PA's 'Kubar' boots now undergoing operational tests

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 27): PA's 'Kubar' boots now undergoing operational tests
 
The Philippine Army (PA) has said that its "Hukbong Katihan Boots" (Kubar) are now being tested operationally by Scout Rangers based in San Miguel, Bulacan.

"The 'Kubar' boots are now undergoing operational testing. Soldiers wearing them are being made to march in rough, muddy, and mountainous terrain to determine if they are durable enough for field use," Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato said.

Once the "Kubar" passes this series of tests with flying colors, the boots will be ordered and distributed to line units, he added.

The PA earlier announced that it will be acquiring 79,066 pairs of jungle olive green "Kubar" boots for the use of its soldiers.

Detoyato said the "Kubar" boots were inspired by the latest athletic shoes and military boots construction technology.

He added that the boots offer protection, maximum stability, and comfort in actual combat training and operations.

There are three color options for the finished "Kubar" boots and these are urban black, jungle olive green, and desert Mojave khaki.

Detoyato said that after a series of research and consultations with the best shoe manufacturers, and the test and evaluation conducted at the Research and Development Center of the Army Support Command, the PA introduced the "Kubar" on Nov. 27, 2013.

He added that the PA believes that soldiers deserve only the best so that they in turn can provide excellent service, especially in performing their duties in combat- related missions.

This project is in tune with the Army Transformation Roadmap, which is geared towards making sustainable impact not only on the Army’s systems, processes and organizational capability, but more importantly in the individual soldiers.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=638347

Navy joins search for Malaysia kidnap victims

From the Manila Times (Apr 26): Navy joins search for Malaysia kidnap victims

Philippine police remain silent over reports that a Chinese woman and a Filipina resort worker kidnapped from a resort in Sabah, Malaysia are being held captive in the southern island of Sulu.

Malaysia has tagged an Abu Sayyaf group responsible for previous ransom kidnappings in Sabah as behind the abduction of Chinese holiday–maker Gao Huayun, 29, and Filipina Marcy Dayawan, 40, from Singamata Adventures and Reef Resort in the town of Semporna in Sabah on April 2.

The duo is allegedly being held in a jungle lair by the Abu Sayyaf militants, a group linked to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya and blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in      the Philippines.

The victims were first taken by their captors led by Murphy Ladja to the Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi and then by boat to Sulu where they were turned over to another Abu Sayyaf group under Alhabsi Misaya in Mount Taran in Sulu’s Indanan town.

Other reports said a Filipino woman, Sugar Diane Buenviaje, is also being held captive by Misaya’s group. The 33-year old woman, whose family owns Cagayan Enterprises and General Merchandise, was kidnapped in Tawi-Tawi’s Mapun town in February. Misaya was also tagged in the series of bombings in Sulu in recent years.

Director Geneneral Datuk Mohammad Mentek of the Eastern Sabah Security Command said the Chinese woman and the Filipina resort worker are being held by Abu Sayyaf militants who were also involved in the 2000 kidnappings of 21 mostly European holiday–makers and Asian workers at the Pulau Sipadan resort; and also in the kidnapping in November of a Taiwanese woman on Pom Pom Island, according to a report by Malaysia’s online newspaper The Star.

Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamid said the kidnappers have demanded a P500-million ransom in exchange for the safe release of the Chinese woman, whose photograph was sent by her captors to her family.

Sulu police chief Supt. Ab–raham Orbita declined to confirm nor deny the reports. “Let’s keep silent about that,” he told The Manila Times.

The military’s Western Min–danao Command said the navy has joined the search for the victims. “We are exerting efforts to search and locate the kid–napped victims in probable areas in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi where they could have been brought. Naval Task Force 62 is now conducting extensive search while other units in the area have been on high alert,” Marine Capt. Maria Rowena Myuela, a spokes–woman for the Western Minda–nao Command, said.

The Abu Sayyaf was largely blamed for the daring raid on the posh Pulau Sipadan resort in 2000 where they kidnapped 21 people and ransomed them off to Malaysia and Libya for at least $25 million.

