Saturday, July 28, 2007

Hundreds of sweet dwellers rounded up near ASEAN meeting venue

By Ronron
July 27, 2007

Local government units near the venue of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting in Manila have cleared their respective areas of street dwellers in preparation for the arrival of important foreign delegates starting today (Saturday).

Rod Ramos, Officer-in-charge of the Reception and Action Center of the Manila City’s Department of Social Welfare, told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview yesterday that they have begun the clearing operations late last week upon the order of Mayor Alfredo Lim.

“This is really our regular job but we were just told to intensify this time because of the ASEAN Meeting so as not to embarrass our country,” Ramos said.

According to Ramos, their operations were conducted in areas near the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) and the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), both of which are located in Pasay City.

Targeted were street dwellers – both minors and adults – along the stretch of Roxas Boulevard near the areas of Malate, Mabini, Ermita, and Luneta Park.

As of yesterday, Ramos said they have 356 street dwellers under their care in their office located near the Central Station of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) - 1. These include minors, families, psychotic adults, and aged people.

The number actually went beyond 500 since last week but those found with relatives in Metro Manila, those who agreed to return to their home provinces, and those that can be referred to different institutions like mental hospitals and care centers were properly released.

Ramos said they will continue their operations even as the ASEAN meeting is ongoing and after that.

In Pasay City, 17 persons were rounded up when the clearing operations began Thursday for the same reason.

Agustin Presentacion of the Pasay City Social Welfare Office said they were informed by the City Tourism and Cultural Office to intensify their operations for the ASEAN event in Manila, which will last until August 2.

Presentacion said the 17 were found along Roxas Boulevard near the CCP area practically doing nothing.

“Most of them just stand by there, even if they are not doing anything,” Presentacion said.

Two of the 17 were solvent (rugby) dependents, while the rest actually had shanties in the city where they were told to return to.

Presentacion said the two solvent dependents are now detained at the Drug Enforcement Unit of the city government.

Meanwhile, in Paranaque City, the city social welfare office said it has not conducted clearing operations against street dwellers even as the ASEAN meeting is about to start.

The holding of the 40th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Manila, which will be participated by 1,500 delegates from 27 countries, is a continuation of the ASEAN Summit held earlier in January of this year in Cebu.

The international event is expected to enhance further the relations of each participating country as various issues such as terrorism, disaster, calamities and migrants’ welfare are expected to be addressed./DMS

Arroyo calls off punitive actions in Basilan for three days as GRP-MILF CCCH investigates July 10 incident

By Ronron
July 27, 2007

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Friday ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to temporarily call off the planned punitive actions in Basilan against selected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) believed responsible for the death of 14 Marines soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated, last July 10.

AFP Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesman Maj. Eugene Batara said Arroyo issued the directive during the command conference held yesterday at the military’s main camp in Zamboanga City as the Coordinating Committee of the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the government and the MILF kicked off its fact-finding mission over the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, Basilan.

“The President approved the suspension of the punitive actions until Monday when the CCCH is expected to finish its investigation over the Basilan incident,” Batara said in a phone interview.

“After Monday, we can already start our punitive actions,” he added.

But AFP WESMINCOM chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo clarified that they will have to await the President’s go-signal for them to proceed with their police action on Tuesday.

“We will have to wait of course the result of their investigation. The three days is more of a timeline for the CCCH to finish its investigation,” Cedo said in when reached by phone.

The MILF welcomed the order of Arroyo but could only hope that the CCCH can finish its investigation complete with report by Monday so that any move by the military on Tuesday will have basis.

“That’s a unilateral decision but she should have given a longer period,” MILF public information officer and chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said in a phone interview, noting that it would take time to for the CCCH probers to gather the facts and prepare a report.

But Iqbal said the action of Arroyo is in consonance to the MILF’s directive to their field commanders and fighters last Thursday to exercise maximum restraint and avoid provoking violence.

“The action of the President is towards the right direction. It’s a right direction,” he said.

Batara did not say if the decision of the President was in response to a proposal of retired general Rodolfo Garcia, the government peace negotiator with the MILF, for the AFP to put on hold its planned offensives in Basilan.

Garcia had earlier said that he raised the proposal to AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. to give way for the fact-finding mission of the joint CCCH.

The six-member fact-finding team arrived in Basilan at around 8:40 am yesterday and immediately proceeded to Al-Barka to begin its probe, said provincial police director Sr. Supt. Alex Macapantar.

The team is set to find out the circumstances that led to the bloody exchange of fires, the killing of the 14 Marine soldiers and an Imam (a Moslem religious leader), and issues regarding possible violation of the ceasefire agreement of the government and the MILF. It is expected to issue recommendations as to how similar incidents can be prevented.

The government announced its planned punitive actions against selected MILF and ASG members last Saturday, saying that if the MILF does not surrender the alleged perpetrators to government authorities by Sunday, the offensives can start.

The MILF defied the AFP’s ultimatum, saying it was not involved in the mutilation of the 10 soldiers and the incident was a legitimate encounter, sparked by the government troops’ entry into an MILF territory without prior coordination.

The July 10 incident involved elements of the 1st Marine Brigade who had just finished checking the whereabouts of abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi when they came under fire upon reaching Barangay Guinanta in Al-Barka.

The MILF admitted to be those whom the AFP troops clashed with that day but denied the beheading.

According to the government, it has to punish those responsible for the death of the 14 soldiers, especially those mutilated, so the “barbaric act” will not be repeated in the future. But the MILF said that if ever they find some of their members to have violated the law, the agreement provides that it is the principal that can impose punishment, and not the other party.

In an earlier interview, MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said the group will abide by the findings of the CCCH, but matters about the turn over of their erring members based on arrest warrants from Philippine courts will have to be discussed by both the government and MILF peace panels.

According to Batara, warrants of arrest were already issued against some suspected 130 personalities, mostly of the MILF and the rest of the ASG, by a court in Zamboanga City based on an information filed by the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC).

