By Ronron
June 22, 2007
The technical mission from the European Union that seeks to assess the Philippine government’s capability to probe and solve human rights violation cases visited on Friday the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) as part of its itinerary.
AFP Deputy Public Information Officer Capt. Ramon Zagala said the delegation, composed of three officials from the European Commission and one expert each from Sweden, Finland, Britain, Spain, Germany and Italy, received a briefing from the AFP Human Rights Office chief, Lt. Col. Benedicto Jose.
“They were briefed on the Armed Forces disposition, our mission, and on the human rights officer, about our training, how do we train our personnel on human rights,” Zagala told Camp Aguinaldo reporters yesterday afternoon.
In a phone interview, Jose said that after giving a briefing, he later conveyed to the delegates his request for assistance “in terms of investigation and forensic.”
“We requested for some equipment and training for our investigators. We also requested for scholarship grants for AFP personnel so they can teach here on human rights issue,” Jose said.
The EU mission began its work last Monday, with a primary objective on analyzing the country’s capability to handle human rights cases so it will know what form of technical assistance will it extend.
The United States government has already started providing training and seminars to members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) as far as investigating human rights cases, particularly extrajudicial killings, following the spate of said incidents in the country over the last few years.
Zagala said the EU delegation was received by Maj. Gen. Pedrito Cadungog, the AFP Deputy Chief of Staff, in the absence of AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., who is on an official mission outside of Metro Manila.
During the briefing, Zagala said the AFP officials told the delegates that in cases involving officers and soldiers, the AFP has the policy of subjecting them to investigation.
“We told them we open our personnel who are charged with these killings in courts (to probe) and that it is their personal responsibility already if they are charged in civilian courts,” Zagala said.
He said the AFP closely coordinates with the PNP for these investigations.
Jose said that if the capability of the AFP Human Rights office to investigate cases is improved through the technical assistance from the EU, “we can solve human rights cases.”
“It will improve the Human Rights Office and the AFP as a whole. And there will be better coordination between the AFP, the PNP and the DOJ,” Jose said.
The AFP is the usual suspect of militant groups for every incident of alleged human rights violation, especially extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.
But the AFP pointed out that while it has a few soldiers implicated in some cases, it does not have a policy to carry out extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances.
The Philippine government was criticized by international organizations for failing to address the problem.
Yesterday’s meeting between the AFP and the EU Mission lasted for two-and-a-half hours./DMS
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Government turns to local politicians and Moslem leaders for Bossi’s release
By Ronron
June 22, 2007
Admitting that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has yet to officially communicate with the kidnappers of Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi, the government on Friday said they have tapped the services of local officials and Moslem leaders to help in the rescue operations for the 57-year-old victim.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, chairman of the government’s Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) with the MILF, said he already communicated with Lanao del Norte Congressman Abdullah Dimaporo yesterday morning to seek his help in tracing the whereabouts of Bossi and his captors.
At the same time, he reached out to his Moslem brothers who are Sultans in the province to also give their share in the search and rescue operations.
“As of now, there is no direct contact with the kidnappers. So I have already asked for the help of local officials. I talked with Congressman Dimaporo and he has mobilized the mayors of Salvador, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, and Nunungan (all in Lanao del Norte),” Dolorfino told reporters yesterday in Camp Aguinaldo.
He disclosed that the Sultans have also found a local group of concerned citizens that volunteered to negotiate but was denied for now due to their failure to get a proof of life of Bossi.
Dolorfino reported that Government Peace Panel Officer-in-Charge Rudy Rodil already approved on Thursday night the special authority given to the GRP-MILF AHJAG to continue the operations for Bossi’s release, and this paved the way for the resumption of the joint efforts on the ground.
Dolorfino said the concentration of the efforts is in the boundary of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, although Zamboanga Sibugay, where Bossi was abducted last June 10, remains under watch.
The official, who is the chief of the National Capital Region Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said elements from two brigades of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) were poured in at the Lanao area, supported by troops from the Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, while elements of the Philippine Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade are guarding in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Dolorfino said the check done by government troops in the mountainous barangay of Sapad in Nunungan, Lanao del Norte yielded negative results. Dolorfino said the information was originally supplied by the MILF.
Despite this, he said the monitoring in said area continues. “The mere fact that the MILF is concentrating its forces in the area means the kidnappers could be there,” he said.
But Dolorfino admitted he is puzzled why the kidnappers refused to initiate communication with authorities or relatives with Bossi up to this date, like ask for ransom if that is really their intention.
“That is a puzzle… But something is being done to solve the puzzle,” he said, without elaborating.
Nonetheless, he said he remains confident that the MILF is sincere in its efforts to get Bossi, having worked with the secessionist group’s AHJAG since 2005.
“It will backfire to them if in the end, we were deceived that Fr. Bossi and his captors are not in that area,” said Dolorfino.
“But I’m optimistic that he (Bossi) will be released,” he added.
He also believes Bossi is still alive and that he remains in the mainland and has not been transported to Basilan for example.
Bossi was supposed to officiate mass in Barangay Bulawan in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay when he was snatched by 10 armed men.
The military initially accused renegade members of the MILF as responsible for the abduction, but the MILF denied it and pointed at Abu Sayyaf members instead.
The military now, however, tags the members as neophyte lawless elements that has relatives in the MILF membership./DMS
June 22, 2007
Admitting that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has yet to officially communicate with the kidnappers of Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi, the government on Friday said they have tapped the services of local officials and Moslem leaders to help in the rescue operations for the 57-year-old victim.
Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, chairman of the government’s Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) with the MILF, said he already communicated with Lanao del Norte Congressman Abdullah Dimaporo yesterday morning to seek his help in tracing the whereabouts of Bossi and his captors.
At the same time, he reached out to his Moslem brothers who are Sultans in the province to also give their share in the search and rescue operations.
“As of now, there is no direct contact with the kidnappers. So I have already asked for the help of local officials. I talked with Congressman Dimaporo and he has mobilized the mayors of Salvador, Sultan Naga Dimaporo, and Nunungan (all in Lanao del Norte),” Dolorfino told reporters yesterday in Camp Aguinaldo.
He disclosed that the Sultans have also found a local group of concerned citizens that volunteered to negotiate but was denied for now due to their failure to get a proof of life of Bossi.
Dolorfino reported that Government Peace Panel Officer-in-Charge Rudy Rodil already approved on Thursday night the special authority given to the GRP-MILF AHJAG to continue the operations for Bossi’s release, and this paved the way for the resumption of the joint efforts on the ground.
Dolorfino said the concentration of the efforts is in the boundary of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, although Zamboanga Sibugay, where Bossi was abducted last June 10, remains under watch.
The official, who is the chief of the National Capital Region Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said elements from two brigades of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) were poured in at the Lanao area, supported by troops from the Philippine Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, while elements of the Philippine Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade are guarding in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Dolorfino said the check done by government troops in the mountainous barangay of Sapad in Nunungan, Lanao del Norte yielded negative results. Dolorfino said the information was originally supplied by the MILF.
Despite this, he said the monitoring in said area continues. “The mere fact that the MILF is concentrating its forces in the area means the kidnappers could be there,” he said.
But Dolorfino admitted he is puzzled why the kidnappers refused to initiate communication with authorities or relatives with Bossi up to this date, like ask for ransom if that is really their intention.
“That is a puzzle… But something is being done to solve the puzzle,” he said, without elaborating.
Nonetheless, he said he remains confident that the MILF is sincere in its efforts to get Bossi, having worked with the secessionist group’s AHJAG since 2005.
“It will backfire to them if in the end, we were deceived that Fr. Bossi and his captors are not in that area,” said Dolorfino.
“But I’m optimistic that he (Bossi) will be released,” he added.
He also believes Bossi is still alive and that he remains in the mainland and has not been transported to Basilan for example.
Bossi was supposed to officiate mass in Barangay Bulawan in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay when he was snatched by 10 armed men.
The military initially accused renegade members of the MILF as responsible for the abduction, but the MILF denied it and pointed at Abu Sayyaf members instead.
The military now, however, tags the members as neophyte lawless elements that has relatives in the MILF membership./DMS
Friday, June 22, 2007
PNP redeploys marshals on passenger buses plying to and from Metro Manila
By Ronron
June 21, 2007
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday has begun redeploying marshals aboard buses plying to and from Metro Manila following incidents of robbery hold-up aboard public transport vehicles in the last few weeks.
Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, Jr. said in a statement yesterday that PNP Deputy Chief for Administration announced the bus marshaling program to members of the Provincal Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) in a meeting last Wednesday in Quezon City.
In a text message, Razon said yesterday: “It’s already being implemented. We are using personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office, the Police Regional Office III, and IV-A (Calabarzon).”
Aside from thwarting possible activities of criminals, the program is also meant to deter terrorist attacks in the capital following the bus bombings and car bomb plot in Mindanao recently.
Pagdilao said the program was temporarily suspended in the last two months because policemen were preoccupied with election duties. It can be recalled that it was the PNP that was deputized by the Commission on Elections for the May 14 polls because the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chose to distance earlier to avoid allegations of engaging in partisan politics.
“We are reviving the program particularly along the North and South Luzon expressways and the stretch of Maharlika Highway in Luzon,” Razon was quoted to have told the PBOAP members in their meeting.
Pagdilao said that to compliment the bus marshal program is the police visibility and anti-crime operations in the main thoroughfares of the Traffic Management Group (TMG) to thwart carjacking, hijacking and highway robbery.
At bus terminals, Razon said policemen will continue to assist private security guards to inspect luggage of and passengers themselves.
“We ask the cooperation of the bus companies and the riding public in the security measures that we are implementing to prevent criminals from taking advantage,” Razon said.
Noting that most of the suspects in bus hold-up incidents boarded during the middle of the trip, Razon advised bus drivers and passengers to avoid picking up passengers along the way because they do not undergo routine inspections.
He said that if the passengers are suspicious-looking, the drivers could just refuse them conveyance.
Pagdilao said the TMG committed to train drivers and conductors of PBOAP on safety and security procedures, such as detection of concealed weapons in passengers. The first seminar, he said, will be conducted in July.
