could personally go to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in Intramuros, Manila.
Trillanes was allowed from 8:30 am until 11 am, while Honasan is an hour longer since he would be coming from Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Trillanes is detained at the Bonifacio Naval Base in Taguig City.
Both will be escorted properly by their Philippine National Police and Armed Forces of the Philippines custodians.
Pimentel barred the two from talking to the media about the merits of the case against them, which stemmed from their alleged participation in the Oakwood Mutiny in July 2003 at Makati City, as well as making any form of premature campaigning.
They are also warned against issuing inflammatory and seditious statements against the government.
The judge ordered the counsels of Trillanes and Honasan to submit “a written manifestation within 24 hours to the Court and the prosecution regarding the completion of the filing of” their certificates of candidacy.
The two officers had said that they will run as Independent senatorial candidates even if they are in jail in pursuit of their dedication to serve the country.
Philippine laws does not bar any person on trial from seeking an elective post in government./DMS
Biggest NPA bomb-making factory and ammunition depot in Mindanao overran by military
By Ronron
January 25, 2007
What is believed to be the biggest bomb-making factory and ammunition depot of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao was discovered by government troops on Wednesday in Surigao del Sur after an encounter, a military spokesman said yesterday.
Maj. Ernesto Torres, Jr., spokesman of the Philippine Army, said the NPA camp, called Greenfields, was discovered at a cave in Sitio Greenfields, Barangay Sta. Juana in Tagbina town after a brief firefight ensued between elements of the 36th Infantry Battalion (IB) and suspected rebels.
“Greenfields is believed to be the Regional Guerilla base of the communist terrorists (CT) led by CT leader Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, where regional training and CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) anniversaries are being held,” Torres said.
He said troops of the 401st Infantry Brigade and the 36th IB found at the cave “several bomb-making and ammunition reloading equipment including 42 plastic containers of Syperdyne dynamite explosives that could produce about 250 pieces of eight-kilogram landmines; 18 pieces of claymore mines; an M14 rifle; and M16 rifle; a Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher; two mortar base plates; a B40 anti-tank weapon base plate; a set of rifle ammunition reloading machine; 13mm electric drill press machine; 76 pieces of M60 machinegun ammunition; detonating wires; and two pieces of expanders.”
Some 100 plastic containers of Syperdyne dynamite explosives are yet to be dug, said Torres, because these are being buried under thick foliage.
Just last January 18th, Torres said government troops also recovered at the southeastern part of the Greenfields an RPG launcher, a B40 anti-tank weapon, a motorcycle, four volumes of the NPA’s “Ang Bayan” publication, four “Lingkawas” magazine, and other items allegedly belonging to Madlos also after a brief encounter.
“The capture of the CT factory will definitely degrade the CT bomb-making capability in Mindanao. The discovery of the huge explosive depot/factory has also evidently proved that the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army should remain to be tagged as an International Terrorist Group,” Torres said.
He said government troops continue yesterday to run after the guerillas in Tagbina, with the support of UH-1H and two MG520 helicopters.
No casualties have so far been reported in the operations.
But at the same time, Torres said the local military leadership has coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local government units for the rehabilitation of Sitio Greenfields.
The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla war in the countryside in the last 37 years. The Arroyo government vowed to wipe it out in 2010.
Peace talks with the group bogged down in August 2004 after it received the terrorist tag from foreign governments./DMS
January 25, 2007
What is believed to be the biggest bomb-making factory and ammunition depot of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao was discovered by government troops on Wednesday in Surigao del Sur after an encounter, a military spokesman said yesterday.
Maj. Ernesto Torres, Jr., spokesman of the Philippine Army, said the NPA camp, called Greenfields, was discovered at a cave in Sitio Greenfields, Barangay Sta. Juana in Tagbina town after a brief firefight ensued between elements of the 36th Infantry Battalion (IB) and suspected rebels.
“Greenfields is believed to be the Regional Guerilla base of the communist terrorists (CT) led by CT leader Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris, where regional training and CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) anniversaries are being held,” Torres said.
He said troops of the 401st Infantry Brigade and the 36th IB found at the cave “several bomb-making and ammunition reloading equipment including 42 plastic containers of Syperdyne dynamite explosives that could produce about 250 pieces of eight-kilogram landmines; 18 pieces of claymore mines; an M14 rifle; and M16 rifle; a Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher; two mortar base plates; a B40 anti-tank weapon base plate; a set of rifle ammunition reloading machine; 13mm electric drill press machine; 76 pieces of M60 machinegun ammunition; detonating wires; and two pieces of expanders.”
Some 100 plastic containers of Syperdyne dynamite explosives are yet to be dug, said Torres, because these are being buried under thick foliage.
Just last January 18th, Torres said government troops also recovered at the southeastern part of the Greenfields an RPG launcher, a B40 anti-tank weapon, a motorcycle, four volumes of the NPA’s “Ang Bayan” publication, four “Lingkawas” magazine, and other items allegedly belonging to Madlos also after a brief encounter.
“The capture of the CT factory will definitely degrade the CT bomb-making capability in Mindanao. The discovery of the huge explosive depot/factory has also evidently proved that the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army should remain to be tagged as an International Terrorist Group,” Torres said.
He said government troops continue yesterday to run after the guerillas in Tagbina, with the support of UH-1H and two MG520 helicopters.
No casualties have so far been reported in the operations.
But at the same time, Torres said the local military leadership has coordinated with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and local government units for the rehabilitation of Sitio Greenfields.
The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla war in the countryside in the last 37 years. The Arroyo government vowed to wipe it out in 2010.
Peace talks with the group bogged down in August 2004 after it received the terrorist tag from foreign governments./DMS
US participants in Balikatan 07 reduced due to initial cancellation plans
By Ronron
January 25, 2007
Troops participating in the upcoming RP-US Balikatan Exercises will be much fewer compared to those in the last few years after preparations were interrupted by the initially planned cancellation of the annually-held activity due to the custody row involving US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith last month.
In an e-mail message to Manila Shimbun yesterday, Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer of the US Army Pacific Command Public Affairs said only an approximate 400 American soldiers and 300 Filipino counterparts will be joining this year’s exercises, which will be held from February 18 until March 4th.
Approximately 150 of the American participants will particularly go to Sulu and nearby areas for the civil-military action projects, while the rest will be doing the Staff Exercises at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, and at Clark Airfield in Pampanga.
“The reason the numbers are down is because the Field Training portion (FTX) of the exercise was cancelled because of a disagreement with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). That disagreement was resolved but it was too late for the FTX to be rescheduled,” wrote Zimmer.
In December, the US Pacific Command announced it was canceling the holding of the Balikatan 2007 because it said the Philippines was not complying with its obligations under the VFA as regards the custody of Smith after the latter was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment for raping a Filipina in November 2005.
Smith was a participant of the Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) in 2005 when he committed the crime at Subic Bay Freeport in Olongapo City, Zambales.
The 21-year-old serviceman was initially detained at the Makati City Jail upon the orders of Judge Benjamin Pozon on December 4, 2006, but was later transferred on the 29th at the US Embassy in Manila with the approval of the Philippine government’s executive department.