Batara said the case is separate from the multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges filed on Thursday by the Basilan Provincial Police at the Basilan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office over the same incident. An arrest warrant from the Basilan case has yet to be issued, said Macapantar.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Police Director Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao confirmed the issuance of the arrest warrant and explained that it cannot be served yet because of Arroyo’s order.

Among those identified in the charge sheet are: 1) Hamsa Sapantun, MILF chairman in Basilan; 2) Not Muddalan, alias Not, MILF commander; 3) Suhud Limaya, alias Hud, MILF commander; 4) Sulaiman Murata, MILF commander; 5) Hadji Dan Asnawi, alias Adan, MILF commander; 6) Long Hadji Mas-ud, MILF LC commander; 7) Furuji Indama, ASG leader; and, 8) Nurhasan Kallitut Jamiri, ASG leader.

Batara said that it was clearly agreed upon during the command conference that when the authorities is ready to serve the arrest warrants, the prime movers will be the Basilan police and they will be supported only by the AFP.

In a chance interview at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday, former President Corazon Aquino expressed sympathy to the family of the slain soldiers but supported the calling off of the operations in Basilan.

“That’s really so sad and I feel sorry for their families because they are only trying to do their best to rescue Fr. Bossi and they have to give up their lives. I hope this will be the last of such gruesome things,” Aquino said.

Aquino said that while it is also important to let the perpetrators realize that what they did was wrong, she is supporting the temporary suspension of the offensives until Monday “because violence begets violence.”

“I pray that all these violence will end, especially between Filipinos. It’s really very sad and painful to know that Filipinos are killing fellow Filipinos,” she said./DMS

Friday, July 27, 2007

PNP threatens to sue NPA for violating anti-terror law if offensives push through

By Ronron
July 26, 2007

The Philippine National Police (PNP) warned on Thursday that any offenses the New People’s Army (NPA) will commit can already be subjected to the Human Security Act of 2007, popularly known as the Anti-Terror Law.

PNP spokesman Chief Supt. Samuel Pagdilao, Jr. issued the statement in reaction to the order of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for its NPA fighters to launched more attacks against government and private offices and installations in response to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last Monday.

“Should the NPA proceed with its avowed attacks, the situation may serve as a test case on how the PNP will apply the provisions of the Human Security Act of 2007 in the fight against communist terrorism,” Pagdilao said in a statement.

The controversial Anti-Terror Law took effect last July 15 despite protests against it by various cause-oriented groups.

The CPP issued its threat of more tactical offensives last Tuesday. “In response to the Arroyo regime’s deceptions, threats and actual fascist attacks, the CPP leadership has directed the NPA to intensify its armed struggle and launch more and more tactical offensives against the Arroyo regime to weaken it and contribute to its speedy ouster,” CPP spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal said in a statement.

Pagdilao described Rosal’s pronouncement as a proof of the NPA’s engagement in “rebellion and insurrection” with the “objective of supplanting the democratic government and way of life with a communist system through violent acts.”

“They attack government troops, law enforcers and even civilians who do not give in to their extortion activities and destroy government as well as private properties, causing widespread and extraordinary fear and panic to the populace. Every step of it constitutes the very elements needed to apply the anti-terrorism law against the NPA,” Pagdilao said.

Nevertheless, Pagdilao said the PNP is taking the NPA’s threats seriously, saying that PNP chief Gen. Oscar Calderon already directed all policemen in the regions to intensify their Internal Security Operations, conduct more patrols in identified NPA-infested barangays, and prioritize the strengthening of their stations, especially those in remote areas.

The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla warfare in the countryside in the last 38 years and the government vowed to crush the movement by 2010 when Arroyo ends her term.

Peace talks between the government and the CPP bogged down in August 2004 after the latter was tagged as a terrorist by foreign governments./DMS

Magdalo leaders says they violated laws in Oakwood takeover four years ago for a higher cause

By Ronron
July 26, 2007

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the failed mutiny in Makati City, Magdalo leader and Senator-elect Antonio Trillanes IV admitted Thursday that they violated some laws then in advancing a worthy cause.

But Trillanes said there are no regrets in attempting to launch mutiny at the Oakwood Hotel along Ayala Avenue on July 27, 2003 because in the end, it made them better persons.

Trillanes led close to a hundred junior officers and almost 200 enlisted personnel in seizing the posh apartment hotel four years ago today to air their grievances against alleged irregularities in the government, particularly in the defense establishment.

“We are not denying that we did not do anything wrong. Some things were violated for a higher cause,” Trillanes told Defense reporters yesterday.

“The morality issue should be left to God. Legally, it is up to the court,” he added.

Trillanes said their mistake then was they were “not supposed to be there” to cause “alarm and scandal.”

But he said they remain vindicated as to their moral fight then based on the latest incident in Basilan wherein war materials of soldiers in the field appear to be substandard.

“What happened in Basilan, I believe, highlights the relevance of Oakwood. It showed that our grievances are true,” Trillanes said.

The mutineers had complained that the corruption of higher authorities in Manila is affecting the foot soldiers who are in the frontlines against “enemies of the State.”

“Definitely, nothing has changed. It even grew worse. We still have corrupt officials in government,” Trillanes said when asked if their efforts at Oakwood changed the situation in the Philippines for the better after that.

If any, he said their being incarcerated has done them good.

“It brought us back to earth. It gave us the opportunity to be close to God and our families, to be more spiritual. We will come out as better persons,” said Trillanes, who remains in detention since the incident.

Trillanes was elected the 11th senator during the May 14 polls after getting more than 11 million votes./DMS

Magdalo leaders says they violated laws in Oakwood takeover four years ago for a higher cause

By Ronron
July 26, 2007

On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the failed mutiny in Makati City, Magdalo leader and Senator-elect Antonio Trillanes IV admitted Thursday that they violated some laws then in advancing a worthy cause.

