Sunday, February 3, 2013

Chairman Murad invited to Philippine Development Forum

Posted to the MILF Website (Feb 3): Chairman Murad invited to Philippine Development Forum



The Department of Finance (DOF) invited Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim of the Moro Islamic Liberation (MILF) to the Philippine Development Forum (PDF) in Davao City on February 4-5, 2013.

“Cognizant of the recently signed peace framework agreement, we would like to take the opportunity of using the PDF as a venue for encouraging development partners for achieving peace and progress in Mindanao,” said DOF Secretary Cesar Purisima.

The part of Chairman Murad shall emphasize on the GPH – MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) signed in Malacanang Palace last October 15, 2012, conveyed Muhammad Ameen, Chief Secretariat of the MILF Central Committee.

The Malaysian Government as the Third Party Facilitator was the principal witnessed to the forging of the FAB.

“We take this opportunity to extend its gratitude and commendation to the Government of the Philippines (GPH) particularly the Department of Finance for the kind invitation extended the MILF,” Ameen stated.

He cited the initiatives of the government in factoring significantly the Framework Agreement in the Philippine Development Forum.

“We sincerely hope that both the government and MILF, as peace and development partners, can faithfully deliver on the promises of the Framework Agreement taking into consideration the general welfare of the Bangsamoro people as the primary goal,” he said.

Ameen stressed the MILF and the government must be seen and appreciated as honest to goodness partners in the realization of the fruitions and gains of the FAB with the assistance of the Malaysian Third Party Facilitator as indispensable.

“The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro opens investments and opportunities for the Bangsamoro to live in peace and progress. But we cannot do this alone,” said Ameen.

He said “the final analysis entails national projections for the obvious reason that whatever happened to Framework Agreement will have national impact.”

The Philippine Development Forum serves as the primary mechanism of the Government for facilitating substantive policy dialogue among stakeholders on the country’s development agenda, and a venue for developing consensus and generating commitments among different stakeholders toward critical actionable items of the Government.

http://www.luwaran.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3075:chairman-murad-invited-to-philippine-development-forum&catid=31:general&Itemid=41

No place for failure in peace talks: Ferrer

From the Sun Star-Davao (Feb 3): No place for failure in peace talks: Ferrer

THE government peace panel has remained optimistic on the result of the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the point that entertaining a possible failure is a no-no for them.

In Friday's Mindanao Development Forum at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City, Government of the Philippines (GPH) peace panel chief in talks with the MILF Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said their focus is on reaching an agreement and implementing the same.

"To borrow a quote from my counterpart (MILF peace panel) chairman (Mohagher) Iqbal, we are not entertaining any failure here. We are both committed to finishing our work, finishing the agreement and move on to full blast implementation," she said.

Ferrer said they hope to sign the comprehensive agreement with the MILF by March 2013. She said there are few remaining issues that need to be addressed though before doing so.

“At this stage, we are moving towards completing the annexes which we hope to do by March during which time we can have the signing of the comprehensive agreement. We are down to seven issues on the three annexes –power sharing, wealth sharing and transitional arrangements,” Ferrer said.
The government peace panel chief said, however, that much of the framework agreement and annexes have already been agreed upon by both panels.

“Allocation of powers related to jurisdiction over mineral resources, allocation of power related to transportation and communication, and regional water domain. These are some of the key issues still pending, but otherwise, consensus on large tracts of the text has already been achieved,” she assured.
Mindanao Development Authority chair Lualhati Antonino, meanwhile, supported the positive outlook of the government peace panel on the peace negotiations with the MILF.

“We have positive outlook; that is why we are selling Mindanao to prospective investors that indeed this a good place to invest because there is going to be a reign of peace. We in Mindanao are already in a mood of getting together to look for ways of helping in the development of Mindanao,” said Antonino.

Last December, President Benigno S. Aquino III issued Executive Order 120 creating a Transition Commission (TC) that will draft the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law provided for in the Framework Agreement signed by the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on October 15.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles said the EO "affirms the President's resolve to move forward the peace process for the Bangsamoro as a strategic initiative for political stability and economic development."

The EO creates a 15-member TC that will be appointed by the President. The Government and the MILF shall come up with a list of candidates from among the Bangsamoro and other residents in the prospective core area of the new political entity.

According to the Executive Order, the TC may also recommend to Congress and the people, when necessary, proposed amendments to the Constitution.

"The aim is to install the Bangsamoro through a new organic act as soon as possible in order to have an elected Bangsamoro government by 2016. This does not prevent the TC or its members from examining the constitution and recommending constitutional reforms,” said Ferrer.

The Transition Commission shall also assist in identifying development programs together with the Bangsamoro Development Authority and the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute -- two institutions affiliated with the MILF.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2013/02/03/no-place-failure-peace-talks-ferrer-266312

‘Education is the lasting solution to Mindanao war’

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Feb 3): ‘Education is the lasting solution to Mindanao war’

A negotiated political settlement to the long-running Moro rebellion in Mindanao is only a short-term solution, conceded government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer. The government is banking on the education of the youth as the long-term remedy to the problems in Mindanao, she said at a recent forum hosted by the Lanao del Norte peace and order council.

Ferrer was responding to fears expressed by some political leaders that after a peace agreement is signed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), new rebel groups would emerge and make new demands.

Ferrer said the Aquino government, which signed a framework agreement with the MILF late last year, sees a combination of peace deals and the promotion of education as the way to build lasting peace in communities torn by years of armed conflict.

