By Ronron
August 10, 2007
The three-day fighting in the southern island province of Sulu has already killed more than 50 people, including government soldiers, Moslem rebels, and a young boy, and wounded over 40 others, a military spokesman said Friday.
Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, the Public Information Officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), told a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo that the series of encounters began last Tuesday and the last one was late Thursday afternoon. A total of four incidents were recorded within the three-day period.
Bacarro said the highest number of casualties was during Thursday’s incident – an ambush in the morning at Indanan town, and a clash in the afternoon until the evening in Maimbung town.
He said 10 soldiers were killed and one was wounded in the ambush that was perpetrated allegedly by Abu Sayyaf bandits and renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
The incident involved elements of the Philippine Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion on administrative and logistics mission. It happened at around 7:45 am at Barangay Duyuan in Indanan town.
The Army troopers lost nine M16 rifles in said encounter.
Bacarro said caught in the crossfire was a nine-year-old boy, who died due to gunshot wounds.
Bacarro said that pursuit operations against the perpetrators later resulted in an encounter at 3:20 pm in Barangay Tambaking in Maimbung when members of the same battalion caught up with some 120 members of the ASG and the MNLF-Misuari Breakaway Group (MBG).
The firefight lasted until past 7pm, said Bacarro.
The clash left 15 soldiers killed and nine wounded, while the rebel group reportedly suffered 27 fatalities and 25 wounded members, based on intelligence information, said Bacarro. However, only one killed rebel, identified as Salip Edimar, was recovered.
Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. said Edimar is a close-in security of ASG leader Radullan Sahiron.
The military is verifying intelligence reports that a son of ASG leader Dr. Abu was among the slain rebels.
Bacarro and Torres said the ASG rebels who were involved in Thursday’s incidents were led by the ASG top leaders – Sahiron, Dr. Abu and Albader Parad.
Bacarro said the first encounter happened Tuesday at around 4:25pm also in Indanan, involving the Special Operations Platoon 5 and 11 of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), and more or less 50 ASG rebels.
Two Marines soldiers were wounded in said incident.
The second clash happened Wednesday at around 6:30 in the morning, involving the Alpha Company of the 33rd IB and some 40 to 50 ASG rebels.
The 30-minute firefight took place at Barangay Lanao Dakula in Parang town, killing one soldier and four rebels, and wounding five soldiers.
“We are now verifying reports that out of the four ASG members that were killed during the said encounter, two are considered to be high-value targets. They are sub-commanders of the Abu Sayyaf Group,” said Bacarro.
Bacarro said out of the four operations, three were initiated by the government forces who are part of the military’s Task Force Comet.
He said this has nothing to do with the operations in Basilan against those who are believed responsible for the death of 14 soldiers during the July 10 clash in Al-Barka.
“Our effort against the Abu Sayyaf has been all out always because they are terrorists,” Bacarro said. “At this point, we don’t want to relate what happened to Basilan with what happened in Sulu because we are definite that those we encountered in Sulu are ASG members.”
He said the operations are part of the military’s Operation Plan (Oplan) Ultimatum II, launched last August 2. It can be recalled that the AFP’s Oplan Ultimatum I, launched in August last year, was credited for the neutralization of ASG top leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Solaiman.
In a phone interview later in the day, AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said he is saddened by the heavy casualties but this would not dishearten him.
“I’m very sad about it. It brings me memories of one of the encounters I had when I was a lieutenant when we had similar number of casualties but I’m not disheartened. I’m even proud of the soldiers because they are on the offensive, despite of the hardships,” Esperon said.
He said he thinks this is the biggest single casualty in the day in recent years, the President has even expressed concern about it and it prompted him to visit the troops there and in Sulu this Monday.
“We will not stop here. We will go after them… We will not give up,” Esperon said.
He said having heavy casualties is part of war, and losing soldiers’ lives is part of his job.
“We want to go after them even at the expense of the lives of our soldiers because that is our duty,” the military chief said.
Expecting of an impending fierce fighting in Sulu following the last fightings, Esperon said more troops will be poured in the province in the coming days.
Bacarro said two additional Army battalions will be sent to Sulu, bringing to eight battalions in all the forces there – four from the Marines and four from the Army.
According to the Social Welfare office in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), more than 4,000 people were already displaced from the two towns in Sulu – Indanan and Parang.
The evacuees comprise of 775 families or 4,282 persons from one barangay in Indanan and four barangays in Parang.
Some of them are staying at the Palan Elementary School in Indanan, which was converted into an evacuation center, while the rest are staying at their relatives.
Office of Civil Defense Regional Director for ARMM Atelano Adi said 5,000 sacks of rice are ready for distribution to Sulu for the evacuees.
Bacarro said the operations is expected to go full swing in Sulu now that the military already knows the location of the rebels./DMS
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Friday, August 10, 2007
Alleged Abu Sayyaf member suspected of beheading Marines gives up to authorities
By Ronron
August 9, 2007
An alleged member of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who is among the four identified suspected beheaders of Marine soldiers last July 10 in Basilan gave up on Thursday morning to authorities, a police official said.
Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (ARMM) Police Director Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao said Buhari Jamiri turned himself in to a GMA 7 News team, accompanied by members of the Department of Justice (DOJ), at around 6:30 am yesterday in Barangay Limbu Upas in Tipo-tipo town.