But Trillanes said there are no regrets in attempting to launch mutiny at the Oakwood Hotel along Ayala Avenue on July 27, 2003 because in the end, it made them better persons.

Trillanes led close to a hundred junior officers and almost 200 enlisted personnel in seizing the posh apartment hotel four years ago today to air their grievances against alleged irregularities in the government, particularly in the defense establishment.

“We are not denying that we did not do anything wrong. Some things were violated for a higher cause,” Trillanes told Defense reporters yesterday.

“The morality issue should be left to God. Legally, it is up to the court,” he added.

Trillanes said their mistake then was they were “not supposed to be there” to cause “alarm and scandal.”

But he said they remain vindicated as to their moral fight then based on the latest incident in Basilan wherein war materials of soldiers in the field appear to be substandard.

“What happened in Basilan, I believe, highlights the relevance of Oakwood. It showed that our grievances are true,” Trillanes said.

The mutineers had complained that the corruption of higher authorities in Manila is affecting the foot soldiers who are in the frontlines against “enemies of the State.”

“Definitely, nothing has changed. It even grew worse. We still have corrupt officials in government,” Trillanes said when asked if their efforts at Oakwood changed the situation in the Philippines for the better after that.

If any, he said their being incarcerated has done them good.

“It brought us back to earth. It gave us the opportunity to be close to God and our families, to be more spiritual. We will come out as better persons,” said Trillanes, who remains in detention since the incident.

Trillanes was elected the 11th senator during the May 14 polls after getting more than 11 million votes./DMS

AFP’s punitive action must be put on hold as joint CCCH investigates July 10 clash in Basilan

By Ronron
July 26, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) should hold off its planned punitive actions against selected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) believed responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers in the July 10 incident in Basilan as the ceasefire committee of the government and the secessionist group investigates said incident.

This was the call of the government peace panel and the MILF on Thursday, a day before the joint fact-finding mission of the government and MILF’s coordinating committee on the cessation of hostilities (CCCH) sails to Basilan to officially start investigation work on the July 10 ambush/clash in Al-Barka town.

“What we have done is to propose that recommendation (holding off of the punitive action) to the chief of staff… I’m saying that they should hold off their offensive action so that we will really know the actual truth through this joint investigation,” government peace negotiator retired Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview.

Garcia said he has brought up the proposal to AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. a few days ago and has reiterated the same during their meeting just last Wednesday.

“He (Esperon) had an open mind… I am still awaiting word but I believe it would be (granted)… I think it is the prudent thing to do because how can you launch a military operation when there is still no determination of the truth,” Garcia said.

Garcia said he understands that the recommendation will be presented in today’s (Friday) command conference of AFP top brass in Zamboanga City that will be presided over by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

In a separate interview, Von Al Haq, chairman of the MILF CCCH, told Manila Shimbun he is confident the punitive action by the AFP in Basilan has been called off to give way for their investigation there starting today (Friday).

A call to the AFP to suspend its actions should, in the first place, never be made in the light of the fact-finding mission of the GRP-MILF CCCH because otherwise, it would show that the Philippine military is not sincere in its pronouncement about giving primacy to the peace process, said MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu in another interview.

“There should be no operations first, otherwise, the violation to the ceasefire agreement will further be compounded. So both parties will have a harder time to resolve the problem because the issues will pile up,” Kabalu said in Filipino.

The AFP, despite the pouring in of some 5,000 troops in Basilan, has yet to initiate actions against their alleged targets due to the absence of warrants of arrest. The planned punitive action was announced last Saturday and was supposed to begin Monday when the MILF refused to turn over by Sunday the alleged suspects in the killing of the 14 soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated.

Elements of the 1st Marine Brigade had just finished checking the presence of abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi and his captors in the morning of July 10 when they came under fire from suspected MILF members, supported allegedly by the Abu Sayyaf Group and other local bandits.

Yesterday (Thursday), the Philippine National Police in Basilan already filed multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges against 16 identified suspects and several John Does before the Basilan Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in relation to the July 10 incident, said provincial police director Sr. Supt. Alex Macapantar.

Macapantar told Manila Shimbun they filed the case even without the death certificates of the victims so the military can start their planned actions soon. Their pieces of evidence were just statements of witnesses, he said.

Most of the respondents, he said, are members of the MILF’s 114 Base Command based in Basilan.

But two hours after the filing, Macapantar said the death certificates arrived so they will attach those either today (Friday) or in the coming days.

“What is important is we have filed the case,” Macapantar said in a phone interview.

The MILF forces in Basilan and the rest of Mindanao have been advised yesterday by their chairman, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, to exercise maximum restraint in the face of the standoff in Basilan.

“Our forces will not move. They will not fire unless fired upon. They will remain in their areas and they will not initiate clashes,” Kabalu said.

“The substance of the issuance is because we want to preserve the primacy of the peace process. So we will not add up the tension in Mindanao because of the death of the Marines and the Imam,” he added.

Asked if they are willing to produce their members found by the CCCH panels to have erred in the July 10 incident, Kabalu said: “We will abide whatever the findings of the CCCH. Of course, that is the rule.”

But he said this does not mean that they will immediately turn over their erring members to the government. He said the turn over issue should still be negotiated by the GRP and MILF panels.

Although the MILF admitted to have been involved in the clash, it denied any responsibility as to the beheading is concerned./DMS

NDCC warns of possible drought in September

By Ronron
July 26, 2007

The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) warns of a possible drought in Luzon by September if the amount of rainfall does not normalize by next month.

NDCC spokesman Dr. Anthony Golez told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo Thursday that the government is taking measures for the “impending drought” such as massive information campaign about water conservation, and cloud seeding operations in affected areas.

He said that currently, a dry spell is being experienced in Regions 1, 2, 3, and the Cordilleras, and parts of Regions 4 and 5. “These are the areas that we need to watch out for.”

