By Ronron
August 17, 2007
Close to 400,000 people from Pampanga province were affected by typhoon “Egay” (International Code: Sepat), which has been bringing in rains in most parts of Luzon and some parts of Visayas in the last three days.
According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), 372,458 persons, representing 78,311 families from 20 municipalities in Pampanga, have been affected to due to heavy flooding.
The affected areas are Lubao, Arayat, Masantol, Apalit, San Luis, Mabalacat, Magalang, Floridablanca, Minalin, Mexico, Macabebe, Sasmuan, Candaba, Sta. Ana, Guagua, Bacolor, Sta. Rita, San Simon, Sto. Tomas and San Fernando City.
Of the affected persons, 184 families or 1,017 were evacuated: 104 families/648 persons from Mexico; nine families/78 persons from Sasmuan; six families/19 persons from Guagua; and, 65 families/272 persons from Bacolor, the NDCC said.
“These evacuees are presently housed at Day Care Centers, Barangay Halls, Barangay chapels, cockpit arena, and public market in the province,” the NDCC report said.
The NDCC report said 70 houses were damaged in said province – 35 totally and 35 partially – but it did not specify the cause.
Some roads and a portion of the bridge in the province were rendered impassable due to the flood.
The NDCC said the floodwater is already slowly subsiding.
As of 5pm yesterday, the government weather station placed the Batanes Group of Islands under Public Storm Signal Warning No. 3; the Babuyan Group of Islands under Signal No. 2; and, Cagayan, Isabela, Northern Aurora, Kalinga, Apayao, Ilocos Norte and Abra under Signal No. 1.
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) reported that “Egay” has weakened slightly as it continued to move away from the country in the northwest direction, heading towards Taiwan.
Due to the continuous rains, there were no classes yesterday at all levels in Zambales, Bataan, Metro Manila, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Mindoro Oriental and Mindoro Occidental.
Government work in Metro Manila was also suspended starting 1pm.
For today (Saturday), the NDCC said classes at all levels in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Tarlac and Bulacan will also be cancelled.
All units of the National Capital Region Command of the miltiayr, are still on red alert status and were placed on standby in their respective stations.
The Department of Social welfare and Development said it has a standby fund and stockpile of relief commodities amounting to P16,458,811.74 for disaster augmentation assistance.
PAGASA said weather is expected to improve on Sunday./DMS
Saturday, August 18, 2007
ASG video out on internet; military says it is propaganda move to generate funds
By Ronron
August 17, 2007
A video of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) supposedly seeking support from the international community has come out on the internet, and the Philippine military was quick to brand it as a propaganda tool of the terrorist group, depicting desperation for survival.
According to the website of The Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE), the one-hour-and-two-minute video entitled, “The Filipino Lions are Coming,” was distributed to jihadist forums last August 15.
A nine-minute-and-43-second clip of the video was posted on the Youtube website the following day, wherein text messages and narration were done in the Islamic tongue.
But the SITE claims that the video shows “two of its (ASG) former leaders, founder Abdul Raziq Abu Bakr (or Abdurajak) Janjalani AKA (also known as) Abu Sayyaf, and Khadaffi Janjalani, each appear in archived footage urging Moslems to contribute support, both financial and material, to the Mujahideen in Abu Sayyaf.”
The Janjalani brothers have since died in separate military operations – Abdurajak in December 1998 in Basilan, and Khadaffi in September 2006 in Sulu.
The SITE also said that the group has been lacking in ammunition, armaments and medicine.
“We do believe that it’s just a propaganda,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) information officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said upon seeing the video.
Being a terrorist group, Bacarro said the international community “should not fall victims to the trap of this propaganda” of the ASG.
Bacarro said the use of old video clips of the Janjalani brothers also showed that “the ASG is in disarray.” “Why is that the former leadership of the ASG are speaking? Why not the current leadership who are asking support?”
And the video itself “is an indication of how effective the government effort is – the PNP (Philippine National Police) and AFP, as well as other law enforcement agencies, relative to the fight against terrorism,” he said.
“Their (ASG) resource generating activities have been prevented by our combined efforts, that’s why they are now targeting the international community for their support for their logistics,” Bacarro said.
“Secondly, it just shows that the people in the area no longer want to support the ASG,” he added.
The AFP has said that the ASG’s current strength is not more than 400, mostly wandering in the mountains of Sulu./DMS
August 17, 2007
A video of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) supposedly seeking support from the international community has come out on the internet, and the Philippine military was quick to brand it as a propaganda tool of the terrorist group, depicting desperation for survival.
According to the website of The Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE), the one-hour-and-two-minute video entitled, “The Filipino Lions are Coming,” was distributed to jihadist forums last August 15.
A nine-minute-and-43-second clip of the video was posted on the Youtube website the following day, wherein text messages and narration were done in the Islamic tongue.
But the SITE claims that the video shows “two of its (ASG) former leaders, founder Abdul Raziq Abu Bakr (or Abdurajak) Janjalani AKA (also known as) Abu Sayyaf, and Khadaffi Janjalani, each appear in archived footage urging Moslems to contribute support, both financial and material, to the Mujahideen in Abu Sayyaf.”
The Janjalani brothers have since died in separate military operations – Abdurajak in December 1998 in Basilan, and Khadaffi in September 2006 in Sulu.
The SITE also said that the group has been lacking in ammunition, armaments and medicine.
“We do believe that it’s just a propaganda,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) information officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said upon seeing the video.
Being a terrorist group, Bacarro said the international community “should not fall victims to the trap of this propaganda” of the ASG.
Bacarro said the use of old video clips of the Janjalani brothers also showed that “the ASG is in disarray.” “Why is that the former leadership of the ASG are speaking? Why not the current leadership who are asking support?”
And the video itself “is an indication of how effective the government effort is – the PNP (Philippine National Police) and AFP, as well as other law enforcement agencies, relative to the fight against terrorism,” he said.
“Their (ASG) resource generating activities have been prevented by our combined efforts, that’s why they are now targeting the international community for their support for their logistics,” Bacarro said.
“Secondly, it just shows that the people in the area no longer want to support the ASG,” he added.
The AFP has said that the ASG’s current strength is not more than 400, mostly wandering in the mountains of Sulu./DMS
Bandits in Sulu break into small groups – military
By Ronron
August 17, 2007
The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu, joined by renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and bombers of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group, have broken into small groups due to the alleged wounding of their key leaders, a Philippine military commander said Friday.
“We received reports that they have splintered. They did this to avoid detection as a large group,” Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of the Sulu-based Joint Task Force Comet of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), told Camp Aguinaldo reporters in a phone interview yesterday.
The group is composed of more or less 120 persons, reportedly led by ASG leaders Radullan Sahiron, Abu Pula or Dr. Abu, and Albader Parad, and by JI bombers Dulmatin and Omar Patek.
Raw reports reaching the military indicate that Abu and Dulmatin were hurt during the fierce fighting last August 9 in Barangay Tambaking, Maimbung, Sulu.
“It will be easier for us since they will be slowed down by the wounded high-value targets,” Rafael said when asked of the impact of the reported wounded of Abu and Dulmatin.
But AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said “the downside (of the breaking up of the bandits) is that our forces will also be divided.”
AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. disclosed the group of bandits has already moved out of their original hideout in the island province where they were engaged last August 9.
“So now, what is being done is we are looking for them through intelligence and through patrols until we can locate them and engage them,” Esperon said.
So far, no clash has occurred since the August 9 incident.
Esperon said he has ordered Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who was tasked by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to oversee the theater of operations in Sulu and Basilan, to coordinate with the MNLF leadership, with which the Philippine government has entered into a peace pact in 1996, for the operations in Sulu.
“We’ll put up a contact point, coordination point… Meaning, those who are in one place are expected to be MNLF members, as identified by MNLF officials. Those who are not there are therefore lawless elements, Abu Sayyaf members, especially those with firearms,” Esperon said.
The proposed arrangement is expected to be finalized on Sunday, said Esperon.
“If we have those mechanisms on the ground, it is easier to conduct the operations,” he said.
The AFP has a total of eight Marine and Army battalions in Sulu to run after the Moslem rebels./DMS
August 17, 2007
The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Sulu, joined by renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and bombers of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) group, have broken into small groups due to the alleged wounding of their key leaders, a Philippine military commander said Friday.
“We received reports that they have splintered. They did this to avoid detection as a large group,” Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of the Sulu-based Joint Task Force Comet of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), told Camp Aguinaldo reporters in a phone interview yesterday.
The group is composed of more or less 120 persons, reportedly led by ASG leaders Radullan Sahiron, Abu Pula or Dr. Abu, and Albader Parad, and by JI bombers Dulmatin and Omar Patek.
Raw reports reaching the military indicate that Abu and Dulmatin were hurt during the fierce fighting last August 9 in Barangay Tambaking, Maimbung, Sulu.
“It will be easier for us since they will be slowed down by the wounded high-value targets,” Rafael said when asked of the impact of the reported wounded of Abu and Dulmatin.
But AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said “the downside (of the breaking up of the bandits) is that our forces will also be divided.”
AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. disclosed the group of bandits has already moved out of their original hideout in the island province where they were engaged last August 9.
“So now, what is being done is we are looking for them through intelligence and through patrols until we can locate them and engage them,” Esperon said.
So far, no clash has occurred since the August 9 incident.
Esperon said he has ordered Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who was tasked by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to oversee the theater of operations in Sulu and Basilan, to coordinate with the MNLF leadership, with which the Philippine government has entered into a peace pact in 1996, for the operations in Sulu.
“We’ll put up a contact point, coordination point… Meaning, those who are in one place are expected to be MNLF members, as identified by MNLF officials. Those who are not there are therefore lawless elements, Abu Sayyaf members, especially those with firearms,” Esperon said.