Jamiri was one of the four ASG members identified by two witnesses as among those who actually beheaded four of the 14 killed Marine soldiers during the July 10 firefight in Al-Barka town, said the investigation report of the Joint Fact-Finding Mission of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
He and two others, however, were not included in the 127 identified suspects listed in the arrest warrant issued by a Basilan court last July 26. Among the four, only Nurhassan Jamiri was listed.
Jamiri would be the first of those being hunted by authorities to fall.
In GMA 7’s interview with him, he said he surrendered because he feared for his life and for the sake of his family, especially his children.
“I cannot do anything if I go in hiding for the rest of my life… I am coming out now and expressing willingness to help the government because I am thinking of the welfare of my children,” Jamiri said in Filipino.
But he denied the allegation that he is an ASG member, more so that he beheaded a soldier, even as he admitted that he was part of those that fought against the Marine soldiers.
“My children are asking if I really cut off heads. But I did not do that,” Jamiri said.
“I was just in that group because it would be a shame if I back out. I have no choice but to open fire also,” he added.
According to him, he was just sitting in with the MILF group when he heard the commander gave an order to the members that if the government troops enter their territory, they will open fire because no coordination was made.
Jamiri said only two persons actually just committed the mutilation of the soldiers. He did not say if they were Abu Sayyaf members or MILF fighters.
Authorities have said they were working already for the inclusion of Buhari Jamiri in the arrest warrant’s coverage.
“He (Buhari Jamiri) was immediately brought to Zamboanga City,” Goltiao said over the phone, hinting of annoyance over the bypass made on Basilan Provincial Police Director Sr. Supt. Salik Macapantar.
“The right thing to do was to turn him over to the provincial police commander or to the judge,” said Goltiao.
“I would say that they are delaying things,” the police official said of the news team.
Goltiao said he was not immediately aware where Jamiri will be brought in Zamboanga City but the GMA News report said the suspect will be interrogated by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) unit there.
Sought for confirmation, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Eugene Batara said in a phone interview that he has no immediate information about it.
“Although, usually, when it comes to terrorists, it’s really the ISAFP that interrogates them,” Batara said./DMS
August 9, 2007
An alleged member of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who is among the four identified suspected beheaders of Marine soldiers last July 10 in Basilan gave up on Thursday morning to authorities, a police official said.
Autonomous Region in Moslem Mindanao (ARMM) Police Director Chief Supt. Joel Goltiao said Buhari Jamiri turned himself in to a GMA 7 News team, accompanied by members of the Department of Justice (DOJ), at around 6:30 am yesterday in Barangay Limbu Upas in Tipo-tipo town.
Jamiri was one of the four ASG members identified by two witnesses as among those who actually beheaded four of the 14 killed Marine soldiers during the July 10 firefight in Al-Barka town, said the investigation report of the Joint Fact-Finding Mission of the Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
He and two others, however, were not included in the 127 identified suspects listed in the arrest warrant issued by a Basilan court last July 26. Among the four, only Nurhassan Jamiri was listed.
Jamiri would be the first of those being hunted by authorities to fall.
In GMA 7’s interview with him, he said he surrendered because he feared for his life and for the sake of his family, especially his children.
“I cannot do anything if I go in hiding for the rest of my life… I am coming out now and expressing willingness to help the government because I am thinking of the welfare of my children,” Jamiri said in Filipino.
But he denied the allegation that he is an ASG member, more so that he beheaded a soldier, even as he admitted that he was part of those that fought against the Marine soldiers.
“My children are asking if I really cut off heads. But I did not do that,” Jamiri said.
“I was just in that group because it would be a shame if I back out. I have no choice but to open fire also,” he added.
According to him, he was just sitting in with the MILF group when he heard the commander gave an order to the members that if the government troops enter their territory, they will open fire because no coordination was made.
Jamiri said only two persons actually just committed the mutilation of the soldiers. He did not say if they were Abu Sayyaf members or MILF fighters.
Authorities have said they were working already for the inclusion of Buhari Jamiri in the arrest warrant’s coverage.
“He (Buhari Jamiri) was immediately brought to Zamboanga City,” Goltiao said over the phone, hinting of annoyance over the bypass made on Basilan Provincial Police Director Sr. Supt. Salik Macapantar.
“The right thing to do was to turn him over to the provincial police commander or to the judge,” said Goltiao.
“I would say that they are delaying things,” the police official said of the news team.
Goltiao said he was not immediately aware where Jamiri will be brought in Zamboanga City but the GMA News report said the suspect will be interrogated by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) unit there.
Sought for confirmation, Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command spokesman Maj. Eugene Batara said in a phone interview that he has no immediate information about it.
“Although, usually, when it comes to terrorists, it’s really the ISAFP that interrogates them,” Batara said./DMS
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Some July 10 incident suspects left Basilan already – Calderon
By Ronron
August 7, 2007
The Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership said Tuesday that some of the suspects behind the July 10 incident in Basilan have already left the island province amid the police and military’s massive presence there.
PNP chief Gen. Oscar Calderon made the admission in a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo following a joint command conference of the military and the police.
“We believe some have fled outside Basilan, So those we can can find in Zamboanga and in nearby provinces, anybody could make the arrest, the local government officials,” Calderon said.
Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. supported Calderon’s statement by saying: “That’s very probable but we’d like to think that most of them are still in the area.”
