From the Philippine Star (May 31): Planned Duterte-Misuari meeting worries Zamboanga City gov't
The city government is in a quandary over its rebellion case against fugitive Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte scheduled to meet him in Sulu.
Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar called on the government to let the law prevail but said the city and its people will respect Duterte's decision.
“Whatever action the incoming president will do, it is really his prerogative as president of the Republic of the Philippines,” Salazar said.
The city and the national government filed rebellion charges and cases for violation of the International Law, genocide and other crimes against humanity against Misuari and close to 200 suspected MNLF members in connection with the September 2013 siege that left more than 200 people dead.
The 23-day siege also led to the dislocation more than 120,000 residents and the destruction of at least five barangays.
More have since died at relocation camps. Hundreds of residents who remain at transitory sites have yet to return to permanent shelters.
Reconstruction of the devastated sites has not been completed despite a promise by President Benigno Aquino III that the displaced will be able to go home.
The Aquino administration set aside P3.89 billion in 2013 for the rehabilitation and rebuilding of the affected villages.
Salazar said that the court handling the cases has issued a gag order on the city's legal office, leaving the local government in a quandary.
“What do we do and how should we act on this?” Salazar said.
The mayor also pointed the at the perceived inaction by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) on a request for guidance on issues on how to deal with Misuari, the MNLF and the separate Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
“We still continue even the battle is done silently in court, we are still always what is in our minds are the victims that have suffered,” Salazar said. “We will allow the law to prevail on that matter,” she added.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/05/31/1588722/planned-duterte-misuari-meeting-worries-zamboanga-city-govt
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Police nab soldier carrying grenade in bus
From the Zamboanga Today (May 31): Police nab soldier carrying grenade in bus
A soldier was arrested by personnel of Police Station 10 led by Chief Inspector Raymond Sanson for carrying an explosive inside a passenger bus along the highway of Barangay Patalon, this city, last Sunday afternoon.
Sanson told Zamboanga Today they received a call from a concerned citizen about a suspicious person onboard D’Biel Transit Bus wearing camouflage pants armed with a fragmentation hand grenade.
He said the informant averred that the suspect pulled out a hand grenade from his pocket and claimed that he was preparing to defend himself from his enemy in Barangay Talisayan, this city.
Immediately, a joint team from the police and Task Force Zamboanga (TFZ) led by Sanson and Lieutenant Elroy Tarot, respectively, responded at the area to confirm the report and spotted the passenger bus at Patalon highway.
Sanson said upon verification, the team was able to arrest the suspect who was later identified as Alex Labtan y Balmoris, 28, a native of Cagayan de Oro City and assigned with the 4th Special Forces Battalion based in Maluso Municipality Basilan Province.
The soldier was conducted to the police station for proper investigation while the explosive was turned over to the investigator-on-case.
CARAT 2016 series kicks off in Malaysia, aiming for increased complexity with allies and partners
From DVIDS (May 31): CARAT 2016 series kicks off in Malaysia, aiming for increased complexity with allies and partners
BAY OF BENGAL (October 1, 2015) Ships from the Bangladesh and U.S. navies gather in formation during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh 2015. CARAT is an annual, bilateral exercise series with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe Bishop/Released)
The 22nd annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations began June 1 with a commemoration ceremony for the Malaysia phase in Sandakan.
As the premier naval engagement in South and Southeast Asia, CARAT provides a regional venue to address shared maritime security priorities, enhance interoperability among participating forces, and develop sustained naval partnerships with nations across South and Southeast Asia.
“Our persistent engagement with our allies and partners through CARAT builds trust and creates strong relationships that endure beyond the exercise series,” said Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander, Task Force 73. “This translates to increased readiness and interoperability that allows us to work closely with navies across the region and enhance cooperative maritime security.”
CARAT Malaysia will take place on the ground in Sandakan and in the waters and airspace of the Sulu Sea. The Malaysian Armed Forces have participated in CARAT since the exercise series began in 1995 and this year’s exercise reflects more than two decades of increasingly complex training ashore, at sea and in the air.
The harbor phase for CARAT Malaysia will feature an amphibious landing, as well as explosive ordnance training, medical and dental capabilities seminars and a civil -engineering project. At sea, flight operations, coordinated gunnery drills and surface warfare maneuvers will highlight an exercise that continues the trend of increasing complexity each year.
“We’ve been working very closely with the Malaysian Armed Forces for 22 years as part of CARAT,” said Capt. H.B. Le, commodore Destroyer Squadron 7. “Over that time we’ve developed a familiarity with each other’s capabilities that allows us to push the envelope with the planning and execution of each exercise, something that is important in such a diverse maritime environment.”
U.S. ships and units participating in CARAT Malaysia include the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48), the expeditionary transfer dock USNS Montford Point (T-ESD 1), a P-3C Orion, staff from CTF-73 and CDS-7, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5, Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4, Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1 and Marines from 3rd Marine Division.
Following CARAT Malaysia, additional bilateral phases of CARAT will occur from June through November 2016 with Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
While the exercise series remains bilateral at its core, elements of CARAT 2016 will include multilateral cooperation ranging from observers to training activities.
Phases vary based on exercise locations, mutual training goals and participating assets. Many CARAT phases feature a broad range of naval competencies including surface warfare; undersea warfare; air defense and amphibious warfare; maritime security operations; riverine operations; jungle warfare; and explosive ordnance disposal; combat construction; diving and salvage; search and rescue; maritime patrol and reconnaissance aviation; maritime domain awareness; military law; public affairs and military medicine; and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
CARAT 2016 will be the most complex series to date. Its continuing relevance for more than two decades speaks to the high quality of exercise events and the enduring value of regional cooperation among allies and partners in South and Southeast Asia.
As U.S. 7th Fleet's executive agent for theater security cooperation in South and Southeast Asia, Commander, Task Force 73 conducts advanced planning, organizes resources and directly supports the execution of maritime exercises, such as the bilateral CARAT series, the Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) with Vietnam, and the multi-lateral Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/199495/carat-2016-series-kicks-off-malaysia-aiming-increased-complexity-with-allies-and-partners#.V02CIDX2b3g
BAY OF BENGAL (October 1, 2015) Ships from the Bangladesh and U.S. navies gather in formation during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Bangladesh 2015. CARAT is an annual, bilateral exercise series with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joe Bishop/Released)
The 22nd annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise series between the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the armed forces of nine partner nations began June 1 with a commemoration ceremony for the Malaysia phase in Sandakan.
As the premier naval engagement in South and Southeast Asia, CARAT provides a regional venue to address shared maritime security priorities, enhance interoperability among participating forces, and develop sustained naval partnerships with nations across South and Southeast Asia.
“Our persistent engagement with our allies and partners through CARAT builds trust and creates strong relationships that endure beyond the exercise series,” said Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander, Task Force 73. “This translates to increased readiness and interoperability that allows us to work closely with navies across the region and enhance cooperative maritime security.”
CARAT Malaysia will take place on the ground in Sandakan and in the waters and airspace of the Sulu Sea. The Malaysian Armed Forces have participated in CARAT since the exercise series began in 1995 and this year’s exercise reflects more than two decades of increasingly complex training ashore, at sea and in the air.
The harbor phase for CARAT Malaysia will feature an amphibious landing, as well as explosive ordnance training, medical and dental capabilities seminars and a civil -engineering project. At sea, flight operations, coordinated gunnery drills and surface warfare maneuvers will highlight an exercise that continues the trend of increasing complexity each year.
“We’ve been working very closely with the Malaysian Armed Forces for 22 years as part of CARAT,” said Capt. H.B. Le, commodore Destroyer Squadron 7. “Over that time we’ve developed a familiarity with each other’s capabilities that allows us to push the envelope with the planning and execution of each exercise, something that is important in such a diverse maritime environment.”
U.S. ships and units participating in CARAT Malaysia include the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Stethem (DDG 63), the amphibious dock landing ship USS Ashland (LSD 48), the expeditionary transfer dock USNS Montford Point (T-ESD 1), a P-3C Orion, staff from CTF-73 and CDS-7, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 5, Seabees from Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 4, Coastal Riverine Group (CRG) 1 and Marines from 3rd Marine Division.
Following CARAT Malaysia, additional bilateral phases of CARAT will occur from June through November 2016 with Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste.
While the exercise series remains bilateral at its core, elements of CARAT 2016 will include multilateral cooperation ranging from observers to training activities.
Phases vary based on exercise locations, mutual training goals and participating assets. Many CARAT phases feature a broad range of naval competencies including surface warfare; undersea warfare; air defense and amphibious warfare; maritime security operations; riverine operations; jungle warfare; and explosive ordnance disposal; combat construction; diving and salvage; search and rescue; maritime patrol and reconnaissance aviation; maritime domain awareness; military law; public affairs and military medicine; and humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
CARAT 2016 will be the most complex series to date. Its continuing relevance for more than two decades speaks to the high quality of exercise events and the enduring value of regional cooperation among allies and partners in South and Southeast Asia.
As U.S. 7th Fleet's executive agent for theater security cooperation in South and Southeast Asia, Commander, Task Force 73 conducts advanced planning, organizes resources and directly supports the execution of maritime exercises, such as the bilateral CARAT series, the Naval Engagement Activity (NEA) with Vietnam, and the multi-lateral Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) with Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/199495/carat-2016-series-kicks-off-malaysia-aiming-increased-complexity-with-allies-and-partners#.V02CIDX2b3g
M’sia wants peace in Sulu, no war in Sabah
From Free Malaysia Today (May 31): M’sia wants peace in Sulu, no war in Sabah
Putrajaya wants Manila to focus instead on resolving the decades long rebellion in the country's south
Philippine President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, already notorious for offhand comments, has run into flak in Malaysia over a statement on Sabah, noted The Diplomat, in a report on Tuesday.
Duterte, the tough-talking Mayor of Davao City, may have started on a wrong footing with Malaysia when he stressed that the Philippines Government under him would preserve the claim on Sabah. He appeared to recognize the claim, said the report, that the Sulu sultanate –now defunct — once ruled over parts of Sabah.
Putrajaya wants Manila to focus instead on resolving the decades long rebellion in the country’s south.
The reaction by various official circles in Malaysia, in the wake of Duterte’s take on Sabah, suggested that the new Philippines President was barking up the wrong tree on the other side of the Sulu Sea.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, recalling Malaysia’s role in peace talks in the south, urged implementation of a peace deal forged in March 2014 between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
He called for stability in the region to make the seas between Sabah and Sulu safer.
“That would benefit both Malaysia and the Philippines,” said the Malaysian Prime Minister during a keynote address on Monday in Kuala Lumpur at the Asia-Pacific Rountable gathering. “That certainly would be more productive than re-igniting the Sabah claim issue.”
Peace, he said, was an end in itself, “and if we can help bring to a close a dispute that has cost so many lives, we would be honoured to do so”.
Over the weekend, Najib vowed at the ground-breaking ceremony for a helicopter forward base in Lahad Datu, that Malaysia would “defend every inch of Sabah”.
Najib’s reference to the Sabah claim, during remarks.which lasted some 20 minutes in Kuala Lumpur, recalled an abortive attempt in 2013 by a 200-strong rag-tag bunch from Sulu to seize the Lahad Datu area in eastern Sabah.
The incident, dubbed the Lahad Datu Intrusion, left dozens of militants, civilians and security forces dead after a two-week standoff. Some of the militants are in Court, facing charges of waging war against the Agong in Malaysia.