The proposed arrangement is expected to be finalized on Sunday, said Esperon.
“If we have those mechanisms on the ground, it is easier to conduct the operations,” he said.
The AFP has a total of eight Marine and Army battalions in Sulu to run after the Moslem rebels./DMS
Chief Justice says Writ of Amparo ready by September
By Ronron
August 17, 2007
Supreme Court (SC) chief justice Reynato Puno said Friday that the proposed Writ of Amparo, which is described as tougher than the Writ of Habeas Corpus for cases of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, is expected to be out next month.
The new Writ of Amparo is an aftermath of the national summit on extrajudicial killings sponsored by the SC last month.
“We hope to finish this Writ of Amparo, the new remedy, by next months time… This is the new remedy that will be crafted by the Supreme Court in order to address this problem of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances,” Puno said in an interview at Camp Crame.
“The Committee on the Revision on the Rules of Court of the Supreme Court has already met two times. And today, at 2pm, we are meeting for the third time,” he said.
Puno disclosed that the first draft of the Writ of Amparo is already available, but its final version is expected to be released by September.
“Under this new Writ of Amparo, it will not be enough for the State authorities, the State agents to deny that they have the body or the custody of the victims. This is the usual defense that is forwarded by the State authorities whenever victims file this petition for writ of habeas corpus,” Puno explained.
“And in a lot of instances, they are able to get away with it. Now, with this new Writ of Amparo, that defense will no longer be available,” he added.
According to Puno, agents of the government will be forced by the court to do something to locate the victim, and their activity will be monitored closely by the court.
Also, the Writ of Amparo will provide more remedies to victims or aggrieved parties, “like better witness protection, temporary protection orders, right to habeas data (an exercise to right to information,” and others, said Puno.
“In other words, if you have this right, it would be very very difficult for State agents, State authorities to be able to escape from their culpability,” he said.
Puno said the Writ of Amparo will set up a standard for the authorities to follow, which, if not complied with, can be met with “proper relieves” coming from the court.
Asked if the Writ of Amparo will be retroactive, considering that there are a number of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances cases in the last few years, especially since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed power in 2001, Puno said: “That will be subject to the approval of the members of the court. But there is no legal impediment to making the new rule retroactive.”
According to him, “remedial measures, as a general proposition, can be made retroactive without violating any Constitutional provision.”
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Task Force USIG has recorded over 100 cases of killings of militants and over 20 journalists’ killings in the country since 2001, a far low from close to 900 cases recorded by human rights group Karapatan.
The SC-sponsored national summit was held last July 16 and 17./DMS
August 17, 2007
Supreme Court (SC) chief justice Reynato Puno said Friday that the proposed Writ of Amparo, which is described as tougher than the Writ of Habeas Corpus for cases of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances, is expected to be out next month.
The new Writ of Amparo is an aftermath of the national summit on extrajudicial killings sponsored by the SC last month.
“We hope to finish this Writ of Amparo, the new remedy, by next months time… This is the new remedy that will be crafted by the Supreme Court in order to address this problem of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances,” Puno said in an interview at Camp Crame.
“The Committee on the Revision on the Rules of Court of the Supreme Court has already met two times. And today, at 2pm, we are meeting for the third time,” he said.
Puno disclosed that the first draft of the Writ of Amparo is already available, but its final version is expected to be released by September.
“Under this new Writ of Amparo, it will not be enough for the State authorities, the State agents to deny that they have the body or the custody of the victims. This is the usual defense that is forwarded by the State authorities whenever victims file this petition for writ of habeas corpus,” Puno explained.
“And in a lot of instances, they are able to get away with it. Now, with this new Writ of Amparo, that defense will no longer be available,” he added.
According to Puno, agents of the government will be forced by the court to do something to locate the victim, and their activity will be monitored closely by the court.
Also, the Writ of Amparo will provide more remedies to victims or aggrieved parties, “like better witness protection, temporary protection orders, right to habeas data (an exercise to right to information,” and others, said Puno.
“In other words, if you have this right, it would be very very difficult for State agents, State authorities to be able to escape from their culpability,” he said.
Puno said the Writ of Amparo will set up a standard for the authorities to follow, which, if not complied with, can be met with “proper relieves” coming from the court.
Asked if the Writ of Amparo will be retroactive, considering that there are a number of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances cases in the last few years, especially since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed power in 2001, Puno said: “That will be subject to the approval of the members of the court. But there is no legal impediment to making the new rule retroactive.”
According to him, “remedial measures, as a general proposition, can be made retroactive without violating any Constitutional provision.”
The Philippine National Police (PNP) Task Force USIG has recorded over 100 cases of killings of militants and over 20 journalists’ killings in the country since 2001, a far low from close to 900 cases recorded by human rights group Karapatan.
The SC-sponsored national summit was held last July 16 and 17./DMS
Friday, August 17, 2007
NPA leader captured, soldier wounded in separate clashes in Quezon
By Ronron
August 16, 2007
A suspected local leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Quezon province was captured while a government soldier was wounded in two separate clashes last Wednesday in said province, a military spokesman said yesterday (Thursday).
According to Captain Carlo Ferrer, information officer of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Tanay, Rizal, the first clash happened at 4:40 am at Sitio Pulo, Barangay Capulungan in Calauag town.
Ferrer said elements of the 21st Division Reconnaissance Company under the 74th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army were conducting combat operations in the area when they encountered some 30 NPA rebels.
“It was learned from a resident of said place that there are NPA rebels staying there, conducting extortion activities,” Ferrer said in Filipino.
He said the firefight resulted in the capture of a certain “Ka Alex,” a former platoon leader of the Plaguer Magtangol Front Committee and now a Barangay Revolutionary Committee Secretary of the NPA in said town.
A “fiberglass banca” allegedly owned by the suspected rebels was also recovered.
Later at around 7:10 am, another encounter between government troops and suspected communist rebels transpired in the tri-boundaries of Barangays Villa Victoria, Bungahan, and M. H. Del Pilar in Gumaca town, Ferrer said.
Ferrer said troops from the Reconnaissance Squad of the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion were verifying reports that NPA members are collecting revolutionary taxes in said area when they engaged the more or less 30 rebels.
“The 15-minute firefight resulted to the slightly wounding of Private First Class Lawrence Cabulos in the government side,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer said it is believed that an undetermined number of rebels were also wounded in the said incident.
The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla warfare in the countryside in the last 38 years with the aim of toppling the democratic form of government.
Peace talks between the movement and the government bogged down in August 2004 after the former was tagged as a terrorist by the governments of the United States and the European Union.
The government had said it hopes to crush the movement by 2010 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ends her term./DMS
August 16, 2007
A suspected local leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Quezon province was captured while a government soldier was wounded in two separate clashes last Wednesday in said province, a military spokesman said yesterday (Thursday).
According to Captain Carlo Ferrer, information officer of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Tanay, Rizal, the first clash happened at 4:40 am at Sitio Pulo, Barangay Capulungan in Calauag town.
Ferrer said elements of the 21st Division Reconnaissance Company under the 74th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army were conducting combat operations in the area when they encountered some 30 NPA rebels.
“It was learned from a resident of said place that there are NPA rebels staying there, conducting extortion activities,” Ferrer said in Filipino.
He said the firefight resulted in the capture of a certain “Ka Alex,” a former platoon leader of the Plaguer Magtangol Front Committee and now a Barangay Revolutionary Committee Secretary of the NPA in said town.
A “fiberglass banca” allegedly owned by the suspected rebels was also recovered.
Later at around 7:10 am, another encounter between government troops and suspected communist rebels transpired in the tri-boundaries of Barangays Villa Victoria, Bungahan, and M. H. Del Pilar in Gumaca town, Ferrer said.
Ferrer said troops from the Reconnaissance Squad of the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion were verifying reports that NPA members are collecting revolutionary taxes in said area when they engaged the more or less 30 rebels.
“The 15-minute firefight resulted to the slightly wounding of Private First Class Lawrence Cabulos in the government side,” Ferrer said.
Ferrer said it is believed that an undetermined number of rebels were also wounded in the said incident.
The 7,100-strong NPA has been waging guerilla warfare in the countryside in the last 38 years with the aim of toppling the democratic form of government.
Peace talks between the movement and the government bogged down in August 2004 after the former was tagged as a terrorist by the governments of the United States and the European Union.
The government had said it hopes to crush the movement by 2010 when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ends her term./DMS
AFP says JI bomber also hurt in August 9 clash in Sulu
By Ronron
August 16, 2007
After claiming that Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Abu Pula, alias Dr. Abu, was hurt in the August 9 clash against Army troopers in Sulu, the military said Thursday that Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomber Dulmatin was also wounded in said incident.
Dulmatin is an Indonesian who has a $10 million reward from the US government for his capture or neutralization due to his involvement in the Bali bombing in 2002 that killed more than 200 people, including American nationals.
The military has said that Dulmatin and fellow JI bomber Umar Patek, who also has a $1 million reward from the US government, are being coddled by ASG forces in Sulu, and were in fact part of the August 9 encounter in Maimbung town.
“We have reports on Dr. Abu. We have a report on Dulmatin,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told reporters yesterday when asked if the two were injured in the clash.
He said the report is based on accounts of the troops who operated in the area, as well of civilian residents.
“We don’t know yet where he (Dulmatin) was hit,” Esperon said.
Esperon said the report is continuously being verified by the troops in the field, like what they did when reports that ASG leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Solaiman, were hurt in last year’s clashes against government troops.
Esperon said if indeed the report is true, it is to the advantage of the government troops because the wounded high-value targets would now be a burden to the group.