In November, the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped Taiwanese tourist Chang An Wei, 58, after killing her husband Hsu Li Min, 57, in a daring cross-border raid on Sabah’s Pom Pom Island.  The woman was eventually released a month later near the village of Liban in Talipao town in Sulu after paying ransom. The Abu Sayyaf has resorted to ransom kidnappings to raise money for the purchase of weapons and to fund terror attacks in the Philippines.

http://www.manilatimes.net/navy-joins-search-for-malaysia-kidnap-victims/92101/

Australia, Philippines scrambling to boost air forces

From the Nikkei Asian Review (Apr 25): Australia, Philippines scrambling to boost air forces

Australia and the Philippines are scrambling to boost their air forces in a bid to counter China's increasingly aggressive maritime advances into the South China Sea and Indian Ocean.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Wednesday that his country will purchase a total of 72 F-35 fighter jets, 58 more than initially planned. The F-35 is a state-of-the-art fighter jet made in the U.S.

   
The Philippines will procure 12 South Korean-made FA-50 fighter jets. The Southeast Asian country is also set to conclude a new military pact with the U.S. during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit there later this month.

Australia expanding

The Australian government has decided to procure an additional 58 F-35 fighter jets. The F-35 is a "fifth-generation" fighter that is difficult to track on radar because of its high stealth capability.

Australia plans to procure a total of 72 F-35 fighter jets by 2023. The first 14 are to be delivered in 2018 and go into service in 2020.
The F-35 procurement program costs 12.4 billion Australian dollars ($11.6 billion), making it one of Australia's biggest-ever military purchases.

Prime Minister Abbott said that the F-35 procurement program will allow his country to maintain its military supremacy in the region over the next few decades.

He also expressed the view that buying the F-35s will help strengthen Australia's alliance with the U.S. and boost defense cooperation with countries such as Japan and South Korea.

The massive F-35 purchase program has sparked a national controversy as Australia is now facing the challenge of restoring its fiscal health following the end of its resources boom.

Abbott said at a press conference on Wednesday that the money for the F-35 fighter jets has already been set aside under a long-term plan and will not come out of any new budgets.

Abbott also said that his government has decided to acquire 58 more F-35 fighter jets to prepare for contingencies. He did not elaborate, apparently out of consideration to relations with China, now Australia's largest trading partner.

Philippines -- up from zero

The Philippine government signed a contract in March to purchase 12 South Korean-made FA-50 fighter jets for 18.9 billion pesos ($422 million).

The Philippine military currently possesses no fighter jets.

When China hinted last year that it might establish an air defense identification zone in the South China Sea, the Philippines saw exposed its inability to cope with violations of its air space by foreign military planes.

The governments of the U.S. and the Philippines are set to conclude a new military pact during Obama's visit to the Southeast Asian country later this month.

The U.S. withdrew its military forces from the Philippines by 1992 following the end of the Cold War. The stationing of foreign troops in the Philippines is currently banned under the nation's constitution.

The new military pact will allow U.S. forces the joint use of military bases in the Philippines, virtually clearing the way for the U.S. to station its troops there again.

http://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Economy/International-Relations/Australia-Philippines-scrambling-to-boost-air-forces

Palace mum on defense pact with US

From the Philippine Star (Apr 27): Palace mum on defense pact with US

Malacañang has given no indication whether the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the United States will be ready for signing by tomorrow’s visit of US President Barack Obama.

“We will await word from the panel,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said yesterday.

Coloma said nothing in the deal would come as a surprise since the provisions had been discussed publicly.

“Any agreement with any country will be open for public scrutiny in keeping with the administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability and good governance,” he said.

Philippine panel chairman Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino said the Philippines and the US panels are in continuing consultations on the agreement and will give “progress updates.”

The agreement is supposed to be the centerpiece of Obama’s visit but Malacañang said inter-agency vetting must be done as regards the implementation of the accord.

The key points of the agreement will also have to be reviewed by President Aquino.

The proposed agreement will allow the US wider access to Philippine military bases amid increasing tensions with China in the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine negotiators said there was consensus on key provisions and modalities that would reflect, among others, full respect for Philippine sovereignty, non-permanence of US troops and no US military basing in the Philippines and a prohibition against weapons of mass destruction.