Wisma Putra, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry, earlier reiterated in a statement that the country did not recognise any claim by any party to parts of Sabah.
Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman dismissed the claim as “irrelevant”.
Malaysia has already embarked on joint patrols with the Philippines, before Duterte, and Indonesia to jointly patrol the Sulu Sea and tackle security challenges.
There have been a series of cross-border kidnappings-for-ransom in the eastern Sabah region. In the latest incident, several Malaysians and Indonesians were taken hostage in the waters off Sabah.
There are plans to further strengthen the Eastern Sabah Security Command (EssCom) which covers ten districts along the eastern seaboard called the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (EssZone).
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/05/31/msia-wants-peace-in-sulu-no-war-in-sabah/
Putrajaya wants Manila to focus instead on resolving the decades long rebellion in the country's south
Philippine President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, already notorious for offhand comments, has run into flak in Malaysia over a statement on Sabah, noted The Diplomat, in a report on Tuesday.
Duterte, the tough-talking Mayor of Davao City, may have started on a wrong footing with Malaysia when he stressed that the Philippines Government under him would preserve the claim on Sabah. He appeared to recognize the claim, said the report, that the Sulu sultanate –now defunct — once ruled over parts of Sabah.
Putrajaya wants Manila to focus instead on resolving the decades long rebellion in the country’s south.
The reaction by various official circles in Malaysia, in the wake of Duterte’s take on Sabah, suggested that the new Philippines President was barking up the wrong tree on the other side of the Sulu Sea.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, recalling Malaysia’s role in peace talks in the south, urged implementation of a peace deal forged in March 2014 between Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
He called for stability in the region to make the seas between Sabah and Sulu safer.
Peace, he said, was an end in itself, “and if we can help bring to a close a dispute that has cost so many lives, we would be honoured to do so”.
Over the weekend, Najib vowed at the ground-breaking ceremony for a helicopter forward base in Lahad Datu, that Malaysia would “defend every inch of Sabah”.
Najib’s reference to the Sabah claim, during remarks.which lasted some 20 minutes in Kuala Lumpur, recalled an abortive attempt in 2013 by a 200-strong rag-tag bunch from Sulu to seize the Lahad Datu area in eastern Sabah.
The incident, dubbed the Lahad Datu Intrusion, left dozens of militants, civilians and security forces dead after a two-week standoff. Some of the militants are in Court, facing charges of waging war against the Agong in Malaysia.
Wisma Putra, Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry, earlier reiterated in a statement that the country did not recognise any claim by any party to parts of Sabah.
Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman dismissed the claim as “irrelevant”.
Malaysia has already embarked on joint patrols with the Philippines, before Duterte, and Indonesia to jointly patrol the Sulu Sea and tackle security challenges.
There have been a series of cross-border kidnappings-for-ransom in the eastern Sabah region. In the latest incident, several Malaysians and Indonesians were taken hostage in the waters off Sabah.
There are plans to further strengthen the Eastern Sabah Security Command (EssCom) which covers ten districts along the eastern seaboard called the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (EssZone).
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/05/31/msia-wants-peace-in-sulu-no-war-in-sabah/
Duterte eyes ‘super’ security
From the Manila Bulletin (May 31): Duterte eyes ‘super’ security
Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte will be forming a formidable force composed of two military divisions and 3,000 policemen in his effort to ensure “the security of the nation” and help him in his campaign against criminality.
“I would need two divisions and 3,000 policemen. I have a task for them to do,” said Duterte revealed Saturday night in a press conference at the Hotel Elena here. However, the incoming president declined to reveal what particular operations or missions he would use the super military and police force.
“I have to improve the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the PNP (Philippine National Police). Paano ko gamitin yan, sa akin muna (How I will use the force, that’s for me to know for the meantime).”
Duterte clarified that his plan to add more might to the AFP and PNP was not meant to antagonize any other nation. “I do not expect a war with anybody.”
“It has something to do with the security of the nation,” he said without going into details.
In the same press conference, Duterte acknowledged that the country is already in a “crisis in the war against drugs” and he will contend with this as soon as he assumes office.
He also welcomed the rash of crackdowns and arrests of major illegal drug activities around the country.
“I’m happy to hear that there are so many areas and provinces and cities (where crackdowns have been made). I’m telling the police, they should not wait for me until I become president,” Duterte said.
He even asked some of the media members present of other reports about the PNP’s fight against illegal drugs in the rest of the country.
“Ilan na ba ang namatay (How many have been killed)?” Duterte asked.
When told that there were eight illegal drugs suspects, who have been recently eliminated by the police, the man they call “The Punisher” shot back: “Di nadagdagan (There was no addition to the list)?”
Duterte likewise addressed the scuttlebutt among police that he was mad that the PNP has not been maximizing the intelligence fund being given to its agencies.
He had particularly lashed out at the PNP Pasay, and even the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), for the “failure of intelligence” when these agencies failed to prevent the entry of illegal drugs into the venue of a concert in Pasay City last May 21 that resulted in the death of five concert-goers allegedly due to drug overdose.
As a result of the tongue-lashing he gave these agencies, Duterte said he received reports that the PNP would soon be presenting an accounting of how its agencies have been using intelligence funds.
“They took it to mean nagagalit ako kasi hindi nagagamit yung intelligence fund,” he said.
Duterte explained that what he was irked about was how the intelligence funds are being utilized.
“If I see your intelligence fund na one-fourth pa lang nauubos because you’re using them sparingly and you’re too frugal, hindikanagtatrabaho,” he said.
He maintained that he would rather have law enforcement agencies exhausting their entire intelligence fund allocations for the year, that would be accompanied by results.
“Yung resulta ninyo, ipakita ninyo. Kung saan ninyo winaldas yung (Show the results and how you spent the) intelligence fund,” Duterte said.
Duterte had also pledged to deal with the bandit group Abu Sayyaf once he takes his oath as the country’s 16th president on June 30.
However, he also refused to divulge any of his plans on how to contain the bandit group, which has beheaded Canadian John Ridsdell last month.
Ridsdel, 68, was kidnapped along with three other foreigners and a Filipina from a resort in Samal Island, which is located just across the Davao Gulf, last
President needs two military divisions, 3,000 cops
Incoming President Rodrigo Duterte will be forming a formidable force composed of two military divisions and 3,000 policemen in his effort to ensure “the security of the nation” and help him in his campaign against criminality.
“I would need two divisions and 3,000 policemen. I have a task for them to do,” said Duterte revealed Saturday night in a press conference at the Hotel Elena here. However, the incoming president declined to reveal what particular operations or missions he would use the super military and police force.
“I have to improve the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the PNP (Philippine National Police). Paano ko gamitin yan, sa akin muna (How I will use the force, that’s for me to know for the meantime).”
Duterte clarified that his plan to add more might to the AFP and PNP was not meant to antagonize any other nation. “I do not expect a war with anybody.”
“It has something to do with the security of the nation,” he said without going into details.
In the same press conference, Duterte acknowledged that the country is already in a “crisis in the war against drugs” and he will contend with this as soon as he assumes office.
He also welcomed the rash of crackdowns and arrests of major illegal drug activities around the country.
“I’m happy to hear that there are so many areas and provinces and cities (where crackdowns have been made). I’m telling the police, they should not wait for me until I become president,” Duterte said.
He even asked some of the media members present of other reports about the PNP’s fight against illegal drugs in the rest of the country.
“Ilan na ba ang namatay (How many have been killed)?” Duterte asked.
When told that there were eight illegal drugs suspects, who have been recently eliminated by the police, the man they call “The Punisher” shot back: “Di nadagdagan (There was no addition to the list)?”
Duterte likewise addressed the scuttlebutt among police that he was mad that the PNP has not been maximizing the intelligence fund being given to its agencies.
He had particularly lashed out at the PNP Pasay, and even the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), for the “failure of intelligence” when these agencies failed to prevent the entry of illegal drugs into the venue of a concert in Pasay City last May 21 that resulted in the death of five concert-goers allegedly due to drug overdose.
As a result of the tongue-lashing he gave these agencies, Duterte said he received reports that the PNP would soon be presenting an accounting of how its agencies have been using intelligence funds.
“They took it to mean nagagalit ako kasi hindi nagagamit yung intelligence fund,” he said.
Duterte explained that what he was irked about was how the intelligence funds are being utilized.
“If I see your intelligence fund na one-fourth pa lang nauubos because you’re using them sparingly and you’re too frugal, hindikanagtatrabaho,” he said.
He maintained that he would rather have law enforcement agencies exhausting their entire intelligence fund allocations for the year, that would be accompanied by results.
“Yung resulta ninyo, ipakita ninyo. Kung saan ninyo winaldas yung (Show the results and how you spent the) intelligence fund,” Duterte said.
Duterte had also pledged to deal with the bandit group Abu Sayyaf once he takes his oath as the country’s 16th president on June 30.
However, he also refused to divulge any of his plans on how to contain the bandit group, which has beheaded Canadian John Ridsdell last month.
Ridsdel, 68, was kidnapped along with three other foreigners and a Filipina from a resort in Samal Island, which is located just across the Davao Gulf, last
Guns silent in Lanao conflict affected town, terrorists' enclave falls
From the Philippine News Agency (May 31): Guns silent in Lanao conflict affected town, terrorists' enclave falls
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=890431
Guns and cannons have been silent in the conflict-affected
town of Butig
The military also announced it captured an enclave of a
terrorist group which pledged allegiance to the international terrorist group
ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
"They have fled deep into the forest, they abandoned an
enclave in the village
of Ragayan
Murillo said members of the Maute group have abandoned their
positions after a series of encounters with pursuing mightier government troops
backed by air assets and artillery.
“Our troops are now stationed in areas the terrorists
abandoned,” Murillo said. "ISIS items and
flags were found there."
However, Murillo said the civilians who fled communities
nearby are advised not to return to their homes yet as the terrorists may
recapture its fallen camps.
The provincial social welfare office reported about 2,000
evacuees in relief sites in the villages of Coloyan, Samer, Bayabao, Raya
Timbab, Sandab and Ragayan.
Military officials said extremist Abdullah Maute, the gang
leader, was also tagged in the bombings of several transmission towers of the
National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
Clearing operations continue to check on the possibility the
terrorists left booby traps in its former enclave.
Murillo said at least 54 gang members were killed and scores
were wounded, citing reports from villagers and communications set of the
terrorists monitored by the military.
Government forces have been hunting the group of Maute after
it beheaded two innocent civilians in February. The operation against them was stalled
by the Army's election duties.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=890431
House leaders see no problem in appointing communist rebels to gov't
From the Philippine News Agency (May 31): House leaders see no problem in appointing communist rebels to gov't
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890448
Senior leaders of the House of Representatives on Tuesday
said they see no problem with the Duterte administration offering government
positions to communist rebels.
Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales II said in a press
conference, "it's the president's call, wala namang prohibition diyan. We
should remember, lahat ng ma-appoint ng presidente are at the pleasure of the
appointing power subject to confirmation. Kung 'di naman ma-reject ng
Commission on Appointment, the president can always extend via an ad interim
appointment."
He pointed out that the president is the one responsible for
his government.
"Wala namang prohibition kung sino gusto i-appoint.
Siya ang responsable sa kaniyang desisyon. I'm sure he will be guided," he
explained.
