From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Oct 18): Release of Germans leaves 11 to 15 hostages still in Abu hands
The release of German nationals Dr. Stefan Viktor Okonek and Henrite Dielen Friday night brings up the question of what has happened to 11 to 15 other hostages still in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf, some of them for up to four years already.
Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero, chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, admitted they have yet to safely recover 11 remaining hostages— two Europeans, a Malaysian, a Chinese and seven Filipinos.
A group based in Sulu said its count of the Abu Sayyaf’s remaining hostages stands at 15.
Guerrero said the military’s actions and those of the police may not be publicized much but they were aimed at securing the freedom of European birdwatchers Ewold Horn, a Dutchman, and Lorenzo Vinciguerra, a Swiss national.
Horn and Vinciguerra were seized in Tawi-Tawi on February 1, 2012 and were subsequently transferred to Sulu.
Guerrero said there were also efforts to free Malaysian marine police officer Kons Zakiah Aleip, who was abducted in July; Chan Sai Chuin, 32, a Chinese national kidnapped in Kunak, Sabah, on June 26, 2014 and the seven Filipinos.
“We conduct continuous security operations together with the PNP and there is no let-up,” Guerrero said, without elaborating what these operations were.
He said the captives were being held by various Abu Sayyaf factions.
The Sulu-based group Bangsamoro Against Kidnapping and Other Crimes (Bassakao) said the military’s figure on the number of Abu Sayyaf hostages was wrong.
Dr. Raden Ikbala, one of the organizers of Bassakao, said they have documented at least 15 victims.
He said his group has been trying to ascertain the condition of some victims but military movements in the hinterlands keep them from doing so.
The Philippine National Police’s Anti-Kidnapping Group said its list of victims includes Japanese treasure hunter Toshio Ito, who was abducted on July 16, 2010.
Guerrero said Ito was dropped from the military’s list because nothing has been heard of him since 2012.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/645521/release-of-germans-leaves-11-to-15-hostages-still-in-abu-hands
Saturday, October 18, 2014
AFP honors Army paddlers
From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 18): AFP honors Army paddlers
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) honored the members of the Philippine Army Dragon Boat team in a simple ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Thursday, October 16, 2014.
AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. awarded a Plaque of Recognition to the Army paddlers for their excellent performance in the recent 9th International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crews World Championships held in Italy.
Public Affairs Chief and team president Lt. Col. Harold M. Cabunoc said the AFP chief, General Catapang wants to highlight the achievements of soldiers not just in military operations, but also in sports.
“He is very proud of the accomplishments of our soldiers,” Cabunoc added.
The team bagged two gold medals and new world records in the 200m and 500m Premier Open events.
The team was branded as the “Fastest boat crew in the planet” after setting new World Records in the 200m and 500m Small Boat Open Category with record time of 47.85 and 2:06.763 respectively.
The Army paddlers is currently preparing for the upcoming Dragon Boat Regatta in Penang, Malaysia according to the AFP.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=241413509085
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) honored the members of the Philippine Army Dragon Boat team in a simple ceremony in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on Thursday, October 16, 2014.
AFP Chief of Staff General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. awarded a Plaque of Recognition to the Army paddlers for their excellent performance in the recent 9th International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crews World Championships held in Italy.
Public Affairs Chief and team president Lt. Col. Harold M. Cabunoc said the AFP chief, General Catapang wants to highlight the achievements of soldiers not just in military operations, but also in sports.
“He is very proud of the accomplishments of our soldiers,” Cabunoc added.
The team bagged two gold medals and new world records in the 200m and 500m Premier Open events.
The team was branded as the “Fastest boat crew in the planet” after setting new World Records in the 200m and 500m Small Boat Open Category with record time of 47.85 and 2:06.763 respectively.
The Army paddlers is currently preparing for the upcoming Dragon Boat Regatta in Penang, Malaysia according to the AFP.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=241413509085
Alvarez assumes 403rd brigade command
From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 16): Alvarez assumes 403rd brigade command
Col. Jesse A. Alvarez accepted command of the 403rd Infantry 'Peacemaker' Brigade (403Bde) from Col. Francisco L. Pabayo during the change of command ceremony, October 16, at the Brigade Clubhouse, Camp Osito Bahian, Malaybalay City.
Prior to selection for command, Alvarez served as the Chief of Staff of 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division (4ID), Camp Evangelista, Cagayan de Oro City.
In his speech, Alvarez urged all stakeholders to help him build an Army worthy of the people's trust.
"With a supportive citizenry, your Army vows a service beyond the call of duty; a service with dedication, humility and professionalism; a service with battlefield victory as our objective but lasting peace as our goal," Alvarez said.
Meanwhile, outgoing brigade commander Col. Francisco Pabayo, who will move up to a higher rank, expressed his faith and confidence to the new commander in facing the many challenges coming its way and in fulfilling the various missions of the organization.
Major Gen. Oscar T. Lactao, 4ID, Philippine Army Commander, presided over the ceremony attended by military officers and guests.
The 403rd Infantry 'Peacemaker' Brigade is a subordinate command of the Army's 4th Infantry Division. It plans and executes contingency support for joint operations and, on order, provides contingency support nationwide.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=1501413529395
Col. Jesse A. Alvarez accepted command of the 403rd Infantry 'Peacemaker' Brigade (403Bde) from Col. Francisco L. Pabayo during the change of command ceremony, October 16, at the Brigade Clubhouse, Camp Osito Bahian, Malaybalay City.
Prior to selection for command, Alvarez served as the Chief of Staff of 4th Infantry “Diamond” Division (4ID), Camp Evangelista, Cagayan de Oro City.
In his speech, Alvarez urged all stakeholders to help him build an Army worthy of the people's trust.
"With a supportive citizenry, your Army vows a service beyond the call of duty; a service with dedication, humility and professionalism; a service with battlefield victory as our objective but lasting peace as our goal," Alvarez said.
Meanwhile, outgoing brigade commander Col. Francisco Pabayo, who will move up to a higher rank, expressed his faith and confidence to the new commander in facing the many challenges coming its way and in fulfilling the various missions of the organization.
Major Gen. Oscar T. Lactao, 4ID, Philippine Army Commander, presided over the ceremony attended by military officers and guests.
The 403rd Infantry 'Peacemaker' Brigade is a subordinate command of the Army's 4th Infantry Division. It plans and executes contingency support for joint operations and, on order, provides contingency support nationwide.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=1501413529395
Religious leaders concerned over Abu Sayyaf kidnappings
From the Zamboanga Today (Oct 18): Religious leaders concerned over Abu Sayyaf kidnappings
Religious leaders in Zamboanga city are strongly disturbed about kidnapping incidents perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu amid threats by the latter to decapitate their victims.
The religious leaders gathered at a local hotel yesterday afternoon to appeal to the Abu Sayyaf to release their German captives in line with Islamic tenets of peace and love for humanity.
The leaders belong to the Zamboanga Ulama Council and the Indigenous People Council of Zamboanga.
In a statement, Ustadz Almahdi Baguinda of the Zamboanga Ulama Council issued the following statement:
“For the good of all in order to solve our problems today, we are appealing to the holder of the two Germans, in the name of humanity to release them and not to harm them because harm is prohibited in Islam.
If there is any problem it is better we will bring to the table or to give chance especially to persons with his family and whatever the problem we must solve peacefully.”
Baguinda said that religious leaders are strongly disturbed about this latest development as Islam is for peace and love for humanity. Problems of this sort should be discussed in the right forum in a peaceful way, Baguinda added.
Baguinda also called on the Muslim youth to learn and be fully educated on the Islam religion to fully understand the principles of Islam.
Baguinda issued the statement amid observations based on photos and videos that some of the followers of the Abu Sayyaf are young people who have even been seen holding high powered arms.
The religious leader also expressed his concern on the effects of operations that may be launched by the government against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and its effects on innocent civilians, thus their appeal to both sides to provide an extension to solve the problem.
Should the Abu Sayyaf however refuse to heed their appeal, Baguinda said that they cannot do anything as religious leaders are commonly neglected due to previous bad experiences.
The statements were echoed by leaders of indigenous community of Zamboanga, who expressed support to the statement of the religious community.
“We believe that the hostage takers are not in pursuit of the propagation of Islam because we fully believe that there is compassion in the religion of Islam,” said Hajji Abdulbaki Sandag, Secretary General of the Indigenous People Council.
http://www.zamboangatoday.ph/index.php/top-stories/18957-religious-leaders-concerned-over-abu-sayyaf-kidnappings.html
Religious leaders in Zamboanga city are strongly disturbed about kidnapping incidents perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu amid threats by the latter to decapitate their victims.
The religious leaders gathered at a local hotel yesterday afternoon to appeal to the Abu Sayyaf to release their German captives in line with Islamic tenets of peace and love for humanity.
The leaders belong to the Zamboanga Ulama Council and the Indigenous People Council of Zamboanga.
In a statement, Ustadz Almahdi Baguinda of the Zamboanga Ulama Council issued the following statement:
“For the good of all in order to solve our problems today, we are appealing to the holder of the two Germans, in the name of humanity to release them and not to harm them because harm is prohibited in Islam.
If there is any problem it is better we will bring to the table or to give chance especially to persons with his family and whatever the problem we must solve peacefully.”
Baguinda said that religious leaders are strongly disturbed about this latest development as Islam is for peace and love for humanity. Problems of this sort should be discussed in the right forum in a peaceful way, Baguinda added.
Baguinda also called on the Muslim youth to learn and be fully educated on the Islam religion to fully understand the principles of Islam.
Baguinda issued the statement amid observations based on photos and videos that some of the followers of the Abu Sayyaf are young people who have even been seen holding high powered arms.
The religious leader also expressed his concern on the effects of operations that may be launched by the government against the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu and its effects on innocent civilians, thus their appeal to both sides to provide an extension to solve the problem.
Should the Abu Sayyaf however refuse to heed their appeal, Baguinda said that they cannot do anything as religious leaders are commonly neglected due to previous bad experiences.
The statements were echoed by leaders of indigenous community of Zamboanga, who expressed support to the statement of the religious community.
“We believe that the hostage takers are not in pursuit of the propagation of Islam because we fully believe that there is compassion in the religion of Islam,” said Hajji Abdulbaki Sandag, Secretary General of the Indigenous People Council.
http://www.zamboangatoday.ph/index.php/top-stories/18957-religious-leaders-concerned-over-abu-sayyaf-kidnappings.html
ANALYSIS--Alleged huge ransom in hostage release sparks fears of more attacks
From Europe Online Magazine (Oct 18): ANALYSIS--Alleged huge ransom in hostage release sparks fears of more attacks
With millions of dollars allegedly in their hands, Abu Sayyaf militants become more dangerous and can create more security troubles for the Philippines.
Manila (dpa) - The alleged payment of nearly 6 million dollars in for the release of two German hostages in the southern Philippines on Saturday raised concerns that Islamist militants would launch more attacks and kidnappings in the country.
Authorities could not confirm or deny the ransom payment, but a spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf group said they received 250 million pesos (5.6 million dollars), "not a single centavo less, not a single centavo more" for the German couple‘s freedom on Friday.
If true, it would be the highest ransom paid to the militants since 2000, when the Abu Sayyaf allegedly received up to 1 million dollars for each of 21 European tourists and Asian workers seized from a Malaysian resort.
Awash with cash, the group could recruit more people, purchase weapons and buy the loyalty of impoverished communities where they hide, train and plan their activities, analysts warned.
"They will gain more because now they have money to recruit," said Clarita Carlos, a political and defence analyst. "This is a very, very bad signal because you‘re telling people that kidnapping is the quickest way to earn money."
She said the development would "definitely" increase the security threat in the Philippines.
"When you pay such a big amount of money, people will not work anymore. They will just kidnap and they‘ll kidnap somebody who has white skin."