Golez admitted the government did not expect the dry spell to hit the country because the government weather station earlier pronounced that three tropical cyclones will enter the Philippine area of responsibility starting July. So far, only one - “Bebeng” - arrived.

Golez explained the “weird” weather now is part of the global warming or climate change the entire world is experiencing.

He recalled that the last time the country experienced a dry spell was in the 1990’s and it affected around 3 million people.

Golez projects that if the drought pushes through, “billions” of worth of properties will be damaged.

“We are issuing memorandum to all concerned regional disaster coordinating councils to do as instructed water conservation techniques, how to combat (the drought), and do some other counter measures,” Golez said.

He asked the public to cooperate with their local officials in the counter-measures that will be undertaken to hasten the impact of the situation./DMS

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Military imposes controlled release of info on Basilan operations

By Ronron
July 25, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday has began imposing controlled release of information about developments in the planned punitive action in Basilan against selected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).

AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said that starting yesterday, they cannot give out details about the operations in Basilan for “operational security considerations.”

“It’s not news blackout. It is just saying that we don’t want to telegraph what we are doing,” Bacarro told reporters yesterday when asked for an update in the situation in Basilan.

Some 5,000 troops – both Army and Marines – are tasked to run after selected members of the MILF and ASG who were allegedly responsible for the death of 14 Marines soldiers, 10 of whom were beheaded, during the clash last July 10 in Al-Barka town.

The AFP gave the MILF until last Sunday to turn over the suspects to the government but the deadline lapsed without the MILF heeding to the demand, saying it was a legitimate encounter and that none of their men committed the crime.

Since the lapse of the deadline, no armed confrontation has taken place yet. According to Basilan-based 1st Marine Brigade commander Col. Ramiro Alivio, the troops are still waiting as of Tuesday for the arrest warrants against the suspects, numbering close to 20.

But the arrest warrants are not likely coming very soon since the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Basilan has yet to file the charges, pending the provision to them of the death certificates of the slain soldiers.

“Definitely, there has been no clash as of this moment,” Bacarro said yesterday.

Asked why, Bacarro said: “As I said, there are operational considerations that I don’t want to convey to you our next move or what our next course of action is.”

But he said this is not to say that the troops are having some difficulties on the ground. “We are not facing any difficulty right now. I’m not aware of any difficulty.”

“We are ready,” he said.

Bacarro denied that their silence about the Basilan operations has anything to do with the forthcoming Ministerial Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Manila, as it could mar the image of the country.

He vowed though that if there will be a major development, he will report it to the media./DMS

Army to SC: Jonas Burgos is not with us

By Ronron
July 25, 2007

“If Jonas Burgos is with the military, there is no reason for us not to bring him out.”

Thus said Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. on Wednesday in reaction to the Supreme Court’s order for the military to produce abducted Jonas Joseph Burgos tomorrow (Friday).

The problem, Torres said, is Burgos is not under the custody of the military.

“First, the military organization has no policy or is not into the business of abducting. Secondly, we already want to put a closure or to resolve this case because the issue has been dragging on and in the process, it is already having a negative impact on the military organization,” Torres said in a phone interview.

According to him, the Philippine Army has in fact been consistent with its effort to try to locate Burgos in support with proper investigating units, like the Philippine National Police (PNP).

He cited for example the sharing of their information with the PNP, such as those that pertain with the plate number allegedly used in the abduction of Burgos last April 28 from a mall in Quezon City. The plate number was later discovered inside an Army camp in Bulacan but the military still denied it is behind the abduction.

In a two-page order, the Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the appeal of Burgos’ mother for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr., PNP chief Gen. Oscar Calderon, and other military officers.

It also directed the Court of Appeals to immediately raffle the case so that a hearing can be conducted at 10am tomorrow.

Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said they will still appear before the Court of Appeals hearing even without Burgos.

“Definitely, we will appear but we will respectfully reiterate what we have been saying that Jonas is not in our custody and that we are not aware of his whereabouts,” Bacarro told reporters in a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo.

Bacarro said the military welcomes though the order of the high tribunal, calling it “okay” since it would allow the organization to clear its name from any allegations.

“It’s part of the legal process,” Bacarro said of the Supreme Court ruling.

Burgos, according to his family, is an agriculturist who provides trainings to members of the militant peasant groups in Central Luzon before he was abducted. But thee Philippine Army said there are indications he was already a member of the New People’s Army (NPA).

Burgos’ family has accused the military of being behind the incident based on the recovered plate number./DMS

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Basilan folks flee home as troops preposition against MILF and ASG targets

By Ronron
July 24, 2007

Thousands of residents in Al-Barka town in Basilan have fled their homes to ensure their safety as government troops prepare to strike at alleged members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who were responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers during the July 10 clash there.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Social Welfare Officer Racma Ambolodto-Imam told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview Tuesday that 983 families or 4,915 persons from six barangays in Al-Barka sought temporary shelter at a nearby school and their relatives’ houses there and in neighboring towns “because of fear that they will be caught in the crossfire.”

“They moved on their own out of fear for their lives,” Imam said.

She said the evacuees are residents of Barangays Guinanta, Macalang, Linuan, Magcawa, Danapah, and Sitio Bohe Lunang.

Iman said the residents began leaving their homes last Sunday, a day after the government announced the planned punitive police action of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in Basilan.

She said some stayed at a primary school in the same town, while the rest have gone to their relatives’ houses.

It can be recalled that 930 residents in Al-Barka immediately left their homes after the July 10 clash, according to ARMM Police Director Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao, but they returned last week, thinking everything was going back to normal.

Last Saturday, National Security Adviser and acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales said the AFP is already authorized to conduct punitive police actions against their July 10 clash actors so as to get justice for the slain soldiers, especially the 10 who were mutilated.

The decision was arrived at after the MILF refused to turn over the alleged killers of the 14 soldiers. The MILF claimed none of their members committed the beheading and the incident was a legitimate encounter.

AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said yesterday a total of 5,000 soldiers are now in Basilan, and they will be utilized in the pursuit against at most 20 identified MILF and ASG members believed to be responsible for the incident.

The soldiers had just finished verifying reports about the presence of abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi and his captors in said vicinity when they engaged the armed fighters in the morning of July 10. Bossi was released nine days later in Lanao del Norte province.

Basilan-based 1st Marine Brigade commander Col. Ramiro Alivio told Manila Shimbun yesterday that actual engagement with their targets has not taken place yet because they are still awaiting the warrants of arrest to be issued by the local court.

But Goltiao said the police have yet to file the case against the suspects because the AFP and the Philippine Marines have yet to give them copies of the death certificates of the slain soldiers.

The police said they plan to charge for multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder eight identified suspects and several John Does.

However, AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. claims they know at most 20 identified suspects, mostly from the MILF’s 114 Base Command.

“I would have been a lot happier if they turned over the suspects because after all, they (MILF leadership) know who they (suspects) are. So, I hope that in the interim, some positive things could still develop heavier casualties or penalties to anybody, to any case, to anything,” Esperon told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday night.

But Esperon said there is no more extension of the deadline that lapsed midnight of Sunday for the MILF to heed to the government’s demand.

“Our troops are moving. We have completed the transport to Basilan of the required forces,” he said.

Asked how they want to get to the suspect, whether dead or alive, Esperon said: “Of course, if they are alive, better… And once they are in, then they should be put to trial. There will be cases.”

“We always want them to be alive and face the consequences,” he added.

Esperon assured that since they have targets in mind, then the operation will not spill over to other people in the area, especially the residents.

But despite this assurance, Imam said the local residents are not taking chances, thus the evacuation.

Esperon stressed the need for the operation, saying “it is not to avenge the (slain) soldiers but to uphold the very basic right of the government to protect its citizens, to uphold the law.”

“If we do not punish the beheaders, there would be future beheaders because they will think that beheading people is perfectly alright,” he said.

Unlike the MILF, which says the operation will affect the peace process, Esperon believes otherwise, or hopes for it, at least.

“We are trying our best to uphold the primacy of the peace process. But as much as possible, the peace process will not be scuttled. We know the importance of the peace process. The people of Mindanao know the benefits, the dividends of peace, even our soldiers,” Esperon said.

“So we have always believed that punishing the barbaric act does not have to fall under the ambit or within the ambit of the peace process. It simply has to be covered by the laws of the land. Murder should be punished,” he added./DMS

Two cops, civilian nabbed over sale of suspected shabu

By Ronron
July 24, 2007

Two members of the Quezon City police and a civilian were apprehended on Monday morning for selling the illegal drugs methamphetamine hydrochloride, popularly known as shabu, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reported Tuesday.

The two cops were identified as PO3 Manny Panlilio and PO2 Elcano Labra of the Quezon City Police Station 3, while the civilian was identified as Gilbert Abero.

PDEA Information Officer Derrick Arnold Carreon said the three were apprehended in a buy-bust operation past 11 am the other day along Road 20 in Project 8, Quezon City.

“The lawmen were caught red-handed while conspiring and aiding Abero to sell approximately 10 grams of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu,” Carreon said.

Carreon said the deal was worth P40,000.00.

Carreon said charges for violating Section 5 (Sale of Dangerous Drugs), in relation to Section 26 (Attempt or Conspiracy to Sell), under Article II of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act) are being prepared against the three.

Panlilio and Labra will also face administrative charges in relation to the incident.

“The PDEA proves once again that no one is above the law,” Carreon said./DMS

RP 95 percent ready for ASEAN meeting

By Ronron
July 24, 2007

Philippine authorities said Tuesday it is 95 percent ready for the 40th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Manila, saying they are only attending to minor concerns as the start of the main event on Sunday approaches.

“At this point, we are 95 percent prepared. But when Filipinos are told that tomorrow is the D-day, we always say, we can do that,” Ambassador Marciano Paynor, head of the National Organizing Committee of the AMM, said in a press briefing yesterday at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) said among the minor polishes they are conducting as far as security is concerned are on “logistical equipments, assignment of their men, and orienting their men to their tasks.”

A total of 6,533 security forces will be utilized during the duration of the Ministers’ meeting, which casually began last Saturday and will formally end on August 2nd. Paynor said the main event is set to begin this coming Sunday.

Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, Jr., commander of the PNP’s Task Force AMM, said most of these forces are policemen, while 600 are from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 200 from the Metro Manila Development Authority, 45 from the Philippine Coast Guard, and a few others from the Bureau of Fire and the Department of Health.

Paynor disclosed that a total of 1,500 delegates from 27 participating countries, including the foreign ministers, will be arriving in the country for the meeting. About the same size will be from the foreign media, he said.

Paynor said the bulk of the delegates, including the high-ranking officials, are expected to start arriving this Saturday and Sunday.

“As the national task force commander, I am confident in saying that the PNP and all security contingencies participating in this meeting are very much prepared already,” Razon said the same press briefing.

“So far, we have not received any report with regard to threats or problems that will greatly affect the conduct of the meeting here,” he added.

Razon said the only concern of the organizers is the weather, which was the “official” reason for the postponement of the ASEAN Summit last December to January of this year.

He said they are closely coordinating with the government weather station to monitor the entry of tropical storms.

Asked about the possible impact of the punitive action of the military in Basilan against selected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Razon said they are not expecting a spillover of violence to Manila.

He said AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. assured him that the operations in Basilan will not affect the meetings in Manila.

“I am very confident that the PNP will be able to address our security concerns for this meeting,” Paynor, for his part, said.

He said he hopes that unlike in previous meetings where delegates only remember the unfortunate incidents, this meeting’s participants will also remember the positive events here, like the “hospitality of Filipinos.”

