From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 10): AFP to get 10,000 more troops
Despite peace negotiations with various insurgent groups, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that 10,000 more troopers are needed to meet the rising threats to the country's national security.
This was stressed by AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo on what triggered the military to request an additional 10,000 soldiers from President Rodrigo Duterte Tuesday.He also clarified that the additional 10,000 troops have been long requested by the AFP but was only granted by the incumbent Chief Executive.At present, the AFP numbers around 125,000 troops with an 85,000 allocated to the Army and remaining 45,000 split between the Air Force and Navy. "These additional troops are needed for our ongoing security engagements," Arevalo said in Filipino. Besides this, new soldiers are needed to man the brand-new equipment and platforms now being acquired by the AFP.
He added that recruitment of these new troopers is already accompanied by a budget allocation.
Editorial posted to the Philippine Star (Jan 9): EDITORIAL - Again, crush the Abu Sayyaf
Another president, another order to “crush” the Abu Sayyaf. We’ve heard the order since the group was organized and began pillaging villages, torching churches, decapitating hostages and raising funds through kidnapping and armed robbery. Over two decades later, despite the killing of its founding chieftains and top commanders, the group continues its terrorist activities and is currently keeping several foreigners as hostages in its stronghold in Sulu.
The resilience of the Abu Sayyaf illustrates the limits of a military response to terrorism. Since the neutralization of founder Abdurajak Abubakar Janjalani and his brother Khadaffy, new militants have kept emerging to take over the leadership of the bandits. Each new commander is eventually killed by government forces.What is proving harder to neutralize is the group’s support network that is sustained by its ability to raise massive amounts of funds from kidnapping and other criminal activities.
With ransom payments made in dollars and the figures amounting to the equivalent of billions of pesos, even local officials have been suspected of providing protection to the Abu Sayyaf in its banditry. If certain local officials have been lured by the huge profits in the illegal drug trade, they can be dazzled by the amounts earned in kidnapping for ransom.
If President Duterte truly wants the Abu Sayyaf threat crushed, he must see to it that the principal coddlers of the group are neutralized like the gunmen. At the same time, gains from victories in counterterrorism must be reinforced by development efforts in the affected communities. Local residents must feel the dividends of a secure environment; they must have a stake in protecting their own neighborhoods.
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A president who has instilled fear among lawbreakers is in a good position to demand cooperation from local officials in the areas where the Abu Sayyaf operates. President Duterte might actually see his order to “crush” the Abu Sayyaf carried out.
From Malaya Business Insight (Jan 9): Govt plans military lands’ conversion into farms
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of National Defense are working on a plan to convert portions of military reservation areas into farms.
Emmanuel Piñol, DA secretary,said he and Delfin Lorenzana, DND secretary, agreed to conduct an inventory of military land nationwide and that the two agencies will work on a memorandum of agreement to make use of the idle lands.
“In Catanduanes, I was sitting beside Delfin Lorenzana and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) chief of staff, General (Eduardo) Año. We discussed our idea of developing military reservation areas into agricultural production areas. I asked him (Lorenzana) if he would like to see soldier-farmers. He loves the idea,” Piñol said.
He said that Lorenzana agreed the idea could work since for example, Fort Magsaysay alone has 46,000 hectares.
“Sec. Lorenzana said they can supply soldiers with the rice (that they) produce. On our end in DA, if they can produce rice sufficient for the armed forces, that’s one sector of society that will no longer be dependent on our farmers,” Piñol said.
Aside from this plan, DA is also seekingP900 million funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the mechanization of 10,000 hectares pilot rice farms to be presented during Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the Philippines later this month.
Piñol said the Agricultural Modernization Program aims to provide farmers in 10 model sites nationwide with farm equipment that include grains dryer, post-harvest facilities, technical support and institutional development.
“Equipment will be managed by effective cooperatives which will be leased to farmers. If the scheme would be successful, benchmarks would increase in productivity and decrease in post-harvest losses since at present, we lose 16 percent of crops post-harvest,” he explained.
DA also said the program intends to have model sites with clusters of rice farms totaling 1,000 hectares per area.
“Unless we mechanize, we cannot (be at par with other countries.) Even with the cost of production, it remains high since we are not yet mechanized. We are hopeful that it gets implemented this year,” Piñol said.
At present, the average production cost of rice farmers is P12.41 per kilo of rice produced, while farm modernization rate is only close to 3 horsepower per hectare.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the country produced 18,149,837.78 metric tons (MT) of rice in 2015, four percent lower than 2014’s 18,967,826.17 MT.
Areas harvested with rice also went down by 1.8 percent in 2015 to 4,656,227.14 hectares from 4,739,672.16 hectares in 2014.
Abdullah Macapar aka Commander Bravo of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) discusses various issues related to the the Bangsamoro peace process and the alleged moves of peace spoilers to create animosity between him and the Duterte administration during an interview in his camp in Balindong, Lanao del Sur on January 6, 2017. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
From the ABS-CBN (Jan 9): Cop injured in Maguindanao blast
MAGUINDANAO - A policeman was wounded in an explosion in a police detachment in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao Sunday night.
Police Officer 1 Aliboy Draper, a member of the Provincial Public Safety Company of the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office, was slightly wounded in his leg when he was hit by shrapnel after an unidentified person lobbed a hand grenade that exploded inside the 1st Maneuver Platoon detachment in Barangay Labu Labu, Shariff Aguak around 6 p.m.
Draper was on duty and standing inside the detachment when the explosion happened.
Shariff Aguak Municipal Police Station chief Insp. Armado Liwan told ABS-CBN News in a phone interview that authorities are looking into two angles on the possible motive for the grenade-throwing incident.
He said it could be personal grudge and retaliation of an unknown group in relation to their intensified anti-illegal drugs operation.
Police are now conducting an in-depth investigation to identify the perpetrators.
From Business World (Jan 10): Duterte: Local extremist groups competing over ISIS recognition
AMID reported terror threats from Muslim insurgents in Mindanao while the country is under a state of lawlessness, President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday said the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) ideology “is here to stay” as local extremists vie for the militant group’s recognition.
Mr. Duterte reaffirmed this terror situation in his speech during Monday’s oathtaking ceremony of 220 newly-appointed officials of government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and national agencies at Malacañang, scheduled before a Cabinet meeting that afternoon.
“(The problem here now is) ISIS and we have been debating [that] for so long. But we are now one of the opinion in the Cabinet that the ISIS ideology is here to stay,” Mr. Duterte said.
He said local terrorist groups “are competing for recognition” by ISIS by “outdoing each other in brutality.”