Among the post reserved by President Duterte to left
leanings are the Department of Labor and Employment; Department of Agrarian
Reform; Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of
Social Welfare and Development.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., said, "I agree with
this. Sa tingin ko, itong pag appoint sa mga tao whose names have been
mentioned, appointing them as a symbol of reaching out is not enough to end the
rebellion."
"I'd like to look at the fact that by making that
offer…it will contribute to ending the NPA rebellion," he stressed.
Meanwhile, Belmonte doesn't seem to have a problem with
President-elect Duterte skipping his own proclamation in Congress on Monday.
Belmonte said that they did not feel snubbed at all.
"He had been saying that for a long time. It would have
been a snub had he made us expect...that he's coming. Matagal na, for weeks, he
had been saying he had never attended a proclamation. Ako naman, we feel sorry.
We would have been very happy to see the new president, considering he had also
been a member of Congress. We were forewarned from the very beginning," he
said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890448
Gatchalian urges incoming President Duterte to make ROTC bill priority amid West PHL sea row
From the Philippine News Agency (May 31): Gatchalian urges incoming President Duterte to make ROTC bill priority amid West PHL sea row
Senator-elect Win Gatchalian sought on Tuesday for incoming President Rodrigo Duterte's endorsement of his House bill that would bring back the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in tertiary-level schools amid the continuing territorial conflict withChina
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890352
Senator-elect Win Gatchalian sought on Tuesday for incoming President Rodrigo Duterte's endorsement of his House bill that would bring back the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) in tertiary-level schools amid the continuing territorial conflict with
"With President Duterte's endorsement of our proposed
ROTC bill as a priority measure, the measure would immediately be taken up in
the 17th Congress to ensure its swift passage given our ongoing territorial
dispute with China
"It teaches discipline and nationalism... Dapat lahat
tayo aware na puwedeng mangyaring lusubin tayo o ano pa man," the newly
elected senator said in an interview.
President Duterte himself said in a previous statement that
the ROTC can instill “discipline, nationalism, and the patriotic duty,” which
will prepare the youth in case China
“While we expect the United States
He emphasized that the ROTC would strengthen the military by
supplementing the ranks of reserved officers, which has dwindled to around
150,000 in 2011 from as many as 800,000 before 2001. The Congress abolished the
mandatory basic ROTC in 2002.
"The ROTC program will bolster confidence in our
military preparedness and capability while at the same time provide our country
with the support of our student-cadet reservists and potential commissioned
officers."
The rookie senator made the appeal to President Duterte as China 's Ambassador to the Philippines , Zhao Jianhua, reportedly expressed
confidence that relations between the Philippines China
Gatchalian, who himself signed up for the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP) Reserve Force last year, pointed out that making ROTC
mandatory would help build a stronger reservist force, which he deems "is
important in strengthening our national defense and in countering China's
aggressive actions" in the West Philippine Sea.
"The revival of the ROTC would help drive the point that
although we are a small nation in economic and military terms, we will never
back down from our fight for sovereignty in the West
Philippine Sea ," he pointed out.
"It is worthy of note that prior to its being an
optional requirement of the National Service Training Program (NSTP), the ROTC
constituted roughly about 75 percent of the AFP officer corps, and has been the
breeding ground for prominent graduates who became the country's AFP
chiefs-of-staff," he added.
Under House Bill No. 2338, ROTC shall form part of the
curriculum of all college degree courses as well as technical or vocational
courses. It shall be a prerequisite for graduation. Students shall be required
to complete the ROTC for an academic period for two years.
Male students will be required to undergo military training
while female students will have to take civic training on basic rescue
operations and health services.
The veteran lawmaker noted that his proposed law is in line
with the constitutional provision that allows the government to call upon the
people to defend the state and require citizens to render personal, military or
civil service.
"Laws are replete with policies on service to
countrymen, and these callings must now be instilled in our consciousness to be
active in our civic duty, to prepare ourselves in case of a projected or actual
need," he stressed.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890352
Explosion partly destroys bridge in Lamitan City
From ABS-CBN (May 31): Explosion partly destroys bridge in Lamitan City
An improvised explosive device (IED) went off in one of the bridges in Lamitan City, Basilan past 10 p.m. Monday.
Operation Officer of Basilan Provincial Police Office, Chief Inspector Edwin Placio said a loud explosion was heard after unidentified persons planted the bomb on the Gubawan Bridge along the National Highway of Sengal.
No one was hurt but the explosion left a small hole on the bridge's pavement.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/regions/05/31/16/explosion-partly-destroys-bridge-in-lamitan-city
An improvised explosive device (IED) went off in one of the bridges in Lamitan City, Basilan past 10 p.m. Monday.
Operation Officer of Basilan Provincial Police Office, Chief Inspector Edwin Placio said a loud explosion was heard after unidentified persons planted the bomb on the Gubawan Bridge along the National Highway of Sengal.
No one was hurt but the explosion left a small hole on the bridge's pavement.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/regions/05/31/16/explosion-partly-destroys-bridge-in-lamitan-city
Malaysia Warns Philippines’ Duterte Against ‘Reigniting’ Sabah Dispute
From The Diplomat (may 31): Malaysia Warns Philippines’ Duterte Against ‘Reigniting’ Sabah Dispute
Malaysia’s premier tells Duterte to instead focus on resolving the country’s southern insurgency.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak rebuked Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s suggestion that he may reignite the Sabah dispute between the two nations, urging Manila on Monday to instead focus on resolving its own decades-old insurgency in the country’s south.
Duterte, the tough-talking mayor of Davao City who won the Philippine presidential elections this month, made headlines last week when he appeared to recognize the claim of the sultanate of Sulu which had ruled over parts of Sabah before the British had transferred it to the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 (See: “The Philippines Under Duterte: Reassurance Needed at Home and Abroad”).
Though the president-elect is notorious for his offhand comments, his remarks struck a chord in Malaysia, which just in 2013 had seen over 200 descendants of the sultanate attempting to assert the Philippine claim to Sabah, leaving dozens of militants, civilians and Malaysian security forces dead in what is termed the Lahad Datu Incident. After Duterte’s statement, Malaysia’s foreign ministry reiterated the country’s position that it did not recognize any claims by any party on Sabah, while Sabah’s chief minister Musa Aman dismissed the claim as “irrelevant.”
On Monday, during his keynote address to open the Asia-Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur – one of the region’s premier annual Track Two forums – Najib also took aim at Duterte’s remarks on Sabah, urging the president-elect to instead use his time more productively to help resolve one of Asia’s longest running insurgencies in the southern Philippines.
“That certainly would be more productive than reigniting the Sabah claim issue,” he told conference participants in remarks that lasted around twenty minutes.
Noting Malaysia’s role in precipitating negotiations to resolve that insurgency, Najib said that implementation of a historic peace deal reached between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in March 2014 would be a welcome boost not only for Manila, but Malaysia-Philippine relations as well.
“Peace is an end itself, and if we can help bring to a close a dispute that has costs so many lives, we would be honored to do so. But stability would also allow the region to prosper, and make the seas between two neighbors safer, that would benefit both Malaysia and the Philippines,” Najib said.
A series of kidnappings over the past month or so by the Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf involving Indonesians and Malaysians off Sabah had led the three countries to jointly boost efforts to tackle security challenges in the Sulu Sea (See: “Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia Agree on New Joint Patrols After Kidnapping”).
Malaysia has also taken measures of its own to increase its security in Sabah following the Lahad Datu incident as well as the series of kidnappings, including through the strengthening of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) (See: “What Does Malaysia’s New Defense Budget for 2016 Mean?”). Over the weekend, Najib had attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new helicopter forward base at the Lahad Datu airport where he declared that Malaysia would “defend every inch of Sabah’s sovereignty.”
http://thediplomat.com/2016/05/malaysia-warns-philippines-duterte-against-reigniting-sabah-dispute/
Malaysia’s premier tells Duterte to instead focus on resolving the country’s southern insurgency.
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak rebuked Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s suggestion that he may reignite the Sabah dispute between the two nations, urging Manila on Monday to instead focus on resolving its own decades-old insurgency in the country’s south.
Duterte, the tough-talking mayor of Davao City who won the Philippine presidential elections this month, made headlines last week when he appeared to recognize the claim of the sultanate of Sulu which had ruled over parts of Sabah before the British had transferred it to the Federation of Malaysia in 1963 (See: “The Philippines Under Duterte: Reassurance Needed at Home and Abroad”).
Though the president-elect is notorious for his offhand comments, his remarks struck a chord in Malaysia, which just in 2013 had seen over 200 descendants of the sultanate attempting to assert the Philippine claim to Sabah, leaving dozens of militants, civilians and Malaysian security forces dead in what is termed the Lahad Datu Incident. After Duterte’s statement, Malaysia’s foreign ministry reiterated the country’s position that it did not recognize any claims by any party on Sabah, while Sabah’s chief minister Musa Aman dismissed the claim as “irrelevant.”
On Monday, during his keynote address to open the Asia-Pacific Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur – one of the region’s premier annual Track Two forums – Najib also took aim at Duterte’s remarks on Sabah, urging the president-elect to instead use his time more productively to help resolve one of Asia’s longest running insurgencies in the southern Philippines.
“That certainly would be more productive than reigniting the Sabah claim issue,” he told conference participants in remarks that lasted around twenty minutes.
Noting Malaysia’s role in precipitating negotiations to resolve that insurgency, Najib said that implementation of a historic peace deal reached between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in March 2014 would be a welcome boost not only for Manila, but Malaysia-Philippine relations as well.
“Peace is an end itself, and if we can help bring to a close a dispute that has costs so many lives, we would be honored to do so. But stability would also allow the region to prosper, and make the seas between two neighbors safer, that would benefit both Malaysia and the Philippines,” Najib said.
A series of kidnappings over the past month or so by the Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf involving Indonesians and Malaysians off Sabah had led the three countries to jointly boost efforts to tackle security challenges in the Sulu Sea (See: “Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia Agree on New Joint Patrols After Kidnapping”).
Malaysia has also taken measures of its own to increase its security in Sabah following the Lahad Datu incident as well as the series of kidnappings, including through the strengthening of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) (See: “What Does Malaysia’s New Defense Budget for 2016 Mean?”). Over the weekend, Najib had attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new helicopter forward base at the Lahad Datu airport where he declared that Malaysia would “defend every inch of Sabah’s sovereignty.”
http://thediplomat.com/2016/05/malaysia-warns-philippines-duterte-against-reigniting-sabah-dispute/
Sison: NPA attacks vs Aquino gov’t to continue
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (May 31): Sison: NPA attacks vs Aquino gov’t to continue
Communist leader Jose Maria Sison has said attacks against government forces will continue for as long as President Aquino is in power.
Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (by Facebook chat) that they found no reason now to make peace with the outgoing administration.
“There is no reason to have peace with the rotten Aquino regime,” Sison said.
Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) ambushed government forces in Negros Occidental on Saturday, killing at least one soldier with several others wounded.
On Sunday, suspected NPA rebels stormed the police station and municipal hall of Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental, wounding a policeman and abducting the town’s police chief.
Sison explained that the recent NPA attacks were meant to defend communities and their forces from continuing attacks by government forces.
The communist leader said that while incoming President Rodrigo Duterte has been offering peace and a solution to the conflict, Mr. Aquino has opted to pursue government attacks.