This resulted in the announcement by the US of the resumption of the Balikatan exercises for this year.
In recent years, participants to the Balikatan exercises number in thousands. Last year’s activity gathered 5,500 US personnel and 2,800 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel. They were supposed to hold activities in Luzon, Cebu and Sulu, but were diverted to Southern Leyte province to do humanitarian activities when a major landslide buried an entire village there.
US Embassy in Manila spokesman Matthew Lussenhop had said earlier that the main focus of the upcoming Balikatan is the socio-civic component, since there are other training exercise opportunities that will be held in the country like the Talon Vision, the PHIBLEX, and the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Exercise.
“We’re estimating that the US will spend $250,000 on Engineering Civic Action Projects and Medical Civic Action Projects for Balikatan 07,” Zimmer said.
“So far, there are no plans to increase this amount, though there will be continuing humanitarian assistance projects after the Balikatan, funded by the AFP and US Joint Special Operations Task Force,” he added.
Last year’s Balikatan was also allocated by the US with some $245,000 for the humanitarian assistance projects./DMS
January 25, 2007
Troops participating in the upcoming RP-US Balikatan Exercises will be much fewer compared to those in the last few years after preparations were interrupted by the initially planned cancellation of the annually-held activity due to the custody row involving US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith last month.
In an e-mail message to Manila Shimbun yesterday, Lt. Col. Mark Zimmer of the US Army Pacific Command Public Affairs said only an approximate 400 American soldiers and 300 Filipino counterparts will be joining this year’s exercises, which will be held from February 18 until March 4th.
Approximately 150 of the American participants will particularly go to Sulu and nearby areas for the civil-military action projects, while the rest will be doing the Staff Exercises at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, and at Clark Airfield in Pampanga.
“The reason the numbers are down is because the Field Training portion (FTX) of the exercise was cancelled because of a disagreement with the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). That disagreement was resolved but it was too late for the FTX to be rescheduled,” wrote Zimmer.
In December, the US Pacific Command announced it was canceling the holding of the Balikatan 2007 because it said the Philippines was not complying with its obligations under the VFA as regards the custody of Smith after the latter was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment for raping a Filipina in November 2005.
Smith was a participant of the Talon Vision and Amphibious Landing Exercise (PHIBLEX) in 2005 when he committed the crime at Subic Bay Freeport in Olongapo City, Zambales.
The 21-year-old serviceman was initially detained at the Makati City Jail upon the orders of Judge Benjamin Pozon on December 4, 2006, but was later transferred on the 29th at the US Embassy in Manila with the approval of the Philippine government’s executive department.
This resulted in the announcement by the US of the resumption of the Balikatan exercises for this year.
In recent years, participants to the Balikatan exercises number in thousands. Last year’s activity gathered 5,500 US personnel and 2,800 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) personnel. They were supposed to hold activities in Luzon, Cebu and Sulu, but were diverted to Southern Leyte province to do humanitarian activities when a major landslide buried an entire village there.
US Embassy in Manila spokesman Matthew Lussenhop had said earlier that the main focus of the upcoming Balikatan is the socio-civic component, since there are other training exercise opportunities that will be held in the country like the Talon Vision, the PHIBLEX, and the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Exercise.
“We’re estimating that the US will spend $250,000 on Engineering Civic Action Projects and Medical Civic Action Projects for Balikatan 07,” Zimmer said.
“So far, there are no plans to increase this amount, though there will be continuing humanitarian assistance projects after the Balikatan, funded by the AFP and US Joint Special Operations Task Force,” he added.
Last year’s Balikatan was also allocated by the US with some $245,000 for the humanitarian assistance projects./DMS
Thursday, January 25, 2007
CIDG clears Region 6 cops of abuse of power allegation in raiding Iloilo capitol
By Ronron
January 24, 2007
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) cleared yesterday the members of the Region 6 police who raided the Iloilo Capitol last January 17 of allegations of “abuse of power” to implement the dismissal order against Governor Niel Tupas, Sr.
In a statement, Director Edgardo Doromal, CIDG chief, said video footage of the incident showed that the police action was “reasonable and appropriate,” citing factors coming from the side of Tupas.
“Far from being an overkill, as claimed by opposition quarters, the (PNP) had fielded just enough policemen – 200 – to maintain peace and order at the Provincial Capitol, which, an estimated one thousand supporters of the governor, had barricaded with the support of heavily armed men holed up inside the building,” Doromal said yesterday.
Doromal flew to Iloilo City last Friday to personally investigate the incident.
He blamed the supporters of Tupas, led by the latter’s son, Provincial Board Member Niel Tupas, Jr., for the tension that arose at the capitol in the afternoon of January 17, saying that the police actually “observed standard procedures in trying to disperse and break the crowd that had blockaded the entry to the capitol.”
Doromal justified the breaking of glass walls by the police by saying that many civilians were already trapped inside the building and could not leave because of Tupas’ supporters’ blockade.
“Fearful of a stampede that could severely hurt or even kill many of these trapped civilians, the RMG (Regional Mobile Group) team (of 65 members) had no recourse but to break glass panels to provide a safe passageway for them,” Doromal said.
He said the responding troops were in fighting form that time because there were reports that Tupas was also flanked inside the capitol building with armed provincial jail guards, armed blue guards, and members of Bayan Muna, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilpinas, and Gabriela.
Even the younger Tupas was in possession of nine firearms, including assault rifles, said Doromal.
“PNP personnel did not point their guns at Tupas’s son and daughter but were merely asking them to halt and sit down. While everyone had complied with the order, one of their companions suddenly stood up, prompting one member of the RMG contingent to respond in accordance with police operational procedures when met with civilians who were either resisting or refusing to cooperate with lawmen,” Doromal said.
He noted that prior to the operation, the raiding team, which also include the Civil Disturbance Management Group, assessed the situation at hand and were adequately briefed of the proper police operations guidelines during crisis situations.
“The responding team had taken into account that the Capitol is a 2,248 square meter, six-storey building with 37 offices that ordinarily needs more than a hundred highly trained special weapons and tactics personnel to secure,” Doromal said.
But he said that at the end of it all, what was important is that no single shot was fired and that no physical injury was reported during the crisis, except for the small scratch on the younger Tupas’ arm.
The tension at the capitol defused before sunset of that day after Tupas got a copy of the Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Court of Appeals in Cebu against the dismissal order issued by the Ombudsman./DMS
January 24, 2007
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) cleared yesterday the members of the Region 6 police who raided the Iloilo Capitol last January 17 of allegations of “abuse of power” to implement the dismissal order against Governor Niel Tupas, Sr.
In a statement, Director Edgardo Doromal, CIDG chief, said video footage of the incident showed that the police action was “reasonable and appropriate,” citing factors coming from the side of Tupas.
“Far from being an overkill, as claimed by opposition quarters, the (PNP) had fielded just enough policemen – 200 – to maintain peace and order at the Provincial Capitol, which, an estimated one thousand supporters of the governor, had barricaded with the support of heavily armed men holed up inside the building,” Doromal said yesterday.
