Soldiers, NPAs clash in Zamboanga

From the Philippine Star (May 5): Soldiers, NPAs clash in Zamboanga

Government troops clashed with suspected New People’s Army (NPA) collecting so-called permit to campaign fees from candidates in a town in Zamboanga del Norte Friday morning, military officials said yesterday.

Villagers informed the soldiers, who are members of the 10th Infantry Battalion, on the location of the NPA rebels, said Capt. Jefferson Somera, spokesman for the Army’s 1st Infantry Division.

Somera said the firefight, which lasted for one and half hours, occurred in the hinterlands of Leon Postigo town.

Lt. Col. Leonel Nicolas, commanding officer of the 10th IB, said they recovered a 357 magnum revolver, three sacks of food stuff, medical equipment and 50 rounds of live ammunition for M16 at the scene.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2013/05/05/938382/soldiers-npas-clash-zamboanga     

AFP: Army stops 50 NPA rebels in Agusan del Norte; 3 alleged rebs caught in Quezon

From GMA News (May 6): AFP: Army stops 50 NPA rebels in Agusan del Norte; 3 alleged rebs caught in Quezon

Government forces repelled about 50 members of the New People's Army who attacked a militia detachment in Remedios Trinidad Romualdez town, Agusan del Norte early Friday morning, 4th Infantry Division spokesman Maj. Leo Bongosia said Sunday.

According to a belated report, Bongosia said that the rebels attacked the detachment, which was manned by some 20 soldiers and militiamen, in San Antonio village at around 4 a.m. Friday.

Bongosia added that the rebels withdrew after three hours and 40 minutes of trading fire with the government forces. There are no injuries or fatalities on the government's side.

An M16 rifle, an M14 rifle, a shotgun, magazines, assorted ammunition, four hand grenades and bomb components were among the items recovered from the area, said Bongosia.

Pagbilao operation

Meanwhile, the Armed Forces of the Philippines' 1st Special Forces Battalion captured three individuals, allegedly members of the New People's Army, in Pagbilao, Quezon Sunday afternoon, according to AFP spokesperson Col. Arnulfo Burgos.

Burgos said that the forces, led by a Capt. Moral, raided a house in Ilayang Palsabangon village at around 2:30 p.m. after receiving information from civilians that the house was being occupied by at eight supposed NPA rebels led by an Alexander Sarmiento, alias Daniel.

"Eight NPA personalities were reported present inside the house. When the troops arrived, they scampered, leaving behind three companions, including a female, and several firearms," Col. Alex Capina, commander of the Army’s 201st Brigade, said in a phone interview.

The identities of the three captured were not immediately known.

Capina said the soldiers recovered three M16 rifles, two M14 rifles, an M653 baby armalite, an M203 grenade launcher, and documents.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/306942/news/regions/afp-army-stops-50-npa-rebels-in-agusan-del-norte-3-alleged-rebs-caught-in-quezon

Palace: NPA attack on Negros mining site shows insincerity in peace process

From GMA News (May 5): Palace: NPA attack on Negros mining site shows insincerity in peace process

The attack by New People’s Army guerrillas on a mining compound in Negros Occidental Friday night and a subsequent encounter that killed at least five soldiers Saturday is another proof of the communists’ insincerity in the peace process, a Malacañang official said Sunday.

But deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also reiterated the Armed Forces of the Philippines remains ready to protect the citizenry.

“Pinakita nila ang insincerity nila when it comes to talking peace and wanting to come to the negotiating table, hindi nila tinigilan eh,” Valte said on government-run dzRB radio.

“They said they want to talk peace but it seems they never stop attacking our own kababayan,” she added.

On Saturday, at least five soldiers were killed in an encounter with NPA rebels in Sipalay town in Negros Occidental. The rebels had raided the Philex Mining Corp. compound in Barangay Camindangan in Sipalay City Friday night.

During the one-hour firefight at Sitio Omas in Barangay Camindangan at about 7:40 a.m., five soldiers were killed and two were wounded, state-run Philippines News Agency reported.

Investigation showed the rebels raided the Philex compound at about 9 p.m. Friday and burned down two employee bunkhouses.

They also set fire to a tractor with drilling machine, a generator set, a handheld radio, and some of the workers’ personal belongings.

Soldiers from the Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade pursued the rebels and engaged them in a firefight.

