By Ronron
August 31, 2007
The Philippine government, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), will provide legal assistance to Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) who was apprehended by Dutch police last Tuesday for inciting the killings of former rebel leaders a few years back.
“I was informed that the Department of Foreign Affairs… (will) offer assistance for counsel, as with any other Filipinos,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. told reporters Friday at Camp Aguinaldo.
Asked if it was alright with the Defense department considering Sison’s terrorist tag, Teodoro said: “That’s the DFA position. I mean, the position of other people may be that he is (a terrorist), but he has rights. He has the right probably to due process under Dutch law, and to be presumed innocent, I suppose.”
A day after Sison’s arrest, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said they are studying how they will respond if ever the CPP leader asks for assistance from the Philippine government.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) had admitted that it helped Dutch authorities in their building up of case against Sison since last year until this year following a complaint filed by the wives of slain former rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara./DMS
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Delfin de Guzman arrested by military in May 2006 is different from one mentioned by recent Burgos case witness – AFP
By Ronron
August 31, 2007
The Philippine military claimed Friday that the “Delfin de Guzman” they arrested last May 2006 is different from the one mentioned by a recent witness to the Burgos case.
Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo that it has been a practice of the communist movement to use pseudonyms repeatedly so as to retain the fear roused by the mention of the name.
“The name Delfin de Guzman was used as early as 1980’s and until now, that name still comes up as a Front Secretary in Bulacan,” Bacarro said.
Based on this, Bacarro said the “Delfin de Guzman” presented last year by then Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga and Police Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, Jr., and the “Delfin de Guzman” mentioned in the Burgos case investigation “are two different persons.”
On Tuesday, Emerito Lipio, an alleged witness of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Burgos case, claimed that he and a fellow communist rebel were ordered in early April of this year by their leader in Bulacan, Delfin de Guzman, to monitor the movements of Jonas Joseph Burgos, son the late Philippine press freedom icon Jose Burgos.
Lipio said Burgos is their comrade in the Bulacan committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), carrying the alias “Ka Ramon.”
Burgos allegedly pilfered funds from the movement and has been meeting without authority from their leadership some rebel-returnees and a government soldier, causing de Guzman to doubt his sincerity, said Lipio.
Pointing out the arrest of “Delfin de Guzman” last year by the police and military, the mother of Jonas, Edith Burgos, questioned the credibility of Lipio, saying: “How could Delfin de Guzman have ordered him to monitor Jonas when the former was already in military custody?”
The “Delfin de Guzman” presented last year by the police and military was also introduced as the leader of the NPA in Bulacan.
Despite having an arrest warrant issued by a Bulacan court for the crime of murder, the military sought to place de Guzman under its custody for continued interrogation that time.
Asked yesterday where is the arrested de Guzman now, Bacarro said: “I will have to check on that.”
Bacarro, however, issued the claim that the two “Delfin de Guzman” are different persons even if he has yet to find out if the one arrested by authorities last year is just using the said name as an alias or as his real name.
He explained nonetheless that the communist practice of using one alias for every position, despite having different persons holding that, is to maintain the fear factor of the name.
“They do it purposely for extortion. Example, in Bulacan, when they hear “Ka Baste” (the alias of Delfin de Guzman), it connotes fear because it has a history of violence,” Bacarro said.
Therefore, people will heed to the extortion demand, he said.
With his claim, Bacarro said it is therefore not true that the police and military are colluding to cover up the belief of the Burgos family that Army elements were responsible for the abduction and continued disappearance of Jonas./DMS
August 31, 2007
The Philippine military claimed Friday that the “Delfin de Guzman” they arrested last May 2006 is different from the one mentioned by a recent witness to the Burgos case.
Armed Forces Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told reporters at Camp Aguinaldo that it has been a practice of the communist movement to use pseudonyms repeatedly so as to retain the fear roused by the mention of the name.
“The name Delfin de Guzman was used as early as 1980’s and until now, that name still comes up as a Front Secretary in Bulacan,” Bacarro said.
Based on this, Bacarro said the “Delfin de Guzman” presented last year by then Armed Forces chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga and Police Deputy Director General Avelino Razon, Jr., and the “Delfin de Guzman” mentioned in the Burgos case investigation “are two different persons.”
On Tuesday, Emerito Lipio, an alleged witness of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Burgos case, claimed that he and a fellow communist rebel were ordered in early April of this year by their leader in Bulacan, Delfin de Guzman, to monitor the movements of Jonas Joseph Burgos, son the late Philippine press freedom icon Jose Burgos.
Lipio said Burgos is their comrade in the Bulacan committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), carrying the alias “Ka Ramon.”
Burgos allegedly pilfered funds from the movement and has been meeting without authority from their leadership some rebel-returnees and a government soldier, causing de Guzman to doubt his sincerity, said Lipio.
Pointing out the arrest of “Delfin de Guzman” last year by the police and military, the mother of Jonas, Edith Burgos, questioned the credibility of Lipio, saying: “How could Delfin de Guzman have ordered him to monitor Jonas when the former was already in military custody?”
The “Delfin de Guzman” presented last year by the police and military was also introduced as the leader of the NPA in Bulacan.
Despite having an arrest warrant issued by a Bulacan court for the crime of murder, the military sought to place de Guzman under its custody for continued interrogation that time.
Asked yesterday where is the arrested de Guzman now, Bacarro said: “I will have to check on that.”
Bacarro, however, issued the claim that the two “Delfin de Guzman” are different persons even if he has yet to find out if the one arrested by authorities last year is just using the said name as an alias or as his real name.
He explained nonetheless that the communist practice of using one alias for every position, despite having different persons holding that, is to maintain the fear factor of the name.
“They do it purposely for extortion. Example, in Bulacan, when they hear “Ka Baste” (the alias of Delfin de Guzman), it connotes fear because it has a history of violence,” Bacarro said.
Therefore, people will heed to the extortion demand, he said.
With his claim, Bacarro said it is therefore not true that the police and military are colluding to cover up the belief of the Burgos family that Army elements were responsible for the abduction and continued disappearance of Jonas./DMS
Offensives in Basilan, Sulu will proceed even on Ramadan – DND chief
By Ronron
August 31, 2007
The military offensives against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and its allies in Basilan and Sulu will continue even during the Holy Islam month of Ramadan starting September 13th.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said he is confident, however, that the commanders and forces on the ground will be sensitive in their operations in the light of the Muslim tradition celebration.
“No, the operations cannot be stopped… I’m not going to even suggest a stop in operations or to go above the judgment of the Chief of Staff and the commanders,” Teodoro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo Friday.
The Muslim community, which include those in Basilan and Sulu, will celebrate the Ramadan from September 13 until October 11 this year.
Military offensives in the south have stepped up in July following the July 10 incident at Al-Barka, Basilan where Marine elements looking for abducted Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi were ambushed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) elements, and those killed were later mutilated allegedly by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) rebels.
Since the fighting erupted, spreading even to Sulu, 57 soldiers already died and over 20 others were injured. Around 80 bandits were also reportedly killed although only a few of them were recovered, according to the military.
Consistent with the order of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to be extra-careful in conducting the military offensives to avoid collateral damage, Teodoro said the troops on the ground will surely exercise caution especially during the Ramadan.
“I’m sure the commanders are sensitive enough to know the sensitivities in the area, pursuant to their rules of engagement. I’m sure that will take that into consideration,” Teodoro said.
Asked about the matter, Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Antonio Romero said that traditionally, the military slows down during the Ramadan by just conducting “preventive patrols.”
“But if they engage our men on patrol, then we cannot just allow ourselves not to fight back,” Romero said.
But Romero said that as of Friday, he has not heard of a ceasefire order in Basilan and Sulu from the end of the Philippine military./DMS
August 31, 2007
The military offensives against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and its allies in Basilan and Sulu will continue even during the Holy Islam month of Ramadan starting September 13th.
Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr. said he is confident, however, that the commanders and forces on the ground will be sensitive in their operations in the light of the Muslim tradition celebration.
“No, the operations cannot be stopped… I’m not going to even suggest a stop in operations or to go above the judgment of the Chief of Staff and the commanders,” Teodoro told reporters in Camp Aguinaldo Friday.
The Muslim community, which include those in Basilan and Sulu, will celebrate the Ramadan from September 13 until October 11 this year.
Military offensives in the south have stepped up in July following the July 10 incident at Al-Barka, Basilan where Marine elements looking for abducted Fr. Gian Carlo Bossi were ambushed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) elements, and those killed were later mutilated allegedly by Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) rebels.
Since the fighting erupted, spreading even to Sulu, 57 soldiers already died and over 20 others were injured. Around 80 bandits were also reportedly killed although only a few of them were recovered, according to the military.
Consistent with the order of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to be extra-careful in conducting the military offensives to avoid collateral damage, Teodoro said the troops on the ground will surely exercise caution especially during the Ramadan.
“I’m sure the commanders are sensitive enough to know the sensitivities in the area, pursuant to their rules of engagement. I’m sure that will take that into consideration,” Teodoro said.
Asked about the matter, Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Antonio Romero said that traditionally, the military slows down during the Ramadan by just conducting “preventive patrols.”
“But if they engage our men on patrol, then we cannot just allow ourselves not to fight back,” Romero said.