Doromal flew to Iloilo City last Friday to personally investigate the incident.
He blamed the supporters of Tupas, led by the latter’s son, Provincial Board Member Niel Tupas, Jr., for the tension that arose at the capitol in the afternoon of January 17, saying that the police actually “observed standard procedures in trying to disperse and break the crowd that had blockaded the entry to the capitol.”
Doromal justified the breaking of glass walls by the police by saying that many civilians were already trapped inside the building and could not leave because of Tupas’ supporters’ blockade.
“Fearful of a stampede that could severely hurt or even kill many of these trapped civilians, the RMG (Regional Mobile Group) team (of 65 members) had no recourse but to break glass panels to provide a safe passageway for them,” Doromal said.
He said the responding troops were in fighting form that time because there were reports that Tupas was also flanked inside the capitol building with armed provincial jail guards, armed blue guards, and members of Bayan Muna, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilpinas, and Gabriela.
Even the younger Tupas was in possession of nine firearms, including assault rifles, said Doromal.
“PNP personnel did not point their guns at Tupas’s son and daughter but were merely asking them to halt and sit down. While everyone had complied with the order, one of their companions suddenly stood up, prompting one member of the RMG contingent to respond in accordance with police operational procedures when met with civilians who were either resisting or refusing to cooperate with lawmen,” Doromal said.
He noted that prior to the operation, the raiding team, which also include the Civil Disturbance Management Group, assessed the situation at hand and were adequately briefed of the proper police operations guidelines during crisis situations.
“The responding team had taken into account that the Capitol is a 2,248 square meter, six-storey building with 37 offices that ordinarily needs more than a hundred highly trained special weapons and tactics personnel to secure,” Doromal said.
But he said that at the end of it all, what was important is that no single shot was fired and that no physical injury was reported during the crisis, except for the small scratch on the younger Tupas’ arm.
The tension at the capitol defused before sunset of that day after Tupas got a copy of the Temporary Restraining Order issued by the Court of Appeals in Cebu against the dismissal order issued by the Ombudsman./DMS
Two alleged Bayan Muna members killed in Sorsogon; colleagues hold rally at AFP headquarters
By Ronron
January 24, 2007
Two alleged members of the Left-leaning Bayan Muna party-list group were shot dead on Tuesday in Sorsogon province allegedly by military agents, an official of the group said.
Atty. Neri Colmenares, a candidate for the Bayan Muna congressional post in the upcoming May elections, told Camp Aguinaldo reporters yesterday during the group’s rally outside the military camp that the latest incidents may just be a few of the many killings that will happen as the election nears to dissuade people from supporting their group.
Colmenares identified the first fatality as Ruben Ermino, 52, who was fired upon by unknown suspect/s at around 12 noon the other day (Tuesday) while he was driving his tricycle in Barangay Tabi, Gubat town.
The second member to be killed for the day is Demetrio Imperial, 26, of Barangay Sogoy in Castilla town. Colmenares said the suspects, who were wearing masks, first held Imperial’s wife and child at gunpoint while the family was having dinner at around 7pm that day before shooting their target.
“We fear that the political killings will escalate as the elections draw near,” Colmenares said in Filipino.
The group, numbering no more than 30, held a 45-minute rally outside Gate 2 of Camp Aguinaldo, fronting EDSA, to condemn the twin killings, which, he said, were perpetrated by “government forces”, based on witnesses’ accounts and circumstantial evidence.
“The killings are done in broad daylight, near police and military detachments, and by motorcycle-riding gunmen,” explained Colmenares.
Verification of the reported killings with the police was futile due to disconnected phone lines in the Sorsogon province.
Colmenares accused the government of resorting to killing militants because it “can’t beat Bayan Muna in the elections.
He disclosed that seeking the first and second nominee positions for Bayan Muna in the May 14 elections are Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casino, both incumbent members of the 13th Congress./DMS
January 24, 2007
Two alleged members of the Left-leaning Bayan Muna party-list group were shot dead on Tuesday in Sorsogon province allegedly by military agents, an official of the group said.
Atty. Neri Colmenares, a candidate for the Bayan Muna congressional post in the upcoming May elections, told Camp Aguinaldo reporters yesterday during the group’s rally outside the military camp that the latest incidents may just be a few of the many killings that will happen as the election nears to dissuade people from supporting their group.
Colmenares identified the first fatality as Ruben Ermino, 52, who was fired upon by unknown suspect/s at around 12 noon the other day (Tuesday) while he was driving his tricycle in Barangay Tabi, Gubat town.
The second member to be killed for the day is Demetrio Imperial, 26, of Barangay Sogoy in Castilla town. Colmenares said the suspects, who were wearing masks, first held Imperial’s wife and child at gunpoint while the family was having dinner at around 7pm that day before shooting their target.
“We fear that the political killings will escalate as the elections draw near,” Colmenares said in Filipino.
The group, numbering no more than 30, held a 45-minute rally outside Gate 2 of Camp Aguinaldo, fronting EDSA, to condemn the twin killings, which, he said, were perpetrated by “government forces”, based on witnesses’ accounts and circumstantial evidence.
“The killings are done in broad daylight, near police and military detachments, and by motorcycle-riding gunmen,” explained Colmenares.
Verification of the reported killings with the police was futile due to disconnected phone lines in the Sorsogon province.
Colmenares accused the government of resorting to killing militants because it “can’t beat Bayan Muna in the elections.
He disclosed that seeking the first and second nominee positions for Bayan Muna in the May 14 elections are Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casino, both incumbent members of the 13th Congress./DMS
MNLF official claims 9 slain bandits on Jan. 18 encounter in Patikul, Sulul are their members, not ASG; military belie it
By Ronron
January 24, 2007
An official of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the country’s original secessionist group, claimed on Wednesday that the nine bandits killed by the military in an encounter last January 18 in Patikul, Sulu are their comrades, and not Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members.
In a text message to Defense reporters, the official, who requested anonymity, said what happened was “purely a massacre perpetrated against nine MNLF (members).”
The source said that in fact, the MNLF leadership and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace Process (OPAPP) are already conducting an investigation on the incident, in coordination with “military generals” in the area.
But the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) maintains that their enemy in that encounter which happened in Barangay Timpook are ASG bandits believed to be under the command of Abu Pula or Dr. Abu, a bandit leader with a $100,000 reward from the US government.
“We are sure that they are Abu Sayyaf,” said Lt. Col. Melquiades Ordiales, commander of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9 that was involved in the clash.
Ordiales confirmed that OPAPP investigators indeed went to their area, and they were even exonerated of the MNLF source’s claims.
He said one of the four captured rebels, identified as a certain Warki, told the OPAPP investigators that he and the nine slain bandits are ASG members.
But Warki admitted that he was really applying for membership with the MNLF, said PMC spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan.
“Our theory is that since the Abu Sayyaf is already leadersless, then their members are now trying to seek sanctuary with the MNLF,” said Caculitan.