The latest attack came shortly after Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison warned of intensified attacks by the NPA due to the government’s plan to stop formal peace talks in favor of a new approach.

Valte said that despite last weekend’s incident, the AFP “will continue to protect the citizenry.”

“Ipagpapatuloy ng ating kasundaluhan ang pag-protect sa ating kababayan,” she said.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/306932/news/nation/palace-npa-attack-on-negros-mining-site-shows-insincerity-in-peace-process

MILF: Kiamba-AYA holds Islamic Symposium and Leadership Enhancement Program

From the MILF Website (May 6): Kiamba-AYA holds Islamic Symposium and Leadership Enhancement Program



The Agency for Youth Affairs (AYA) of Kiamba, Sarangani Province conducted Islamic Symposium and Leadership Enhancement Program for Bangsamoro Youth at Datu Dani Elementary School, this muncipility last May 01, 2013.

The program was aimed at enhancing the leadership of Bangsamoro Youth in the locality and instilling on them Islamic wisdom so that they shall become future good and trusted leaders for the Bangsamoro.


The participants came from various barangays of the municipality of Kiamba who actively participated in the whole day activity. They brought with them their own food provisions.

The participants were impressed and enlightened on the topics delivered by the resource speakers, Sheikh Mukhtar Musa (a master of Philosophy in Islamic Studies, Master of Arts in Politics and International Relations, and Bachelor of Arts in Usuluddin in Pakistan) and Sheik Alimuddin Glang, a hafiz and graduate of Islamic Shari’ah.

The program was supported by the MILF political Committee and Committee on Dawah and Masajid Affairs in the said municipality, assisted by the Associated Youth for Good Governance (AYGG), Inc .As a whole, the program was a complete success due to the efforts by organizers and support from partners in the community.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/337-kiamba-aya-holds-islamic-symposium-and-leadership-enhancement-program

MILF: MILF reeterates 'hands-off policy' for nth time in May 13 polls

From the MILF Website (May 6): MILF reeterates 'hands-off policy' for nth time in May 13 polls

“We will not support any candidate officially during the May 13 Philippine national elections. However, we appeal to our people and members who wish to participate to vote for candidates who are genuinely pro-people and pro-peace process and reject those who are corrupt, oppressive, and violent.”

This was the statement of Muhammad Ameen, chair of the MILF secretariat, after emerging from the meeting of the MILF central committee last May 2 which MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim personally presided, after a long absence.

Murad only returned last April 28 after visiting several countries in Asia and the Middle East. He rushed home just in time for the launching of the FASTRAC (Facility for Advisory Support for Transition Capacities) in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao last April 29.

In partnership with the MILF, the United Nations and World Bank launched the FASTRAC, which is a three-year program that would provide on-demand technical assistance in the run-up to the establishment of the Bangsamoro, the new autonomous political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao by June 30, 2016.

“FASTRAC will provide on-demand advisory services and access to the most relevant national and international expertise to contribute and help move forward with the peace process especially in the drafting of the Basic Law that will reflect the Bangsamoro people’s aspirations for genuine autonomy while establishing the basis for efficient and accountable government,” UN Resident Director Luiza Carvalho said in her message during the launching.

This is the nth time that the MILF reiterated this long-standing “hands-off policy” on Philippine elections to maintain its integrity as an apolitical organization, one that truly represents and articulates the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people for their right to exercise right to self-determination.

“The MILF is beyond partisan politics and considers everyone as part of its constituency,” Ameen added.

Ameen also explained that the MILF is a revolutionary Islamic organization, borrowing the words of the late MILF Chairman Salamat Hashim, which strives for changes within the ambit of Islam.

He said that the MILF conserves all the fundamentals of Islam and those principles derived therefrom but it is progressive in as far as approaches, methodologies, tactics are concerned.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/336-milf-reeterates-hands-off-policy-for-nth-time-in-may-13-polls

AFP gets two new spokespersons

From Malaya (May 6): AFP gets two new spokespersons

ARMED Forces chief Gen. Emmanuel Bautista has designated a brigadier general and a major as new mouthpieces of the military, in place of Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos who has been named commander of the Army’s Civil Military Operations Group.

Army Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan is the new military spokesman, in concurrent capacity as AFP internal auditor. He is a classmate of Bautista at the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1981.

