Saturday, February 24, 2018

Cafgu killed by suspected rebel sniper in Oriental Mindoro

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Feb 25): Cafgu killed by suspected rebel sniper in Oriental Mindoro


A female sniper from the Army’s 1st Infantry Division looks for the enemy from her post in this file photo supplied by the military. In Oriental Mindoro, a suspected communist sniper shot and killed a member of the military’s civilian unit on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018. ARMY PHOTO

CITY OF CALAPAN — A member of Army’s militia unit was shot and killed by a sniper believed to be member of the New People’s Army (NPA) at a Cafgu Active Auxiliary Detachment in Bulalacao town in Oriental Mindoro province Saturday, police said.

Domingo Berber instantly died from a bulletin wound when he was attacked at about 8:30 a.m. at his detachment in Sitio (sub-village) Cambayang, Barangay (village) Cabugao, Supt. Imelda Tolentino, Mimaropa police information officer, said citing a military spot report.

She said Berber was shot by a sniper believed to be a member the communist terrorist group.


The victim sustained a bullet wound on his right chest which caused his instantaneous death.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/971183/news-cafgu-npa-oriental-mindoro-sniper

Alleged high-ranking NPA terrorist arrested in Agusan del Sur

From the Manila Bulletin (Feb 24): Alleged high-ranking NPA terrorist arrested in Agusan del Sur

CAMP BANCASI, Butuan City — An alleged high-ranking New Peoples’ Army (NPA) terrorist was arrested yesterday by joint combat maneuvering troops of the 3rd Special Forces Battalion (3rd SFBn) and Philippine National Police (PNP) at Barangay El Rio in Sibagat town, Agusan del Sur, military and police reported today.





(Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

Lt. Col. Rhoderick L. Parallag, commanding officer of the 3rd SFBn, identified the arrested alleged NPA high-ranking terrorist as Pablito Campos, also known as Aka “Ponsoy,” alleged secretary and political officer of guerrilla-Front Committee 21-A of the CPP-NPA Sub-Regional Committee of Westland of Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee (SRCW-NEMRC).

The arrested suspect is also the alleged spokesperson of SRCW-NEMRC, Parallag also claimed.

Recovered from his alleged possession were one M4 rifle, one fully loaded long magazine, three cellular phones, one backpack containing a hand grenade and personal belongings, he said.


The said recovered items are in the custody of 3rd SFBn while the suspect is temporarily detained at Sibagat Municipal police station for further tactical interrogation.

The suspect was arrested when operating troops swooped down in his alleged safe house in Barangay El Rio, Sibagat town of that same province yesterday morning, military report said.

“The 3rd SFBn will continue its security operations in our area of responsibility in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the people. I also urged the families, relatives and neighbors of remaining NPA terrorists to encourage them to lay down their arms and live peacefully,” Parallag said.

Campos was allegedly responsible for the failed ambush of PNP Sibagat personnel on July 29, 2017 at El Rio, Sibagat, Agusan del Sur that resulted in the death of one of their comrades.

The suspect has eight arrest warrants for crimes of rebellion, frustrated murder, murder, multiple attempted murder, kidnapping and serious illegal detention that were issued by different Regional Trial Court branches in Lianga, Surigao del Sur and Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur, the 3rd SFBn commander further claimed.

Since January this year, the 401st Infantry (Unity) Brigade already neutralized a number of CPP-NPAs from Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur, said Capt. Rodulfo S. Cordero, Civil Military Operations (CMO) officer of the 401st Brigade.

Aside from deaths of NPAs in encounters, four were captured or apprehended and 57 have surrendered due to relentless operations of the pursuing troops, Cordero said.

Twenty-six high-powered and low-powered firearms and more than 100 improvised explosive devices, thousands of ammunitions were seized while the NPAs have lost control of four major enemy camps which were overran by the combat maneuvering troops under the 401st Brigade, he added.

“We are looking forward to more apprehensions in the coming days and weeks because the AFP and PNP have already eyes on the leadership of NPA terrorists. They are the main reason why there is a delay of development in our areas. The capture of Pablito Campos shows that our soldiers adhere to the rule of law and IHL as they respect his rights so he can face trial for all his atrocious acts against the people,” Col. Andres Centino, commanding officer of the 401st Brigade, said in a statement sent to The Manila Bulletin late this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Ronald C. Villanueva, commanding general of the Army’s Northeastern and Northern Mindanao 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division (4th ID) today said the arrest of Campos is a big setback of the communist movement in Caraga region.

“Campos’ apprehension is a big setback for the NPA terrorists in Caraga region knowing that he is the brain of Front Committee 21-A. He decides on which companies and personalities are for extortion and abduction. Further, he is the top propagandist and recruiter in the hinterlands of Sibagat, Bayugan and San Miguel of Agusan del Sur, the root of terrorism in the areas of Agusan del Sur. GF21A will soon experience blind leadership and eventually the downfall of the said front.” Villanueva said in a statement also sent to the Manila Bulletin today.

Villanueva is calling on the remaining NPA terrorists who are still in the mountains fighting for their failed ideology that this government has never been so welcoming to the former rebels up to this moment.