While the government is trying to finalize the peace deal, which includes the establishment of a Bangsamoro government, it has also been exerting efforts to improve the youth’s access to education, she explained.

Ferrer said the government was aware that the peace deal with the MILF would not guarantee that similar uprisings would not erupt in the future. It needs to be complemented by education as the long-term solution to make the youth “feel that they have a future, hence to see no need to be involved with armed groups,” she said.

Among the efforts to make education accessible to all are the construction of more school buildings and hiring of more teachers, she said. Ferrer believes that with schools built in as many communities as possible, the youth will spend more time learning from teachers rather than listening to the ideals of antigovernment armed groups.

Ferrer is a political science teacher at the University of the Philippines, a traditional hotbed of activism and suspected recruitment ground for revolutionary causes, including Moro separatism.

Ferrer added the government also expects to achieve a turnaround in the situation in the five-province Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with various reforms being instituted by the interim regional administration and the continued commitment of more sources to bankroll development efforts.

Ferrer asserted that by changing the situation in the five provinces that comprise the ARMM, future revolutionaries would no longer be able to point to government neglect in convincing people to join them.

For years, these provinces were referred to by Moro revolutionaries as the hallmarks of prolonged government neglect. The provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Sulu are among the country’s most impoverished areas. Social development projects were lacking.
 

Freed Filipino hostage thought he’d die in captivity in Jolo jungle

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Feb 4): Freed Filipino hostage thought he’d die in captivity in Jolo jungle



Ramel Vela, one of two Filipino members of a Jordanian TV journalist’s crew believed to have been kidnapped by al-Qaida-linked militants in June, is interviewed by a police officer in his hospital room Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013. “We never thought we’d make it out alive.” A teary-eyed Vela said. AP PHOTO/NICKEE BUTLANGAN
 
“We never thought we’d make it out alive.” That was what cameraman Ramelito Vela said, teary-eyed in his hospital bed hours after he and his companion, audio technician Rolando Letrero, were freed by Abu Sayyaf bandits after nearly eight months of captivity in the jungles of nearby Jolo Island.

Vela and Letrero, both members of the TV crew of Jordanian journalist Baker Abdulla Atyani, were released in the village of Buhanginan in Patikul town on Saturday night.

Atyani is believed still held by the Abu Sayyaf bandits in the mountainous town, according to Senior Supt. Antonio Freyra, the Sulu police chief.

An unspecified amount was paid to secure the freedom of the two Filipinos, according to three security officials monitoring the kidnappings. The three spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
Military officials said the bandits had demanded P130 million for the release of Atyani and his two crew members.
“Strong pressure” from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) prompted the release of the two Filipinos, said Octavio Dinampo, a professor of the Sulu-based Mindanao State University and provincial coordinator of Bantay Ceasefire.

The MNLF used to be biggest Moro rebel group in Mindanao until it signed an autonomy deal with the government in 1996.

On Sunday, hours after the two Filipinos were freed, a fierce clash erupted between the Abu Sayyaf and the MNLF, resulting in six dead among the combatants, officials said.

It was the first major bloody confrontation between the two insurgent groups, which have coexisted for years and at times were suspected of collaborating on kidnappings.

In tears

There was “no word” on the fate or whereabouts of Atyani, of the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya network, Chief Supt. Noel de los Reyes, the police chief for Northern Mindanao, told Agence France-Presse.

De los Reyes said that shortly after Vela and Letrero were freed, the two Filipinos called their families “from a hotel room in Jolo.” They were then taken by authorities to the provincial hospital for checkup.

As they lay in their beds, the two Filipinos tearfully recounted their ordeal in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf, according to the Jolo deputy provincial police chief, Chief Insp. Roy Gabor.

“We’re so happy… We went through so much difficulty,” Gabor quoted Vela as saying.

Gabor described the pair as very emotional and said they emerged from the jungle looking thin and with unkempt hair and beards.

“They were a bit confused. They said they were just told to leave the hostage lair,” Gabor said.

Swollen leg

Gabor said Vela and Letrero related that they were separated from Atyani on the fifth day of their captivity and they had not seen him since.

The gunmen gave them a horse because Vela could not walk due to a swollen leg and both left the jungle hideout unescorted until they reached a highway.

The pair then rode a tricycle to Jolo’s main port, where they went to a hotel and sought help, Gabor said, adding that the pair would soon fly back to Manila to be reunited with their families.

De los Reyes denied ransom was paid for the release of Vela and Letrero.

Col. Orlando de Leon, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, said Letrero and Vela would be moved to Zamboanga City “after they have been debriefed.”

Kidnappers surrounded

Atyani, two European bird-watchers and two other Filipinos—airport engineer Carlos Tee and Edmund Gumbahali, a consultant of the Non Violence Peace Force—are still in captivity.

Other officials said the gunmen were also still holding a Japanese treasure hunter, a Malaysian and an Australian.

“What I gathered from my contacts is that the [Abu Sayyaf] is still demanding P10 million from Atyani’s family,” Dinampo told the Inquirer.

Dinampo said the place where Vela and Letrero were held “is now surrounded by about 3,000 armed MNLF forces and they have encircled some 700 [Abu Sayyaf bandits] still holding other captives.”

Referring to the release of the two Filipinos, Dinampo quoted his sources as saying that armed men brought the pair down from the guerrillas’ hideout “and they were told to board a Tamaraw vehicle… They were dropped off at the back of the capitol.”

“From there, they took a tricycle. Vela is reportedly seriously ill and he was assisted by his young companion (Letrero) and they went to Barangay Busbus and checked in at AVR Inn yesterday afternoon,” Dinampo said.