“You could just imagine if you have a wounded companion. The tendency would be not really to engage in operations but simply to hide,” he said.
Esperon said this could be the reason why there is still no armed confrontation as of Thursday since the August 9 incident.
According to the military, 27 bandits were killed while 25 others were wounded during that clash, although only five dead bodies were recovered. The military, for its part, suffered 15 fatalities and nine wounded./DMS
August 16, 2007
After claiming that Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Abu Pula, alias Dr. Abu, was hurt in the August 9 clash against Army troopers in Sulu, the military said Thursday that Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) bomber Dulmatin was also wounded in said incident.
Dulmatin is an Indonesian who has a $10 million reward from the US government for his capture or neutralization due to his involvement in the Bali bombing in 2002 that killed more than 200 people, including American nationals.
The military has said that Dulmatin and fellow JI bomber Umar Patek, who also has a $1 million reward from the US government, are being coddled by ASG forces in Sulu, and were in fact part of the August 9 encounter in Maimbung town.
“We have reports on Dr. Abu. We have a report on Dulmatin,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. told reporters yesterday when asked if the two were injured in the clash.
He said the report is based on accounts of the troops who operated in the area, as well of civilian residents.
“We don’t know yet where he (Dulmatin) was hit,” Esperon said.
Esperon said the report is continuously being verified by the troops in the field, like what they did when reports that ASG leaders Khadaffy Janjalani and Jainal Antel Sali, alias Abu Solaiman, were hurt in last year’s clashes against government troops.
Esperon said if indeed the report is true, it is to the advantage of the government troops because the wounded high-value targets would now be a burden to the group.
“You could just imagine if you have a wounded companion. The tendency would be not really to engage in operations but simply to hide,” he said.
Esperon said this could be the reason why there is still no armed confrontation as of Thursday since the August 9 incident.
According to the military, 27 bandits were killed while 25 others were wounded during that clash, although only five dead bodies were recovered. The military, for its part, suffered 15 fatalities and nine wounded./DMS
Thursday, August 16, 2007
US forces not engaged in combat operations in Sulu – AFP
By Ronron
August 15, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) maintained on Wednesday that US troops in Sulu are not engaged in combat operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other lawless elements.
AFP information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters yesterday at Camp Aguinaldo that US forces in the southern island province are part of the RP-US Joint Special Operations Task Force engaged in trainings and assistance activities.
“Definitely, they are not involved in any combat operations,” Bacarro said.
The Philippine Constitution prohibits foreign troops from engaging in actual combat operations in the country.
Bacarro said the US forces maintain their presence in the south as provided for by the Mutual Defense Treaty of both countries.
A media report that came out yesterday claims that US forces aboard a Humvee armored jeep were seen leading a military convoy in Indanan last Tuesday. The report said the convoy was part of the Philippine Marines’ mission to hunt for the ASG.
Bacarro belied the report, saying: “I was informed that the reason, the mission of those troops is that they are going to conduct sight survey for Balikatan sites, particularly where they could conduct humanitarian assistance and other activities.”
He said a sight survey is part of the planning for the 2008 Balikatan exercises of the Philippine and American forces.
“We identify what are the projects needed for a barangay so there can be costing projections,” explained Bacarro.
Bacarro was not aware how many American forces are in Sulu, but he said that their role is just to “provide technical intelligence, training and civil-military operations” in the island./DMS
August 15, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) maintained on Wednesday that US troops in Sulu are not engaged in combat operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and other lawless elements.
AFP information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters yesterday at Camp Aguinaldo that US forces in the southern island province are part of the RP-US Joint Special Operations Task Force engaged in trainings and assistance activities.
“Definitely, they are not involved in any combat operations,” Bacarro said.
The Philippine Constitution prohibits foreign troops from engaging in actual combat operations in the country.
Bacarro said the US forces maintain their presence in the south as provided for by the Mutual Defense Treaty of both countries.
A media report that came out yesterday claims that US forces aboard a Humvee armored jeep were seen leading a military convoy in Indanan last Tuesday. The report said the convoy was part of the Philippine Marines’ mission to hunt for the ASG.
Bacarro belied the report, saying: “I was informed that the reason, the mission of those troops is that they are going to conduct sight survey for Balikatan sites, particularly where they could conduct humanitarian assistance and other activities.”
He said a sight survey is part of the planning for the 2008 Balikatan exercises of the Philippine and American forces.
“We identify what are the projects needed for a barangay so there can be costing projections,” explained Bacarro.
Bacarro was not aware how many American forces are in Sulu, but he said that their role is just to “provide technical intelligence, training and civil-military operations” in the island./DMS
“Egay” brings heavy downpour in Metro Manila, prompts cancellation of classes and government work
By Ronron
August 15, 2007
Typhoon “Egay” (International name: Sepat) brought heavy downpour on Wednesday in Metro Manila, mostly in the morning, causing flood in some parts of the capital that prompted the government to suspend classes at all levels and work in government offices.
According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), flooding occurred in parts of Quezon City, Marikina City, San Juan and Malabon City due to the incessant heavy downpour that began past 5am.
As of 12 noon yesterday, the NDCC said 44 families or 218 persons were displaced by the flooding. The breakdown is as follows: Seven families or 35 persons in San Juan; 23 families or 113 persons from Marikina City; and, 14 families or 70 persons from Malabon City.
The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education declared the suspension of the classes in Metro Manila past 9am.
At 1pm, cancellation of work at government offices also in the capital, except those that need to provide emergency assistance to the calamity, followed.
“The President has directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to assist in managing the traffic. We will be collaborating with the PNP (Philippine National Police),” military information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo at noon yesterday.
AFP National Capital Region Command chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino said six M35 trucks were deployed in Quezon City and Manila City to provide free transportation to commuters stranded in flooded routes.
Three rubber boats were also dispatched to Barangay Hagdang Bato in Mandaluyong City to assist flooded residents, he said.
And for Caloocan City, Dolorfino said an amphibious vehicle and one rubber boat were sent.
“We have no report of an untoward incident as of this time,” NDCC spokesman Dr. Anthony Golez told Camp Aguinaldo reporters at 4pm yesterday.
“So far, heavy downpour and flooding due to Egay were only reported in the National Capital Region,” he added.
“Egay” entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday and was moving yesterday westward. Public Storm Warning Signal Number 1 was declared in Catanduanes, Cagayan and Isabela provinces.
The national government weather station said residents along coastal areas under signal number one are alerted against big waves and storm surges generated by this typhoon. Likewise, those living in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes are advised to take all the necessary precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides.
Typhoon "EGAY" is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon, which will bring rains over Luzon and the Visayas, today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday).
The typhoon is expected to leave the PAR only on Saturday, based on its current movement./DMS
August 15, 2007
Typhoon “Egay” (International name: Sepat) brought heavy downpour on Wednesday in Metro Manila, mostly in the morning, causing flood in some parts of the capital that prompted the government to suspend classes at all levels and work in government offices.
According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), flooding occurred in parts of Quezon City, Marikina City, San Juan and Malabon City due to the incessant heavy downpour that began past 5am.
As of 12 noon yesterday, the NDCC said 44 families or 218 persons were displaced by the flooding. The breakdown is as follows: Seven families or 35 persons in San Juan; 23 families or 113 persons from Marikina City; and, 14 families or 70 persons from Malabon City.
The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education declared the suspension of the classes in Metro Manila past 9am.
At 1pm, cancellation of work at government offices also in the capital, except those that need to provide emergency assistance to the calamity, followed.
“The President has directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to assist in managing the traffic. We will be collaborating with the PNP (Philippine National Police),” military information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo at noon yesterday.
AFP National Capital Region Command chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino said six M35 trucks were deployed in Quezon City and Manila City to provide free transportation to commuters stranded in flooded routes.
Three rubber boats were also dispatched to Barangay Hagdang Bato in Mandaluyong City to assist flooded residents, he said.
And for Caloocan City, Dolorfino said an amphibious vehicle and one rubber boat were sent.
“We have no report of an untoward incident as of this time,” NDCC spokesman Dr. Anthony Golez told Camp Aguinaldo reporters at 4pm yesterday.
“So far, heavy downpour and flooding due to Egay were only reported in the National Capital Region,” he added.
“Egay” entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Tuesday and was moving yesterday westward. Public Storm Warning Signal Number 1 was declared in Catanduanes, Cagayan and Isabela provinces.
The national government weather station said residents along coastal areas under signal number one are alerted against big waves and storm surges generated by this typhoon. Likewise, those living in low-lying areas and near mountain slopes are advised to take all the necessary precautions against possible flashfloods and landslides.
Typhoon "EGAY" is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon, which will bring rains over Luzon and the Visayas, today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday).
The typhoon is expected to leave the PAR only on Saturday, based on its current movement./DMS
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Displaced persons in Basilan and Sulu swell
By Ronron
August 14, 2007
The number of internally displaced persons in Basilan and Sulu has swelled to close to 20,000 due to the imminent danger from the looming armed confrontation between government forces and Moslem rebels.
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glenn Rabonza said Tuesday that there are already 1,154 families or 7,474 persons displaced in Sulu, and 1,717 families or 10,794 persons in Basilan.
Those affected in Sulu are from the towns of Indanan, Parang ang Maimbung, all areas were the three-day clash last week happened, while those in Basilan are from the towns of Al-Barka, Tipo-tipo, Sumisip and Ungkaya Pukan.
“They have left their houses and stayed in communities with their relatives and friends,” Rabonza said of the displaced people.
“There is still no evacuation center as of this day. We just established food and relief distribution centers in the towns proper,” he added.