The new chief of the AFP public affairs office, which was also held by Burgos, is Maj. Ramon Zagala, the assistant chief of staff for civil military operations of the Special Forces Regiment, an elite unit of the Army.

Burgos was designated AFP spokesman and PAO chief in March 2010 by then AFP chief Gen. Delfin Bangit. Burgos went on to serve as PAO chief though the military designated a separate spokesman twice - then Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta and Rear Adm. Jose Miguel Rodriguez. In 2011, the function of AFP spokesman was again given to Burgos, in addition to his job as PAO chief.

Burgos said Tutaan will address the “more pressing issues.” He said Zagala can also make public pronouncements while advising the AFP chief “on matters pertaining to public affairs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.”

Before assuming as AFP internal auditor Tuesday last week, Tutaan was chief of the AFP Human Rights Office.

Tutaan’s post as AFP HRO chief will go Col. Rhoderick Parayno, the outgoing chief of the Army’s Human Rights Office.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/30277-afp-gets-two-new-spokespersons

Communist rebels call for truce in North Cotabato to allow release of abducted cop

From InterAksyon (May 6): Communist rebels call for truce in North Cotabato to allow release of abducted cop

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in Southern Mindanao called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to declare a ceasefire in North Cotabato to pave the way for the release of a policeman the rebels have been holding captive since April 19.

Rubi del Mundo, spokesperson of NDFP-Southern Mindanao, said the NDF will release Police Officer 3 Maula Tato Ali once the military declares a ceasefire in the towns of Arakan, Magpet, Antipas, and President Roxas in North Cotabato and Baguio and Marilog districts in Davao City.

The said areas are under the 84th Infantry Battalion and 57th Infantry Battalion of the 10th Infantry Division.

Ali was seized by the rebels last April 19 in Barangay Batobato, President Roxas town.
Del Mundo said the decision to release the policeman came after "subsequent investigation...showed that he did not commit significant offenses against the masses and the revolutionary forces."

Ali was also not involved in the alleged cover-up in the death of Fr. Fausto "Pops" Tentorio in October 2011.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/61066/communist-rebels-call-for-truce-in-north-cotabato-to-allow-release-of-abducted-cop

Army deploys 6 battalions in Masbate, other parts of Bicol

From InterAksyon (May 6): Army deploys 6 battalions in Masbate, other parts of Bicol

The Philippine Army in Bicol has deployed an augmentation force of six battalions in the six provinces of the region, especially in the island province of Masbate, in an effort to prevent possible bloodshed and ensure honest and peaceful elections.

Army Major Angelo Guzman, spokesman of the Army's 9th Infantry Division, said the six additional battalions from the Army’s regional command is equivalent to close to 800 soldiers.

Guzman said the augmentation troops will re-enforce the current forces assigned in these areas that will ensure the peaceful and secured conduct of national and local polls here.

The bulk of the force will be sent to the island province of Masbate, which authorities and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have classified as an election hot spot.

Prior the sendoff of the reinforcement soldiers, Archbishop Rolando Octavus J. Tria Tirona of the Arcdiocese of Caceres in Camarines Sur held a Mass at the Metropolitan Naga Cathedral and gave his blessings for the protection of the government forces and the Philippine National Police, public school teachers and volunteers who will be deployed for election duties.

In his homily, the prelate asked the Army and PNP to protect the votes of the people.
“With the vested authority in you and the courage you possess, let us protect the votes of the Bicolanos by performing honestly our duty,” Tirona told the law enforcers.
The augmentation soldiers belong to the 9ID’s “Task Group Bicol (TG Bicol).”

Guzman said the TG Bicol is the Army’s election-monitoring unit in the region.
It was activated last January and is headed by Brig. Gen. Felix J. Castro Jr., the 9ID assistant division commander.

“This Holy Mass led by Archbishop Tria Tirona is a big morale-booster for our soldiers, especially those who will be deployed for election duty. Your Army under the 9th Infantry Division is one with the Bicolanos in our common direction to have an honest, orderly, safe, peaceful and credible election,” Castro said.

Two days ago, the PA in Bicol deployed one platoon (30 soldiers) from Task Group Bicol’s reserve company in Masbate to beef up the security requirements in the province.