He said police brought the victims to the hospital “because Vela could hardly walk and is very sick.”

Gun battle erupts

MNLF commander Khabir Malik said his group had taken the initiative to seek the freedom of the hostages to help the government clean up the image of Sulu, a predominantly Muslim province where the Abu Sayyaf has carried out deadly bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings, primarily in the early 2000s.

US-backed military offensives have crippled the Abu Sayyaf in recent years but it remains a national security threat. Washington has listed the group as a terrorist organization.

Malik said last week that he met with Abu Sayyaf commander Jul-Asman Sawadjaan to seek the release of Atyani and his two crew members. But the bandits refused to release their captives to the MNLF, Malik said.

Malik had suggested that his armed group could consider other options, including a rescue, to secure the captives’ freedom.

Abu Sayyaf gunmen later handed the two Filipinos to still-unknown negotiators, but not to Malik’s group, angering the MNLF, according to three security officials.

A gun battle then erupted Sunday between Malik’s forces and the Abu Sayyaf. There were no immediate reports of casualties, and police and the military went on alert amid the fighting.

Major concern

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr last month welcomed news that Warren Rodwell, 54, was alive after being held hostage for more than a year but said his prolonged captivity was a “major concern.”

The European bird-watchers, Dutchman Ewold Horn, 52, and Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra, 47, were kidnapped in February last year. The Japanese, Toshio Ito, was seized in July 2010.

Atyani was working for the Arabic satellite channel Middle East Broadcasting Corp. when he interviewed Osama bin Laden and his aides in Afghanistan months before the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States.

He said they told him that the coming weeks would hold “important surprises that will target American and Israeli interests in the world.”

He later moved to Al-Arabiya TV and traveled to Sulu to work on a documentary about the country’s volatile south, officials said.

US warning

On Friday, Washington renewed a longstanding warning to Americans not to travel to Sulu “due to the high threat of kidnapping… and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism there.”

The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 380 armed fighters in Sulu and nearby islands, is an extremist offshoot of a Moro rebellion that has been raging in the predominantly Catholic nation’s south for decades. The violence has been fueled by abject poverty, corruption, proliferation of illegal weapons and weak law enforcement.

MalacaƱang welcomed the news that the two Filipinos had been freed.

“President Aquino has been informed of it and we’re happy that the two Filipinos have been freed,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/63437/freed-filipino-hostage-thought-hed-die-in-captivity-in-jolo-jungle

28 Ex-NPAs receive provincial assistance

Just posted to Samar News (Jan31): 28 Ex-NPAs receive provincial assistance

Former rebels

By 19th Infantry Battalion, 8ID PA

VILLABA, LeyteThe provincial government of Leyte, through the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) had once again dispensed reintegration funds to former members of the New People’s Army.

This was the highlight of the Ceremonial Awarding of Financial Assistance to 28 Former Rebels held at Brgy. Cagnocot, Villaba, Leyte on Wednesday morning, January 30, 2013.

Each former rebel received P10,000.00 worth of pre-surfacing assistance while another P25,000.00 were also given to five of them (former rebels) who surrendered with firearms.
Lt. Col. Joel Alejandro Nacnac, commanding officer of the 19th Infantry Battalion based in Brgy. Aguiting, Kananga, Leyte confirmed that the recipients of the provincial assistance were former members of the Front-Committee Leyte (FC-L) which the military battled for several years.

In his message, Col. Rafael Valencia, area commander of the military in Leyte urged the recipients to set as examples and encourage their former comrades to return to the folds of the law and avail the programs in store for them.

Col. Valencia furthered that the assistance received by the former rebels is just the start of the new life and brighter future that lies ahead of them and their respective families.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ma. Mimietta Bagulaya expressed his gratitude to military, police and other government agencies who worked hand in hand in the implementation of the Comprehensive Local Integration Program.

Bagulaya also commends Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer, Mrs. Clotilde Malatbalat and third district board member Hon. Rolando Piamonte who were equally instrumental to the success of the event.

Bagulaya who was guest of honor and speaker of the ceremony was impressed with the courage of the former rebels who shall once again surface in their respective community.

“The battle that we must fight and unite for is poverty”, Gov. Bagulaya stressed.

Deles: informal meetings with NDF to help accelerate formal peace talks

From MindaNews (Feb 3): Deles: informal meetings with NDF to help accelerate formal peace talks

The Philippine government hopes that informal talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) will hasten the resumption of formal peace talks, Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, said.

Deles admitted at the press conference of the Mindanao Development Forum on Friday that government has had more difficulties in pushing for settlement with the NDFP than with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“I think it is also no secret that last December, there was a meeting. There are some informal explorations of how that process can be moved,” she told reporters.

“We continue to work with our third party facilitator, the government of Norway, so that this informal exploration that is happening will help accelerate the discussions,” she said.

The Royal Norwegian government hosted and facilitated the first meeting of the representatives of the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the NDF in pursuance of the “special track” of the GPH-NDFP peace negotiations in the Hague on December 17 and 18.

In a press statement on December 19, NDFP peace panel chair Luis Jalandoni expressed appreciation for the meeting but warned against non-compliance with agreements.

He said the NDFP’s offer of the special track, which means the offer to the GPH of alliance and truce, was issued to President Benigno Aquino III in January 2011.

Both parties agreed to carry on the discussions on common declaration of national unity and just peace; further upholding national independence, democracy and human rights; committee of national unity, peace and development; agrarian reform, rural development and national
industrialization; and truce.