“The more brutal you are in raising the ideology, the more credentials that you may have for a recognition,” Mr. Duterte said.
The Maute group -- blamed for a foiled bombing late last year outside the US Embassy in Manila and the reported ambush of the presidential advance party in Lanao del Sur also last year -- is one of several armed Islamist organizations in Mindanao which have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Before leaving the town of Butig, following prolonged military operations, the Maute group left a message on a blackboard, threatening to behead Mr. Duterte and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Meanwhile, a faction of the Abu Sayyaf, notorious mainly for its kidnap-for-ransom operations, has also associated itself with ISIS.
Editorial posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 08): Editorial -- The so-called Bravo’s video
There is absolutely no new video recording of Commander Bravo or in real life, Abdullah Macapaar, or his men executing three men by firing squad. If there was one, without necessarily admitting, it was done long time ago, and the MILF absolutely had no sanction of it.
The MILF had already enforced a total ban on the operation of so-called mobile Shariah courts (in Lanao areas) that handle cases submitted to them to prevent clan conflict. The truth is that until now, the MILF has not allowed death penalty even for major crimes; instead it permits only the payment of blood money to the families of the victims.
The basic principle in the MILF justice system is that justice can only be dispensed by those who know Islamic law very well. It cannot be done by anyone else. In fact, being judge is the least desired profession among Muslims, because Islam says that the moment one is appointed, one foot is already considered in the ridge of hell. Being fair is very difficult too, because human beings are naturally inclined to favour close kith and kin, friends over stranger, etc. It is for this reason that no way that commander like Bravo can be a competent judge because he is not expert on Islamic law. He is a military man and not a judge.
The execution clip goes viral and sent out into the online world. The recording, it was alleged, was done by a rebel on his cell phone and eventually posted on Facebook. It showed three men blindfolded and separately tied to bamboo poles, while rebels aimed their automatic rifles and shot them.
The MILF immediately ordered its Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCH) to check whether there is such execution that took place in Lanao provinces in recent days. The result was negative; meaning, there was no such execution.
The MILF also ordered Commander Bravo to comment on the news item and the video clipping. The explanation is expected soon.
Meanwhile, it is very unfortunate that until now there are members of the media whose main forte in their vocation is for sensationalism. They choose to spread raw information including the most controversial ones without verifying the source, say the MILF. In effect, they are deliberately launching a hate campaign against the MILF.
Members of the media should be circumspect in carrying stories like this, because it does not promote good taste among the population. On the contrary, it promotes hatred and animosity towards the MILF. Worse, it undermines the good working relationships or partnership between the MILF and government in ensuring the success of the peace process, in particular the early passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Comparing this execution, granting it is true, with the series of massacres committed against the Moros, it is pale. It is totally not fair to bring the past wrongdoings into the open except as part of the healing process. This is the reason that in the GPH-MILF peace process there is a need to undertake transitional justice and reconciliation program in order to heal the wounds of the past.
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 10): Dureza assures IP representation in expanded BTC
Presidential peace adviser Jesu G. Dureza assured the indigenous groups of their representative in the new and expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), which will draft the enabling law for the implementation of all Bangsamoro peace deals and other pertinent measures including the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.
Dureza made the assurance during an IP peace table conversation on Tuesday, January 3, in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
This meeting with the IP leaders is part of the continuing consultation process for the “bigger peace tables” to discuss their concerns and participation in the peace process.
“The negotiating table is a smaller table and only involves the government and the rebel groups. The ‘bigger peace table’ is the general public, which will be affected by the issues tackled in the smaller table. It is, therefore, important to listen to the bigger table,”Dureza stressed during the meeting.
As a continuing engagement, there are upcoming peacebuilding conversations with different stakeholders in Surigao Del Norte and Compostela Valley on January 12, Thursday.
Government Implementing Peace panel Chair for the Bangsamoro Peace Process Irene Santiago was also present in the said peacebuilding conversation with IP groups.
Dureza also visited the municipalities of Alamada, Midsayap, and Carmen, where he led the inauguration of a 42-kilometer road project under the Payapa at MasaganangPamayanan (PAMANA) program, the government’s peace and development program.
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 8): Malaysia reiterates willingness to assist the Philippines’s shift to federal system
During last Wednesday’s Habi at Kape Media Forum at Abreeza-Ayala Mall in Davao City, Acting Malaysian Consul General Mohon Jafri Bin Mohammad Sharif reiterated Malaysia’s willingness to assist the country in shifting to federal system by sharing experiences, expertise and knowledge.
“We can always share our experiences, expertise and knowledge on federalism and assist the Philippines”, Mohammad Sharif said.
But he admits that there will be features that will be distinct for the Philippines, given the country's archipelagic nature. “It is also important that the plans of the government and its implementation should parallel with each other to achieve the goal,” the acting consul said.
Former Malaysian Consul General Abdullah Zawawi Tahir said that such a plan cannot be achieved overnight and as it needs a thorough study and preparation. Malaysia is the sole ASEAN country with a federal set-up, federal-parliamentary one that has a fairly successful development track record.
The Duterte Administration is proposing to Congress to amend the 1987 Philippine constitution "for a parliamentary federal form of government from a unitary type."
Last September 2016, a draft for the federalist form of government from Mindanao is being readied by a seven-man group created during the Mindanao-wide Federalism Convergence Forum in Davao City.
Among the things the group agreed is the establishment of five individual states that will have its own federal state laws and federal supreme courts. These five estates shall have economic viability that would cost an estimated amount of P220 billion each.
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 7): MILF says execution against its policy
The MILF leadership on Friday reiterated its long-standing policy that qisas or death penalty is not imposed by its Shariah court inspite of a circulating video showing 3 men executed by firing squad as a way of punishment for the crime of murder allegedly committed by them.
MILF Information Committee chair Mohagher Iqbal said in an interview that its official Shariah court does not impose or sanction the imposition of death penalty but rather the payment of diat or blood money.
Iqbal noted that the recently uploaded video of the 3 men appears to be an old footage.
The MILF has already acted appropriately in the past vis-a-vis the video footage, Iqbal said.
"The MILF Central Committee has commanded the disbandment of the unofficial court that sanctioned the execution as well as ordered Commander Bravo to stop his group in trying cases as well as unauthorized military actions", Iqbal also added.
It was also learned that eventually an official Shariah court with jurisdiction in the concerned area was set up to try cases lodged before it.
Iqbal said the motive and timing for the upload of the video in facebook is suspicious, especially since the event happened years ago and that the peace process between MILF and government is already in implementation stage.