The additional platoon was deployed for election duty in Milagros town of Masbate, Lieutenant Col. Julian Pacatan, the commander of the Army’s 9th Infantry Battalion.

“We can now focus on Mobo, Aroroy, Placer, Cawayan, Balud, and Monreal,” he said.
In January this year, the 93rd Division Reconnaissance Company, composed of 100 soldiers, was deployed in Masbate.

Another platoon of the Task Group Bicol Reserve Company is on standby alert at the 9ID headquarters in Camarines Sur, which can be immediately mobilized anywhere in the region should election security requires,” Castro said.

Major Gen. Caesar Ronnie F. Ordoyo, Solcom chief, said they are closely watching the island province of Masbate following intense political rivalries among politicians who are employing members of the communist guerrillas as private armies.

The PNP in Bicol identified at least two private armies -- the Villaruel and Arizobal groups with 38 members -- in the province.

The island province of Masbate was earlier tagged as among the 15 election hot spot areas in the county. Due to this, the PNP and AFP deployed thousands of troops to beef up security in Bicol region.

The provinces of Masbate, Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte are considered as election hot spots.

“Every battalion has at least a company-sized election task unit or around 130 soldiers. Every province has one battalion. But on election day the whole 9th ID or around 4,500 soldiers and 4,000 militiamen or Cafgus will be deployed for election day,” Guzman said.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/61062/election-hot-spot--army-deploys-6-battalions-in-masbate-other-parts-of-bicol

AFP reallocates forces to ensure poll safety

From the Daily Tribune (May 6): AFP reallocates forces to ensure poll safety

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has started deploying troops and assets, including aircraft and helicopters, to ensure the peace and orderliness of the upcoming elections on May 13.

Maj. Gen. Aurelio Baladad, AFP deputy chief of staff for operations, yesterday said they expect that the coming elections will be more peaceful compared to the last elections in 2010.

“We believe that this incoming elections (will be) a lot safer and a lot peaceful comparably to the last elections,” he stressed.

Compared to the same period in the last elections when the military activated its Task Force HOPE or honest, orderly and peaceful elections, this year, Baladad said, the AFP goes with the normal chain of command in performing its election duties as mandated by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

“We have troops ready to secure the elections, of course, in coordination with the PNP (Philippine National Police). Together with the PNP, we have created coordination centers, Joint Security Coordination Centers, so that we can integrate our security provisions for the elections,” he added.

“Their (PNP) strength plus our strength, so we can cover a lot more area and a lot more candidates,” Baladad stressed.

In fact, he said deployment of AFP troops already started in areas where they are needed or to places considered by the Comelec as areas of concern.

Baladad said a Marine battalion was sent to Misamis Oriental last week to augment the present troops there. The deployment came in the aftermath of the ambush of the group of Gingoog City Mayor Ruthie Guingona by the communist New People’s Army (NPA).

The ambush resulted in the killing of two civilians while Guingona, wife for former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, was hurt.

Aside from personnel, the AFP is also readying air assets, including C130 cargo planes and Sokol helicopters for possible election duties.

Meanwhile, the PNP reported that a total of 2,958 individuals have already been apprehended in the continuing implementation of the Comelec gun ban nationwide.

Of the number, 2,727 were civilians, 20 AFP troops, 39 PNP personnel, a fireman, three jail personnel, 36 government employees, 128 security guards and three Cafgus.
During actual checkpoint operations, police operatives seized a total of 2,901 firearms, explosives, and various deadly weapons. a total of 24,202 various ammunition were also confiscated.

http://tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/13779-afp-reallocates-forces-to-ensure-poll-safety

CPP/NPA: Seizure of rice by NPA to stop vote buying, bullying

Posted to the CPP Website (May 5): Seizure of rice by NPA to stop vote buying, bullying

Isabel Fermiza
Spokesperson
NPA Mt. Apo Sub-Region Sub-regional Command

In keeping with the guidelines set by the People’s Democratic Government for the candidates of the reactionary elections, the Mt. Apo Sub-regional Command-New People’s Army has stepped up its drive against coercive vote-buying and fascist AFP operations to protect the people and defend revolutionary base areas.

Over the last three weeks, the NPA has confiscated a total of 98 sacks of rice from political operators of local candidates who have usurped revolutionary territories in the villages of Magpet, Makilala and Arakan towns, all in North Cotabato.