It was also in the meeting that the holding of a nationwide ceasefire from midnight of December 20, 2012 to midnight of January 15, 2013 was confirmed.

The ceasefire, Jalandoni said was to give due consideration to the relief and rehabilitation of the victims and communities devastated by typhoon Pablo that made landfall in Mindanao last Dec. 4.
The GPH and NDFP special representatives agreed during their meeting last December to meet again sometime early this year.

Deles said the government is looking at “a holistic picture” in its settlement with the NDFP, adding, “we look at the different things that need to be put in place in terms of winning the ground for peace.” She pointed out that in helping rebuild areas in Mindanao that were affected by Pablo, the government is hoping that “it may allow us to have some building blocks that will help to overcome” the problems on the table.

“I think in Mindanao, it is an important element to see that the Pablo-devastated areas are also highly affected by the conflict with the NPA,” she told reporters.

She added: “And that is our official call now, in fact, is to call in everyone to help in rebuilding that area in a way that there will not be just resilience to climate change effects but in a way that it will also be conflict-free.”

Meanwhile, the Sowing the Seeds of Peace, a Mindanao peace advocacy group supporting GPH-NDFP peace talks, pushed for both panels to sign a comprehensive agreement on socio-economic rights as “it provides concrete solutions to the root causes of environment destructions.”

Bishop Felixberto Calang, convener, said in a press statement dated January 26 that more natural disasters like typhoons Sendong and Pablo loom in the immediate future unless comprehensive social and economic reforms are instituted.

“The roots of our environmental crises today are linked to monopoly of land, extractive industries and land conversions, and an economy that is not pro-Filipino but caters to foreign interests,” he said.

The genuine agrarian reform and a nationalist development program, he said, are “our only way out of these catastrophes since decades of market-oriented, consumerist, and exploitative paradigms have led us into this mess today.”

http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2013/02/03/deles-informal-meetings-with-ndf-to-help-accelerate-formal-peace-talks/

Bad weather to extend salvaging ops for USS Guardian by 2 months — reports

From GMANews (Feb 3): Bad weather to extend salvaging ops for USS Guardian by 2 months — reports

With the damage it wrought on marine life in the area seemingly worsening, the American warship that ran aground on the Tubbataha Reef may remain stuck there even longer than anticipated due to bad weather conditions.

Captain Oscar Endona Jr. of the Philippine Coast Guard, which has been monitoring the situation at the protected Palawan marine park, said salvaging operations for the USS Guardian may have to wait until March to go full swing.

“We might have a problem working on the Guardian kasi nga dahil sa condition ng weather. Magalaw right now, so we have to wait until summer na pristine na ang tubig at hindi na magulo,” Endona said in a report by GMA News’ Bernadette Reyes.


Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista, head of Task Force Tubbataha, meanwhile said that authorities cannot conduct continuous operations at the marine protected area unless the sea and weather conditions improve.

“Unpredictable ang weather, so kapag masama ang dagat, tinitigil ang trabaho for safety reasons,” Evangelista said in the same television report.

The Philippine officials made these statements after SMIT Borneo, one of the crane ships contracted to help extract the US warship from the Tubbataha Reef, arrived at the Puerto Princesa City port on Sunday morning after encountering delays due to bad weather.

On January 17, the USS Guardian, which just completed a port call in Subic Bay, ran aground on the reef in Sulu Sea on its way to Indonesia supposedly due to strong currents.

Angelique Songco, Tubbataha marine park manager, said the damage caused by the USS Guardian to the marine sanctuary has already reached over 4,000 square meters—four times the initial damage assessment of 1,000 square meters.

US to help Tubbataha restoration

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) meanwhile pledged on Sunday to fund research and restoration of the Tubbataha reef.

The USAID's Coral Triangle Support Partnership will be granting P4.1 million (US$100,000) to a Philippine university to support coral restoration research at Tubbataha Reef.

The US embassy will likewise organize a roundtable discussion with local reef conservation experts in the next two weeks to discuss concerns and options for conservation and restoration of the reef.

The USAID, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), Philippine agencies, and the Tubbataha Management Office have been invited to join the discussion.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/293246/news/nation/bad-weather-to-extend-salvaging-ops-for-uss-guardian-by-2-months-reports

AFP open to Pentagon-like structure in Camp Aguinaldo

From the Business Mirror (Feb 3): AFP open to Pentagon-like structure in Camp Aguinaldo

DEFENSE officials are open to the establishment of a structure similar to the Pentagon building of the United States Department of Defense (US DOD).
 
“That’s one of the options currently being studied,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo B. Burgos Jr. said. The chief of the AFP Public Affairs Office spoke to the BusinessMirror after the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) bared development plans for several military camps.
 
BCDA President and Chief Executive Arnel Paciano D. Casanova said in a press briefing they plan “to undertake the master planning” soon. “We don’t have this yet but this year we plan to. Initially, we are already being asked to look at Camp Aguinaldo and the Navy area in Fort Bonifacio,” he said.
 
Casanova said the plan has to be formulated by officials of the AFP, BCDA and the Department of National Defense (DND). “Ultimately, AFP officials will be the decision-makers and BCDA will just support their initiatives,” Casanova added.
 
Burgos said AFP officials are tapping the BCDA for property development like this “because, admittedly, our expertise is on national defense.” He added that while the AFP has two realty agencies, the institution may need to outsource non-core expertise like master planning.
 
The master planning and development initiatives would cover the 20-hectare AFP property in Camp Aguinaldo, according to Casanova.
 