The draft agreement grants the US access to and use of facilities and bases of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), but it will be at the invitation of the Philippine government and with full respect for the Constitution and Philippine laws.

The accord will also include the protection of the environment, human health and safety.

The negotiators said the proposed agreement would provide the Philippines the “critical and timely support” for AFP modernization to achieve a minimum credible defense posture.

It also provides for more expeditious humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and the provision of jobs and other economic opportunities through the procurement of local goods and supplies by the US military.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/04/27/1316578/palace-mum-defense-pact-us

MILF fears watering down of Bangsamoro bill in Congress

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Apr 25): MILF fears watering down of Bangsamoro bill in Congress



Ahud (aka Murad) Ebrahim. FILE PHOTO/MALACANANG PHOTO BUREAU
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Friday admitted that it fears the watering down of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress.

“Congress may try to change some provisions of the Basic Law. It could be watered down. This is one of the challenges we foresee,” MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad told European ambassadors in Camp Darapanan, Maguindanao.

Murad said that is one of their worries when the bill, which was drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Council, is submitted to Congress.

The Bangsamoro Basic Law will pave the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity following the comprehensive peace agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF.

The draft has been submitted to President Benigno Aquino III. Upon the President’s approval, the proposed bill will have to be submitted to Congress to undergo the legislative process before being enacted into law.

Murad said they will have to convince lawmakers that the law should not be diluted because it is a crucial part of the peace agreement and a product of four decades of “hard negotiations…hard struggle of the Bangsamoro (people).”

The MILF camp was the second stop of the European Union delegation’s mission to Mindanao.

The delegation was led by Ambassadors Guy Ledoux of EU, Thomas Ossowski of Germany, Massimo Roscigno of Italy, Josef Muellner of Austria, and Roland van Remoortele of Belgium.

Delegates from the United Kingdom, Romania, France, and Spain were also present.

The group on Friday met with the MILF, officials of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and other stakeholders.

EU has a number of projects being implemented in Mindanao in support of the peace process. It is also the biggest donor to the World Bank-administered Mindanao Trust Fund, which provides for various livelihood and development programs in the region.

 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/597350/milf-fears-watering-down-of-bangsamoro-bill-in-congress

UK backs PH in sea row

From the Manila Standard Today (Apr 27): UK backs PH in sea row

THE United Kingdom is ready to stand firm if security in the South China Sea, where 90 percent of its energy and mineral resources pass, is threatened and will remain a friend of the Philippines “in fair weather and in turbulent times,” according British Ambassador Asif Ahmad.

“We believe in a rules-based world covering critical issues of security, commerce and transportation. We have shared values, we must be ready to speak out when these are threatened...not on a tactical basis... but based on principles,” Ahmad said at a reception for Queen Elizabeth’s 88th birthday.

“We care and we want to make a difference. Great Britain, with its economic strength, our role in the UN, the Commonwealth and the European Union... is a country that believes in freedom, human rights and justice. We are nation that cares about the world we live in,” he said.

“We are here as a friend of the Philippines. We are with you in fair weather and in turbulent times,” he added.

Ahmad said the UK supports Manila on its rules-based approach in solving the ongoing dispute with China and most of the international community also want a United Nations ruling on the sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea.

“If I will judge the mood of the international community, most of them feel the same way. They don’t want an escalation or any difficulty. They would like a ruling from the UN which makes it all very clear,” Ahmad said.

“What the international community wants is to use the rules-based approach, to have it resolved,” the envoy said, adding that all countries under the UN system are required to follow rules “which are clear to everybody.”

Highlighting Britains’ ties with the Philippines, Ahmad said the friendship was embedded more than 250 years ago when the British left Manila in 1764.

As a result of the Seven Years War, Britain invaded Manila in September 1762 and took possession of Manila for two years until the conclusion of the war. The British returned Manila to the Spanish in April 1764.