The Abu Sayyaf is the most violent Islamist militant group in the Philippines, where it has been blamed for bombings, kidnappings, raids on Christian communities and attacks against government forces since it was formed in 1992.
The kidnapping of the German hostages in April was initially treated as a low-key police matter until the Abu Sayyaf threatened to kill one of them if Germany did not withdraw its support for US attacks against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
Security analyst Rommel Banlaoi said the Abu Sayyaf were "free riders," taking advantage of the popularity of the jihadist group "to justify their violent acts."
If they had carried out their threat to kill one of the German hostages, it would have given the Abu Sayyaf "political mileage" with the Middle Eastern jihadist group, he noted.
"It is a win-win situation for them," he said. "They are after the money. If they didn‘t get the money from the victims, they could have gotten the money from the IS had they committed the act of violence."
With the ransom payment, Banlaoi said, "the Abu Sayyaf will not stop its activities."
He added that they could even "mobilize more people and increase their leverage" by using the IS brand whenever it suits them.
The military has launched an offensive against the kidnappers in the hope of freeing 10 other hostages, including two birdwatchers from the Netherlands and Switzerland, spokesman Major General Domingo Tutaan said.
"We are in close coordination with the police and we are undertaking both proactive and reactive measures to prevent more kidnappings for ransom and to protect the communities," he added.
Carlos warned that an armed response would not stop the militants, some of whom see kidnapping for ransom not as a crime but as a way of "income redistribution."
"They have been so deprived, they have been so marginalized," she said. "Kidnapping for ransom is the only way they think they can rectify the hugely unequal distribution of wealth in society."
The Abu Sayyaf has been reputed to share its loot from previous kidnappings to residents in the affected communities.
"What you need to do is to educate young people that the source of power is not the gun," Carlos said. "You need to tell them that they can be engineers or doctors. You need to sell hope because these people are hopeless."
http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/analysisalleged-huge-ransom-in-hostage-release-sparks-fears-of-more-attacksby-girlie-linao-dpa_360144.html
With millions of dollars allegedly in their hands, Abu Sayyaf militants become more dangerous and can create more security troubles for the Philippines.
Manila (dpa) - The alleged payment of nearly 6 million dollars in for the release of two German hostages in the southern Philippines on Saturday raised concerns that Islamist militants would launch more attacks and kidnappings in the country.
Authorities could not confirm or deny the ransom payment, but a spokesman for the Abu Sayyaf group said they received 250 million pesos (5.6 million dollars), "not a single centavo less, not a single centavo more" for the German couple‘s freedom on Friday.
If true, it would be the highest ransom paid to the militants since 2000, when the Abu Sayyaf allegedly received up to 1 million dollars for each of 21 European tourists and Asian workers seized from a Malaysian resort.
Awash with cash, the group could recruit more people, purchase weapons and buy the loyalty of impoverished communities where they hide, train and plan their activities, analysts warned.
"They will gain more because now they have money to recruit," said Clarita Carlos, a political and defence analyst. "This is a very, very bad signal because you‘re telling people that kidnapping is the quickest way to earn money."
She said the development would "definitely" increase the security threat in the Philippines.
"When you pay such a big amount of money, people will not work anymore. They will just kidnap and they‘ll kidnap somebody who has white skin."
The Abu Sayyaf is the most violent Islamist militant group in the Philippines, where it has been blamed for bombings, kidnappings, raids on Christian communities and attacks against government forces since it was formed in 1992.
The kidnapping of the German hostages in April was initially treated as a low-key police matter until the Abu Sayyaf threatened to kill one of them if Germany did not withdraw its support for US attacks against the jihadist group Islamic State (IS).
Security analyst Rommel Banlaoi said the Abu Sayyaf were "free riders," taking advantage of the popularity of the jihadist group "to justify their violent acts."
If they had carried out their threat to kill one of the German hostages, it would have given the Abu Sayyaf "political mileage" with the Middle Eastern jihadist group, he noted.
"It is a win-win situation for them," he said. "They are after the money. If they didn‘t get the money from the victims, they could have gotten the money from the IS had they committed the act of violence."
With the ransom payment, Banlaoi said, "the Abu Sayyaf will not stop its activities."
He added that they could even "mobilize more people and increase their leverage" by using the IS brand whenever it suits them.
The military has launched an offensive against the kidnappers in the hope of freeing 10 other hostages, including two birdwatchers from the Netherlands and Switzerland, spokesman Major General Domingo Tutaan said.
"We are in close coordination with the police and we are undertaking both proactive and reactive measures to prevent more kidnappings for ransom and to protect the communities," he added.
Carlos warned that an armed response would not stop the militants, some of whom see kidnapping for ransom not as a crime but as a way of "income redistribution."
"They have been so deprived, they have been so marginalized," she said. "Kidnapping for ransom is the only way they think they can rectify the hugely unequal distribution of wealth in society."
The Abu Sayyaf has been reputed to share its loot from previous kidnappings to residents in the affected communities.
"What you need to do is to educate young people that the source of power is not the gun," Carlos said. "You need to tell them that they can be engineers or doctors. You need to sell hope because these people are hopeless."
http://en.europeonline-magazine.eu/analysisalleged-huge-ransom-in-hostage-release-sparks-fears-of-more-attacksby-girlie-linao-dpa_360144.html
The bloodstained trail of the Philippines' Abu Sayyaf
From the Global Post (Oct 18): The bloodstained trail of the Philippines' Abu Sayyaf
The Abu Sayyaf, who released two German hostages Friday after six months in captivity, is an Al-Qaeda-linked Islamic militant group blamed for the deadliest terror attacks in the Philippines.
The following timeline traces the bloodstained trail of the group in its bid to impose a strict brand of Islam to the mainly Catholic Philippines:
-- Early 1990s: Libya-trained Islamic preacher Abdurajak Janjalani forms the Abu Sayyaf (Bearer of the Sword) with young Muslims disaffected by an older generation of Muslim guerrillas, backed by seed money from a local charity run by Mohammad Jamal Khalifa, a brother-in-law of Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
-- April 4, 1995: Hundreds of Abu Sayyaf gunmen sack the southern town of Ipil leaving more than 50 people dead.
-- December 18, 1998: Janjalani is killed in a clash with security forces on the island of Basilan and is replaced by younger brother, Khadaffy Janjalani.
-- April 23, 2000: Abu Sayyaf gunmen cross the sea border to snatch 10 Western tourists and 11 Asian resort workers from the Malaysian island resort of Sipadan.
The Western hostages were freed in August 2001 and flown to Tripoli aboard a special jet sent by Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, who is said to have paid millions of dollars in ransom. The Asians were also freed.
-- May 27, 2001: The Abu Sayyaf raids a western Philippine island resort and take 20 hostages, including an American Christian missionary couple and American tourist Guillermo Sobero, who the gunmen later said they beheaded on June 11, 2001.
The Philippine military recovered Sobero's remains from a shallow grave on October 6, 2001, and US forensics experts later confirmed his death.
Missionary Martin Burnham was killed in a military operation that rescued his wife Gracia Burnham on June 7, 2002.
-- October 2, 2002: A US military adviser helping train Filipino counter-terrorism troops is killed along with two Filipinos in an Abu Sayyaf bombing near a military camp on the outskirts of the southern port of Zamboanga.
-- February 27, 2004: The Abu Sayyaf firebombs a ferry on Manila Bay, killing 116 people in an attack described by Filipino authorities as the country's worst terror incident.
-- March 15, 2005: Philippine police crush a violent overnight riot at a Manila prison holding detained Abu Sayyaf members, killing 17 militants including four senior leaders standing trial for the Sipadan kidnappings and the ferry bombing.
-- September 4, 2006: Leader Khadaffy Janjalani is killed in a clash with troops. DNA tests later confirm his death.
-- June 27, 2007: The Philippine military says the Abu Sayyaf has elected Yasser Igasan as its new leader.
-- July 10, 2007: The Abu Sayyaf and fighters from the mainstream guerrilla group Moro Islamic Liberation Front kill 14 Marines on the island of Basilan, beheading 10 of them.
-- September 30, 2009: Two American military advisers and a Filipino Marine are killed in an Abu Sayyaf bombing on Jolo island.
-- December 5, 2011: The Abu Sayyaf abducts Australian Warren Rodwell, a former soldier, at his southern Philippines home. He is freed unharmed on March 23, 2013 after a reported ransom of nearly $100,000 is paid.
-- February 1, 2012: Two European bird watchers are abducted in the Tawi-Tawi island group and later turned over to the Abu Sayyaf on Jolo.
-- April 25, 2014: Abu Sayyaf gunmen abduct German couple Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen aboard a yacht sailing off the western Philippine island of Palawan.
-- July 2014: Senior Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who carries an $5 million bounty on his head by the US government, appears in YouTube video with armed followers to pledge allegiance to Islamic State jihadists fighting in Iraq and Syria.
-- September 23, 2014: The Abu Sayyaf announces it is holding the two Germans. It threatens to behead one of the two hostages unless $5.6 million ransom is paid and Germany end its support to the US-led campaign against jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
Both the Philippines and Germany reject the demands.
-- October 2, 2014: The Abu Sayyaf warns it will kill one of its German hostages on October 17 unless its demands are met.
-- October 17, 2014: The German couple are released and escorted by civilians to a Jolo military camp hours after the deadline runs out.
The military dismisses as "propaganda" the kidnappers' claim they had collected the entire amount they had sought in ransom.
Olongapo murder, VFA review must be treated separately, says Palace
From the Manila Times (Oct 18): Olongapo murder, VFA review must be treated separately, says Palace
Malacañang clarified that the issue on Jennifer Laude’s killing and the review of the Visiting Forces Agreement must be treated separately.
Some quarters says the quest for justice for Laude’s murder may be compromised because of the country’s defense agreement with the US.
“The issue for Jennifer should be treated separately. Because the issue on the VFA and calls for its abrogation, (as well as) ucalls for its review should be discussed on a different level,” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview on Saturday.
“Kasi iba po ‘yung pinag-uusapan diyan, marami hong considerations when you talk about the review of a particular agreement that we have with another sovereign country,” she added.
And as far as the investigation on Laude’s death is going, there is a process that everyone has to follow to the letter to make sure that there are no technical aspects that are being forgotten, Valte said.
It would also be a disservice to Laude if prosecutors rush things up and in the end lost the case because of technical issues, she said.
On the threat of Laude’s family to storm the US ship this weekend to serve the murder complaint, Valte made an assurance that the government is determined to serve justice to the family.
The Laude family complained of the delays in the government’s investigation on the case.
The government can’t rush things up, Valte said because there is a process that has to be followed in terms of dealing with criminal complaints relating to US servicemen.
Joseph Scott Pemberton, a member of the US Marines, is the prime suspect in the alleged killing last week of Laude in an Olongapo City hotel.
http://www.manilatimes.net/breaking_news/olongapo-murder-vfa-review-must-treated-separately-says-palace/
Malacañang clarified that the issue on Jennifer Laude’s killing and the review of the Visiting Forces Agreement must be treated separately.
Some quarters says the quest for justice for Laude’s murder may be compromised because of the country’s defense agreement with the US.
“The issue for Jennifer should be treated separately. Because the issue on the VFA and calls for its abrogation, (as well as) ucalls for its review should be discussed on a different level,” Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in an interview on Saturday.
“Kasi iba po ‘yung pinag-uusapan diyan, marami hong considerations when you talk about the review of a particular agreement that we have with another sovereign country,” she added.
And as far as the investigation on Laude’s death is going, there is a process that everyone has to follow to the letter to make sure that there are no technical aspects that are being forgotten, Valte said.
It would also be a disservice to Laude if prosecutors rush things up and in the end lost the case because of technical issues, she said.
On the threat of Laude’s family to storm the US ship this weekend to serve the murder complaint, Valte made an assurance that the government is determined to serve justice to the family.
The Laude family complained of the delays in the government’s investigation on the case.