“The people and the revolutionary forces are being attacked by enemy operations under Oplan Bayanihan. Aquino has not stopped these enemy operations,” Sison said.
Human rights groups claimed that Oplan Bayanihan, the counterinsurgency program of Mr. Aquino, has led to human rights abuses in the communities, including the deaths and massive displacements of indigenous peoples.
Sison said that in the absence of a ceasefire agreement, NPA offensives would continue.
“There is yet no peace agreement, not even an interim ceasefire agreement. We are still working hard to prepare the ground for formal peace talks. Duterte is not even seated yet,” Sison said.
Asked how fast the CPP could order the NPA to observe the ceasefire, Sison said the most crucial question right now would be to hasten the resumption of the formal talks and make an interim ceasefire agreement.
“It is pertinent to demand quick compliance only when there is already a ceasefire agreement,” Sison said.
Duterte said that the ongoing conflict has already caused too much damage not just to the military and the rebels but also to civilians. The incoming President said he would offer a ceasefire upon assuming office.
Duterte is also planning to release all political prisoners, including communist leaders, either through pardon or general amnesty.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/788320/sison-npa-attacks-vs-aquino-govt-to-continue
Communist leader Jose Maria Sison has said attacks against government forces will continue for as long as President Aquino is in power.
Sison, founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (by Facebook chat) that they found no reason now to make peace with the outgoing administration.
“There is no reason to have peace with the rotten Aquino regime,” Sison said.
Suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) ambushed government forces in Negros Occidental on Saturday, killing at least one soldier with several others wounded.
On Sunday, suspected NPA rebels stormed the police station and municipal hall of Governor Generoso in Davao Oriental, wounding a policeman and abducting the town’s police chief.
Sison explained that the recent NPA attacks were meant to defend communities and their forces from continuing attacks by government forces.
The communist leader said that while incoming President Rodrigo Duterte has been offering peace and a solution to the conflict, Mr. Aquino has opted to pursue government attacks.
“The people and the revolutionary forces are being attacked by enemy operations under Oplan Bayanihan. Aquino has not stopped these enemy operations,” Sison said.
Human rights groups claimed that Oplan Bayanihan, the counterinsurgency program of Mr. Aquino, has led to human rights abuses in the communities, including the deaths and massive displacements of indigenous peoples.
Sison said that in the absence of a ceasefire agreement, NPA offensives would continue.
“There is yet no peace agreement, not even an interim ceasefire agreement. We are still working hard to prepare the ground for formal peace talks. Duterte is not even seated yet,” Sison said.
Asked how fast the CPP could order the NPA to observe the ceasefire, Sison said the most crucial question right now would be to hasten the resumption of the formal talks and make an interim ceasefire agreement.
“It is pertinent to demand quick compliance only when there is already a ceasefire agreement,” Sison said.
Duterte said that the ongoing conflict has already caused too much damage not just to the military and the rebels but also to civilians. The incoming President said he would offer a ceasefire upon assuming office.
Duterte is also planning to release all political prisoners, including communist leaders, either through pardon or general amnesty.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/788320/sison-npa-attacks-vs-aquino-govt-to-continue
Army hits NPA use of minors
From the Visayan Daily Star (May 31): Army hits NPA use of minors
Minors , who were with New People's Army rebels, were reportedly involved in a recent encounter with Army soldiers in Brgy. Mabini, Escalante City, Negros Occidental, accounts of civilians show, a military official revealed yesterday.
“We strongly condemn these violations of the NPA, especially the use of minors or teenagers in their armed group, which is a blatant violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and human rights,” 2Lt. Ma. Revekka Knothess Roperos, 303rd Infantry Brigade spokesperson, said.
The recent encounter claimed the life of another Army soldier and caused injuries to two others.
The group of about 30 armed rebels are also believed to be to responsible for the deaths of two agrarian reform beneficiaries on May 22 in Brgy. General Luna, Sagay City.
Three individuals suspected to be rebels, who were found at the encounter site on May 28 in upland Brgy. General Luna, Escalante City, were released Sunday by the Escalante police, after they tested negative of gunpowder burns.
The fleeing rebels left behind a rifle grenade, ammunition for a M-203 grenade launcher, assorted personal belongings, and food at the encounter site recovered by pursuing Army soldiers, who were trailing bloodstains believed to be those of the rebels.
Roperos said the three individuals have found in the encounter site, and this was a vital consideration for them to be questioned and investigated.
However, since they uphold and abide with the human rights law, these individuals, whom Roperos did not identify, are presumed innocent and must be released immediately, unless a formal case is filed against them, he said.
We adhere to the fundamentals of the bill of rights, and whether they have active participation in the NPA atrocities, they still deserve to be treated with all respect and justice should be served under due process of law, Roperos added.
“In support of the PNP investigation, we assure that we will relentlessly pursue the perpetrators with full force of law,” she also said.
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2016/May/31/topstory4.htm
Minors , who were with New People's Army rebels, were reportedly involved in a recent encounter with Army soldiers in Brgy. Mabini, Escalante City, Negros Occidental, accounts of civilians show, a military official revealed yesterday.
“We strongly condemn these violations of the NPA, especially the use of minors or teenagers in their armed group, which is a blatant violation of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and human rights,” 2Lt. Ma. Revekka Knothess Roperos, 303rd Infantry Brigade spokesperson, said.
The recent encounter claimed the life of another Army soldier and caused injuries to two others.
The group of about 30 armed rebels are also believed to be to responsible for the deaths of two agrarian reform beneficiaries on May 22 in Brgy. General Luna, Sagay City.
Three individuals suspected to be rebels, who were found at the encounter site on May 28 in upland Brgy. General Luna, Escalante City, were released Sunday by the Escalante police, after they tested negative of gunpowder burns.
The fleeing rebels left behind a rifle grenade, ammunition for a M-203 grenade launcher, assorted personal belongings, and food at the encounter site recovered by pursuing Army soldiers, who were trailing bloodstains believed to be those of the rebels.
Roperos said the three individuals have found in the encounter site, and this was a vital consideration for them to be questioned and investigated.
However, since they uphold and abide with the human rights law, these individuals, whom Roperos did not identify, are presumed innocent and must be released immediately, unless a formal case is filed against them, he said.
We adhere to the fundamentals of the bill of rights, and whether they have active participation in the NPA atrocities, they still deserve to be treated with all respect and justice should be served under due process of law, Roperos added.
“In support of the PNP investigation, we assure that we will relentlessly pursue the perpetrators with full force of law,” she also said.
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2016/May/31/topstory4.htm
Call them BRP Agta, BRP Iwak, BRP Waray under Sealift Amphibious Force
From Update.Ph (May 31): Call them BRP Agta, BRP Iwak, BRP Waray under Sealift Amphibious Force
The Philippine Navy (PN) has revealed the names of the three ex-Australian landing craft heavies (LCHs) which will be formally commissioned along with the country’s first strategic sealift vessel, BRP Tarlac (LD-601), on June 1.
They will be named BRP Agta (LC-290), BRP Iwak (LC-289) and BRP Waray (LC-288), Navy Spokesperson Capt. Lued Lincuna said in a message to the PNA. As per PN naming conventions, landing craft are named after indigenous people.
Commissioning ceremonies will be held at Pier 13, Manila South Harbor with President Benigno S. Aquino III as the guest-of-honor and speaker.
Lincuna said these three ships will be assigned to the Sealift Amphibious Force of the Philippine Fleet.
These three LCHs were sold to the Navy for PHP270 million.
The LCHs are former ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and identified as the HMAS Balikpapan, HMAS Wewak and HMAS Betano.
They were offloaded to Liloan, Cebu last March 26.
The three are sisters to BRP Ivatan (formerly HMAS Tarakan) and BRP Batak (ex-HMAS Brunei) which were commissioned into PN service in Aug. 10, 2015.
The first two LCHs were donated by the Australian government to the Philippines in November 2014.
“The acquisition of additional capabilities of our Navy further translates into offering better service to our maritime nation as we continue to protect our country, step up commitment for HADR and our continuing pledge to provide assistance to our Filipino people in all corners of the archipelago. These new assets are manifestations of our Navy’s optimum readiness to perform its tasks and the ability to adapt vis-a-vis the emergent operating environment,” Lincuna said.
http://www.update.ph/2016/05/call-them-brp-agta-brp-iwak-brp-waray-under-sealift-amphibious-force/6112
The Philippine Navy (PN) has revealed the names of the three ex-Australian landing craft heavies (LCHs) which will be formally commissioned along with the country’s first strategic sealift vessel, BRP Tarlac (LD-601), on June 1.
Commissioning ceremonies will be held at Pier 13, Manila South Harbor with President Benigno S. Aquino III as the guest-of-honor and speaker.
Lincuna said these three ships will be assigned to the Sealift Amphibious Force of the Philippine Fleet.
These three LCHs were sold to the Navy for PHP270 million.
The LCHs are former ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and identified as the HMAS Balikpapan, HMAS Wewak and HMAS Betano.
They were offloaded to Liloan, Cebu last March 26.
The three are sisters to BRP Ivatan (formerly HMAS Tarakan) and BRP Batak (ex-HMAS Brunei) which were commissioned into PN service in Aug. 10, 2015.
The first two LCHs were donated by the Australian government to the Philippines in November 2014.
“The acquisition of additional capabilities of our Navy further translates into offering better service to our maritime nation as we continue to protect our country, step up commitment for HADR and our continuing pledge to provide assistance to our Filipino people in all corners of the archipelago. These new assets are manifestations of our Navy’s optimum readiness to perform its tasks and the ability to adapt vis-a-vis the emergent operating environment,” Lincuna said.
http://www.update.ph/2016/05/call-them-brp-agta-brp-iwak-brp-waray-under-sealift-amphibious-force/6112
Five Australian Navy work horses now under Philippine Navy
From Update.Ph (May 31): Five Australian Navy work horses now under Philippine Navy
Five previously Royal Australian Navy (RAN) work horses, Balikpapan-class landing craft-heavy (LCH), are now under the Philippine Navy. This is after two were donated and three were sold at giveaway price.
“They were certainly the work horses of the Royal Australian Navy and I am sure they will provide just as much service to the Philippine Navy,” RAN Lieutenant Brenton-James Glover, HMAS Brunei’s last Executive Officer said last year. HMAS Brunei is now BRP Batak.
“They were not the best looking or most comfortable ships, however, they could always be called upon when needed,” he added. “The Balikpapan class is an excellent capability for amphibious operations as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”
The first two, BRP Ivatan (formerly HMAS Tarakan) and BRP Batak (ex-HMAS Brunei), were commissioned into PN service August 10, 2015.
The final three will be commissioned tomorrow, June 1. These are BRP Agta, BRP Iwak, and BRP Waray formerly HMAS Balikpapan, HMAS Wewak and HMAS Betano.
http://www.update.ph/2016/05/five-australian-navy-work-horses-now-under-philippine-navy/6114
Five previously Royal Australian Navy (RAN) work horses, Balikpapan-class landing craft-heavy (LCH), are now under the Philippine Navy. This is after two were donated and three were sold at giveaway price.
“They were certainly the work horses of the Royal Australian Navy and I am sure they will provide just as much service to the Philippine Navy,” RAN Lieutenant Brenton-James Glover, HMAS Brunei’s last Executive Officer said last year. HMAS Brunei is now BRP Batak.