Esperon revealed that the authorities have “determined some targets, specifically those areas that are suspected to be harboring elements of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).”
Asked how many forces are there, he said: “We have a low of 20 Abu Sayyaf members which could increase with the number of lawless elements that could probably be in the area.”
He refused to answer, however, if these areas are close to known Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) communities, saying it would be going through some operational details that he does not wish to telegraph.
The MILF has owned up the clash against government troops last July 10, saying the Marines encroached their territory without prior coordination as required by the ceasefire agreement of the government and the MILF.
But it belied being joined by ASG rebels especially when the latter were found to be responsible for the mutilation of 10 of the 14 killed soldiers.
The hunt for the 127 suspects by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Basilan Judge Leo Jay Principe began last August 2, but has yet to produce positive results.
The Marine soldiers at that time have just finished checking the whereabouts of abducted Italian priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi when they were fired upon by MILF rebels while in the area of Al-Barka town./DMS
August 7, 2007
The Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership said Tuesday that some of the suspects behind the July 10 incident in Basilan have already left the island province amid the police and military’s massive presence there.
PNP chief Gen. Oscar Calderon made the admission in a press conference at Camp Aguinaldo following a joint command conference of the military and the police.
“We believe some have fled outside Basilan, So those we can can find in Zamboanga and in nearby provinces, anybody could make the arrest, the local government officials,” Calderon said.
Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. supported Calderon’s statement by saying: “That’s very probable but we’d like to think that most of them are still in the area.”
Esperon revealed that the authorities have “determined some targets, specifically those areas that are suspected to be harboring elements of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).”
Asked how many forces are there, he said: “We have a low of 20 Abu Sayyaf members which could increase with the number of lawless elements that could probably be in the area.”
He refused to answer, however, if these areas are close to known Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) communities, saying it would be going through some operational details that he does not wish to telegraph.
The MILF has owned up the clash against government troops last July 10, saying the Marines encroached their territory without prior coordination as required by the ceasefire agreement of the government and the MILF.
But it belied being joined by ASG rebels especially when the latter were found to be responsible for the mutilation of 10 of the 14 killed soldiers.
The hunt for the 127 suspects by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Basilan Judge Leo Jay Principe began last August 2, but has yet to produce positive results.
The Marine soldiers at that time have just finished checking the whereabouts of abducted Italian priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi when they were fired upon by MILF rebels while in the area of Al-Barka town./DMS
Military creates five courts martial to try rights abuses of soldiers
By Ronron
August 7, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has created five General Courts Martial to try cases of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the government soldiers.
AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told a news conference Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo after a joint command conference with the national police that the five courts will start working Wednesday.
The military leadership has earlier admitted in January of this year that at least six cases of alleged human rights violation cases being investigated by the Philippine National Police’s Task Force USIG involve soldiers as suspects.
“On the observance of human rights, our military justice system and we have created five General Court Martials that will take care of any possible violation of human rights,” Esperon said yesterday.
“We will start work tomorrow (Wednesday), starting with those who have been charged in courts of human rights violations,” he added.
The AFP has come under fire after cause-oriented groups brand them as usual suspects in killings and abductions of militants and other personalities perceived to be critical against the government.
But it has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that it is not a policy of the government and the military to engage in extrajudicial killings.
To prove its sincerity in addressing the human rights issue, the military organization created a Human Rights Office early this year, and consistently bragged about the inclusion of human rights subjects in military curriculum and training./DMS
August 7, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has created five General Courts Martial to try cases of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the government soldiers.
AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told a news conference Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo after a joint command conference with the national police that the five courts will start working Wednesday.
The military leadership has earlier admitted in January of this year that at least six cases of alleged human rights violation cases being investigated by the Philippine National Police’s Task Force USIG involve soldiers as suspects.
“On the observance of human rights, our military justice system and we have created five General Court Martials that will take care of any possible violation of human rights,” Esperon said yesterday.
“We will start work tomorrow (Wednesday), starting with those who have been charged in courts of human rights violations,” he added.
The AFP has come under fire after cause-oriented groups brand them as usual suspects in killings and abductions of militants and other personalities perceived to be critical against the government.
But it has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that it is not a policy of the government and the military to engage in extrajudicial killings.
To prove its sincerity in addressing the human rights issue, the military organization created a Human Rights Office early this year, and consistently bragged about the inclusion of human rights subjects in military curriculum and training./DMS
Wesmincom official denies ordering recall of aircrafts during July 10 clash
By Ronron
August 7, 2007
An official of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) denied on Tuesday giving an order to recall the aircrafts dispatched to provide air support to the engaged Marine troopers in Basilan last July 10.
Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, the Wesmincom Deputy Commander who was alluded to by a military source last Monday as the most possible source of the recall order, said in a phone interview that the internal probe of the military clearly stated that the air assets left the encounter site because of failure to communicate with the troops on the ground.
“It (claim of the military source about the recall order) is not true. There was no recall. Those are rumors that we don’t know who are circulating,” Sabban told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview last night.
“We have the findings of the military investigation and it did not say that the planes were recalled… Let us stick to the official findings,” he added.
According to the military source who was privy to the July 10 incident where 14 Marine soldiers were killed, 10 of them mutilated, there were two sets of air support provided to the engage troops that fateful day, but all left without even firing a single shot.
The source said the first dispatch was a Huey and two MG520 choppers that came from the Wesmincom base in Zamboanga City. Although it arrived at the clash site, it immediately left after a gunner aboard the Huey was hit from the enemy fire.