The government can’t rush things up, Valte said because there is a process that has to be followed in terms of dealing with criminal complaints relating to US servicemen.
Joseph Scott Pemberton, a member of the US Marines, is the prime suspect in the alleged killing last week of Laude in an Olongapo City hotel.
http://www.manilatimes.net/breaking_news/olongapo-murder-vfa-review-must-treated-separately-says-palace/
Goldberg in Leyte Gulf landing anniversary
From the Manila Times (Oct 18): Goldberg in Leyte Gulf landing anniversary
UNITED States Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg will visit Palo, Leyte tomorrow to join in the commemoration of the 70th Leyte Gulf landing anniversary.
While in Leyte, Goldberg will also preside in the inauguration of projects that support rehabilitation efforts in areas devastated by typhoon Yolanda.
He will visit Barangay Poblacion where he will turn over 36 sari-sari stores reconstructed and restocked through the initiatives of United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) along with Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble.
Goldberg will also announce the establishment of the micro enterprise disaster assistance fund for resiliency, implemented in partnership with Philippine Business for Social Progress.
This P176 million credit facility will enable eligible entrepreneurs from Yolanda-hit communities to borrow money to establish or expand their micro enterprises.
http://www.manilatimes.net/goldberg-leyte-gulf-landing-anniversary/135327/
UNITED States Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg will visit Palo, Leyte tomorrow to join in the commemoration of the 70th Leyte Gulf landing anniversary.
While in Leyte, Goldberg will also preside in the inauguration of projects that support rehabilitation efforts in areas devastated by typhoon Yolanda.
He will visit Barangay Poblacion where he will turn over 36 sari-sari stores reconstructed and restocked through the initiatives of United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) along with Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble.
Goldberg will also announce the establishment of the micro enterprise disaster assistance fund for resiliency, implemented in partnership with Philippine Business for Social Progress.
This P176 million credit facility will enable eligible entrepreneurs from Yolanda-hit communities to borrow money to establish or expand their micro enterprises.
http://www.manilatimes.net/goldberg-leyte-gulf-landing-anniversary/135327/
Private jet flew bags of money for Germans’ ransom
From the Manila Times (Oct 18): Private jet flew bags of money for Germans’ ransom
Questions lingered on Saturday on whether ransom was paid to the Abu Sayyaf for the two Germans the group had held for six months.
Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Dielen, 55, were taken to the German embassy in Manila, hours after they were recovered by policemen near a checkpoint in Patikul, Sulu, late Friday.
Government officials said a private plane flew the two to Manila from Zamboanga City at dawn Saturday.
“With the release from captivity of the two German nationals, our security forces will continue efforts to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements,” presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
Military officials insisted that the Abu Sayyaf were forced to free its captives because government troops were closing in on the group.
But Aboo Rami, who spoke for the Abu Sayyaf, told Radio Mindanao Network in Zamboanga City that they freed the hostages after ransom was paid.
The kidnappers had demanded P250 million for the Germans, and threatened to behead Okonek if the money was not delivered by last Friday.
It also called on Berlin to cease all support to US coalition airstrikes against the jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Sources in Sulu said a private jet delivered 12 trolley bags containing cash in Jolo and that several bags full of money had been left in the plane.
Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan, a spokesman for the Armed Forces, said the military “has no information on that (ransom payments) but suffice to say that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other security forces do not and will not negotiate with terrorists and kidnappers.”
Coloma said “We are still trying to determine the details of their rescue. There is no change to the government’s ‘no ransom’ policy.”
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, the Armed Forces spokesman, branded as propaganda Rami’s claim that ransom was paid.
“That’s what he claims… but who paid the ransom?” Cabunoc said in a phone patch briefing with reporters.
The British news agency Reuters quoted a German government source that reported that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines to negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf.
The envoy, Ruediger Koenig, reportedly arrived in Manila Thursday night.
Okonek and Dielen were intercepted off Palawan by Abu Sayyaf gunmen on April 25 while sailing their yacht to Sabah in Malaysia.
Germany’s foreign ministry and the Philippine military confirmed the hostages had arrived at the embassy in Manila.
“We are relieved to confirm that the two Germans are no longer in the hands of their kidnappers. They are being taken care of at the embassy in Manila,” said a German foreign ministry spokesman.
During their captivity, the kidnappers who are notorious for cruelty used the press and social media to threaten the hostages’ lives and force Berlin to fork up the cash.
The couple were forced to beg for their lives in telephone calls to a local radio station as well as uploads of video clips on the Internet.
In one video clip, Okonek stood on a hole in the ground that he said he was told would become his grave. In another he screamed in pain as his kidnappers hit him repeatedly on the head.
The Western Mindanao Command said the police and military are ready to shift from law enforcement operations to tactical options if the special action committee of Sulu comes up with a resolution that would allow security forces to continue their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf.
The military has deployed K9 units in Sulu to help ground troops search for at least seven other foreigners being held by the Abu Sayyaf.
Another Abu Sayyaf faction has threatened to kill Malaysian fish breeder Chan Sai Chuin, 32, who was kidnapped along with a Filipino worker on June 16 from a fish farm in the town of Kunak in Tawau District. The militants are demanding P41 million for the fish breeder.
It is also holding captive a Malaysian policeman Kons Zakiah Aleip, 26, who was seized on June 12 also this year following a clash in Sabah that killed another policeman. The militants are demanding P68.3 million.
The group is also holding a 64-year old Japanese treasure hunter Katayama Mamaito, who was kidnapped from Pangutaran Island in July 2010; and two European wildlife photographers Ewold Horn, 52, from Holland; and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, from Switzerland, who were taken from the coastal village of Parangan in Panglima Sugala town in Tawi-Tawi in 2012.
The 1st Infantry Division has sent two battalions to Sulu, said Brigadier General Gerardo Barrientos Jr. A hundred Special Forces soldiers from Zamboanga City were also deployed to Sulu on October 8 to help ferret out the Abu Sayyaf.
The group is a loose band of a few hundred militants founded in the 1990s by Abdurajak Janjalani, an Islamic preacher and veteran of the Afghanistan war.
It was set up with seed money from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s brother-in-law.
It has kidnapped dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south.
By ransoming off its hostages for millions of dollars the group was able to raise funds to buy more arms, and it cemented its brutal reputation by beheading some of its captives—including an American tourist seized in 2002.
http://www.manilatimes.net/private-jet-flew-bags-money-germans-ransom/135341/
Questions lingered on Saturday on whether ransom was paid to the Abu Sayyaf for the two Germans the group had held for six months.
Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Dielen, 55, were taken to the German embassy in Manila, hours after they were recovered by policemen near a checkpoint in Patikul, Sulu, late Friday.
Government officials said a private plane flew the two to Manila from Zamboanga City at dawn Saturday.
“With the release from captivity of the two German nationals, our security forces will continue efforts to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements,” presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
Military officials insisted that the Abu Sayyaf were forced to free its captives because government troops were closing in on the group.
But Aboo Rami, who spoke for the Abu Sayyaf, told Radio Mindanao Network in Zamboanga City that they freed the hostages after ransom was paid.
The kidnappers had demanded P250 million for the Germans, and threatened to behead Okonek if the money was not delivered by last Friday.
It also called on Berlin to cease all support to US coalition airstrikes against the jihadist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Sources in Sulu said a private jet delivered 12 trolley bags containing cash in Jolo and that several bags full of money had been left in the plane.
Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan, a spokesman for the Armed Forces, said the military “has no information on that (ransom payments) but suffice to say that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other security forces do not and will not negotiate with terrorists and kidnappers.”
Coloma said “We are still trying to determine the details of their rescue. There is no change to the government’s ‘no ransom’ policy.”
Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, the Armed Forces spokesman, branded as propaganda Rami’s claim that ransom was paid.
“That’s what he claims… but who paid the ransom?” Cabunoc said in a phone patch briefing with reporters.
The British news agency Reuters quoted a German government source that reported that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines to negotiate with the Abu Sayyaf.
The envoy, Ruediger Koenig, reportedly arrived in Manila Thursday night.
Okonek and Dielen were intercepted off Palawan by Abu Sayyaf gunmen on April 25 while sailing their yacht to Sabah in Malaysia.
Germany’s foreign ministry and the Philippine military confirmed the hostages had arrived at the embassy in Manila.
“We are relieved to confirm that the two Germans are no longer in the hands of their kidnappers. They are being taken care of at the embassy in Manila,” said a German foreign ministry spokesman.
During their captivity, the kidnappers who are notorious for cruelty used the press and social media to threaten the hostages’ lives and force Berlin to fork up the cash.
The couple were forced to beg for their lives in telephone calls to a local radio station as well as uploads of video clips on the Internet.
In one video clip, Okonek stood on a hole in the ground that he said he was told would become his grave. In another he screamed in pain as his kidnappers hit him repeatedly on the head.
The Western Mindanao Command said the police and military are ready to shift from law enforcement operations to tactical options if the special action committee of Sulu comes up with a resolution that would allow security forces to continue their pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf.
The military has deployed K9 units in Sulu to help ground troops search for at least seven other foreigners being held by the Abu Sayyaf.
Another Abu Sayyaf faction has threatened to kill Malaysian fish breeder Chan Sai Chuin, 32, who was kidnapped along with a Filipino worker on June 16 from a fish farm in the town of Kunak in Tawau District. The militants are demanding P41 million for the fish breeder.
It is also holding captive a Malaysian policeman Kons Zakiah Aleip, 26, who was seized on June 12 also this year following a clash in Sabah that killed another policeman. The militants are demanding P68.3 million.
The group is also holding a 64-year old Japanese treasure hunter Katayama Mamaito, who was kidnapped from Pangutaran Island in July 2010; and two European wildlife photographers Ewold Horn, 52, from Holland; and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, from Switzerland, who were taken from the coastal village of Parangan in Panglima Sugala town in Tawi-Tawi in 2012.
The 1st Infantry Division has sent two battalions to Sulu, said Brigadier General Gerardo Barrientos Jr. A hundred Special Forces soldiers from Zamboanga City were also deployed to Sulu on October 8 to help ferret out the Abu Sayyaf.
The group is a loose band of a few hundred militants founded in the 1990s by Abdurajak Janjalani, an Islamic preacher and veteran of the Afghanistan war.
It was set up with seed money from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden’s brother-in-law.
It has kidnapped dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south.
By ransoming off its hostages for millions of dollars the group was able to raise funds to buy more arms, and it cemented its brutal reputation by beheading some of its captives—including an American tourist seized in 2002.
http://www.manilatimes.net/private-jet-flew-bags-money-germans-ransom/135341/
US issues terror alert
From the Manila Times (Oct 18): US issues terror alert
The US Department of State has again warned American citizens against traveling to the Philippines, citing the threat brought by terror groups with ties to Al-Qaeda.
In an advisory issued before the Abu Sayyaf Group freed two German captives Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrite Dielen in Patikul Sulu, the US Embassy in Manila said the target of terror attacks in the East Asian and Pacific Region are foreign nationals, including Americans.
The travel warning quoted credible sources with information that suggest “continued risk of armed terrorists and criminal groups operating and planning attacks against foreigners.”
“The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas,” the advisory said.
A US-led military offensive was launched against ISIL on September 22. In response to these airstrikes, the terror group has called for a counterattacks on foreigners.
“Authorities believe there is an increased likelihood of reprisal attacks against US, Western and coalition partner interests throughout the world, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Asia,” the advisory said.
It noted that the Abu Sayyaf group and the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah have “cells operating throughout Southeast Asia.”
“There is a risk of travel to the Philippines, especially related to kidnapping threats in the Sulu Archipelago and the ongoing threat of violence on the island of Mindanao, particularly in Central Mindanao,” the travel advisory said.
The recent advisory noted that terror groups “may attempt to intercept boats ferrying tourists in the area.”