“They were not the best looking or most comfortable ships, however, they could always be called upon when needed,” he added. “The Balikpapan class is an excellent capability for amphibious operations as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.”
The first two, BRP Ivatan (formerly HMAS Tarakan) and BRP Batak (ex-HMAS Brunei), were commissioned into PN service August 10, 2015.
The final three will be commissioned tomorrow, June 1. These are BRP Agta, BRP Iwak, and BRP Waray formerly HMAS Balikpapan, HMAS Wewak and HMAS Betano.
http://www.update.ph/2016/05/five-australian-navy-work-horses-now-under-philippine-navy/6114
Leftist nominees for DSWD, DAR to meet with Duterte
From Rappler (May 31): Leftist nominees for DSWD, DAR to meet with Duterte
UP professor Judy Taguiwalo and former Anakpawis party-list representative Rafael Mariano, NDF nominees for DSWD and DAR chiefs, respectively, are in Davao City for a meeting with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte
CABINET NOMINEES. UP professor Judy Taguiwalo (right) and former Anakpawis party-list representative Rafael Mariano, await President-elect Rodrigo Duterte. Photo from Facebook page of ACT party list Representative Antonio Tinio
Two of the 10 Cabinet nominees of the National Democratic Front (NDF) to the incoming administration are meeting with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday afternoon, May 31.
UP professor Judy Taguiwalo and former Anakpawis party-list representative Rafael Mariano, NDF nominees for DSWD and DAR chiefs, respectively, are in Davao City for a meeting with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte
CABINET NOMINEES. UP professor Judy Taguiwalo (right) and former Anakpawis party-list representative Rafael Mariano, await President-elect Rodrigo Duterte. Photo from Facebook page of ACT party list Representative Antonio Tinio
Two of the 10 Cabinet nominees of the National Democratic Front (NDF) to the incoming administration are meeting with President-elect Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday afternoon, May 31.
University of the Philippines professor Judy Taguiwalo and former Anakpawis party list representative Rafael Mariano, NDF's nominees for the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), respectively, arrived in Davao City for a meeting with Duterte.
Duterte was holding his first meeting with members of his incoming Cabinet in Davao City that afternoon.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party list Representative Antonio Tinio captioned a photo of Taguiwalo and Mariano, "Ka Paeng and Judy in Davao waiting for the start of the meeting with President-elect Duterte."
ATM: Ka Paeng and Judy in Davao waiting for the start of the meeting with President-elect Duterte.
On Monday, May 30, Taguiwalo and Mariano were invited to fly to Davao City for a Tuesday meeting with Duterte set at 2 pm.
Sources, however, told Rappler that as of 3:45 pm, the two nominees were still in a holding room waiting for the president-elect.
An activist since Martial Law, the 65-year-old Taguiwalo obtained her doctorate degree in Philippine Studies at UP Diliman and her Master's degree in public administration at Carleton University in Canada.
Duterte was holding his first meeting with members of his incoming Cabinet in Davao City that afternoon.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday afternoon, Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) party list Representative Antonio Tinio captioned a photo of Taguiwalo and Mariano, "Ka Paeng and Judy in Davao waiting for the start of the meeting with President-elect Duterte."
ATM: Ka Paeng and Judy in Davao waiting for the start of the meeting with President-elect Duterte.
On Monday, May 30, Taguiwalo and Mariano were invited to fly to Davao City for a Tuesday meeting with Duterte set at 2 pm.
Sources, however, told Rappler that as of 3:45 pm, the two nominees were still in a holding room waiting for the president-elect.
An activist since Martial Law, the 65-year-old Taguiwalo obtained her doctorate degree in Philippine Studies at UP Diliman and her Master's degree in public administration at Carleton University in Canada.
She retired from UP on July 31, 2015, but the university extended her appointment as professor and as director of the UP Center for Women's Studies until July 31, 2016.
Meanwhile, the 59-year-old Mariano, also known as Ka Paeng, chairs militant farmers’ group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP).
Mariano grew up in a family of farmers in Nueva Ecija until they were displaced from the land they tilled at the height of Martial Law. This prompted him to join the protest movement against the dictatorship.
A respected leader in the progressive movement, Mariano was elected to represent Anakpawis party-list in the 13th Congress. The farmer-activist-turned-legislator authored House Bill No. 2532 or the Farmers Land Rights Act; HB 2591 or the Farmers Security of Tenure Act; and House Resolution 155 that sought to junk the stock distribution option given to Hacienda Luisita beneficiaries.
On March 25, Duterte said the NDF had submitted a “very impressive” list of names to him, noting that 4 of the 10 nominees are women.
Duterte initially opened 4 departments to Left nominees: the DSWD, DAR, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of Labor and Employment.
He has already named former justice secretary Silvestre "Bebot" Bello III as the next DOLE chief, which the NDF said was acceptable as Bello is also in its shortlist to Duterte.
Duterte, however, has reconsidered the appointment of a Leftist nominee as his DENR secretary, citing sensitive concerns about the mining industry.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/134871-leftist-nominees-dswd-dar-meet-duterte
He has already named former justice secretary Silvestre "Bebot" Bello III as the next DOLE chief, which the NDF said was acceptable as Bello is also in its shortlist to Duterte.
Duterte, however, has reconsidered the appointment of a Leftist nominee as his DENR secretary, citing sensitive concerns about the mining industry.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/134871-leftist-nominees-dswd-dar-meet-duterte
Toll among Lanao del Sur 'terrorists' climbs to 37 - Army
From InterAksyon (May 31): Toll among Lanao del Sur 'terrorists' climbs to 37 - Army
Government troops head to battle against the Maute group in Butig, Lanao del Sur in this file image grabbed from TV5 news video.
The Army said its offensive against a “terrorist group” in Lanao del Sur has killed at least 37 gunmen, a toll that could increase as military operations continue in the mountains of Butig town.
Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, told DXMS-AM Radyo Bida that the group, which has about 300 members and is led by the Maute brothers, is responsible for blowing up transmission lines of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in the Lanao provinces and for kidnapping six sawmill workers in Iligan City, two of whom were subsequently beheaded.
The group has also been reported to have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State.
The current operation was triggered by the group’s harassment of government forces guarding a village where skirmishes had broken out earlier this year.
The military is using its air assets to flush out the gunmen believed deep in the forests of Barangay Ragayan, where fighting continues to rage.
So far, two soldiers -- Privates First Class Danilo Allaga at Mark Ferdinand Ortaliza -- have been killed and nine others wounded.
"We cannot say when this operation will end but as long as there are terrorists in the villages of Butig, our operation will continue," he said.
Some 2,000 civilians have fled from Barangay Ragayan and nearby villages to escape the fighting.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128450/toll-among-lanao-del-sur-terrorists-climbs-to-37---army
Government troops head to battle against the Maute group in Butig, Lanao del Sur in this file image grabbed from TV5 news video.
The Army said its offensive against a “terrorist group” in Lanao del Sur has killed at least 37 gunmen, a toll that could increase as military operations continue in the mountains of Butig town.
Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, told DXMS-AM Radyo Bida that the group, which has about 300 members and is led by the Maute brothers, is responsible for blowing up transmission lines of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in the Lanao provinces and for kidnapping six sawmill workers in Iligan City, two of whom were subsequently beheaded.
The group has also been reported to have sworn allegiance to the Islamic State.
The current operation was triggered by the group’s harassment of government forces guarding a village where skirmishes had broken out earlier this year.
The military is using its air assets to flush out the gunmen believed deep in the forests of Barangay Ragayan, where fighting continues to rage.
So far, two soldiers -- Privates First Class Danilo Allaga at Mark Ferdinand Ortaliza -- have been killed and nine others wounded.
"We cannot say when this operation will end but as long as there are terrorists in the villages of Butig, our operation will continue," he said.
Some 2,000 civilians have fled from Barangay Ragayan and nearby villages to escape the fighting.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128450/toll-among-lanao-del-sur-terrorists-climbs-to-37---army
US envoy Goldberg leads inauguration of climate-resilient classrooms in Leyte
From InterAksyon (May 31): US envoy Goldberg leads inauguration of climate-resilient classrooms in Leyte
US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg gives a plaque of appreciation to Palo National High School Principal Nino Angelo S. Mendoza. PHOTO BY LOTTIE SALARDA, INTERAKSYON.COM
US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg recently led the inauguration of 10 climate-resilient school classrooms in Palo, Leyte, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The school building project was part of the US government’s commitment to restore access to education in areas in Eastern Visayas badly affected by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
Of 310 classrooms targeted for construction of the 51 schools in Eastern Visayas, 199 have been completed and 111 are still underway. The projects were completed in close coordination with the Department of Education's Regional Office 8.
Besides constructing the school buildings, the USAID also donated 55 desks for each classroom; one teacher’s table and chair; two electric fans for each classroom and 550 school bags for the students made out of indigenous materials bought from the women mat weavers in Basey Samar. The project is also in support of the the local economy.
The school building construction was part of the $143 million committed by the US government for the rehabilitation of the Yolanda0affected areas.
According to Palo National High School Principal Nino Angelo S. Mendoza, the 10 new classrooms can accommodate 50 high school students this coming school year. Last year, Palo National High had 2,600 students including the junior high. This school year, they are expecting to have more than 400 students in senior high school. The donation of the school classrooms helped address the lack of classrooms, he said.
They still lack 10 classrooms to accommodate the students in senior high school, he added. During typhoon Yolanda, the school was used as an evacuation center for the nearby communities. The storm totally damaged 40 classrooms.
They are temporarily using the 16 makeshift classrooms to accommodate a number of students.
"The USAID classrooms are really a big help for us. Especially now that we have the senior high school and there are more students," said Mendoza at the May 27 inauguration, speaking in Filipino.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education through the Department of Public Works and Highways conducted soil testing in preparation for the construction of another 64 classrooms that can be used by the senior and junior high school.
In his message, Ambassador Goldberg gave credit to the resiliency and the ability to recover of the typhoon survivors. The turnover is very timely because the start of the regular classes is set on June 13.
“The priority we give to building classrooms underlines the important role of education in reducing poverty. Education is a basic human right that everyone must have access. The 10 classrooms in Palo are among the more than 250 classrooms that the US government committed to construct in Leyte province,” he said.
The USAID started the rehabilitation projects in Yolanda-affected areas in June 2014 and these will end in December this year. But the US envoy gave assurances the American government will continue helping the people in Eastern Visayas and other parts of the country in the incoming Duterte administration.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128467/us-envoy-goldberg-leads-inauguration-of-climate-resilient-classrooms-in-leyte
US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg gives a plaque of appreciation to Palo National High School Principal Nino Angelo S. Mendoza. PHOTO BY LOTTIE SALARDA, INTERAKSYON.COM
US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg recently led the inauguration of 10 climate-resilient school classrooms in Palo, Leyte, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The school building project was part of the US government’s commitment to restore access to education in areas in Eastern Visayas badly affected by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).
Of 310 classrooms targeted for construction of the 51 schools in Eastern Visayas, 199 have been completed and 111 are still underway. The projects were completed in close coordination with the Department of Education's Regional Office 8.
Besides constructing the school buildings, the USAID also donated 55 desks for each classroom; one teacher’s table and chair; two electric fans for each classroom and 550 school bags for the students made out of indigenous materials bought from the women mat weavers in Basey Samar. The project is also in support of the the local economy.