Asked why there is no evacuation center established yet, Rabonza said it is because the people preferred to stay with their relatives and friends.
“The local government has a plan to set up evacuation centers. It’s just that the people prefer to stay with their relatives and friends,” he said.
Tension has risen in Basilan following the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, wherein the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked Marine troopers passing by their territory without prior coordination. Fourteen soldiers were killed in said incident, 10 mutilated.
In Sulu, 27 soldiers died while a few others were injured when suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits and renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) clashed with and ambushed Army troopers from August 7 until August 9th./DMS
August 14, 2007
The number of internally displaced persons in Basilan and Sulu has swelled to close to 20,000 due to the imminent danger from the looming armed confrontation between government forces and Moslem rebels.
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glenn Rabonza said Tuesday that there are already 1,154 families or 7,474 persons displaced in Sulu, and 1,717 families or 10,794 persons in Basilan.
Those affected in Sulu are from the towns of Indanan, Parang ang Maimbung, all areas were the three-day clash last week happened, while those in Basilan are from the towns of Al-Barka, Tipo-tipo, Sumisip and Ungkaya Pukan.
“They have left their houses and stayed in communities with their relatives and friends,” Rabonza said of the displaced people.
“There is still no evacuation center as of this day. We just established food and relief distribution centers in the towns proper,” he added.
Asked why there is no evacuation center established yet, Rabonza said it is because the people preferred to stay with their relatives and friends.
“The local government has a plan to set up evacuation centers. It’s just that the people prefer to stay with their relatives and friends,” he said.
Tension has risen in Basilan following the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, wherein the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) attacked Marine troopers passing by their territory without prior coordination. Fourteen soldiers were killed in said incident, 10 mutilated.
In Sulu, 27 soldiers died while a few others were injured when suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits and renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) clashed with and ambushed Army troopers from August 7 until August 9th./DMS
Dry spell in Luzon except in Region 2 lifted
By Ronron
August 14, 2007
The government on Tuesday announced the lifting of the alarm for dry spell in the affected regions in Luzon, except in Region 2, with the onset of the rainy season due to the entry of weather disturbances.
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glenn Rabonza said that as of Monday, only Region 2 was being targeted for cloud-seeding operations.
NDCC spokesman Dr. Anthony Golez had said on July 26 that a dry spell was being felt in Regions 1, 2, 3, the Cordilleras, and parts of Regions 4 and 5 due to the abnormally low amount of rainfall hitting said areas.
Golez had warned then that if the dry spell continues in August and September, then a drought may be experienced in those areas.
“The dry spell did not reach the third month. Typhoon CHEDENG entered the country last August 6 so the rains stopped the dry spell,” Rabonza told reporters Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo.
“But Region 2 remains to have abnormally low level of rain so we resumed the cloud-seeding there yesterday (Monday),” he added.
Asked why there is no rain in Region 2, Rabonza said: “According to Undersecretary (Graciano) Yumul (of the Department of Science and Technology), the mountain ranges in the Cordillera prevented the monsoon rains to cross over (towards Region 2).”
Rabonza said he hopes the entry of typhoon “Egay” and the daily cloud-seeding operations in Region 2 will cure the dry spell in the area.
Rabonza said that while the dry spell will have an effect on the agricultural production in Luzon, he assured, quoting Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, that there will be no food shortage.
Rabonza had defined the “dry spell” as an abnormal situation because it happened at a time when the country is supposed to be wet./DMS
August 14, 2007
The government on Tuesday announced the lifting of the alarm for dry spell in the affected regions in Luzon, except in Region 2, with the onset of the rainy season due to the entry of weather disturbances.
National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) Executive Officer Glenn Rabonza said that as of Monday, only Region 2 was being targeted for cloud-seeding operations.
NDCC spokesman Dr. Anthony Golez had said on July 26 that a dry spell was being felt in Regions 1, 2, 3, the Cordilleras, and parts of Regions 4 and 5 due to the abnormally low amount of rainfall hitting said areas.
Golez had warned then that if the dry spell continues in August and September, then a drought may be experienced in those areas.
“The dry spell did not reach the third month. Typhoon CHEDENG entered the country last August 6 so the rains stopped the dry spell,” Rabonza told reporters Tuesday at Camp Aguinaldo.
“But Region 2 remains to have abnormally low level of rain so we resumed the cloud-seeding there yesterday (Monday),” he added.
Asked why there is no rain in Region 2, Rabonza said: “According to Undersecretary (Graciano) Yumul (of the Department of Science and Technology), the mountain ranges in the Cordillera prevented the monsoon rains to cross over (towards Region 2).”
Rabonza said he hopes the entry of typhoon “Egay” and the daily cloud-seeding operations in Region 2 will cure the dry spell in the area.
Rabonza said that while the dry spell will have an effect on the agricultural production in Luzon, he assured, quoting Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, that there will be no food shortage.
Rabonza had defined the “dry spell” as an abnormal situation because it happened at a time when the country is supposed to be wet./DMS
AFP gives conflicting reports about ASG leader’s condition following August 9 encounter in Sulu
By Ronron
August 14, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is giving contradicting reports whether or not Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Dr. Abu Pula was hurt in the August 9 encounter against Army troopers.
AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said “Dr. Abu” was reportedly wounded, but Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. and Sulu-based Army commander Col. Mark Antonio Supnet of the 104th Infantry Brigade belied it.
Bacarro said the Army troopers from the 33rd Infantry Battalion even recovered the personal medical kit of Dr. Abu, which has his name on it.
Torres and Supnet, in separate interviews, said, however, the report is not yet confirmed.
“It’s just a rumor here,” Supnet said when reached by phone yesterday.
Bacarro said the report he got is based from “commanders on the field,” quoting intelligence information.
“With the validated report that Dr. Abu was wounded during one of the encounters, of course, definitely, this will have an effect in the movement of the group. They won’t be leaving their commander and they will be protecting their commander,” Bacarro told a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo.
He said that being the paramedic of the group, Abu’s injured condition will also take its toll on their members who will be hurt during operations.
Bacarro said that Abu was with the two other top leaders of the ASG – Albader Parad and Radullan Sahiron, during the encounter on August 9 at Barangay Tambaking in Maimbung town. There were a total of 120 ASG and suspected renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in that encounter.
“There are no reports relative to (Parad and Sahiron) being wounded. The report we received is only Dr. Abu,” Bacarro said.
Bacarro would not disclose the whereabouts of the bandits but he said the AFP has identified their general location.
“We are taking advantage of the situation wherein we are able to locate, identify the general location of our three high-value targets… There are efforts now to run after them, and we will continue running after them until such time that we engage them again,” Bacarro said.
“As of now, we do believe that they are still together in that area,” he added.
Supnet said that as of yesterday, there was still no armed confrontation between the terrorists and the government troops.
The three-day fighting last week in Sulu has claimed the lives of 27 soldiers and reportedly of 32 bandits.
The firefight came as the government troops were also pre-occupied in Basilan, running after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members suspected of being behind the death of 14 Marines soldiers in Al-Barka town last July 10. Ten of the soldiers were mutilated./DMS
August 14, 2007
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is giving contradicting reports whether or not Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader Dr. Abu Pula was hurt in the August 9 encounter against Army troopers.
AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said “Dr. Abu” was reportedly wounded, but Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. and Sulu-based Army commander Col. Mark Antonio Supnet of the 104th Infantry Brigade belied it.
Bacarro said the Army troopers from the 33rd Infantry Battalion even recovered the personal medical kit of Dr. Abu, which has his name on it.
Torres and Supnet, in separate interviews, said, however, the report is not yet confirmed.
“It’s just a rumor here,” Supnet said when reached by phone yesterday.
Bacarro said the report he got is based from “commanders on the field,” quoting intelligence information.
“With the validated report that Dr. Abu was wounded during one of the encounters, of course, definitely, this will have an effect in the movement of the group. They won’t be leaving their commander and they will be protecting their commander,” Bacarro told a news conference at Camp Aguinaldo.
He said that being the paramedic of the group, Abu’s injured condition will also take its toll on their members who will be hurt during operations.
Bacarro said that Abu was with the two other top leaders of the ASG – Albader Parad and Radullan Sahiron, during the encounter on August 9 at Barangay Tambaking in Maimbung town. There were a total of 120 ASG and suspected renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in that encounter.
“There are no reports relative to (Parad and Sahiron) being wounded. The report we received is only Dr. Abu,” Bacarro said.
Bacarro would not disclose the whereabouts of the bandits but he said the AFP has identified their general location.
“We are taking advantage of the situation wherein we are able to locate, identify the general location of our three high-value targets… There are efforts now to run after them, and we will continue running after them until such time that we engage them again,” Bacarro said.
“As of now, we do believe that they are still together in that area,” he added.
Supnet said that as of yesterday, there was still no armed confrontation between the terrorists and the government troops.
The three-day fighting last week in Sulu has claimed the lives of 27 soldiers and reportedly of 32 bandits.
The firefight came as the government troops were also pre-occupied in Basilan, running after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members suspected of being behind the death of 14 Marines soldiers in Al-Barka town last July 10. Ten of the soldiers were mutilated./DMS
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Defense Secretary briefly piloted military plane with remains of fallen soldier in Sulu
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Esperon hints of Arroyo’s dissatisfaction of troops’ performance in Western Mindanao following the series of heavy casualties inflicted on military
By Ronron
August 13, 2007
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), is apparently dissatisfied with the performance of commanders in Western Mindanao with the heavy casualties inflicted by Moslem rebels on government troops there.
Asked yesterday at a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo if the special assignment of Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino to Zamboanga City to oversee operations in the south indicates Arroyo’s dissatisfaction with the performance of the troops there, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said: “I can take it in that light. I can also take it in the light that she is concerned about our troops.”