Told about reports about hotel overcharging during the ASEAN Summit in Cebu last January, Paynor said: “Overcharging is relative… The delegates understand this.”

He said hotels naturally increase their rates compared during normal days because they spend more for improvement of the hotel’s facilities and security.

“They pass on these expenses to their clients, which is normal,” Paynor said.

Paynor said among the agenda of the meeting are advancement of the declarations and conventions arrived at during the summit in January, including the draft charter for ASEAN. The issues covered range from counter-terrorism, unity, welfare of migrant workers and their families, HIV, flu, disasters and relief operations, and many others./DMS

4 suspected NPA’s killed in firefight against soldiers in Sorsogon

By Ronron
July 24, 2007

Four suspected communist rebels were killed in an encounter Monday afternoon against government fighters in Sorsogon province, a military spokesman said.

Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said the clash happened at around 4:30 pm at Barangay Salvacion, Sorsogon City when elements of the 22nd Infantry Battalion conducted combat operations in the area.

“Acting on the information regarding the communist terrorists’ presence in the area, the troops under Lt. Espallado went to the house of a certain Sonny Peña and encountered the (five rebels) who were armed with high-powered firearms,” Torres said.

Torres said the firefight lasted for several minutes, leaving four unidentified rebels killed.

Government troops also recovered from the clash site three M16 rifles, a Garand rifle with scope, two ICOM radios, four bandoleers, five clips for Garand rifles, and four back packs containing documents with high intelligence value.

Torres said there was no casualty on the government side.

The 7,100-strong New People’s Army has been waging guerilla warfare in the countryside in the last 38 years and the government aims to crush it by 2010 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ends her term.

Peace negotiations between the government and the NPA bogged down in August 2004 after the latter was tagged as a terrorist group by some foreign governments./DMS

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

AFP preparing to strike against targets in Basilan

By Ronron
July 23, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has yet to strike on Monday against their targets in Basilan even as the deadline it set for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to surrender its members allegedly responsible for the July 10 encounter with Marine troopers already lapsed midnight of Sunday.

AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said yesterday the troops in Basilan are still conducting “detailed preparations,” although they can already start “punitive operations” anytime, upon the call of the ground commanders.

On Saturday, the government announced the planned punitive police action against select members of the MILF and the ASG who were allegedly behind the death of 14 Marines soldiers during the July 10 clash if they are not turned over to government by Sunday.

The MILF was defiant of the government demand, saying that it was a legitimate encounter, more so, their members did not commit the mutilation of 10 of the 14 slain soldiers.

“Indeed, the ultimatum of (AFP) Gen. (Hermogenes) Esperon already lapsed midnight of Sunday. From now on, our operational commanders can take a range of actions against the perpetrators,” Bacarro said.

Bacarro said the “detailed preparations” include “arrayal of forces, pre-positioning of forces, pre-positioning of logistics, and implacement of intelligence.”

The AFP will utilize at least 2,000 troops in Basilan for the punitive actions. These are from one Army brigade, one Marine brigade, and additional two Marine Battalions, one of which is yet to arrive there.

The AFP refused to say where the center of the operations will be but Basilan Provincial Police Director Sr. Supt. Alex Macapantar said it will be in Al-Barkah town, where the July 10 clash happened, and its immediately adjacent municipalities.

Bacarro said they believe their targets, numbering close to 20 personalities, mostly from the MILF while the rest are from the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), are still in Basilan.

Macapantar disclosed that residents from five barangays in Al-Barkah have already evacuated to the nearby cities of Lamitan and Isabela to ensure their safety.

He said he already placed the entire police forces in the province under full alert since Saturday for any eventualities that are violent in nature as he admitted that the announcement last Saturday about the conduct of punitive actions has stirred tension among the locals.

MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu said that while he still has to receive reports about actual engagement yesterday between government forces and elements of their 114 Base Command there, he said the latter are prepared to defend themselves when struck.

“Nothing can be done about that,” Kabalu said of the planned punitive actions.

Asked what will be done to their apprehended or arrested targets, Bacarro said: “They will be turned over to the PNP if they are caught alive.”

As of yesterday, the PNP has yet to file criminal charges against the suspected MILF and ASG members involved in the clash as they still await copies of the Death Certificates of the slain soldiers. Macapantar said they will file multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges against five identified MILF commanders, one MILF lost command member, two ASG members, and several John Does.

The elements of the 1st Marine Brigade had just finished checking reports about the presence of abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi and his captors near the clash site last July 10 when they got engaged with joint forces of the MILF, the ASG and other local armed fighters./DMS

Two Reds and two civilians killed in clash with government forces in Leyte

By Ronron
July 23, 2007

Two suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and two civilians were killed in a clash Sunday night in Leyte province, a military commander said yesterday (Monday).

Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion, said his men were pursuing some 10 suspected NPA rebels at a hut in Barangay Tinghub, Villaba town at around 10:10 pm the other day when fired upon by the insurgents.

The government troops were led by 2Lt. Marvin Caspillo, while the suspected rebels were allegedly led by a certain Geronimo Maceda, alias Maning, of the Nepal Squad, North Leyte Front of the NPA’s Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee.

Dagoy said the clash lasted for 20 minutes, resulting in the death of two rebels – Feliciano Labrador, alias Peling, and a certain alias Jezrel.

Dagoy said Feliciano’s wife, Leonor, and 12-year-old son, Anthony, were also shot dead as they were caught in the crossfire.

There were no reported casualties on the government side.

Dagoy said the rest of the rebels escaped, leaving behind their fallen comrades, two M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, one rifle grenade, eight short firearms for M16, five magazines for M14, 11 caliber 45 ammunitions and various documents.

“I am confident that in the soonest possible time, Leyte will be free of communist terrorists as misery, isolation, and hunger are fast festering their organization in their veiled attempts to reorganize their demoralized forces,” Dagoy said in a statement.