The 70-year-old Pentagon building has a total land area of 11.7359 hectares, or 29 acres, 34 of it includes the courtyard.
 
The building, completed in 1943, sits on a 583-acre (235.932-hectare) lot, according to the US DOD web site.
 
Casanova said “things must move faster” in view of lot areas the AFP is losing to illegal settlers.
“We have two types of illegal settlers to address: the homeless poor and the professional squatters,” he said, adding that the latter is more difficult to handle. Casanova said he estimates the AFP to be losing P1 billion annually because of these illegal settlers.
 

Two Pinoy TV crew freed by Abu Sayyaf

From the Manila Standard Today (Feb 4): Two Pinoy TV crew freed by Abu Sayyaf

Terrorists let go of hostages during firefight with MNLF

ABU Sayyaf gunmen on Saturday were forced to free two Filipino crewmen of a Jordanian journalist who were all being held hostage by the al- Qaida-linked terrorist group since last year during a fierce gunfight with members of the Moro National Liberation Front in Patikul, Sulu, police said Sunday.

An MNLF official said the Abu Sayyaf were forced to leave cameraman Ramel Vela and audio technician Roland Letriro after the MNLF neared their hideout in Patikul.

Vela, Letriro and Jordanian Baker Abdulla Atyani were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in June last year as they set out to interview the extremists in their jungle lairs in the southern Philippines.

Policemen found frail-looking Vela and Letriro late Saturday and brought them to a hospital in southern Sulu, provincial police chief Senior Supt. Antonio Freyra said.

Atyani is believed still being held by the gunmen in the jungles of Sulu’s mountainous Patikul town, about 950 kilometers south of Manila.

“We’re so happy. We never thought we’d make it out alive,” a teary-eyed Vela said at his hospital bed, adding that he and Letriro had not seen Atyani since the Jordanian was separated from them by their kidnappers five days after they were taken hostage.

Freyra said fierce fighting between members of the MNLF and the Abu Sayyaf, which erupted Sunday when the MNLF went after those still holding Atyani and his crewmen, was still ongoing, and that three MNLF members had been wounded and taken to the Sulu Provincial Hospital as of press time.

Visibly thinner, shocked and with overgrown hair and beard, Vela and Letriro were examined by doctors and given bread and water in the Sulu hospital, which was being guarded by police and Marines.

“They really lost weight because they were constantly under stress each day,” Freyra said.
An unspecified amount was paid to secure the freedom of the two captives, according to three security officials who have been closely monitoring the kidnappings. The three spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

Military officials have said Abu Sayyaf militants have demanded P 130 million pesos for the release of Atyani and his two crew members.

Hundreds of rebels from the MNLF, which signed a 1996 autonomy deal with the government, had been negotiating with the Abu Sayyaf for the release of Atyani and other foreign hostages, including two European bird watchers who were abducted last year.

MNLF commander Khabir Malik said his group had taken the initiative to seek the freedom of the hostages to help the government clean up the image of Sulu, a predominantly Muslim province where the Abu Sayyaf has carried out deadly bombings, kidnappings for ransom and beheadings, primarily in the early 2000s.

US-backed military offensives have crippled the Abu Sayyaf in recent years, but it remains a national security threat. Washington has listed the group as a terrorist organization.

Malik said last week that he met with an Abu Sayyaf commander, Jul-Asman Sawadjaan, to seek the release of Atyani and his two crew members, who were believed being held in the jungles of Sulu’s mountainous Patikul town. But the extremists refused to release their captives to the Moro rebels, Malik said.

Malik had suggested that his armed group could consider other options, including a rescue, to secure the captives’ freedom from the smaller Abu Sayyaf group.

Abu Sayyaf gunmen handed the two Filipinos to still-unknown negotiators, but not to Malik’s group, angering the Moro rebels, according to the three security officials.

A gunbattle then erupted between Malik’s forces and the Abu Sayyaf militants, Freyra said.

Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan has said he will not allow Malik’s group to take any drastic action like a rescue that could harm the Abu Sayyaf’s hostages.

Atyani was working for the Arabic satellite channel Middle East Broadcasting Corp. when he interviewed Osama bin Laden and his aides in Afghanistan about three months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He said they told him that the coming weeks would hold “important surprises that will target American and Israeli interests in the world.”

He later moved to Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV as its Asia bureau chief. He traveled to Sulu to work on a documentary about the country’s volatile south and possibly interview Abu Sayyaf militants in the impoverished province, Freyra and other officials said.

The other hostages being held by the Abu Sayyaf include the two European men, who were seized from nearby Tawi Tawi province in February last year and are believed to have been taken to Sulu, a Japanese treasure hunter, a Malaysian national and a Filipino resident of Sulu, officials say.

On Friday, Washington renewed a longstanding warning to Americans not to travel to Sulu “due to the high threat of kidnapping…and violence linked to insurgency and terrorism there.”

The Abu Sayyaf, which has about 380 armed fighters in Sulu and nearby islands, is an extremist offshoot of a Muslim rebellion that has been raging in Mindanao for decades. The violence has been fueled by abject poverty, corruption, proliferation of illegal weapons and weak law enforcement.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/02/04/two-pinoy-tv-crew-freed-by-abu-sayyaf/

‘People fed up with NPA extortion, evil schemes’

From the Manila Times (Feb 3): ‘People fed up with NPA extortion, evil schemes’

Fed up with extortion activities of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Abra province, residents of Laga-ngilang tipped off the authorities of the presence of the communist rebels in the area resulting in a gun battle on Wednesday.