On April 13, the NPA confiscated 43 sacks of rice in Brgy. Balite and seven (7) sacks in Brgy. Amabel in Magpet town; on April 27, the NPA seized six (6) sacks in Brgy. Kisante,6 sacks in Brgy. Biangan, 6 sacks in Brgy. Batasan all in Makilala town. On April 29, at an NPA checkpoint, the Red fighters confiscated 10 sacks of rice in Brgy. Noa, Magpet town. On May 2, another 10 sacks were confiscated in Brgy. Cabalantian and 10 sacks in Brgy.Binuongan, all in Arakan town.

The NPA has turned over the confiscated rice to the pertinent local organs of political power for proper accounting and disposal.

The NPA also ambushed on May 3 at 12 noon a platoon of the 57th Infantry Batallion-10th Infantry Division of the AFP that provide security force for the candidates’ surreptitious acts. Two soldiers were killed while two were wounded with the NPA’s command detonated explosives in Brgy. Binay, Magpet town.

The confiscation of rice, NPA checkpoints and punitive military actions against the AFP, PNP and paramilitary elements in the run-up to the May 13 elections in North Cotabato are meant to protect the masses from the onslaught of reactionary politicking and coercion.

While Malacanang slams the NPA for “extortion” when the latter exercises political authority in its areas, the US-Aquino regime’s own party machineries nationwide are engaged in forcing the masses to elect candidates that are either despotic or negligent. The reactionary government wields strong-arm tactics in poor peasant villages to bully the electorate.

Local counterparts close doors to hoard precious rice and opens it now when its time to pursue votes. These acts add insult to injury especially as the masses of North Cotabato are reeling from extreme hunger and poverty. The latest statistics from the reactionary government show that the province registered the highest jump in whole region 12 in terms of increase in poverty incidence from 24.4% in 2009 to 43.9% last year. Poor peasants have suffered greatly from low yields and cheap prices of their produce, while banana workers and other laborers bore measly wages. Lumads and Moro people are in the fringes, victims of land grabbing and displacement from military operations.

Despite having not made any dent at all in improving the lives of the poor, politicians and their minions have shamelessly descended upon hugely exploited and oppressed villages to coerce the masses so that they can continue to perpetuate in power.

Wherever it can exercise its political authority in the province of North Cotabato and adjacent villages and towns, and in order to stop abuses and exact concrete benefits for the masses, the NPA will continue to impose punitive sanctions against candidates and political parties and deliver blows against legitimate military targets in the AFP, PNP and paramilitary troops.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130505_seizure-of-rice-by-npa-to-stop-vote-buying-bullying

CPP/NDF: NDF to release North Cotabato POW

Posted to the CPP Website (May 5): NDF to release North Cotabato POW

Rubi Del Mundo
Spokesperson
NDFP Southern Mindanao Chapter

The National Democratic Front Southern Mindanao will release prisoner of war Maula Tato Ali, police officer 3 of Arakan police station who was captured in an NPA checkpoint last April 19 in Brgy. Batobato, Pres. Roxas town.

To expedite the safe and expeditious release, the AFP must cease its operations in the towns of Arakan, Magpet, Antipas and Pres. Roxas in North Cotabato, and contiguous entry areas in Baguio and Marilog districts in Davao City. These areas are within the scope of the 84th Infantry Battalion and 57th Infantry Battalion of the 10th ID, AFP units that have intensified abusive military operations against the NPA’s Mt. Apo Sub-regional command, the custodial force of POW Ali.

The NDF has accepted the recommendation of release after subsequent investigation on POW Ali showed that he did not commit significant offenses against the masses and the revolutionary forces. He also did not figure in the cover-up or obstruction of justice that the Arakan police had committed in the case of Fr. Fausto “Pops” Tentorio who was martyred in October 2011.

The NDF-Southern Mindanao remains committed to the humane treatment and release of prisoners of war in compliance with the protocols of Geneva conditions and other international humanitarian law instruments. This, despite the war-posturing of the US-Aquino regime and its rejection of peace negotiations to address the roots of the country’s armed conflict.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130505_ndf-to-release-north-cotabato-pow

CPP/NPA: NPA to uphold human rights accord despite GPH termination of talks--CPP

From the CPP Website (May 5): NPA to uphold human rights accord despite GPH termination of talks--CPP

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today called on all Red fighters and commanders of the New People’s Army (NPA) to assert and uphold the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) despite the unilateral termination by the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) of peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

At the same time, the CPP called on the Filipino people to brace for worse attacks by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) against human rights “now that it is unbound by the CAHRIHL and desperate to achieve its goal of decimating the people’s armed resistance within the year.”