“And let us not forget two separate unsuccessful car bombing incidents at the Manila International Airport,” it added.
http://www.manilatimes.net/us-issues-terror-alert/135349/
The US Department of State has again warned American citizens against traveling to the Philippines, citing the threat brought by terror groups with ties to Al-Qaeda.
In an advisory issued before the Abu Sayyaf Group freed two German captives Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrite Dielen in Patikul Sulu, the US Embassy in Manila said the target of terror attacks in the East Asian and Pacific Region are foreign nationals, including Americans.
The travel warning quoted credible sources with information that suggest “continued risk of armed terrorists and criminal groups operating and planning attacks against foreigners.”
“The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas,” the advisory said.
A US-led military offensive was launched against ISIL on September 22. In response to these airstrikes, the terror group has called for a counterattacks on foreigners.
“Authorities believe there is an increased likelihood of reprisal attacks against US, Western and coalition partner interests throughout the world, especially in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Asia,” the advisory said.
It noted that the Abu Sayyaf group and the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah have “cells operating throughout Southeast Asia.”
“There is a risk of travel to the Philippines, especially related to kidnapping threats in the Sulu Archipelago and the ongoing threat of violence on the island of Mindanao, particularly in Central Mindanao,” the travel advisory said.
The recent advisory noted that terror groups “may attempt to intercept boats ferrying tourists in the area.”
“And let us not forget two separate unsuccessful car bombing incidents at the Manila International Airport,” it added.
http://www.manilatimes.net/us-issues-terror-alert/135349/
Anti-US sentiment following slaying could threaten US-Philippine security agreement plans
From the Stars & Stripes (Oct 17): Anti-US sentiment following slaying could threaten US-Philippine security agreement plans
Two decades after the U.S. Navy left the Philippines, Subic Bay is a quiet, seaside town but many of the facilities built by the Americans remain in place. Many Filipinos are hoping a larger American presence will help the Armed Forces of Philippines convert from a counterinsurgency force to one directed at external threats.
Anti-American protests have long been a staple outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila. It doesn’t take much to get leftists and students riled up, chanting and burning flags and effigies.
Two decades after the U.S. Navy left the Philippines, Subic Bay is a quiet, seaside town but many of the facilities built by the Americans remain in place. Many Filipinos are hoping a larger American presence will help the Armed Forces of Philippines convert from a counterinsurgency force to one directed at external threats.
Anti-American protests have long been a staple outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila. It doesn’t take much to get leftists and students riled up, chanting and burning flags and effigies.
But while they’re vocal, protests generally have represented a fairly small segment of Philippine society, except during major flare-ups in bilateral ties. Now the slaying of a transsexual at Subic Bay a week ago, allegedly by a Marine taking part in joint exercises, has the anti-U.S. tide seeping into the mainstream again at a particularly sensitive time.
This was the one thing that neither government wanted to see as they scaled up military ties that badly frayed when the Philippine Senate refused to renew leases for U.S. bases in 1991 but had been on the mend for the past 12 years.
The lurid details of the slaying — the victim’s nude body was found in a hotel bathroom, her head on the toilet, with drowning listed as the cause of death — have dominated newspapers and TV. Four of five U.S. ships that had anchored after the exercise were delayed in departing, and the fifth, with the suspect in the brig, is still there.
Every detail of how the case is handled will be scrutinized for any hint of favoritism toward the Marine, right down to where he’s detained while the legal process unfolds. An American soldier accused of rape several years ago was held on U.S. Embassy property during his trial, which remains a sore spot for many Filipinos.
The U.S.-Philippines relationship has long been a tangled one, not atypical for a former colony and its colonial rulers.
The sprawling archipelago of more than 5,000 islands has embraced American culture. Marriages between foreigners and locals are accepted far more than in most Asian countries. America is the prime target for people seeking overseas jobs and a better life. Americans fought beside Filipinos during World War II, and the U.S. military today is peppered with Philippine faces.
But there also are sensitivities of a country that is proud to have gained its independence but still struggles to deal with problems common in young nations, including an underfunded and undertrained military.
That issue became painfully obvious in 2001. Islamic extremist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf had been growing in strength, drawing from the disenfranchised rural poor. When the Abu Sayyaf staged a mass kidnapping at an upscale resort that included three American captives, the Philippine navy tried to follow but couldn’t keep up with the escape boat.
The saga dragged on for a year, with the kidnappers and their captives fleeing at one point from a surrounded hospital. Finally, with the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan having toppled the Taliban, Washington dispatched military counterterrorism trainers to the Philippines to keep the country from becoming a safe haven for terror groups.
Their arrival drew heated protests, and strict rules were drawn up that banned the Americans from combat. U.S. equipment and surveillance assistant trickled in. When the chief Abu Sayyaf spokesman was killed in a sea battle, the presidential palace watched it all live via a U.S. surveillance aircraft.
Today, while the Abu Sayyaf remains a prickly thorn, it has been called a spent force. And the U.S. trainers have been praised for playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role.
So when increasingly expansionist China began flexing its muscles in the South China Sea, clashing with a Philippine vessel, the Philippine government realized it was time to bolster its coastal defenses. At the same time, the U.S. was working on its “Pacific pivot” as the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq came to an end.
So in the wake of the goodwill generated by U.S. aid following last year’s devastating typhoon in the central Philippines, Manila and Washington worked out a deal. It was designed to ramp up the U.S. military presence in the Philippines with rotational forces and prepositioned disaster aid without fully reopening the close bases, walking a fine line to avoid sparking too much local dissent.
At the time the deal was announced during President Barack Obama’s visit to the Philippines, analysts forecast that protests against the deal would fade as long as there was no major incident to fan the flames.
That appeared to be happening. Until a week ago.
Maguindanao peace council backs 2 security plans
From the Philippine Star (Oct 18): Maguindanao peace council backs 2 security plans
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu explains to members of the provincial peace and order council the importance of diplomatic means of resolving security issues to sustain the area's improving business climate during a special meeting on Saturday in Gen. Santos City. John Unson
Members of the peace and order council in Maguindanao on Saturday unanimously endorsed two provincial security blueprints complementing Malacañang’s Mindanao’s peace process.
The council, chaired by Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, also reaffirmed its support to President Benigno Aquino III’s ongoing peace overture with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and to the continuing enforcement of the July 1997 government-MILF ceasefire accord.
The council, whose members include Senior Supt. Rudelio Jocson of the provincial police and Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, launched during their Saturday meeting here the provincial Local Anti-Criminality Action Plan (LACAP) and the Peace and Order and Public Safety Plan (POPSP), both meant to sustain the fragile peace now in Maguindanao.
The special session of the inter-agency council was held in Gen. Santos City to gather at the same time Maguindanao’s political leaders for a separate dialogue on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) with representatives of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chair of the government’s peace panel negotiating with the MILF.
The draft BBL, now in Congress, is the enabling measure for the replacement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with an MILF-led Bangsamoro government.
Mangudadatu and Pangilinan both said the LACAP and the POPSP will bolster the improving peace and order in Maguindanao, where residents have been witnessing the rise of foreign-funded Cavendish and oil palm plantations in strategic areas in the province.
There has not been any single encounter between the MILF and government security forces in the province since 2010 owing to the religious enforcement of the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities, aimed at ensuring the cordiality of the peace talks between the rebel group and Malacañang.
Pangilinan said component units of the 6th ID in Maguindanao, which has 36 towns, are ready to embark on peace-building activities in support of the LACAP and the POPSP.
Pangilinan's deputy, Brig. Gen. Noli Orense, former commander of the 602nd Brigade based in the MILF's former stronghold, Camp Abubabar, in the tri-boundary of Maguindanao's Matanog, Buldon and Barira towns, was also present in the meeting.
Mangudadatu said the two comprehensive security plans will also hasten the provincial government’s continuing reconciliation process for feuding Moro families.
Jocson, citing reports by municipal police offices, said there has been a big reduction in recorded clannish hostilities in the past 36 months, if compared to prior years, as a result of the provincial government’s having amicably settled almost 40 bloody clan wars during the period.
“Credit has to go to the office of the governor, the local government units, the municipal chiefs of police and the military for helping one another address these family feuds via diplomatic interventions,” Jocson said.
Jocson said one of their immediate concerns now is the settlement of land disputes involving peasant families, whose enclaves are now being planted to Cavendish bananas and oil palm trees by foreign investors Mangudadatu invited to venture into the province.
“People are now busy with these agricultural projects and we’ve been hearing about some misunderstandings on property demarcations, which indicates that Maguindanaons are now focused on developing their idle lands into productive farms,” Jocson.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/10/18/1381642/maguindanao-peace-council-backs-2-security-plans
Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu explains to members of the provincial peace and order council the importance of diplomatic means of resolving security issues to sustain the area's improving business climate during a special meeting on Saturday in Gen. Santos City. John Unson
Members of the peace and order council in Maguindanao on Saturday unanimously endorsed two provincial security blueprints complementing Malacañang’s Mindanao’s peace process.
The council, chaired by Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, also reaffirmed its support to President Benigno Aquino III’s ongoing peace overture with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and to the continuing enforcement of the July 1997 government-MILF ceasefire accord.
The council, whose members include Senior Supt. Rudelio Jocson of the provincial police and Major Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, launched during their Saturday meeting here the provincial Local Anti-Criminality Action Plan (LACAP) and the Peace and Order and Public Safety Plan (POPSP), both meant to sustain the fragile peace now in Maguindanao.
The special session of the inter-agency council was held in Gen. Santos City to gather at the same time Maguindanao’s political leaders for a separate dialogue on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) with representatives of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chair of the government’s peace panel negotiating with the MILF.
The draft BBL, now in Congress, is the enabling measure for the replacement of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with an MILF-led Bangsamoro government.
Mangudadatu and Pangilinan both said the LACAP and the POPSP will bolster the improving peace and order in Maguindanao, where residents have been witnessing the rise of foreign-funded Cavendish and oil palm plantations in strategic areas in the province.
There has not been any single encounter between the MILF and government security forces in the province since 2010 owing to the religious enforcement of the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities, aimed at ensuring the cordiality of the peace talks between the rebel group and Malacañang.
Pangilinan said component units of the 6th ID in Maguindanao, which has 36 towns, are ready to embark on peace-building activities in support of the LACAP and the POPSP.
Pangilinan's deputy, Brig. Gen. Noli Orense, former commander of the 602nd Brigade based in the MILF's former stronghold, Camp Abubabar, in the tri-boundary of Maguindanao's Matanog, Buldon and Barira towns, was also present in the meeting.
Mangudadatu said the two comprehensive security plans will also hasten the provincial government’s continuing reconciliation process for feuding Moro families.
Jocson, citing reports by municipal police offices, said there has been a big reduction in recorded clannish hostilities in the past 36 months, if compared to prior years, as a result of the provincial government’s having amicably settled almost 40 bloody clan wars during the period.
“Credit has to go to the office of the governor, the local government units, the municipal chiefs of police and the military for helping one another address these family feuds via diplomatic interventions,” Jocson said.
Jocson said one of their immediate concerns now is the settlement of land disputes involving peasant families, whose enclaves are now being planted to Cavendish bananas and oil palm trees by foreign investors Mangudadatu invited to venture into the province.
“People are now busy with these agricultural projects and we’ve been hearing about some misunderstandings on property demarcations, which indicates that Maguindanaons are now focused on developing their idle lands into productive farms,” Jocson.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/10/18/1381642/maguindanao-peace-council-backs-2-security-plans
Leftist rebels kill off-duty militiaman in MisOr
From the Philippine Star (Oct 18): Leftist rebels kill off-duty militiaman in MisOr
Suspected leftist rebels shot and killed an off-duty militiaman in southern Philippines yesterday, police said today.
Three New People's Army gunmen fired at Alvin Bustamante using assault rifles as he was on his way to his farm at Alipuaton village, Salay town, in Mindanao's Misamis Oriental province past noon, said police investigator Randy Daniel.