But Romero said that as of Friday, he has not heard of a ceasefire order in Basilan and Sulu from the end of the Philippine military./DMS
Friday, August 31, 2007
NPA leader who allegedly ordered the monitoring of Jonas was already arrested in May 2006 – Burgos mom
By Ronron
August 30, 2007
One of the three recent witnesses to the abduction of Jonas Joseph Burgos had claimed that the order to monitor the movement of the latter came from Delfin de Guzman, alias Ka Baste, the leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Bulacan province.
Emerito Lipio, alias Ka Tibo, a self-confessed active member of the NPA, said last Tuesday that in early April of this year, de Guzman instructed him and fellow NPA member, Marlon Manuel, alias Ka Carlo, “to conduct discreet surveillance and investigation on the activities of Burgos, allegedly known as Ka Ramon in the communist movement.”
Quoting Lipio, Sr. Supt. Joel Napoleon Coronel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Division (CIDD) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) described de Guzman as the provincial chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Bulacan.
Lipio said in a news conference at Camp Crame that the leadership of the NPA has been doubting the sincerity of Burgos because of his frequent departure from their camp without asking permission, and his reported unauthorized meetings with rebel returnees and a government soldier.
Burgos, said to be a political instructor and intelligence officer of the movement, was also suspected of pilfering organizational funds, police quoted Lipio to have said.
Because of this task, Lipio said he and Manuel followed Burgos on April 28 of this year at the Ever Gotesco Mall in Commonwealth, Quezon City where they witnessed the abduction of Burgos by four armed men.
Lipio said two of the four abductors were a certain Dante and a certain Enso, both he knew as NPA members from another unit because they were introduced to him earlier by de Guzman also.
But Mrs. Edith Burgos, the mother of Jonas, pointed out Thursday that a certain Delfin de Guzman was also arrested already last May 2006 by government forces.
A check by Manila Shimbun in its archive stories revealed that indeed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) presented last May 22, 2006 a certain Delfin de Guzman, whom they introduced as the Bulacan Provincial Party Committee Secretary and acting Regional Secretary of the Central Luzon Regional Party of the CPP-NPA.
De Guzman was presented by then AFP chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga and PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Deputy Director Gen. Avelino Razon, Jr. eleven days after he was allegedly arrested.
Senga and Razon said in the news conference that de Guzman, 38 then, was arrested on May 11 in his house in Norzagaray, Bulacan by virtue of a warrant for murder issued by a Regional Trial Court in Malolos City. The case was in relation to the murder in 2003 of Supt. Tomas de las Armas, chief of police of Angat town, same province.
Senga said then that de Guzman allegedly admitted to have played an active role in the killings of Romulo Kintanar in 2003, and Arturo Tabara in 2004, both in Quezon City, for their defection from the communist movement.
Because of his status in the organization, de Guzman, according to Senga, was going to be placed at that time under the custody of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) with the permission of the court that issued the arrest warrant.
“If he was placed under the custody of the ISAFP, it would be impossible for him to have made that order (to Lipio),” Mrs. Burgos said of de Guzman in a phone interview.
The inconsistency, she noted, only indicates that the PNP and AFP are trying to create a picture “to cover up the truth” that her son was really abducted by the military.
Mrs. Burgos said she even found out that Lipio was already reported by media before to be among the seven members of transport group PISTON arrested by the military in Pampanga.
Based on an archive story of the Manila Shimbun, Lipio and six others were allegedly nabbed by elements of the Army’s 56th Infantry Battalion on July 3, 2006 in Angeles City because they are being suspected of being NPA members, PISTON Secretary General Steve Ranjo had said.
The six others were later released, while Lipio was missing until his presentation last Tuesday.
“This is what I am saying that I really have nothing against these witnesses because they are just being used by our government. They are also victims,” Mrs. Burgos said.
Told yesterday about the observation regarding “Delfin de Gumzan,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. said: “Apparently, the (Delfin de Guzman) he (Lipio) was referring to is not the same (Delfin de Guzman) that was arrested last year.”
Torres would not know, however, if the “Delfin de Guzman” arrested last year remains in military custody. A check made with an officer of the ISAFP remains unanswered as of press time.
In a statement, the CPP supported the statement of Mrs. Burgos that her son is not a member of the NPA, nor is Lipio and de Guzman, and that the recent development in the police investigation is just to “cover up the role of the AFP in the abduction of Jonas Burgos.”
Coronel could not immediately be reached for comment on the claims of Mrs. Burgos and the CPP.
Responding to Mrs. Burgos’ reiteration that the Army remains their suspect based on the discovery inside an Army camp in Bulacan of the license plates (TAB-194) of the getaway car used by the abductors of Jonas, Torres said: “If we have witnesses or any pieces of evidence related to the case, we should submit it to the court… And we should respect the decision of the court.”
The Burgos family has filed a petition for habeas corpus against the AFP before the Court of Appeals for the organization to produce Jonas./DMS
August 30, 2007
One of the three recent witnesses to the abduction of Jonas Joseph Burgos had claimed that the order to monitor the movement of the latter came from Delfin de Guzman, alias Ka Baste, the leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Bulacan province.
Emerito Lipio, alias Ka Tibo, a self-confessed active member of the NPA, said last Tuesday that in early April of this year, de Guzman instructed him and fellow NPA member, Marlon Manuel, alias Ka Carlo, “to conduct discreet surveillance and investigation on the activities of Burgos, allegedly known as Ka Ramon in the communist movement.”
Quoting Lipio, Sr. Supt. Joel Napoleon Coronel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Division (CIDD) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) described de Guzman as the provincial chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Bulacan.
Lipio said in a news conference at Camp Crame that the leadership of the NPA has been doubting the sincerity of Burgos because of his frequent departure from their camp without asking permission, and his reported unauthorized meetings with rebel returnees and a government soldier.
Burgos, said to be a political instructor and intelligence officer of the movement, was also suspected of pilfering organizational funds, police quoted Lipio to have said.
Because of this task, Lipio said he and Manuel followed Burgos on April 28 of this year at the Ever Gotesco Mall in Commonwealth, Quezon City where they witnessed the abduction of Burgos by four armed men.
Lipio said two of the four abductors were a certain Dante and a certain Enso, both he knew as NPA members from another unit because they were introduced to him earlier by de Guzman also.
But Mrs. Edith Burgos, the mother of Jonas, pointed out Thursday that a certain Delfin de Guzman was also arrested already last May 2006 by government forces.
A check by Manila Shimbun in its archive stories revealed that indeed the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) presented last May 22, 2006 a certain Delfin de Guzman, whom they introduced as the Bulacan Provincial Party Committee Secretary and acting Regional Secretary of the Central Luzon Regional Party of the CPP-NPA.
De Guzman was presented by then AFP chief of staff Gen. Generoso Senga and PNP Deputy Chief for Operations Deputy Director Gen. Avelino Razon, Jr. eleven days after he was allegedly arrested.
Senga and Razon said in the news conference that de Guzman, 38 then, was arrested on May 11 in his house in Norzagaray, Bulacan by virtue of a warrant for murder issued by a Regional Trial Court in Malolos City. The case was in relation to the murder in 2003 of Supt. Tomas de las Armas, chief of police of Angat town, same province.
Senga said then that de Guzman allegedly admitted to have played an active role in the killings of Romulo Kintanar in 2003, and Arturo Tabara in 2004, both in Quezon City, for their defection from the communist movement.
Because of his status in the organization, de Guzman, according to Senga, was going to be placed at that time under the custody of the Intelligence Service of the AFP (ISAFP) with the permission of the court that issued the arrest warrant.
“If he was placed under the custody of the ISAFP, it would be impossible for him to have made that order (to Lipio),” Mrs. Burgos said of de Guzman in a phone interview.
The inconsistency, she noted, only indicates that the PNP and AFP are trying to create a picture “to cover up the truth” that her son was really abducted by the military.
Mrs. Burgos said she even found out that Lipio was already reported by media before to be among the seven members of transport group PISTON arrested by the military in Pampanga.
Based on an archive story of the Manila Shimbun, Lipio and six others were allegedly nabbed by elements of the Army’s 56th Infantry Battalion on July 3, 2006 in Angeles City because they are being suspected of being NPA members, PISTON Secretary General Steve Ranjo had said.
The six others were later released, while Lipio was missing until his presentation last Tuesday.
“This is what I am saying that I really have nothing against these witnesses because they are just being used by our government. They are also victims,” Mrs. Burgos said.
Told yesterday about the observation regarding “Delfin de Gumzan,” Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr. said: “Apparently, the (Delfin de Guzman) he (Lipio) was referring to is not the same (Delfin de Guzman) that was arrested last year.”
Torres would not know, however, if the “Delfin de Guzman” arrested last year remains in military custody. A check made with an officer of the ISAFP remains unanswered as of press time.
In a statement, the CPP supported the statement of Mrs. Burgos that her son is not a member of the NPA, nor is Lipio and de Guzman, and that the recent development in the police investigation is just to “cover up the role of the AFP in the abduction of Jonas Burgos.”
Coronel could not immediately be reached for comment on the claims of Mrs. Burgos and the CPP.
Responding to Mrs. Burgos’ reiteration that the Army remains their suspect based on the discovery inside an Army camp in Bulacan of the license plates (TAB-194) of the getaway car used by the abductors of Jonas, Torres said: “If we have witnesses or any pieces of evidence related to the case, we should submit it to the court… And we should respect the decision of the court.”