For bus operators and owners, Razon suggested that they equip their units with security gadgets capable of warning police and nearby motorists about ongoing crisis inside.
Pagdilao disclosed that yesterday, the NCRPO also met with Metro Manila bus operators to about the same agenda.
Last May 31, six robbers held up a JMK bus plying EDSA and ended up taking it hostage when police chased them. The robbers killed the bus driver and a civilian passenger before escaping and engaging police in a shootout in Valenzuela City, resulting in the killing of three of them and the arrest of the three others./DMS
June 21, 2007
The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday has begun redeploying marshals aboard buses plying to and from Metro Manila following incidents of robbery hold-up aboard public transport vehicles in the last few weeks.
Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, Jr. said in a statement yesterday that PNP Deputy Chief for Administration announced the bus marshaling program to members of the Provincal Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) in a meeting last Wednesday in Quezon City.
In a text message, Razon said yesterday: “It’s already being implemented. We are using personnel from the National Capital Region Police Office, the Police Regional Office III, and IV-A (Calabarzon).”
Aside from thwarting possible activities of criminals, the program is also meant to deter terrorist attacks in the capital following the bus bombings and car bomb plot in Mindanao recently.
Pagdilao said the program was temporarily suspended in the last two months because policemen were preoccupied with election duties. It can be recalled that it was the PNP that was deputized by the Commission on Elections for the May 14 polls because the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chose to distance earlier to avoid allegations of engaging in partisan politics.
“We are reviving the program particularly along the North and South Luzon expressways and the stretch of Maharlika Highway in Luzon,” Razon was quoted to have told the PBOAP members in their meeting.
Pagdilao said that to compliment the bus marshal program is the police visibility and anti-crime operations in the main thoroughfares of the Traffic Management Group (TMG) to thwart carjacking, hijacking and highway robbery.
At bus terminals, Razon said policemen will continue to assist private security guards to inspect luggage of and passengers themselves.
“We ask the cooperation of the bus companies and the riding public in the security measures that we are implementing to prevent criminals from taking advantage,” Razon said.
Noting that most of the suspects in bus hold-up incidents boarded during the middle of the trip, Razon advised bus drivers and passengers to avoid picking up passengers along the way because they do not undergo routine inspections.
He said that if the passengers are suspicious-looking, the drivers could just refuse them conveyance.
Pagdilao said the TMG committed to train drivers and conductors of PBOAP on safety and security procedures, such as detection of concealed weapons in passengers. The first seminar, he said, will be conducted in July.
For bus operators and owners, Razon suggested that they equip their units with security gadgets capable of warning police and nearby motorists about ongoing crisis inside.
Pagdilao disclosed that yesterday, the NCRPO also met with Metro Manila bus operators to about the same agenda.
Last May 31, six robbers held up a JMK bus plying EDSA and ended up taking it hostage when police chased them. The robbers killed the bus driver and a civilian passenger before escaping and engaging police in a shootout in Valenzuela City, resulting in the killing of three of them and the arrest of the three others./DMS
GRP-MILF AHJAG expires but search and rescue for Bossi continues
By Ronron
June 21, 2007
The expiration Thursday of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front Adhoc Joint Action Group (GRP-MILF AHJAG) did not prevent the military units of both parties from continuing the search and rescue operations for abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi in Mindanao.
MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that despite the expiration of the GRP-MILF AHJAG’s mandate yesterday, the MILF Central Committee gave the MILF AHJAG a special authority to continue the rescue operation for Bossi.
“The MILF decision to let its AHJAG continue its task in freeing Fr. Bossi is founded mainly on humanitarian ground and also in furtherance of the gains of the peace process. The life of man is of paramount importance over procedural matter,” Iqbal said in an MILF press statement posted yesterday on the group’s website, www.luwaran.com.
Asked by phone if the rescue operation is actually ongoing on the ground, Iqbal told Manila Shimbun: “Yes, it’s ongoing.”
GRP AHJAG chair Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino affirmed Iqbal’s claim in a separate interview at Camp Aguinaldo, saying: “The military operation continues.”
But what is made clear is that the operations are being conducted independently this time by MILF and Philippine forces because the absence of an official mandate for the GRP-MILF AHJAG prevents Dolorfino and his counterpart from communicating officially.
Dolorfino said that while the operations yesterday of the Army troops and the MILF soldiers are being coordinated, they are unofficial in nature.
Thus, he warned, “there will always be danger of misencounter with the MILF.”
“They (Philippine Army troops) can continue with the operation but they should be very careful because their could be misencounters,” he said, although he claimed that there is really no risk to such effect.
On Wednesday, Dolorfino disclosed that his counterpart with the MILF, Atty. Abdul Dataya, relayed to him that Bossi and 13 of his original 15 captors were last sighted in the mountain barangay of Sapad, Nunungan town in Lanao del Norte province.
Dolorfino said they have yet to confirm this information, more so yesterday because he cannot make official communication with Dataya to get an update on the operation on the ground.
But in previous interviews, he said the Armed Forces has sent an Army battalion and a Scout Ranger company to help two brigades of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) cordon the area to prevent the suspects from leaving.
Dolorfino explained to reporters that the GRP-MILF AHJAG expires annually, and is reactivated upon the agreement of both parties. It is a mechanism created by the May 6, 2002 Joint Communique between the GRP and the MILF, as a confidence-building measure towards achieving a final peace pact.
But with the absence of a GRP chief peace negotiator following the resignation of Secretary Silvestre Afable, Dolorfino is apprehensive that the revival of the AHJAG’s mandate could take a while.
“We have reminded the peace panel. We sent a formal notice, a joint formal communication reminding the peace panel that we will expire June 21. However, there was no action because there was an impasse (with Afable’s resignation). I hope this will be cleared by the two peace panels,” Dolorfino said.
Dolorfino said the continuing deactivation of the GRP-MILF AHJAG is “definitely a setback” because the cooperation of the GRP and the MILF forces, especially those running after Bossi’s abductors, is suffering.
Dolorfino said the MILF support in the operations for Bossi’s release is “very crucial because the kidnappers are operating in their area.”
He said he expects President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign the designation papers of Professor Rudy Rodil as Officer-in-Charge of the Government Peace Panel as soon as possible so the panel can proceed to give the GRP-MILF AHJAG another mandate.
Rodil is the vice-chairman of the panel and is a professor from the Mindanao State University in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.
Bossi was about to officiate a mass in Barangay Bulawan, Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay last June 10 when he was snatched by 10 armed men, and brought to two waiting motorboats in a nearby shore, sailing to unknown direction./DMS
June 21, 2007
The expiration Thursday of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines – Moro Islamic Liberation Front Adhoc Joint Action Group (GRP-MILF AHJAG) did not prevent the military units of both parties from continuing the search and rescue operations for abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi in Mindanao.
MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said that despite the expiration of the GRP-MILF AHJAG’s mandate yesterday, the MILF Central Committee gave the MILF AHJAG a special authority to continue the rescue operation for Bossi.
“The MILF decision to let its AHJAG continue its task in freeing Fr. Bossi is founded mainly on humanitarian ground and also in furtherance of the gains of the peace process. The life of man is of paramount importance over procedural matter,” Iqbal said in an MILF press statement posted yesterday on the group’s website, www.luwaran.com.
Asked by phone if the rescue operation is actually ongoing on the ground, Iqbal told Manila Shimbun: “Yes, it’s ongoing.”
GRP AHJAG chair Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino affirmed Iqbal’s claim in a separate interview at Camp Aguinaldo, saying: “The military operation continues.”
But what is made clear is that the operations are being conducted independently this time by MILF and Philippine forces because the absence of an official mandate for the GRP-MILF AHJAG prevents Dolorfino and his counterpart from communicating officially.
Dolorfino said that while the operations yesterday of the Army troops and the MILF soldiers are being coordinated, they are unofficial in nature.
Thus, he warned, “there will always be danger of misencounter with the MILF.”
“They (Philippine Army troops) can continue with the operation but they should be very careful because their could be misencounters,” he said, although he claimed that there is really no risk to such effect.
On Wednesday, Dolorfino disclosed that his counterpart with the MILF, Atty. Abdul Dataya, relayed to him that Bossi and 13 of his original 15 captors were last sighted in the mountain barangay of Sapad, Nunungan town in Lanao del Norte province.
Dolorfino said they have yet to confirm this information, more so yesterday because he cannot make official communication with Dataya to get an update on the operation on the ground.
But in previous interviews, he said the Armed Forces has sent an Army battalion and a Scout Ranger company to help two brigades of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) cordon the area to prevent the suspects from leaving.
Dolorfino explained to reporters that the GRP-MILF AHJAG expires annually, and is reactivated upon the agreement of both parties. It is a mechanism created by the May 6, 2002 Joint Communique between the GRP and the MILF, as a confidence-building measure towards achieving a final peace pact.
But with the absence of a GRP chief peace negotiator following the resignation of Secretary Silvestre Afable, Dolorfino is apprehensive that the revival of the AHJAG’s mandate could take a while.
“We have reminded the peace panel. We sent a formal notice, a joint formal communication reminding the peace panel that we will expire June 21. However, there was no action because there was an impasse (with Afable’s resignation). I hope this will be cleared by the two peace panels,” Dolorfino said.
Dolorfino said the continuing deactivation of the GRP-MILF AHJAG is “definitely a setback” because the cooperation of the GRP and the MILF forces, especially those running after Bossi’s abductors, is suffering.
Dolorfino said the MILF support in the operations for Bossi’s release is “very crucial because the kidnappers are operating in their area.”
He said he expects President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to sign the designation papers of Professor Rudy Rodil as Officer-in-Charge of the Government Peace Panel as soon as possible so the panel can proceed to give the GRP-MILF AHJAG another mandate.
Rodil is the vice-chairman of the panel and is a professor from the Mindanao State University in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.