"The militiaman was tending his cattle when attacked. He died to multiple gunshot wounds," Daniel told local radio. The suspects then fled to an unknown direction, the police investigator added.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/10/18/1381666/leftist-rebels-kill-duty-militiaman-misor
Suspected leftist rebels shot and killed an off-duty militiaman in southern Philippines yesterday, police said today.
Three New People's Army gunmen fired at Alvin Bustamante using assault rifles as he was on his way to his farm at Alipuaton village, Salay town, in Mindanao's Misamis Oriental province past noon, said police investigator Randy Daniel.
"The militiaman was tending his cattle when attacked. He died to multiple gunshot wounds," Daniel told local radio. The suspects then fled to an unknown direction, the police investigator added.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/10/18/1381666/leftist-rebels-kill-duty-militiaman-misor
Gov't vows to heighten fight against Abu Sayyaf after release of German hostages
From the Philippine Star (Oct 18): Gov't vows to heighten fight against Abu Sayyaf after release of German hostages
Government forces will intensify its campaign against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group after the release of two German nationals, a senior government official said today.
"With the release from captivity of the two German nationals, our security forces will continue efforts to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements," said Herminio Coloma Jr., Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary.
The Abu Sayyaf bandits freed Stefan Okonek and Henrite Dielen on Friday, the day the group had threatened to kill one of them if their demands were not met.
The two demands include the payment of 250-million-peso (about 5.57 million U.S. dollars) ransom and German government's withdrawal of support on the United States-led campaign against the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
Ransom was reportedly paid for the release of the couple, who were seized by the militants in April while on board a yacht off western Philippine province of Palawan en route to Sabah in eastern Malaysia.
But Coloma reiterated the government's no ransom policy.
"We are still determining the details how they were freed. (But) there's no change on the government's no ransom policy," he said.
The Abu Sayyaf Group was founded in the 1990s and had since perpetrated a number of high-profile attacks, including kidnapping and bombing. The Philippine military estimates the group has about 400 members at present.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/10/18/1381836/govt-vows-heighten-fight-against-abu-sayyaf-after-release-german
Government forces will intensify its campaign against the terrorist Abu Sayyaf Group after the release of two German nationals, a senior government official said today.
"With the release from captivity of the two German nationals, our security forces will continue efforts to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements," said Herminio Coloma Jr., Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary.
The Abu Sayyaf bandits freed Stefan Okonek and Henrite Dielen on Friday, the day the group had threatened to kill one of them if their demands were not met.
The two demands include the payment of 250-million-peso (about 5.57 million U.S. dollars) ransom and German government's withdrawal of support on the United States-led campaign against the Islamic State militants in Syria and Iraq.
Ransom was reportedly paid for the release of the couple, who were seized by the militants in April while on board a yacht off western Philippine province of Palawan en route to Sabah in eastern Malaysia.
But Coloma reiterated the government's no ransom policy.
"We are still determining the details how they were freed. (But) there's no change on the government's no ransom policy," he said.
The Abu Sayyaf Group was founded in the 1990s and had since perpetrated a number of high-profile attacks, including kidnapping and bombing. The Philippine military estimates the group has about 400 members at present.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/10/18/1381836/govt-vows-heighten-fight-against-abu-sayyaf-after-release-german
Abu Sayyaf confirms receipt of P250-M ransom for Germans' release
From the Philippine Star (Oct 18): Abu Sayyaf confirms receipt of P250-M ransom for Germans' release
Freed German couple Dr. Stefan Viktor Okonek, 74, and wife Henrike Dielen, 55, having bread and coffee as their first meal inside the Naval Forces Western Mindanao in Zamboanga City early Saturday.
The Abu Sayyaf militants confirmed the payment of a huge ransom in exchange for the freedom of their captive German couple in the jungle of Sulu Friday night, its spokesman said.
Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami confirmed that the P250-million ransom was delivered before the 3 p.m. ultimatum they set on Friday to behead one of the Germans.
“Dumating talaga ang demand na P250 million pesos. Walang labis walang kulang,” Abu Rami said over the local radio DXRZ of Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) minutes after they released about Stefan Viktor Okonek and wife Henrike Dielen at 8:45 p.m.
Abu Rami said that although the other demand was not met, they maintained their call for the German government to stop its support to the United States campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Rami said the ransom was delivered by government emissaries.
Sources said the ransom money was contained in several black bags which were transported via a private plane that landed in the city.
“Two foreign nationals escorted the money,” another official disclosed.
The German couple, upon their release, were immediately transported by a naval patrol boat from Jolo, Sulu and arrived at Majini Pier inside the base of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM).
Newsmen were barred from covering the arrival of the victims which the military claimed was due to the request of the freed captives whom they described to be in a critical condition.
However, a footage provided inside the staff house of a naval official showed the freed victims were having peanut bread and coffee while casually talking.
The victims looked tired and haggard but appeared strong as they walked unaided except for Okonek who had an intravenous bag on his left hand while eating bread with his wife.
Okonek has also visible welt on his upper right eye.
They were later flown out this city secretly aboard a private plane about 5 a.m. Saturday, arrived in Manila and subsequently turned over to the German embassy in Manila.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/10/18/1381631/abu-sayyaf-confirms-receipt-p250-m-ransom-germans-release
Freed German couple Dr. Stefan Viktor Okonek, 74, and wife Henrike Dielen, 55, having bread and coffee as their first meal inside the Naval Forces Western Mindanao in Zamboanga City early Saturday.
The Abu Sayyaf militants confirmed the payment of a huge ransom in exchange for the freedom of their captive German couple in the jungle of Sulu Friday night, its spokesman said.
Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami confirmed that the P250-million ransom was delivered before the 3 p.m. ultimatum they set on Friday to behead one of the Germans.
“Dumating talaga ang demand na P250 million pesos. Walang labis walang kulang,” Abu Rami said over the local radio DXRZ of Radio Mindanao Network (RMN) minutes after they released about Stefan Viktor Okonek and wife Henrike Dielen at 8:45 p.m.
Abu Rami said that although the other demand was not met, they maintained their call for the German government to stop its support to the United States campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Rami said the ransom was delivered by government emissaries.
Sources said the ransom money was contained in several black bags which were transported via a private plane that landed in the city.
“Two foreign nationals escorted the money,” another official disclosed.
The German couple, upon their release, were immediately transported by a naval patrol boat from Jolo, Sulu and arrived at Majini Pier inside the base of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM).
Newsmen were barred from covering the arrival of the victims which the military claimed was due to the request of the freed captives whom they described to be in a critical condition.
However, a footage provided inside the staff house of a naval official showed the freed victims were having peanut bread and coffee while casually talking.
The victims looked tired and haggard but appeared strong as they walked unaided except for Okonek who had an intravenous bag on his left hand while eating bread with his wife.
Okonek has also visible welt on his upper right eye.
They were later flown out this city secretly aboard a private plane about 5 a.m. Saturday, arrived in Manila and subsequently turned over to the German embassy in Manila.
http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/10/18/1381631/abu-sayyaf-confirms-receipt-p250-m-ransom-germans-release
Laude kin, activists picket USS Peleliu
From GMA News (Oct 18): Laude kin, activists picket USS Peleliu
Relatives of transgender Filipina Jennifer Laude joined activist groups on Saturday afternoon to picket a pier where a US warship that the suspect in her death is being detained is docked.
Relatives of transgender Filipina Jennifer Laude joined activist groups on Saturday afternoon to picket a pier where a US warship that the suspect in her death is being detained is docked.
A photo tweeted by GMA News reporter Rida Reyes showed protesters carrying placards and signs calling for the jailing of Pfc. Joseph Scott Pemberton.
GMA News ✔ @gmanews Follow
Some of the picketers also called for the scrapping of the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.
The VFA governs the conduct and treatment of visiting US servicemen taking part in joint military exercises. The EDCA was signed earlier this year and allows an increased US troop presence in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, a separate photo tweeted by GMA News' Hadji Rieta showed the militants directing their chants at the USS Peleliu, where Pemberton is assigned.
Pemberton faces a murder complaint before the Olongapo City Prosecutor's Office for the killing of Laude, who was found dead in a lodge in the city last week.
Protesters barred from boarding
According to a "News TV Live" report, the family and supporters of Laude were barred from boarding the Peleliu.
Instead, the victim's kin stepped outside and talked to the media. They said they are feeling desperate because it has been a week since her death and they yet to face the suspect.
The family expects to meet the suspect at the preliminary investigation of the case on October 21, the report added.
AFP spokesman rebukes critics speculating on German hostages’ release
From GMA News (Oct 18): AFP spokesman rebukes critics speculating on German hostages’ release
Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc on Saturday lashed out at critics insinuating Abu Sayyaf bandits freed their German hostages after ransom was paid, and not through military action.
In a phone-patch interview on GMA News TV's "Balitanghali," Cabunoc said, "Napakadali kasing mag-akusa sa ating security forces na kaya nakaalis, o nakalaya ang ating mga biktima dahil sa pagbibigay ng ransom... O ['di kaya'y] sadyang pinalusot ng ating mga kasundaluhan [ang Abu Sayyaf]."
Also, he said allegations that the military is remiss in its duties during hostage crisis involving the Abu Sayyaf is unfair.
"Sa akin, ito ay unfair para sa mga naghirap... Noong panahon namin, pinagbintangan din kami, pinalusot [umano] namin ang [mga dumukot sa] Burnhams, samantala habang kami ay nakikipagbakbakan, pinipili namin kung sino ang hostage, at kung sino ang hindi," he added.
He was referring to missionary couple Martin Burnham and Gracia Burnham who were among 20 foreign and local tourists seized by the bandit group from the Dos Palmas Beach Resort in Palawan. Martin was killed in the rescue operation.
"Hindi po madali iyon, pero irerespeto ko nalang mga opinyon ng mga armchair analysts na nagbibigay ng kanilang opinyon."
Earlier, Cabunoc denied Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Ramii's claim that his group released the victims upon payment of P250-million ransom.
"He can claim that, that may be a propaganda," Cabunoc said.
"We put pressure on them, that’s why we deployed K9 [units], special operations troops, and snipers... If anyone paid, we don’t [know] from the side of the Germans, whats definite is that we did not negotiate with them (Abu Sayyaf)," he added.
Meanwhile, Cabunoc said that while the two Germans have been released, pursuit operations against the bandit group is still ongoing.
Sa ngayon, tuloy-tuloy ang law enforcement operations, ipinag-utos na sa WestMinCom (Western Mindanao Command) ang full-scale deployment para sa combat operations, para ipakita ng Armed Forces na hindi lang ang Germans ang gustong palayain..." he said.
Kidnapping as 'hanapbuhay'
On the other hand, Cabunoc said they are looking into the reason behind kidnapping incidents in the southern Philippines.
"Hindi po natin titignan ang taong naghawak ng armas, ang titignan po natin diyan ay king bakit sila naghahawak ng armas," he said.
"May iba diyang wala nang opportunity sa kanilang komunidad, at ginagawa nilang hanapbuhay ang pangingidnap at paghihingi ng ransom," he added.
The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be holding up to 10 other hostages, including two European birdwatchers who were abducted in February 2012. The two Germans were seized last April while on a yacht in the waters between Palawan and Malaysia.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/384130/news/nation/afp-spokesman-rebukes-critics-speculating-on-german-hostages-release
Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc on Saturday lashed out at critics insinuating Abu Sayyaf bandits freed their German hostages after ransom was paid, and not through military action.
In a phone-patch interview on GMA News TV's "Balitanghali," Cabunoc said, "Napakadali kasing mag-akusa sa ating security forces na kaya nakaalis, o nakalaya ang ating mga biktima dahil sa pagbibigay ng ransom... O ['di kaya'y] sadyang pinalusot ng ating mga kasundaluhan [ang Abu Sayyaf]."
Also, he said allegations that the military is remiss in its duties during hostage crisis involving the Abu Sayyaf is unfair.