“Ang relasyon ng ating mga bansa ay nakatatak na sa kasaysayan. Ang Abril ay isang importanteng buwan. Ito ay ang ika-250 anibersaryo ng pag-alis ng mga British sa Pilipinas (The relationship of our countries is embedded in our history. April is an important month. It is the 250th anniversary of Britain’s departure from the Philippines),” said Ahmad who studied Filipino in London.

Ahmad joked that had the British decided to stay in the Philippines, Filipinos today would be driving left instead of right, enamoured with football instead of basketball and “meron na rin kayong tunay na British accent (you would have a real British accent).”

But in the end, Ahmad said “pinakamabuti ang may autonomiya at mas mahalaga pa rin ang kalayaan ang Republika ng Pilipinas (autonomy was the best course and the freedom of the Republic of the Philippines was more important).”

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/04/27/uk-backs-ph-in-sea-row/

Foreign-based militants to join protests vs. Obama's PHL visit

From GMA News (Apr 27): Foreign-based militants to join protests vs. Obama's PHL visit

Filipino militant groups based in the United States and other countries will join protests against the visit of US President Barack Obama this coming week, militant umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said Saturday.

Bayan, which is planning its own two-day protest action, said at least 20 US-based organizations allied with it were to start the protests on Friday (US time).

"The groups all oppose the US military pivot to Asia and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA)," it said.

“We’d also like to remind the Aquino regime that just because a US president is coming doesn’t mean our Constitutional rights will be diminished. Obama’s arrival doesn’t mean our rights as Filipinos, including the right to protest, can be curtailed,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.

It said the protesting groups in the US include Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities, Tomos Somos Japon, Viet Roots, Taiwan is Not 4 Sale, Trade Justice, Iraq Veterans Against the War, United National Anti-War Coalition, Grassroots Global Justice, International Action Center, American Friends Service Committee, Chinese Progressive Association, Critical Resistance, HOBAK-Hella Organized Bay Area Koreans, New Priorities Campaign, OccupySF Action Council, Women for Genuine Security, Union of progressive Iranians, Union del Barrio and Long Beach Area Peace Network.

Bayan said the US-based protest actions were to start April 25 in New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

On the other hand, the group said it is coordinating with groups from Japan and South Korea for "continued protests" against plans to increase US bases and troop presence in the region.

They are also protesting what they called a renewed push by the US for the US-led trade pact that is the TPPA.

Bayan opposed the railroading of the Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation (AEDC), which it branded as a de facto basing pact that signals a second US military occupation.

It also objected to the TPPA, which it said will lead to amendments to the 1987 Philippine Constitution and the "removal of any protection for the domestic economy."

“As Filipinos, we have to be critical of the US agenda in the region. We do not want to be pawns in the US power play in Asia. We do not want to be used for US bases and troops and be a staging ground for US intervention. We do not want the US simply taking advantage of the dispute with China and giving false promises of aid just so the US can justify the return of its bases in the Philippines. And we do not want another free trade agreement that aims to change the Constitution and bleed the economy dry,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.

PHL protests

In the Philippines, Bayan said it and its allies will hold protest actions for next week including a protest march to the former US air force base in Clark, Pampanga.

Protest caravans and marches are also to be held across Mindanao where US troops have been stationed since 2002, it said.

"Groups from Southern Tagalog are also expected to troop to Metro Manila," it said.

In Manila, Bayan said its members will converge at the Liwasang Bonifacio on Monday, April 28, before marching to the historic Mendiola bridge near Malacañang, where they will hold a program.

There, they will bring an effigy of a "puppet" President Benigno Aquino III dragging an effigy Obama on a chariot.

'Lack of transparency' in AEDC

Meanwhile, former Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño scored the lack of transparency in drafting the AEDC, which he said may be signed next week by the US and Philippines.

“By making this an executive agreement not requiring Senate concurrence, the Philippine government has assured that details of the pact will remain a secret until the day it is signed. The people are deliberately being kept in the dark. We are being given assurances only through press conferences by negotiators, but there is really nothing we can scrutinize,” he said.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/358450/news/nation/foreign-based-militants-to-join-protests-vs-obama-s-phl-visit

2 kidnapped men walk to freedom in Sulu

From ABS-CBN (Apr 26): 2 kidnapped men walk to freedom in Sulu

Two employees of a mining firm who were kidnapped in Tawi Tawi last year were freed, and literally walked to their freedom.