Bossi was about to officiate a mass in Barangay Bulawan, Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay last June 10 when he was snatched by 10 armed men, and brought to two waiting motorboats in a nearby shore, sailing to unknown direction./DMS
Thursday, June 21, 2007
AFP verifying MILF report that Bossi kept in Lanao del Norte
By Ronron
June 20, 2007
The Army troops tasked to rescue kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi in Mindanao are verifying reports from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that the 57-year-old victim and his captors are in a mountain village in Lanao del Norte province.
“The latest development we have is we are checking a particular area, Barangay Sapad, Nunungan town, in Lanao del Norte, because it was reported that the kidnappers are there,” Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, government chairman in the GRP-MILF Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG, told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Dolorfino said this was the information conveyed to him last Tuesday afternoon, his last contact, by his counterpart with the MILF, Atty. Abdul Dataya.
The information, which allegedly came from local residents, also revealed that the number of kidnappers has reduced to 13 from 15. The information suggests that five are Maranao Moslems, two are Maguindanaoans, and six are Kulibugans.
“The last sighting is being validated by the intelligence team. That is where the effort of the Army unit there is focused,” Dolorfino said.
Asked if it is feasible to bring Bossi to Lanao del Norte from Zamboanga Sibugay where he was snatched last June 10, Dolorfino said; “It is possible, both by land and sea transportations.”
He said they do not know where the two other kidnappers had gone to.
On Thursday last week, Dolorfino said Bossi and his 15-man captors were sighted in Barangay Mamagun, Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Bossi was abducted from Payao town in the morning of June 10 while he was on his way to officiate mass.
The negotiations for his release, which is being conducted by MILF Bangasmoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) commander Mohammad Nasif, hit a snag since Monday due to a problem Dolorfino called as “something internal with the MILF.”
The negotiations have yet to resume on Wednesday, said MILF public information officer Mohagher Iqbal.
“At present, the effort is to really locate and cordon off that particular area, where the kidnappers cannot really move,” Dolorfino said.
Admitting the uncertainty as to the specific location of the victim and his captors, Iqbal said it follows that no one can really tell when the crisis will be resolved.
It can be recalled that last Sunday, Dolorfino expressed eagerness about the possible resolution of the case within 48 hours from that day after receiving information that the location of Bossi and his abductors was already traced by MILF forces.
Asked about the condition of Bossi, Dolorfino said: “Our latest information is he is already weak, that he has a high blood (pressure). But we don’t know if he is taking medicine.”
Both Dolorfino and Iqbal claimed that they have no validated information that the suspects have already demanded ransom in exchange for Bossi’s release.
Bossi started serving in Payao town as parish priest in April of this year, the police had said./DMS
June 20, 2007
The Army troops tasked to rescue kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi in Mindanao are verifying reports from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that the 57-year-old victim and his captors are in a mountain village in Lanao del Norte province.
“The latest development we have is we are checking a particular area, Barangay Sapad, Nunungan town, in Lanao del Norte, because it was reported that the kidnappers are there,” Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, government chairman in the GRP-MILF Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG, told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Dolorfino said this was the information conveyed to him last Tuesday afternoon, his last contact, by his counterpart with the MILF, Atty. Abdul Dataya.
The information, which allegedly came from local residents, also revealed that the number of kidnappers has reduced to 13 from 15. The information suggests that five are Maranao Moslems, two are Maguindanaoans, and six are Kulibugans.
“The last sighting is being validated by the intelligence team. That is where the effort of the Army unit there is focused,” Dolorfino said.
Asked if it is feasible to bring Bossi to Lanao del Norte from Zamboanga Sibugay where he was snatched last June 10, Dolorfino said; “It is possible, both by land and sea transportations.”
He said they do not know where the two other kidnappers had gone to.
On Thursday last week, Dolorfino said Bossi and his 15-man captors were sighted in Barangay Mamagun, Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Bossi was abducted from Payao town in the morning of June 10 while he was on his way to officiate mass.
The negotiations for his release, which is being conducted by MILF Bangasmoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) commander Mohammad Nasif, hit a snag since Monday due to a problem Dolorfino called as “something internal with the MILF.”
The negotiations have yet to resume on Wednesday, said MILF public information officer Mohagher Iqbal.
“At present, the effort is to really locate and cordon off that particular area, where the kidnappers cannot really move,” Dolorfino said.
Admitting the uncertainty as to the specific location of the victim and his captors, Iqbal said it follows that no one can really tell when the crisis will be resolved.
It can be recalled that last Sunday, Dolorfino expressed eagerness about the possible resolution of the case within 48 hours from that day after receiving information that the location of Bossi and his abductors was already traced by MILF forces.
Asked about the condition of Bossi, Dolorfino said: “Our latest information is he is already weak, that he has a high blood (pressure). But we don’t know if he is taking medicine.”
Both Dolorfino and Iqbal claimed that they have no validated information that the suspects have already demanded ransom in exchange for Bossi’s release.
Bossi started serving in Payao town as parish priest in April of this year, the police had said./DMS
Kidnap suspect with P250,000 bounty falls
By Ronron
June 20, 2007
A suspected kidnapper who is in the government’s wanted list and carries a P250,000 bounty on his head was arrested over the weekend by police operatives in Cavite.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Intelligence Group Chief Supt. Raul Castañeda on Wednesday presented to Camp Crame reporters the suspect whom he identified as Joel Dionaldo, alias Entoy Gamba and Barkley, an alleged member of the Waray-Waray Kidnap-for-Ransom group.
Dionaldo was arrested last Sunday afternoon at Reginaville Classic, Barangay de Ocampo, Trece Martirez City, Cavite after an informant told police of his whereabouts.
“Dionaldo was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Honorable Norberto Quisumbing, Jr., Executive Judge of RTC Branch 21, 4th Judicial Region, Imus, Cavite for the crime of kidnapping for ransom, with no bail recommended,” Castañeda said.
Dionaldo’s victim, Caridad Chua, was present during the media briefing and positively identified him as her caretaker when she was abducted for five days starting June 28, 2005.
Chua, a 54-year-old orchid grower, said she was abducted by 12 to 13 people in exchange for P450,000.00.
“It’s my first time now to see him since the incident happened that’s why I’m scared… But I recognize his face as well as the cross mark (tattoo) on his arm near his shoulder,” Chua told reporters as a handcuffed and heavily guarded Dionaldo stood behind her.
Castañeda said Dionaldo is also implicated in the kidnap-for-ransom of a restaurant owner in Angono, Rizal in May 2005, involving P380,000; and a robbery hold-up case in Antipolo City in June 2005, involving P300,000.00.
“We hope that with his (Dionaldo) arrest now, his victims will come out and file the necessary charges,” Castañeda said.
Castañeda said the informant will get the P250,000 reward from the government once the processing of papers is completed.
The Waray-Waray Gang is one of the most notorious KFR groups operating in the capital, with members mostly coming from the Waray-speaking provinces in Eastern Visayas./DMS
June 20, 2007
A suspected kidnapper who is in the government’s wanted list and carries a P250,000 bounty on his head was arrested over the weekend by police operatives in Cavite.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Intelligence Group Chief Supt. Raul Castañeda on Wednesday presented to Camp Crame reporters the suspect whom he identified as Joel Dionaldo, alias Entoy Gamba and Barkley, an alleged member of the Waray-Waray Kidnap-for-Ransom group.
Dionaldo was arrested last Sunday afternoon at Reginaville Classic, Barangay de Ocampo, Trece Martirez City, Cavite after an informant told police of his whereabouts.
“Dionaldo was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Honorable Norberto Quisumbing, Jr., Executive Judge of RTC Branch 21, 4th Judicial Region, Imus, Cavite for the crime of kidnapping for ransom, with no bail recommended,” Castañeda said.
Dionaldo’s victim, Caridad Chua, was present during the media briefing and positively identified him as her caretaker when she was abducted for five days starting June 28, 2005.
Chua, a 54-year-old orchid grower, said she was abducted by 12 to 13 people in exchange for P450,000.00.
“It’s my first time now to see him since the incident happened that’s why I’m scared… But I recognize his face as well as the cross mark (tattoo) on his arm near his shoulder,” Chua told reporters as a handcuffed and heavily guarded Dionaldo stood behind her.
Castañeda said Dionaldo is also implicated in the kidnap-for-ransom of a restaurant owner in Angono, Rizal in May 2005, involving P380,000; and a robbery hold-up case in Antipolo City in June 2005, involving P300,000.00.
“We hope that with his (Dionaldo) arrest now, his victims will come out and file the necessary charges,” Castañeda said.
Castañeda said the informant will get the P250,000 reward from the government once the processing of papers is completed.
The Waray-Waray Gang is one of the most notorious KFR groups operating in the capital, with members mostly coming from the Waray-speaking provinces in Eastern Visayas./DMS
Esperon softens, expresses willingness to release Trillanes if sanctioned by court
By Ronron
June 20, 2007
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. softened on Wednesday over his stand about the continued detention of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV within a military facility despite his resignation from the organization.
Following his admission last Tuesday that he is in a dilemma as to how the military will treat Trillanes if there is a need for the latter to perform his job as a Senator, Esperon wrote on Wednesday the Makati City judge hearing Trillanes’ coup d’ etat case in relation to the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny incident.
In the letter to Judge Oscar Pimentel of Makati RTC Branch 148, Esperon sought for a clarification over the custody issue and expressed compliance with whatever the decision of the court is, including the removal of Trillanes from military custody.
“Considering his change from a military officer to a civilian, the question has arisen whether the Senator-elect continues to be subject to confinement in a military detention facility,” Esperon said.
“In this connection, we are seeking a clarification as to whether or not the AFP should continue with its custody over the person of Senator Trillanes. Under these circumstances, and if it please the court, we are ready to abide by the mandate of the Honorable Court,” he added.
In a television interview, Esperon put it clearly: “If he (Pimentel) wants, I can continue (placing Trillanes under military custody). If he doesn’t, he has just to rule and I will follow the official ruling.”
Trillanes was deemed resigned from the AFP when he filed his certificate of candidacy for Senator last February. The Office of the President, through Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, affirmed the resignation in an official notice to Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. last April 16, citing Section 66 of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.