From The Standard (Jan 9): Terror group rises from jihadist ashes
DIWM, allies hatching bomb plots—general
SECURITY officials are closely monitoring a new umbrella organization of Mindanao-based terrorist groups, police and military sources told the Manila Standard Monday.
Called Dawlatul Islamiyah Waliyatul Masrik, the group replaces Ansar Khilafa Philippines, whose leader, Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, was killed on Jan. 5.
“We’ve been monitoring the formation of this new group for several months already through continuous intelligence gathering and comparing our assessments with the assessments of some independent experts on terrorism,” a military general who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
Intelligence reports said bombers from the Abu Sayyaf group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Maute group, AKP, and even “lost command” groups of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were pulling together to launch bomb attacks.
“Their ultimate objective is to be recognized by the daesh [Islamic State] as a member or affiliate organization under the name DIWM here in the Philippines,” another security officer from the police said.
He said the bomb attacks in Davao City, Hilongos in Leyte, Midsayap in North Cotabato, and the foiled Manila bombing are interconnected.
TENTACLES OF TERRORISM. Security authorities are closely monitoring the formation of a new umbrella terror group called Dawlatul Isamiyah Waliyatul Mastrik which officials say consists of existing local terror groups based in Mindanao.
“All those arrested perpetrators from all these incidents spoke of the formation of he DIWM. In fact, they came from different groups such as the Maute, Abu Sayyaf, AKP, and have backgrounds from the BIFF and MILF,” he said.
An Abu Sayyaf leader, Isnilon Hapilon, started the group in Basilan in February 2016, with a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State.
On Monday, the Philippine National Police said it is closely monitoring five to 10 foreigners who are allegedly conducting training in terrorist camps in Mindanao.
At a press conference Monday, PNP chief Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa said there might be more foreign nationals but said they would be difficult to identify as such if they were Malays.
Also on Monday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduaro Año said the military was using a new approach to combatting terrorists by neutralizing their top leaders.
Ano would not offer any specifics, but said the new approach would “finish this problem once and for all.”
Last week, a Sudanese national, Abu Naila, believed to be bound for Syria to fight for the Islamic State together and his wife Kadija were killed in a shootout with security forces on the outskirts of Sarangani province.
His death followed the killing of Maguid at a beach resort in Sarangani province.
At present, Año said they had been 51 battalions deployed to different areas of Mindanao, the biggest military contingent that has been amassed on the island.
“Not in our history has there been this massive deployment of our troops, but we are going to make sure that our campaign against the Abu Sayyaf will not be prolonged and we wanted this to finish it,” Año said.
Año said they have intensified its intelligence operations while drawing on community support to provide information on terrorists in their locality.
“We are encouraging the community to help us by reporting suspicious-looking… people in their locality,” Año said.
From Update.Ph (Jan 9): India, Philippines conducting maritime exercise
The Philippine Coast Guard will be conducting a bilateral exercise with one of Indian Coast Guard’s newest and first in the series of 105-meter Samarth-class Offshore Patrol Vessel, ICGS Samarth. ICGS Samarth arrive in Manila Saturday.
Aboard the said vessel is the Indian Coast Guard delegation headed by Samarth commanding officer Deputy Inspector-General Anand Prashka Bandola.
The Philippine Coast Guard said the ICG delegation paid a courtesy call to PCG Officer-In-Charge Commodore Joel S Garcia PCG Ph.D., H.D., Al Haj at Coast Guard Headquarters in early today.
“To foster collaborative relationship among Coast Guard agencies, an organizational briefing of both agencies was then held followed by an open forum,” the PCG said. “In connection with its visit, a maritime pollution exercise and fire fighting exercise will also be held tomorrow morning within Manila-Cavite area.”
From Rappler (Jan 9): Counterterrorism: Why the death of AKP's Tokboy matters
Maguid's death also spells the death of his group Ansar Khalifa Philippines, feared for having the closest connection, among local terror groups, to ISIS fighters in Syria
PRO-ISIS LEADER. Photo shows an old mug shot of Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, the slain leader of local terror group Ansar Khalifa Philippines, who worked with foreign terrorists. File photo from the Sarangani Information Office
The hunt for Mohammad Jaafar Sabiwang Maguid or "Tokboy" ended on January 5, 2017, when the leader of the local terrorist group that is believed to have the "closest links" with Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Syria was killed in a police operation.
The police's most wanted person in Sarangani, Maguid was a bomb maker trained by Malaysian terrorist Marwan who was killed in the infamous January 2015 Mamasapano operation in Central Mindanao.
The local police tagged Maguid as behind various killings and instances of robbery, extortion, and arson, among other crimes, in the Soccsksargen region, particularly in Sarangani, General Santos, and Sultan Kudadrat. He had a P300,000 ($6,000*) bounty on his head.
A high-ranking intelligence officer said Maguid's death also spelled the death of his group Ansar Khalifa Philippines (AKP), one of the local terrorist groups that pledged allegiance to ISIS. (There is no agreement on how to spell the group's name. It is also called Ansar al-Khalifa, Ansarul Khilafa, and Ansar Khilafa.)
Maguid's death means that AKP is one less group to worry about for Philippine security officials, who have watched the pro-ISIS local terror groups forge tactical alliance in the wake of pronouncements of declaring a wilayat or province in the southern Philippines. (READ: ISIS to declare a province in Mindanao?)
"Ansarul Khilafa, originally based in Sarangani, may be the group with the closest links to fighters in Syria. It is now clear that AKP worked with the Maute Group on the Davao market bombing; the shared ideological commitment has become an operational alliance," according to a report of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), an Indonesian think-tank, that was published in October 2016.
RED CAR. Mohammad Jaafar Sabiwang Maguid was intercepted on board a red Toyota Wigo in the vicinity of Angel Beach Resort in Barangay Kitagas of Kiamba town on January 5, 2017. Photo obtained by Rappler
AKP is believed to have worked with the Maute Group in the September 2016 bombing of a market in Davao City, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, in an apparent attempt to distract the military from its focused operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group in Sulu and Basilan in the aftermath of its beheading of Canadian hostages.
Maguid's death also means one less group that would radicalize students online. "Tokboy also reportedly was successful in recruiting students from a variety of campuses in General Santos City, Cotabato and even Lanao Del Norte on the promise of getting them advanced religious training," the IPAC report added.
Closest links to ISIS fighters in Syria
AKP does not get as much attention in the media as the other pro-ISIS groups. But it is feared by terror experts and observers largely because it is said to have the closest connection to ISIS fighters in Syria – among local terror groups here.