“In unilaterally terminating peace negotiations with the NDFP, the GPH has put the CARHRIHL in danger of nullification,” added the CPP. “Without the binding nature of the CARHRIHL, the AFP is bound to carry out worse attacks against the people in the course of conducting its Oplan Bayanihan war of suppression.”

The CARHRIHL was forged in 1998 by the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the GRP (now designated as the GPH). It was signed by the principals of both parties, namely, then GRP President Joseph Estrada and NDFP Chairman Mariano Orosa.

“The CARHRIHL is one of the most important milestones in over 20 years of NDFP-GPH peace negotiations,” pointed out the CPP. “It binds both the NDFP and the GPH and sets its separate responsibility to uphold human rights and international humanitarian law in the conduct of the civil war in the Philippines.”

“As part of its responsibility, the NPA has integrated the provisions of the CARHRIHL into its rules of discipline since 1998 and has given priority to its implementation,” said the CPP.

“In contrast, despite the CARHRIHL and all its endless ‘peace and human rights’ rhetoric, the Aquino regime and its armed forces have launched endless brutalities in the countryside by subjecting entire communities to militarization.”

“There is a rising number of cases of violations against children’s rights and sex crimes against women,” said the CPP. It cited the recent case of the killing by troops of the 71st IB of 9-year old Roque H. Antivo and the wounding of his two brothers Earl Jhun, 12 and Jeffrey Hernan, 13, of Sitio Kidaraan, Barangay Anitapan, Mabini last April 3. The following day, a 7-year old child was wounded when troops of the 76th IB fired indiscriminately in Barangay Tanyag, Calintaan, Occidental Mindoro.

“The fascist troops of the AFP have been committing grave violations of human rights such as the occupation of people’s homes, converting civilian infrastructures such as day care centers and barangay halls into soldiers’ barracks, imposing food blockades, restricting commerce and other economic activities, illegal arrests and detentions, abductions, tortures and extrajudicial killings.”

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130505_npa-to-uphold-human-rights-accord-despite-gph-termination-of-talks-cpp

Link with Reds probed

From the Business World (May 5): Link with Reds probed

THE MILITARY is probing alleged links between militant party-list groups and communists after rebels were found carrying campaign materials on Labor Day.

Maj. Angelo Guzman, spokesman of the 9th Infantry Division, said high-powered firearms, explosives and poll materials such as campaign posters of Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Teddy A. Casiño, a senatorial candidate, and sample ballots promoting Bayan Muna, Gabriela and Anakpawis party-lists were recovered from two New People’s Army (NPA) members who surrendered in Sorsogon City, Sorsogon.

They were caught by members of the 31st Infantry Battalion during an operation against campaign extortions on local bets.

"What we recovered is still not conclusive. The relationship between the NPA and the party-lists is hard to prove but we will ask the two captured NPA rebels of the origin of the leaflets and posters. Those posters can be easily obtained, we cannot say that these were given by Teddy Casiño to the rebels," Mr. Guzman told BusinessWorld in a phone call last Saturday.

Mr. Casiño said he has yet to confirm the incident.

"Maybe they’re just campaigning for me but they were already called rebels? Will check with our people there. These surrenderees may have been made to pretend and carry our election materials," he said via text.

Commission on Elections Director James Arthur B. Jimenez said the poll body will be informed on the matter.

"I’m not sure there is anything to probe. But it will certainly be brought to the attention of the en banc (full commission)," he said in a text message.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=Link-with-Reds-probed&id=69726

NPA to Ako Bicol: What harassment

From the Business Mirror (May 5): NPA to Ako Bicol: What harassment

THE New People’s Army (NPA) in Albay has tagged the claim of Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin of Ako Bicol that he was being harassed by guerrillas “as a big fat lie.”

 

In a statement, Florante Orobia, spokesman for the NPA-Santos Binamera Command (SBC) in Albay, said Garbin may have been hallucinating when he insisted that NPA guerrillas shadowed him on May 2 in Legaspi City.