“Do not waste it! Government’s Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP) is giving away cash and livelihood assistance in exchange for your surrender and firearms and this will not be here forever. Take advantage of it and start a new life away from chaos, hunger, fear of encountering our operating troops and come back to the folds of the government,” he added.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/24/alleged-high-ranking-npa-terrorist-arrested-in-agusan-del-sur/

Hundreds displaced following military, NPA clash in Surigao del Sur

From ABS-CBN (Feb 24): Hundreds displaced following military, NPA clash in Surigao del Sur



Children have a meal of porridge inside the evacuation center at the community gymnasium in Barangay Agsam. Around 180 families are internally displaced from two hinterland communities in Lanuza, Surigao del Sur after a clash between elements of the New People's Army (NPA) and soldiers on Wednesday. Erwin M. Mascariñas

LANUZA, Surigao del Sur – Hundreds were forced out of their homes here following a clash between the military and suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels earlier this week.

Around 570 people from Sitio Ibuan, Barangay Mampi and 242 people from Sitio Himatagan in Barangay Agsam were displaced after a firefight between soldiers of the 36th Infantry Battalion and suspected rebels last Wednesday.

The rebels allegedly threatened 9 Lumad families before the firefight ensued.


"Threatening the Lumads is a desperate move of the NPA. They are depriving the Lumads to have a peaceful community," said Brigadier Gen. Franco Nemecio Gacal, commander of the Philippine Army's 402nd Brigade.

Datu Cherlito Juagpao, a representative from the Manobo tribe, said soldiers have been in the area since Feb. 14 as part of a community development activity but noted that this was the first harassment attempt of NPA rebels.

"We feared for our life that we had to leave in a hurry. Some of us did not even have slippers or clothes. While some walked, others were able to take a ride on motorcyles,” said Juagpao.

"This is the first time in our village’s history that we have been displaced [because of the] conflict between the army and the NPA. If I’m not mistaken, a similar incident happened in the past, in the '80s, but we never had to seek refuge elsewhere," said Romanito Badiang, a displaced resident and member of the village council.

They are currently seeking refuge at a community gymnasium along the national highway in Barangay Agsam.

"We immediately provided them with food as all of them had been walking for several hours without any lunch from the fear of the encounter. Today, we continue to provide them with food and other needs,” said Lolita Cidro, Municipal Social Welfare and Development (MSWD) and camp management officer.

Badiang added that the gunfire caused panic throughout the village, leaving residents scrambling for safety.

"Our children were even separated in the ensuing commotion. My 4-year-old child was with another relative as they ran into a different direction while my other children were with my wife. Thankfully, we were reunited later,” he said.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/24/18/hundreds-displaced-following-military-npa-clash-in-surigao-del-sur

Muslim scholars tapped to fight extremism

From the Manila Times (Feb 24): Muslim scholars tapped to fight extremism

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has tapped Muslim scholars to help in the Philippine’s counter-terrorism efforts by keeping young Muslims away from extremist ideologies.

About a hundred prominent Muslim scholars from across the country, mostly educated in the Middle East and Africa, gathered to throw their support behind the call of the custodian of two mosques in Saudi Arabia to end extremist ideologies wrongly attributed to the Islamic faith.

“Terrorism is a criminal phenomenon and it has nothing to do with religions and the Muslims,” the scholars said in a joint statement submitted to the Office of the Religious Attaché of Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Manila.

They believe that “terrorism is the result of political and sectarian conflicts that stem from human values and moral responsibility and a result of misinterpretations of true teachings of Islam distorting the image of the religion leading to some leaning to retaliate with extreme force.”

The scholars are composed of businessmen and clerics that are operating Madrasas (Islamic schools), mosques and religious organizations in the country.

Among them are prominent members of the Agama Islam Society, the Markazus Shabab al-Muslim Fil-Filibbin, the Mercy Foundation, the Al-Maarif in Baguio and the Regional Darul Ifta of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao together with other religious groups and individuals.

The group pledged to start confronting their members and followers in their respective homes, schools, mosques and other places to keep them away from extremism.

The scholars also submitted 24 recommendations to the KSA, including the formation of a committee or council of scholars that would serve as a national umbrella for Muslim religious groups and institutions operating in the country that would also deal with fatwa [Islamic rulings] being issued locally and other Islamic issues.

Saudi Arabia, through its religious attaché in the country, welcomed the inputs and thanked the scholars participating in its worldwide campaign to combat extremism and terrorism.

“We are thankful to Allah that we are here united in realizing our aims,” Fares Al-Mutairi, Saudi Religious Attaché, said.

Marawi City is still reeling from a five-month siege instigated by militants of the Maute Group, which had earlier pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

Al-Mutairi, meanwhile, responded to claims that it has not been keen on helping Marawi City residents rebuild their lives.

He said Saudi Arabia is merely waiting for a “go-signal” from the government before it could deploy its resources to help rehabilitate the ravaged city.

“Since the beginning [of the conflict in Marawi], the embassy and the government [Saudi Arabia] had submitted requests of support to the Philippine government regarding aid for Marawi but until now there are no responses for reasons that I do not know,” Al-Mutairi clarified.

http://www.manilatimes.net/muslim-scholars-tapped-fight-extremism/382538/

6 rebels surrender in past two weeks: military

From the Mindanao Times (Feb 24): 6 rebels surrender in past two weeks: military

FOUR communist rebels surrendered in Sitio Bulacao, Brgy. Concepcion, Valencia City, Bukidnon around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018.

They were received by the joint elements of the Bukidnon Police Provincial Office and the 88th Infantry Battalion under the 403rd Infantry Brigade.