Eddie Reubal and Marcial Espania were recovered by authorities at PALZAM store, Zamboanga International Airport past 5 a.m. on Saturday.

They said they were released in Patikul, Sulu on April 25 and walked to freedom for almost an hour from the jungle to a main road of a place they did not know.

Upon reaching the road, Reubal and Espania were made to board a multi-colored tricycle bound for Jolo town. For almost an hour, the victims traveled to Jolo wharf where they boarded a passenger vessel bound for Zamboanga City.

The victims cannot remember the name of the sea vessel but said somebody facilitated their trip for them.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/04/26/14/2-kidnapped-men-walk-freedom-sulu

CPP/NDF-KM: Video: Kabataang Makabayan holds lightning rally to commemorate NDFP anniversary

KM propaganda video posted to the CPP Website (Apr 25): Video: Kabataang Makabayan holds lightning rally to commemorate NDFP anniversary



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5juS61DuY7w

Published on Apr 25, 2014
          

On April 24, 2014, revolutionary youth group Kabataang Makabayan (KM) commemorates National Democratic Front of the Philippine's (NDFP) 41st anniversary with a lightning rally along Avenida Avenue in the City of Manila.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/

EU delegation visits ARMM, Camp Darapanan

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 26): EU delegation visits ARMM, Camp Darapanan

European Union (EU) Ambassador Guy Ledoux led here Friday a 10-man EU delegation on efforts to express support to the continuing Mindanao peace process and development in the region.

Apart from a meeting with officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the April 25-26 visit of the EU envoys included a trip to Camp Darapanan, the main bastion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Barangay Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, and an engagement with ARMM and Cotabato City businessmen.

“Our visit to Mindanao demonstrate our continuous support for the development of the region,” Ledoux said following the meeting with ARMM officials at Shariff Kabunsuan, the provisional seat of the autonomous region in this city.

Ledoux also commended the GPH-MILF peace panels for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and completion of the Bangsamoro Basic Law for the peaceful transition in Mindanao in the aspects of economy and social development.

The Bangsamoro entity proposes to supersede the old ARMM set up, which President Benigno Aquino III described as a failed experiment.

The proposed political entity also pursues to bring closure to the 17-peace overture between the government and MILF through the new juridical set up that seeks to expand the ARMM’s authority from its current five-province component in Mindanao that includes Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu and Basilan.

Since 1990, the EU has poured in PHP9.6 billion in assistance to Mindanao, which includes the providing of grants to non-government organizations for the promotion of good governance and human rights.

To date, the specific focus of the EU support revolved to the delivery of peace dividends through the Mindanao Trust Fund–Reconstruction and Development Program as managed by the World Bank for conflict-affected areas of the island-region.

The EU is also funding a PHP354-M food and livelihood assistance program under the World Food Program for the smooth resettlement of internally displaced persons affected by local conflicts in Central Mindanao.

During the 2012 onslaught of Typhoon Pablo (Bopha) in Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte, and the 2013 Zamboanga siege, the EU extended humanitarian aid amounting to PHP590-M and PHP18-M, respectively.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=638213

DAR, OPAPP provide livelihood projects to Zambo Sibugay women, farmers groups

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 26): DAR, OPAPP provide livelihood projects to Zambo Sibugay women, farmers groups

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) distributed farm animals and livestock to farmers’ and women’s organizations in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay.

Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Agrarian Reform Officer Atty. Judith Patriarca-Mantos said the distribution held recently was made possible through the PAyapa at MAsaganang PamayaNAn-Agrarian Reform Areas (PAMANA-ARA) of DAR and OPAPP.

Mantos said the beneficiaries are the Strong Farmers Association and the Samonte Rural Improvement Club based in Barangay Samonte, Talusan, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Mantos said the Strong Farmers Association received eight carabaos aged two to three years old while the Samonte Rural Improvement Club received 14 large white piglets.

Mantos said PAMANA-ARA also provided materials for the piggery that was constructed as well as the feeds and biologics for the piglets.