To further belie the MNLF source’s allegations, Caculitan said that Patikul is actually a known bailiwick of the ASG, while the MNLF is only concentrated in the towns of Indanan, Talipao, and Panamao, all in Sulu also.
According to the MNLF source, “the more than hundred Marines involved in that massacre were brought to Manila for unknown reason.”
But Caculitan said the troops are in Manila to be honored in Malacanang by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In an interview at Camp Aguinaldo, Brig. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of the AFP’s counter-terror Joint Task Force Comet based in Sulu, said they arrived in the capital indeed on Tuesday night, both Marine and Army troopers who were involved in the series of successful operations against the ASG.
Rafael did not disclose, however, their number so as not to give their enemies in the south an idea of how many troops are left there.
The group was flown aboard a C130 plane.
“They will be personally congratulated by the President… There will be medals, awards, and benefits for the casualties,” Rafael said.
Members of the Marine Force Reconnaissance Class 12 engaged the group of ASG leader Khadaffy Janjalani last September 4, 2006 in Patikul, claiming the latter’s life.
On January 6, elements of the 3rd Marine Battalion killed five ASG operatives, including sub-leader Jundam Jamalul, alias Black Killer, and a JI operative, in Tawi-Tawi.
Two days later, another leader of the ASG-Urban Terrorist Group, Binang Sali, was also killed in a raid at his safehouse in Patikul by members of the Military Intelligence Group 9 and Scout Rangers.
And then on January 16, troops from the 8th Special Forces Company of the Philippine Army encountered a separate group of ASG in Talipao town, resulting in the death of Abu Sulaiman, another ASG top leader./DMS
January 24, 2007
An official of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the country’s original secessionist group, claimed on Wednesday that the nine bandits killed by the military in an encounter last January 18 in Patikul, Sulu are their comrades, and not Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members.
In a text message to Defense reporters, the official, who requested anonymity, said what happened was “purely a massacre perpetrated against nine MNLF (members).”
The source said that in fact, the MNLF leadership and the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace Process (OPAPP) are already conducting an investigation on the incident, in coordination with “military generals” in the area.
But the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) maintains that their enemy in that encounter which happened in Barangay Timpook are ASG bandits believed to be under the command of Abu Pula or Dr. Abu, a bandit leader with a $100,000 reward from the US government.
“We are sure that they are Abu Sayyaf,” said Lt. Col. Melquiades Ordiales, commander of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9 that was involved in the clash.
Ordiales confirmed that OPAPP investigators indeed went to their area, and they were even exonerated of the MNLF source’s claims.
He said one of the four captured rebels, identified as a certain Warki, told the OPAPP investigators that he and the nine slain bandits are ASG members.
But Warki admitted that he was really applying for membership with the MNLF, said PMC spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan.
“Our theory is that since the Abu Sayyaf is already leadersless, then their members are now trying to seek sanctuary with the MNLF,” said Caculitan.
To further belie the MNLF source’s allegations, Caculitan said that Patikul is actually a known bailiwick of the ASG, while the MNLF is only concentrated in the towns of Indanan, Talipao, and Panamao, all in Sulu also.
According to the MNLF source, “the more than hundred Marines involved in that massacre were brought to Manila for unknown reason.”
But Caculitan said the troops are in Manila to be honored in Malacanang by no less than President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
In an interview at Camp Aguinaldo, Brig. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of the AFP’s counter-terror Joint Task Force Comet based in Sulu, said they arrived in the capital indeed on Tuesday night, both Marine and Army troopers who were involved in the series of successful operations against the ASG.
Rafael did not disclose, however, their number so as not to give their enemies in the south an idea of how many troops are left there.
The group was flown aboard a C130 plane.
“They will be personally congratulated by the President… There will be medals, awards, and benefits for the casualties,” Rafael said.
Members of the Marine Force Reconnaissance Class 12 engaged the group of ASG leader Khadaffy Janjalani last September 4, 2006 in Patikul, claiming the latter’s life.
On January 6, elements of the 3rd Marine Battalion killed five ASG operatives, including sub-leader Jundam Jamalul, alias Black Killer, and a JI operative, in Tawi-Tawi.
Two days later, another leader of the ASG-Urban Terrorist Group, Binang Sali, was also killed in a raid at his safehouse in Patikul by members of the Military Intelligence Group 9 and Scout Rangers.
And then on January 16, troops from the 8th Special Forces Company of the Philippine Army encountered a separate group of ASG in Talipao town, resulting in the death of Abu Sulaiman, another ASG top leader./DMS
PNP to assume security role come election period left behind by AFP, but assures of a no-repeat of “Hello Garci” controversy
By Ronron
January 24, 2007
After it was abandoned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has no other recourse this time but to task the Philippine National Police (PNP) in closely securing the upcoming polls.
But, facing the media after a closed-door command conference at Camp Crame, Quezon City, the Comelec and PNP leadership yesterday vowed that the same controversy that the AFP got into in the 2004 polls as having been politicized will no longer happen.
“We already released Police Operational Procedures in connection with the election exercise. And we already released a lot of directives for the regional directives about the implementation how to conduct checkpoints, how to protect the integrity of the Philippine National Police in the conduct of our duty for this coming elections. So we have safeguards for this,” PNP chief Gen. Oscar Calderon said.
While Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos, Sr. disclosed that the PNP will assume the previous roles of the AFP, Calderon said there will be some modifications, like counting of votes will not be held at police camps, and policemen will not be involved in the tallying of votes.
“Definitely, no chance because we have safeguards,” Calderon said when asked if there will be a PNP-version of the “Hello Garci” controversy.
In June 2005, the so-called “Hello Garci” tapes surfaced containing recorded conversations allegedly of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano a few days after the May 10, 2004 elections. Arroyo was a Presidential candidate then.
The conversations suggest that military officials, including incumbent AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., were being utilized by Arroyo in allegedly rigging the results of the 2004 elections to her favor, as against her close rival Fernando Poe, Jr.
To avoid the military establishment being dragged again into election controversies, then Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz, Jr. initiated in October last year the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Comelec, limiting the role of the AFP only to responding to direct armed threats at a certain place.
As such, Abalos said yesterday that tasks of securing voting and canvassing precincts and paraphernalia will now be assumed by the PNP.
“We have seen the fitness of the PNP in the implementation of this mandate,” Abalos said.
Abalos expressed dismay that the “Hello Garci” issue has been blown out of proportion in the media even when “at most, this gentleman, who professes to be Mr. Garci or Mr. Garcillano, was only trying to impress the lady he was talking to.”
“If ever there was anything that was proven in the tape, it was proven that the Comelec cannot be compromised by one and single commissioner. No one commissioner, not even I, can commit the commission for that matter,” Abalos said.
He maintained there was no rigging of votes that happened since the conversation supposedly happened on May 29, 2004, five days after the canvassing of votes for Senatorial candidates was already finished.
“I, for one, will entertain calls, any and all calls coming from anywhere expect from calls that would dictate or that would ask that we cheat,” Abalos said yesterday.