 Meanwhile, another two rebels belonging to the SYP Platoon, GFC 3, SMRC surrendered to the pursuing troops of the 26th IB on Feb. 17, 2018 in Veruela, Agusan del Sur.

 Capt. Norman Tagros, the civil-military operations (CMO) officer of 403rd Infantry Brigade, said the returnees in Barangay Concepcion brought along three high-powered firearms.

 Tagros said the former NPAs surrendered one M16 rifle with live ammunition, one Cal. 30 M1 Carbine rifle with live ammunition; and one Cal .22 rifle with scope, suppressor, and live ammunition.

 It can be recalled that on Feb. 14, around 8 a.m., troops from 88th Infantry Battalion were able to unearth massive food and medical supplies of the NPA near Sitio Bulacao.

 Meanwhile, the surrendered individuals will be enrolled in the Comprehensive Local Integration Program or CLIP where they will be receiving cash remunerations for the firearms they surrendered, cash, livelihood assistance, housing, and employment assistance.

 In a statement, Brig. Gen. Eric C Vinoya, commander of the 403rd Infantry Brigade, assured the rebels that the brigade will support their intention to return to their normal lives again.

“You have made the right decision which is valuing your lives and the lives of your families, more than just being deceived and subjected to false promises from your leaders, by deciding to go back to the folds of the law,” he said.

“I continue to urge all those who still remain deceived by the CPP-NPA terrorists’ false promises and ill-motivated acts to start anew. We will always be here to assist you.” he further added.

 Meanwhile, two rebels surrendered after the series of encounters between the troops of 26th Infantry Battalion and NPA’s Guerilla Front Committee (GFC) 3 of Southern Mindanao Regional Committee (SMRC) at the mountainous area of Veruela, Agusan del Sur.

 Capt. Paulo Agda, the civil-military operations (CMO) officer of 26thIB, identified them as alias Eman, 17, and a resident of Barangay Santa Emelia, Veruela, and alias Che-che, 18, resident of Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, Davao del Norte.

 Che-che was wounded during an encounter last Feb. 10 and was brought to Talacogon District Hospital for medication.

 The duo surrendered one .38 caliber revolver, one complete set of IED and assorted medicines and medical paraphernalia.

“Violations of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) are clear on this as the NPA recruited minors as combatants and their continued use of the banned explosive devices,” Col. Andres Centino, the commander of 401st brigade, said.

http://mindanaotimes.net/6-rebels-surrender-in-past-two-weeks-military/

NPA rebels burn cargo truck

From the Visayan Daily Star (Feb 24): NPA rebels burn cargo truck

Suspected New People's Army rebels burned a cargo truck used in hauling sugarcane in Brgy. Budlasan, Canlaon City, Negros Oriental Thursday.

Witnesses told the military that about 10 NPA rebels, carrying high-powered firearms, waylaid the cargo truck owned by Lito Abellar, and ordered the driver and workers to disembark.

Investigation by the 62 nd Infantry Battalion showed that the armed suspects told the driver and farm workers that they were only after the truck, because its owner refused to pay revolutionary taxes.


Lt. Col. Darrel Banez, commanding officer of the 62 nd Infantry Battalion, who ordered the pursuit operations against the fleeing suspects, condemned the NPA for its latest atrocities.

Bañez said the civilian populace has long been tormented by the harassment and extortion activities of the CPP-NPA in the area.

He encouraged the community to condemn the barbaric acts of the CPP-NPA armed group.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2018/February/24/topstory5.htm

Duterte ups bounty for Negros rebels

From the Visayan Daily Star (Feb 24): Duterte ups bounty for Negros rebels              

The cash rewards for the capture or elimination of members of the New People's Army in Negros Occidental has been increased by President Rodrigo Duterte.

During his visit to the 301st Infantry Brigade headquarters Thursday in Dingle, Iloilo, Duterte announced his offer of P25,000 to P50,000 reward to anybody, who can eliminate a leader or member of the NPA.


Before his announcement, supporters of the Philippine Army in Negros Occidental also offered a P100,000 reward for anybody, who can provide information, that may lead to the arrest of any NPA members.

Two months ago, two informants received P200,000 in cash for the arrest of two key officials of the CPP Central Committee members from Mindanao, in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.


Brig. Gen. Eliezer Losañes, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, said yesterday that they are still waiting for the implementing rules and regulations on the cash reward being offered by President Duterte.

Duterte, made the announcement of cash rewards for NPA members in a dialog with 301st Infantry Brigade soldiers at Dingle, Iloilo, following the threats of CPP founding chairman Jose Maria Sison that the NPA will kill a soldier every day, to force the government to resume peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDF.

“I am addressing myself again to all of you NPAs. You will never even capture a barangay. Stop your dreams, surrender, I will pay you,” Durterte said.

The provincial government of Negros Occidental is also offering P100,000 for any NPA member, who will surrender without any firearm, and P300,000 for those who will turn over a high-powered firearms.

This is on top of the P15,000 immediate financial assistance and P50,000 livelihood assistance being offered by the national government, through its Comprehensive Local Integration Program, Losañes, who attended the dialog in Dingle, Iloilo, said.

In previous weeks, Losañes said, the provincial government of Negros Occidental gave P800,000 to NPA members, who surrendered, including payment for an M16 assault rifle being surrendered to authorities.