Col. Eliseo Posadas, commander of the 503rd Brigade based in Abra in a message said: “the information on the presence of armed NPA bandits was tipped off by the scared people due to their threats and intimidation.”

“People are fed up with their deceptive evil schemes,” Posadas added.


Posadas said, on or about 9:45 a.m., on January 30, two sections from the 41th Infantry Battalion encountered some 22-armed rebels.

“The bandits came for the barangay fiesta to extort money and foraging activities at Sitio Malipit, Barangay Cayapa,” Possadas said.

According to Posadas, authorities were able to recover an M-16 armalite, an icom radio, on sack of rice, one sack of kitchen utensils and subversive and documents.

Pursuit operations are ongoing, he said.

http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/news/regions/40716-people-fed-up-with-npa-extortion-evil-schemes

Abu Sayyaf clashes with MNLF troops after freeing 2 Filipino captives

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Feb 3): Abu Sayyaf clashes with MNLF troops after freeing 2 Filipino captives

Kidnappers have released the two Filipino crew members of Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani, just as reports surfaced that members of the Moro National Liberation Front have clashed with Abu Sayyaf in its bid to pressure the bandit group into releasing more of their captives.

Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan, in a phone interview earlier, confirmed the release of Rolando Letrero and Ramelito Vela. “They are now free and are in the hospital,” Tan said. He, however, could not give details about the release.

A military officer, who asked not to be named for not having been assigned to speak to the media on the matter, said Letrero and Vela were released from the Abu Sayyaf camp in the village of Buhanginan in Patikul town Sulu on Saturday night.

Colonel Orlando de Leon, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, confirmed that Letrero and Vela “are now in our custody and presently undergoing medical attention at the provincial hospital here.”

De Leon said the two would be transferred to this city after their “debriefing.” De Leon said he was “not yet ready” to release details of how the victims were freed.

Octavio Dinampo, a Sulu-based Mindanao State University professor and provincial coordinator of the Bantay Ceasefire, said “strong pressure” from the Moro National Liberation Front prompted the release of two captives.

“The place where the captives were held [is] now surrounded by about 3,000 armed MNLF forces and they have encircled some 700 ASG still holding other captives,” Dinampo told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“Several armed men brought the duo (Rolando Letrero and Ramelito Vela) down and they were told to board a Tamaraw vehicle from Danag Barangay (village), still part of Patikul, and they were dropped off at the back of the Capitol Building,” Dinampo said, quoting his sources from the ground.

“From there, they took a tricycle. Vela is reportedly seriously ill and he was assisted by this young companion (Letrero) and they went to Busbus barangay and checked in at the AVR Inn,” Dinampo said.

The Sulu police have secured the victims and brought them to the hospital “because Vela could hardly walk and is very sick,” Dinampo said.

Atyani and his crew went “missing” after entering an Abu Sayyaf camp on June 12, 2012. “Reports later surfaced that they were held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf.

Two European bird watchers and two Filipinos, identified as Engr. Carlos Tee, an airport engineer, and Edmund Gumbahali, a consultant of the Non- Violence Peace Force, are still in captivity.

“What I gathered from my contacts is that the ASG is still demanding P10 million from Atyani’s family,” Dinampo said on Sunday.

Lt. Gen. Rey Ardo, chief of Western Mindanao Command, said MNLF forces have been clashing with Abu Sayyaf bandits in Patikul town in Sulu starting Sunday morning.

“I cannot say if there’s casualty but reports indicated matindi ang bakbakan sa dalawang grupo matapos makalaya itong dalawa (the fighting between the two groups is intense after the release of the two Filipino crew members of Atyani),” Ardo told Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Dinampo said he received reports that 12 persons have died in the ongoing clashes. “We still have to determine from which side these casualties are,” Dinampo said.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/63409/abu-sayyaf-clashes-with-mnlf-troops-after-freeing-2-filipino-captives

Abu Sayyaf members behead MNLF fighters in Jolo

From the Philippine Star (Feb 3): Abu Sayyaf members behead MNLF fighters in Jolo

The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), a terrorist organization operating in Mindanao, reportedly beheaded four fighters of the Muslim guerilla faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in a clash between the two groups, police said today. 
 
The clash broke out when the MNLF forces under spiritual leader Ustadz Habier Malik reportedly attacked the Abu Sayyaf group that refused to free captive Jordanian broadcast journalist Baker Adbullah Atyani Sunday morning in the mountains of Patikul township in Sulu province, island of Jolo, a police security official said.

At least 5 MNLF guerilla members were killed by the Abu Sayyaf militants in the assault. Four of the victims were subsequently beheaded, police said.


Jordanian broadcast journalist Baker Atyani and two Filipino companions were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf gunmen in Jolo, Sulu on June 13 of last year. The Filipino companions were released by ASG on Saturday night.

Nearly 500 MNLF fighters rushed to the camp of the Abu Sayyaf in the village of Buhanginan in Patikul town early Sunday and were met by around 300 militants, according to police.

Government security forces from police and marines have been deployed at the border to avert the escalation of the fighting between the two forces as fighting continued intermittently, according to the Sulu provincial police office.


http://www.philstar.com/breaking-news/2013/02/03/904422/abu-sayyaf-members-behead-mnlf-fighters-jolo

Negros police chief disputes NPA claims on ambuscade

From the Philippine Star (Feb 3): Negros police chief disputes NPA claims on ambuscade

Lies. This was the reaction of Senior Superintendent Celestino Guarra Jr., acting Negros Occidental police director, to a statement of the New People’s Army (NPA) denying the testimonies of the survivors that the victims of the ambush in La Castellana, Negros Occidental last week were not shot at close range.