Esperon previously asserted that the military can continue to take custody of Trillanes because he is also facing charges of violation of Articles of War 96 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman) before a General Court Martial, also in relation to the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny incident.
Trillanes was a Navy Lt. Senior Grade when he led some 300 junior officers and enlisted personnel in taking over Oakwhoo Hotel in Ayala last July 27, 2003 in protest of alleged massive corruption in the military and in the government as a whole.
In a news conference yesterday afternoon at Camp Aguinaldo, AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said that under Article of War 79, “any person subject to military law charged with crime or with a serious offense under these articles shall be placed in confinement or arrest.”
When asked on who or what office could be potential custodians of Trillanes other than the military, Bacarro refused to answer, saying they are leaving it up to the discretion of the court if it orders for the transfer of Trillanes out of military custody.
In his letter, Esperon said the only condition they will ask if the court decides that way is that the court direct Trillanes’ presence before the AFP General Court Martial during trial dates.
While Bacarro said that the “letter is in recognition of the supremacy of the civilian authority over the military,” it does not mean the AFP is giving up its case against Trillanes pending before the GCM.
Trillanes, who ran under the Genuine Opposition ticket, won as 11th Senator of the Republic during the May 14 polls, earning more than 11 million votes. He continues to defy the Arroyo administration to this date./DMS
June 20, 2007
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. softened on Wednesday over his stand about the continued detention of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV within a military facility despite his resignation from the organization.
Following his admission last Tuesday that he is in a dilemma as to how the military will treat Trillanes if there is a need for the latter to perform his job as a Senator, Esperon wrote on Wednesday the Makati City judge hearing Trillanes’ coup d’ etat case in relation to the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny incident.
In the letter to Judge Oscar Pimentel of Makati RTC Branch 148, Esperon sought for a clarification over the custody issue and expressed compliance with whatever the decision of the court is, including the removal of Trillanes from military custody.
“Considering his change from a military officer to a civilian, the question has arisen whether the Senator-elect continues to be subject to confinement in a military detention facility,” Esperon said.
“In this connection, we are seeking a clarification as to whether or not the AFP should continue with its custody over the person of Senator Trillanes. Under these circumstances, and if it please the court, we are ready to abide by the mandate of the Honorable Court,” he added.
In a television interview, Esperon put it clearly: “If he (Pimentel) wants, I can continue (placing Trillanes under military custody). If he doesn’t, he has just to rule and I will follow the official ruling.”
Trillanes was deemed resigned from the AFP when he filed his certificate of candidacy for Senator last February. The Office of the President, through Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, affirmed the resignation in an official notice to Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. last April 16, citing Section 66 of the Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines.
Esperon previously asserted that the military can continue to take custody of Trillanes because he is also facing charges of violation of Articles of War 96 (conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman) before a General Court Martial, also in relation to the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny incident.
Trillanes was a Navy Lt. Senior Grade when he led some 300 junior officers and enlisted personnel in taking over Oakwhoo Hotel in Ayala last July 27, 2003 in protest of alleged massive corruption in the military and in the government as a whole.
In a news conference yesterday afternoon at Camp Aguinaldo, AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said that under Article of War 79, “any person subject to military law charged with crime or with a serious offense under these articles shall be placed in confinement or arrest.”
When asked on who or what office could be potential custodians of Trillanes other than the military, Bacarro refused to answer, saying they are leaving it up to the discretion of the court if it orders for the transfer of Trillanes out of military custody.
In his letter, Esperon said the only condition they will ask if the court decides that way is that the court direct Trillanes’ presence before the AFP General Court Martial during trial dates.
While Bacarro said that the “letter is in recognition of the supremacy of the civilian authority over the military,” it does not mean the AFP is giving up its case against Trillanes pending before the GCM.
Trillanes, who ran under the Genuine Opposition ticket, won as 11th Senator of the Republic during the May 14 polls, earning more than 11 million votes. He continues to defy the Arroyo administration to this date./DMS
Difficulties of new generation Japanese descendants in RP bared
By Ronron
June 20, 2007
A Japanese organization in the Philippines that originated in Cebu has bared the difficulties experienced in the country of abandoned children of Japanese and Filipino couples, and Filipino women who had failed relations with Japanese men.
Akira Oka, chairman of the Shin-Nikkeijin Network (New Filipino-Japanese or Japino Network) or SNN, said most of the abandoned Japinos, as well as their Filipino mothers, are slumped in poor communities due to lack, if not absence, of economic support from their Japanese fathers.
"I decided to put up this organization because of the increasing problems of the Japinos… Among the common problems we encountered were the Filipinas (majority of them working as entertainers in Japan) married to Japanese and their Japino children," Oka, 80, said in an interview on the Manila-based Japanese newspaper, Daily Manila Shimbun.
The Cebu-based entrepreneur was President of the Japanese Association in Cebu for over 10 years before founding the SNN in February last year. That stint oriented him to various concerns of Japinos who consult him.
Oka, who recently came to Manila to launch an SNN office here, said the organization is most concerned with Japinos born and registered in Japan but whose parents got separated, forcing them to return to the Philippines and embrace the hard way of life to be able to survive.
"Aside from financial problems, these Japinos have no Philippine birth certificates. So, when they reach school age, they have problems with the school requirements… The separated father is sometimes missing, so they cannot get original family registration in Japan," he narrated.
Oka said if these children could only have access to good education, then they would be able to get good jobs, even in Japan.
Official records from Japan for the period of 1993 up to 2005 show that there are 101,098 Japinos registered in Japan, Oka said. It is not known, however, how many are currently in the Philippines.
But for Cebu, he said they have accounted for over 500 in its May 2005 Membership List – 317 children and 250 mothers.
"We have expanded to the Luzon area now because we believe that the Japanese population in Manila is more than 10 times bigger than in Cebu. Our expectation as to the number of Japinos in Manila area is more or less 3,000," Oka said.
Oka said SNN's ultimate aim is to help Japinos land a job in Japan so they could improve their family's living condition. "We do not want to give them money… We want to give them jobs," he said.
He expressed confidence that if their papers are approved, the Japinos will not experience difficulty in choosing jobs in Japan because of a lot of options there, such as factory workers and food packers.
"They (Japanese employers) prefer and appreciate the work of Filipinos (because) they are good workers (and) have very good communication (skills)," said Oka.
The SNN also assists Filipino mothers of the Japinos in getting working permits if they intend to work in Japan, he said.
Asked if he thinks the Japanese society in Japan will accept the Japinos, Oka said: "Hopefully, yes. I hope that there will be no discrimination because these Japinos have Japanese blood. Actually, they (Japanese) are the ones suffering because of their parents' problems."
He lamented that the Japinos experience hardships because of their parents' disagreements born out of financial and cultural differences, including even a basic issue – communication.
"There are many reasons - financial matters; culture; insincerity; being irresponsible to their duties and obligations as parents; sometimes Japanese parents can't accept their (Filipino) daughter-in-law. But main reason in most cases is the language barrier… Most Japanese husbands cannot speak or really understand English, Visayan or Tagalog," Oka said.
So far, the SNN has already successfully sent six Japinos to Japan to work, Oka said. There are currently 22 pending applications, and 50 applicants are expected every month.
The organization, being non-profit, sustains its operations through donations, mostly from Japanese companies and partners in the country. Eventually, they hope to get a financial assistance from Japan.
For the Philippine government, Oka said they are just asking the Bureau of Immigration to forego the imposition of penalties for Japinos (with Japanese citizenship) charged with illegal staying in the country due to lack of financial capability to pay for it.
"The SNN association aims to give support and assistance to these Japinos for a better future, a good education, a normal life, a chance to study in Japan especially if they had acquired Japanese nationality. If they are staying here in the Philippines, the Japanese government cannot support them. But if they stay in Japan, the Japanese government can assist them," Oka said./END
*This article came out on gmanews.tv: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/47465/Difficulties-of-new-generation-Japanese-descendants-in-RP-bared
June 20, 2007
A Japanese organization in the Philippines that originated in Cebu has bared the difficulties experienced in the country of abandoned children of Japanese and Filipino couples, and Filipino women who had failed relations with Japanese men.
Akira Oka, chairman of the Shin-Nikkeijin Network (New Filipino-Japanese or Japino Network) or SNN, said most of the abandoned Japinos, as well as their Filipino mothers, are slumped in poor communities due to lack, if not absence, of economic support from their Japanese fathers.
"I decided to put up this organization because of the increasing problems of the Japinos… Among the common problems we encountered were the Filipinas (majority of them working as entertainers in Japan) married to Japanese and their Japino children," Oka, 80, said in an interview on the Manila-based Japanese newspaper, Daily Manila Shimbun.
The Cebu-based entrepreneur was President of the Japanese Association in Cebu for over 10 years before founding the SNN in February last year. That stint oriented him to various concerns of Japinos who consult him.
Oka, who recently came to Manila to launch an SNN office here, said the organization is most concerned with Japinos born and registered in Japan but whose parents got separated, forcing them to return to the Philippines and embrace the hard way of life to be able to survive.
"Aside from financial problems, these Japinos have no Philippine birth certificates. So, when they reach school age, they have problems with the school requirements… The separated father is sometimes missing, so they cannot get original family registration in Japan," he narrated.
Oka said if these children could only have access to good education, then they would be able to get good jobs, even in Japan.
Official records from Japan for the period of 1993 up to 2005 show that there are 101,098 Japinos registered in Japan, Oka said. It is not known, however, how many are currently in the Philippines.
But for Cebu, he said they have accounted for over 500 in its May 2005 Membership List – 317 children and 250 mothers.
"We have expanded to the Luzon area now because we believe that the Japanese population in Manila is more than 10 times bigger than in Cebu. Our expectation as to the number of Japinos in Manila area is more or less 3,000," Oka said.
Oka said SNN's ultimate aim is to help Japinos land a job in Japan so they could improve their family's living condition. "We do not want to give them money… We want to give them jobs," he said.
He expressed confidence that if their papers are approved, the Japinos will not experience difficulty in choosing jobs in Japan because of a lot of options there, such as factory workers and food packers.