Losañes called on the Negros rebels to take advantage of the offer of financial assistance by President Duterte and the provincial government of Negros Occidental, so they can start a new life with their families.

Since he assumed as 303IB commander in 2016, Losañes reported that 15 communist rebels had surrendered in Negros Island.

Duterte also conferred the “Order of Lapu-Lapu” on 12 wounded-in-action (WIA) soldiers during the “Pagpupugay sa mga Bayani” (Salute to the Heroes), including Sgt. Genefir Gaston of Kabankalan City, and Sgt. Raffy Banaglorioso of Himamaylan City, all in Negros Occidental.

The two Negrense soldiers were among those wounded during the Marawi siege last year.

Six soldiers from Negros Occidental and Oriental died in Marawi. They were given posthumous medals by Duterte.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2018/February/24/topstory2.htm

2 Marines, isang rebelde patay sa Cotabato clash

From the Mindanao Examiner (Feb 24): 2 Marines, isang rebelde patay sa Cotabato clash

Napaslang ang dalawang Marines at isa pa ang sugatan matapos silang ratratin ng dalawang armado na pinaniniwalaang mga rebelde sa Cotabato City, ngunit napatay rin ang isa sa mga salarin at sugatan naman ang kasamahan nito sa sagupaan.

Naganap ang atake habang sakay ng isang motorsiklo ang mga sundalo kahapon. Dead on the spot ang isang sundalo. Binaril rin ng mga suspek ang isa pang sundalo na noon ay umaasikaso sa bangkay ng kasamahan sa punerarya at napaslang rin ito.


Ngnit mabilis naman naka-responde ang iba pang mga Marines at hinabol ang dalawang kriminal hanggang sa mapatay nila ang isa at masugatan ang kasamahan na kasalukuyang bantay-sarado sa pamagamutan.

Pawang naka-adestino ang mga sundalo sa Marine Battalion Landing Team 7 sa bayan ng Upi sa magulong lalawigan ng Maguindanao. Inaalam pa ngayon kung miyembro ng Maute group o ISIS ang mga suspek na pawang mga taga-Cotabato City.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2018/02/2-marines-isang-rebelde-patay-sa.html

Abu Sayyaf arms cache recovered

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 23): Abu Sayyaf arms cache recovered



Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS) commander (front row, 4th from left), and Col. Armel Tolato, Philippine Marine Ready Force-Sulu commander (3rd from left, front row), present the high-powered firearms of the Abu Sayyaf Group recovered on February 22 by the MBLT-3 in Kalingalan Caluang, Sulu. (JTFS)

Troops from the Philippine Marine Ready Force-Sulu have recovered arms cache of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in the hinterlands of Sulu, a top military official announced Friday.

Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, said the arms cache was recovered at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday at sitio Kadkad, Barangay Pitogo, Kalingalan Caluang municipality.

Sobejana said the recovered arms cache included four caliber 7.62-mm M-14 rifles and four 5.56-mm M-16 Armalite rifles.


Sobejana said the Marine Battalion Landing Team-3 (MBLT-3) troops headed by Lt. Col. Ramil Densing swooped down on sitio Kadkad, and recovered the firearms after they received report from a concerned citizen about an arms cache of the ASG hidden in the area.

He said an alleged ASG member identified as Apo Eting, who is guarding the arms cache, hastily fled aboard a motorboat upon sensing the arrival of the marine troops.


Sobejana commended the MBLT-3 troops for their accomplishment and extended his heartfelt gratitude to the local government unit (LGU) and populace of Kalingalan Kaluang for their support and cooperation to the Joint Task Force Sulu.

He believes that more loose firearms will be recovered and more ASG members will be neutralized with the support of LGUs and peace-loving Tausugs as manifested in Thursday’s successful operation.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026311

Hundreds of families flee MILF ‘infighting’ in Maguindanao

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 23): Hundreds of families flee MILF ‘infighting’ in Maguindanao

Hundreds of Moro families have fled to safer grounds as infighting among Moro rebels erupted Thursday, military and disaster monitoring officials said on Friday.

The disaster monitoring office here said the displaced families from Barangay Madia here are now housed in Barangays Dapiawan and Elian, both in adjacent Datu Salibo town.


Chief Insp. Abdulbasit Kulod, Datu Saudii Ampatuan town police chief, said the local government has already extended relief assistance to the affected families.

The Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) said a ranking rebel leader was hurt in a clash with fellow rebels in Maguindanao following the murder of a town councilor on Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, chief of the 6ID Civil Military Operations Office, said Haon Sindatok, commander of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) 105th Base Command, was injured on his left arm during a clash Thursday night until Friday dawn with members of MILF 118th Base Command under Commander Ustadz Wahid Tundok in Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Datu Salibo towns.

The infighting started when Datu Saudi Ampatuan Councilor Sahabudin Namli, 42, was ambushed on Wednesday morning in Barangay Madia here. Namli is the brother-in-law of Commander Tundok.

Besana said two followers of warring armed groups were killed and 11 others were hurt in the overnight skirmishes.

Besana said the tension in Barangay Madia had died down Friday dawn but both sides are still in fighting mode.The MILF leadership has sent emissaries to pacify warring MILF leaders.

Datu Saudi Ampatuan (DSA) town police said the 11 injured MILF members are being treated in hospitals in Midsayap, North Cotabato and in Cotabato City.