"Sa akin, ito ay unfair para sa mga naghirap... Noong panahon namin, pinagbintangan din kami, pinalusot [umano] namin ang [mga dumukot sa] Burnhams, samantala habang kami ay nakikipagbakbakan, pinipili namin kung sino ang hostage, at kung sino ang hindi," he added.
He was referring to missionary couple Martin Burnham and Gracia Burnham who were among 20 foreign and local tourists seized by the bandit group from the Dos Palmas Beach Resort in Palawan. Martin was killed in the rescue operation.
"Hindi po madali iyon, pero irerespeto ko nalang mga opinyon ng mga armchair analysts na nagbibigay ng kanilang opinyon."
Earlier, Cabunoc denied Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Ramii's claim that his group released the victims upon payment of P250-million ransom.
"He can claim that, that may be a propaganda," Cabunoc said.
"We put pressure on them, that’s why we deployed K9 [units], special operations troops, and snipers... If anyone paid, we don’t [know] from the side of the Germans, whats definite is that we did not negotiate with them (Abu Sayyaf)," he added.
Meanwhile, Cabunoc said that while the two Germans have been released, pursuit operations against the bandit group is still ongoing.
Sa ngayon, tuloy-tuloy ang law enforcement operations, ipinag-utos na sa WestMinCom (Western Mindanao Command) ang full-scale deployment para sa combat operations, para ipakita ng Armed Forces na hindi lang ang Germans ang gustong palayain..." he said.
Kidnapping as 'hanapbuhay'
On the other hand, Cabunoc said they are looking into the reason behind kidnapping incidents in the southern Philippines.
"Hindi po natin titignan ang taong naghawak ng armas, ang titignan po natin diyan ay king bakit sila naghahawak ng armas," he said.
"May iba diyang wala nang opportunity sa kanilang komunidad, at ginagawa nilang hanapbuhay ang pangingidnap at paghihingi ng ransom," he added.
The Abu Sayyaf is believed to be holding up to 10 other hostages, including two European birdwatchers who were abducted in February 2012. The two Germans were seized last April while on a yacht in the waters between Palawan and Malaysia.
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/384130/news/nation/afp-spokesman-rebukes-critics-speculating-on-german-hostages-release
RP elevates South China Sea action plan to UN
From The Daily Tribune (Oct 18): RP elevates South China Sea action plan to UN
The Philippines further intensified calls on the international community to support the implementation of its proposed action plan that will promote peaceful resolution of disputes and maintain stability in the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) territories.
In a letter sent to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and circulated to 193 Member States of the UN, the Philippines outlined the Triple Action Plan or TAP and called on the international community to support steps for a peaceful resolution of maritime disputes.
Manila’s three-pronged approach advocates steps which have already been rejected by China, like international arbitration.
Elevating the TAP to the UN reflects the Philippines’ still-defiant stance against China and its firm resolve to garner international support for the approaches and steps it has taken to protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea and reduce threats posed by China’s aggressive behavior in the contested region.
The South China Sea, home to a cluster of islands, shoals, reefs and cays said to be harboring rich oil and mineral reserves, is being claimed in part or in whole by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Part of the South China Sea that is within Manila’s internationally-recognized exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has been renamed West Philippine Sea to stress its claim.
Tensions spiked anew in the areas amid China’s increasing military and paramilitary presence and construction activities in contested features — a move criticized by Manila and foreign governments like the United States, Japan and Australia.
China insists it has “indisputable sovereignty” over nearly the entire waters, where majority of the world’s global trade passes through.
Beijing also asserts ownership over territories within the Philippines’ EEZ, citing ancient maps and historical rights as the basis of its claim.
Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Libran Cabactulan said the TAP is “a positive, comprehensive and constructive framework, which brings together various initiatives that the Philippines and other countries have been advocating for the peaceful resolution of the disputes.”
“Our proposed Triple Action Plan contains immediate, intermediate and final approaches to address the provocative and destabilizing activities in the South China Sea. They can all be pursued simultaneously, without prejudice to territorial claims,” Cabactulan said.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/rp-elevates-south-china-sea-action-plan-to-un
The Philippines further intensified calls on the international community to support the implementation of its proposed action plan that will promote peaceful resolution of disputes and maintain stability in the contested West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) territories.
In a letter sent to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and circulated to 193 Member States of the UN, the Philippines outlined the Triple Action Plan or TAP and called on the international community to support steps for a peaceful resolution of maritime disputes.
Manila’s three-pronged approach advocates steps which have already been rejected by China, like international arbitration.
Elevating the TAP to the UN reflects the Philippines’ still-defiant stance against China and its firm resolve to garner international support for the approaches and steps it has taken to protect its territorial claims in the South China Sea and reduce threats posed by China’s aggressive behavior in the contested region.
The South China Sea, home to a cluster of islands, shoals, reefs and cays said to be harboring rich oil and mineral reserves, is being claimed in part or in whole by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Part of the South China Sea that is within Manila’s internationally-recognized exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has been renamed West Philippine Sea to stress its claim.
Tensions spiked anew in the areas amid China’s increasing military and paramilitary presence and construction activities in contested features — a move criticized by Manila and foreign governments like the United States, Japan and Australia.
China insists it has “indisputable sovereignty” over nearly the entire waters, where majority of the world’s global trade passes through.
Beijing also asserts ownership over territories within the Philippines’ EEZ, citing ancient maps and historical rights as the basis of its claim.
Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN Libran Cabactulan said the TAP is “a positive, comprehensive and constructive framework, which brings together various initiatives that the Philippines and other countries have been advocating for the peaceful resolution of the disputes.”
“Our proposed Triple Action Plan contains immediate, intermediate and final approaches to address the provocative and destabilizing activities in the South China Sea. They can all be pursued simultaneously, without prejudice to territorial claims,” Cabactulan said.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/rp-elevates-south-china-sea-action-plan-to-un
CPP: Condemn the AFP for killing Lumad farmers with excessive brutality
Propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Oct 18): Condemn the AFP for killing Lumad farmers with excessive brutality
CPP/NPA: Walang kinalaman ang kilusan sa sunud-sunod na pagpatay sa Gubat at Prieto Diaz
NPA propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Oct 18): Walang kinalaman ang kilusan sa sunud-sunod na pagpatay sa Gubat at Prieto Diaz
Germans released within viewing distance of encircling troops - spokesman
From InterAksyon (Oct 18): Germans released within viewing distance of encircling troops - spokesman
Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen talk to military and police officers at Naval Forces Western Mindanao after their release by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu (Philippine Navy photo by SN1 Jode Defino)
Germans Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen were released by the Abu Sayyaf within viewing distance of government troops who had surrounded the extremists but could not mount an attack for fear of hurting the hostages and civilians in the area, the military’s public information chief said Saturday.
At the same time, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc maintained that the military encirclement had helped put pressure on the Abu Sayyaf to release the Germans amid reports that a P250-million ransom had been paid for the hostages' release. The photo below is a handout from the AFP Public Affairs Office.
The extremists also continue to hold up to 10 more hostages, a number of them foreigners.
Okonek and Dielen were released in Patikul, Sulu Friday night and were immediately taken by Navy boat to Zamboanga City and, from there, flown to Manila early Saturday morning. The two are now in the custody of the German embassy.
Cabunoc called a statement by Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami to a radio station in Zamboanga City that they had received the ransom they demanded, “walang labis, walang kulang (nothing more, nothing less),” “propaganda.”
But when asked if he could issue a categorical denial on the matter, he said, “Ah, hindi, kung may nagbayad diyan na hindi natin alam … basta sa side namin hindi kami nakipag-negotiate sa kanila (Ah, no, if someone paid without our knowledge … but on our side, we never negotiated).”
The news agency Reuters, quoting German government sources, reported that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines to negotiate a deal with the rebels. The envoy, Ruediger Koenig, arrived in Manila on Thursday evening.
Prior to the release of the hostages, the military announced it had received the go-signal from a local crisis committee headed by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan to mount “law enforcement operations” against the Abu Sayyaf.
By early Friday morning, Cabunco said, “pinalibutan namin … halos eye contact, nakikita nila nandu’n na kami sa paligid, e hindi naman totally heavily forested ‘yung kinalagyan nila e, meron lang portion (we had surrounded them … almost eye contact, they could see us around them because their position is not really heavily forested, only a portion) …”
Although Cabunoc said the troops could launch attacks on the Abu Sayyaf, he also acknowledged that the presence of the remaining hostages and the civilian population in the area could affect or even scuttle any operations.
“Anytime, baka magka-engkwentro sa araw na ito (a clash might break out today),” Cabunc said, although he added, “iniiwasan lang kasi … hindi madamay ang civilians, humahalo kasi sila sa civilian e (we are avoiding … civilians getting caught in the crossfire, because they are mixing in with the civilians).”
“We are thinking about the 10 other hostages as well,” he added.
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was also another complication -- the presence of a Moro National Liberation Front camp only two kilometers from the Abu Sayyaf position.
“Ito ang iniiwasan o ginagawan namin ng paraan … na huwag sila (Abu Sayyaf) humalo du’n sa MNLF (This is what we are avoiding, what we are working on … that they don’t mix in with the MNLF),” which could draw in the rebel fighters into the fray, he said.
Although he said military units in Sulu were working to cut off the Abu Sayyaf from the MNLF position, he admitted it was difficult because the rebel camp is more a community rather than a fenced military installation.
In a related development, Malacanang said on Saturday that, with the release from captivity of the two German nationals held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), government security forces will continue their efforts "to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements."
"There is no change in the government's no-ransom policy," Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Major Gen. Domingo Tutaan earlier said Dr. Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Dielen, 55, were released by the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul at 8:50 p.m. Friday in Patikul, Sulu.
Tutaan said the two underwent medical check-up in Zamboanga City before their flight to Manila.
The two German nationals are now at the custody of the Embassy of Germany.
The German foreign ministry thanked the Philippine government for its close and trusting cooperation.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97481/germans-released-within-viewing-distance-of-encircling-troops---spokesman
Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen talk to military and police officers at Naval Forces Western Mindanao after their release by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu (Philippine Navy photo by SN1 Jode Defino)
Germans Viktor Stefan Okonek and Henrike Dielen were released by the Abu Sayyaf within viewing distance of government troops who had surrounded the extremists but could not mount an attack for fear of hurting the hostages and civilians in the area, the military’s public information chief said Saturday.
At the same time, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc maintained that the military encirclement had helped put pressure on the Abu Sayyaf to release the Germans amid reports that a P250-million ransom had been paid for the hostages' release. The photo below is a handout from the AFP Public Affairs Office.
The extremists also continue to hold up to 10 more hostages, a number of them foreigners.
Okonek and Dielen were released in Patikul, Sulu Friday night and were immediately taken by Navy boat to Zamboanga City and, from there, flown to Manila early Saturday morning. The two are now in the custody of the German embassy.
Cabunoc called a statement by Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami to a radio station in Zamboanga City that they had received the ransom they demanded, “walang labis, walang kulang (nothing more, nothing less),” “propaganda.”
But when asked if he could issue a categorical denial on the matter, he said, “Ah, hindi, kung may nagbayad diyan na hindi natin alam … basta sa side namin hindi kami nakipag-negotiate sa kanila (Ah, no, if someone paid without our knowledge … but on our side, we never negotiated).”
The news agency Reuters, quoting German government sources, reported that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had sent a special envoy to the Philippines to negotiate a deal with the rebels. The envoy, Ruediger Koenig, arrived in Manila on Thursday evening.
Prior to the release of the hostages, the military announced it had received the go-signal from a local crisis committee headed by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan to mount “law enforcement operations” against the Abu Sayyaf.