Asked of the same question but directed to him, Esperon said: “I have my way of telling them (commanders in Western Mindanao Command) if I’m satisfied or not but I won’t do it in public.”
Esperon admitted that there were lapses by Army troopers in Sulu, particularly those ambushed in the morning of August 9 in Indanan town.
“When you are ambushed, that in itself is a lapse… Those are tactical lapses at the level of company commanders or battalion commanders. That is why this is investigated to see who is responsible and who are supposed to be made accountable,” he said.
“We have taken corrective measures by reinforcing the security that we have along our military supply routes or our main supply lines so that we could in the future avoid or prevent these kinds of ambushes, ambuscades,” he added.
Esperon recounted that the 11-man team from the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion were aboard a truck on an administrative and logistical run when ambushed by suspected ASG rebels and renegade MNLF fighters. Nine soldiers died on the spot, and the remaining two others expired while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The ambush came a day after Army troops clashed with Moslem rebels in Parang town where one soldier and four rebels were killed, and five other soldiers were wounded. It was also followed later in the day by an intense firefight in Maimbung town where 15 soldiers died and nine others were injured.
Esperon had earlier said that suffering casualties on the part of the government is expected already since that it part of their job.
He said yesterday that the public should take Arroyo’s order regarding Tolentino’s special task as something “for the good of the service, for the good of the organization.”/DMS
August 13, 2007
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), is apparently dissatisfied with the performance of commanders in Western Mindanao with the heavy casualties inflicted by Moslem rebels on government troops there.
Asked yesterday at a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo if the special assignment of Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino to Zamboanga City to oversee operations in the south indicates Arroyo’s dissatisfaction with the performance of the troops there, Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said: “I can take it in that light. I can also take it in the light that she is concerned about our troops.”
Asked of the same question but directed to him, Esperon said: “I have my way of telling them (commanders in Western Mindanao Command) if I’m satisfied or not but I won’t do it in public.”
Esperon admitted that there were lapses by Army troopers in Sulu, particularly those ambushed in the morning of August 9 in Indanan town.
“When you are ambushed, that in itself is a lapse… Those are tactical lapses at the level of company commanders or battalion commanders. That is why this is investigated to see who is responsible and who are supposed to be made accountable,” he said.
“We have taken corrective measures by reinforcing the security that we have along our military supply routes or our main supply lines so that we could in the future avoid or prevent these kinds of ambushes, ambuscades,” he added.
Esperon recounted that the 11-man team from the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion were aboard a truck on an administrative and logistical run when ambushed by suspected ASG rebels and renegade MNLF fighters. Nine soldiers died on the spot, and the remaining two others expired while undergoing treatment at the hospital.
The ambush came a day after Army troops clashed with Moslem rebels in Parang town where one soldier and four rebels were killed, and five other soldiers were wounded. It was also followed later in the day by an intense firefight in Maimbung town where 15 soldiers died and nine others were injured.
Esperon had earlier said that suffering casualties on the part of the government is expected already since that it part of their job.
He said yesterday that the public should take Arroyo’s order regarding Tolentino’s special task as something “for the good of the service, for the good of the organization.”/DMS
Defense Secretary talks tough to bandits in Mindanao: Surrender is only your saving grace
By Ronron
August 13, 2007
Responding to calls for an end to the military operations in Sulu and nearby terror-stricken provinces, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said Monday at Camp Aguinaldo that the offensives against Moslem rebels in Western Mindanao will only stop if they are neutralized or they raise the white flag.
Teodoro issued the statement in a news conference after he was given a briefing by the top brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) led by chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. about the military’s internal affairs and operations in the field.
“We cannot stop operations against the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) and lawless elements. The only time perhaps that military operations can cease is if the ASG puts down their arms and surrender to the fold of the law,” said Teodoro, who was sworn in as Defense Secretary last August 8.
Teodoro said halting the pursuit operations against the rebels in Sulu, Basilan and other terrorists’ laden areas would be “shirking our sworn duties under the Constitution.”
“We must go after these elements with the full force of the law taking due regard and careful regard to possible collateral damage and to make sure that the communities are affected the least possible degree,” he said.
The Defense chief bared President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order for the AFP to proceed with the operations, but with “special care” so as not disrupt also the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front.
The MILF has been dragged into the issue because its members are being hunted for the death of 14 Marine soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated, during the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, Basilan.
The MNLF, on the other hand, has renegade members who were with the ASG during the series of encounters and ambush last week in Indanan, Parang, and Maimbung towns in Sulu. It is believed that the mixed group are also coddling the wanted Jemaah Islamiyah bomb experts, Dulmatin and Omar Patek.
“The instruction of the President is to take special care in the conduct of these operations so as not to disrupt the peace process and precisely why yesterday, a dialogue with the local officials at my level has occurred, and the dialogue with the GRP-MILF negotiating panels as well as the International Monitoring Team is continuing,” Teodoro said.
With this directive, Teodoro said he is confident the military operations will not jeopardize the peace efforts with the MILF, and the peace pact with the MNLF.
Teodoro visited Basilan, Sulu and the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City on Sunday, together with the top brass of the AFP to assess the situation and meet with local chief executives of the province.
“We involved the local officials in a dialogue. They have articulated their concerns. I have given the request to the Armed Forces to reinforce the dialogue, continuous dialogue with the local officials. As a matter of fact, I myself am available to them anytime because the local officials are the arms of the law in those communities and they know their communities better than anybody,” he said.
Esperon, in the same press briefing yesterday, said Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who was tasked no less by Arroyo to oversee the operations in Sulu, will act as adviser to the operations commander.
“He can immediately serve as adviser, which he has been. But in some instances, his recommendation can be taken as an order. He has my full authority anyway,” Esperon said of Tolentino, who, incidentally, will already retire on August 24.
In an earlier interview, Tolentino foresees to accomplish his task within 10 days, or on August 22, two days before his retirement. “I think this (operation) will only be for a time. The rule of law must prevail. For me, (give me) 10 days.”
Esperon said they will take advantage of Tolentino’s “wealth of knowledge” about Sulu because he was once based there when he commanded the 104th Army Infantry Brigade in 2001.
But when asked when will the government forces finally end the ASG problem, Teodoro only said yesterday: “The instruction is at the soonest possible time but of course, we have many considerations and that rests on the judgment of the operational commander in the area.”/DMS
August 13, 2007
Responding to calls for an end to the military operations in Sulu and nearby terror-stricken provinces, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said Monday at Camp Aguinaldo that the offensives against Moslem rebels in Western Mindanao will only stop if they are neutralized or they raise the white flag.
Teodoro issued the statement in a news conference after he was given a briefing by the top brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) led by chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. about the military’s internal affairs and operations in the field.
“We cannot stop operations against the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) and lawless elements. The only time perhaps that military operations can cease is if the ASG puts down their arms and surrender to the fold of the law,” said Teodoro, who was sworn in as Defense Secretary last August 8.
Teodoro said halting the pursuit operations against the rebels in Sulu, Basilan and other terrorists’ laden areas would be “shirking our sworn duties under the Constitution.”
“We must go after these elements with the full force of the law taking due regard and careful regard to possible collateral damage and to make sure that the communities are affected the least possible degree,” he said.
The Defense chief bared President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s order for the AFP to proceed with the operations, but with “special care” so as not disrupt also the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front.
The MILF has been dragged into the issue because its members are being hunted for the death of 14 Marine soldiers, 10 of whom were mutilated, during the July 10 incident in Al-Barka, Basilan.
The MNLF, on the other hand, has renegade members who were with the ASG during the series of encounters and ambush last week in Indanan, Parang, and Maimbung towns in Sulu. It is believed that the mixed group are also coddling the wanted Jemaah Islamiyah bomb experts, Dulmatin and Omar Patek.
“The instruction of the President is to take special care in the conduct of these operations so as not to disrupt the peace process and precisely why yesterday, a dialogue with the local officials at my level has occurred, and the dialogue with the GRP-MILF negotiating panels as well as the International Monitoring Team is continuing,” Teodoro said.
With this directive, Teodoro said he is confident the military operations will not jeopardize the peace efforts with the MILF, and the peace pact with the MNLF.
Teodoro visited Basilan, Sulu and the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City on Sunday, together with the top brass of the AFP to assess the situation and meet with local chief executives of the province.
“We involved the local officials in a dialogue. They have articulated their concerns. I have given the request to the Armed Forces to reinforce the dialogue, continuous dialogue with the local officials. As a matter of fact, I myself am available to them anytime because the local officials are the arms of the law in those communities and they know their communities better than anybody,” he said.
Esperon, in the same press briefing yesterday, said Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino, who was tasked no less by Arroyo to oversee the operations in Sulu, will act as adviser to the operations commander.
“He can immediately serve as adviser, which he has been. But in some instances, his recommendation can be taken as an order. He has my full authority anyway,” Esperon said of Tolentino, who, incidentally, will already retire on August 24.
In an earlier interview, Tolentino foresees to accomplish his task within 10 days, or on August 22, two days before his retirement. “I think this (operation) will only be for a time. The rule of law must prevail. For me, (give me) 10 days.”
Esperon said they will take advantage of Tolentino’s “wealth of knowledge” about Sulu because he was once based there when he commanded the 104th Army Infantry Brigade in 2001.
But when asked when will the government forces finally end the ASG problem, Teodoro only said yesterday: “The instruction is at the soonest possible time but of course, we have many considerations and that rests on the judgment of the operational commander in the area.”/DMS
Monday, August 13, 2007
Mission to recover remains of Japanese soldiers revives pain
By Ronron
August 10, 2007
Tacloban City, Leyte - More than 60 years since the World
War II erupted and ended, the Japanese government is still continuing
to this day the gathering of the remains of its fallen soldiers in
other countries with the prodding of the bereaved families.