The school building construction was part of the $143 million committed by the US government for the rehabilitation of the Yolanda0affected areas.
According to Palo National High School Principal Nino Angelo S. Mendoza, the 10 new classrooms can accommodate 50 high school students this coming school year. Last year, Palo National High had 2,600 students including the junior high. This school year, they are expecting to have more than 400 students in senior high school. The donation of the school classrooms helped address the lack of classrooms, he said.
They still lack 10 classrooms to accommodate the students in senior high school, he added. During typhoon Yolanda, the school was used as an evacuation center for the nearby communities. The storm totally damaged 40 classrooms.
They are temporarily using the 16 makeshift classrooms to accommodate a number of students.
"The USAID classrooms are really a big help for us. Especially now that we have the senior high school and there are more students," said Mendoza at the May 27 inauguration, speaking in Filipino.
Meanwhile, the Department of Education through the Department of Public Works and Highways conducted soil testing in preparation for the construction of another 64 classrooms that can be used by the senior and junior high school.
In his message, Ambassador Goldberg gave credit to the resiliency and the ability to recover of the typhoon survivors. The turnover is very timely because the start of the regular classes is set on June 13.
“The priority we give to building classrooms underlines the important role of education in reducing poverty. Education is a basic human right that everyone must have access. The 10 classrooms in Palo are among the more than 250 classrooms that the US government committed to construct in Leyte province,” he said.
The USAID started the rehabilitation projects in Yolanda-affected areas in June 2014 and these will end in December this year. But the US envoy gave assurances the American government will continue helping the people in Eastern Visayas and other parts of the country in the incoming Duterte administration.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128467/us-envoy-goldberg-leads-inauguration-of-climate-resilient-classrooms-in-leyte
Duterte man installed as Central Luzon PNP chief
From InterAksyon (May 31): Duterte man installed as Central Luzon PNP chief
TV5 screen grab of policemen in formation
CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga - Outgoing PNP Chief Director General Ricardo Marquez on Monday installed Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino, top choice of incoming president Rody Duterte for region 3, as the new Central Luzon police head during simple rites held in the regional police headquarters.
Aquino, who was raised in Tarlac, had been assigned mostly in southern Mindanao areas since he joined the police organization. He vowed to enhance collaboration among law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces, in the fight against all forms of criminality.
“Peace and order initiatives, other law enforcement functions and application with unique but time tested strategies, plus the PNP and AFP collaboration and interoperability would be the key in serving the people in this region,” said Aquino in his opening statement during the turn-over rites held at the Multi-Purpose Hall here.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy “Sandiwa” class of 1985, Aquino was formerly the Deputy Regional Director for Police Regional Office 11 (PRO11) before assuming the top cop post of Central Luzon.
Aquino accepted the challenge of meeting the deadline in combating crime specifically illegal drugs, though he admitted it is a gargantuan task.
“We will do our best to help our commander in chief meet his deadline and noble intentions to make this organization worthy of respect,” he said.
During the campaign, Duterte vowed to crush drug trafficking syndicates and other organized crime groups in three to six months.
Aquino replaced Chief Supt. Rudy Lacadin, who stepped down May 30 after reaching the mandatory 56-year-old retirement age.
Lacadin served more than nine months in the Central Luzon regional police headquarters, completing his 34 years in police service. His swift actions against criminals earned praises from his superiors, including Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento.
“Rudy’s action-filled nine-month stint in region 3 resulted in the deaths of hardened street criminals, illegal drugs trafficking gangs, and other lawless elements who were killed in legitimate police operations,” said Marquez.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128445/duterte-man-installed-as-central-luzon-pnp-chief
TV5 screen grab of policemen in formation
CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga - Outgoing PNP Chief Director General Ricardo Marquez on Monday installed Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino, top choice of incoming president Rody Duterte for region 3, as the new Central Luzon police head during simple rites held in the regional police headquarters.
Aquino, who was raised in Tarlac, had been assigned mostly in southern Mindanao areas since he joined the police organization. He vowed to enhance collaboration among law enforcement agencies, including the armed forces, in the fight against all forms of criminality.
“Peace and order initiatives, other law enforcement functions and application with unique but time tested strategies, plus the PNP and AFP collaboration and interoperability would be the key in serving the people in this region,” said Aquino in his opening statement during the turn-over rites held at the Multi-Purpose Hall here.
A member of the Philippine Military Academy “Sandiwa” class of 1985, Aquino was formerly the Deputy Regional Director for Police Regional Office 11 (PRO11) before assuming the top cop post of Central Luzon.
Aquino accepted the challenge of meeting the deadline in combating crime specifically illegal drugs, though he admitted it is a gargantuan task.
“We will do our best to help our commander in chief meet his deadline and noble intentions to make this organization worthy of respect,” he said.
During the campaign, Duterte vowed to crush drug trafficking syndicates and other organized crime groups in three to six months.
Aquino replaced Chief Supt. Rudy Lacadin, who stepped down May 30 after reaching the mandatory 56-year-old retirement age.
Lacadin served more than nine months in the Central Luzon regional police headquarters, completing his 34 years in police service. His swift actions against criminals earned praises from his superiors, including Interior Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento.
“Rudy’s action-filled nine-month stint in region 3 resulted in the deaths of hardened street criminals, illegal drugs trafficking gangs, and other lawless elements who were killed in legitimate police operations,” said Marquez.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128445/duterte-man-installed-as-central-luzon-pnp-chief
Palparan arraignment for Bulacan brothers' abduction reset - NUPL
From InterAksyon (May 31): Palparan arraignment for Bulacan brothers' abduction reset - NUPL
Raymond Manalo holds a sign calling for the prosecution of former Army general Jovito Palparan. (photo from NUPL Facebook page)
A Bulacan trial court has reset the arraignment, originally set for Tuesday, of retired Army general Jovito Palparan for the alleged abduction of two brothers from Bulacan province in 2006, human rights lawyers said.
The National Union of People’s Lawyers, which represents the Manalo brothers, said the arraignment was reset to June 21 because the assigned fiscal has to clarify with the Office of the Ombudsman who has the authority to prosecute the case.
Nevertheless, the court issued an alias warrant of arrest for Palparan’s co-accused.
Palparan is charged along with two sergeants and four militiamen for kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the abduction of Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo in San Ildefonso, Bulacan on February 14, 2006.
The brothers, who were suspected of being New People’s Army members, were held for a year, during which they were also allegedly tortured, until they managed to escape in August 2007.
Raymond is also the key prosecution witness in another criminal case Palparan is facing over the abduction and disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, also in Bulacan, in June 2006.
He said he met the two students in captivity and has testified to how they were tortured. He also said and farmer Manuel Merino, who was seized with Cadapan and Empeno, had been killed and his body burned by soldiers.
The National Union of People’s Lawyers, which represents the Manalo brothers, said the arraignment was reset to June 21 because the assigned fiscal has to clarify with the Office of the Ombudsman who has the authority to prosecute the case.
Nevertheless, the court issued an alias warrant of arrest for Palparan’s co-accused.
The NUPL said they would urge President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to help expedite the case and to “instruct concerned government agencies to join us NUPL as private prosecutors in seeking Palparan's transfer from Fort Bonifacio's ‘staycation’ to a regular civilian jail.”
The Bulacan court hearing the Empeno-Cadapan abduction case originally ordered Palparan detained at the provincial jail but later allowed him to be transferred to the headquarters of the Philippine Army.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128457/palparan-arraignment-for-bulacan-brothers-abduction-reset---nupl
Raymond Manalo holds a sign calling for the prosecution of former Army general Jovito Palparan. (photo from NUPL Facebook page)
A Bulacan trial court has reset the arraignment, originally set for Tuesday, of retired Army general Jovito Palparan for the alleged abduction of two brothers from Bulacan province in 2006, human rights lawyers said.
The National Union of People’s Lawyers, which represents the Manalo brothers, said the arraignment was reset to June 21 because the assigned fiscal has to clarify with the Office of the Ombudsman who has the authority to prosecute the case.
Nevertheless, the court issued an alias warrant of arrest for Palparan’s co-accused.
Palparan is charged along with two sergeants and four militiamen for kidnapping and serious illegal detention over the abduction of Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo in San Ildefonso, Bulacan on February 14, 2006.
The brothers, who were suspected of being New People’s Army members, were held for a year, during which they were also allegedly tortured, until they managed to escape in August 2007.
Raymond is also the key prosecution witness in another criminal case Palparan is facing over the abduction and disappearance of University of the Philippines students Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeno, also in Bulacan, in June 2006.
He said he met the two students in captivity and has testified to how they were tortured. He also said and farmer Manuel Merino, who was seized with Cadapan and Empeno, had been killed and his body burned by soldiers.
The National Union of People’s Lawyers, which represents the Manalo brothers, said the arraignment was reset to June 21 because the assigned fiscal has to clarify with the Office of the Ombudsman who has the authority to prosecute the case.
Nevertheless, the court issued an alias warrant of arrest for Palparan’s co-accused.
The NUPL said they would urge President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to help expedite the case and to “instruct concerned government agencies to join us NUPL as private prosecutors in seeking Palparan's transfer from Fort Bonifacio's ‘staycation’ to a regular civilian jail.”
The Bulacan court hearing the Empeno-Cadapan abduction case originally ordered Palparan detained at the provincial jail but later allowed him to be transferred to the headquarters of the Philippine Army.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128457/palparan-arraignment-for-bulacan-brothers-abduction-reset---nupl
US defense chief heads to Asian summit likely dominated again by South China Sea row
From InterAksyon (May 31): US defense chief heads to Asian summit likely dominated again by South China Sea row
US Defense Sec. Ashton Carter during a meeting with Pres. Benigno Aquino III
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will depart Tuesday for an Asian security summit in Singapore, where Beijing's military expansion across the South China Sea likely will once again dominate discussions.
Regional neighbors are fretting over what they see as China's expansionism as it rushes to exert sovereignty over the waterway, a major global shipping route believed to be home to large oil and gas reserves.
China is using dredgers and other tools to convert low-lying ocean features and sandy blips into military bases.
A Pentagon report this month said China has added more than 3,200 acres (1,300 hectares) of land to the seven features it occupies in the Spratly Islands archipelago.
The so-called Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting in Singapore, will see defense ministers, military chiefs and defense experts from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond discuss regional security issues.
Aside from the South China Sea, delegates are expected to focus on the growing threat of Islamic terrorism in the region and North Korea's nuclear program.
Since becoming President Barack Obama's fourth Pentagon chief in February 2015, Carter has taken a forceful tone on Beijing's South China Sea construction.
He criticized the drive at last year's Shangri-La meeting and on Friday, Carter said China risks creating a "Great Wall of self-isolation."
"Countries across the region -- allies, partners and the unaligned -- are voicing concerns publicly and privately at the highest levels," Carter said.
The United States has conducted several "freedom of navigation" operations where it pointedly ignores China's claims of sovereign exclusion zones around the islands by closely flying or sailing past.
Carter's trip will see him first visit an Army base in Arizona.
He had also considered meeting his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani during a visit to Japan, but the two decided to meet in Singapore instead, a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The official said the meeting would have been too politically sensitive, given the furor surrounding the arrest of a former US Marine on Okinawa in connection to the death of a 20-year-old woman who had been missing since late April.