"They (Japanese employers) prefer and appreciate the work of Filipinos (because) they are good workers (and) have very good communication (skills)," said Oka.
The SNN also assists Filipino mothers of the Japinos in getting working permits if they intend to work in Japan, he said.
Asked if he thinks the Japanese society in Japan will accept the Japinos, Oka said: "Hopefully, yes. I hope that there will be no discrimination because these Japinos have Japanese blood. Actually, they (Japanese) are the ones suffering because of their parents' problems."
He lamented that the Japinos experience hardships because of their parents' disagreements born out of financial and cultural differences, including even a basic issue – communication.
"There are many reasons - financial matters; culture; insincerity; being irresponsible to their duties and obligations as parents; sometimes Japanese parents can't accept their (Filipino) daughter-in-law. But main reason in most cases is the language barrier… Most Japanese husbands cannot speak or really understand English, Visayan or Tagalog," Oka said.
So far, the SNN has already successfully sent six Japinos to Japan to work, Oka said. There are currently 22 pending applications, and 50 applicants are expected every month.
The organization, being non-profit, sustains its operations through donations, mostly from Japanese companies and partners in the country. Eventually, they hope to get a financial assistance from Japan.
For the Philippine government, Oka said they are just asking the Bureau of Immigration to forego the imposition of penalties for Japinos (with Japanese citizenship) charged with illegal staying in the country due to lack of financial capability to pay for it.
"The SNN association aims to give support and assistance to these Japinos for a better future, a good education, a normal life, a chance to study in Japan especially if they had acquired Japanese nationality. If they are staying here in the Philippines, the Japanese government cannot support them. But if they stay in Japan, the Japanese government can assist them," Oka said./END
*This article came out on gmanews.tv: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/47465/Difficulties-of-new-generation-Japanese-descendants-in-RP-bared
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Esperon to invoke EO 464 if Trillanes calls him to Senate hearing
By Ronron
June 19, 2007
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. refuses to be an underdog of resigned Navy Lt. Sr. Grade Antonio Trillanes who was recently proclaimed as Senator of the Republic.
Asked on Tuesday if he would attend Senate inquiries called for by Trillanes in the future, Esperon told reporters in a news forum at Camp Crame: “It’s not one Senator calling the chief of staff to the Senate for investigations. It should be an official communication to the Executive department.”
“Executive Order 464 is still in effect as far as I know… I’ll just have to follow the provisions of that,” he added.
The controversial EO, issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in September 2005, states that members of the executive department have to seek the permission of the President before heeding to an invitation by the Senate to appear in a legislative inquiry.
The EO was issued at a time when two officers of the AFP were asked to testify in a Senate hearing on the alleged 2004 electoral fraud.
Asked how he will address Trillanes, who led the foiled 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, once they meet at the Senate halls in the future, Esperon said: “I will call him Mr. Senator.”
But Esperon reiterated that Trillanes can only leave detention if both the civilian court and the General Court Martial issue an order to such effect.
“It is all in the provisions of the existing rules and regulations. So this is not a prerogative of Gen. Esperon. It’s not my personal whims,” he said, citing the Articles of War of the AFP, which, he said, has been in effect since its promulgation in 1935.
Esperon said if he does not enforce the law, then all military officers and soldiers facing court martial proceedings can easily find their way out by running for elective posts in the future.
Although he said that he is in a dilemma as to how the military could allow Trillanes to perform his job as Senator, Esperon said he is confident he has the legal backing in insisting that Trillanes cannot be allowed to leave detention pending his case before the GCM.
Trillanes is currently charged with coup d’ etat before the Makati Regional Trial Court and conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman (Articles of War 97) before the GCM in relation to the Oakwood takeover in July 2003.
He was proclaimed the 11th senator after getting more than 11 million votes during the last May 14 polls./DMS
June 19, 2007
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. refuses to be an underdog of resigned Navy Lt. Sr. Grade Antonio Trillanes who was recently proclaimed as Senator of the Republic.
Asked on Tuesday if he would attend Senate inquiries called for by Trillanes in the future, Esperon told reporters in a news forum at Camp Crame: “It’s not one Senator calling the chief of staff to the Senate for investigations. It should be an official communication to the Executive department.”
“Executive Order 464 is still in effect as far as I know… I’ll just have to follow the provisions of that,” he added.
The controversial EO, issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in September 2005, states that members of the executive department have to seek the permission of the President before heeding to an invitation by the Senate to appear in a legislative inquiry.
The EO was issued at a time when two officers of the AFP were asked to testify in a Senate hearing on the alleged 2004 electoral fraud.
Asked how he will address Trillanes, who led the foiled 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, once they meet at the Senate halls in the future, Esperon said: “I will call him Mr. Senator.”
But Esperon reiterated that Trillanes can only leave detention if both the civilian court and the General Court Martial issue an order to such effect.
“It is all in the provisions of the existing rules and regulations. So this is not a prerogative of Gen. Esperon. It’s not my personal whims,” he said, citing the Articles of War of the AFP, which, he said, has been in effect since its promulgation in 1935.
Esperon said if he does not enforce the law, then all military officers and soldiers facing court martial proceedings can easily find their way out by running for elective posts in the future.
Although he said that he is in a dilemma as to how the military could allow Trillanes to perform his job as Senator, Esperon said he is confident he has the legal backing in insisting that Trillanes cannot be allowed to leave detention pending his case before the GCM.
Trillanes is currently charged with coup d’ etat before the Makati Regional Trial Court and conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman (Articles of War 97) before the GCM in relation to the Oakwood takeover in July 2003.
He was proclaimed the 11th senator after getting more than 11 million votes during the last May 14 polls./DMS
MILF eager to launch rescue operations against Bossi abductors
By Ronron
June 19, 2007
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was keen on launching an offensive yesterday (Tuesday) to rescue Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi from his captors at an undisclosed place in Mindanao.
But, according to Maj .Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, government chairman in the GRP-MILF Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the officers on the field, prevailed against the MILF plan, saying that the safety of Bossi could be placed at risk.
“The direction of the talks this morning (between the MILF and the AFP officers on the field) is that there will be a sweeping operation… That is the concept presented by the MILF, that there will be a sweeping operation by the AFP, and then the MILF will serve as blocking force,” Dolorfino told Defense reporters by phone.
“But I told the battalion commander (from the AFP) that it will endanger the safety of Fr. Bossi, so let’s just follow the procedures in resolving hostage-taking situations,” he added.
Dolorfino refused to identify the name of the battalion commander as it might provide hint on the location of Bossi and his captors. He and the MILF had only said that the search and rescue operations is already being conducted outside of Zamboanga Sibugay province where Bossi was originally abducted last June 10.
Dolorfino said the military battalion commander was able to convince the MILF, particularly Mohammad Nasif of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) who is leading the negotiations with the 15 suspects, to just drop their plan.
“They did not push it through because it was not advisable to do that. So I told them to fix that, determine the location of the kidnappers, and then cordon the area,” Dolorfino said.
“If you constrict them through a cordon, they will be forced to negotiate,” he added.
Aside from two BIAF brigades, with a strength of no more than a thousand, the AFP also sent in an Army battalion, a Scout Ranger company, and other special units in the area, together with some police elements.
Dolorfino said the MILF is currently discussing to add reinforcement to their existing troops.
Dolorfino admitted that last Monday’s negotiation with the captor through an emissary yielded negative results. He said it was caused by a problem “something internal with the MILF,” but would not expound yet.
The negotiations have yet to resume as of this writing.
“As of now, for today, there was no negotiations undertaken because they were talking about that proposed sweeping operations… But it doesn’t mean that it’s already called off… We have to continue that because that is the proper solution there,” Dolorfino said.
Although, he said “everything” is being planned, including rescue operations, which may be carried out “as soon as we are ready on the ground.”
Bossi was supposed to officiate mass at the Barangay Bulawan in Payao town in Zamboanga Sibugay when he was snatched at around 9:30 am last June 10 by 10 armed men./DMS
June 19, 2007
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was keen on launching an offensive yesterday (Tuesday) to rescue Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi from his captors at an undisclosed place in Mindanao.
But, according to Maj .Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, government chairman in the GRP-MILF Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), particularly the officers on the field, prevailed against the MILF plan, saying that the safety of Bossi could be placed at risk.
“The direction of the talks this morning (between the MILF and the AFP officers on the field) is that there will be a sweeping operation… That is the concept presented by the MILF, that there will be a sweeping operation by the AFP, and then the MILF will serve as blocking force,” Dolorfino told Defense reporters by phone.
“But I told the battalion commander (from the AFP) that it will endanger the safety of Fr. Bossi, so let’s just follow the procedures in resolving hostage-taking situations,” he added.
Dolorfino refused to identify the name of the battalion commander as it might provide hint on the location of Bossi and his captors. He and the MILF had only said that the search and rescue operations is already being conducted outside of Zamboanga Sibugay province where Bossi was originally abducted last June 10.
Dolorfino said the military battalion commander was able to convince the MILF, particularly Mohammad Nasif of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) who is leading the negotiations with the 15 suspects, to just drop their plan.
“They did not push it through because it was not advisable to do that. So I told them to fix that, determine the location of the kidnappers, and then cordon the area,” Dolorfino said.
“If you constrict them through a cordon, they will be forced to negotiate,” he added.
Aside from two BIAF brigades, with a strength of no more than a thousand, the AFP also sent in an Army battalion, a Scout Ranger company, and other special units in the area, together with some police elements.
Dolorfino said the MILF is currently discussing to add reinforcement to their existing troops.
Dolorfino admitted that last Monday’s negotiation with the captor through an emissary yielded negative results. He said it was caused by a problem “something internal with the MILF,” but would not expound yet.
The negotiations have yet to resume as of this writing.
“As of now, for today, there was no negotiations undertaken because they were talking about that proposed sweeping operations… But it doesn’t mean that it’s already called off… We have to continue that because that is the proper solution there,” Dolorfino said.
Although, he said “everything” is being planned, including rescue operations, which may be carried out “as soon as we are ready on the ground.”