Starting late July until this weekend, a two-man mission sent by the
Japanese government to the Philippines began information-gathering
activity in this province about the place of burial of Japanese
soldiers killed during the said war that happened in the 1940's.
Although admitting the irony that the Japanese, whose soldiers were
characterized as brutal during their occupation in the Philippines, is
now seeking the help of the Filipino people, some Filipino elderly
expressed willingness to cooperate with the mission.
"It's alright. I don't object (to the mission)," said Joaquin
Cabangisan, 84, a Leyte-based guerilla during the war who still feels
angry to this date against the Japanese people because of the brutal
death of his guerilla uncle under the hands of the Japanese soldiers.
The mission, composed of Toshio Takano and Kazuhiko Nishiyama of the
Nippon Izokukai or the Japan War-Bereaved Families Association,
arrived in Manila last July 30 and began working on the following day
in Leyte. They ended the mission over the weekend after covering nine
towns – Carigara, Capoocan, Tunga, Jaro, Alang-alang, Sta. Fe, Palo,
Tabontabon, and Dagami.
"The Japanese government undertakes projects to collect remains in
response to strong requests from the surviving families of fallen
servicemen, base on the Japanese custom of returning the remains of
deceased persons to their families to conduct proper rites for the
comfort of their souls," reads a statement from the Japanese Embassy
in Manila about the mission.
In his talks with the local chief executives and elderly residents of
Alang-alang and Sta. Fe last August 7, Takano said they hope to
account for the remains of some 385,000 Japanese soldiers in the
Philippines, which form part of the estimated total of 518,000
Japanese servicemen killed in the country during the second World War.
Takano, the Assistant Director of the Nippon Izokukai, himself lost an
uncle in February 1945 at Clark in Pampanga whose remains also have
yet to be returned to Japan.
He said that in Leyte alone, approximately 79,000 Japanese servicemen
lost their lives during the war, about 64,000 of whom have yet to be
unearthed and returned to Japan.
Takano said the mission was started by the Japanese government in
1952, but it was only in 1958 that it kicked off in the Philippines.
The delay was attributed to the hatred then of the Filipinos for the
Japanese because of the abuse of the latters' soldiers during their
occupation in the country.
Similar missions are being held in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
Records furnished by the embassy showed that last week's mission was
the 38th in the Philippines. It falls within the second of a
three-year plan to intensify the information-gathering activity, upon
which the Japanese government will base its assessment as to the
future of the mission.
Because of the difficulty in achieving the purpose of the mission, the
Japanese government is also considering the demand of the Japanese
people for the return of the soldiers' remains.
The records would show that the number of reliable information about
the location of graves of killed Japanese soldiers in the country has
started to decline in 1997. This is because of the decline as well of
possible reliable sources, which, in this case, are the elderly people
who were still alive during the time of the World War II.
Last year, the mission focused in six provinces in Luzon, where some
272,500 Japanese soldiers' remains are believed to have been buried.
The mission would involve seeking the assistance of the local chief
executive in conveying its purpose to the elderly people and others
who have personal knowledge about the location of a burial site of a
Japanese soldier. If an information is available, it is requested to
be given to the local chief executive, or to the Japanese Embassy in
Manila, or directly to Nippon Izokukai.
After a few months, probably in November or December, another team
will come back to verify the information provided.
Cabangisan, who heads the group of veteran guerillas or soldiers in
Alang-alang town, said he himself does not know of a place where a
Japanese soldier could have been buried.
But his member and fellow former guerilla, Ignacio Ayo, 80, also of
Alang-alang, claims he knows a site near the central school of the
town. "Yes, I saw this graveyard where Japanese soldiers were being
buried in 1942… I can point that place today," he told Manila Shimbun
in the Waray dialect.
Juanito Pedrera, 83, another former guerilla, claimed of knowing a
gravesite for Japanese soldiers but he said he is certain there are no
more remains there because the surviving Japanese soldiers would get
them and bring them somewhere else.
Cabangisan said even if he is not happy with the presence of the
Japanese up to this day because of what they did to his uncle, he
would still help the mission by not preventing his fellow ex-guerillas
to cooperate out of humanitarian reasons.
Cabangisan claims his uncle, who was a "mayor" guerilla, was held
captive by the Japanese soldiers for three days sometime in 1943, and
was tortured by exposing him to direct sunlight, and slicing his body
and sprinkling salt to the wounds while still under the heat of the
sun. His life would be ended on the third day with several bullets.
"From that time till now, I am not contented with the presence of the
Japanese… I cant' forget the brutality they (Japanese soldiers)
inflicted on (my uncle)… How can I forgive them," Cabangisan told
Manila Shimbun.
In Sta. Fe, none of the estimated 30 elderly residents who attended
the meeting with Takano and Nishiyama claimed to have personal
knowledge about a gravesite for Japanese soldiers.
But the town's health officer, Dr. Josefina Balderian, 58, said she
would be willing to escort the mission to a tunnel in their property
in Dagami town, which the Japanese soldiers reportedly used as hideout
during the time of the war. The information was relayed to her by her
father, Alejandro Balderian, a known fierce guerilla in Leyte during
the Japanese occupation era.
Balderian said she would help even as she had two painful stories
about the Japanese soldiers and her ancestors caused by her father's
position then.
The first she shared was about the alleged abduction of the Japanese
soldiers of the first-born baby of her parents. Balderian said that
her mother was snatched by Japanese soldiers on the ninth month of her
first pregnancy after she refused to reveal the location of Alejandro.
When she gave birth, the Japanese soldiers interpreted a mark on the
male infant's body as a sign of a good leader, prompting them to keep
the baby. Balderian said her mother was just told by the soldiers
that the baby died. Her mother would be rescued later by her father
from the Japanese.
But months after the incident, it was the parents of both her mother
and father who fell again into the hands of the Japanese after their
refusal too to disclose the location of her father. The old folks
were allegedly tortured by their captors, the worst of it was tying
them to a horse that would drag them on the ground to their death.
"I feel very sad now as I share these stories because I could imagine
the situation of my grandparents then… And up to now, we still hope
for our eldest sibling to come home as shared by our father before he
died in 1987," Balderian said in a separate interview with Manila
Shimbun.
"Yes, it's an irony that they are now asking for our help. But it's
okay, I'm willing to help them. I have no problem with that… We're
just humans, and I'm purely Catholic. So, it's (painful experience)
all in the mind now. We forgive them," she added while speaking also
in Waray.
Takano, in behalf of the Japanese people, asked for forgiveness for
what Badlerian's ancestors went through under the hands of the
Japanese, especially that up to now, her family also has yet to
recover the remains of her four grandparents.
To this, Balderian said: "Don't be afraid. No hard feelings.
There's nothing to worry. We are friends."
After their mission in Alang-alang and Sta. Fe, Takano told Manila
Shimbun that it has indeed become more difficult now to gather
information because some veterans who may have more reliable
information have already died due to old age.
Aside from this, Takano expressed worry that it would be similarly
difficult as well to unearth remains of Japanese soldiers and later
identify them because the tropical climate in the Philippines could
affect the condition of skeletons.
Takano said they have not much sure information gathered during this
mission, with only five to six that they hope to verify in the coming
months. He said that in last year's mission, they only had almost 50
information but almost all are hearsays.
He disclosed that when the mission for this year ends in March of
2008, they will target the Cordillera provinces like Ifugao and
Mountain Province, among others. Aside from Luzon, the identified
areas where several Japanese soldiers allegedly died during and after
the war are Negros (11,200), Panay (1,200), Cebu (11,700), Mindanao
(63,700), and others (78,700).
During the first mission in 1958, the mission successfully recovered
2,561 remains. From that time, a total of 133,056 remains have been
brought back to Japan. Some were identified, the rest were not.
"Just like you, Filipinos, we, Japanese, also value the remains of our
loved ones. So, we hope you could help us," Takano had said in the
meetings in Alang-alang and Sta. Fe.
Takano said that while a three-year plan had been laid out by the
Japanese government, it does not mean that the mission will already
end after the last fiscal year of 2008-2009. "As long as there are
reliable information, the project will continue," he said./DMS
Guinsaugon landslide victims find love in each other
By Ronron
August 12, 2007
Victims of the massive landslide last year in Southern Leyte province have found comfort and love in each other as they try to get over the pain of losing their loved ones.
For Levi Pagulong, 42, one of the 19 living survivors of the February 17, 2006 tragedy at Barangay Guinsaugon in St. Bernard town, starting to live a new life with fellow victim Arcile Japson, 26, has helped each of them move on from the grief they were in for months since the incident happened.
Pagulong and Japson met at the Cristo Rey High School at the town proper where all victims of the landslide were temporarily billeted after the tragedy struck. The former lost his wife and four children in the incident, while the latter lost her parents, four siblings, and a child.
They started living together in August last year and now, they have a baby girl named Lovely, who will turn three-months-old this August 20th. The couple, however, has yet to get married.
“It helps that I have found her (Japson) because at least, I now have a new reason to live, much more now because of our daughter,” Pagulong said in the Cebuano dialect when Manila Shimbun visited them last August 8 at their temporary residence at the New Guinsaugon Village in Barangay Magbagacay, St. Bernard.
“I’m happy because she takes care of me too, especially if I am tired from work,” he added.
Manila Shimbun first encountered Pagulong when he was presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the latter’s visit to the landslide site a few days after the incident. Many were moved and fell for him when they learned that he virtually fed by accident his three-year-old daughter to the creeping death as they were both struggling to get through the flowing thick mud right inside their residence.