A second dispatch, composed of an OV10 bomber plane and an MG520 chopper coming from Sulu, arrived more than an hour later but also left immediately without firing allegedly because of an unexplained recall order.
The source said only the area commander can order the dispatch and recall of air assets during military operations. But the source said that at that time, Wesmincom chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo was attending the Mindanao Peace and Security Summit in Cagayan de Oro City.
Sabban admitted yesterday he was indeed calling the shots in that encounter, being the next commander in line.
But he said he did not order the recall, saying that when aircrafts are sent to operation sites, the ground commander takes control of them.
“Based on our command norms, when we order the pilots to go on mission, they are already beyond our control. And it has never happened that in a mission, there is a recall order,” Sabban stressed.
“Our Marines are getting killed already so why would we recall the planes?” he continued.
Sabban said the operational issues in the July 10 incident should just be put to a close now that the military investigation has long wrapped up already.
“Let us end this episode because our mission on the field is being affected already,” he said.
The slain Marines were among the government troops that verified reports about the sighting of abducted Italian priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi in Basilan. Bossi, who was snatched on June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay, was released on July 19 in Lanao del Norte./DMS
August 7, 2007
An official of the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) denied on Tuesday giving an order to recall the aircrafts dispatched to provide air support to the engaged Marine troopers in Basilan last July 10.
Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, the Wesmincom Deputy Commander who was alluded to by a military source last Monday as the most possible source of the recall order, said in a phone interview that the internal probe of the military clearly stated that the air assets left the encounter site because of failure to communicate with the troops on the ground.
“It (claim of the military source about the recall order) is not true. There was no recall. Those are rumors that we don’t know who are circulating,” Sabban told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview last night.
“We have the findings of the military investigation and it did not say that the planes were recalled… Let us stick to the official findings,” he added.
According to the military source who was privy to the July 10 incident where 14 Marine soldiers were killed, 10 of them mutilated, there were two sets of air support provided to the engage troops that fateful day, but all left without even firing a single shot.
The source said the first dispatch was a Huey and two MG520 choppers that came from the Wesmincom base in Zamboanga City. Although it arrived at the clash site, it immediately left after a gunner aboard the Huey was hit from the enemy fire.
A second dispatch, composed of an OV10 bomber plane and an MG520 chopper coming from Sulu, arrived more than an hour later but also left immediately without firing allegedly because of an unexplained recall order.
The source said only the area commander can order the dispatch and recall of air assets during military operations. But the source said that at that time, Wesmincom chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo was attending the Mindanao Peace and Security Summit in Cagayan de Oro City.
Sabban admitted yesterday he was indeed calling the shots in that encounter, being the next commander in line.
But he said he did not order the recall, saying that when aircrafts are sent to operation sites, the ground commander takes control of them.
“Based on our command norms, when we order the pilots to go on mission, they are already beyond our control. And it has never happened that in a mission, there is a recall order,” Sabban stressed.
“Our Marines are getting killed already so why would we recall the planes?” he continued.
Sabban said the operational issues in the July 10 incident should just be put to a close now that the military investigation has long wrapped up already.
“Let us end this episode because our mission on the field is being affected already,” he said.
The slain Marines were among the government troops that verified reports about the sighting of abducted Italian priest Fr. Giancarlo Bossi in Basilan. Bossi, who was snatched on June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay, was released on July 19 in Lanao del Norte./DMS
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Military creates five courts martial to try rights abuses of soldiers
By Ronron
August 7, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has created five General Courts Martial to try cases of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the government soldiers.
AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told a news conference Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo after a joint command conference with the national police that the five courts will start working Wednesday.
The military leadership has earlier admitted in January of this year that at least six cases of alleged human rights violation cases being investigated by the Philippine National Police’s Task Force USIG involve soldiers as suspects.
“On the observance of human rights, our military justice system and we have created five General Court Martials that will take care of any possible violation of human rights,” Esperon said yesterday.
“We will start work tomorrow (Wednesday), starting with those who have been charged in courts of human rights violations,” he added.
The AFP has come under fire after cause-oriented groups brand them as usual suspects in killings and abductions of militants and other personalities perceived to be critical against the government.
But it has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that it is not a policy of the government and the military to engage in extrajudicial killings.
To prove its sincerity in addressing the human rights issue, the military organization created a Human Rights Office early this year, and consistently bragged about the inclusion of human rights subjects in military curriculum and training./DMS
August 7, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has created five General Courts Martial to try cases of human rights violations allegedly perpetrated by the government soldiers.
AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told a news conference Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo after a joint command conference with the national police that the five courts will start working Wednesday.
The military leadership has earlier admitted in January of this year that at least six cases of alleged human rights violation cases being investigated by the Philippine National Police’s Task Force USIG involve soldiers as suspects.
“On the observance of human rights, our military justice system and we have created five General Court Martials that will take care of any possible violation of human rights,” Esperon said yesterday.
“We will start work tomorrow (Wednesday), starting with those who have been charged in courts of human rights violations,” he added.
The AFP has come under fire after cause-oriented groups brand them as usual suspects in killings and abductions of militants and other personalities perceived to be critical against the government.
But it has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that it is not a policy of the government and the military to engage in extrajudicial killings.