Guara said the autopsy on the fatalities showed that they suffered bullet wounds in the head.

He also disputed the claim of JB Regalado, spokesman for the NPA’s Leonardo Panaligan Command, that the shootout was triggered when the policemen opened fire at the rebels.

In a voice recorded message furnished the media Friday, Regalado said the NPA rebels fired a warning shot to stop the truck carrying the victims, but the policemen opened fire.

“Who can fire first? The firearms held in ambush position or the firearms which are still in the holster?” Guara asked.

The fatalities were identified as Police Officer 1 Richard Canja; Jonathan Mateo, Ulysses Tamayor and Ramil Compleza, who were members of the Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team of Cabacungan police outpost; village watchmen Mario Ricablanca and Timoteo Esplegera; driver Enrique Dingcong; and civilians Lito Lucban and Virginia OrdoƱez.

Regalado said they regret that civilians became collateral damage when they only wanted to disarm the policemen and village officers.

The rebels specifically apologized to the families of Dingcong and OrdoƱez.

Regalado said the NPA will assist the families of the civilian victims and take disciplinary action against the unit responsible for the incident.

The NPA spokesman said they are getting in touch with the families of the victims.

Meanwhile,Guara said they are readying murder charges and attempted murder charges against at least 20 NPA members belonging to “Larangan Guerilla 1,” for the ambush.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/02/03/904099/negros-police-chief-disputes-npa-claims-ambuscade

Aside from paying fines, U.S. to also donate P4.1 million to help restore corals in Tubbataha

From InterAksyon (Feb 3): Aside from paying fines, U.S. to also donate P4.1 million to help restore corals in Tubbataha

Aside from paying fines for the damage it caused to Tubbataha Reef, the United States government will also provide P4.1 million (US$100,000) to help restore the corals in the world heritage site, 1,000 square meters of which was destroyed when the USS Guardian minesweeper ran aground on the marine park off Palawan on January 17.

“In view of the damage caused by the USS Guardian accident at Tubbataha Reef, the United States has expressed its regrets and is prepared to provide appropriate compensation to the Republic of the Philippines.,” said a statement from the U.S. Embassy in Manila released on Sunday.

“In addition to compensation, the U.S. government is planning a number of other activities which will underscore its commitment to Tubbataha’s recovery and the protection of the marine resources of the Philippines,” the statement added.

In an interview last month with InterAksyon.com, Roel C. Alargon, a researcher for the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO), said it would take a year for one millimeter of the mostly hard corals damaged in Tubbataha’s south atoll to grow back and about 250 years for a meter of the corals to mature.

The U.S. government said the $100,000-assistance would be granted to a Philippine university “to support coral restoration research” at Tubbataha through United States Agency for International for International Development’s Coral Triangle Support Partnership.

“As soon as practicable, a U.S. interdisciplinary scientific team will initiate discussions with the Government of the Philippines to review coral reef rehabilitation options in Tubbataha, based on assessments by Philippine-based marine scientists,” the statement said.

The U.S. team, which “is being formed now,” will help in assessing the damage done to the corals and “remediation options.” It will coordinate with the TMO and other concerned Philippine government agencies, non-government organizations, and scientific experts from Philippine universities.

Moreover, the U.S. government said it would offer to fund a site survey for proposed improvements to the existing ranger station on Tubbataha Reef.

“Proposals could include the installation of radar and communications equipment that can assist Park Rangers and Philippine Coast Guard in avoiding collisions and keeping tabs on marine poachers,” the U.S. government said.

It said it was also willing to share its hydrographic survey data with the Philippine National Mapping and Resource Information Authority to help “improve cartographic information available on Tubbataha protected area and environs.”

The U.S. government said it “recognizes that biodiversity conservation is a priority, a priority that is reflected in the Assistance Agreement between the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America for Environment, Water, and Climate Change. The U.S. Government also believes it should be a priority under the U.S. Philippines Bilateral Science and Technology Agreement that took effect in October 2012."

“The Tubbataha Reef accident focuses renewed attention on this goal and offers opportunities for future bilateral cooperation in science and technology that reflect our long-standing shared commitment to the protection of the marine resources of the Philippines,” it added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/54204/aside-from-paying-fines-u-s--to-also-donate-p4-1-million-to-help-restore-corals-in-tubbataha

US crane ship arrives, but local board protests shutout from Tubbataha talks

From InterAksyon (Feb 3): US crane ship arrives, but local board protests shutout from Tubbataha talks

The smaller of two crane ships contracted by the US government to help in operations involving the minesweeper USS Guardian at the Tubbataha Reef arrived in the country Sunday and is now in Puerto Princesa City.

The arrival of the crane ship, contracted from a salvor company in Singapore, came, however, amid irritants among some of the Philippine parties involved in the handling of the environmental crisis spawned by the Guardian’s running aground on January 17 at a shallow portion of the reef, declared a UNESCO Heritage Site for being one of the few richest biodiversity areas in the planet.

Philippine Coast Guard commandant Rear Admiral Rodolfo Isorena said Sunday of the crane ship, “It arrived this morning. But this is just the small one. We’re also expecting the arrival of the bigger one. As of now, there is no specific plan yet when to start the salvaging of the USS Guardian. But it appears that there is no more option but the cut into pieces the ship,” Isorena said.