A series of crimes including rapes, assaults and hit-and-run accidents by US military personnel, dependents and civilians have long sparked local protests on the crowded island.
Carter and Obama were quick to condemn the crime and offer "regret."
While in Singapore, Carter will be joined by senior US military leaders, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson and the commander of US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128453/us-defense-chief-heads-to-asian-summit-likely-dominated-again-by-south-china-sea-row
US Defense Sec. Ashton Carter during a meeting with Pres. Benigno Aquino III
US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will depart Tuesday for an Asian security summit in Singapore, where Beijing's military expansion across the South China Sea likely will once again dominate discussions.
Regional neighbors are fretting over what they see as China's expansionism as it rushes to exert sovereignty over the waterway, a major global shipping route believed to be home to large oil and gas reserves.
China is using dredgers and other tools to convert low-lying ocean features and sandy blips into military bases.
A Pentagon report this month said China has added more than 3,200 acres (1,300 hectares) of land to the seven features it occupies in the Spratly Islands archipelago.
The so-called Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting in Singapore, will see defense ministers, military chiefs and defense experts from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond discuss regional security issues.
Aside from the South China Sea, delegates are expected to focus on the growing threat of Islamic terrorism in the region and North Korea's nuclear program.
Since becoming President Barack Obama's fourth Pentagon chief in February 2015, Carter has taken a forceful tone on Beijing's South China Sea construction.
He criticized the drive at last year's Shangri-La meeting and on Friday, Carter said China risks creating a "Great Wall of self-isolation."
"Countries across the region -- allies, partners and the unaligned -- are voicing concerns publicly and privately at the highest levels," Carter said.
The United States has conducted several "freedom of navigation" operations where it pointedly ignores China's claims of sovereign exclusion zones around the islands by closely flying or sailing past.
Carter's trip will see him first visit an Army base in Arizona.
He had also considered meeting his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani during a visit to Japan, but the two decided to meet in Singapore instead, a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The official said the meeting would have been too politically sensitive, given the furor surrounding the arrest of a former US Marine on Okinawa in connection to the death of a 20-year-old woman who had been missing since late April.
A series of crimes including rapes, assaults and hit-and-run accidents by US military personnel, dependents and civilians have long sparked local protests on the crowded island.
Carter and Obama were quick to condemn the crime and offer "regret."
While in Singapore, Carter will be joined by senior US military leaders, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson and the commander of US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128453/us-defense-chief-heads-to-asian-summit-likely-dominated-again-by-south-china-sea-row
China hopes to repair ties with Philippines, Xi tells Duterte
From InterAksyon (May 31): China hopes to repair ties with Philippines, Xi tells Duterte
China hopes to get relations with the Philippines back on track, President Xi Jinping has told President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, after ties were affected by an increasingly bitter spat over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Xi sent a message to Duterte late on Monday congratulating him on his formal election victory, and said the two countries had a long history of friendly exchanges and a deep traditional friendship, China's Foreign Ministry said.
"The friendly, stable and healthy development of Sino-Philippine relations accords with the basic interests of both countries and both peoples," Xi was quoted as saying in the ministry statement.
Both countries had the responsibility to deepen cooperation, he said.
"(I) hope both sides can work hard to push Sino-Philippine relations back onto a healthy development track," Xi said.
China and the Philippines are locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which $5 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
Tension between the Philippines and China has risen as an international tribunal in The Hague prepares to deliver a ruling in the next few months in a case lodged by Manila in 2013.
The Philippines is seeking a clarification of United Nations maritime laws that could undermine China's claims to 90 percent of the South China Sea. China has rejected the court's authority.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128455/china-hopes-to-repair-ties-with-philippines-xi-tells-duterte
China hopes to get relations with the Philippines back on track, President Xi Jinping has told President-elect Rodrigo Duterte, after ties were affected by an increasingly bitter spat over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Xi sent a message to Duterte late on Monday congratulating him on his formal election victory, and said the two countries had a long history of friendly exchanges and a deep traditional friendship, China's Foreign Ministry said.
"The friendly, stable and healthy development of Sino-Philippine relations accords with the basic interests of both countries and both peoples," Xi was quoted as saying in the ministry statement.
Both countries had the responsibility to deepen cooperation, he said.
"(I) hope both sides can work hard to push Sino-Philippine relations back onto a healthy development track," Xi said.
China and the Philippines are locked in a territorial dispute in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which $5 trillion worth of ship-borne trade passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims.
Tension between the Philippines and China has risen as an international tribunal in The Hague prepares to deliver a ruling in the next few months in a case lodged by Manila in 2013.
The Philippines is seeking a clarification of United Nations maritime laws that could undermine China's claims to 90 percent of the South China Sea. China has rejected the court's authority.
http://interaksyon.com/article/128455/china-hopes-to-repair-ties-with-philippines-xi-tells-duterte
Dureza vows to “continue with the gains and build on” Bangsamoro peace process
From MindaNews (May 31): Dureza vows to “continue with the gains and build on” Bangsamoro peace process
Returning Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza vowed in a statement sent to the government (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels that the Duterte administration will “continue with the gains” of the Bangsamoro peace process and “build on those already done and achieved.”
Dureza’s statement was read during the May 29 to 30 Special Meeting of the GPH and MILF peace panels in Kuala Lumpur where they signed on Monday a “Declaration of Continuity” to “ensure the full implementation” of the March 27, 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
The peace panels also congratulated President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and expressed optimism that roadmap provided for in the CAB “will be fully accomplished under his term.”
Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte chats with returning Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza during a press conference at Hotel Elena in Davao City Saturday night, May 28, 2016. Mindanews photo by KEITH BACONGCO
Duterte, Davao City mayor for 20 years who will serve as President from June 30, 2016 to June 30, 2022 is the 16th Philippine President and the first Mindanawon elected to the highest post of the land.
In his campaign sorties, he vowed to “correct the historical injustices” committed against the Bangsamoro and promised to push for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) while working on the country’s shift from Presidential to Federal system of government.
The panels also expressed their appreciation to Dureza, who issued a statement read during the meeting, welcoming the forging of a “Declaration of Continuity.”
The “Declaration of Continuity of the Partnership of the GPH and MILF in the Bangsamoro Peace Process” was signed by GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal.
Also signed were the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF), a multi-donor trust fund envisioned in the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) signed in October 2012 and the Annex on Normalization signed in January 2014, and the TOR for the Project Board of the Mindanao Trust Fund for the Six Previously Acknowledged MILF Camps (MTF-RDP Camps Project).
Deles-Dureza meeting
Dureza told MindaNews on Monday evening that outgoing Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles had invited him to a dinner meeting on May 25 where she also invited him to attend the Special Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
But Dureza said he could not go to KL because of prior commitments scheduled on those dates so he sent a two-paragraph statement to the panels through Deles.
The statement was read during the meeting facilitated by Malaysia.
“In my capacity as Presidential Peace Adviser-Nominee to President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, allow me to welcome with positive note the forging of the declaration on the continuity of the search for sustainable peace between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. We also take positive note of the formation of the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund,” read Dureza’s statement, a copy of which he sent MindaNews early Tuesday morning.
“We intend to continue with the gains and build on those already done and achieved,” Dureza said, adding that the peace “roadmap that we will traverse hereon will take policy guidance and direction from the new President when he assumes office on June 30, 2016.”
In the interview Monday night, Dureza reiterated he will conduct consultations with various sectors on the Bangsamoro peace roadmap. “It will have to be inclusive of all Moro fronts,” Dureza said, referring to the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which signed with the government the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 and the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) in 1996.
He said he is optimistic of the outcome of the unity talks brokered by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Then OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekemelddin Ihsanoglu initiated on May 18, 2010 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan a meeting between MNLF founding chair Nur Misuari and MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim that eventually led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum (BCF).
In April last year, OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani met separately with leaders MNLF and MILF at the Abreeza Hotel here and later, jointly, to discuss, through the BCF, on how best to move forward in harmonizing the tracks of the peace agreements they signed separately with the Philippine government.
Dureza said that the peace processes with the two Moro fronts are both on their implementation phases – the MNLF on its 20th year since the signing of the FPA and with three still unresolved major issues and the MILF on its third year since the CAB signing.
He said the unresolved issues of the FPA and the provisions of the CAB may be merged and consolidated so they can be “harmonized and only one law will come out of it.”
The 16th Congress under the Aquino administration failed to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that would have paved the way for the establishment of the Bangsamoro, the new autonomous political entity that would have replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The BBL’s passage is crucial in the peace process as it is tied up with the decommissioning of MILF weapons and combatants, as well as the gradual redeployment of the military from the “former conflict areas” during the normalization phase.
A ceremonial turnover of 55 high-powered and 20 crew-served weapons to the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDP) and the decommissioning of 145 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the MILF’s armed wing, was done on June 16, 2015 in the presence of President Benigno Aquino and MILF chair Murad.
But the symbolic decommissioning was only the first of four phases, agreed upon by the GPH and the MILF under the Annex on Normalization signed in January 2015.
The first phase involves only a small number of weapons and forces decommissioned — “bonus” as MILF peace panel chair Iqbal told reporters but the second phase, which ends with the ratification of the BBL, involves the decommissioning of thousands of weapons and combatants.
The Annex provides that when the BBL is ratified, 30% of the forces and weapons would be decommissioned, 35% more in the third phase and the last 35% in the fourth phase.
The MILF’s BIAF has an estimated 10,000-strong armed force.
From Deles to Dureza (again)
Dureza was government peace panel chair in the negotiations with the MILF from January 2001 to May 2003. He was the first civilian and first Mindanawon peace panel chair after a succession of retired military generals from outside Mindanao.
Dureza was also the first Mindanawon who was appointed as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. He succeeded Deles as PAPP in 2005 when the latter resigned, along with nine other members of the Arroyo Cabinet, on July 8 that year in the midst of the “Hello Garci” controversy on the alleged cheating of Arroyo in the 2004 Presidential elections.
Dureza served as PAPP until June 2008 when he was appointed Presidential spokesperson and was replaced by then newly-retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Hermogenes Esperon, who served until December 2008.
The parties had agreed under the FAB and the Annex on Normalization that a Bangsamoro Trust Fund for the normalization process shall be established “through which urgent support, recurrent and investment budget cost will be released with efficiency, transparency and accountability.”
They also agreed to adopt criteria for eligible financing schemes, such as “priority areas of capacity building, institutional strengthening, impact programs to address imbalances in development and infrastructure, and economic facilitation for return to normal life affecting combatant and non-combatant elements of the MILF, Indigenous Peoples, women, children, and internally displaced persons.“
http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2016/05/31/dureza-vows-to-continue-with-the-gains-and-build-on-bangsamoro-peace-process/
Returning Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza vowed in a statement sent to the government (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels that the Duterte administration will “continue with the gains” of the Bangsamoro peace process and “build on those already done and achieved.”
Dureza’s statement was read during the May 29 to 30 Special Meeting of the GPH and MILF peace panels in Kuala Lumpur where they signed on Monday a “Declaration of Continuity” to “ensure the full implementation” of the March 27, 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
The peace panels also congratulated President-elect Rodrigo Duterte and expressed optimism that roadmap provided for in the CAB “will be fully accomplished under his term.”