IPAC identified 2 "critically important connections" between Maguid and ISIS in Syria – Indonesian Saifullah Ibrahim, also known as Ibrahim Ali and Sucipto, and Filipino Mohamad Reza Kiram.
There was no evidence that AKP itself had activated those links with ISIS fighters, but the possibility had been a cause for concern.
AKP also had extensive links with jihadi groups in the region, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. "Some of those ties go back more than a decade and were forged in prison. They can easily be reactivated through social medi aand mobile phone links," the report added.
RED CAR. Mohammad Jaafar Sabiwang Maguid was killed at Angel Beach Resort in Barangay Kitagas of Kiamba town on January 5, 2017. Photo obtained by Rappler
Saifullah Ibrahim, who has long been operating in Mindanao and is behind the 2002 bombing of Fitmart stores in Tacurong and General Santos, made connections with ISIS fighters when he was arrested and temporily detained in Indonesia. He was extradited to the Philippines and spent long years in jail until he was acquitted and released in 2014.
Saifullah Ibrahim, who generally served as a "conduit for funding through Indonesia," immediately joined Marwan in Maguindanao, according to IPAC. He moved in with AKP upon the death of Marwan in the botched Mamasapano operation in January 2015. He was killed by the Philippine Marines in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, 10 months later.
The other connection was the Tausug Mohamad Reza Kiram or Abdulrahman. The man believed to be responsible for the 2012 Zamboanga bus bombing was seen training AKP recruits in 2014, according to IPAC. He reportedly later left for Syria to join the fight there.
In the aftermath of Maguid's death, security operations are now focused on pursuing the foreign terrorists he had been working with and prevent them from joining the other pro-ISIS organizations. (READ: Cops kill foreign terrorist, Tokboy's 'patner')
From Rappler (Jan 9): AFP chief: Reds should work with military in new campaign plan
Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año talks about the military's new campaign plan, DSSP Kapayapaan
DSSP KAPAYAPAAN. In this file photo, the military presents to President Rodrigo Duterte its new campaign plan during a command conference on January 6, 2017. Malacañang photo
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) designed a new campaign plan, Development Support and Security Plan Kapayapaan or DSSP Kapayaan, which promises to be tough on terrorists but supportive of peace talks with communist insurgents and Muslim rebels.
It is a highly anticipated document, particularly among communist rebels and observers of the peace negotiations under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. They're keen on how the military will adjust its operations to support the peace process with the group responsible for Asia's longest-running communist insurgency.
Kapayapaan is the Filipino word for peace.
Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año, who is notorious among communist guerrillas, said he expects them to now work with the military. (READ: Rebel hunter Año is new AFP chief)
"The leftists have nothing to worry about. In fact we expect them to cooperate with us so that we can work out the attainment of a permanent and lasting peace," Año said on Monday, January 9, on the sidelines of the annual New Year's Call held inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The government and the guerrillas will resume talks in Rome this month, but they have yet to sign a bilateral ceasefire pact that hinges – as far as the rebels are concerned – on the release of the remaining political prisoners. What's holding now are the ceasefire declarations declared separately by the military and the rebels.
The military presented the new campaign plan to Duterte during a command conference in Malacañang on Friday, January 6, although a copy of the document has yet to be made public.
The new campaign plan also sets the direction for the military to support police operations against illegal drugs. Año said the military will focus on the following goals:
Sustained military operation to defeat the foreign and local terrorist organizations
Contribute to the promotion of peace
Active support to law enforcement in war against drugs
Contribute to nation building.
Primacy of peace process
Año said the military will uphold the "primacy of the peace process" while it focuses its combat operations on ending the terror threats particularly from the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Maute Group.
"We did not only focus on the security aspect, but we also focused on how we're going to attain a peaceful settlement with other peace inclined armed groups such as the Communist Party of the Philippines, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Moro National Liberation Front," Año said.
"We also focused on how we're going to defeat terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf, Maute Group, and foreign terrorist groups" he added.
DSSP Kapayapaan replaces the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan, which the military credits for significantly clearing 71 of the country's 76 provinces of the presence of the communist armed group New People's Army. The communists have blamed IPSP Bayanihan for alleged human rights violations by the military, however.
Año said the military will also continue patrols in the West Philippine Sea and modernize its hardware. He also welcomed warmer ties with China and Russia while committing to maintain relationships with the country's treaty ally, the US.
"We are seeing how we are warming our relationship with other countries like China and Russia. We'll maintain our working relationship with the US. We can say that right now we are not facing external threat against our country," said Año.
"We will take advantage of this so we can end the terrorist threat," he added.
From Rappler (Jan 9): PH defense chief plans to visit troops in West PH Sea
(UPDATED) Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana says he will await the recommendation of the military on when he could visit the troops there
TROOPS VISIT. The military says the planned visit of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to the troops deployed in the West Philippine Sea is no reason to anger China. Rappler file photo
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana plans to visit troops in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), a gesture that is meant to assure the public that the Philippines is not neglecting the country's maritime claims amid warmer ties with China.
"We continue our maritime and aerial patrols there. We are also taking care of the troops assigned there. One of the plans of our Secretary of National Defense is to visit our troops there, in his convenient available time. We will make sure that we are maintaining our presence in the West Philippine Sea and ensure the integrity of our territory," Armed Forces chief of staff General Eduardo Año said on Monday, January 9, in Filipino.
The visit has not been scheduled. "I am awaiting what the navy or the air force would recommend as I may go there by ship or plane," Lorenzana told Rappler in a text message.
The last time the Philippines made a high-profile visit to the West Philippine Sea was in May 2015 when then Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang brought local and international media to Pag-Asa Island at the height of tension between Manila and Beijing over the international arbitration case that was filed and later generally won by the Philippines. (WATCH: AFP chief tours disputed South China Sea)
China back then protested the visit of the Philippine military chief to the only maritime feature in the area that is occupied by civilians, about a hundred Filipinos who moved in mostly from mainland Palawan.
Año is confident that Lorenzana's planned visit will not anger China, citing warmer ties with the military superpower despite the continued presence of its ships inside the Philippine's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
"Ang makapag-upng tension diyan kung meron kang ginagawang (What would escalate tension are activities that will constitute) military aggressive actions. Visiting troops is part of our command activity," said Año.
Año said the modernization plan of the military will include developing a "deterrent capability." But he stressed he is confident there are no external threats at the moment, noting warmer ties with China and even Russia.
Año said the Philippine military will also keep its ties with the country's longtime treaty ally, the US.