The Burgos family has filed a petition for habeas corpus against the AFP before the Court of Appeals for the organization to produce Jonas./DMS
One rebel killed, four others captured in separate clashes with government troops in Albay and Quezon
By Ronron
August 30, 2007
A suspected communist rebel died while four others were captured following separate clashes against government troops in the southern Luzon provinces of Albay and Quezon last Wednesday.
The first encounter happened at 7am in Ligao City, Albay, involving elements of the Philippine Army’s 65th Infantry Battalion and CAFGU elements, and seven armed members of the New People’s Army (NPA), said Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr.
Torres said the government troops were scouring Sitio Boyog in Barangay Tupas of said city when they encountered the rebels.
He said the firefight lasted for 15 minutes, resulting in the death of one NPA member, identified as Maximo Pederelio, alias Eddie. Recovered from him was one caliber 45 pistol with one magazine and 15 live ammunitions.
Later at 4pm, some 30 suspected rebels clashed with elements of the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion at Barangay Almacen in Unisan, Quezon.
Army 2nd Infantry Division spokesman Capt. Carlo Ferrer said the 15-minute clash resulted in the capture of four suspected rebels, two of whom were identified.
One of the identified was a certain Marlon, vice platoon leader of the NPA’s Provincial Unit Guerilla, and the other was a certain Joan, an amazon. All four were not wounded, said Ferrer.
Meanwhile, the rest of the rebels, who were armed with two M60 light machine guns, were able to escape to different directions.
Ferrer said there was no casualty on the government side.
Asked if the two encounters can be linked to the order of the communist movement leadership for the NPA to step up its offensives against government forces and private installations, Torres said: “I don’t think so.”
Torres said the two incidents just appear to be normal when compared to previous incidents.
“We don’t see any significant rise yet in the number of their atrocities,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) directed the NPA to step up its offensives in protest to the apprehension of its founding chairman Jose Maria Sison last Tuesday in the Netherlands.
Sison was nabbed by the Dutch Police for allegedly inciting the killing of former rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in 2003 and 2004, respectively, in Quezon City./DMS
August 30, 2007
A suspected communist rebel died while four others were captured following separate clashes against government troops in the southern Luzon provinces of Albay and Quezon last Wednesday.
The first encounter happened at 7am in Ligao City, Albay, involving elements of the Philippine Army’s 65th Infantry Battalion and CAFGU elements, and seven armed members of the New People’s Army (NPA), said Philippine Army spokesman Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, Jr.
Torres said the government troops were scouring Sitio Boyog in Barangay Tupas of said city when they encountered the rebels.
He said the firefight lasted for 15 minutes, resulting in the death of one NPA member, identified as Maximo Pederelio, alias Eddie. Recovered from him was one caliber 45 pistol with one magazine and 15 live ammunitions.
Later at 4pm, some 30 suspected rebels clashed with elements of the Army’s 76th Infantry Battalion at Barangay Almacen in Unisan, Quezon.
Army 2nd Infantry Division spokesman Capt. Carlo Ferrer said the 15-minute clash resulted in the capture of four suspected rebels, two of whom were identified.
One of the identified was a certain Marlon, vice platoon leader of the NPA’s Provincial Unit Guerilla, and the other was a certain Joan, an amazon. All four were not wounded, said Ferrer.
Meanwhile, the rest of the rebels, who were armed with two M60 light machine guns, were able to escape to different directions.
Ferrer said there was no casualty on the government side.
Asked if the two encounters can be linked to the order of the communist movement leadership for the NPA to step up its offensives against government forces and private installations, Torres said: “I don’t think so.”
Torres said the two incidents just appear to be normal when compared to previous incidents.
“We don’t see any significant rise yet in the number of their atrocities,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) directed the NPA to step up its offensives in protest to the apprehension of its founding chairman Jose Maria Sison last Tuesday in the Netherlands.
Sison was nabbed by the Dutch Police for allegedly inciting the killing of former rebel leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in 2003 and 2004, respectively, in Quezon City./DMS
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Koreans, Japanese and local tourists rescued from Pagsanjan Falls in Laguna after getting stranded due to high water level
By Ronron
August 29, 2007
Several tourists, including Japanese nationals, and local boatmen were trapped at the foot of the famous tourist spot Pagsanjan Falls in Laguna province late Tuesday due to rising water level, police and military said yesterday.
Those in distress include two Japanese nationals, 13 Korean nationals, five Filipino tourists, and 19 local boatmen, a police report from the Pagsanjan Municipal Police Station showed.
They were all supposed to have left already the Pagsanjan Falls after about an hour of exploring the place when at 5 pm, the boatmen said it would be too dangerous to get off due to the high water level and strong current caused by the rain.
It was one boatman who reported the fate of the 39 people to the Pagsanjan Police Station, prompting the launch of a rescue operation.
PO2 Emil Medina of said police station said elements of the Pagsanjan and Cavinti Municipal Police Stations, the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, the Philippine National Red Cross, and the local tourism office of Pagsanjan took part in the rescue operation that began at 7:15 pm.
Due to poor visibility and the continuing rain, the rescue, particularly of the tourists, only ended at around 1:30 am yesterday (Wednesday).
Medina said each of the tourists had to be pulled off with a rope and harness from the foot of the falls to the upper ground, some 300 feet above. All of them were then brought to the nearby El Pueblo Salvador Resort in Barangay Tibatig in Cavinti.
Medina said none of the tourists was hurt, except that they were chilling due to being soaked for quite a long time.
The waiting service of the tourists took them then to Manila.
Medina identified the two Japanese male tourists as Satoshi Ono and Atsushi Caco. The police officer is not sure if both belong to the same tour group with that of the Koreans, and where they are billeted at./DMS
August 29, 2007
Several tourists, including Japanese nationals, and local boatmen were trapped at the foot of the famous tourist spot Pagsanjan Falls in Laguna province late Tuesday due to rising water level, police and military said yesterday.
Those in distress include two Japanese nationals, 13 Korean nationals, five Filipino tourists, and 19 local boatmen, a police report from the Pagsanjan Municipal Police Station showed.
They were all supposed to have left already the Pagsanjan Falls after about an hour of exploring the place when at 5 pm, the boatmen said it would be too dangerous to get off due to the high water level and strong current caused by the rain.
It was one boatman who reported the fate of the 39 people to the Pagsanjan Police Station, prompting the launch of a rescue operation.
PO2 Emil Medina of said police station said elements of the Pagsanjan and Cavinti Municipal Police Stations, the 1st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, the Philippine National Red Cross, and the local tourism office of Pagsanjan took part in the rescue operation that began at 7:15 pm.
Due to poor visibility and the continuing rain, the rescue, particularly of the tourists, only ended at around 1:30 am yesterday (Wednesday).
Medina said each of the tourists had to be pulled off with a rope and harness from the foot of the falls to the upper ground, some 300 feet above. All of them were then brought to the nearby El Pueblo Salvador Resort in Barangay Tibatig in Cavinti.
Medina said none of the tourists was hurt, except that they were chilling due to being soaked for quite a long time.
The waiting service of the tourists took them then to Manila.
Medina identified the two Japanese male tourists as Satoshi Ono and Atsushi Caco. The police officer is not sure if both belong to the same tour group with that of the Koreans, and where they are billeted at./DMS
Prospects of peace negotiations between government and NDF unsure following Sison’s arrest
By Ronron
August 29, 2007
For the Philippine government, peace efforts with the National Democratic Front (NDF) should not be affected with the apprehension in the Netherlands of Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and chief political consultant of the NDF.
But the NDF and its allies think otherwise.
“With regard to the peace talks, this development has a very big negative effect because there is an agreement on safety and immunity between the Arroyo regime and the NDF. All participants of the peace talks like the negotiators and consultants, especially Ka Joma being the chief political consultant, should have certain immunity guarantees, that they will not be charged and arrested,” NDF chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni said yesterday in a radio interview.
Sison was apprehended by Dutch Police last Tuesday morning over a case of inciting to killings in the Philippines filed by the families of the victims. He has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987.
Jalandoni said even the “false charges” against Sison based on the alleged purging of communist rebels in the Visayas are efforts of the Arroyo government to end the peace negotiations.
“These are all in violation of the Agreement on Safety and Immunity… So all who want the peace negotiations to proceed to address the roots of the armed conflict – the Church, human rights organizations, the business sector, for them, this will have a very negative effect,” Jalandoni said.
“Add to this the extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances being carried out by the government, and Arroyo’s desire for a military solution to the problem of insurgency, the possibility of peace negotiations is just getting away further,” he added.
But Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said the government is not turning its back against the NDF and the communist movement, even if the peace talks got stalled in August 2004 due to the listing of Sison and his organization as terrorists by the US and European Union governments.
“The pursuit for peace is continuing. It doesn’t stop. All efforts are being exerted because what the President wants is really to look for possible political settlement. We all know that the problems we have now in the country cannot be solved just by military solution,” Dureza said in Filipino in a separate radio interview.
In a separate interview, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales appealed to allies and supporters of Sison not to abandon the peace efforts because the latter is just facing a separate murder case.
But Sison’s allies and supporters actually regard the apprehension of Sison as part of the government’s plan to annihilate the communist movement by 2010.