Also on Sunday, the US government listed a series of measures it was planning to help rehabilitate the reef, but the measures agreed on between Philippine national government agencies and the US created a controversy after the local protection board complained about being shut out of meetings and decisions.

The Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board met at the provincial capitol on Sunday and agreed on three things, according to the board’s co-chairman, Palawan Gov. Abraham Mitra. The board agreed to:

1) send a letter of complaint as to why an assessment was done in the absence of a Philippine representative, contrary to an earlier agreement;

2) inform Task Force Tubbataha, that includes the US, that the board will conduct its own assessment; and

3) reject the offer or move of the Department of Foreign Affairs to mediate, and request for arrangement with the US Navy.

Initial reports said damage to the reef was estimated at 1,400 square meters. Last week, the US Navy started to de-fuel the ship and removed other materials and equipment from the ship.

The US government through its Embassy in Manila on Sunday said it has some proposals to offer for marine protection for the Philippines after the grounding of the Guardian on January 17.

In a statement, the Embassy said it is developing a technical plan for coral reef rehabilitation that will be led by a US team of marine experts.

The US announced its commitment to help although it remains silent on persistent questions as to why its sailors landed on the prohibited marine site in the country, violating Philippine maritime laws including a UNESCO provision on World Heritage Sites.

US officials initially blamed “faulty” digital navigational maps, but Filipino officials and experts said all maps clearly show “no navigation” tags in that part of Sulu Sea.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/54209/us-crane-ship-arrives-but-local-board-protests-shutout-from-tubbataha-talks

U.S. to compensate PH for Tubbataha crash

From Rappler (Feb 4): U.S. to compensate PH for Tubbataha crash

US WILL PAY. The US Embassy in Manila says Washington will pay for the damage caused by a US Navy ship to Tubbataha Reef. Graphic by Dominic Gabriel Go

US WILL PAY. The US Embassy in Manila says Washington will pay for the damage caused by a US Navy ship to Tubbataha Reef. Graphic by Dominic Gabriel Go

The US government will pay the Philippines "appropriate compensation" for the grounding of its ship in Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, the American embassy said on Sunday, February 3.

"In view of damage caused by the USS Guardian accident at Tubbataha Reef, the United States has expressed its regrets and is prepared to provide appropriate compensation to the Republic of the Philippines," an official statement noted.

The amount of the compensation will be determined only after the vessel is fully pulled out and an extensive damage assessment of the reef is finalized, a US embassy source told Rappler.

The minesweeper ran aground on January 17  inside the protected area of the marine park, a UNESCO World Heritage site considered one of the world's best dive sites.

Now the vessel is waiting for the Coast Guard to approve the US Navy's salvage plan of cutting the ship up into pieces before transferring the sections to a barge in order to minimize further damage to the reef.

New US-funded programs for Tubbataha

In the same statement, the US government also announced that in addition to the compensation, Washington is planning to hold "a number of other activities which will underscore its commitment to Tubbataha’s recovery and the protection of the marine resources of the Philippines."

The efforts, to be coordinated by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will include:
  • Organizing a roundtable with local coral reef conservation experts "to listen to concerns and discuss options for conservation and restoration of" Tubbataha
  • P4.1 million grant to a Philippine university to support coral restoration research in the marine park
  • Formation of a team of US experts that will discuss "coral reef rehabilitation options" in Tubbataha with the government agencies, park management, local marine scientists and NGOs
  • Upgrade of the existing ranger station with possible installation of radar and communications equipment to avoid collisions and better monitor poaching activity
  • Improve cartographic information on Tubbataha by sharing hydrographic survey data with the Philippine National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (Namria)
"Coral reefs in the Philippines, including the Tubbataha Reef, are some of the most important biodiversity centers in the world, and helping the Philippines conserve these remarkable resources is a long-standing commitment of the United States government," the statement said.

Washington -- according to embassy figures -- has invested over P1.9 billion in the past decade to support marine biodiversity conservation programs in the Philippines.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/20982-us-to-compensate-ph-for-tubbataha-crash-embassy

MILF: Chairman Murad invited to PHL development forum

From GMANews (Feb 3): MILF: Chairman Murad invited to PHL development forum

Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Al Haj Murad has been invited by the Department of Finance to attend the Philippine Development Forum in Davao City on February 4 to 5, the MILF said Sunday.

The MILF quoted DOF Secretary Cesar Purisima as saying the PDF is a venue for "encouraging development partners for achieving peace and progress in Mindanao.”

"The part of Chairman Murad shall emphasize on the government-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in MalacaƱan Palace last October 15, 2012," the MILF quoted central committee secretariat head Muhammad Ameen as saying.


Ameen said the MILF is thankful to the Philippine government and the DOF for the invitation.

He cited the initiatives of the government in factoring significantly the framework agreement in the PDF.

“We sincerely hope that both the government and MILF, as peace and development partners, can faithfully deliver on the promises of the framework agreement taking into consideration the general welfare of the Bangsamoro people as the primary goal,” he said.

Ameen also said the MILF and the government must be appreciated as honest-to-goodness partners in the realization of the gains of the framework agreement.

He likewise cited Malaysia's "indispensable" role as the third-party facilitator in the peace efforts.

“The Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro opens investments and opportunities for the Bangsamoro to live in peace and progress. But we cannot do this alone,” said Ameen.

He added “the final analysis entails national projections for the obvious reason that whatever happened to Framework Agreement will have national impact.”


http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/293203/economy/business/milf-chairman-murad-invited-to-phl-development-forum