"We are seeing how we are warming our relationship with other countries like China and Russia. we'll maintain our working relationship with the US. We can say that at the moment we are not facing any external threat against our country," he said.
From Rappler (Jan 9): PH military aims to crush Abu Sayyaf, Maute Group in 6 months
'When we say we aim to significantly defeat the enemy, we mean we want to render them or their capabilities down to a very minimal level," says AFP chief General Eduardo Año
COMMAND CONFERENCE. In this file photo, President Duterte talks to AFP chief Eduardo Año after a command conference on January 6, 2017. Malacañang photo
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has set an ambitious campaign plan that aims to crush local terror groups particularly the Abu Sayyaf and Maute Group in the next 6 months.
"The target of the Armed Forces chief of staff is [to finish them off in] the next 6 months. Let's see if we can do that in 6 months. It will be good. If not, we'll extend it until the end of the year," said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday, January 9.
The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is notorious for its kidnap-for-ransom activities while the Maute Group is known for seeking to attract the support of foreign terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS).
This is not the first time that the military vowed to crush the ASG under the Duterte administration. The first AFP chief appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte, retired general Ricardo Visaya, also pledged to defeat the ASG when he assumed command of the military in July 2016. (READ: AFP backs peace talks, will 'finish' Abu Sayyaf)
Under Visaya's short stint, the military deployed close to 8,000 troops to Sulu to run after the kidnap group. Yet, in November last year, the ASG kidnapped a German off Tawi-Tawi and dumped his slain companion – a woman – in Sulu.
The military said the ASG is still keeping at least 27 local and foreign hostages in Sulu.
Visaya's replacement, Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año, said they will aim to rescue all of them.
Año, a former chief of military intelligence, said they have intensified intelligence operations while encouraging communities to assist the government by reporting suspicious activities.
The military, which is under the supervision of the Department of National Defense, just completed a new campaign plan to follow instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte. Development Support and Security Plan (DSSP) Kapayapaan promises to be tough on terrorists but supportive of peace talks with communist insurgents and Muslim rebels.
Without going into details, Lorenzana said there will be organizational changes and troop movements to allow a fresh approach to the problem that has plagued the country for decades. "We are going to do something new or innovative to finish this problem once and for all," said Lorenzana.
Año said they will assess their accomplishments by June 2017. He expects the local terror groups to be "significantly defeated" by then.
"Campaign plans are assessed every 6 months so we're going to assess our accomplishments in June. We should have significantly defeated the Abu Sayyaf," Año said.
"When we say we aim to significantly defeat the enemy, we mean we want to render them or their capabilities down to a very minimal level," Año added.
From Rappler (Jan 10): Pirates kill 8 fishing boat crew off Zamboanga
The Philippine Coast Guard says two other crew members survived the attack while 5 are still missing
Pirates killed 8 crew members of a fishing boat in Siromon Island in Zamboanga City, state media reported on Tuesday, January 10.
Quoting Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Commander Armand Balilo, state-run PTV4 reported on Tuesday that two other crew members survived the attack while 5 were still missing.
The incident comes a week after the PCG, with the Philippine Navy, rescued a cargo vessel from hijackers in Zamboanga waters.
On January 3, pirates in two speedboats reportedly attacked the M/V Ocean Kingdom, which was headed to Davao from Zamboanga. Authorities arrived after receiving an alert from the vessel, and kept the pirates from boarding the ship.
From the National Intelligence Council posted to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence Website (Jan 9): Global Trends: Paradox of Progress
We are living a paradox: The achievements of the industrial and information ages are shaping a world to come that is both more dangerous and richer with opportunity than ever before. Whether promise or peril prevails will turn on the choices of humankind.
The progress of the past decades is historic—connecting people, empowering individuals, groups, and states, and lifting a billion people out of poverty in the process. But this same progress also spawned shocks like the Arab Spring, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, and the global rise of populist, anti-establishment politics. These shocks reveal how fragile the achievements have been, underscoring deep shifts in the global landscape that portend a dark and difficult near future.
The next five years will see rising tensions within and between countries. Global growth will slow, just as increasingly complex global challenges impend. An ever-widening range of states, organizations, and empowered individuals will shape geopolitics. For better and worse, the emerging global landscape is drawing to a close an era of American dominance following the Cold War. So, too, perhaps is the rules-based international order that emerged after World War II. It will be much harder to cooperate internationally and govern in ways publics expect. Veto players will threaten to block collaboration at every turn, while information “echo chambers” will reinforce countless competing realities, undermining shared understandings of world events.
Underlying this crisis in cooperation will be local, national, and international differences about the proper role of government across an array of issues ranging from the economy to the environment, religion, security, and the rights of individuals. Debates over moral boundaries—to whom is owed what—will become more pronounced, while divergence in values and interests among states will threaten international security.
It will be tempting to impose order on this apparent chaos, but that ultimately would be too costly in the short run and would fail in the long. Dominating empowered, proliferating actors in multiple domains would require unacceptable resources in an era of slow growth, fiscal limits, and debt burdens. Doing so domestically would be the end of democracy, resulting in authoritarianism or instability or both. Although material strength will remain essential to geopolitical and state power, the most powerful actors of the future will draw on networks, relationships, and information to compete and cooperate. This is the lesson of great power politics in the 1900s, even if those powers had to learn and relearn it.
The US and Soviet proxy wars, especially in Vietnam and Afghanistan, were a harbinger of the post-Cold War conflicts and today’s fights in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia in which less powerful adversaries deny victory through asymmetric strategies, ideology, and societal tensions. The threat from terrorism will expand in the coming decades as the growing prominence of small groups and individuals use new technologies, ideas, and relationships to their advantage.
Meanwhile, states remain highly relevant. China and Russia will be emboldened, while regional aggressors and nonstate actors will see openings to pursue their interests. Uncertainty about the United States, an inward-looking West, and erosion of norms for conflict prevention and human rights will encourage China and Russia to check US influence. In doing so, their “gray zone” aggression and diverse forms of disruption will stay below the threshold of hot war but bring profound risks of miscalculation. Overconfidence that material strength can manage escalation will increase the risks of interstate conflict to levels not seen since the Cold War. Even if hot war is avoided, the current pattern of “international cooperation where we can get it”—such as on climate change—masks significant differences in values and interests among states and does little to curb assertions of dominance within regions. These trends are leading to a spheres of influence world.