Bossi was supposed to officiate mass at the Barangay Bulawan in Payao town in Zamboanga Sibugay when he was snatched at around 9:30 am last June 10 by 10 armed men./DMS
PNP recalls 500 personnel from PDEA
By Ronron
June 19, 2007
The Philippine National Police (PNP) will take back early next month its 500 personnel detailed with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the last five years.
PNP Chief Gen. Oscar Calderon said the recall is provided by law, particularly Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which authored the creation of the PDEA.
PDEA Spokesman Supt. Francisco Gabriel said Section 86 of RA 9165 provides that police personnel assigned with PDEA shall be recalled to the PNP after the five-year transition period lapses on July 4, 2007.
“On July 4, the provision under the law about the recall of the PNP forces with the PDEA will already be in effect. Although, out of the 500 personnel, more than 100 are interested in staying with PDEA, which is also allowed by law,” Calderon said in a news forum yesterday at Camp Crame.
Calderon said those who will be recalled will be assigned to regional offices of the PNP’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF).
But Gabriel said it is likely that all 500 will really join back the PNP because it has better benefits compared with PDEA.
While Gabriel expressed confidence that the anti-illegal drugs campaign in the country will not be hampered by the pull out of policemen from PDEA, Calderon thinks otherwise.
Calderon said the anti-illegal drugs operations will surely be affected because a reduction of the PDEA strength means a lowering of its operational capability.
The only remedy seen by both the PNP and the PDEA is the fact that under Executive Order 218, the latter can still tap the personnel of anti-illegal drugs task forces of various government agencies like that of the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Gabriel insists, however, that even with the pull out of policemen, the PDEA can still work effectively. “We just need a few good men,” he said.
He said that PDEA has just hired about a hundred agents, who include technical people. The recruitment for applicants also continues to this date.
Calderon hopes that time will come PDEA will become a stronger organization that will be able to operate on its own, without the services of the PNP and other units.
When this happens, the AIDSOTF of the PNP may already be dissolved, he said./DMS
June 19, 2007
The Philippine National Police (PNP) will take back early next month its 500 personnel detailed with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the last five years.
PNP Chief Gen. Oscar Calderon said the recall is provided by law, particularly Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which authored the creation of the PDEA.
PDEA Spokesman Supt. Francisco Gabriel said Section 86 of RA 9165 provides that police personnel assigned with PDEA shall be recalled to the PNP after the five-year transition period lapses on July 4, 2007.
“On July 4, the provision under the law about the recall of the PNP forces with the PDEA will already be in effect. Although, out of the 500 personnel, more than 100 are interested in staying with PDEA, which is also allowed by law,” Calderon said in a news forum yesterday at Camp Crame.
Calderon said those who will be recalled will be assigned to regional offices of the PNP’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (AIDSOTF).
But Gabriel said it is likely that all 500 will really join back the PNP because it has better benefits compared with PDEA.
While Gabriel expressed confidence that the anti-illegal drugs campaign in the country will not be hampered by the pull out of policemen from PDEA, Calderon thinks otherwise.
Calderon said the anti-illegal drugs operations will surely be affected because a reduction of the PDEA strength means a lowering of its operational capability.
The only remedy seen by both the PNP and the PDEA is the fact that under Executive Order 218, the latter can still tap the personnel of anti-illegal drugs task forces of various government agencies like that of the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation.
Gabriel insists, however, that even with the pull out of policemen, the PDEA can still work effectively. “We just need a few good men,” he said.
He said that PDEA has just hired about a hundred agents, who include technical people. The recruitment for applicants also continues to this date.
Calderon hopes that time will come PDEA will become a stronger organization that will be able to operate on its own, without the services of the PNP and other units.
When this happens, the AIDSOTF of the PNP may already be dissolved, he said./DMS
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
MILF leads negotiations for release of abducted Italian Catholic priest
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Court martial still fails to arraign alleged Feb ’06 coup plotters for more than six months now
By Ronron
June 18, 2007
The Special General Court Martial (GCM) created by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. in November last year to try military officers who allegedly planned to stage a coup d’ etat in February that year still has not arraigned the 28 accused to this date.
During the last hearing last Friday, both the prosecution and defense accused each other of causing the delay in the arraignment of the accused, led by former Marines commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and former Army Scout Rangers chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim.
“They (defense lawyers) are the ones delaying the case. All motions under the sun, they would file just to postpone the proceedings, the challenges and the arraignment. They even invoke personal matters like not eating yet, which is uncalled for,” military prosecutor Lt. Col. Jose Feliciano Loy, Jr. told reporters in one of the breaks in last Friday’s proceedings held at the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division headquarters in Tanay, Rizal.
The 28 accused – nine from the Marines and 19 from the Army – are separately facing charges of violating Articles of War 63 (Disrespect Towards the President, Vice President, Congress of the Philippines, or Secretary of National Defense); 65 (Assaulting or Willfully Disobeying Superior Officer); 67 (Mutiny or Sedition); 96 (Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer and a Gentleman); and, 97 (Conduct Prejudicial to Good Order and Military Discipline).
The charges stemmed from the alleged participation of the accused in the alleged coup plot on February 24, 2006, and on the standoff two days later at the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City in protest to the sudden relief of Miranda.
But the defense, through lawyer Frank Chavez, argues it is the prosecution that must be blamed for the delay because it refused to immediately “give the accused a copy of the Pre-Trial Investigation Report (PTIR) and the Pre-Trial Advise (PTA).”
The defense asserted that it is the Constitutional right of the accused to get a copy of the PTIR and PTA so they will be made fully aware of the charges against them.
“The PTIR was already available since October last year but they only gave it in April (this year),” said Chavez, who is representing accused Miranda and Army Maj. Jason Aquino.
The PTIR was supposed to be a basis of Esperon in deciding whether or not the 28 accused will proceed to court martial proceedings. It is, however, subject to review by Esperon’s Senior Judge Advocate (SJA) or legal adviser, Col. Pedro Davila, who actually overturned the PTIR recommendations to drop the charges against most of the accused.
The defense lawyers fought to obtain a copy of the PTIR so they could question Esperon’s basis in approving the court martial proceedings against the accused now. They did the same for the PTA so they could scrutinize the SJA’s basis for disapproving the PTIR recommendations.
When the defense got a copy of the PTA early this month, it, however, raised doubts on the veracity of the 171-page document since it did not indicate if Esperon approved it or not, as it only bore the signature of Davila.
In an interview, Davila, who was in attendance in last Friday’s hearing, explained to reporters that Esperon is not obliged to sign the PTA document as having been approved or not because he only has to manifest it in a separate memorandum.
Also, Davila said, the chief of staff is not compelled to approve the PTIR as a whole because he also does his own assessment of the evidence at hand.
But Chavez said Esperon’s memorandum only proves the existence of the PTIR and the PTA. It does not mention the basis for his final decision in charging the 28 accused, not does it prove the veracity of the copy of the PTA that the defense lawyers obtained.
To clear things up, Chavez and the other defense lawyers said Esperon should appear before the panel and answer all their pre-judicial questions.
“We want to put him on the witness stand to find out his legal and factual basis for reversing the PTIR recommendations. Did he exercise his authority arbitrarily, oppressively, abusively?... If the order of the Chief of Staff is baseless and clearly oppressive to the soldiers in this case, then it is unlawful,” Chavez said during the proceedings.
“Esperon should be here. We will grill him with pleasure. We will cross-examine him,” he added.
But the prosecution objected, saying that Davila was enough to authenticate the copy of the PTA that each defense lawyer has.
However, when Davila started talking upon the order of the GCM panel president, Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, the defense stopped him, saying the panel has no authority yet to swear any witness under oath because it itself has yet to be formally and officially sworn in. In the end, Davila was not able to explain.
The questionable veracity of the copy of the PTA that the defense lawyers received was just one of the reasons they raised in calling for a postponement again of the proceedings last Friday.
The first reason cited was the absence of four accused, namely Marine Lt. Col. January Caringal; Marine Col. Armando Bañez, Marine 1Lt. Belinda Ferrer, and Army 1Lt. Ervin Divinagracia, due to different types of illness.
The defense lawyers argued that each of the accused has the right to be physically present in whatever stage of their case.
But Loy said: “We believe that none of their (those absent) rights is prejudiced because we are still in the challenging portion, not the reading of charges and specifications.”
The process before the arraignment, according to Loy, is each accused could challenge the members of the seven-man panel, led by Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano. If there is no challenge, the members can take their oath as members of the court. The reading of the charges and specification to each accused will then take place.
When Yano denied the motion, another defense lawyer made the same motion, but cited a different ground – eight of the 24 present accused have no private counsels. But Loy said the court can assign to them the military defense lawyers, namely Col. Antonio Doronila and Maj. Basilio Pooten.
The defense asserted the accused have a right to a counsel of his/her own choice.
Yano ruled that those who are not present can be given their chance to challenge the court members in future hearings, and those who have no lawyers that time can be represented for the meantime by the military defense lawyers.
He then ordered that the challenging portion proceed.
Again, the defense moved for a cancellation, citing this time “the lack of material time” since it was already almost 12 o’ clock noon, and it was the “Feast of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
“The spirit is willing but the body is weak,” said defense lawyer Abraham Espejo, counsel for Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza, Lt. Col. Edmundo Malabanjot and 1Lt. Richiemel Caballes, all of the Philippine Army.
Again, Yano denied the motion and said the challenge will proceed.
This prompted almost all defense lawyers to walk out of the hearing hall at around 12:40 pm last Friday, leaving behind four of their colleagues and the two military defense counsels.
Before leaving, Espejo said: “We have no food. We were not told that this will be a whole day hearing. Is this going to be a railroad?”
Atty. Trixie Angeles, lawyer for Army Capt. Ruben Guinolbay, appealed Yano’s decision, saying it is not an unreasonable request for the trial to be held when all accused are present altogether.
But the panel stood by its initial decision, saying there was never a complete attendance among the accused in any of the six hearings held, including last Friday’s, since it began in December 2006.