Anakpawis Party-list Representative Crispin Beltran yesterday shares with the media: “Arroyo and the Bush administration wants to annihilate the revolutionary movement in three years time, even if it is impossible because it has been here even before you were born. So, rather than annihilating, this will just add fire to the revolution in the Philippines.”
“It is certain that the struggle of the masses will continue in the provinces, in the urban areas, and even in the international scene. There will surely be many solidarity actions for Ka Joma,” Jalandoni said./DMS
August 29, 2007
For the Philippine government, peace efforts with the National Democratic Front (NDF) should not be affected with the apprehension in the Netherlands of Jose Maria Sison, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and chief political consultant of the NDF.
But the NDF and its allies think otherwise.
“With regard to the peace talks, this development has a very big negative effect because there is an agreement on safety and immunity between the Arroyo regime and the NDF. All participants of the peace talks like the negotiators and consultants, especially Ka Joma being the chief political consultant, should have certain immunity guarantees, that they will not be charged and arrested,” NDF chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni said yesterday in a radio interview.
Sison was apprehended by Dutch Police last Tuesday morning over a case of inciting to killings in the Philippines filed by the families of the victims. He has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987.
Jalandoni said even the “false charges” against Sison based on the alleged purging of communist rebels in the Visayas are efforts of the Arroyo government to end the peace negotiations.
“These are all in violation of the Agreement on Safety and Immunity… So all who want the peace negotiations to proceed to address the roots of the armed conflict – the Church, human rights organizations, the business sector, for them, this will have a very negative effect,” Jalandoni said.
“Add to this the extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances being carried out by the government, and Arroyo’s desire for a military solution to the problem of insurgency, the possibility of peace negotiations is just getting away further,” he added.
But Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said the government is not turning its back against the NDF and the communist movement, even if the peace talks got stalled in August 2004 due to the listing of Sison and his organization as terrorists by the US and European Union governments.
“The pursuit for peace is continuing. It doesn’t stop. All efforts are being exerted because what the President wants is really to look for possible political settlement. We all know that the problems we have now in the country cannot be solved just by military solution,” Dureza said in Filipino in a separate radio interview.
In a separate interview, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales appealed to allies and supporters of Sison not to abandon the peace efforts because the latter is just facing a separate murder case.
But Sison’s allies and supporters actually regard the apprehension of Sison as part of the government’s plan to annihilate the communist movement by 2010.
Anakpawis Party-list Representative Crispin Beltran yesterday shares with the media: “Arroyo and the Bush administration wants to annihilate the revolutionary movement in three years time, even if it is impossible because it has been here even before you were born. So, rather than annihilating, this will just add fire to the revolution in the Philippines.”
“It is certain that the struggle of the masses will continue in the provinces, in the urban areas, and even in the international scene. There will surely be many solidarity actions for Ka Joma,” Jalandoni said./DMS
Joma Sison was deceived when arrested, says allies; case is punishable by lifetime imprisonment
By Ronron
August 29, 2007
Allies of nabbed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison claimed Wednesday that the latter was deceived by the Dutch police so they could take him into their custody.
Atty. Edre Olalia, legal consultant of the Joint Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) of the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), said Sison was actually invited Tuesday morning by Dutch policemen and a Judge to go the police station in Utrecht to get some document, only to detain him later.
“There was deception… Members of the Dutch police, both in uniform and in civilian clothes, accompanied by a Judge, went to the house of Joma Sison to invite him to the police station, purportedly regarding the case he previously filed with regard to assassination attempts against him,” Olalia said in Manila.
But when Sison arrived at the police station some 10 minutes away from his house, his lawyers were suddenly not allowed to go inside with him, and then he was immediately placed under custody, NDF chief peace negotiator with the government Luis Jalandoni said in a radio interview from the Netherlands.
“He was then brought to a police detention near the Hague,” Jalandoni disclosed.
Jalandoni said Sison was told that the reason for his detention is his case of inciting the killing of former communist leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in Quezon City in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Jalandoni and Olalia said the manner by which Sison was taken by police is “clearly illegal.”
“There was no arrest warrant,” Olalia said, quoting lawyers of Sison in the Netherlands.
He said the police even interrogated Jalandoni and NDF panel member Coni Ledesma shortly after the apprehension of Sison. And their houses, as well as that of Sison and four other NDF staff and the NDF office, were raided simultaneously, carting away computers, laptops, hard copies of several documents, books, address books, diskettes and flash disks.
“”The manner of the raid was described as very brutal. The raids lasted from 11:30 am until 6:30 pm,” Olalia said.
“The Dutch and Belgian lawyers of Mr. Sison view the arrest and interrogation therefore as not only directed to Sison… They call it as politically biased persecution… The line of questioning is not only on the Tabara and Kintanar killing but also on his political activities, the activities of the NDF office, their members and staff, and his political affiliations,” he added.
Olalia said it is impossible for Sison to have ordered the killing of Kintanar and Tabara because he was too far away. “How could you order people when you are several thousand miles away? That’s stupid. And why would you order that? There is no need really because the revolution here in the Philippines is still alive.”
Olalia said they suspect that the “trumped up charges” against Sison is a move by the Philippine and Dutch government, and indirectly by the US government to justify the continued tag on him by the European Union as a terrorist.
“For a person to remain the terror list, there must be a specific charge and there must be an investigation or conviction of the person from any European Union country,” Olalia said.
But while he regard the arrest as illegal and the case as without basis, Olalia admitted that Sison can still be charged because “criminal law” has no international boundary.
Olalia explained that under Dutch law, a person be placed under detention initially for three days while he or she is being subjected to pre-trial investigation. But a judge can extend it to another 15 days, and further to 90 days, if necessary.
With the volume of materials seized by police from Sison’s house and of other NDF members and the NDF office, Olalia fears that the judge may use it as justificiation for a prolonged detention, even beyond the 105-days extension.
Asked if Sison can post bail, the lawyer said: “There is no such thing as bail in the European justice system.”
Sison is expected to attend a hearing before a Judge Commissioner tomorrow (Friday) regarding his case. It will only be during this time that Sison and his lawyers will have the chance to see the complete complaint sheet against him, said Olalia.
Olalia disclosed that if found guilty, Sison could be sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.
Asked if the Philippine government will extend assistance to Sison for this legal battle, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said in a separate interview: “We are studying that, especially us from the National Security Group, because Joma Sison is still a Filipino. So when he asks for help from us, what could be our reply? We are studying that matter.”
It should be noted, however, that the Philippine government has extended help to the Dutch government when it was building up the present case against Sison, as admitted by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
When sought about the condition of Sison, Olalia said he had no idea yet.
But Carol Araullo, chairman of the NDF ally Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), readily said: “Knowing Ka Joma Sison, he certainly is raring for this fight now… We are confident that he will come out on top of this, alive and kicking.”/DMS
August 29, 2007
Allies of nabbed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison claimed Wednesday that the latter was deceived by the Dutch police so they could take him into their custody.
Atty. Edre Olalia, legal consultant of the Joint Secretariat of the Joint Monitoring Committee of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) of the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front (NDF), said Sison was actually invited Tuesday morning by Dutch policemen and a Judge to go the police station in Utrecht to get some document, only to detain him later.
“There was deception… Members of the Dutch police, both in uniform and in civilian clothes, accompanied by a Judge, went to the house of Joma Sison to invite him to the police station, purportedly regarding the case he previously filed with regard to assassination attempts against him,” Olalia said in Manila.
But when Sison arrived at the police station some 10 minutes away from his house, his lawyers were suddenly not allowed to go inside with him, and then he was immediately placed under custody, NDF chief peace negotiator with the government Luis Jalandoni said in a radio interview from the Netherlands.
“He was then brought to a police detention near the Hague,” Jalandoni disclosed.
Jalandoni said Sison was told that the reason for his detention is his case of inciting the killing of former communist leaders Romulo Kintanar and Arturo Tabara in Quezon City in 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Jalandoni and Olalia said the manner by which Sison was taken by police is “clearly illegal.”
“There was no arrest warrant,” Olalia said, quoting lawyers of Sison in the Netherlands.
He said the police even interrogated Jalandoni and NDF panel member Coni Ledesma shortly after the apprehension of Sison. And their houses, as well as that of Sison and four other NDF staff and the NDF office, were raided simultaneously, carting away computers, laptops, hard copies of several documents, books, address books, diskettes and flash disks.
“”The manner of the raid was described as very brutal. The raids lasted from 11:30 am until 6:30 pm,” Olalia said.
“The Dutch and Belgian lawyers of Mr. Sison view the arrest and interrogation therefore as not only directed to Sison… They call it as politically biased persecution… The line of questioning is not only on the Tabara and Kintanar killing but also on his political activities, the activities of the NDF office, their members and staff, and his political affiliations,” he added.
Olalia said it is impossible for Sison to have ordered the killing of Kintanar and Tabara because he was too far away. “How could you order people when you are several thousand miles away? That’s stupid. And why would you order that? There is no need really because the revolution here in the Philippines is still alive.”
Olalia said they suspect that the “trumped up charges” against Sison is a move by the Philippine and Dutch government, and indirectly by the US government to justify the continued tag on him by the European Union as a terrorist.
“For a person to remain the terror list, there must be a specific charge and there must be an investigation or conviction of the person from any European Union country,” Olalia said.
But while he regard the arrest as illegal and the case as without basis, Olalia admitted that Sison can still be charged because “criminal law” has no international boundary.