Nor is the picture much better on the home front for many countries. While decades of global integration and advancing technology enriched the richest and lifted that billion out of poverty, mostly in Asia, it also hollowed out Western middle classes and stoked pushback against globalization. Migrant flows are greater now than in the past 70 years, raising the specter of drained welfare coffers and increased competition for jobs, and reinforcing nativist, anti-elite impulses. Slow growth plus technology-induced disruptions in job markets will threaten poverty reduction and drive tensions within countries in the years to come, fueling the very nationalism that contributes to tensions between countries.
Yet this dreary near future is hardly cast in stone. Whether the next five or 20 years are brighter—or darker—will turn on three choices: How will individuals, groups, and governments renegotiate their expectations of one another to create political order in an era of empowered individuals and rapidly changing economies? To what extent will major state powers, as well as individuals and groups, craft new patterns or architectures of international cooperation and competition? To what extent will governments, groups, and individuals prepare now for multifaceted global issues like climate change and transformative technologies?
Three stories or scenarios—”Islands,” “Orbits,” and “Communities“—explore how trends and choices of note might intersect to create different pathways to the future. These scenarios emphasize alternative responses to near-term volatility—at the national (Islands), regional (Orbits), and sub-state and transnational (Communities) levels.
Islands investigates a restructuring of the global economy that leads to long periods of slow or no growth, challenging both traditional models of economic prosperity and the presumption that globalization will continue to expand. The scenario emphasizes the challenges to governments in meeting societies’ demands for both economic and physical security as popular pushback to globalization increases, emerging technologies transform work and trade, and political instability grows. It underscores the choices governments will face in conditions that might tempt some to turn inward, reduce support for multilateral cooperation, and adopt protectionist policies, while others find ways to leverage new sources of economic growth and productivity.
Orbits explores a future of tensions created by competing major powers seeking their own spheres of influence while attempting to maintain stability at home. It examines how the trends of rising nationalism, changing conflict patterns, emerging disruptive technologies, and decreasing global cooperation might combine to increase the risk of interstate conflict. This scenario emphasizes the policy choices ahead for governments that would reinforce stability and peace or further exacerbate tensions. It features a nuclear weapon used in anger, which turns out to concentrate global minds so that it does not happen again.
Communities shows how growing public expectations but diminishing capacity of national governments open space for local governments and private actors, challenging traditional assumptions about what governing means. Information technology remains the key enabler, and companies, advocacy groups, charities, and local governments prove nimbler than national governments in delivering services to sway populations in support of their agendas. Most national governments resist, but others cede some power to emerging networks. Everywhere, from the Middle East to Russia, control is harder.
As the paradox of progress implies, the same trends generating near-term risks also can create opportunities for better outcomes over the long term. If the world were fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of these opportunities, the future would be more benign than our three scenarios suggest. In the emerging global landscape, rife with surprise and discontinuity, the states and organizations most able to exploit such opportunities will be those that are resilient, enabling them to adapt to changing conditions, persevere in the face of unexpected adversity, and take actions to recover quickly. They will invest in infrastructure, knowledge, and relationships that allow them to manage shock—whether economic, environmental, societal, or cyber.
Similarly, the most resilient societies will likely be those that unleash and embrace the full potential of all individuals—whether women and minorities or those battered by recent economic and technological trends. They will be moving with, rather than against, historical currents, making use of the ever- expanding scope of human skill to shape the future. In all societies, even in the bleakest circumstances, there will be those who choose to improve the welfare, happiness, and security of others—employing transformative technologies to do so at scale. While the opposite will be true as well—destructive forces will be empowered as never before— the central puzzle before governments and societies is how to blend individual, collective, and national endowments in a way that yields sustainable security, prosperity, and hope.
From InterAksyon (Jan 10): US intelligence study warns of growing conflict risk
The risk of conflicts between and within nations will increase over the next five years to levels not seen since the Cold War as global growth slows, the post-World War Two order erodes and anti-globalization fuels nationalism, said a US intelligence report released on Monday.
"These trends will converge at an unprecedented pace to make governing and cooperation harder and to change the nature of power -- fundamentally altering the global landscape," said "Global Trends: Paradox of Progress," the sixth in a series of quadrennial studies by the US National Intelligence Council.
The findings, published less than two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, outlined factors shaping a "dark and difficult near future," including a more assertive Russia and China, regional conflicts, terrorism, rising income inequality, climate change and sluggish economic growth.
Global Trends reports deliberately avoid analyzing US policies or choices, but the latest study underscored the complex difficulties Trump must address in order to fulfill his vows to improve relations with Russia, level the economic playing field with China, return jobs to the United States and defeat terrorism.
The National Intelligence Council comprises the senior US regional and subject-matter intelligence analysts. It oversees the drafting of National Intelligence Estimates, which often synthesize work by all 17 intelligence agencies and are the most comprehensive analytic products of US intelligence.
The study, which included interviews with academic experts as well as financial and political leaders worldwide, examined political, social, economic and technological trends that the authors project will shape the world from the present to 2035, and their potential impact.
'Inward-looking West'
It said the threat of terrorism would grow in coming decades as small groups and individuals harnessed "new technologies, ideas and relationships."
Uncertainty about the United States, coupled with an "inward-looking West" and the weakening of international human rights and conflict prevention standards, will encourage China and Russia to challenge American influence, the study added.
Those challenges "will stay below the threshold of hot war but bring profound risks of miscalculation," the study warned. "Overconfidence that material strength can manage escalation will increase the risks of interstate conflict to levels not seen since the Cold War."
While "hot war" may be avoided, differences in values and interests among states and drives for regional dominance "are leading to a spheres of influence world," it said.
The latest Global Trends, the subject of a Washington conference, added that the situation also offered opportunities to governments, societies, groups and individuals to make choices that could bring "more hopeful, secure futures."
"As the paradox of progress implies, the same trends generating near-term risks also can create opportunities for better outcomes over the long term," the study said.
The home front
The report also said that while globalization and technological advances had "enriched the richest" and raised billions from poverty, they had also "hollowed out" Western middle classes and ignited backlashes against globalization.Those trends have been compounded by the largest migrant flows in seven decades, which are stoking "nativist, anti-elite impulses."
"Slow growth plus technology-induced disruptions in job markets will threaten poverty reduction and drive tensions within countries in the years to come, fueling the very nationalism that contributes to tension between counties," it said.
The trends shaping the future include contractions in the working-age populations of wealthy countries and expansions in the same group in poorer nations, especially in Africa and South Asia, increasing economic, employment, urbanization and welfare pressures, the study said.
The world will also continue to experience weak near-term growth as governments, institutions and businesses struggle to overcome fallout from the Great Recession, the study said.