 

“We vehemently deny Garbin’s charge since we do not monitor civilians and we did not have any NPA unit in Legaspi City at that time. Garbin insisted that the two men who parked a motorcycle without any license plate in front of his house of May 2 were armed and were NPA elements. We believe that Garbin is talking through his head,” Orobia explained.

 

Orobia said “there was no NPA unit in Legaspi City at that time. Moreover, NPA rules bar any unit from harassing any civilian. The NPA has nothing to do with this alleged harassment of Representative Garbin.”

 

Nonetheless, Orobia said what bothers the revolutionary movement is the quick and cocksure assertion of Garbin that the NPA was behind the so-called harassment. “He [Garbin] could not even determine who really harassed him, whether these men were armed or not, so it was practically impossible for him to say with certainty that the NPA was involved,” Orobia added.

 

“SBC clarifies this matter with Garbin. The NPA only focuses on military targets. Any citizen is free to make contact with the NPA to ask questions, discuss and clarify matters. Anyone should not fear the NPA and revolutionary justice if he has not committed any crime against the people and the revolutionary movement,” he said.

 

“It appears to be a big campaign gimmick of Ako Bikol owing to its low rating. This party-list group has been exposed to be the creation of a big-time contractor and other millionaires. Ako Bikol has also been exposed as working in cahoots with the Armed Forcesin slandering the NPA,” Orobia also said.

 

http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/13046-npa-to-ako-bicol-what-harassment

Military’s Burgos gets higher assignment, Tutaan takes helm

From the Business Mirror (May 5): Military’s Burgos gets higher assignment, Tutaan takes helm

ARMED Forces Spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. has been assigned as the new commander of the Army’s Civil Military Operations Group (Cmog).

 

Burgos is the longest-serving head of the Armed Forces Public Affairs Office and he also served as spokesman.

 

His new posting became effective on May 1.

 

“Yes, I’m so grateful to the Army chief, Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes, for designating me as commander of the Army’s Civil Military Operations Group,” Burgos said, confirming his new assignment.

 

“I would like to thank also the Armed Forces chief of staff, Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, for giving me the opportunity to serve under him and for allowing me to further my growth and career in the military profession.”

 

Burgos’s new assignment will qualify him for his first star.

 

Although Armed Forces chiefs of staff can appoint their own spokesmen, Burgos, a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Maringal” Class of 1988, served as information officer and spokesman under former military Chiefs of Staff Delfin Bangit, now Bureau of Immigration Chief Ricardo David Jr., now Transportation Undersecretary Eduardo Oban Jr., and Jessie Dellosa.

 

The batch has Vice President Jejomar Binay as honorary member. Binay is a reserve colonel in the Marine Corps.

 

“If you were chief of staff, you don’t want Col. Burgos out of your sight, out of your radar,” the former Armed Forces vice chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, said.

 

“You need this guy, a very dependable officer; he can take you out of trouble, especially from media scrutiny,” Mapagu said.

 

However, he added, “Colonel Burgos has to move up on the ladder of promotion, the normal tour of duty for any senior officer in the service.”

 

Before becoming Armed Forces spokesman, Burgos served as the Army’s public affairs chief and as commander of the 80th Infantry Battalion in Occidental Mindoro.

 

“His managerial skill is really excellent,” retired Lt. Col. Samuel Sagun, a former deputy of Burgos at the Army Public Affairs Office, said.

 

The year 2011, when the military found itself mired in corruption scandals, was the “hardest and most challenging chapter” in his stint as military spokesman, Burgos said.

Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. was sworn in Sunday as the new spokesman of the Armed Forces.

 

Tutaan, a former head of the Armed Forces Human Rights Office (HRO), is also the concurrent head of the military’s Office of The Internal Auditor (OTIA). He is a member of the PMA “Dimalupig” Class of 1981 like Bautista.

 

Reportedly, Tutaan was strongly recommended by his classmates for a division commander position after he was not able to get the top position at the Armed Forces Civil Relations Service (CRS) but his “lack of field duties” or “tour of duty in the field” worked against such appointment.

 

On Monday Tutaan will turn over the HRO to Col. Rhoderick Parayno, the Philippine Army HRO chief.