She said the carabaos would be given to the members of the Strong Farmers Association who do not have working animals.

She said the first calf of the water buffalo shall be owned by the recipient-farmers while the mother shall again be loaned out to other farmers who have yet to acquire a working animal, and so on.

“This cycle would continue until all of the members of the organization shall have their own working animals,” she said.

Meanwhile, she said that all members of the Samonte Rural Improvement Club shall take part in taking care of the piglets.

She added that the two projects are aimed to increase the income of the beneficiaries.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=638215

Army soldiers to get brand-new M-4 rifles starting May

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 26): Army soldiers to get brand-new M-4 rifles starting May

The Philippine Army (PA) announced that its brand-new M-4 automatic rifles will be delivered starting this May to July.

This was confirmed by Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato, PA spokesperson, in an interview with the Philippines News Agency.

"Deliveries will start this May up to July," he said.

The PA acquired 63,000 M-4 automatic rifles to replace its Vietnam-era M-16A rifles.

These new weapons will be immediately issued to line units.

Each M-4 is worth P38,402.10 each and the entire order is estimated to be worth P2.4 billion.

The M-4 is a shorter and lighter variant of the M-16A2 assault rifle. It is a gas-operated, magazine-fed, selective fire, shoulder-fired weapon with a telescoping stock and 14.5 inch (370 mm) barrel to ease close quarters combat.

It fires the .223 caliber, or 5.56 mm NATO round.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=638200

Consultation on PHL-U.S. military deal still ongoing -- Palace

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 26): Consultation on PHL-U.S. military deal still ongoing -- Palace

Malacanang on Saturday said the Enhanced Defense Cooperation (EDC) agreement between the Philippine and United States, which will lead to the return U.S. troops to the Philippines on a rotational basis, is still undergoing consultation.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that it has yet to be announced if the agreement could be signed in time for U.S. President Barack Obama’s state-visit to the Philippines on Monday and Tuesday (April 28-29).

“I was able to communicate with Defense Undersecretary Pio Batino who heads the Philippine panel, he said that the Philippine and U.S. panels are in continuing consultation,” Valte said over state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

She further said it will be the Philippine panel to give progress updates on what is being discussed on the EDC agreement.

“We can expect updates perhaps tomorrow (Sunday) from the panel,” Valte added. “We should wait for an announcement from them."

Valte raised the issue following a report from the Wall Street Journal which mentioned that “the centerpiece of the trip (of President Obama) is expected to be the signing of a new agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation.”

She earlier said that the Philippine government was in no hurry to get the EDC agreement signed before President Obama’s visit to the Philippines.

What was more important, she said, is assuring that what is being discussed and agreed upon conforms with the 1987 Constitution and is under the framework of the existing Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=638224

Delgado vows to build a more responsive PAF

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 26): Delgado vows to build a more responsive PAF

With more modern aircraft and equipment now in the pipeline, newly-installed Philippine Air Force (PAF) commander Major Jeffrey Delgado vowed to create more responsive air arms capable of dealing with any challenges.

"We shall build an organization that will ensure high levels of operational readiness to meet any contingency 24/7. Propelling the Air Force to ably perform its mandate into the future will require learning strategy and character, learning as we begin to receive and employ new weapon systems of higher technology and sophistication," he added.

Delgado was appointed to head the 17,500-strong PAF following the retirement of Lt. Gen. Lauro Catalino Cruz on April 25, 2014.

With this developments, Delgado said that the PAF needs to strategize to be able to use these new equipment efficiently.

"We (must) strategize (to) smartly harness our enhanced capabilities to address current and emerging challenges in our environment," the new PAF commander stated.

In the pipeline for the Air Force and expected to be delivered within two years time are 12 F/A-50 "Golden Eagle" jet aircraft, eight brand-new Bell 412 combat utility helicopters, eight attack versions of the AgustaWestland AW-109 "Power" helicopters, three medium EADS/CASA-Airbus Military C-295 medium lift aircraft

Still in the bidding stages are three seaplanes, two surveillance aircraft, two simulators and three air search radars.