Olalia explained that under Dutch law, a person be placed under detention initially for three days while he or she is being subjected to pre-trial investigation. But a judge can extend it to another 15 days, and further to 90 days, if necessary.
With the volume of materials seized by police from Sison’s house and of other NDF members and the NDF office, Olalia fears that the judge may use it as justificiation for a prolonged detention, even beyond the 105-days extension.
Asked if Sison can post bail, the lawyer said: “There is no such thing as bail in the European justice system.”
Sison is expected to attend a hearing before a Judge Commissioner tomorrow (Friday) regarding his case. It will only be during this time that Sison and his lawyers will have the chance to see the complete complaint sheet against him, said Olalia.
Olalia disclosed that if found guilty, Sison could be sentenced to lifetime imprisonment.
Asked if the Philippine government will extend assistance to Sison for this legal battle, National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said in a separate interview: “We are studying that, especially us from the National Security Group, because Joma Sison is still a Filipino. So when he asks for help from us, what could be our reply? We are studying that matter.”
It should be noted, however, that the Philippine government has extended help to the Dutch government when it was building up the present case against Sison, as admitted by the Philippine National Police (PNP).
When sought about the condition of Sison, Olalia said he had no idea yet.
But Carol Araullo, chairman of the NDF ally Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), readily said: “Knowing Ka Joma Sison, he certainly is raring for this fight now… We are confident that he will come out on top of this, alive and kicking.”/DMS
NDF peace negotiator warns of intensified NPA action following apprehension of Joma Sison; militants also vow to stage mass actions
By Ronron
August 29, 2007
Both the armed members and legal organization members of the communist movement vowed on Wednesday to mobilize following the apprehension of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison in the Netherlands the other day (Tuesday).
“The struggle of the CPP NPA (New People’s Army) NDF (National Democratic Front (NDF) will further strengthen. On the part of the New People’s Army, they will not stop, of course,” NDF chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni said in a radio interview yesterday.
“The struggle also of the different parties in the countryside and the different sectors will continue. There will be protest actions in different countries, not just in the Philippines, like in Hongkong, Australia, United States, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and other countries,” he added.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said they expect the communists’ reaction, but assured that the government are prepared for it.
“That (intensifying further the NPA’s offensives) is normal to them… But my only appeal is for us not to drag the peace talks issue into this murder case. The murder case is another issue that he (Sison) should face,” Gonzales said in a separate radio interview.
With the apprehension of Sison, the military went on full alert status nationwide effective 8am yesterday morning. The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, had already raised since last week its alert in Metro Manila and the entire Mindanao to the highest level, while the second level is in effect in the Visayas area.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. explained though that the raising of the alert level of the military is also part of standard practice when the President leaves the country. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to leave for Malaysia today (Thursday) to attend the Golden Anniversary of the country until tomorrow (Friday).
“Primarily, it’s because of the departure of the President, and then it’s timely, incidentally, that Joma Sison was arrested, so we want to be ready if there are reactions by the CPP-NPA,” Esperon said.
The military chief is apparently downplaying the possibility of retaliatory attacks by communist rebels, saying, “there is really no indication that there will be chaos.”
Esperon even views the apprehension of Sison as a weakening factor for his followers in the country.
“Definitely, it will be a big boosts for our internal security operations. Just imagine the chairman of the CPP-NPA getting arrested? Remember, Joma Sison has been giving his opinions and orders here to conduct more operations, intensify as much as possible the attacks, build the party some more in the countryside? All these directives come from him so with him in prison, facing charges, then that could certainly pre-occupy him,” Esperon said.
But on the side of the PNP, Deputy Chief for Administration Deputy Director Gen. Avelino Razon, Jr. said they are not taking the threat of the CPP-NPA-NDF lightly.
“We have given directives to our regional directors and provincial chiefs to safeguard police stations and vital installations,” Razon said.
He pointed out, however, that should the communist movement push through with an “all out war without provocation,” then it would show how they disrespect the process of the Dutch government.
“We can really see here the true color of the CPP-NPA. And you watch out who will express their protest over the arrest of Mr. Sison,” Razon said.
Razon maintained that the apprehension of Sison was a result of an official investigation by the Dutch authorities, in proper coordination with Philippine government.
He disclosed that the Dutch police has started investigating the case of Sison in November 2005. The case – inciting to killings in the Philippines (Kintanar and Tabara cases in 2003 and 2004 respetcively) – stemmed from complaints filed in the Netherlands by the families of the victims, said Gonzales.
“The actual processing of interviews of witnesses started in January 2006. And it was finished in July 2007. That’s how long the process they took just to look at the evidence at hand and if the case really has merit,” Razon said.
He said there were documentary evidence, testimonial account of people who showed up, forensic evidence from the Crime Laboratory, and other forms of evidence that were considered and taken by the Dutch authorities when they investigated the case.
“What I know is the DIDM (Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, Crime Laboratory, and other investigating arm spent more than one year assessing evidence, talking to witnesses, even to widows of Kintanar and Tabara,” Razon said.
“So we saw that the case has held through. The Dutch police and prosecutors assessed the evidence, testimony, forensic. And in their assessment, there was probable cause. So when they went back, they did file a case,” he added.
Believing that there is no legal case and that it is just part of the government’s political persecution of Sison, various militant groups, in a press conference in Quezon City, called yesterday for the immediate release of the communist leader.
“We will have a mass action tomorrow (Thursday) at the Dutch Embassy in Makati City. There will be similar actions in Hongkong, New York, and New Zealand,” Bayan Muna Secretary General Renato Reyes said.
Sison was taken into police custody at around 9:30 am Tuesday in Utrecht based on the incitement to killing cases in the Philippines. At the same time, his residence and that of other NDF members, as well as the NDF office, were raided by police, a move seen by his allies as proof that the case is not just against Sison but the NDF and the CPP.
Sison has been in self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987 after his release from detention during the Marcos era./DMS
August 29, 2007
Both the armed members and legal organization members of the communist movement vowed on Wednesday to mobilize following the apprehension of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chairman Jose Maria Sison in the Netherlands the other day (Tuesday).
“The struggle of the CPP NPA (New People’s Army) NDF (National Democratic Front (NDF) will further strengthen. On the part of the New People’s Army, they will not stop, of course,” NDF chief peace negotiator Luis Jalandoni said in a radio interview yesterday.
“The struggle also of the different parties in the countryside and the different sectors will continue. There will be protest actions in different countries, not just in the Philippines, like in Hongkong, Australia, United States, Canada, Belgium, the Netherlands, and other countries,” he added.
National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said they expect the communists’ reaction, but assured that the government are prepared for it.
“That (intensifying further the NPA’s offensives) is normal to them… But my only appeal is for us not to drag the peace talks issue into this murder case. The murder case is another issue that he (Sison) should face,” Gonzales said in a separate radio interview.
With the apprehension of Sison, the military went on full alert status nationwide effective 8am yesterday morning. The Philippine National Police (PNP), for its part, had already raised since last week its alert in Metro Manila and the entire Mindanao to the highest level, while the second level is in effect in the Visayas area.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. explained though that the raising of the alert level of the military is also part of standard practice when the President leaves the country. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to leave for Malaysia today (Thursday) to attend the Golden Anniversary of the country until tomorrow (Friday).
“Primarily, it’s because of the departure of the President, and then it’s timely, incidentally, that Joma Sison was arrested, so we want to be ready if there are reactions by the CPP-NPA,” Esperon said.
The military chief is apparently downplaying the possibility of retaliatory attacks by communist rebels, saying, “there is really no indication that there will be chaos.”
Esperon even views the apprehension of Sison as a weakening factor for his followers in the country.
“Definitely, it will be a big boosts for our internal security operations. Just imagine the chairman of the CPP-NPA getting arrested? Remember, Joma Sison has been giving his opinions and orders here to conduct more operations, intensify as much as possible the attacks, build the party some more in the countryside? All these directives come from him so with him in prison, facing charges, then that could certainly pre-occupy him,” Esperon said.
But on the side of the PNP, Deputy Chief for Administration Deputy Director Gen. Avelino Razon, Jr. said they are not taking the threat of the CPP-NPA-NDF lightly.
“We have given directives to our regional directors and provincial chiefs to safeguard police stations and vital installations,” Razon said.
He pointed out, however, that should the communist movement push through with an “all out war without provocation,” then it would show how they disrespect the process of the Dutch government.
“We can really see here the true color of the CPP-NPA. And you watch out who will express their protest over the arrest of Mr. Sison,” Razon said.
Razon maintained that the apprehension of Sison was a result of an official investigation by the Dutch authorities, in proper coordination with Philippine government.
He disclosed that the Dutch police has started investigating the case of Sison in November 2005. The case – inciting to killings in the Philippines (Kintanar and Tabara cases in 2003 and 2004 respetcively) – stemmed from complaints filed in the Netherlands by the families of the victims, said Gonzales.
“The actual processing of interviews of witnesses started in January 2006. And it was finished in July 2007. That’s how long the process they took just to look at the evidence at hand and if the case really has merit,” Razon said.
He said there were documentary evidence, testimonial account of people who showed up, forensic evidence from the Crime Laboratory, and other forms of evidence that were considered and taken by the Dutch authorities when they investigated the case.
“What I know is the DIDM (Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management, Crime Laboratory, and other investigating arm spent more than one year assessing evidence, talking to witnesses, even to widows of Kintanar and Tabara,” Razon said.