He said this is to give chance to those who felt aggrieved but could not be attended to in the precinct and municipal level.
A month after the “Hello Garci” tapes came out, Arroyo made a public apology for the her lapse in judgement in calling an election official. But she stressed that it was done only to protect her votes and not to rig the results. She also pointed out that the call was made only after the votes for the Senatorial candidates were already canvassed.
Thirty days before May 14, 2007, Abalos said the PNP from the provinces down to the cities and municipalities will eventually be under the supervision and control of the Comelec.
Calderon warned that anyone caught engaging in partisan politics will immediately be relieved and subjected to investigation.
Meanwhile, more than 600 cities and municipalities are initially listed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) as election hotspots based on the different security threats posed by the political groups and insurgents in the area.
PNP records showed that 49 cities and municipalities are regarded as “election areas of immediate concern,” eight of which are in Region V.
Places tagged by PNP as “election areas of immediate concern” mean that all parameters of an election hotspot are obvious. These are: categorization as an insurgency-infested area, with 50 percent of the total barangays in the province affected by communists and partisan armed groups; the occurrence of election-related violent incidents; the existence of intense partisan political rivalry in at least 70 percent of all towns and cities; and, the occurrence of incidents that can disrupt the electoral proceedings or create political tension that could upset the process in the immediate area and surrounding areas.
Other areas placed under “immediate concern” by the PNP are five in Region I; three in Region II; three in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); two in Region III; four in Region IV-A; four in Region IV-B; one in Region VI; two in Region VII; four in Region VIII; four in Region IX; one in Region X; two in Region XI; one in Region XII; two in Region XIII; and three in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
On the other hand, 564 other cities and municipalities are categorized by the PNP as just “election areas of concern,” which means only two of all the parameters cited above (for those under immediate concern) are present.
The breakdown of these areas of concern goes: 36 in Region I; 38 in Region II; 31 in CAR; 47 in Region III; 45 in Region IV-A; 14 in Region IV-B; 51 in Region V; 31 in Region VI; 27 in Region VII; 39 in Region VIII; 32 in Region IX; 31 in Region X; 25 in Region XI; 37 in Region XII; 26 in Region XIII; and 54 in ARMM.
The final determination of the election hotspot areas, however, will only be known after once the candidates for the local posts are already known.
“We can only finalize the records if all local candidates will have filed (their candidacy)… That’s a factor – who will be the candidate in a municipality. We will only know the situation in a municipality if we know who the candidates are,” said Director Antonio Billones, Deputy Chief for Operations of the PNP, and concurrent PNP Task Force HOPE commander.
Local officials, ranging from members of the House of Representatives to city and municipal officials, have until March 29 to file their candidacies at their respective Comelec offices. The filing started on January 15.
The national elections will be conducted on May 14./DMS
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
GPS, compass, reliable info led Marine troopers to Janjalani
By Ronron
January 23, 2007
From the start, the Marine troopers who were tasked to go after the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) that included its chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani in September last year were aware that they were off to a “special mission.”
Private First Class Juvelito Manalili, 26, one of the 27-member Class 12 Marine Force Reconnaissance under the 3rd Marine Brigade, recounted that they were doing nothing in the afternoon of September 3, 2006 inside their camp in Jolo, Sulu when the entire platoon, led by 2Lt. Romulo Dimayuga, were called to a briefing.
Manalili said no less than Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the 3rd Marine Brigade, gave the briefing for their mission following receipt of an intelligence report of the presence of their “high-value targets, including foreign leaders” in Barangay Tugas, Patikul, also in Sulu.
“Yung operation na yun, alam namin na grupo ni Khadaffy Janjalani ang andun. Sure kami,” said Dimayuga, 24, referring to the encounter that ensued many hours later at their target place after the briefing.
He disclosed that their target place, based on the intelligence information, was particularly marked on the map during the briefing.
Dimayuga acknowledged that the intelligence information was a fusion of the Philippine and US military forces, both human and technical in nature. This was also confirmed by Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro.
But the young officer, who just graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 2005, clarified that from the time they were briefed until they went to operation, no member of the US Forces were in sight.
Armed with radio for their communication; a GPS (Global Positioning System) device, map, compass, and night vision for their navigation; and high-powered firearms like M203 grenade launchers, Dimayuga and his 26 men left their base at 8pm of September 3, and were transported by truck to Patikul.
An hour later, they were dropped off at a place where they would start walking towards their target.
Manalili said he was the “compass man” in the team, assisting Dimayuga, who was holding the GPS while leading the team.
“The Force Recon members are really used to walking at night. So, we are familiar with the jungle,” explained Manalili when asked how they reached their target place despite the darkness. Besides, at least three of them were equipped with night vision goggles that the Philippines acquired from the US.
The two officers recalled that it was only at around 1am of September 4 that they came close to their targets, who were hiding in bunkers that were neck-deep. In fact, Dimayuga said, they were just about four meters away from their targets.
Manalili described the place to have plenty of “coconut trees, “marang” trees, grasses and other plants.” And at the base is a creek.
“May mga narinig kaming hilik, tapos may mga ilaw ng flashflights… May mga punong may mga duyan, at may mga tent rin na kulay blue,” Manalili said.
At 3am, Manalili said they sent radio communication message to their base and to the nearby troops, requesting for reinforcement troops.
But, Dimayuga said, they decided to wait until 5 am to attack their targets so their enemies could first consolidate upon waking up.
True enough, at around that time, a man woke up, and was heard by Dimayuga apparently singing, “with a distinct voice.” A few minutes later, some other men started waking up too. Dimayuga estimated their enemy to be around 40 at that time.
“Yes, I suppose,” said Dimayuga when asked if he suspects that noisy man to be Janjalani. “He could not have the guts to create noise if he was not a person in authority in the group.”
But he admitted that he did not positively see Janjalani, who holds a five million dollar bounty on his head, because their subjects were wearing either caps, bonnet or other coverings in the head.
When the opportune time came, the government troops then started throwing grenades to their targets followed by non-stop gun fires, catching their enemies by surprise.
About an hour later, or at 6am, Manalili said over 100 reinforcement fighters of the ASG started arriving. He said this also supported their belief then that they had really hit hard a high-value target.
Manalili said the reinforcement from the government side, coming from the Marine Force Reconnaissance Battalion, started arriving at around 7am only, but maintained that it was not “late.”
Until the arrival of the reinforcement, “we held our line and really fought it out with the Abu Sayyaf even if we already suffered casualties,” said Manalili.
Dimayuga said he got wounded in the encounter while he was helping out a wounded man. A bullet pierced through his chest, and exited on his abdomen. He also sustained a shrapnel wound on the leg.
Manalili, for his part, was hit on the left knee.
“Hindi ako puwede mag-order ng withdrawal kasi madami kaming maiiwan na kasama,” Dimayuga said.
“Nung dumating na yung reinforcement, talagang binitawan ko na yung M203 ko. Nakahinga talaga ako,” Manalili said for his part.