The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla warfare in the countryside in the last 38 years. Peace talks between the communist movement and the government bogged down in August 2004 due to the inclusion of the former in the terrorist list of foreign governments.

The government aims to crush the movement by 2010 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ends her term./DMS

Two Reds and two civilians killed in clash with government forces in Leyte

By Ronron
July 23, 2007

Two suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) and two civilians were killed in a clash Sunday night in Leyte province, a military commander said yesterday (Monday).

Lt. Col. Lope Dagoy, commanding officer of the Philippine Army’s 19th Infantry Battalion, said his men were pursuing some 10 suspected NPA rebels at a hut in Barangay Tinghub, Villaba town at around 10:10 pm the other day when fired upon by the insurgents.

The government troops were led by 2Lt. Marvin Caspillo, while the suspected rebels were allegedly led by a certain Geronimo Maceda, alias Maning, of the Nepal Squad, North Leyte Front of the NPA’s Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee.

Dagoy said the clash lasted for 20 minutes, resulting in the death of two rebels – Feliciano Labrador, alias Peling, and a certain alias Jezrel.

Dagoy said Feliciano’s wife, Leonor, and 12-year-old son, Anthony, were also shot dead as they were caught in the crossfire.

There were no reported casualties on the government side.

Dagoy said the rest of the rebels escaped, leaving behind their fallen comrades, two M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, one rifle grenade, eight short firearms for M16, five magazines for M14, 11 caliber 45 ammunitions and various documents.

“I am confident that in the soonest possible time, Leyte will be free of communist terrorists as misery, isolation, and hunger are fast festering their organization in their veiled attempts to reorganize their demoralized forces,” Dagoy said in a statement.

The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla warfare in the countryside in the last 38 years. Peace talks between the communist movement and the government bogged down in August 2004 due to the inclusion of the former in the terrorist list of foreign governments.

The government aims to crush the movement by 2010 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ends her term./DMS

Sunday, July 22, 2007

4 killed, 5 wounded in blast near Jolo market

By Ronron
July 21, 2007

Four persons died while five others were wounded when a stack of blasting caps exploded on Saturday afternoon near the public market of Jolo town in the southern island province of Sulu, police said.

Sr. Insp. Amil Baanan, Jolo chief of police, dismissed though the angle of terrorism in the blast that happened at 3:15 pm at a small variety store beside the public market along Serantes Street of said town.

“A pile of blasting caps that are locally made exploded probably due to mishandling.. This has nothing to do with terrorism,” Baanan told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview last night.

Baanan said the blasting caps were being sold secretly by the owner of the variety store to fishermen who resort to dynamite fishing in the province.

“It appears that the owners are using their sari-sari store as front of their illegal business,” he said.

Baanan said police and military troops are still investigating what triggered the blasting caps to explode. He estimated based on the impact of the blast that there were 100 to 200 blasting caps that blew off.

Baanan said they also recovered 60 bags of ammonium nitrate from the blast site.

The four fatalities include the couple who owned the store, a male Badjao who is suspected to be buying at that time of ingredients for dynamite, and a woman.

The five wounded victims, on the other hand, who include a 14-year-old boy, were brought to the Integrated Provincial Hospital in Jolo where they are being treated. They are believed to be passers by in the area.

Baanan said the incident will prompt them to inspect the different stores at the public market of Jolo to make sure they are not engaged in the illegal trade of dynamites./DMS

Police and military in MM on highest alert for SONA

By Ronron
July 21, 2007

Police and military forces in Metro Manila went on the highest alert on Saturday morning in preparation for the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tomorrow (Monday).

The National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) raised its alert level to Red effective 7am yesterday, and the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) followed an hour later.

The spokesman of both units said there is no imminent threat to national security come Monday but the raising of the alert level is meant at thwarting any untoward eventualities.

“We expect the President’s SONA to be generally peaceful,” NCRPO spokesman Supt. Rodel Sermonia said in a phone interview yesterday, citing the coordinating meetings made by rally organizers and the police last Friday.

“So far, as of now, we still have to receive intelligence report of any threat for the SONA,” he added.

Sermonia said some 5,000 policemen from the different police units in Metro Manila will be dispersed on the streets, mostly near Batasan Complex in Quezon City where mass demonstrations are expected.

But some 3,000 others coming from Police Regional Offices 1 to IV-A and close to 800 civil disturbance management personnel of the NCRCOM will be on stand-by mode for augmentation purposes./DMS

One of 16 escapees from Basilan jail recaptured

By Ronron
July 21, 2007

One of the 16 inmates of the Basilan Provincial Jail who escaped before dawn of Friday was recaptured later in the day, police said yesterday (Saturday).

Mahmud Morales (earlier identified in the report as Jipon Morales) fell back into the hands of authorities at around 9:45 pm after the friend he hoped to seek refuge with reported his presence to police.

Morales is charged with violation of the illegal drugs act.

PO2 Mamduh Balahim, duty officer of the Isabela City Police Station in Basilan, said Morales was re-arrested near his friend’s house in Barangay Carbon in Malamawi Island off Isabela City.

Balahim said Morales resisted arrest that is why he was shot on his right thigh as he tried to swim into the sea.

Morales was brought to the Isabela City Police Station and is due for operation at the local hospital on Wednesday. He was given first aid and is taking medicine for his gunshot wound.

Balahim said the search for the 15 other fugitives, who include four Abu Sayyaf Group members facing kidnapping charges, are still ongoing.

He said joint elements from the local police and the Marines are conducting the manhunt operations.

The inmates escaped at around 4am last Friday by sawing the iron bar on the top portion of the cell. The moved outside of the cell by holding on to a blanket and rope./DMS

AFP to hunt perpetrators of mutilated Marines if not turned over today (Sunday); MILF prepares for possible all-out war

By Ronron
July 21, 2007

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is poised to take “punitive police action” against suspected members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) if it still does not turn over today (Sunday) to the government its members believed to have been responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated, last July 10 in Basilan province.