These new machines are expected to boost the minimum credible deterrent of the PAF which is considered to be one of the weakest air arms in Southeast Asia.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=638308

Video: PH Navy chief: Maritime security, US, and big challenges

From Rappler (Apr 26): Video: PH Navy chief: Maritime security, US, and big challenges

Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano is retiring on May 1. He shares his biggest lessons, recalls the challenges, and leaves a message to his successor



 

Rappler talks to outgoing Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano on the country's maritime security strategy.

One of the weakest militaries in Asia, the Philippines is facing various threats, including maritime disputes and natural disasters. The military has been barred from making statements on China but Alano discusses how external defense and modernization of navy assets and bases have become the new focus of the military that had been previously preoccupied with internal security issues – a problem now relegated to the police.

 

 

[Video: Q&A with Philippine Navy chief Vice Admiral Jose Luis Alano

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm2NUsJPEYY]

Alano also discusses the navy's strategy that welcomes cooperation agreements with neighboring ASEAN countries and treaty allly US.

He is retiring as navy chief on May 1, 2014. He shares his biggest lessons, recalls the challenges, and leaves a message to his successor.

http://www.rappler.com/video/56292-ph-navy-chief-maritime-security,-us,-and-big-challenges

Kidnapped Chinese tourist, Filipina resort worker held by Sayyaf in Philippines

From the Mindanao Examiner BlogSpot site (Apr 26): Kidnapped Chinese tourist, Filipina resort worker held by Sayyaf in Philippines

Philippine police remain silent over reports that a Chinese woman and a Filipina resort worker kidnapped from a post resort in Sabah in Malaysia are being held captive in the southern island of Sulu.

Malaysia has tagged an Abu Sayyaf group also linked to previous ransom kidnappings in Sabah as behind the latest raid and kidnapping of the 29-year old Chinese holidaymaker Gao Huayun, 29, and Marcy Dayawan, 40, from Singamata Adventures and Reef Resort in the town of Semporna in Sabah on April 2.

The duo is being held in a jungle lair by the Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is being tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the Philippines.

The victims were first brought by their captors led by Murphy Ladja to the Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi before escaping by boat to Sulu and handed the hostages to another Abu Sayyaf group under Alhabsi Misaya in Mount Taran in Sulu’s Indanan town.

Other reports said a Filipina woman, Sugar Diane Buenviaje, is also being held captive by Misaya’s group. The 33-year old woman, whose family owns Cagayan Enterprises and General Merchandise, was kidnapped in Tawi-Tawi’s Mapun town on February this year. Misaya was also tagged as behind the series of bombings in Sulu in recent years.

Director-General Datuk Mohammad Mentek, of the Eastern Sabah Security Command, said the Chinese woman and the Filipina resort worker are being held by Abu Sayyaf militants who were also involved in the 2000 kidnappings of 21 mostly European holidaymakers and Asian workers at the Pulau Sipadan resort; and also in the kidnapping in November of a Taiwanese woman on Pom Pom Island, according to a report by Malaysia’s online newspaper The Star.

Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamid said the kidnappers have demanded P500 million ransom in exchange for the safe release of the Chinese woman, who photograph sent by her captors was also received by her family.

Sulu police chief Superintendent Abraham Orbita declined to confirm nor deny the reports. “Let’s keep silent about that,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command said the navy has joined the search for the duo. “We are exerting efforts to search and locate the kidnapped victims in probable areas in Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi where they could have been brought. Naval Task Force 62 is now conducting extensive search while other units in the area have been in high alert,” marine Captain Maria Rowena Myuela, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command, said.

The Abu Sayyaf was largely blamed for the daring raid on the posh Pulau Sipadan resort in 2000 where they kidnapped 21 people and ransomed them off to Malaysia and Libya for at least $25 million.

In November, the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped a Taiwanese tourist Chang An Wei, 58, after killing her husband Hsu Li Min, 57, in a daring cross-border raid in Sabah’s Pom Pom Island.  The woman was eventually released a month later near the village of Liban in Talipao town in Sulu after paying ransom. The Abu Sayyaf has resorted to ransom kidnappings to raise money for the purchase weapons and fund terror attacks in the Philippines.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/04/kidnapped-chinese-tourist-filipina.html