He disclosed four of his fellow soldiers died on the spot. Another one died while being administered first aid at the site, and one more expired at the hospital in Asturias, Jolo.
Aside from Dimayuga and Manalili, 14 others were wounded in the encounter.
Manalili said they were first treated with first aid at the site before they were airlifted at almost 9am by Philippine choppers to Jolo proper, and then later to Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City, this time already with the help of US choppers.
Dimayuga said they no longer have the chance to recover dead bodies of their enemies, or even to check if Janjalani was among the group, since they were already incapable of doing so.
But now that a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) analysis on the alleged remains of Janjalani and his brother, Hector, supposedly proves that the former is already dead, Dimayuga and Manalili could only be elated, and feel rewarded, especially that six of their comrades died in the battle.
“It will give great honor to us, to our platoon, to the Marines, to the AFP, and to the Philippines’s fight against terror. It just proves that the death of my six men and the wounding of 16, including me, happened for a cause, and that we have accomplished our mission,” Dimayuga said.
Manalili said it is even a victory also for “civilians” because the threat of terrorism posed by the 31-year-old Janjalani died down as well.
The alleged remains of Janjalani were recovered from Barangay Kabuntakas, also in Patikul, some two kilometers away only from Barangay Tugas, by elements also of the 3rd Marine Brigade on December 27, 2006.
A Medal for Valor Award now awaits Dimayuga, while the rest of his men were also recommended to receive either of the following awards: Distinguished Conduct Star, Gold Cross Medal, or Military Merit Award with Spearhead Device, said Marines spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan./END
Senior Defense officials of ASEAN hold three-day meeting in Manila starting Wednesday
By Ronron
January 23, 2007
Senior Defense officials of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will start today (Wednesday) a three-day meeting in Manila, dubbed as the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials Meeting (ADSOM), to talk about security and defense issues in the region.
Philippine Defense Public Affairs Director Rosulo Manlangit said in a statement Tuesday that in attendance to the international event that will be held at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City are defense officials with the rank of Vice Minister or Permanent Secretary.
The ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Aside from the customary exchange of views on regional and international security and defense concerns, up for discussion by the ADSOM delegates are: the concept paper on the Protocol of the ADMM (ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting), Philippine initiatives at laying out a Three-Year Work Programme for the ADMM, and a proposed indicative calendar for ADMM,” said Manlangit.
The Philippines currently chairs the ADMM, “the highest ministerial defense and security consultative and cooperation mechanism in the ASEAN,” said Manlangit.
As host, the Philippine’s Defense Undersecretary Antonio Santos, Jr. will chair the three-day inaugural multilateral meeting.
“The three-day Manila meeting of ADSOM will prepare the administrative and substantive requirements of the series of ADMM-related conferences for calendar year 2007, a number of them to be held in Manila,” reads the statement.
The ADMM was inaugurated in May 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, wherein Defense chiefs of the various ASEAN countries affirmed the ADMM’s role in promoting cooperation on defense and security under the ASEAN framework and in pushing the establishment of an ASEAN Security Community, as stipulated in both the Bali Concord II and the Vientiane Action Program on ASC, the statement said.
Just recently, the 12th ASEAN Summit was held in Cebu, Philippines were heads of States vowed to confront terrorism and other security threats in the region unanimously./DMS
January 23, 2007
Senior Defense officials of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will start today (Wednesday) a three-day meeting in Manila, dubbed as the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials Meeting (ADSOM), to talk about security and defense issues in the region.
Philippine Defense Public Affairs Director Rosulo Manlangit said in a statement Tuesday that in attendance to the international event that will be held at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel in Mandaluyong City are defense officials with the rank of Vice Minister or Permanent Secretary.
The ASEAN is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Aside from the customary exchange of views on regional and international security and defense concerns, up for discussion by the ADSOM delegates are: the concept paper on the Protocol of the ADMM (ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting), Philippine initiatives at laying out a Three-Year Work Programme for the ADMM, and a proposed indicative calendar for ADMM,” said Manlangit.
The Philippines currently chairs the ADMM, “the highest ministerial defense and security consultative and cooperation mechanism in the ASEAN,” said Manlangit.
As host, the Philippine’s Defense Undersecretary Antonio Santos, Jr. will chair the three-day inaugural multilateral meeting.
“The three-day Manila meeting of ADSOM will prepare the administrative and substantive requirements of the series of ADMM-related conferences for calendar year 2007, a number of them to be held in Manila,” reads the statement.
The ADMM was inaugurated in May 2005 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, wherein Defense chiefs of the various ASEAN countries affirmed the ADMM’s role in promoting cooperation on defense and security under the ASEAN framework and in pushing the establishment of an ASEAN Security Community, as stipulated in both the Bali Concord II and the Vientiane Action Program on ASC, the statement said.
Just recently, the 12th ASEAN Summit was held in Cebu, Philippines were heads of States vowed to confront terrorism and other security threats in the region unanimously./DMS
RP-US Balikatan Exercises to be held on Feb. 18 – Mar. 4, to focus more on civic-military operations
By Ronron
January 23, 2007
The RP-US Balikatan Exercises for this year will be held from February 18 to March 4 in various parts of the country, including Sulu, the hotbed of Moslem extremist groups.
In a statement, the US Embassy in Manila said Tuesday that “Exercise Balikatan 2007 will focus primarily on humanitarian projects in Mindanao, especially Jolo Island, including multiple medical, dental, veterinary, and engineering projects carried out by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US personnel.”
Asked for this shift of focus, embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said by phone that a lot of military exercises anyway are being conducted in the country during the year, namely Talon Vision, Amphibious Landing Exercises (PHIBLEX), and Coopeation Afloat Reading and Training (CARAT) Exercises.
“We felt that it is best to focus on civil-military actions this time,” said Lussenhop.
The statement said there will be a separate “combined task force staff exercise to help improve Philippine and US civil-military personnel’s ability to work together to provide assistance in crisis and non-crisis circumstances.”
But on the actual training and exercises, the statement said: “US Navy ship visits and a Joint/Combined Exchange Training Exercise will also take place in several locations in the Philippines during Balikatan 2007.”
No information, however, is immediately available from the statement, from Lussenhop and the AFP regarding the specific venues of the exercises, as well as the number of participants from both the US and Philippines.
“We don’t have those details as of now. We’ll provide you with those as soon as we have them,” said Capt. Esteveyn Ducusin, the designated Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Philippine side for the Balikatan 20007.
Lussenhop also gave the same response when sought about the matter.
Asked how will participating US troops go about their rest and recreation to avoid the rape incident in November 2005 involving their personnel, Lussenhop said the approval this time of commanders for liberty activities would be very important.
This year’s Balikatan is the 23rd in the series and is under the authority of the Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement of the Philippines and the US.
It almost did not push through after the US protested on the Philippine’s detention of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, a convicted rapist, at the Makati City Jail in December last year instead of turning him over to the US Embassy.
Smith, a participant of the Talon Vision and PHIBLEX in 2005, raped a Filipino woman at the Subic Bay Freeport in Olongapo City, Zambales last November 1, 2005.