The injured MILF members were Hamsa Subil, Arseo Malicay, Embran Guimbangan, Tim Bagundali Abas, To James Guialel, Abdul Gador Garry Kaha, Buhari Manalundong, Mohamad Masulot, Guiamel Husting, Sindatok Saynodin and Salden Guiapar.

Kulod said personal grudge was the likely motive in the murder of Councilor Namli. Prior to his joining local politics, Namli, according to Kulod, was a recruiter for overseas workers based in Manila.

“He had unsettled problems while in Manila and that could be one of the possible motive in the murder,” Kulod said.

Namli was the second town councilor to have been killed in DSA. Councilor Anwar Sindatuk, the number one councilor, was also shot dead last year in Barangay Madia.

Moreover, this town’s former mayor, Samsudin Dimaukom, was killed in a police anti-drug operation in Makilala, North Cotabato last year.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026276

Manhunt on for killers of Marine sergeant in Cotabato

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 24): Manhunt on for killers of Marine sergeant in Cotabato

Authorities here have launched a massive manhunt against two men who shot dead a Marine sergeant and injured another in a broad daylight shooting here Friday.

Senior Supt. Rolly Octavio, city police director, said Sgt. Ferdinand Ulang of the 7th Marine Battalion Landing Team (MBLT-7) died on the spot from gunshot wounds in the head and body. His companion, Sgt. Arnel Navarro, also from the MBLT-7, was critically wounded.


The two MBLT-7 personnel, both based in North Upi, Maguindanao, have just acquired a loan from the Armed Forces and Police Savings & Loan Association, Inc. (AFPSLAI) in this city when they were attacked along Sinsuat Avenue.

Octavio said the victims were on board a motorbike driven by Ulang heading towards the downtown area from AFPSLAI office at 1:30 p.m. when two gunmen on a separate motorbike opened fire at them using .45-caliber pistols.

Although armed with pistols, the two Marine officers failed to return fire.

Witnesses said they were shot at close range from behind.

Navarro sustained bullet wounds and is confined in a hospital in the city under heavy guard by fellow Marines.

Octavio said police investigators are still trying to identify the culprits and determine the motive for the attack.

Some three hours later, Marine officers who were attending to the remains of their slain comrade, traded shots with two armed men beleives to be guns-for-hire near the Villa Funeral Homes, also in Sinsuat Avenue.

The Marines shot dead a certain Mohammad Saud Andes, 22, who first fired on Alfredo Tumbaga, a retired Marine officer and currently chief security officer of the Regional Legislative Assembly-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in this city.

A cohort of Andes, identified as Badjorie Karim, 28, was injured in the shootout, and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital here.

Octavio said the motorcycle-riding duo trailed Tumbaga, who was on a separate bike, and shot him at close range at the back of his head and body in a busy section of Sinsuat Ave.

Tumbaga was rushed to the hospital but also expired while being attended to by doctors.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026392

Wounded soldiers honored in Maguindanao

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 24): Wounded soldiers honored in Maguindanao



CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – Commander of the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID), Major Gen. Arnel dela Vega, on Friday presented honors to wounded soldiers assigned to fight the Islamic State-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Maguindanao.

Seven infantry men were injured in separate roadside bombing and ambush incidents in Datu Unsay Ampatuan, Maguindanao in the past two weeks.

At the 6ID infirmary here, dela Vega pinned the “Wounded Personnel Medal” to Lt. Janno Reyes, Private 1st Class Michael Poron, and Private Kirt Ramirez, all of 57th Infantry Battalion and injured in the BIFF roadside bombing in Barangay Meta, Datu Unsay Ampatuan on February 20.

Also awarded with medals were Sgt. Tyron Gavino, Privates Ryan Palagaso and Ryan Domilod, all of the 2nd Mechanized Battalion, who were injured in a clash following an ambush by the BIFF in Barangay Sambolawan, Datu Salibo town on February 17.

The injured soldiers can now return to active duty and may be sent back to their mother units in Datu Unsay, Maguindanao.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026387

6 Abu Sayyaf men killed in Basilan clash

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 24): 6 Abu Sayyaf men killed in Basilan clash

Government troops killed six alleged members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in6 a clash Basilan province, officials said Saturday.

Brig. Gen. Juvymax Uy, Joint Task Force Basilan commander, said the clash occurred at around 8:45 a.m. Saturday at sitio Pali in Barangay Abong-Abong, Maluso, Basilan.

Uy said the troops from the Army’s 68th Infantry Battalion (IB) were on combat operation when they clashed with a group of ASG members.

Senior Insp. Faizal Tandico, Maluso police chief, said six members of the ASG were reported killed during the clash.

Uy said the troops had recovered the remains of an ASG member and a firearm at the clash site.

He said that combat helicopters have been deployed to provide close air support to the ground troops as sporadic firefight rages.

“There will be no-let up operation against the Abu Sayyaf as our Commander-in-Chief himself has declared such since last year,” Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) said.

“The different Joint Task Forces are in full-throttle to get the remaining Abu Sayyaf members and to rescue their kidnap victims,” Galvez added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026430

US envoy joins Pinoy artists in mural project celebrating US-PH ties

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 24): US envoy joins Pinoy artists in mural project celebrating US-PH ties

In line with the Philippine Arts Month, the United States Embassy in Manila launched the Youth Art Collab mural project with US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim and Filipino muralist Kris Abrigo, at the American Center Friday.