To prove its sincerity in addressing the human rights issue, the military organization created a Human Rights Office early this year, and consistently bragged about the inclusion of human rights subjects in military curriculum and training./DMS
Suspected JI bomber nabbed in Taguig City
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Air and ground troops communicated during July 10 incident, says military source privy to operations
By Ronron
August 6, 2007
The findings of an internal military probe that there was no radio communication between air and ground troops during the July 10 incident in Basilan is not true.
This was the assertion on Monday of a military source privy to the operations, saying that providing the wrong radio frequency to the operators of the choppers and planes that flew to the encounter site in Al-Barka town “is impossible.”
According to the source, who requested anonymity due to the gag order on military officials with regard to the July 10 incident is concerned, the military air assets actually established contacts with the engaged Marine troopers that fateful day, saying he is definitely aware that the right radio frequency was relayed to the pilots of the responding OV10 bomber plane.
“As far as I’m concerned, in this dispatch (of air support), the two (air and ground troops) communicated… In fact, I was the one who relayed that information (location of enemy) to them (pilots)… We gave the grid coordinates, the location of the enemy, and that of the troops,” the source said in Filipino in a phone interview with Defense reporters at Camp Aguinaldo.
But while he affirmed the military’s internal report that no fire was shot by the air assets, the source gave a different reason for that. He said there the first batch of air assets had to quickly return because one of its men was hit, while the second batch was ordered to recall for reasons still unknown to this day.
Having said this, the source, who is an official based in Mindanao, belied the military investigation’s finding that only three air assets arrived at the encounter site.
He said there were two dispatches of air support that time. The first came from the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in Zamboanga City, involving a Huey chopper and an MG520 attack helicopter.
The two choppers arrived at around 11:30 am but they did not stay long because the gunner of the Huey was allegedly hit by fires coming from the enemy on the ground.
“They have not even started attempting to communicate with the troops on the ground when they left because one of them was already hit,” the source said in Filipino.
He said the MG520 also had to disengage even if only the Huey was hit because the two choppers work as buddies.
More than an hour later, the source said the engaged Marine troopers sought for close air support from the air assets based in Sulu. He said an OV10 bomber plane and two MG520’s arrived at around 1:20 pm.
But, like in the first dispatch, the second set of air assets also hovered only very briefly and even left without firing a single shot.
The source said the initial information was that the aircrafts need to refuel, but he found out later that they withdrew in compliance with a recall order. He said it was during this second dispatch that the air assets communicated with those on the ground fighting out with the armed rebels.
“Even the pilot admits that he was talking to the troops on the ground,” the source said.
Asked for the reason of the recall, the source said: “That we don’t know. It (OV10) was already there, armed with bomb.”
Pressed if it has something to do with calls for ceasefire that time, he said: “I really don’t know.”
The source said he was not aware who ordered the recall but hinted it could be Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, the deputy commander of the Wesmincom.
The source said it is the area commander who orders the dispatch and recall of air support, but at that time, Wesmincom chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo was attending the Mindanao Peace and Security Summit in Cagayan de Oro City.
Besides, Cedo later denied ordering the recall of the air support, and maintained that in fact, he ordered for the air strike, said the source.
The source said it was a waste that the OV10 just dropped its bombs in the sea while they were flying away from Basilan. This is because the plane cannot land unless it has disposed of its bombs.
“It’s a wasted ordnance. Those should have been used against the enemy,” said the source.
“It (recall) is highly unnatural because they took off with the intention to have everything, and then they were recalled? It’s like, you were told to abandon those you were supposed to help,” he added.
The source admitted that had the air assets performed their purpose, their enemy would have been prevented from reinforcing and there would have been fewer military casualties.
He said he does not know how the military investigation report, as relayed to the media by Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, came up with its findings as he maintained that the after-battle report did not mention about the conveyance of a wrong radio frequency and the failure to communicate between the ground and air assets.
“I don’t know how made that statement… Probably he is not aware of what transpired… The reason they cited is very flimsy,” the source said.
Bacarro was not immediately available for comment, as well as Sabban.
The July 10 exchange of fire lasted for about nine hours, leaving 14 Marines soldiers and four MILF fighters killed, and nine soldiers and seven MILF rebels wounded.
The MILF said they opened fire at the Marine troopers because they encroached in their territory without prior coordination./DMS
August 6, 2007
The findings of an internal military probe that there was no radio communication between air and ground troops during the July 10 incident in Basilan is not true.
This was the assertion on Monday of a military source privy to the operations, saying that providing the wrong radio frequency to the operators of the choppers and planes that flew to the encounter site in Al-Barka town “is impossible.”
According to the source, who requested anonymity due to the gag order on military officials with regard to the July 10 incident is concerned, the military air assets actually established contacts with the engaged Marine troopers that fateful day, saying he is definitely aware that the right radio frequency was relayed to the pilots of the responding OV10 bomber plane.
“As far as I’m concerned, in this dispatch (of air support), the two (air and ground troops) communicated… In fact, I was the one who relayed that information (location of enemy) to them (pilots)… We gave the grid coordinates, the location of the enemy, and that of the troops,” the source said in Filipino in a phone interview with Defense reporters at Camp Aguinaldo.
But while he affirmed the military’s internal report that no fire was shot by the air assets, the source gave a different reason for that. He said there the first batch of air assets had to quickly return because one of its men was hit, while the second batch was ordered to recall for reasons still unknown to this day.