After his transfer to the US Embassy on the night of December 29, 2006, the US announced the resumption of the Balikatan this year./DMS
January 23, 2007
The RP-US Balikatan Exercises for this year will be held from February 18 to March 4 in various parts of the country, including Sulu, the hotbed of Moslem extremist groups.
In a statement, the US Embassy in Manila said Tuesday that “Exercise Balikatan 2007 will focus primarily on humanitarian projects in Mindanao, especially Jolo Island, including multiple medical, dental, veterinary, and engineering projects carried out by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US personnel.”
Asked for this shift of focus, embassy spokesman Matthew Lussenhop said by phone that a lot of military exercises anyway are being conducted in the country during the year, namely Talon Vision, Amphibious Landing Exercises (PHIBLEX), and Coopeation Afloat Reading and Training (CARAT) Exercises.
“We felt that it is best to focus on civil-military actions this time,” said Lussenhop.
The statement said there will be a separate “combined task force staff exercise to help improve Philippine and US civil-military personnel’s ability to work together to provide assistance in crisis and non-crisis circumstances.”
But on the actual training and exercises, the statement said: “US Navy ship visits and a Joint/Combined Exchange Training Exercise will also take place in several locations in the Philippines during Balikatan 2007.”
No information, however, is immediately available from the statement, from Lussenhop and the AFP regarding the specific venues of the exercises, as well as the number of participants from both the US and Philippines.
“We don’t have those details as of now. We’ll provide you with those as soon as we have them,” said Capt. Esteveyn Ducusin, the designated Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Philippine side for the Balikatan 20007.
Lussenhop also gave the same response when sought about the matter.
Asked how will participating US troops go about their rest and recreation to avoid the rape incident in November 2005 involving their personnel, Lussenhop said the approval this time of commanders for liberty activities would be very important.
This year’s Balikatan is the 23rd in the series and is under the authority of the Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement of the Philippines and the US.
It almost did not push through after the US protested on the Philippine’s detention of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith, a convicted rapist, at the Makati City Jail in December last year instead of turning him over to the US Embassy.
Smith, a participant of the Talon Vision and PHIBLEX in 2005, raped a Filipino woman at the Subic Bay Freeport in Olongapo City, Zambales last November 1, 2005.
After his transfer to the US Embassy on the night of December 29, 2006, the US announced the resumption of the Balikatan this year./DMS
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Military awards await Marine officer and men who finished off ASG’s Janjalani in Sulu
By Ronron
January 22, 2007
Top military awards await the Philippine Marine officer and men who fought off with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in September last year in Sulu, which resulted to the death of the bandit leader Khadaffy Janjalani.
Marines spokesman Lt. Col. Ariel Caculitan on Monday said recommendations for conferment of Medal for Valor Award were already given for 2Lt. Romulo Dimayuga, 24, and other awards for the latter’s men, both survivors and fallen, for their “individual heroic deeds.”
Dimayuga and his 26 men of the Marines Force Reconnaissance Class 12 under the 3rd Marine Brigade headed to Barangay Tuga in Patikul, Sulu before dawn of September 4, 2006 with a mission to neutralize the ASG group encamped in the area allegedly led by Janjalani.
“In that particular operations, we were aware based on intelligence information that it was an ASG group under Khadaffy Janjalani,” Dimayuga told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview yesterday.
“What we have been doing since August 1 (2006 under OPLAN Ultimatum) was intelligence information-driven. So, wherever we are assigned, we really go there. And in that particular operation, I can safely say that we are sure (about Janjalani’s presence),” he added.
Dimayuga and his troops positively located Janjalani’s group past 1:30 am of September 4 after hearing voices of the suspected bandits and seeing bunkers and small huts.
Private First Class Juvelito Manalili, 26 (will turn 27 in July), one of Dimayuga’s men, told Manila Shimbun in a separate phone interview that earlier on September 3, they were called to a briefing for a “special mission.”
“There was an intelligence report about the exact location of the high value targets, including Janjalani and foreign leaders. So we were briefed about it,” Manalili said in Filipino.
He said that from their base at the 3rd Marine Brigade in Jolo, all of them were brought by truck to a point in Patikul where they started to walk. They departed around 8pm.
And then at 9pm, they started to walk towards their destination using a GPS (system) and compass. The troops arrived at their target almost five hours later.
“The area had many coconut trees and marang trees and other grasses and plants. We immediately hid by pairs behind the coconut trees,” Manalili recalled.
He said the area were filled with bunkers that were neck-deep, and there were also blue tents and “duyan.”
When they arrived, he said they heard snoring and saw some illumination coming from flashlights.
Dimayuga estimated the strength of the bandits present then at 40, but he claimed he did not really see Janjalani because their enemies were all wearing bonnets or caps or any form of covering on their faces.
Besides, when they struck at around 5 am, it was still quite dark, said Dimayuga. He had claimed earlier when he was first interviewed at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Hospital in Quezon City two days after the encounter that they were as close as four meters to their targets.
“When they were waking up at around 5 am, there was one distinct voice, singing and a loud one. He could not have created that noise if he does not hold a high position. And he was really very noisy and no one was stopping him. So, in my opinion, that time, there was really a high-value target who holds a high position in the Abu Sayyaf,” he said in a separate interview aired on ABS-CBN channel also yesterday, and referring to Janjalani.
The group started hard the encounter by throwing grenades at their target, followed by successive gun fires. Manalili said he himself was armed with an M203 grenade launcher.
But reinforcements from the ASG starting arriving an hour later or at 6am, leaving them with no choice but to fight it off, said Manalili. The ASG grew to almost 200, another factor supporting their belief that they hit a high-value target.
Dimayuga said this reinforcement made it impossible for them to try to recover any casualties from their enemies, including possibly the body of Janjalani, which was found later on December 27 by Marine elements in Barangay Kabuntakas, also in Patikul.
Manalili said even if they informed in advance, or at around 3 am, the nearby military troops and their mother base about their positive findings at the site, the latter only arrived around 7am.
The intense firefight they initiated lasted until past 7am, leaving four soldiers killed instantly. Another one died later while being administered first aid.
Dimayuga, Manalili and 18 others were also wounded but one of the latter expired in Jolo, bringing the fatality count to six.
Informed of the confirmation of Janjalani’s death through the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test on his and his brother’s, Hector, tissue samples, Dimayuga said: “Then, the death of my six Marines happened for a cause.”
“We are very happy, because it was worth our sacrifices, of what we did. We even lost our comrades,” Manalili, for his part, said.
Immediately after the September 4, 2006 encounter, the slain soldiers were promoted to a rank higher, and were given due financial assistance, including one from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The others who were wounded were immediately given the Military Wounded Medal Award.
But more than that, Dimayuga was especially recommended to receive the Medal for Valor, the highest that a military man can get, and the rest, including the six fallen soldiers, were either for the Distinguished Conduct Star, Gold Cross Medal, or the Military Merit Medal with Spearhead Device.
Caculitan said the recommendations are now being deliberated on by members of the Awards and Compensation Committee of the AFP.