“So we saw that the case has held through. The Dutch police and prosecutors assessed the evidence, testimony, forensic. And in their assessment, there was probable cause. So when they went back, they did file a case,” he added.
Believing that there is no legal case and that it is just part of the government’s political persecution of Sison, various militant groups, in a press conference in Quezon City, called yesterday for the immediate release of the communist leader.
“We will have a mass action tomorrow (Thursday) at the Dutch Embassy in Makati City. There will be similar actions in Hongkong, New York, and New Zealand,” Bayan Muna Secretary General Renato Reyes said.
Sison was taken into police custody at around 9:30 am Tuesday in Utrecht based on the incitement to killing cases in the Philippines. At the same time, his residence and that of other NDF members, as well as the NDF office, were raided by police, a move seen by his allies as proof that the case is not just against Sison but the NDF and the CPP.
Sison has been in self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987 after his release from detention during the Marcos era./DMS
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Police and military in MM ink agreement, spelling out tasks of each other
By Ronron
August 28, 2007
The police and military in Metro Manila have agreed to delineate their activities in the capital for a better inter-operability, officials said.
In the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed Tuesday by National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla and Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, the two parties agreed that the NCRCOM will take a lead role in the anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism efforts of government, while the NCRPO will initiate in the anti-criminality drive and legal offensives.
“This (MOA) will define the working relationship between the NCRPO and the NCRCOM through delineation of tasking… In police and military parlance, we call it jointness of operation that will hopefully yield multiplier effects,” Dolorfino explained.
Dolorfino said that even if the NCRCOM will lead the surveillance and operations against terrorists and insurgents, or other matters involving internal security operations, it will be the police that will pursue the filing of cases, as in other operations.
Both units will also cooperate though in intelligence monitoring activities.
Dolorfino said there will be periodic assessment of the situation through monthly meetings between the two units./DMS
August 28, 2007
The police and military in Metro Manila have agreed to delineate their activities in the capital for a better inter-operability, officials said.
In the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed Tuesday by National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla and Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino, the two parties agreed that the NCRCOM will take a lead role in the anti-insurgency and anti-terrorism efforts of government, while the NCRPO will initiate in the anti-criminality drive and legal offensives.
“This (MOA) will define the working relationship between the NCRPO and the NCRCOM through delineation of tasking… In police and military parlance, we call it jointness of operation that will hopefully yield multiplier effects,” Dolorfino explained.
Dolorfino said that even if the NCRCOM will lead the surveillance and operations against terrorists and insurgents, or other matters involving internal security operations, it will be the police that will pursue the filing of cases, as in other operations.
Both units will also cooperate though in intelligence monitoring activities.
Dolorfino said there will be periodic assessment of the situation through monthly meetings between the two units./DMS
Police, military downplays terror threat from JI, RSM in Metro Manila
By Ronron
August 28, 2007
The commanders of the police and military in Metro Manila are downplaying reports that the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) will launch terrorist attacks in the coming days.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino said Tuesday that there are no warm bodies of terrorists currently in the capital.
“There is no concrete information to that effect, although we are not discounting it because as the saying goes, when there’s smoke, there must be fire,” he told reporters.
“There is no direct threat. I can tell our people that they can freely roam around the city, go to the malls,” added National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla.
On August 24, the Eastern Police District (EPD) issued a memorandum to all its police stations to validate intelligence reports that the JI and RSM will attack malls and gasoline stations in Metro Manila.
The document also directed the police stations to verify the report that the terrorists are using a safehouse in Quezon City, Taguig City or Makati City./DMS
August 28, 2007
The commanders of the police and military in Metro Manila are downplaying reports that the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) will launch terrorist attacks in the coming days.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino said Tuesday that there are no warm bodies of terrorists currently in the capital.
“There is no concrete information to that effect, although we are not discounting it because as the saying goes, when there’s smoke, there must be fire,” he told reporters.
“There is no direct threat. I can tell our people that they can freely roam around the city, go to the malls,” added National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla.
On August 24, the Eastern Police District (EPD) issued a memorandum to all its police stations to validate intelligence reports that the JI and RSM will attack malls and gasoline stations in Metro Manila.
The document also directed the police stations to verify the report that the terrorists are using a safehouse in Quezon City, Taguig City or Makati City./DMS
PNP to field 4,000 cops on promulgation day of Estrada case verdict
By Ronron
August 28, 2007
Some 4,000 policemen will be deployed in Metro Manila for the promulgation of the decision of the Sandiganbayan on the plunder case of former President Joseph Estrada.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla said Tuesday that the policemen will be deployed two days before the promulgation day.
“We will deploy troops two days before the D-day, once we know it. But as of now, we don’t know yet. So, I am touching base with the Sandiganbayan constantly,” Varilla said.
He said most of the troops will be deployed in the vicinity of the Sandiganbayan, and nearby areas, while some will be near the vicinity of Malacanang Palace.
Some 2,000 soldiers will also be placed on standby to support the police forces when necessary, Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino said yesterday.
Varilla said they need to prepare for the event because Estrada still commands a following from the masses.
PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Edgardo Doromal told a separate news briefing that they are monitoring the movements of known Estrada supporters, including those led by Ronald Lumbao and Renato Constantino.
Dolorfino said the demonstrators could reach as high as 7,000, based on the previous number of people who massed up in the last activity in the area, the State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in July.
Varilla answered in the negative, however, when asked if he will meet pro-Estrada groups to ask for their cooperation so no violence will erupt.
Nonetheless, he issued this appeal: “Let us be calm. Anyway, the case is with the court so we are sure that there was due process. Whatever is the outcome, our appeal to the public is for them to accept the verdict.”/DMS
August 28, 2007
Some 4,000 policemen will be deployed in Metro Manila for the promulgation of the decision of the Sandiganbayan on the plunder case of former President Joseph Estrada.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla said Tuesday that the policemen will be deployed two days before the promulgation day.
“We will deploy troops two days before the D-day, once we know it. But as of now, we don’t know yet. So, I am touching base with the Sandiganbayan constantly,” Varilla said.
He said most of the troops will be deployed in the vicinity of the Sandiganbayan, and nearby areas, while some will be near the vicinity of Malacanang Palace.
Some 2,000 soldiers will also be placed on standby to support the police forces when necessary, Armed Forces National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino said yesterday.
Varilla said they need to prepare for the event because Estrada still commands a following from the masses.
PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Edgardo Doromal told a separate news briefing that they are monitoring the movements of known Estrada supporters, including those led by Ronald Lumbao and Renato Constantino.
Dolorfino said the demonstrators could reach as high as 7,000, based on the previous number of people who massed up in the last activity in the area, the State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in July.
Varilla answered in the negative, however, when asked if he will meet pro-Estrada groups to ask for their cooperation so no violence will erupt.
Nonetheless, he issued this appeal: “Let us be calm. Anyway, the case is with the court so we are sure that there was due process. Whatever is the outcome, our appeal to the public is for them to accept the verdict.”/DMS
Army chief to take “drastic action” against would-be destabilizers from military ranks
By Ronron
August 28, 2007
Newly-installed Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano said Tuesday that he will deal drastically with Army troopers who will take part in anti-government efforts, which is rumored to be taking place these days as the verdict of the Estrada plunder case nears promulgation.
“There are regulations and there are actions, drastic actions that we can take. These are violations and we know that there are negotiations there. That is a non-negotiable issue if they are violating rules and regulations,” Yano said in a phone interview with Defense reporters.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro had said Tuesday that there are destabilization reports but he denied that soldiers have been recruited.
Yano expressed confidence that no soldiers will join any destabilization moves against the current administration, saying “our officers are professional enough.”
“They know what they are fighting for. They know their sworn duty, and they have an immediate concern, that is the fight against insurgency and other threats, and I don’t think that they will be distracted from that main mission,” he said.
“I’m confident that they will understand and they will not follow any efforts from different groups who want to cause disorder,” he added.
If they will take part, Yano said the troops will be dealt with under the military justice system.
The military has been used in past mass demonstrations that have caused the ouster of existing leaders, both in 1986 and in 2001./DMS
August 28, 2007
Newly-installed Philippine Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano said Tuesday that he will deal drastically with Army troopers who will take part in anti-government efforts, which is rumored to be taking place these days as the verdict of the Estrada plunder case nears promulgation.
“There are regulations and there are actions, drastic actions that we can take. These are violations and we know that there are negotiations there. That is a non-negotiable issue if they are violating rules and regulations,” Yano said in a phone interview with Defense reporters.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro had said Tuesday that there are destabilization reports but he denied that soldiers have been recruited.
Yano expressed confidence that no soldiers will join any destabilization moves against the current administration, saying “our officers are professional enough.”
“They know what they are fighting for. They know their sworn duty, and they have an immediate concern, that is the fight against insurgency and other threats, and I don’t think that they will be distracted from that main mission,” he said.
“I’m confident that they will understand and they will not follow any efforts from different groups who want to cause disorder,” he added.
If they will take part, Yano said the troops will be dealt with under the military justice system.
The military has been used in past mass demonstrations that have caused the ouster of existing leaders, both in 1986 and in 2001./DMS
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Police in MM alerted for possible JI/RSM attacks
By Ronron
August 27, 2007
Police in Metro Manila have been alerted since this weekend for possible terror attacks by the Al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), a police document showed Monday.