Having said this, the source, who is an official based in Mindanao, belied the military investigation’s finding that only three air assets arrived at the encounter site.
He said there were two dispatches of air support that time. The first came from the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in Zamboanga City, involving a Huey chopper and an MG520 attack helicopter.
The two choppers arrived at around 11:30 am but they did not stay long because the gunner of the Huey was allegedly hit by fires coming from the enemy on the ground.
“They have not even started attempting to communicate with the troops on the ground when they left because one of them was already hit,” the source said in Filipino.
He said the MG520 also had to disengage even if only the Huey was hit because the two choppers work as buddies.
More than an hour later, the source said the engaged Marine troopers sought for close air support from the air assets based in Sulu. He said an OV10 bomber plane and two MG520’s arrived at around 1:20 pm.
But, like in the first dispatch, the second set of air assets also hovered only very briefly and even left without firing a single shot.
The source said the initial information was that the aircrafts need to refuel, but he found out later that they withdrew in compliance with a recall order. He said it was during this second dispatch that the air assets communicated with those on the ground fighting out with the armed rebels.
“Even the pilot admits that he was talking to the troops on the ground,” the source said.
Asked for the reason of the recall, the source said: “That we don’t know. It (OV10) was already there, armed with bomb.”
Pressed if it has something to do with calls for ceasefire that time, he said: “I really don’t know.”
The source said he was not aware who ordered the recall but hinted it could be Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, the deputy commander of the Wesmincom.
The source said it is the area commander who orders the dispatch and recall of air support, but at that time, Wesmincom chief Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo was attending the Mindanao Peace and Security Summit in Cagayan de Oro City.
Besides, Cedo later denied ordering the recall of the air support, and maintained that in fact, he ordered for the air strike, said the source.
The source said it was a waste that the OV10 just dropped its bombs in the sea while they were flying away from Basilan. This is because the plane cannot land unless it has disposed of its bombs.
“It’s a wasted ordnance. Those should have been used against the enemy,” said the source.
“It (recall) is highly unnatural because they took off with the intention to have everything, and then they were recalled? It’s like, you were told to abandon those you were supposed to help,” he added.
The source admitted that had the air assets performed their purpose, their enemy would have been prevented from reinforcing and there would have been fewer military casualties.
He said he does not know how the military investigation report, as relayed to the media by Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, came up with its findings as he maintained that the after-battle report did not mention about the conveyance of a wrong radio frequency and the failure to communicate between the ground and air assets.
“I don’t know how made that statement… Probably he is not aware of what transpired… The reason they cited is very flimsy,” the source said.
Bacarro was not immediately available for comment, as well as Sabban.
The July 10 exchange of fire lasted for about nine hours, leaving 14 Marines soldiers and four MILF fighters killed, and nine soldiers and seven MILF rebels wounded.
The MILF said they opened fire at the Marine troopers because they encroached in their territory without prior coordination./DMS
Ex-Congressman Teodoro to assume top Defense post Wednesday
By Ronron
August 6, 2007
Former Tarlac Congressman Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. will take over the Defense portfolio Wednesday from National Security Adviser (NSA) Norberto Gonzales, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Monday).
Teodoro, who came from a vacation in the United States following his stint at the Lower House of Representatives, will formally assume the top Defense post in simple ceremonies at Camp Aguinaldo at 11am.
Teodoro was named by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over a month ago as the next Defense Secretary following the re-assignment of Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
A lawyer by profession, Teodoro served the 1st District of Tarlac for three terms from 1998 to 2007. He is a Colonel reservist of the Philippine Air Force.
Teodoro arrived in the country last Saturday.
With his arrival, Gonzales will concentrate again on his main job as NSA./DMS
August 6, 2007
Former Tarlac Congressman Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. will take over the Defense portfolio Wednesday from National Security Adviser (NSA) Norberto Gonzales, the Department of National Defense (DND) said Monday).
Teodoro, who came from a vacation in the United States following his stint at the Lower House of Representatives, will formally assume the top Defense post in simple ceremonies at Camp Aguinaldo at 11am.
Teodoro was named by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over a month ago as the next Defense Secretary following the re-assignment of Secretary Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. to the Department of Public Works and Highways.
A lawyer by profession, Teodoro served the 1st District of Tarlac for three terms from 1998 to 2007. He is a Colonel reservist of the Philippine Air Force.
Teodoro arrived in the country last Saturday.
With his arrival, Gonzales will concentrate again on his main job as NSA./DMS
Monday, August 6, 2007
Displaced residents of Basilan balloon to 12,000 – NDCC
By Ronron
August 5, 2007
The number of internally displaced residents in Basilan have ballooned to about 12,000 as armed confrontation looms in the southern Philippine province with the ongoing hunt for Moslem rebels believed responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers last July 10.
According to National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glen Rabonza, the evacuees have sought temporary shelters with their relatives elsewhere in the province or at the municipal hall.
He was not immediately aware, however, if the figure represents Al-Barka town alone or if it includes other nearby towns and cities in the province.
“I will still have to look at it when we meet (Monday) here in Zamboanga City… But these are the people who leave their homes, go to their municipal hall, and then return home later in the day or the following morning, or go their relatives’ houses,” Rabonza said.
“As of now, there is still no established evacuation centers,” he said.