“We hope that with the confirmation of Janjalani’s death, such deliberations would speed up,” Caculitan said.
AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, in a news briefing at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday, said that the AFP personnel will not get a share from the $5 million reward money that is being offered for the neutralization of Janjalani.
“The AFP cannot be a recipient of those reward system. That is our job, to go after them (ASG). And that (reward) specifies (that it is only) for the civilians,” Bacarro explained.
He assured, nevertheless, that there will definitely be a recipient to it, and that is the person or persons who provided the military with information about the whereabouts of Janjalani.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (and) the Philippine National Police would collaborate and cooperate with the US government because they are the ones that will give the reward,” Bacarro said.
Dimayuga said he expects to be back to Sulu in a few months after he fully recovers from his injuries and complete his retraining in Cavite. After getting hit in the chest and on his leg during that September encounter, Dimayuga said he could still not do what he could prior to that incident./DMS
Sunday, January 21, 2007
RP military confirms death of top ASG leader
By Ronron
January 20, 2007
The Philippine military confirmed on Saturday the death of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) top leader Khadaffy Janjalani in September last year based on the results of a DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) test on his remains recovered last December in Sulu.
In a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday afternoon, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said the laboratory test conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States yielded positive results on the samples of what was initially Janjalani’s alleged cadaver when compared to those of his elder brother, Hector, who is now detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines is proud to announce that we have neutralized the center of gravity of terrorism in the Philippines,” Esperon said in reference to Janjalani who carries a $5 million bounty on his head for the numerous terrorist activities he planned and executed.
“The FBI test, which was witnessed by three officers of the PNP (Philippine National Police) Crime Laboratory, states that the cadaver recovered last December 27, 2006 is that of Khadaffy Janjalani, the acknowledged leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group,” he added.
Esperon said the FBI Report was dated January 19, 2007 (American time) and was received by the US Embassy in Manila yesterday morning. He said the latter then faxed a copy of said report to the AFP.
An elated Esperon read a part of the report that goes: “Executive Summary. On 19 January 2007, FBI Laboratories positively matched DNA samples from the suspected remains of Abu Sayyaf Group leader Khadaffy Janjalani with the leader’s brother, confirming Janjalani’s death.”
Military officials claimed that Janjalani was hit in an encounter last September 4, 2006 in Patikul, Sulu against members of the Philippine Marines. It is not immediately known, however, if he died right then and there, or if he spent a few days more trying to recover but failed.
It was only through the help of an informant, one who is allegedly a former aide of Janjalani, that elements of the 3rd Marine Brigade found the remains of the 31-year-old terrorist in Barangay Kabuntakas in Patikul on December 27 last year.
Asked if they are really convinced through the DNA test result that the body was that of Janjalani, Esperon replied: “Just be assured that whatever should be established have been established, including maternal and paternal lines. When you compare two samples, you will know the maternal and the paternal lines.”
He said no more second tests will be done to reconfirm said results since the FBI analysis is “complete and conclusive” already.
Janjalani’s remains have since been reburied at the site where it was recovered.
With the confirmation of his death, Esperon said the number of neutralized ASG members since the launching of the AFP’s Operation Plan ULTIMATUM on August 1, 2006 is now at least 67, including ranking and notorious personalities Jainal Antel Sali, Jr., alias Abu Sulaiman; Abu Ubaida; Jundam Jamalul, alias Black Killer; Espaldon Abraham; Ismin Sahiron, son of still alive leader Radullan Sahiron; Binang Sali; Ibrahin Hassan, alias Abu Muksin; and Jimber Gufran, alias Abu Samur.
He said that so far, the military has engaged the ASG and their Jeemah Islamiyah (JI) cohorts, led by Dulmatin and Umar Patek, 38 times already, leaving 23 soldiers and one policeman dead.
Based on intelligence information, the ASG and their JI cohorts now are no more than 350. The remaining leaders at large include Sahiron, alias Commander Putol (amputee), with a $200,000 bounty; Abu Pula, alias Dr. Abu, Umbra and Abu Jumdail, with a $100,000 bounty; and Isnilon Hapilon, alias Salahuddin, with a $5 million bounty.
Esperon acknowledged that even with Janjalani’s death, the war on terrorism in Mindanao is far from over.
“I must say if we get the other remnants like Dulmatin and Sahiron, then that should be it. But it doesn’t end there. As we said, we have to prevent the resurgence of this group,” Esperon said.
But for Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who once commanded an Army brigade in Basilan at the peak of the ASG a few years back, the neutralization of Sahiron should be enough to cause the group to “crumble.”
“Actually, Sahiron Radullan is the overall leader in Sulu. He is also the spiritual leader of the ASG in their organization. He is the most respected man,” Tolentio said in the same press conference.
Esperon said OPLAN Ultimatum will continue to be on track until it achieves its mission of destroying the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu.
He said even if the ASG will be able to replace its fallen leaders with “smaller” ones, the AFP is still “determined to go all the way after them.”
But for the military, they do not see any viable leadership that can replace Janjalani or Abu Sulaiman, not even Hapilon.
“He could be the successor but he could probably not be able to match the ferocity of the likes of Janjalani and Sulaiman,” Esperon said of Hapilon.
Esperon disclosed though that the AFP is on alert in Basilan after receiving reports that Hapilon, who originally headed the Basilan-based faction of the ASG, has gone back there.
“We are trying to verify that. But other than verifying, we have taken preemptive actions, including the deployment of Army troops and now, Marine troops to Basilan,” the military chief said, referring to the transfer of the 1st Marine Brigade next week from Marawi City in Lanao del Sur to Isabela City, the capital of Basilan, as announced earlier by Navy Flag Officer in Command Vice Commander Rogelio Calunsag.
Esperon acknowledged the help of the local people in Sulu in the recent, successive operations of the military against the terrorist group, which yielded positive results.
“Thank you for the support and the information that you continue to provide us. In return, we promise you, we will clear Sulu of terrorists and we will not allow them to thrive in any part of the Philippines,” he said.
He also expressed gratitude to the United States government “for their technical and service support” in the ongoing operations in southern Philippines, apart from the “community-oriented assistance” it and other foreign governments pour in Mindanao.
The military chief went on to congratulate the local military leaders in southern Mindanao who were also part of the operations that led to the neutralization of Janjalani.
Esperon said spot promotions will be given to officers and men who were part of said operations.
Asked if there will be recipients of the reward money, Esperon said: “There is a process that is followed for any claims for rewards, and certainly, we will be helping the informants… So, let’s just wait for that. It will take some time but definitely, the papers are now moving.”
He said though that the military is not after the reward money for its men since neutralizing Janjalani is part of their mission.
Esperon said the series of successful operations against the ASG has boosted the morale and fighting spirit of their men in the field that they no longer even want to avail of the break that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo authorized them to have following the January 6 operations in Tawi-tawi that led to the death of five ASG rebels and a JI operative.
“President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is very happy to extend her congratulations to our officers and troops in the field,” Esperon said./DMS
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)