"Major economies will confront shrinking workforces and diminishing productivity gains while recovering from the 2008-09 financial crisis with high debt, weak demand, and doubts about globalization," said the study.
"China will attempt to shift to a consumer-driven economy from its longstanding export and investment focus. Lower growth will threaten poverty reduction in developing counties."
Governance will become more difficult as issues, including global climate change, environmental degradation and health threats demand collective action, the study added, while such cooperation becomes harder.
From the Mindanao Times (Jan 10): AFP ends Oplan Bayanihan; replaces it with another
OPLAN Bayanihan, the military’s internal security program, will be replaced with Oplan Kapayapaan (peace).
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Aňo said the new name highlights the military’s new thrust of enhancing nation-building and countryside development in relation to the peace policy of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Activists, Lumad groups and the Communist Party of the Philippines have accused the military of human rights abuses, killing and hamletting of villages in the countrysides under the Oplan Bayanihan banner.
They claimed that Bayanihan is just another term for militarization.
In a separate interview, Maj. Gen. Rafael Valencia, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, said one of the main purposes of Kapayapaan is “to defeat terrorists the deter the ‘peace spoilers’ then contribute in promoting peace.”
He said the military has a marching order to extinguish the Abu Sayyaf, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Maute group, Al- Kihilafah Philippines (AKP) and Jemaiah Islamiyah.
In the same vein, the AFP will continue to support the peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as well as the CPP’s political arm, the National Democratic Front.
“The AFP will actively support the law enforcement operation then it will contribute to peace by supporting civil agencies in the delivery of basic services,” he explained.
“All the operation of the AFP should be harmonized with the development and (good) governance efforts of the different stakeholders,” he added.
The main difference, he explained, is that Bayanihan was aimed at “winning the peace,” while Kapayapaan is to “sustain the peace.”
The Peace and Development Outreach Program of the AFP will now be called as the Community Support Program.
From MindaNews (Jan 9): Security set for ASEAN 2017 launch
Some 3,000 security personnel will be deployed to ensure the safety of statesmen who will attend the launch of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) 2017 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City on January 15.
Police Regional Office 11 spokesperson Chief Insp. Andrea Dela Cerna said on Monday that some 1,446 police officers, soldiers, and civilians from other agencies will be deployed days prior to the event.
The Philippines chairs the ASEAN 2017 in time for it 50th anniversary.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said that this is an important opportunity for the country to promote itself as an investment destination of the world.
“This is a big opportunity for our country to showcase its beauty, orderliness and discipline, to show them why our economy is strong, so that we can convince more businesses to invest here,” Andanar said in Filipino.
He said they will conduct a series of activities to increase the awareness of most Filipinos on the ASEAN by end-November.
He said ASEAN is important because it has a total population of 630 million.
He emphasized the importance of being a part of ASEAN as it helps member countries like the Philippines to compete with bigger nations like China.
He added that around 100 ministerial meetings will be held in the country this year.
This is aside from the 30th ASEAN Summit in April, the 50th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting and Related Meetings coinciding with ASEAN’s 50th anniversary celebration in Metro Manila in August, and the 31st ASEAN Summit in Clark, Pampanga in November.
Andanar said the events will boost the country’s tourism potentials.
ASEAN comprises the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
From the Mindanao Examiner (Jan 10): Pirates kill 8 fishermen off Zamboanga City
Pirates attacked a group of fishermen and killed at least 8 off Zamboanga City in southern Philippines and officials said 5 others were also missing.
Sangali village chieftain Daud Bakil said 6 fishermen survived the attack which occurred late Monday near Siromon Island.
The attack was only reported the next after two of the survivors managed to flee and return to Sangali to report the incident. Their companions were still on the island where they sought safe refuge.
Bakil said the pirates were collecting monies from fishermen in the area. He appealed to authorities to rescue the remaining survivors and search for the missing fishermen.
“We asked the Coast Guard to help us and rescue the others. Police were informed about this strafing,” he told a radio interview.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but security at sea remains a serious problem in the region. There was no statement from the military on the latest attack.
Just recently, Abu Sayyaf rebels tried, but failed to hijack a Filipino cargo ship while sailing off Basilan near Zamboanga City. The gunmen, on board two speedboats, attacked the vessel Ocean Kingdom – manned by over 2 dozen sailors – off Sibago Island. The ship was heading to Davao City to deliver its cargo when it came under fire. It managed to escape from the attack.
It was the second cargo ship attacked by rebels off Basilan since November last year. Abu Sayyaf fighters also hijacked a Vietnamese cargo ship and seized 6 crewmen, including its captain in a daring attack November 11 that left one sailor wounded.
The ship, MV Royal 16, was sailing off the province when 10 gunmen on a speedboat intercepted it off Sibago Island and boarded the vessel and abducted the crewmen. Another Filipino cargo ship, MV Lorcon Iloilo, passing near Basilan rescued the wounded sailor and provided him first aid and evacuated to a hospital in Zamboanga City.
The Abu Sayyaf is also holding over a dozen Malaysian and Indonesian sailors in the restive region.
From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 9): New arson raps readied vs alleged NPA rebels in burning of bus in Sarangani
Police are set to file additional arson charges against alleged members of the New People’s Army (NPA) operating in Sarangani Province in connection with the burning of a passenger bus in Kiamba town last Thursday.
Supt. Romeo Galgo Jr., public information officer of the Police Regional Office (PRO)-12, said Monday witnesses have positively several members of the NPA’s Front 73 as directly involved in the burning of a unit of the Yellow Bus Line Inc. (YBL) at around 6:50 p.m. on Jan. 5 in Barangay Nalus, Kiamba.
“There was positive identification of the perpetrators and the group that they were affiliated,” he said.
The police official said the arson charges to be filed are the second against group since December.
The Kiamba police had filed complaints for arson against 13 alleged members of the NPA’s Front 73 over the burning of a YBL bus unit last Nov. 24 in Barangay Katubao.
Charged were Gani Casamuren alias Rayray, Eric Jun Kasilao alias Wally, Makar Sombilag alias Makar and Mark, Filemon Villegas alias Henry and Yoyong, Paul Andrew Rosania alias Patrick, Noel Legazpi alias Jeffrey, Ronniel Danial, Nicanor Rason lias Kustan, Elmer Lasid alias Brando and Bill, and two other unidentified suspects.
The YBL bus unit with body number A-69 originated in this city and was en route to Maitum town in Sarangani when it was burned last Jan. 5 in Purok Yakal, Sitio Linek of Barangay Nalus, Kiamba.