During the event, Kim joined Abrigo and young artists from the Doodle Art Enthusiasts (DAE) in doing the finishing touches on a mural celebrating the longstanding US-Philippines relationship.

According to the embassy, the artwork was completed in just a week.

Abrigo said the activity aims to create a collaborative mural that celebrates diverse cultures and illustrates a rich connection between two allied countries, adding that this is "a great privilege and an awesome opportunity to spread messages of peace and unity.”

DAE Creative Director Lei Melendres said as a community, they aim to uphold and inspire the current generation with the belief that everyone can get a chance to be part of "something big".

"(This is) why we include our members in collaborative endeavors such as this, making them aware of how they can use their talents and skills to make a change," the creative director added.

The American Center was launched in 1945 as the Thomas Jefferson Library and in 1999 became the Thomas Jefferson Information Center.

The Center has since evolved into a dynamic public engagement space it is today.

The Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy maintains a network of American Spaces in the Philippines including the American Center and 14 American Corners in key locations throughout the country.

The American Spaces in the Philippines are part of a global network of 650 American Spaces around the world that strive to provide innovative, multifunctional platforms for public engagement programs that introduce visitors to the people, history, culture, and policies of the United States.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026404
 

AFP to secure 32nd EDSA anniversary

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 24): AFP to secure 32nd EDSA anniversary

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will deploy various units to help the police in securing the 32nd anniversary celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution this Sunday.

Brig. Gen. Alan Arrojado, Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR) head,  in a statement Saturday said three civil disturbance management, two explosive ordnance disposal and two K-9 teams would  be deployed to assist the Philippine National Police in securing the event at the People Power National Monument (PPNM) in Quezon City.


This is aside from the four ambu-medic teams who will also be on standby to provide emergency medical treatment to the participating public, Arrojado added.

AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Bienvinido Datuin said that 300 officers and enlisted personnel would take part in the annual "Salubungan" event Sunday while another 200 would augment PNP security efforts.

AFP deputy chief-of-staff for civil military operations Major Gen. Rene Glen Paje will lead the military host for the flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremonies at the PPNM.

He will be joined by representatives from the AFP Major Services.

"The Joint Task Force-NCR joins the Filipino people in commemorating this historic event that marked our common fight against authoritarianism and human rights abuse," Arrojado said.

The bloodless revolt, which started Feb. 23 and ended on the 25th, toppled the 20-year rule of then President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

"We enjoin the public to relive the Spirit of EDSA and help ensure the peaceful and orderly observance of this National Holiday," Arrojado said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1026418

WFP Philippines; Marawi Crisis Situation Report #4 (23 February 2018)

Posted to the Relief Web (Feb 23): WFP Philippines; Marawi Crisis Situation Report #4 (23 February 2018)

 
Report from World Food Programme
Published on 23 Feb 2018

Highlights
  • WFP received AUD 1 million (USD 800,000) and EUR 300,000 (USD 371,000) contributions from the governments of Australia and Italy, respectively. These will support WFP’s emergency school feeding and food assistance for assets activities for the Marawi response.
  • WFP continues to provide technical support and expertise in the food security convergence initiative between WFP, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and the local government of Marawi in the restoration of agricultural livelihood opportunities in five pilot barangays.
  • WFP is in need of USD 5.7 million in additional financial resources to meet the needs of this operation until 31 May 2018.
The Marawi City Situation
  • Four months after the five-month long armed conflict between government security forces and the Islamic State-inspired Maute group, 56 barangays are confirmed to be open to returning families with an additional 20 barangays (administrative unit) to follow soon. Among an estimated 353,921 affected people, 266,615 people remain displaced while 87,306 have returned to Marawi City.
  • Based on the Government’s post-conflict needs assessment, the Marawi siege left PHP 18 billion (USD 357 million) worth of properties damaged, and at least PHP 50 billion (USD 1 billion) is required for the complete rebuilding and rehabilitation of the city. It is estimated that this will take four years.
  • Worsening the situation for the displaced population is the issue of food security and nutrition, which requires an immediate response. WFP’s Emergency Food Security Assessment (EFSA) in October 2017 indicated that 35 percent of the assessed population is moderately to severely food-insecure, while the acute malnutrition rate is at 8.3 percent. WFP carried out a second round of EFSA in January which also included the assessment of the food security, nutrition, and livelihood needs of those displaced by Tropical Storm Tembin (locally known Vinta). Preliminary findings will be released by the end of February.
  • The Department of Education has extended the end of the current academic year in Marawi City to May to compensate for the school days missed during the height of the conflict.
  • WFP supports the kambalingan (homecoming) of returning families during the early recovery phase through general distributions of rice.

https://reliefweb.int/report/philippines/wfp-philippines-marawi-crisis-situation-report-4-23-february-2018

‘Maute gunmen searching for new base’

From the Manila Times (Feb 24): ‘Maute gunmen searching for new base’

Months after being routed from the southern city of Marawi, extremists are waging a fresh and deadly bid to set up a Southeast Asian caliphate in the same region, the military warned Friday.

The gunmen have mustered a force of about 200 and fought a series of skirmishes with the security forces this year after government forces retook Marawi last October, Colonel Romeo Brawner said.

“They have not abandoned their objective to create a caliphate in Southeast Asia,” said Brawner, a senior commander for a military task force that has since been protecting Marawi.