Another appeal by Angeles was denied by the panel, and ordered for a one-hour lunch break before the challenging will take place.
After the break, Pooten asked the court again to “reset” the hearing since he claimed that he failed to get the full trust and confidence of the accused during his brief talk with them.
“All of them or most of them would like to cooperate. But they can’t express fully their feelings to me. They really prefer their counsels of choice. So I found it futile on my part if they can’t appropriately share with me their feelings. In the interest of justice, may I move for a continuance so their counsels of choice can be there to assist them,” Pooten told the panel.
But Yano denied the motion.
Just when he was about to order again for the commencement of the challenging portion, Angeles asked again for the continuance, questioning the procedure taken by the military prosecution as regards a motion filed by the defense for the dismissal of the case.
Loy had admitted that he forwarded the motion to Esperon for action. Esperon, according to Loy, denied the motion.
Angeles said the action of the military prosecution put the panel in a bad light because it apparently makes it subservient to Esperon, and not an independent body.
As a result, Yano admonished Loy and reminded him to course to the court all future motions. But still, the panel denied Angeles’ motion for continuance.
This finally paved the way for the panel to ask each of the accused present of their challenges to each court member, to the dismay of the accused.
While 22 of the 24 present accused said they are not exercising their right to challenge nor are they waiving it due to absence of counsel of their own choice and the unresolved PTA report issue, the panel deemed the remaining two accused (Guinolbay and Marine Col. Orlando de Leon) to have waived their rights since they were well represented by their private lawyers that time.
Loy would have pushed for the court members to proceed to take their oaths after the challenging portion, but Angeles objected, saying it would be “superfluous since the other accused still have to exercise their right to challenge.”
Yano favored the defense this time, and reset the next hearing, the seventh for that matter, on July 6th, despite Angeles’ pleading that it be held in August instead due to some other schedule.
“Just make your self available on July 6th,” Yano told Angeles.
Last Friday’s hearing was the first time that the proceedings lasted past lunch time. In previous hearings, the activity would be over before noon after the panel favors the defense’ motion for continuance due to prejudicial issues.
Asked why he thinks the defense is delaying the proceedings, Loy told reporters: “Probably, they really want a new administration to take over the government. They said in the hearing that the winds of change are blowing, so they are probably warning the court that maybe, (with a new administration), they will be released from confinement or the charges against them will be withdrawn.”
Loy said he is able to draw this personal opinion based on the current developments like the victory of resigned Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, a rebel officer, in the Senatorial race, and the impending rule of the opposition in the forthcoming Senate.
Although he is not quite convinced of this theory because President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will still stay in power until 2010.
Loy said what is more likely is the accused may be running after the prescription of the case.
Under the prescription rule, the case against military men in a military tribunal may be dismissed if they are not yet arraigned two years since the commission of the offense.
“Probably, they are looking at the prescription of the case because that will be favorable to them,” Loy said, noting that the commission of the crime will mark its second year on February 24, 2008, or about eight months from now.
But the accused themselves denied the allegation that they want the case delayed as they point out that they are languishing in jail.
“We are detained. I think we can still endure the suffering if only to get a fair and Constitutional trial, than allowing our case to be railroaded,” said Army Maj. Jose Leomar Doctolero when he addressed the panel during the challenging portion.
The accused and their lawyers have repeatedly expressed fears that they will be tried to be convicted and punished, and not to bring out justice.
“We have fears that this tribunal is being pressured to railroad and fastrack this proceedings,” Espejo had said in Friday’s hearing.
But this was denied by Loy./DMS
June 18, 2007
The Special General Court Martial (GCM) created by Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. in November last year to try military officers who allegedly planned to stage a coup d’ etat in February that year still has not arraigned the 28 accused to this date.
During the last hearing last Friday, both the prosecution and defense accused each other of causing the delay in the arraignment of the accused, led by former Marines commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and former Army Scout Rangers chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim.
“They (defense lawyers) are the ones delaying the case. All motions under the sun, they would file just to postpone the proceedings, the challenges and the arraignment. They even invoke personal matters like not eating yet, which is uncalled for,” military prosecutor Lt. Col. Jose Feliciano Loy, Jr. told reporters in one of the breaks in last Friday’s proceedings held at the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division headquarters in Tanay, Rizal.
The 28 accused – nine from the Marines and 19 from the Army – are separately facing charges of violating Articles of War 63 (Disrespect Towards the President, Vice President, Congress of the Philippines, or Secretary of National Defense); 65 (Assaulting or Willfully Disobeying Superior Officer); 67 (Mutiny or Sedition); 96 (Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer and a Gentleman); and, 97 (Conduct Prejudicial to Good Order and Military Discipline).
The charges stemmed from the alleged participation of the accused in the alleged coup plot on February 24, 2006, and on the standoff two days later at the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City in protest to the sudden relief of Miranda.
But the defense, through lawyer Frank Chavez, argues it is the prosecution that must be blamed for the delay because it refused to immediately “give the accused a copy of the Pre-Trial Investigation Report (PTIR) and the Pre-Trial Advise (PTA).”
The defense asserted that it is the Constitutional right of the accused to get a copy of the PTIR and PTA so they will be made fully aware of the charges against them.
“The PTIR was already available since October last year but they only gave it in April (this year),” said Chavez, who is representing accused Miranda and Army Maj. Jason Aquino.
The PTIR was supposed to be a basis of Esperon in deciding whether or not the 28 accused will proceed to court martial proceedings. It is, however, subject to review by Esperon’s Senior Judge Advocate (SJA) or legal adviser, Col. Pedro Davila, who actually overturned the PTIR recommendations to drop the charges against most of the accused.
The defense lawyers fought to obtain a copy of the PTIR so they could question Esperon’s basis in approving the court martial proceedings against the accused now. They did the same for the PTA so they could scrutinize the SJA’s basis for disapproving the PTIR recommendations.
When the defense got a copy of the PTA early this month, it, however, raised doubts on the veracity of the 171-page document since it did not indicate if Esperon approved it or not, as it only bore the signature of Davila.
In an interview, Davila, who was in attendance in last Friday’s hearing, explained to reporters that Esperon is not obliged to sign the PTA document as having been approved or not because he only has to manifest it in a separate memorandum.
Also, Davila said, the chief of staff is not compelled to approve the PTIR as a whole because he also does his own assessment of the evidence at hand.
But Chavez said Esperon’s memorandum only proves the existence of the PTIR and the PTA. It does not mention the basis for his final decision in charging the 28 accused, not does it prove the veracity of the copy of the PTA that the defense lawyers obtained.
To clear things up, Chavez and the other defense lawyers said Esperon should appear before the panel and answer all their pre-judicial questions.
“We want to put him on the witness stand to find out his legal and factual basis for reversing the PTIR recommendations. Did he exercise his authority arbitrarily, oppressively, abusively?... If the order of the Chief of Staff is baseless and clearly oppressive to the soldiers in this case, then it is unlawful,” Chavez said during the proceedings.
“Esperon should be here. We will grill him with pleasure. We will cross-examine him,” he added.
But the prosecution objected, saying that Davila was enough to authenticate the copy of the PTA that each defense lawyer has.
However, when Davila started talking upon the order of the GCM panel president, Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, the defense stopped him, saying the panel has no authority yet to swear any witness under oath because it itself has yet to be formally and officially sworn in. In the end, Davila was not able to explain.
The questionable veracity of the copy of the PTA that the defense lawyers received was just one of the reasons they raised in calling for a postponement again of the proceedings last Friday.
The first reason cited was the absence of four accused, namely Marine Lt. Col. January Caringal; Marine Col. Armando Bañez, Marine 1Lt. Belinda Ferrer, and Army 1Lt. Ervin Divinagracia, due to different types of illness.
The defense lawyers argued that each of the accused has the right to be physically present in whatever stage of their case.
But Loy said: “We believe that none of their (those absent) rights is prejudiced because we are still in the challenging portion, not the reading of charges and specifications.”
The process before the arraignment, according to Loy, is each accused could challenge the members of the seven-man panel, led by Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano. If there is no challenge, the members can take their oath as members of the court. The reading of the charges and specification to each accused will then take place.
When Yano denied the motion, another defense lawyer made the same motion, but cited a different ground – eight of the 24 present accused have no private counsels. But Loy said the court can assign to them the military defense lawyers, namely Col. Antonio Doronila and Maj. Basilio Pooten.
The defense asserted the accused have a right to a counsel of his/her own choice.
Yano ruled that those who are not present can be given their chance to challenge the court members in future hearings, and those who have no lawyers that time can be represented for the meantime by the military defense lawyers.
He then ordered that the challenging portion proceed.
Again, the defense moved for a cancellation, citing this time “the lack of material time” since it was already almost 12 o’ clock noon, and it was the “Feast of the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.”
“The spirit is willing but the body is weak,” said defense lawyer Abraham Espejo, counsel for Lt. Col. Nestor Flordeliza, Lt. Col. Edmundo Malabanjot and 1Lt. Richiemel Caballes, all of the Philippine Army.
Again, Yano denied the motion and said the challenge will proceed.
This prompted almost all defense lawyers to walk out of the hearing hall at around 12:40 pm last Friday, leaving behind four of their colleagues and the two military defense counsels.
Before leaving, Espejo said: “We have no food. We were not told that this will be a whole day hearing. Is this going to be a railroad?”
Atty. Trixie Angeles, lawyer for Army Capt. Ruben Guinolbay, appealed Yano’s decision, saying it is not an unreasonable request for the trial to be held when all accused are present altogether.
But the panel stood by its initial decision, saying there was never a complete attendance among the accused in any of the six hearings held, including last Friday’s, since it began in December 2006.
Another appeal by Angeles was denied by the panel, and ordered for a one-hour lunch break before the challenging will take place.
After the break, Pooten asked the court again to “reset” the hearing since he claimed that he failed to get the full trust and confidence of the accused during his brief talk with them.
“All of them or most of them would like to cooperate. But they can’t express fully their feelings to me. They really prefer their counsels of choice. So I found it futile on my part if they can’t appropriately share with me their feelings. In the interest of justice, may I move for a continuance so their counsels of choice can be there to assist them,” Pooten told the panel.