Galgo said extortion appears to be the primary motive of the twin attacks as they were supposedly carried out in retaliation to the refusal of its owner to pay revolutionary taxes.
“There are a number of entities in the region that have been receiving extortion letters (from the NPA,” he said.
Since November, eight passenger bus units were already burned in parts of Region 12 and the neigboring areas by suspected NPA rebels.
Six of the buses were owned by YBL, which is based in Koronadal City, while the two others were owned by local transport cooperative Husky Biocoop.
Suspected NPA rebels also torched a number of heavy equipment in separate attacks in this city, Koronadal City, and in the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani.
From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 9): Former rebels in Davao del Sur receive livelihood assistance under CLIP
A total of 14 former members of New People’s Army (NPA) on Monday received a total of PHP700,000.00 in livelihood assistance from the government.
The livelihood assistance was part of the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) provided to former rebels who decide to go back to the mainstream society to live peaceful lives.
Monday’s awarding was facilitated by the provincial government of Davao del Sur during the flag raising ceremony held at Provincial Coliseum, in Digos City, Davao del Sur.
The ceremony was led by Davao del Sur Governor Douglas Cagas who also served as chair of CLIP committee together with DILG director Remedios Baldovino.
The handing of livelihood assistance was also witnessed by Department of Social and Welfare Development Office Officer Geraldine Lano; Lt. Col. Allan Odal, 1002nd Brigade Executive Officer and Lt. Col. Ronnie B Babac Commander 73rd IB.
The spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division, Capt. Rhyan Batchar, said each of the former rebels received checks worth PHP50,000.00.
This is not the first time that former rebels received livelihood support from the government, Batchar said.
Last month, three batches of former rebels received their livelihood assistance from the government – the first batch was the 24 former rebels who received a total of PHP305,000.00 assistance from CLIP program; the second batch composed of 13 former rebels also received PHP15,000.00 each; and the third batch of 11 former rebels that received PHP10,000 each from the government.
To date, a total of 106 former rebels from the provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental and Sarangani have already surrendered to 73rd IB since last year.
Of the total surrenderers, 75 already received immediate and livelihood assistance worth PHP65,000.00 each with a total sum amount of PHP4,875,000.00.
More assistance is presently being processed to provide assistance to those who do not qualify for the requirements of the program.
Another PHP1.3 million CLIP assistance was also awarded last year to the 20 former rebels who surrendered to 73rd IB for the period 2013-2014.
CLIP is a national program of the government that seeks to contribute toward achieving the goal of permanent and peaceful closure of armed conflicts.
From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 10): Joint TF Haribon to help secure ASEAN Summit 2017 launch in Davao City Sunday
The anti-terror component of the Eastern Mindanao Command (EMC), the Joint Task Force Haribon will help secure the launching of the Philippines' hosting of the ASEAN Summit 2017 in Davao City on Sunday (January 15).
Joint Task Force Haribon commander Brig. Gen. Gilbert I. Gapay said Tuesday his unit will focus on disaster response, terrorism and internal security operation.
Initially, about 600 personnel from the Air Force, Navy and Army were committed to the more or less 1,000 personnel already deployed to support the security of different activities relative to the launching.
"Our plan is in support to the PNP Plan and we consider different possible scenarios and we are closely coordinating with different concerned agencies particularly the PNP," he said.
Gapay also bared that sea, air and land capabilities and assets will be on standby alert for the ASEAN activities security requirement.
As part of the preparation, table top exercises were initiated by the Joint Task Force Haribon to ensure that all areas will be covered.
Last January 6, a joint exercise was held in Davao Gulf to fine tune naval security measures and enhance inter-operability among committed units.
Furthermore, Joint Task Force Haribon conducted a security forum in Babak, Island Garden City of Samal last January 9 to strengthen cooperation among stakeholders in securing the island, which is one of the potential areas to be visited by ASEAN delegates.
From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 9): Gov't peace adviser pushes expanded peace initiatives to include all sectors
Presidential peace adviser Jesus G. Dureza said Monday the government is expanding its peace initiatives in the country to include the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) and other stakeholders to come up with a comprehensive peace package acceptable to all.
Dureza and members of the Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) have been holding peace-building conversations with IP leaders in Mindanao to come up with an advisory council which will aid the peace process with various rebel groups in tackling various IP issues.
As a continuing engagement, Dureza will meet with IP leaders in upcoming peace-building conversations with different stakeholders in Surigao del Norte and Compostela Valley on January 12, Thursday.
Dureza, in a statement, said he met over the weekend with IP leaders of North Cotabato in a gathering organized by Mindanao Peace Advocates in Midsayap, North Cotabato and told them they play crucial roles in attaining genuine and acceptable to all peace accord.
“You understand your situations the best; therefore, you are also the ones who can suggest the best solutions. But for this to happen, you also need to come together as one,” Dureza told IP leaders during a peace table conversation.
The advisory council will provide voices and assure key roles for the so-called “national minorities” in the peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front and the implementation of Bangsamoro agreements with the Moro fronts.
Dureza underscored that creation of an IP advisory council is a guarantee for a more inclusive and transparent peace process under the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
“We cannot solve your problems for you because we do not know what your problems are. That is why there is a need for you to sit down and discuss them and the possible solutions.”
“We cannot promise to deliver all the needs you have mentioned, but what we can promise is that we will present your concerns during the negotiations,” the peace adviser said after listening to IP issues.
Dureza told the leaders that they can start working on their concerns even prior to a final peace agreement.
“We must not solely rely on the peace agreements. If we can act now for the betterment of your welfare, we can do so and not wait anymore for the signing of peace pacts,” he stressed.
The meeting with the IP leaders is part of the continuing consultation process of OPAPP with the “bigger peace tables” to discuss their concerns and participation in the peace process.
"The negotiating table is a smaller table and only involves the government and the rebel groups. The ‘bigger peace table’ is the general public, which will be affected by the issues tackled in the smaller table. It is, therefore, important to listen to the bigger table,” Dureza said.
He assured IP groups of their representative in the new and expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), which will draft the enabling law for the implementation of all Bangsamoro peace deals and other pertinent measures including the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.
After his meeting with the IP leaders, Dureza along with other OPAPP officials visited the towns of Alamada, Midsayap, and Carmen. In these towns, Dureza led the inauguration of a 42-kilometer road project under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program, the government’s peace and development program.
He also took time out to visit victims of bombings on December 24 in Midsayap and on December 28 in Aleosan, both in North Cotabato and distributed relief goods.