“Mindanao is the most fertile ground,” he said. “Our countrymen are more vulnerable (to recruitment).”

Struggling with widespread poverty and armed Muslim insurgencies seeking independence or self-rule, Mindanao must improve poor supervision of Islamic schools or madrasas where most young gunmen are recruited, he added.

He said the armed forces were retooling to meet the challenge of the Maute group, which occupied Marawi over five months and has pledged allegiance to Islamic State group.

Gunmen who escaped during the early days of the US-backed operation to recapture Marawi are leading the recruitment effort, flush with cash, guns and jewelry looted from the city’s banks and private homes, Brawner said.

The recruits are mostly locals, but an unspecified number of Indonesians, some with bomb-making skills, have recently arrived there, he said.

‘Ready for another Marawi’

Mindanao military officials said Maute gunmen murdered three traders in the town of Piagapo, near Marawi, in November.

The military killed three jihadists in Pantar, another neighboring town, on February 8, while police last month arrested three suspects over the Piagapo merchant killings.

The military also reported skirmishes with Maute gunmen in the towns of Masiu and Pagayawan near Marawi last month.

The renewed fighting came after President Rodrigo Duterte and other political leaders in Mindanao warned of a potential repeat of the Marawi siege that claimed more than 1,100 lives.

Duterte has imposed martial law over Mindanao until the end of the year in an effort to curb the militants’ activities.

Ebrahim Murad, head of the Philippines’ main Muslim rebel group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a peace treaty with Manila in 2014, had also warned that extremists were recruiting and could seize another city.

Murad said the 10,000-member MILF was battling pro-IS groups for influence in schools as the jihadists worked to infiltrate madrasas and secular universities.

At the same time, IS gunmen were making their way into the southern Philippines from Malaysia and Indonesia, he added, but gave no estimates.

On Friday, Brawner said the military is ready for another Marawi, saying the Maute forces “do not as yet have the capability to launch another attack like what they did in Marawi.”

“We are ready for another Marawi siege, whether it happens in Marawi or elsewhere,” he told reporters. “We are preparing for another urban warfare. In the eventuality that something similar to Marawi City happens, we should be ready,” HE SAID.

“So from the lessons that we learned, we are now rewriting our doctrines, we are now reorganizing our units. We are re-equipping and re-training. So from the side of the Armed Forces, handa po kami (we are ready),” he added.

Brawner admitted that the defeated terrorists are finding ways to recruit new members.

But he said Marawi City is “relatively safe and secure.”

With Murad’s warning, Brawner expressed hope that the MILF would join the government and fight the common enemy.

“Kaya nga po nakikiusap din kami sa iba’t ibang mga grupo (That’s why we’re asking diffrent groups) to help us in our advocacy to counter violent extremism and radicalism,” Brawner said.

“We are banking on the MILF to help us with this. Sabi naman po nila (They said) that they do not believe in violent extremism. So sana po ay maging katulong namin sila dito sa kampanya (We hope they could help us here in the campaign), our advocacy against violent extremism, terrorism, and radicalism,” he added.

http://www.manilatimes.net/maute-gunmen-searching-new-base/382209/

Duterte tells rebels: Joma making you fight futile cause

From the Manila Bulletin (Feb 22): Duterte tells rebels: Joma making you fight futile cause

For a brief candid moment, President Duterte offered to turn over the reins of national government to a group of former rebels during a recent meeting in Malacañang.

The President however quickly insisted on taking back the government if “chaos” erupts under the leadership of the rebel returnees.

Duterte made the offer to a group of former rebels after criticizing Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria Sison for letting poor insurgents fight his war while enjoying a millionaire’s life abroad.



President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, in his speech during the ‘merienda’ he hosted for the rebel returnees at the Malacañang Palace on February 21, 2018, assures the surrenderees that they will receive government support for them to be reintegrated back to society. (VALERIE ESCALERA/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO)

“All he wants is to take over the government. Well, here you are now. I’ll give it to you now. Let’s sign the agreement now while we’re all here. I will give Malacañang to those who surrendered. Here, take it. Lead the government as well,” the President said in the Visayan dialect during a merienda hosted for 238 rebel returnees at the Palace last Wednesday.

“But if chaos erupts tomorrow, I’ll get back to you. This is what he wanted and you’re here now so I’ll give you the government now. We’ll sign the papers. Can you do it? Can you? Because I will really sign it. You won’t take it,” he added.

Duterte, now on his second year in office, admitted that leading the country was not an easy task. “I myself have a hard time trying to run this government even though I have a lot of people working for me. Do you think you can do it?” he asked the former rebels.

At the same event, the President slammed Sison for duping the rebels to fight a futile cause.

He said while rebels have become separated from their families, grown poor and have died for their cause, Sison has taken the profits and now has a comfortable life abroad.

“What have you gotten from Sison then? Sison is a millionaire who is living abroad. The son of a b*tch has been there for so many years,” he said. “The money that he is spending is the money that you worked hard for. What’s your capital? Your blood and the lives of your fellow human beings,” he added.

Duterte revealed that the local communist group has extorted as much as P50 million from mining companies while getting P15 million from plantations.

He said the government learned about the rebel collection after keeping track of the remittances and other records. “They don’t ask for money face to face but they made you collect change,” he added.