Incoming president Rodrigo Duterte chats with returning Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza during a press conference at Hotel Elena in Davao City Saturday night, May 28, 2016. Mindanews photo by KEITH BACONGCO
Duterte, Davao City mayor for 20 years who will serve as President from June 30, 2016 to June 30, 2022 is the 16th Philippine President and the first Mindanawon elected to the highest post of the land.
In his campaign sorties, he vowed to “correct the historical injustices” committed against the Bangsamoro and promised to push for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) while working on the country’s shift from Presidential to Federal system of government.
The panels also expressed their appreciation to Dureza, who issued a statement read during the meeting, welcoming the forging of a “Declaration of Continuity.”
The “Declaration of Continuity of the Partnership of the GPH and MILF in the Bangsamoro Peace Process” was signed by GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal.
Also signed were the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF), a multi-donor trust fund envisioned in the GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) signed in October 2012 and the Annex on Normalization signed in January 2014, and the TOR for the Project Board of the Mindanao Trust Fund for the Six Previously Acknowledged MILF Camps (MTF-RDP Camps Project).
Deles-Dureza meeting
Dureza told MindaNews on Monday evening that outgoing Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles had invited him to a dinner meeting on May 25 where she also invited him to attend the Special Meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
But Dureza said he could not go to KL because of prior commitments scheduled on those dates so he sent a two-paragraph statement to the panels through Deles.
The statement was read during the meeting facilitated by Malaysia.
“In my capacity as Presidential Peace Adviser-Nominee to President-Elect Rodrigo Duterte, allow me to welcome with positive note the forging of the declaration on the continuity of the search for sustainable peace between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. We also take positive note of the formation of the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund,” read Dureza’s statement, a copy of which he sent MindaNews early Tuesday morning.
“We intend to continue with the gains and build on those already done and achieved,” Dureza said, adding that the peace “roadmap that we will traverse hereon will take policy guidance and direction from the new President when he assumes office on June 30, 2016.”
In the interview Monday night, Dureza reiterated he will conduct consultations with various sectors on the Bangsamoro peace roadmap. “It will have to be inclusive of all Moro fronts,” Dureza said, referring to the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which signed with the government the Tripoli Agreement of 1976 and the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) in 1996.
He said he is optimistic of the outcome of the unity talks brokered by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Then OIC Secretary General Prof. Ekemelddin Ihsanoglu initiated on May 18, 2010 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan a meeting between MNLF founding chair Nur Misuari and MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim that eventually led to the creation of the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum (BCF).
In April last year, OIC Secretary General Iyad Ameen Madani met separately with leaders MNLF and MILF at the Abreeza Hotel here and later, jointly, to discuss, through the BCF, on how best to move forward in harmonizing the tracks of the peace agreements they signed separately with the Philippine government.
Dureza said that the peace processes with the two Moro fronts are both on their implementation phases – the MNLF on its 20th year since the signing of the FPA and with three still unresolved major issues and the MILF on its third year since the CAB signing.
He said the unresolved issues of the FPA and the provisions of the CAB may be merged and consolidated so they can be “harmonized and only one law will come out of it.”
The 16th Congress under the Aquino administration failed to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that would have paved the way for the establishment of the Bangsamoro, the new autonomous political entity that would have replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The BBL’s passage is crucial in the peace process as it is tied up with the decommissioning of MILF weapons and combatants, as well as the gradual redeployment of the military from the “former conflict areas” during the normalization phase.
A ceremonial turnover of 55 high-powered and 20 crew-served weapons to the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDP) and the decommissioning of 145 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), the MILF’s armed wing, was done on June 16, 2015 in the presence of President Benigno Aquino and MILF chair Murad.
But the symbolic decommissioning was only the first of four phases, agreed upon by the GPH and the MILF under the Annex on Normalization signed in January 2015.
The first phase involves only a small number of weapons and forces decommissioned — “bonus” as MILF peace panel chair Iqbal told reporters but the second phase, which ends with the ratification of the BBL, involves the decommissioning of thousands of weapons and combatants.
The Annex provides that when the BBL is ratified, 30% of the forces and weapons would be decommissioned, 35% more in the third phase and the last 35% in the fourth phase.
The MILF’s BIAF has an estimated 10,000-strong armed force.
From Deles to Dureza (again)
Dureza was government peace panel chair in the negotiations with the MILF from January 2001 to May 2003. He was the first civilian and first Mindanawon peace panel chair after a succession of retired military generals from outside Mindanao.
Dureza was also the first Mindanawon who was appointed as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process. He succeeded Deles as PAPP in 2005 when the latter resigned, along with nine other members of the Arroyo Cabinet, on July 8 that year in the midst of the “Hello Garci” controversy on the alleged cheating of Arroyo in the 2004 Presidential elections.
Dureza served as PAPP until June 2008 when he was appointed Presidential spokesperson and was replaced by then newly-retired Armed Forces Chief of Staff, General Hermogenes Esperon, who served until December 2008.
The parties had agreed under the FAB and the Annex on Normalization that a Bangsamoro Trust Fund for the normalization process shall be established “through which urgent support, recurrent and investment budget cost will be released with efficiency, transparency and accountability.”
They also agreed to adopt criteria for eligible financing schemes, such as “priority areas of capacity building, institutional strengthening, impact programs to address imbalances in development and infrastructure, and economic facilitation for return to normal life affecting combatant and non-combatant elements of the MILF, Indigenous Peoples, women, children, and internally displaced persons.“
http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2016/05/31/dureza-vows-to-continue-with-the-gains-and-build-on-bangsamoro-peace-process/
Battle-tested Army commandos arrives in N. Cotabato to help gov't peace, dev't programs
From the Philippine News Agency (May 31): Battle-tested Army commandos arrives in N. Cotabato to help gov't peace, dev't programs
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=890412
A battle tested Philippine Army commandos have arrived here
to help in the security and peace and development programs of the 6th Infantry
Division, a local Army spokesperson said.
Capt.Joanne Petinglay, speaking for the 6th Infantry
"Kampilan" Division, said the Army commando from Leyte
arrived in Maguindanao Sunday to replace the 45th Infantry Battalion based in
Shariff Aguak town.
The 400-strong 19th Infantry Battalion of the 8th Infantry
Division, led by Colonel Roberto Sarmiento, has arrived ready for deployment
any day now.
Composed of Army commandos, the 19th IB will be initially
stationed in Midsayap, North Cotabato and will include the towns of Libungan,
Pigcawayan, Alamada, and Aleosan as well as part of Northern
Kabuntalan in Maguindanao as its area of operation.
Petinglay said its mission is to help the 6th ID in
maintaining peace and security in the division area of operation which covers
the provinces of North Cotabato , part of
Sultan Kudarat and Maguidanao.
According to Sarmiento, he is bringing along a contingent
with knowledge, skills and training in combat and noncombat operations.
It will be utilized in the peace and development program of
the 6th ID which has the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF),
New Peoples Army (NPA), extortionists and other lawless elements as its primary
target.
The 19th IB left Sunday the 8th ID area of operation via the
DZR Airport
in Tacloban City
The 45th IB which fought the outlawed BIFF in recent months
will be deployed somewhere in Central Luzon .
"This is a regular and routine Army movement of troops
to familiarize infantrymen on the terrain anywhere in the country,"
Petinglay said.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=890412
Death toll on terrorists in Lanao Sur rising; Army pushes offensives
From the Philippine News Agency (May 31): Death toll on terrorists in Lanao Sur rising; Army pushes offensives
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=890278
The death toll in the military campaign against a terrorist
group in Lanao del Sur rose to 37 as the Army pressed its offensive against the
group which pledged allegiance to an international terrorist group.
Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry
Brigade, told DXMS-AM Radyo Bida the number of fatalities could even go higher
as the military intensified its offensive in the mountains of Butig, Lanao del
Sur.
Murillo said the same group was also blamed for destroying
vital transmission lines of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines
He said the Maute brothers, which has about 300 armed
followers, first harassed government forces securing a village captured by
soldiers following skirmishes last February.
Fighting is still raging in Barangay Ragayan in Butig, with
the military using its air assets to flush out the armed men deep into the
forest.
Murillo said the group was behind the beheading of two
innocent civilians before the fighting erupted last week.
He said the group was engaged in extortion and kidnapping of
six persons working in a sawmill in Iligan
City
Involved in the operation were elements of 5th Mechanized
Infantry Battalion and 51st Infantry Battalion backed by two helicopter
gunships and OV-10 bomber planes.
"We cannot say when this operation will end but as long
as there are terrorists in the villages of Butig, our operation will
continue," he said.
Murillo said two soldiers were killed while nine others were
injured in the ongoing firefight. Killed were Private First Class Danilo Allaga
at Mark Ferdinand Ortaliza.
The skirmishes forced about 2,000 individuals to flee from
Barangay Ragayan and nearby villages.
Maharlanny Alonto, Lanao del Sur provincial social welfare
officer said the displaced families were from the villages of Coloyan, Samer,
Bayabao, Poctan, Raya Timbab and Sandab.
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) emergency
unit had already sent relief aid to affected families.
ARMM Vice Gov. Al-Rashid Alonto Lucman said the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is also coming to provide assistance to the
evacuees.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=890278
Filipino names of 3 ex-Aussie LCHs now formally known
From the Philippine News Agency (May 31): Filipino names of 3 ex-Aussie LCHs now formally known
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890271
The Philippine Navy (PN) has revealed the names of the three
ex-Australian landing craft heavies (LCHs) which will be formally commissioned
along with the country's first strategic sealift vessel, BRP Tarlac (LD-601),
on June 1.
They will be named BRP Agta (LC-290), BRP Iwak (LC-289) and
BRP Waray (LC-288), Navy Spokesperson Capt. Lued Lincuna said in a message to
the PNA.
As per PN naming conventions, landing craft are named after
indigenous people.
Commissioning ceremonies will be held at Pier 13, Manila South
Harbor
Lincuna said these three ships will be assign to the Sealift
Amphibious Force of the Philippine Fleet.
These three LCHs were sold to the Navy for PHP270 million.
The LCHs are former ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)
and identified as the HMAS Balikpapan, HMAS Wewak and HMAS Betano.
They were offloaded to Liloan, Cebu
last March 26.
The three are sisters to BRP Ivatan (formerly HMAS Tarakan and
BRP Batak (ex-HMAS Brunei
The first two LCHs were donated by the Australian government
to the Philippines
"The acquisition of additional capabilities of our Navy
further translates into offering better service to our maritime nation as we
continue to protect our country, step up commitment for HADR and our continuing
pledge to provide assistance to our Filipino people in all corners of the
archipelago. These new assets are manifestations of our Navy’s optimum
readiness to perform its tasks and the ability to adapt vis-a-vis the emergent
operating environment," Lincuna said.
LCHs are an extremely versatile vessel, capable of moving
large amounts of cargo, personnel and equipment from larger ships to shore.
A very shallow draft (two meters) allows these ships to
deliver personnel and equipment to areas otherwise unreachable especially
during HADR missions.
It is an all-welded twin-screw vessel, able to trans-ship
cargo and supplies from ships lying offshore to water terminals or across the
beach.
Maximum cargo load is governed by the load-fuel balance and
varies between 140 and 180 tons.
A typical load of 175 ton gives the LCHs a range of 1,300
nautical miles, increasing to 2,280 nautical miles for a load of 150 tons.
Up to five shipping containers with HADR supplies and
equipment can also be embarked.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=890271