 

“Having served as the face and voice of the military in various human-rights issues and developments, Brig. Gen. Tutaan will assume a much bigger role of speaking on behalf of the 125,000-strong military as spokesman,” Burgos said.

 

As head of the OTIA, Tutaan will be in charge of overseeing the fiscal administration of military units and offices.

 

“Under my stewardship, the office shall be proactive in setting and implementing our agenda in order not to simply react on situations. We will aspire without compromise to have transparency in all our actions. The judicious and prudent use of resources, most especially our funds, must be the primordial consideration on all our undertakings,” Tutaan said.

 

As Armed Forces spokesman, he said: “I would not call it a hot seat, rather a cooperation between the military and the media to bring forth discussions on various issues and concerns for the public to be aware of. It is also a partnership towards a common goal for peace and development in the spirit of bayanihan.”

 

The military calls its anti-insurgency program, the Internal Peace and Security Plan Bayanihan.

 

Bautista is also reportedly considering taking on Brig. Gen. Rolando Jungco, chief of the AFP-CRS, as alternate spokesman.

 

Meanwhile, Maj. Ramon Zagala, who will soon be promoted to lieutenant colonel, will take over the Armed Forces Public Attorney’s Office from Burgos in turnover ceremonies in Camp Aguinaldo on Monday.

 

A product of the Officer Candidate School, Zagala is Special Forces qualified and the son of a former Army commander.

 

Zagala is a graduate of the De La Salle University.

 

At present, Zagala is the assistant chief of staff for civil-military operations of the Special Forces Regiment of the Army’s Special Operations Command based in Fort Ramon Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

 

http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/13049-military-s-burgos-gets-higher-assignment-tutaan-takes-helm

Commies to free POW in Mindanao

From the Mindanao Examiner (May 5): Commies to free POW in Mindanao

Communist rebels holding a policeman in the southern Philippines said they are ready to free the prisoner provided the military halts its operations in the region to ensure the safety of the officer.

The New People’s Army rebels are holding PO3 Maula Tato Ali, who was captured April 19 at a checkpoint in the village of Bato-bato in President Roxas town in North Cotabato province.

“To expedite the safe and expeditious release, the Armed Forces of the Philippine must cease its operations in the towns of Arakan, Magpet, Antipas and President Roxas in North Cotabato, and contiguous entry areas in Baguio and Marilog districts in Davao City,” Rubi del Mundo, a spokesperson for the New People’s Army, said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

Del Mundo said the 84th and 57th Infantry Battalions have intensified its combat operations in those areas where the NPA is holding Ali.

Ali underwent investigations by the NPA and found no reasons to hold him longer. “POW Ali showed that he did not commit significant offenses against the masses and the revolutionary forces. He also did not figure in the cover-up or obstruction of justice that the Arakan police had committed in the case of Fr. Fausto "Pops" Tentorio who was martyred in October 2011,” Del Mundo said.

The NPA has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate state in the country.

http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2013/05/commies-to-free-pow-in-mindanao.html

2 Army soldiers killed in NPA ambush in North Cotabato

From the Mindanao Examiner (May 5): 2 Army soldiers killed in NPA ambush in North Cotabato

New People’s Army rebels killed two government soldiers and wounded two more in an ambush in North Cotabato’s Magpet town in the southern Philippines.

Isabel Fermiza, a spokesperson for the NPA’s Mount Apo Sub-Regional Command, said the soldiers were members of the 57th Infantry Battalion which is tasked to provide security to political candidates in the province.

Fermiza said they also intensified the “campaign against coercive vote-buying and military operations to protect the people and defend revolutionary base areas in keeping with the guidelines set by the “People's Democratic Government for the candidates of the reactionary elections.”

She said they also confiscated 98 sacks of rice from political operators of local candidates who have usurped revolutionary territories in the villages of Magpet, Makilala and Arakan towns, all in North Cotabato province.

She said the NPA turned over the confiscated rice to the pertinent local organs of political power for proper accounting and disposal.

“The confiscation of rice, NPA checkpoints and punitive military actions against the military and police and paramilitary elements in the run-up to the May 13 elections in North Cotabato are meant to protect the masses from the onslaught of reactionary politicking and coercion,” Fermiza said.

The rebels are fighting for a separate communist state in the country.

http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2013/05/2-army-soldiers-killed-in-npa-ambush-in.html