According to an August 24, 2007 memorandum of Eastern Police Intelligence head Supt. Cornelio Barrios, “some intelligence reports” reveal that “prominent malls and gasoline stations in Metro Manila will be the next target of the JI/RSM group.”
The report particularly cited SM North EDSA in Quezon City, Metro Market Market in Taguig City, and SM Makati as among the targets.
Members of said group are supposedly “using a safehouse somewhere in Quezon City, Taguig City or Makati City.”
The report, however, did not say how many suspected terrorists are in the capital now and when they intend to strike.
Retired Gen. Marlu Quevedo who is now with the anti-terrorism office of the National Security Council (NSC) said the apprehension last week of a man with explosives in Cebu City was supposedly part of the reported terror plot in Metro Manila.
“As of now, the terrorists have no capability yet to undertake actions. We will not allow them to bring in their capability here. Thus, last week, we caught one in Cebu,” he said in a text message.
Police in Metro Manila and the entire Mindanao have been placed on full alert since Monday last week for fears that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and its allies will launch diversionary or sympathy attacks elsewhere due to the ongoing offensives against them in Basilan and Sulu.
Barrios, in his memorandum, said Eastern Police director Chief Supt. Luizo Ticman ordered the chiefs of police of Marikina City, Taguig City, Mandaluyong City and San Juan to take extra measures against the said intelligence report.
“You are directed to validate said information and submit report to this office as soon as possible,” Barrios quoted Ticman.
“On top of this, tighten your security measures in all vital installations and other probable terrorist targets in your area of responsibility,” he added.
The last major terror attack in Metro Manila was the Valentine’s Day bombing in Makati City in 2005, which was synchronized with blasts in Davao City and General Santos City./DMS
August 27, 2007
Police in Metro Manila have been alerted since this weekend for possible terror attacks by the Al-Qaeda linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), a police document showed Monday.
According to an August 24, 2007 memorandum of Eastern Police Intelligence head Supt. Cornelio Barrios, “some intelligence reports” reveal that “prominent malls and gasoline stations in Metro Manila will be the next target of the JI/RSM group.”
The report particularly cited SM North EDSA in Quezon City, Metro Market Market in Taguig City, and SM Makati as among the targets.
Members of said group are supposedly “using a safehouse somewhere in Quezon City, Taguig City or Makati City.”
The report, however, did not say how many suspected terrorists are in the capital now and when they intend to strike.
Retired Gen. Marlu Quevedo who is now with the anti-terrorism office of the National Security Council (NSC) said the apprehension last week of a man with explosives in Cebu City was supposedly part of the reported terror plot in Metro Manila.
“As of now, the terrorists have no capability yet to undertake actions. We will not allow them to bring in their capability here. Thus, last week, we caught one in Cebu,” he said in a text message.
Police in Metro Manila and the entire Mindanao have been placed on full alert since Monday last week for fears that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and its allies will launch diversionary or sympathy attacks elsewhere due to the ongoing offensives against them in Basilan and Sulu.
Barrios, in his memorandum, said Eastern Police director Chief Supt. Luizo Ticman ordered the chiefs of police of Marikina City, Taguig City, Mandaluyong City and San Juan to take extra measures against the said intelligence report.
“You are directed to validate said information and submit report to this office as soon as possible,” Barrios quoted Ticman.
“On top of this, tighten your security measures in all vital installations and other probable terrorist targets in your area of responsibility,” he added.
The last major terror attack in Metro Manila was the Valentine’s Day bombing in Makati City in 2005, which was synchronized with blasts in Davao City and General Santos City./DMS
Government security forces brace for possible repeat of May 1, 2001 Malacañang siege on handing down of verdict of Estrada plunder case
By Ronron
August 27, 2007
Government security forces are preparing for a possible repeat of the May 1, 2001 siege of Malacañang Palace by supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada when the Sandiganbayan issues its verdict on the latter’s plunder case in the coming days.
Outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino told reporters Monday that his unit has been holding meetings for a month now with the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) to plan for contingency measures.
“The worst case scenario could be situation like what happened on May 1, 2001 when a mob went to Malacañang… It is anticipated that there will be mass actions,” Dolorfino said when asked of their projections when the anti-graft court promulgates its decision on the Estrada plunder case.
“Guilty or not guilty, I’m sure there will be mass action although it will very in magnitude. If guilty, maybe or it is expected that a bigger mass action will take place,” he added.
Dolorfino said the situation may even be taken advantage of by the “communist terrorist movement … just to ride on the issue.”
During the 2001 Labor Day, thousands of supporters of Estrada trooped to Malacañang and sowed violence in the streets in protest of the arrest of the former President, who was ousted earlier in January due to allegations of corruption.
Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over the Presidency on January 20, 2001. Since her assumption to power, several calls for her ouster continue to ring as its legitimacy was always questioned.
Dolorfino said included in their security preparations is close coordination with the Presidential Security Group (PSG) for the security of the Malacañang Palace.
“We have conducted table top exercise last week trying to run our contingency plans. This week, we will be having communication exercise and we will be testing corresponding actions of units in reaction to scenarios that will be given to them,” he said, referring to their meetings with the NCRPO and the PSG.
The military commander said they are expecting the verdict of the Estrada case from August 31 until the first week of September. “For sure, the Sandiganbayan will inform us way ahead of the schedule of the judgment day.”
When the day comes, Dolorfino said about a thousand NCRPO elements will be mobilized and another thousand from the NCRCOM will be placed on standby for support.
“We have been preparing contingency plans for this and by now, what I can say is that we are prepared for any eventualities that may happen relative to the handing of the verdict,” Dolorfino said.
He said they have to make sure that “peace and stability in the National Capital Region” is preserved on that day “so that normal government functions will continue and the people can engage in their daily lives freely.”
Asked if military elements are being lured into joining activities to sow violence on the promulgation day, Dolorfino said: “We cannot really say categorically that there will be (AFP members) who will also take advantage. It remains to be seen and it can be a focus of our intelligence efforts to prevent such thing from happening.”
In a separate interview, AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said there are rumors of fresh destabilization plots against the Arroyo administration but he could not say if it is linked to the upcoming release of the decision on the Estrada plunder case.
Bacarro said the “interest groups or individuals” who are behind the alleged destabilization plots are just banking on the alleged low morale of the soldiers in the field due to the operations in Basilan and Sulu so their intention of bringing down the Arroyo government will be realized.
“These (low morale claims) are all figment of their imagination. Every opportunity that they can create an issue regarding the divisiveness of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, they will take advantage of that,” Bacarro said.
To the question if the alleged destabilization is connected with the upcoming Sandiganbayan ruling on the Estrada case, Bacarro replied: “We cannot say if that is part of a grand plan. I really can’t say.”
Nonetheless, he assured that no soldiers are joining the said plot, although “we continue to conduct counter-intelligence gathering.”
“I think we are solid behind the chain of command and with the past coup experiences, I think it will be very hard to recruit from the military now, compared to before,” Dolorfino said for his part.
But Dolorfino acknowledged that if the masses reach a critical number on the promulgation day, agitators could use various issues like the revived “Hello Garci” scandal and the deaths of government soldiers in Sulu and Basilan to pursue their objectives of grabbing power from the current administration, particularly the “revolutionary objectives” of the “communist terrorist movement.”
“It’s an opportunity. It’s an event that can unify different groups,” he said./DMS
August 27, 2007
Government security forces are preparing for a possible repeat of the May 1, 2001 siege of Malacañang Palace by supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada when the Sandiganbayan issues its verdict on the latter’s plunder case in the coming days.
Outgoing Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) National Capital Region Command (NCRCOM) chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ben Dolorfino told reporters Monday that his unit has been holding meetings for a month now with the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) to plan for contingency measures.
“The worst case scenario could be situation like what happened on May 1, 2001 when a mob went to Malacañang… It is anticipated that there will be mass actions,” Dolorfino said when asked of their projections when the anti-graft court promulgates its decision on the Estrada plunder case.
“Guilty or not guilty, I’m sure there will be mass action although it will very in magnitude. If guilty, maybe or it is expected that a bigger mass action will take place,” he added.
Dolorfino said the situation may even be taken advantage of by the “communist terrorist movement … just to ride on the issue.”
During the 2001 Labor Day, thousands of supporters of Estrada trooped to Malacañang and sowed violence in the streets in protest of the arrest of the former President, who was ousted earlier in January due to allegations of corruption.
Then Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took over the Presidency on January 20, 2001. Since her assumption to power, several calls for her ouster continue to ring as its legitimacy was always questioned.
Dolorfino said included in their security preparations is close coordination with the Presidential Security Group (PSG) for the security of the Malacañang Palace.
“We have conducted table top exercise last week trying to run our contingency plans. This week, we will be having communication exercise and we will be testing corresponding actions of units in reaction to scenarios that will be given to them,” he said, referring to their meetings with the NCRPO and the PSG.
The military commander said they are expecting the verdict of the Estrada case from August 31 until the first week of September. “For sure, the Sandiganbayan will inform us way ahead of the schedule of the judgment day.”
When the day comes, Dolorfino said about a thousand NCRPO elements will be mobilized and another thousand from the NCRCOM will be placed on standby for support.
“We have been preparing contingency plans for this and by now, what I can say is that we are prepared for any eventualities that may happen relative to the handing of the verdict,” Dolorfino said.