But Yano denied the motion.
Just when he was about to order again for the commencement of the challenging portion, Angeles asked again for the continuance, questioning the procedure taken by the military prosecution as regards a motion filed by the defense for the dismissal of the case.
Loy had admitted that he forwarded the motion to Esperon for action. Esperon, according to Loy, denied the motion.
Angeles said the action of the military prosecution put the panel in a bad light because it apparently makes it subservient to Esperon, and not an independent body.
As a result, Yano admonished Loy and reminded him to course to the court all future motions. But still, the panel denied Angeles’ motion for continuance.
This finally paved the way for the panel to ask each of the accused present of their challenges to each court member, to the dismay of the accused.
While 22 of the 24 present accused said they are not exercising their right to challenge nor are they waiving it due to absence of counsel of their own choice and the unresolved PTA report issue, the panel deemed the remaining two accused (Guinolbay and Marine Col. Orlando de Leon) to have waived their rights since they were well represented by their private lawyers that time.
Loy would have pushed for the court members to proceed to take their oaths after the challenging portion, but Angeles objected, saying it would be “superfluous since the other accused still have to exercise their right to challenge.”
Yano favored the defense this time, and reset the next hearing, the seventh for that matter, on July 6th, despite Angeles’ pleading that it be held in August instead due to some other schedule.
“Just make your self available on July 6th,” Yano told Angeles.
Last Friday’s hearing was the first time that the proceedings lasted past lunch time. In previous hearings, the activity would be over before noon after the panel favors the defense’ motion for continuance due to prejudicial issues.
Asked why he thinks the defense is delaying the proceedings, Loy told reporters: “Probably, they really want a new administration to take over the government. They said in the hearing that the winds of change are blowing, so they are probably warning the court that maybe, (with a new administration), they will be released from confinement or the charges against them will be withdrawn.”
Loy said he is able to draw this personal opinion based on the current developments like the victory of resigned Navy Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV, a rebel officer, in the Senatorial race, and the impending rule of the opposition in the forthcoming Senate.
Although he is not quite convinced of this theory because President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will still stay in power until 2010.
Loy said what is more likely is the accused may be running after the prescription of the case.
Under the prescription rule, the case against military men in a military tribunal may be dismissed if they are not yet arraigned two years since the commission of the offense.
“Probably, they are looking at the prescription of the case because that will be favorable to them,” Loy said, noting that the commission of the crime will mark its second year on February 24, 2008, or about eight months from now.
But the accused themselves denied the allegation that they want the case delayed as they point out that they are languishing in jail.
“We are detained. I think we can still endure the suffering if only to get a fair and Constitutional trial, than allowing our case to be railroaded,” said Army Maj. Jose Leomar Doctolero when he addressed the panel during the challenging portion.
The accused and their lawyers have repeatedly expressed fears that they will be tried to be convicted and punished, and not to bring out justice.
“We have fears that this tribunal is being pressured to railroad and fastrack this proceedings,” Espejo had said in Friday’s hearing.
But this was denied by Loy./DMS
Monday, June 18, 2007
Police resolves killing of Bacarro Mayor in Ilocos Norte with identification and charging of suspects
By Ronron
June 17, 2007
Police has solved the case of killing of a town mayor and a councilor in Ilocos Norte last May with the identification of the suspects behind the crime and the slapping of charges against them.
Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil, Region 1 Police Director, said investigators have established that the mastermind behind the shooting to death of Bacarra Mayor Philip Velasco and councilor Marcelino Andaya last May 20 was the town’s Vice Mayor, Villamor Ramelb.
Ramelb ran against Velasco during the May 14 polls but lost.
Bataoil said Ramelb was implicated in the crime after messages stored in the cellular phone of the slain gunman, identified as Alexander Biso, were traced to have come from him and his two colleagues, Emerson Alzate and Richard Bingayen.
“Our investigators from Task Force Velasco listed down all the messages and calls from the phone recovered from the gunman. During the process, they were able to trace Alzate, Bingayen, and Ramelb,” Bataoil said.
A witness also testified that the cellular phone recovered from Biso was similar to the one used by Alzate, added Bataoil.
Bataoil said Biso was hired by Ramelb to assassinate Velasco for P1.5 million. It was not yet known if a pay-off took place.
The motive is believed to be political in nature, considering that Ramelb lost to Velasco, said Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Director Sr. Supt. Roman Felix.
Last Thursday, charges of two counts of murder and multiple frustrated murder were filed against Ramelb, Bingayen and Alzate before the Ilocos Norte Provincial Prosecutor’s Office located in Laoag City, said Felix.
Aside from killing Velasco and Andaya, at least three other persons were also wounded in the shooting incident that happened inside the Bacarra Municipal Auditorium while the town was celebrating the Bacarra Farmer’s Day.
Biso was shot dead by Velasco’s security escort during the incident.
The three suspects remain at large as of this writing./DMS
June 17, 2007
Police has solved the case of killing of a town mayor and a councilor in Ilocos Norte last May with the identification of the suspects behind the crime and the slapping of charges against them.
Chief Supt. Leopoldo Bataoil, Region 1 Police Director, said investigators have established that the mastermind behind the shooting to death of Bacarra Mayor Philip Velasco and councilor Marcelino Andaya last May 20 was the town’s Vice Mayor, Villamor Ramelb.
Ramelb ran against Velasco during the May 14 polls but lost.
Bataoil said Ramelb was implicated in the crime after messages stored in the cellular phone of the slain gunman, identified as Alexander Biso, were traced to have come from him and his two colleagues, Emerson Alzate and Richard Bingayen.
“Our investigators from Task Force Velasco listed down all the messages and calls from the phone recovered from the gunman. During the process, they were able to trace Alzate, Bingayen, and Ramelb,” Bataoil said.
A witness also testified that the cellular phone recovered from Biso was similar to the one used by Alzate, added Bataoil.
Bataoil said Biso was hired by Ramelb to assassinate Velasco for P1.5 million. It was not yet known if a pay-off took place.
The motive is believed to be political in nature, considering that Ramelb lost to Velasco, said Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Director Sr. Supt. Roman Felix.
Last Thursday, charges of two counts of murder and multiple frustrated murder were filed against Ramelb, Bingayen and Alzate before the Ilocos Norte Provincial Prosecutor’s Office located in Laoag City, said Felix.
Aside from killing Velasco and Andaya, at least three other persons were also wounded in the shooting incident that happened inside the Bacarra Municipal Auditorium while the town was celebrating the Bacarra Farmer’s Day.
Biso was shot dead by Velasco’s security escort during the incident.
The three suspects remain at large as of this writing./DMS
Military says Bossi search now yielding positive developments, results may be seen within 48 hours
By Ronron
June 17, 2007
A military commander said on Sunday that the search and rescue operations for kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi in Zamboanga Sibugay province may yield positive results within 48 hours from yesterday.
In a phone interview, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) National Capital Region Command (NCRCom), said there are already positive developments that may “very soon resolve this case.”
Dolorfino, who is also the government’s chairman in the Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), issued the statement exactly a week since Bossi, 57, was abducted by around 10 armed suspects in Payao town, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Bossi, according to Dolorfino, was taken by his captors to the mountains of Barangay Mamagun in Naga town of the same province, based on information he received from both the military officer on the field and his counterpart in the MILF.
Elements of the 102nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the MILF Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces are jointly conducting search and rescue operations for Bossi, Dolorfino had said.
“We might see a resolution of the case very soon, maybe within 48 hours. I received information about a very encouraging development just a while ago,” Dolorfino said when reached by phone shortly before 3pm yesterday.
But he would not say if the means is by negotiation or military operations for fear that it could jeopardize the ongoing activity.
“I would rather not disclose it now because it could spread around the media. This is a very critical stage now,” Dolorfino said.
Both Dolorfino and Zamboanga Sibugay Police Director Sr. Supt. Francisco Cristobal, Jr. said Bossi remains alive to this date.
“His captors will not benefit anything if they kill Fr. Bossi,” Cristobal said in a separate interview.
While Dolorfino said the search for Bossi is concentrated in Naga town, Cristobal said the police is extending the same to other neighboring towns in the same province.
As of yesterday, Cristobal said police has yet to receive communication from the suspects.
Dolorfino maintains that the motive for the abduction is ransom./DMS
June 17, 2007
A military commander said on Sunday that the search and rescue operations for kidnapped Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi in Zamboanga Sibugay province may yield positive results within 48 hours from yesterday.
In a phone interview, Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) National Capital Region Command (NCRCom), said there are already positive developments that may “very soon resolve this case.”
Dolorfino, who is also the government’s chairman in the Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), issued the statement exactly a week since Bossi, 57, was abducted by around 10 armed suspects in Payao town, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Bossi, according to Dolorfino, was taken by his captors to the mountains of Barangay Mamagun in Naga town of the same province, based on information he received from both the military officer on the field and his counterpart in the MILF.
Elements of the 102nd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the MILF Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces are jointly conducting search and rescue operations for Bossi, Dolorfino had said.
“We might see a resolution of the case very soon, maybe within 48 hours. I received information about a very encouraging development just a while ago,” Dolorfino said when reached by phone shortly before 3pm yesterday.
But he would not say if the means is by negotiation or military operations for fear that it could jeopardize the ongoing activity.
“I would rather not disclose it now because it could spread around the media. This is a very critical stage now,” Dolorfino said.
Both Dolorfino and Zamboanga Sibugay Police Director Sr. Supt. Francisco Cristobal, Jr. said Bossi remains alive to this date.
“His captors will not benefit anything if they kill Fr. Bossi,” Cristobal said in a separate interview.
While Dolorfino said the search for Bossi is concentrated in Naga town, Cristobal said the police is extending the same to other neighboring towns in the same province.
As of yesterday, Cristobal said police has yet to receive communication from the suspects.
Dolorfino maintains that the motive for the abduction is ransom./DMS
Military says Bossi search now yielding positive developments, results may be seen within 48 hours
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