By early Friday morning, Cabunco said, “pinalibutan namin … halos eye contact, nakikita nila nandu’n na kami sa paligid, e hindi naman totally heavily forested ‘yung kinalagyan nila e, meron lang portion (we had surrounded them … almost eye contact, they could see us around them because their position is not really heavily forested, only a portion) …”
Although Cabunoc said the troops could launch attacks on the Abu Sayyaf, he also acknowledged that the presence of the remaining hostages and the civilian population in the area could affect or even scuttle any operations.
“Anytime, baka magka-engkwentro sa araw na ito (a clash might break out today),” Cabunc said, although he added, “iniiwasan lang kasi … hindi madamay ang civilians, humahalo kasi sila sa civilian e (we are avoiding … civilians getting caught in the crossfire, because they are mixing in with the civilians).”
“We are thinking about the 10 other hostages as well,” he added.
A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was also another complication -- the presence of a Moro National Liberation Front camp only two kilometers from the Abu Sayyaf position.
“Ito ang iniiwasan o ginagawan namin ng paraan … na huwag sila (Abu Sayyaf) humalo du’n sa MNLF (This is what we are avoiding, what we are working on … that they don’t mix in with the MNLF),” which could draw in the rebel fighters into the fray, he said.
Although he said military units in Sulu were working to cut off the Abu Sayyaf from the MNLF position, he admitted it was difficult because the rebel camp is more a community rather than a fenced military installation.
In a related development, Malacanang said on Saturday that, with the release from captivity of the two German nationals held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), government security forces will continue their efforts "to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements."
"There is no change in the government's no-ransom policy," Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Major Gen. Domingo Tutaan earlier said Dr. Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Dielen, 55, were released by the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul at 8:50 p.m. Friday in Patikul, Sulu.
Tutaan said the two underwent medical check-up in Zamboanga City before their flight to Manila.
The two German nationals are now at the custody of the Embassy of Germany.
The German foreign ministry thanked the Philippine government for its close and trusting cooperation.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97481/germans-released-within-viewing-distance-of-encircling-troops---spokesman
US to produce Marine sought over murder of transgender Filipino
From InterAksyon (Oct 18): US to produce Marine sought over murder of transgender Filipino
Students burn a mock US flag during a protest inside the state university campus in Manila. AFP / TED ALJIBE
The United States said Saturday it would comply with a Philippine prosecutor's order to produce a murder suspect and four other US Marines in the investigation into the killing of a transgender Filipino sex worker.
The prosecutor ordered the five US Marines to give depositions at a formal hearing on Tuesday after police named one of them as a suspect in the October 11 hotel killing in the northern port of Olongapo.
"The United States will continue to assist in the investigation to help ensure justice is served," US embassy spokeswoman Anna Richey said in an emailed response to AFP's requests for comment.
"This will include making the suspect, witnesses, and any evidence gathered available to the Philippine authorities."
Richey said the suspect was being held on board the USS Peleliu pending an investigation into the death of Jeffrey Laude, described by local police as a transgender sex worker.
The four other American marines sought by prosecutors were described by the Philippine foreign department Friday as witnesses.
The US Pacific Command earlier ordered the warship to remain at a port near Olongapo while the murder investigation was ongoing.
Police said they found the victim half-naked on the bathroom floor of a room with more than a dozen bruises, cuts and bite marks.
They said the victim, who had checked in with the suspect just over an hour earlier, had died from "asphyxia by drowning".
Police and the prosecutor both named the suspect as Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, attached to a North Carolina-based unit that had just taken part in joint military exercises in the Philippines.
Following the hearings, which could take days or weeks, the prosecutor can either bring criminal charges or drop the case. If Pemberton is charged with murder and convicted, he could face life in prison.
The Philippines has said that the politically charged case should not be allowed to derail longstanding defence ties between Manila and Washington, amid growing public pressure for Pemberton to be handed over into Philippines custody.
The killing occurred after the Philippines reached an agreement in March to allow its US military ally wider temporary access to Filipino military facilities.
American forces vacated large US military bases in the Philippines in 1992 as nationalist sentiment rose.
But Manila has sought closer defence ties in recent years in a bid to modernise its armed forces amid tense maritime disputes with China.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97487/us-to-produce-marine-sought-over-murder-of-transgender-filipino
Students burn a mock US flag during a protest inside the state university campus in Manila. AFP / TED ALJIBE
The United States said Saturday it would comply with a Philippine prosecutor's order to produce a murder suspect and four other US Marines in the investigation into the killing of a transgender Filipino sex worker.
The prosecutor ordered the five US Marines to give depositions at a formal hearing on Tuesday after police named one of them as a suspect in the October 11 hotel killing in the northern port of Olongapo.
"The United States will continue to assist in the investigation to help ensure justice is served," US embassy spokeswoman Anna Richey said in an emailed response to AFP's requests for comment.
"This will include making the suspect, witnesses, and any evidence gathered available to the Philippine authorities."
Richey said the suspect was being held on board the USS Peleliu pending an investigation into the death of Jeffrey Laude, described by local police as a transgender sex worker.
The four other American marines sought by prosecutors were described by the Philippine foreign department Friday as witnesses.
The US Pacific Command earlier ordered the warship to remain at a port near Olongapo while the murder investigation was ongoing.
Police said they found the victim half-naked on the bathroom floor of a room with more than a dozen bruises, cuts and bite marks.
They said the victim, who had checked in with the suspect just over an hour earlier, had died from "asphyxia by drowning".
Police and the prosecutor both named the suspect as Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, attached to a North Carolina-based unit that had just taken part in joint military exercises in the Philippines.
Following the hearings, which could take days or weeks, the prosecutor can either bring criminal charges or drop the case. If Pemberton is charged with murder and convicted, he could face life in prison.
The Philippines has said that the politically charged case should not be allowed to derail longstanding defence ties between Manila and Washington, amid growing public pressure for Pemberton to be handed over into Philippines custody.
The killing occurred after the Philippines reached an agreement in March to allow its US military ally wider temporary access to Filipino military facilities.
American forces vacated large US military bases in the Philippines in 1992 as nationalist sentiment rose.
But Manila has sought closer defence ties in recent years in a bid to modernise its armed forces amid tense maritime disputes with China.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97487/us-to-produce-marine-sought-over-murder-of-transgender-filipino
Hostages arrive at German embassy after Philippine ordeal
From InterAksyon (Oct 18): Hostages arrive at German embassy after Philippine ordeal
Photograph from AFP-PAO.
A German couple kidnapped by Islamic militants were handed over to their embassy Saturday after a six-month ordeal marked by constant threats of beheading, as the Philippines confronted a security threat it thought it had overcome.
Officials said a private plane flew Stefan Okonek, in his 70s, and his partner Henrike Dielen, in her 50s, to Manila from the southern port of Zamboanga at dawn after Abu Sayyaf gunmen released them late Friday.
"With the release from captivity of the two German nationals, our security forces will continue efforts to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements," President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
The couple had been handed over to the German embassy in Manila, the Philippine military said.
The Abu Sayyaf released the couple on Friday as its deadline for the German government to pay a $5.6 million ransom and withdraw its support for US offensives against jihadists in Syria and Iraq lapsed.
Philippine authorities said the two hostages were snatched at sea on April 25 as they sailed near the western Philippine island of Palawan.
During their captivity, believed spent mostly on the remote southern island of Jolo, the kidnappers systematically used the press and social media to threaten the hostages' lives and force Berlin to pay up.
They forced the couple to beg for their lives in telephone calls to a local radio station as well video clips uploaded on the Internet.
In one Okonek stared up from a hole in the ground that he said he was told would become his grave. In another he screamed in pain as his kidnappers hit him repeatedly on the head.
'No more, no less'
The kidnappers, a notorious band of militants with links to Al-Qaeda but who recently pledged alliance to the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, claimed they collected "no more, no less" than their ransom demand.
Filipino officials said they could not confirm this.
But Rex Robles, a retired Philippine intelligence officer, said it was inconceivable that the Abu Sayyaf would set the hostages free without a ransom.
"I'm disappointed because that will only encourage them," he told AFP, adding that the money was expected to "go into more equipment" such as guns and boats to boost their terror activities.
Labelled a terrorist group by the United States and Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf is a loose band of a few hundred militants founded in the 1990s by Abdurajak Janjalani, an Islamic preacher and veteran of the Afghanistan war.
It was set up with seed money from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law and claims it is fighting to establish an independent Islamic homeland in the Muslim populated south of the mainly Catholic Philippines.
Deadly bombings, including of a ferry that left 116 dead on Manila Bay 10 years ago, and kidnapping of dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south are its main signatures.
By ransoming off its hostages for millions of dollars the group was able to raise funds to buy more arms, and it cemented its brutal reputation by beheading some of its captives -- including an American tourist seized in 2002.
In the past 12 years up to 600 US Special Forces troops on rotating deployments to the southern Philippines have trained Filipino troops in a bid to defeat the Abu Sayyaf.
The US presence was scaled down this year on grounds the security threat has evolved into a law enforcement problem. But the militants maintain deep roots amongst clannish poor Muslims.
While threatening on Saturday to launch an offensive against the German couple's kidnappers, the Philippine military conceded the risk of civilians getting hit was high.
"The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has emphasised that civilians should not be harmed. They (Abu Sayyaf) are hiding amongst civilians," military spokesman Major-General Domingo Tutaan told reporters.
In July, a video appeared on YouTube in which one of the Abu Sayyaf's leaders pledged allegiance to the Islamic State extremists who have taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.
But Philippine authorities say the Abu Sayyaf is mainly a criminal gang interested in kidnappings-for-ransom and other lucrative illegal activities.
It is believed to be holding at least 13 other hostages, including five foreigners, the Philippine military said.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97493/hostages-arrive-at-german-embassy-after-philippine-ordeal
Photograph from AFP-PAO.
A German couple kidnapped by Islamic militants were handed over to their embassy Saturday after a six-month ordeal marked by constant threats of beheading, as the Philippines confronted a security threat it thought it had overcome.
Officials said a private plane flew Stefan Okonek, in his 70s, and his partner Henrike Dielen, in her 50s, to Manila from the southern port of Zamboanga at dawn after Abu Sayyaf gunmen released them late Friday.
"With the release from captivity of the two German nationals, our security forces will continue efforts to stem the tide of criminality perpetrated by bandit elements," President Benigno Aquino's spokesman Herminio Coloma said in a statement.
The couple had been handed over to the German embassy in Manila, the Philippine military said.
The Abu Sayyaf released the couple on Friday as its deadline for the German government to pay a $5.6 million ransom and withdraw its support for US offensives against jihadists in Syria and Iraq lapsed.
Philippine authorities said the two hostages were snatched at sea on April 25 as they sailed near the western Philippine island of Palawan.
During their captivity, believed spent mostly on the remote southern island of Jolo, the kidnappers systematically used the press and social media to threaten the hostages' lives and force Berlin to pay up.
They forced the couple to beg for their lives in telephone calls to a local radio station as well video clips uploaded on the Internet.
In one Okonek stared up from a hole in the ground that he said he was told would become his grave. In another he screamed in pain as his kidnappers hit him repeatedly on the head.
'No more, no less'
The kidnappers, a notorious band of militants with links to Al-Qaeda but who recently pledged alliance to the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, claimed they collected "no more, no less" than their ransom demand.
Filipino officials said they could not confirm this.
But Rex Robles, a retired Philippine intelligence officer, said it was inconceivable that the Abu Sayyaf would set the hostages free without a ransom.
"I'm disappointed because that will only encourage them," he told AFP, adding that the money was expected to "go into more equipment" such as guns and boats to boost their terror activities.
Labelled a terrorist group by the United States and Philippines, the Abu Sayyaf is a loose band of a few hundred militants founded in the 1990s by Abdurajak Janjalani, an Islamic preacher and veteran of the Afghanistan war.
It was set up with seed money from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's brother-in-law and claims it is fighting to establish an independent Islamic homeland in the Muslim populated south of the mainly Catholic Philippines.