He said they have to make sure that “peace and stability in the National Capital Region” is preserved on that day “so that normal government functions will continue and the people can engage in their daily lives freely.”
Asked if military elements are being lured into joining activities to sow violence on the promulgation day, Dolorfino said: “We cannot really say categorically that there will be (AFP members) who will also take advantage. It remains to be seen and it can be a focus of our intelligence efforts to prevent such thing from happening.”
In a separate interview, AFP Public Information Officer Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said there are rumors of fresh destabilization plots against the Arroyo administration but he could not say if it is linked to the upcoming release of the decision on the Estrada plunder case.
Bacarro said the “interest groups or individuals” who are behind the alleged destabilization plots are just banking on the alleged low morale of the soldiers in the field due to the operations in Basilan and Sulu so their intention of bringing down the Arroyo government will be realized.
“These (low morale claims) are all figment of their imagination. Every opportunity that they can create an issue regarding the divisiveness of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, they will take advantage of that,” Bacarro said.
To the question if the alleged destabilization is connected with the upcoming Sandiganbayan ruling on the Estrada case, Bacarro replied: “We cannot say if that is part of a grand plan. I really can’t say.”
Nonetheless, he assured that no soldiers are joining the said plot, although “we continue to conduct counter-intelligence gathering.”
“I think we are solid behind the chain of command and with the past coup experiences, I think it will be very hard to recruit from the military now, compared to before,” Dolorfino said for his part.
But Dolorfino acknowledged that if the masses reach a critical number on the promulgation day, agitators could use various issues like the revived “Hello Garci” scandal and the deaths of government soldiers in Sulu and Basilan to pursue their objectives of grabbing power from the current administration, particularly the “revolutionary objectives” of the “communist terrorist movement.”
“It’s an opportunity. It’s an event that can unify different groups,” he said./DMS
Monday, August 27, 2007
Two soldiers hurt in brief encounter in Basilan
By Ronron
August 26, 2007
For the first time since the deadly August 18 encounter in Basilan, government troops figured anew on Sunday in a firefight in said province against armed men possibly belonging to the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), leaving two soldiers wounded.
Capt. Neil Estrella, spokesman of the military’s Joint Task Force Thunder, said in a phone interview that the firefight started at around 4:38 pm in Barangay Silangkum, Tipo-tipo and lasted for about 15 minutes.
“Our troops were conducting combat patrol when they chanced upon this group of armed men whose identities we are still verifying,” Estrella said in Filipino.
He said the government troops were from the Army’s 4th Scout Rangers Company and 9th Special Forces Company, and the 9th Marine Battalion.
Asked if the armed men are possibly ASG members, Estrella said: “Yes, there’s a possibility that they are Abu Sayyaf on the basis that the clash site is just near the previous encounter.”
On August 18, elements of the Philippines Marines clashed with ASG rebels in the adjacent Ungkaya Pukan town for about eight hours, leaving 15 soldiers killed. An Air Force pilot who was manning an MG520 attack helicopter that was providing close air support to the troops on the ground also died after the chopper crashed due to engine trouble.
Last Friday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said the military will strike if they have intelligence information about the presence of the Al-Qaeda linked bandits.
Estrella said the wounded troopers were enlisted personnel of the Army and the Marines. “We already sent medical team to the site to provide immediate assistance,” said Estrella.
There was no immediate report about casualties on the side of the armed group.
Estrella said pursuit operations are still ongoing as of press time against the armed group, the strength of which is not immediately known.
The military has beefed up its strength to 5,000 in Basilan following the July 10 incident against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Al-Barka town. Similarly, some 4,000 troops are scouring the nearby island province of Sulu where other ASG bandits and their allies are believed to be hiding too.
The fighting in Basilan and Sulu have already left 57 soldiers killed and about two dozen others wounded.
Esperon had said that he sees the end of the problem of terrorism in Basilan in two months./DMS
August 26, 2007
For the first time since the deadly August 18 encounter in Basilan, government troops figured anew on Sunday in a firefight in said province against armed men possibly belonging to the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), leaving two soldiers wounded.
Capt. Neil Estrella, spokesman of the military’s Joint Task Force Thunder, said in a phone interview that the firefight started at around 4:38 pm in Barangay Silangkum, Tipo-tipo and lasted for about 15 minutes.
“Our troops were conducting combat patrol when they chanced upon this group of armed men whose identities we are still verifying,” Estrella said in Filipino.
He said the government troops were from the Army’s 4th Scout Rangers Company and 9th Special Forces Company, and the 9th Marine Battalion.
Asked if the armed men are possibly ASG members, Estrella said: “Yes, there’s a possibility that they are Abu Sayyaf on the basis that the clash site is just near the previous encounter.”
On August 18, elements of the Philippines Marines clashed with ASG rebels in the adjacent Ungkaya Pukan town for about eight hours, leaving 15 soldiers killed. An Air Force pilot who was manning an MG520 attack helicopter that was providing close air support to the troops on the ground also died after the chopper crashed due to engine trouble.
Last Friday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. said the military will strike if they have intelligence information about the presence of the Al-Qaeda linked bandits.
Estrella said the wounded troopers were enlisted personnel of the Army and the Marines. “We already sent medical team to the site to provide immediate assistance,” said Estrella.
There was no immediate report about casualties on the side of the armed group.
Estrella said pursuit operations are still ongoing as of press time against the armed group, the strength of which is not immediately known.
The military has beefed up its strength to 5,000 in Basilan following the July 10 incident against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Al-Barka town. Similarly, some 4,000 troops are scouring the nearby island province of Sulu where other ASG bandits and their allies are believed to be hiding too.
The fighting in Basilan and Sulu have already left 57 soldiers killed and about two dozen others wounded.
Esperon had said that he sees the end of the problem of terrorism in Basilan in two months./DMS
Reds admit raiding Davao Oriental police station
By Ronron
August 26, 2007
The communist New People’s Army (NPA) has claimed attacking the municipal police station of San Isidro in Davao Oriental last Wednesday where several firearms were taken away.
In a statement dated August 23, 2007 but released only Sunday, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said elements of the NPA’s 3rd Pulang Bagani Company and Wilfredo Zapanta Command conducted the raid as part of the movement’s “counter-offensive operation” against the anti-insurgency Operation Plan (OPLAN) Bantay Laya of the government.
“It is a punishment for the police, military and paramilitary forces of the rotten and criminal US-Arroyo regime that uses its war machinery against civilians and the people,” the CPP said in the statement.
The statement said the rebels who participated in the raid carted away 11 M16 rifles, two .45 caliber pistol, one 9mm pistol and several ammunitions. They also took two shotguns from the company guards of the nearby SODACO Agricultural Corporation.
The police has earlier reported that when the rebels arrived, they were in military uniforms and pretended that they were to report about the supposed capture of an NPA member.
The failure of the police personnel on duty to respond to the situation caused their administrative relief.
The CPP statement said the “red fighters” were able to “successfully” raid the San Isidro Municipal Police Station “without firing a single shot.”
Police said the raiders were armed with several long firearms during the incident.
“The NPA shall continue to defend the masses and the people. It will continue to launch tactical offensives and special operations against Gloria Arroyo’s fascist machinery in the ever-deepening and widening strength of the revolution and advance the protracted people’s war,” the CPP statement reads.
The Philippines has been battling the insurgency problem for 38 years now and prospects of peace remain nil since the negotiations between the government and the movement bogged down in August 2004 following the latter’s inclusion in the terror list of the US and European Union’s governments.
The Philippine military estimates the current strength of the NPA to be no more than 7,100./DMS
August 26, 2007
The communist New People’s Army (NPA) has claimed attacking the municipal police station of San Isidro in Davao Oriental last Wednesday where several firearms were taken away.
In a statement dated August 23, 2007 but released only Sunday, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said elements of the NPA’s 3rd Pulang Bagani Company and Wilfredo Zapanta Command conducted the raid as part of the movement’s “counter-offensive operation” against the anti-insurgency Operation Plan (OPLAN) Bantay Laya of the government.
“It is a punishment for the police, military and paramilitary forces of the rotten and criminal US-Arroyo regime that uses its war machinery against civilians and the people,” the CPP said in the statement.
The statement said the rebels who participated in the raid carted away 11 M16 rifles, two .45 caliber pistol, one 9mm pistol and several ammunitions. They also took two shotguns from the company guards of the nearby SODACO Agricultural Corporation.
The police has earlier reported that when the rebels arrived, they were in military uniforms and pretended that they were to report about the supposed capture of an NPA member.
The failure of the police personnel on duty to respond to the situation caused their administrative relief.
The CPP statement said the “red fighters” were able to “successfully” raid the San Isidro Municipal Police Station “without firing a single shot.”
Police said the raiders were armed with several long firearms during the incident.
“The NPA shall continue to defend the masses and the people. It will continue to launch tactical offensives and special operations against Gloria Arroyo’s fascist machinery in the ever-deepening and widening strength of the revolution and advance the protracted people’s war,” the CPP statement reads.
The Philippines has been battling the insurgency problem for 38 years now and prospects of peace remain nil since the negotiations between the government and the movement bogged down in August 2004 following the latter’s inclusion in the terror list of the US and European Union’s governments.
The Philippine military estimates the current strength of the NPA to be no more than 7,100./DMS
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