Rabonza said that as directed by National Security Adviser and acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, the NDCC will meet today (Monday) in Zamboanga City with other disaster officials in the region to thresh out humanitarian plans in case the police action in Basilan escalates to something violent.
“This is a coordination meeting in preparation for the humanitarian intervention that the government will do for the evacuees or the possible influx of evacuees,” he said.
The meeting will be attended by provincial disaster officials from Basilan, Sulu and Zamboanga provinces headed by the respective governors, as well as officials from the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Local and Interior Government, Health, and the Philippine National Red Cross.
“The objective of the coordination meeting is to look at the preparations being made, identify the resources available, identify what else needs to be prepared, especially relief goods that will be used in the evacuation centers, what we call as WASH or Water Sanitation Hygiene, and medicines,” Rabonza said.
He assured that should there be a depletion of resources or funds at the provincial, regional or departmental level, the calamity fund from the national budget can always be tapped. There is also the international community where the government can run to if necessary, he said.
The residents of Basilan, especially in Al-Barka, have begun fleeing their homes last July 22 after hearing the government warn of the punitive police action against members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) suspected involved in the killing of the 14 soldiers.
Officials said that while there is no advisory for the people to vacate their houses, the residents themselves leave on their own out of fear that they will be caught in possible crossfire./DMS
August 5, 2007
The number of internally displaced residents in Basilan have ballooned to about 12,000 as armed confrontation looms in the southern Philippine province with the ongoing hunt for Moslem rebels believed responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers last July 10.
According to National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glen Rabonza, the evacuees have sought temporary shelters with their relatives elsewhere in the province or at the municipal hall.
He was not immediately aware, however, if the figure represents Al-Barka town alone or if it includes other nearby towns and cities in the province.
“I will still have to look at it when we meet (Monday) here in Zamboanga City… But these are the people who leave their homes, go to their municipal hall, and then return home later in the day or the following morning, or go their relatives’ houses,” Rabonza said.
“As of now, there is still no established evacuation centers,” he said.
Rabonza said that as directed by National Security Adviser and acting Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales, the NDCC will meet today (Monday) in Zamboanga City with other disaster officials in the region to thresh out humanitarian plans in case the police action in Basilan escalates to something violent.
“This is a coordination meeting in preparation for the humanitarian intervention that the government will do for the evacuees or the possible influx of evacuees,” he said.
The meeting will be attended by provincial disaster officials from Basilan, Sulu and Zamboanga provinces headed by the respective governors, as well as officials from the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Local and Interior Government, Health, and the Philippine National Red Cross.
“The objective of the coordination meeting is to look at the preparations being made, identify the resources available, identify what else needs to be prepared, especially relief goods that will be used in the evacuation centers, what we call as WASH or Water Sanitation Hygiene, and medicines,” Rabonza said.
He assured that should there be a depletion of resources or funds at the provincial, regional or departmental level, the calamity fund from the national budget can always be tapped. There is also the international community where the government can run to if necessary, he said.
The residents of Basilan, especially in Al-Barka, have begun fleeing their homes last July 22 after hearing the government warn of the punitive police action against members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) suspected involved in the killing of the 14 soldiers.
Officials said that while there is no advisory for the people to vacate their houses, the residents themselves leave on their own out of fear that they will be caught in possible crossfire./DMS
Marines failed to coordinate with MILF, but MILF should not have opened fire, says probe on July 10 incident in Basilan
By Ronron
August 5, 2007
Joint investigators from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) found a lapse on the part of the Philippine Marine troopers when they passed by an MILF community in Basilan last July 10 that later led into a deadly encounter.
According to the report of the joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the government and the MILF, the government forces should have coordinated their movements in the area in search for abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi with the CCCH that time.
Government CCCH chair Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea said this is in compliance with the existing ceasefire agreement between the government and the CCCH, which came into force in 1997, purposely to avoid mis-encounters.
The July 10 incident, which happened for almost nine hours at Barangay Guinanta in Al-Barka town, claimed 14 lives of Marines soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated. The MILF said they also lost four fighters, while seven others were wounded.
“There’s a need for them (Marine troopers) to coordinate may be not directly to the MILF CCCH but to the government CCCH, through the local monitoring team of Basilan,” Gurrea said in a phone interview yesterday with Manila Shimbun.
According to MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, a portion of the joint CCCH fact-finding mission report reads: “From the foregoing facts and circumstances gathered, it appears that there are lapses in coordination when the Marines conducted operations in (Barangay) Guinanta (in Al-Barka, Basilan) and other neighboring barangays in search for Fr. Bossi pursuant to the established mechanisms with the general ceasefire agreement entered into by the GRP and the MILF.”
The Marine commander in Basilan, Col. Ramiro Alivio, had earlier said it purposely did not coordinate with the MILF when they launched the July 10 search operations for Fr. Bossi because of suspicions that members of the secessionist group were actually holding the missionary who was abducted last June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Besides, he said the MILF cannot claim that it was its territory because “there is no such thing as an MILF territory” as far as the government is concerned.
But even if the fact-finding mission found the Marines to have erred in not making prior coordination, Gurrea said it was also wrong on the part of the MILF fighters to open fire right away.
“There was violation not only on the government side but on the MILF side also. It doesn’t mean that they (MILF) will start shooting just because they found our forces there. They could have clarified everything by contacting their men or the local CCCH in Basilan,” Gurrea said.