Deadly bombings, including of a ferry that left 116 dead on Manila Bay 10 years ago, and kidnapping of dozens of foreign aid workers, missionaries and tourists in the south are its main signatures.
By ransoming off its hostages for millions of dollars the group was able to raise funds to buy more arms, and it cemented its brutal reputation by beheading some of its captives -- including an American tourist seized in 2002.
In the past 12 years up to 600 US Special Forces troops on rotating deployments to the southern Philippines have trained Filipino troops in a bid to defeat the Abu Sayyaf.
The US presence was scaled down this year on grounds the security threat has evolved into a law enforcement problem. But the militants maintain deep roots amongst clannish poor Muslims.
While threatening on Saturday to launch an offensive against the German couple's kidnappers, the Philippine military conceded the risk of civilians getting hit was high.
"The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines has emphasised that civilians should not be harmed. They (Abu Sayyaf) are hiding amongst civilians," military spokesman Major-General Domingo Tutaan told reporters.
In July, a video appeared on YouTube in which one of the Abu Sayyaf's leaders pledged allegiance to the Islamic State extremists who have taken control of large parts of Iraq and Syria.
But Philippine authorities say the Abu Sayyaf is mainly a criminal gang interested in kidnappings-for-ransom and other lucrative illegal activities.
It is believed to be holding at least 13 other hostages, including five foreigners, the Philippine military said.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/97493/hostages-arrive-at-german-embassy-after-philippine-ordeal
Philippine military keeps Sulu peace council, leaders out of scene in Sayyaf hostage drama
From the Mindanao Examiner BlogSpot site (Oct 18): Philippine military keeps Sulu peace council, leaders out of scene in Sayyaf hostage drama
Photos released by the Western Mindanao Command show freed German hostages Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Diesen, 55, inside a military base in Sulu province
The Philippine military has kept the Sulu crisis committee and provincial leaders in the dark as ransom was being delivered to the Abu Sayyaf in exchange for the safe release of two German yachters kidnapped by the jihadist group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.
Abu Sayyaf militants have freed Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Diesen, 55, in Patikul town late Friday. They were recovered by policemen near a checkpoint and were immediately whisked by the military to a camp in Jolo town.
The Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) which formed a special ad-hoc crisis committee headed by Governor Toto Tan was not even informed by the military of the release of the hostages and up until Saturday, no security officials have briefed the PPOC about the latest development for a still unknown reason.
In a television interview on Saturday in Manila, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, a spokesman for the Philippine Army, said the foreigners were freed due to pressure exerted by security forces. He said no ransom was paid for the release of the hostages only to say later that he was not aware if money was paid to the Abu Sayyaf.
But Aboo Rami, who spoke for the Abu Sayyaf, told Radio Mindanao Network in Zamboanga City that they freed the Germans after receiving the ransom.
Rami had threatened to behead Okonek on Friday afternoon if Germany does not pay P250 million ransom on top of another demand for Berlin to cease all support to US coalition airstrikes against the Sunni jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which is fighting for the Islamic caliphate in the region.
The German yachters were intercepted at sea by the Abu Sayyaf on April 25 while heading to Sabah in Malaysia from a holiday in the Philippines.
Sources in Sulu said a private jet delivered 12 trolley bags containing ransoms in Jolo and that several bags full of money had been left in the plane.
It was unknown what role the military played in the ransom negotiations, but Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said: “The AFP has no information on that (ransom payments) but suffice to say that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other security forces do not and will not negotiate with terrorists and kidnappers.”
The release of the Germans came hours after Philippine security forces launched an operation in an effort to capture Abu Sayyaf militants holding foreign hostages in Sulu. The Abu Sayyaf had threatened to kill the hostages if the military launches a combat operation against the notorious group.
Officials said police and military, armed with arrest warrants, are presently intensifying law enforcement operations against the Abu Sayyaf, which recently pledged allegiance to ISIS.
“We have collaborated with the military in assisting us to intensify the conduct of law enforcement operations here in Sulu with the present situation that the province has been confronting. Currently, our military and police strengthens the conduct of patrols and checkpoints in order to serve the warrants of arrest to Abu Sayyaf bandits who are responsible for the series of kidnapping and other high profile crimes in the area,” Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz, Jr, head of the Special Anti-Kidnapping Task Force and the Joint Task Force ZAMBASULTA (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi), said in a statement released by the military’s Western Mindanao Command late Friday afternoon.
The Western Mindanao Command said police and military authorities are ready and willing to shift from law enforcement operations to tactical options should the special action committee of Sulu come up with a resolution that would allow security forces to advance with their operations.
“The Western Mindanao Command continues to support the PNP’s law enforcement operations under the guidance of the Special Actions Committee in Sulu,” said Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero, head of the military command.
He said the ongoing joint police and military operations cover the implementation of warrants of arrest, search and seizure, and other law enforcement activities against the members of the Abu Sayyaf group.
The Philippine military has deployed K9 units in Sulu to help ground troops search for at least 7 foreigners being held by the Abu Sayyaf.
Marine Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for Western Mindanao Command, said: “The K9 teams will help track down the Abu Sayyaf as military troops continue to pursue the bandits in their hiding places. Intensified law enforcement operations in coordination with the local government and the police are ongoing to facilitate rescue of kidnap victims and expedite the arrest of Abu Sayyafs in the province.”
Another Abu Sayyaf faction also threatened to kill Malaysian fish breeder Chan Sai Chuin, 32, who was kidnapped along with a Filipino worker on June 16 this year from a fish farm in the town of Kunak in Tawau District. The militants are demanding 3 million ringgits (P41 million) for the safe release of the fish breeder.
It is also holding captive a Malaysian policeman Kons Zakiah Aleip, 26, who was seized on June 12 also this year following a clash in Sabah that killed another policeman. The militants are demanding 5 million ringgits (P68.3 million)
The Abu Sayyaf is also holding a 64-year old Japanese treasure hunter Katayama Mamaito, who was kidnapped from Pangutaran Island in July 2010; and two European wildlife photographers Ewold Horn, 52, from Holland; and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, from Switzerland, who were taken captive in the coastal village of Parangan in Panglima Sugala town in the southern Tawi-Tawi province in 2012.
The 1st Infantry Division has sent two battalions of soldiers in Sulu to help in the operation, said Brigadier General Gerardo Barrientos, Jr. He said the new unit is “equally capable of addressing various threats and emergencies.” This was on top of 100 Special Forces soldiers from Zamboanga City that were sent to Sulu on October 8 to help other units fight the Abu Sayyaf.
The Abu Sayyaf group now has hundreds of members in the Muslim autonomous region. The military has failed to stop the growing influence and violent campaigns of the militant group because it did not sustain the combat operations needed to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf in the restive region.
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/10/philippine-military-keeps-sulu-peace.html
Photos released by the Western Mindanao Command show freed German hostages Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Diesen, 55, inside a military base in Sulu province
The Philippine military has kept the Sulu crisis committee and provincial leaders in the dark as ransom was being delivered to the Abu Sayyaf in exchange for the safe release of two German yachters kidnapped by the jihadist group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.
Abu Sayyaf militants have freed Stefan Viktor Okonek, 71, and Henrike Diesen, 55, in Patikul town late Friday. They were recovered by policemen near a checkpoint and were immediately whisked by the military to a camp in Jolo town.
The Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) which formed a special ad-hoc crisis committee headed by Governor Toto Tan was not even informed by the military of the release of the hostages and up until Saturday, no security officials have briefed the PPOC about the latest development for a still unknown reason.
In a television interview on Saturday in Manila, Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc, a spokesman for the Philippine Army, said the foreigners were freed due to pressure exerted by security forces. He said no ransom was paid for the release of the hostages only to say later that he was not aware if money was paid to the Abu Sayyaf.
But Aboo Rami, who spoke for the Abu Sayyaf, told Radio Mindanao Network in Zamboanga City that they freed the Germans after receiving the ransom.
Rami had threatened to behead Okonek on Friday afternoon if Germany does not pay P250 million ransom on top of another demand for Berlin to cease all support to US coalition airstrikes against the Sunni jihadist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which is fighting for the Islamic caliphate in the region.
The German yachters were intercepted at sea by the Abu Sayyaf on April 25 while heading to Sabah in Malaysia from a holiday in the Philippines.
Sources in Sulu said a private jet delivered 12 trolley bags containing ransoms in Jolo and that several bags full of money had been left in the plane.
It was unknown what role the military played in the ransom negotiations, but Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan, a spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said: “The AFP has no information on that (ransom payments) but suffice to say that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other security forces do not and will not negotiate with terrorists and kidnappers.”
The release of the Germans came hours after Philippine security forces launched an operation in an effort to capture Abu Sayyaf militants holding foreign hostages in Sulu. The Abu Sayyaf had threatened to kill the hostages if the military launches a combat operation against the notorious group.
Officials said police and military, armed with arrest warrants, are presently intensifying law enforcement operations against the Abu Sayyaf, which recently pledged allegiance to ISIS.
“We have collaborated with the military in assisting us to intensify the conduct of law enforcement operations here in Sulu with the present situation that the province has been confronting. Currently, our military and police strengthens the conduct of patrols and checkpoints in order to serve the warrants of arrest to Abu Sayyaf bandits who are responsible for the series of kidnapping and other high profile crimes in the area,” Chief Superintendent Agrimero Cruz, Jr, head of the Special Anti-Kidnapping Task Force and the Joint Task Force ZAMBASULTA (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi), said in a statement released by the military’s Western Mindanao Command late Friday afternoon.
The Western Mindanao Command said police and military authorities are ready and willing to shift from law enforcement operations to tactical options should the special action committee of Sulu come up with a resolution that would allow security forces to advance with their operations.
“The Western Mindanao Command continues to support the PNP’s law enforcement operations under the guidance of the Special Actions Committee in Sulu,” said Lieutenant General Rustico Guerrero, head of the military command.
He said the ongoing joint police and military operations cover the implementation of warrants of arrest, search and seizure, and other law enforcement activities against the members of the Abu Sayyaf group.
The Philippine military has deployed K9 units in Sulu to help ground troops search for at least 7 foreigners being held by the Abu Sayyaf.
Marine Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, a spokeswoman for Western Mindanao Command, said: “The K9 teams will help track down the Abu Sayyaf as military troops continue to pursue the bandits in their hiding places. Intensified law enforcement operations in coordination with the local government and the police are ongoing to facilitate rescue of kidnap victims and expedite the arrest of Abu Sayyafs in the province.”
Another Abu Sayyaf faction also threatened to kill Malaysian fish breeder Chan Sai Chuin, 32, who was kidnapped along with a Filipino worker on June 16 this year from a fish farm in the town of Kunak in Tawau District. The militants are demanding 3 million ringgits (P41 million) for the safe release of the fish breeder.
It is also holding captive a Malaysian policeman Kons Zakiah Aleip, 26, who was seized on June 12 also this year following a clash in Sabah that killed another policeman. The militants are demanding 5 million ringgits (P68.3 million)
The Abu Sayyaf is also holding a 64-year old Japanese treasure hunter Katayama Mamaito, who was kidnapped from Pangutaran Island in July 2010; and two European wildlife photographers Ewold Horn, 52, from Holland; and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, from Switzerland, who were taken captive in the coastal village of Parangan in Panglima Sugala town in the southern Tawi-Tawi province in 2012.
The 1st Infantry Division has sent two battalions of soldiers in Sulu to help in the operation, said Brigadier General Gerardo Barrientos, Jr. He said the new unit is “equally capable of addressing various threats and emergencies.” This was on top of 100 Special Forces soldiers from Zamboanga City that were sent to Sulu on October 8 to help other units fight the Abu Sayyaf.
The Abu Sayyaf group now has hundreds of members in the Muslim autonomous region. The military has failed to stop the growing influence and violent campaigns of the militant group because it did not sustain the combat operations needed to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf in the restive region.
http://www.mindanaoexaminer.net/2014/10/philippine-military-keeps-sulu-peace.html
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