National Security Adviser and concurrent acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales said in a press conference Saturday in Camp Aguinaldo that the “plan for imminent police action in Basilan” has the blessing of the National Security Group.

But the MILF is taking the matter very seriously. MILF Public Information Officer chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview that they will alert all their forces nationwide, and not just in Basilan because the government “has just raised the possibility of an all-out war.”

“I have been advised by the Secretary of National Defense that I have the authorization now from the National Security Council to conduct operations that will be able to punish the perpetrators of the barbaric beheading in Basilan,” AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told reporters in the same new conference with Gonzales.

“We have earlier given deadlines to the MILF to turn over to us the perpetrators. As we have their names, so they must also know who are the perpetrators. But should they fail to turn over the perpetrators, then we will go ahead with our punitive police actions against these perpetrators,” Esperon went on.

Esperon and Gonzales did not say when the police action will begin, but the former stressed: “The deadline that we gave them is Sunday.”

“I will honor the Sunday deadline. After that, we can take a range of actions that are legally permissible and morally upholdable,” Esperon said.

Asked to describe what “punitive police action” is, Gonzales said it is to run after specific targets at a particular area in Basilan or wherever the targets will go.

Esperon disclosed the target in their list include almost 20 personalities, most of whom are from the MILF, while the rest are with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). He said these persons, whom he refused to identify before the press, were identified through military assets.

Defense Undersecretary for Legal and Special Concerns Ricardo Blancaflor explained in the same briefing that if the military begins its punitive police action, it effect arrest or apprehension of their targets.

“From the list, we understand that some of them have existing warrants. And together with the soldiers and the other (law enforcers), those without warrants (and we have fully identified them), they will be arrested in a military way,” Blancaflor said.

Once arrested or apprehended, they will then be presented before the proper courts, continued Esperon.

The police in Basilan have yet to charge the MILF and ASG members who are suspected to be involved in the July 10 clash with the Philippine Marines in Barangay Guinanta, Al-Barkah town.

Police said they are preparing multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder charges against members of the MILF’s 114 Base Command, and they expect to file the cases sometime this week.

Esperon said they will use elements of the existing two brigades – one from the Army and one from the Philippine Marines -, the recently deployed Marine battalion from Sulu, and the forthcoming Marine battalion from its main headquarters in Manila in the police action. The size is at least 2,000 in terms of individuals.

“We are preparing. We have been preparing our forces. They are now actually near the targets. So, when the deadline lapses, you watch out for it,” he told reporters.

But he assured that the operating troops will not be overwhelmed by their emotions, which could result to abuse of power and authority. “That is one of the reasons why we have to temporarily relieve some people so that the operations is not mixed with hatred,” Esperon said.

Last Thursday, the military relieved Lt. Col. Felix Almadrones as commander of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 8 and his operations officer, Maj. Nestor Marcelino, so they cannot influence the result of the ongoing investigation on the incident. The two led the troops that fought with the armed elements in Al-Barkah.

Esperon said there are 284 MILF members in Basilan, which include their targets, but Iqbal said their fighters there number to at least 1,000 if they include their civilian sympathizers.

“It’s a natural right of every person to defend his self when attacked,” Iqbal said when asked about the MILF’s plans to counter the AFP’s action.

Iqbal said that even if the AFP does not use the term “all-out war” in the forthcoming actions, the MILF will take it as such.

Iqbal reiterated that their members did not behead the engaged Marine soldiers, and that there is no need to turn over their fighters to the government because the incident “was a legitimate encounter.”

“It was not an ambush. It was defending out territory because they went inside even without prior coordination. Therefore, it was a legitimate encounter,” he said.

Iqbal hit Gonzales and Esperon for pushing for the turnover of their supposed erring fighters to the government even if the ceasefire agreement that was signed in 1997 and reinforced in 2001 clearly states that the principal has the right to impose penalties on their erring members.

Esperon particularly said that the government’s demand for the turnover of MILF members is “perfectly legal.”

Gonzales, for his part, said the government does not mind the MILF punishing their erring members. But he said that as a State, “they (erring MILF members) have to answer our laws. There are no exceptions to this.”

While both Gonzales and Esperon expressed optimism that the peace process with the MILF will not be affected by the looming violence in Basilan, Iqbal thinks otherwise.

“The peace talks will continue. As far as I know, it will happen very soon… We don’t want the peace process sabotaged but I think, the whole world understands that the barbarism that happened in Basilan cannot be allowed to just be forgotten,” Gonzales said.

But Iqbal said the military’s police action will “naturally” derail the peace process because, he said, the MILF cannot talk peace with the government if the fighting is continuing.

Asked about the prospects of the peace negotiations if the punitive actions take place, Iqbal said: “Let’s see what these developments will bring.”

The peace talks between the government and the MILF bogged down in September last year after the two parties failed to agree on the ancestral domain issue, particularly the number of villages that will be included in the MILF’s juridical scope.

Asked about the safeguards for civilians in Basilan should the punitive action begin, Gonzales said: “The Secretary for the Peace Process had already been given instructions to make sure that civilians are protected first and foremost, and second, in case there are evacuations, that we be ready.”

Esperon hinted that no civilian’s rights will be violated by their operation because they will specifically go to their targets, such as their houses, if necessary.

Close to a hundred elements of the 1st Marine Brigade had just finished verifying reports about the presence of abducted Italian priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi in the morning of July 10 when they came under fire in Barangay Guinanta as they were about to head back to base in Lamitan town.

Aside from the 14 killed, nine soldiers were wounded.

After his release from his captors last Thursday night, Bossi said he was sorry for the death of the Marine soldiers as he “felt responsible” for their demise.

Basilan used to be a war-zone a few years back because it used to be the haven of the ASG. But peace and order in the province improved after the Philippine government allowed the RP-US Balikatan military exercises to be held there for the first time in 2002./DMS