Lolito Paler, 38, also suffered the same fate as that of Pagulong, and went on to follow the latter without having an agreement in entering into another relationship.
Paler’s new wife, Nerissa, 32, told Manila Shimbun that the former’s wife and two children were also buried alive by the landslide in Barangay Guinsaugon.
“When I met him last year in Hinundayan (a town near St. Bernard) where he worked as a construction worker, I would really see him get drunk most of the time. And he would repeatedly express his grief over the loss of his family, the remains of whom have remained under the rubbles,” Nerissa shared, speaking in Cebuano.
The Paler’s started living together in August last year, and married in May of this year.
Both the Pagulong’s and Paler’s admitted they are aware of talks coming from other people that pass judgment on their decision to get romantically involved that soon.
“Although it (having new partners) is not officially banned, but you cannot stop people from saying that it is to some extent disrespectful to your loved ones who passed away when you don’t wait for a year to pass since the incident happened,” said a lady resident from an adjacent village who wished not to be identified.
But this kind of comment is not taken seriously by Pagulong and Paler.
“During our wedding day, he hardly smiles and expresses sweet gestures towards me because he was having mixed emotions – he still has in his mind his family, he is excited to start a new life with me, and he is wary about what other people might say. But I understand that. So I was the one joking around to make him more at ease,” Paler said of her husband.
“What is important is the feeling of yearning for my loved ones who passed away is assuaged by the ones who have replaced them,” Pagulong said for his part.
Pagulong admitted that up to these days, he still remembers the incident and misses his family, especially on occasions that he is alone, with nothing to do.
He said he even remembers his young children when he plays with Lovely because the former used to sit on his tummy and chest when he plays with them when he is not on the farmland.
“Sometimes, I really see him cry when he remembers his family. But I boost him up by telling him that his tears will not bring back the lives of his family. And then, I try to talk about lighter things to divert his thoughts,” Paler said of her husband.
Pagulong and Paler admitted that the memories of the tragedy and their loved ones will never be gone but their new partners and family now will always serve as part of the therapy who dictate them to keep going in life and face the days ahead of them.
Over a hundred persons were recovered dead when Guinsaugon was covered by the landslide but almost a thousand others were buried alive and have been decided to be no longer unearthed./DMS
August 12, 2007
Victims of the massive landslide last year in Southern Leyte province have found comfort and love in each other as they try to get over the pain of losing their loved ones.
For Levi Pagulong, 42, one of the 19 living survivors of the February 17, 2006 tragedy at Barangay Guinsaugon in St. Bernard town, starting to live a new life with fellow victim Arcile Japson, 26, has helped each of them move on from the grief they were in for months since the incident happened.
Pagulong and Japson met at the Cristo Rey High School at the town proper where all victims of the landslide were temporarily billeted after the tragedy struck. The former lost his wife and four children in the incident, while the latter lost her parents, four siblings, and a child.
They started living together in August last year and now, they have a baby girl named Lovely, who will turn three-months-old this August 20th. The couple, however, has yet to get married.
“It helps that I have found her (Japson) because at least, I now have a new reason to live, much more now because of our daughter,” Pagulong said in the Cebuano dialect when Manila Shimbun visited them last August 8 at their temporary residence at the New Guinsaugon Village in Barangay Magbagacay, St. Bernard.
“I’m happy because she takes care of me too, especially if I am tired from work,” he added.
Manila Shimbun first encountered Pagulong when he was presented to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the latter’s visit to the landslide site a few days after the incident. Many were moved and fell for him when they learned that he virtually fed by accident his three-year-old daughter to the creeping death as they were both struggling to get through the flowing thick mud right inside their residence.
Lolito Paler, 38, also suffered the same fate as that of Pagulong, and went on to follow the latter without having an agreement in entering into another relationship.
Paler’s new wife, Nerissa, 32, told Manila Shimbun that the former’s wife and two children were also buried alive by the landslide in Barangay Guinsaugon.
“When I met him last year in Hinundayan (a town near St. Bernard) where he worked as a construction worker, I would really see him get drunk most of the time. And he would repeatedly express his grief over the loss of his family, the remains of whom have remained under the rubbles,” Nerissa shared, speaking in Cebuano.
The Paler’s started living together in August last year, and married in May of this year.
Both the Pagulong’s and Paler’s admitted they are aware of talks coming from other people that pass judgment on their decision to get romantically involved that soon.
“Although it (having new partners) is not officially banned, but you cannot stop people from saying that it is to some extent disrespectful to your loved ones who passed away when you don’t wait for a year to pass since the incident happened,” said a lady resident from an adjacent village who wished not to be identified.
But this kind of comment is not taken seriously by Pagulong and Paler.
“During our wedding day, he hardly smiles and expresses sweet gestures towards me because he was having mixed emotions – he still has in his mind his family, he is excited to start a new life with me, and he is wary about what other people might say. But I understand that. So I was the one joking around to make him more at ease,” Paler said of her husband.
“What is important is the feeling of yearning for my loved ones who passed away is assuaged by the ones who have replaced them,” Pagulong said for his part.
Pagulong admitted that up to these days, he still remembers the incident and misses his family, especially on occasions that he is alone, with nothing to do.
He said he even remembers his young children when he plays with Lovely because the former used to sit on his tummy and chest when he plays with them when he is not on the farmland.
“Sometimes, I really see him cry when he remembers his family. But I boost him up by telling him that his tears will not bring back the lives of his family. And then, I try to talk about lighter things to divert his thoughts,” Paler said of her husband.
Pagulong and Paler admitted that the memories of the tragedy and their loved ones will never be gone but their new partners and family now will always serve as part of the therapy who dictate them to keep going in life and face the days ahead of them.
Over a hundred persons were recovered dead when Guinsaugon was covered by the landslide but almost a thousand others were buried alive and have been decided to be no longer unearthed./DMS
Employee of Mindanao bus line under threat abducted in South Cotabato
By Ronron
August 12, 2007
An employee of a bus line in Mindanao that has been under attack by an alleged extortionist group was abducted Saturday night in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, police said.
City police director Supt. Florendo Quidilla, Jr. identified the victim as Jaime Rosios, 44, a mechanic of Yellow Bus Line (YBL), which is based along the General Santos Drive highway of said city.
Quidilla told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview yesterday that Rosios was on his way home to General Santos City, waiting for a bus outside the YBL’s Garage, when abducted by three men at gunpoint at around 7:05 pm.
The incident happened on the same day that YBL resumed its operations, which stopped following the twin explosions last August 4 at its terminal located also along General Santos Drive highway, about a kilometer away from the garage. One person was killed and many others were hurt in that incident, triggered allegedly by the company’s refusal to heed ot extortion demands of a local group.
“He (Rosios) was peeing beside the road when the suspects aboard a Tamaraw FX arrived and took him. The vehicle left towards the direction of General Santos City,” Quidilla said in Filipino.
Rosios was with a co-employee at that time but the latter was spared from the abduction. Another fellow employee some seven meters away saw the incident, said Quidilla.
Asked for the motive of the incident, Quidilla said: “We are still investigating this case. We don’t want to speculate at this time.”
He said investigators from the city police are now talking to Rosios’ family and co-employees to get some leads.
Quidilla noted that the abductors did not leave any word when they took Rosios and no one has so far owned up to the abduction as of Sunday.
But Quidilla admitted that a few days after the August 4 bombings, the operation’s manager of YBL received a text message from an anonymous sender, posing a threat against the company’s employees.
“This is the first time that the attack was actually directed towards an employee of YBL. But the company is not just facing problems about the bombings because there is also labor unrest within,” Quidilla said.
He said he still have to talk with the operations manager about the likelihood that the text message has something to do with Saturday’s incident.
Asked about the security of the YBL units that are now plying its routes in Mindanao, Quidilla said: “We have in place some security measures like inspection by our policemen and their guards at the terminals and bus-stops. We also have three checkpoints along the Koronadal City – Tacurong City route.”
Admitting that no policemen were assigned to marshal the bus units during their travel, Quidilla said they have asked instead the bus drivers not to pick up passengers at areas not designated as bus stops or terminals.
“We have told the management that to contain the threat against them, it requires shared responsibility. There should be participation also by the management and the employees,” Quidilla said.
On July 7, a YBL unit was bombed at its terminal, which, fortunately, left no one hurt.
The second bombing of a YBL unit happened 11 days later at the public bus terminal of Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province, leaving two persons slightly injured.
Police has identified the extortion group allegedly behind the blasts as the Al-Khobar gang./DMS
August 12, 2007
An employee of a bus line in Mindanao that has been under attack by an alleged extortionist group was abducted Saturday night in Koronadal City, South Cotabato, police said.
City police director Supt. Florendo Quidilla, Jr. identified the victim as Jaime Rosios, 44, a mechanic of Yellow Bus Line (YBL), which is based along the General Santos Drive highway of said city.
Quidilla told Manila Shimbun in a phone interview yesterday that Rosios was on his way home to General Santos City, waiting for a bus outside the YBL’s Garage, when abducted by three men at gunpoint at around 7:05 pm.
The incident happened on the same day that YBL resumed its operations, which stopped following the twin explosions last August 4 at its terminal located also along General Santos Drive highway, about a kilometer away from the garage. One person was killed and many others were hurt in that incident, triggered allegedly by the company’s refusal to heed ot extortion demands of a local group.
“He (Rosios) was peeing beside the road when the suspects aboard a Tamaraw FX arrived and took him. The vehicle left towards the direction of General Santos City,” Quidilla said in Filipino.
Rosios was with a co-employee at that time but the latter was spared from the abduction. Another fellow employee some seven meters away saw the incident, said Quidilla.