Gurrea disclosed that during their probe, they found out that the MILF fighters “initiated the firing” because they were of the impression that the Marine soldiers were positioning for an offensive against them when they were offloading from a truck.
“When our soldiers were alighting from the truck that was stuck in mud, their action was misconstrued by the MILF as a plan for offensive operations,” Gurrea said.
“It was normal of course to dismount. It was not an offensive. There was purely miscommunication,” he added.
Asked if the fact-finding mission recommended sanctions for these lapses on the part of the government and the MILF forces, Gurrea said: “Based on the implementing guidelines of the ceasefire mechanism, if any members are found liable (for any mistakes), the organization can impose sanctions.”
It can be recalled that the MILF has earlier cleared its men of any liabilities as it maintained that the incident was a legitimate encounter.
Gurrea said it is because of that miscommunication between the forces involved in the July 10 incident that they, as investigating body, recommended among others for the revisit or strengthening of the ceasefire agreement that shall make the latter responsive to similar situations in the future.
“When the ceasefire agreement was signed in 1997, the situation then was different. So we have to make it attuned to the present times, like in the aspect on the role of the local monitoring teams,” he said.
Asked to elaborate, he said he would rather that the peace panels thresh this out and later come out with their final findings.
Gurrea said it is also along this line that they recommended for the immediate reactivation of the Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) of the government and the MILF, whose yearly mandate expired in June.
The AHJAG is the mechanism that calls for the interdiction of lawless elements seeking refuge with the MILF.
The joint fact-finding mission started last July 27 and ended last August 1. Among its significant findings are the identification of four Abu Sayyaf rebels as those responsible for the beheading of four of the 10 mutilated soldiers./DMS
August 5, 2007
Joint investigators from the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) found a lapse on the part of the Philippine Marine troopers when they passed by an MILF community in Basilan last July 10 that later led into a deadly encounter.
According to the report of the joint Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) of the government and the MILF, the government forces should have coordinated their movements in the area in search for abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi with the CCCH that time.
Government CCCH chair Brig. Gen. Edgardo Gurrea said this is in compliance with the existing ceasefire agreement between the government and the CCCH, which came into force in 1997, purposely to avoid mis-encounters.
The July 10 incident, which happened for almost nine hours at Barangay Guinanta in Al-Barka town, claimed 14 lives of Marines soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated. The MILF said they also lost four fighters, while seven others were wounded.
“There’s a need for them (Marine troopers) to coordinate may be not directly to the MILF CCCH but to the government CCCH, through the local monitoring team of Basilan,” Gurrea said in a phone interview yesterday with Manila Shimbun.
According to MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, a portion of the joint CCCH fact-finding mission report reads: “From the foregoing facts and circumstances gathered, it appears that there are lapses in coordination when the Marines conducted operations in (Barangay) Guinanta (in Al-Barka, Basilan) and other neighboring barangays in search for Fr. Bossi pursuant to the established mechanisms with the general ceasefire agreement entered into by the GRP and the MILF.”
The Marine commander in Basilan, Col. Ramiro Alivio, had earlier said it purposely did not coordinate with the MILF when they launched the July 10 search operations for Fr. Bossi because of suspicions that members of the secessionist group were actually holding the missionary who was abducted last June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay.
Besides, he said the MILF cannot claim that it was its territory because “there is no such thing as an MILF territory” as far as the government is concerned.
But even if the fact-finding mission found the Marines to have erred in not making prior coordination, Gurrea said it was also wrong on the part of the MILF fighters to open fire right away.
“There was violation not only on the government side but on the MILF side also. It doesn’t mean that they (MILF) will start shooting just because they found our forces there. They could have clarified everything by contacting their men or the local CCCH in Basilan,” Gurrea said.
Gurrea disclosed that during their probe, they found out that the MILF fighters “initiated the firing” because they were of the impression that the Marine soldiers were positioning for an offensive against them when they were offloading from a truck.
“When our soldiers were alighting from the truck that was stuck in mud, their action was misconstrued by the MILF as a plan for offensive operations,” Gurrea said.
“It was normal of course to dismount. It was not an offensive. There was purely miscommunication,” he added.
Asked if the fact-finding mission recommended sanctions for these lapses on the part of the government and the MILF forces, Gurrea said: “Based on the implementing guidelines of the ceasefire mechanism, if any members are found liable (for any mistakes), the organization can impose sanctions.”
It can be recalled that the MILF has earlier cleared its men of any liabilities as it maintained that the incident was a legitimate encounter.
Gurrea said it is because of that miscommunication between the forces involved in the July 10 incident that they, as investigating body, recommended among others for the revisit or strengthening of the ceasefire agreement that shall make the latter responsive to similar situations in the future.
“When the ceasefire agreement was signed in 1997, the situation then was different. So we have to make it attuned to the present times, like in the aspect on the role of the local monitoring teams,” he said.
Asked to elaborate, he said he would rather that the peace panels thresh this out and later come out with their final findings.
Gurrea said it is also along this line that they recommended for the immediate reactivation of the Adhoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) of the government and the MILF, whose yearly mandate expired in June.
The AHJAG is the mechanism that calls for the interdiction of lawless elements seeking refuge with the MILF.
The joint fact-finding mission started last July 27 and ended last August 1. Among its significant findings are the identification of four Abu Sayyaf rebels as those responsible for the beheading of four of the 10 mutilated soldiers./DMS
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