Asked for the motive of the incident, Quidilla said: “We are still investigating this case. We don’t want to speculate at this time.”
He said investigators from the city police are now talking to Rosios’ family and co-employees to get some leads.
Quidilla noted that the abductors did not leave any word when they took Rosios and no one has so far owned up to the abduction as of Sunday.
But Quidilla admitted that a few days after the August 4 bombings, the operation’s manager of YBL received a text message from an anonymous sender, posing a threat against the company’s employees.
“This is the first time that the attack was actually directed towards an employee of YBL. But the company is not just facing problems about the bombings because there is also labor unrest within,” Quidilla said.
He said he still have to talk with the operations manager about the likelihood that the text message has something to do with Saturday’s incident.
Asked about the security of the YBL units that are now plying its routes in Mindanao, Quidilla said: “We have in place some security measures like inspection by our policemen and their guards at the terminals and bus-stops. We also have three checkpoints along the Koronadal City – Tacurong City route.”
Admitting that no policemen were assigned to marshal the bus units during their travel, Quidilla said they have asked instead the bus drivers not to pick up passengers at areas not designated as bus stops or terminals.
“We have told the management that to contain the threat against them, it requires shared responsibility. There should be participation also by the management and the employees,” Quidilla said.
On July 7, a YBL unit was bombed at its terminal, which, fortunately, left no one hurt.
The second bombing of a YBL unit happened 11 days later at the public bus terminal of Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province, leaving two persons slightly injured.
Police has identified the extortion group allegedly behind the blasts as the Al-Khobar gang./DMS
Pursuit vs. communist rebels will continue despite Sulu, Basilan operations
By Ronron
August 12, 2007
The Philippine Army assured on Sunday that operations against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) will continue despite the pouring in of additional troops to Basilan and Sulu for the intensified offensives against Moslem rebels in the south.
In a radio interview, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. said the internal security operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which is geared against the communist threat, will still be in place even if President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the commander-in-chief of the military, has ordered last Saturday for the temporary transfer of the Army headquarters in Zamboanga City.
“We still have a lot of the threats nationwide that we are also addressing, especially against the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) – NPA and other lawless groups. So we still have troops spread all over the Philippines addressing all of these threats,” Torres said.
On Friday, the AFP leadership said it is sending two additional Army battalions to Sulu following the series of fighting in the island province since last Tuesday, claiming almost 60 lives of soldiers, Moslem rebels, and a civilian nine-year-old boy.
Torres said that a part of the 15th Infantry Battalion (IB) from the Visayas already arrived Saturday in Sulu, while the Army 48th IB from Luzon has yet to follow. They will augment the already stationed two Army and four Marine battalions in the island.
Torres said the repositioning of the two Army battalions is intended to sustain the operations in Sulu, especially that the troops already know the location of the main body of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) following the series of fighting last week.
“We have to sustain this operation because we already initiated contact with these terrorists. We know how elusive they are, it’s just like we are fighting a faceless enemy because out of these enemies, we only know the faces of their senior leaders. But their men in ranks are faceless to us. So they easily blend with the populace, with the community,” Torres said.
The AFP estimates the current ASG force to be no more than 400, and they are allegedly under the command of Radulan Sahiron, Dr. Abu (real name is Gambali Jumdail), and Albader Parad. Aside from rouge MNLF members, seeking refuge with the ASG are alleged Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members, led by Dulmatin and Omar Patek.
“We are hoping, we are doing our best that we can already put an end to this Abu Sayyaf Group,” Torres said yesterday.
With Arroyo’s order, the top leadership of the Defense department and the AFP flew to Sulu and Basilan Sunday to meet with local commanders and officials.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. and AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. led some military officials in a visit to the 104th Army Brigade in Sulu, the 1st Marine Brigade in Basilan, and then to the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in Zamboanga City.
While the troops in Sulu are running after the ASG and rouge MNLF members, those in Basilan are conducting punitive police action against those responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers during the July 10 incident in Al-Barka town, 10 of whom were beheaded.
Torres explained that Arroyo’s order does not necessarily mean that the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio will be moved to the Westmincom’s headquarters in Zamboanga City, and that Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino will permanently be based there.
He said the Army instead will just be putting up personnel and a satellite office there so it would be easier and quicker for Tolentino, as Army chief, to provide support to the operating units in the field.
“The direct impact of the Army commanding general’s going there is we can immediately provide the support to the operating troops… in terms of personnel, logistics or anything… And at the same time, because the Army commanding general operated in the area for a long time from the time he was a junior officer until he became a brigade commander, then we can use his experience, knowledge and assets for us to resolve the soonest possible time the problem of the bandits and terrorists,” Torres said.
As of Sunday, there are still no reported armed confrontations in Basilan and Sulu since Thursday’s intense firefight at the latter’s Maimbung town.
Esperon told reporters in Sulu that there are ongoing discussions to gather the entire MILF members and fighters to one place so as to hasten the ongoing punitive police actions against 127 persons who have arrest warrants for the murder and multiple murder of Marine soldiers last July 10.
“There are ongoing talks about that, to the put the MILF in one place (in Al-Barka). That is being worked out with the MILF and they are willing to do that,” he said.
The MILF has owned up the attack against the Marine troopers last July 10 for allegedly encroaching in to their territory without prior coordination, but it has denied beheading the soldiers.
An investigation of the government and the MILF ceasefire committee has identified four ASG bandits as allegedly responsible for the beheadings.
The AFP had said that the Marine troopers were just passing through what the MILF claims as their territory after searching for abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi. Bossi was snatched last June 10 in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay, and released on July 19 at Lanao del Norte./DMS
August 12, 2007
The Philippine Army assured on Sunday that operations against the communist New People’s Army (NPA) will continue despite the pouring in of additional troops to Basilan and Sulu for the intensified offensives against Moslem rebels in the south.
In a radio interview, Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. said the internal security operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), which is geared against the communist threat, will still be in place even if President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the commander-in-chief of the military, has ordered last Saturday for the temporary transfer of the Army headquarters in Zamboanga City.
“We still have a lot of the threats nationwide that we are also addressing, especially against the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) – NPA and other lawless groups. So we still have troops spread all over the Philippines addressing all of these threats,” Torres said.
On Friday, the AFP leadership said it is sending two additional Army battalions to Sulu following the series of fighting in the island province since last Tuesday, claiming almost 60 lives of soldiers, Moslem rebels, and a civilian nine-year-old boy.
Torres said that a part of the 15th Infantry Battalion (IB) from the Visayas already arrived Saturday in Sulu, while the Army 48th IB from Luzon has yet to follow. They will augment the already stationed two Army and four Marine battalions in the island.
Torres said the repositioning of the two Army battalions is intended to sustain the operations in Sulu, especially that the troops already know the location of the main body of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and renegade members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) following the series of fighting last week.
“We have to sustain this operation because we already initiated contact with these terrorists. We know how elusive they are, it’s just like we are fighting a faceless enemy because out of these enemies, we only know the faces of their senior leaders. But their men in ranks are faceless to us. So they easily blend with the populace, with the community,” Torres said.
The AFP estimates the current ASG force to be no more than 400, and they are allegedly under the command of Radulan Sahiron, Dr. Abu (real name is Gambali Jumdail), and Albader Parad. Aside from rouge MNLF members, seeking refuge with the ASG are alleged Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) members, led by Dulmatin and Omar Patek.
“We are hoping, we are doing our best that we can already put an end to this Abu Sayyaf Group,” Torres said yesterday.
With Arroyo’s order, the top leadership of the Defense department and the AFP flew to Sulu and Basilan Sunday to meet with local commanders and officials.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. and AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. led some military officials in a visit to the 104th Army Brigade in Sulu, the 1st Marine Brigade in Basilan, and then to the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) in Zamboanga City.
While the troops in Sulu are running after the ASG and rouge MNLF members, those in Basilan are conducting punitive police action against those responsible for the death of 14 Marine soldiers during the July 10 incident in Al-Barka town, 10 of whom were beheaded.
Torres explained that Arroyo’s order does not necessarily mean that the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio will be moved to the Westmincom’s headquarters in Zamboanga City, and that Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino will permanently be based there.
He said the Army instead will just be putting up personnel and a satellite office there so it would be easier and quicker for Tolentino, as Army chief, to provide support to the operating units in the field.
“The direct impact of the Army commanding general’s going there is we can immediately provide the support to the operating troops… in terms of personnel, logistics or anything… And at the same time, because the Army commanding general operated in the area for a long time from the time he was a junior officer until he became a brigade commander, then we can use his experience, knowledge and assets for us to resolve the soonest possible time the problem of the bandits and terrorists,” Torres said.
As of Sunday, there are still no reported armed confrontations in Basilan and Sulu since Thursday’s intense firefight at the latter’s Maimbung town.
Esperon told reporters in Sulu that there are ongoing discussions to gather the entire MILF members and fighters to one place so as to hasten the ongoing punitive police actions against 127 persons who have arrest warrants for the murder and multiple murder of Marine soldiers last July 10.
“There are ongoing talks about that, to the put the MILF in one place (in Al-Barka). That is being worked out with the MILF and they are willing to do that,” he said.
The MILF has owned up the attack against the Marine troopers last July 10 for allegedly encroaching in to their territory without prior coordination, but it has denied beheading the soldiers.
An investigation of the government and the MILF ceasefire committee has identified four ASG bandits as allegedly responsible for the beheadings.
The AFP had said that the Marine troopers were just passing through what the MILF claims as their territory after searching for abducted Italian Catholic priest Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi. Bossi was snatched last June 10 in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay, and released on July 19 at Lanao del Norte./DMS
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