Duterte also warned of the downfall of the communist rebel movement if they insist on waging a war with the government. He admitted that the government could bomb the rebels without having to engage in close quarters combat.

“Who do you believe in now, Sison? Who is Sison? How is he related to God? Why do you believe in that son of a b*tch? He’s stupid,” he said.

“You are heading towards your death if you believe in Sison. Sison reads the works of Karl Marx and Mao Tse-tung. They don’t believe in anyone else. China — I’ll take you to China. Look at what was then a communist country, but became capitalist in the end,” he added.

The President meantime offered to provide assistance to the rebel returnees including livelihood and housing benefits.

“There are around 1,000 units, some are in Talomo and some are in Bangkal. It’s almost done. It’s supposed to be given to the military and police, but I’ll give them to you instead,” he said.

He encouraged the former rebels to join the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit (CAFGU) to enjoy other benefits.

“Get yourselves enlisted now because I’ll give the 1,000 units to you. You will have a house that comes complete with everything. There is a school as well. College education is free. So I will just give you your allowance,” Duterte added.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/22/duterte-tells-rebels-joma-making-you-fight-futile-cause/

Duterte to ex-NPA rebels: Stay with AFP, be CAFGUs

From GMA News Online (Feb 22): Duterte to ex-NPA rebels: Stay with AFP, be CAFGUs

President Rodrigo Duterte has urged rebel returnees not to return to the hinterlands where they used to roam lest they be killed by their former comrades in the New People's Army.

Instead, Duterte suggested that the former NPA rebels enlist themselves as paramilitary members of the Citizens' Armed Geographical Units.

“To those who surrendered their guns, please be cautious. Because son of a bitch. You know how it’s going to be. So it’s best if you stay here. You know that you will really be killed,” Duterte told 238 former rebels, whom he met in Malacanang on Wednesday.

“So I suggest that you stay with the Armed Forces and be a CAFGU. You should be given that first so that you can go back to your hometown. You can’t go back to the mountains anymore unless you kill them all,” he added in his speech mostly in Cebuano.

Duterte told the former rebels in Malacañang that the government was doing its best to address the root causes of the armed struggle such as lack of education, lack of job opportunities, and landlessness of farmers, among others.

The former rebels, mostly from poor families and barely finished schooling, came from the provinces of Compostela Valley, Agusan del Sur, and Davao del Norte.

Duterte previously hosted 215 former rebels also in Malacañang on February 7, the first batch of the 683 who were presented to the President in Davao City last December.

The government has cancelled the peace talks with the National Democratic Front and is encouraging peace talks with NPA units at the local level.

Duterte accused Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder and NDF Chief Political Consultant Jose Maria Sison of brainwashing and using poor to fight for his cause.

"I cannot see any good thing that the NPA has done for your lives. Education? Son of a bitch. What did they teach your children? Armed struggle, how to die in this world. That’s what they are teaching, nothing else. Also, stealing what is not theirs because they believe that everything is communal and therefore shared. How will that be possible?" Duterte said.

"You are heading towards your death if you believe in Sison. Sison reads the works of Karl Marx and Mao Zedong. They don’t believe in anyone else," he added.

"Who is Sison? How is he related to God? Why do you believe in that son of a bitch? So what have you gotten from Sison then? Sison is a millionaire who is living abroad. The son of a bitch has been there for so many years," Duterte said.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/644372/duterte-to-ex-npa-rebels-stay-with-afp-be-cafgus/story/

New anti-terror unit boosts SAF

From The Standard (Feb 24): New anti-terror unit boosts SAF

THE Philippine National Police is set to form additional five battalions of police commandos—a maximum 4,000 men—to enhance the government’s fight against terrorists and all forms of threats to the country’s internal security.

PNP chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa said the formation of the five battalions of the Special Action Force was created solely to combat terrorism and criminality.

“After a review of the PNP’s proposal, the Commission approved the creation of five additional SAF to effectively carry out the mandate of the PNP to actively support the Armed Forces in internal security operations for the suppression of insurgency and other serious threats to national security pursuant to Executive Order No. 546, series of 2006,” said Napolcom vice chairman and executive officer Rogelio Casurao.

The approval came barely a day after the PNP arrested an Egyptian national suspected to have links with the Islamic State.

Meanwhile, the military warned Friday that jihadists were waging a fresh and deadly bid to set up a Southeast Asian caliphate in Mindanao.

The gunmen have mustered a force of about 200 fighters and fought a series of skirmishes with the security forces this year after government forces retook Marawi last October, Colonel Romeo Brawner told AFP.

“They have not abandoned their objective to create a caliphate in Southeast Asia,” said Brawner, the commander of a Marawi-based military task force.

“Mindanao is the most fertile ground,” he said, referring to the country’s southern region.

Struggling with widespread poverty and armed Muslim insurgencies seeking independence or self-rule, Mindanao must improve poor supervision of Islamic schools or madrasas where most young gunmen are recruited, Brawner added.

He said the armed forces are retooling to meet the challenge of the Maute group, which occupied Marawi over five months and has pledged allegiance to the Middle East-based Islamic State group.

Gunmen who escaped during the early days of the US-backed operation to recapture Marawi are leading the recruitment effort, flush with cash, guns and jewellery looted from the city’s banks and private homes, Brawner said.

The recruits are mostly locals, but an unspecified number of Indonesians, some with bomb-making skills, have recently arrived there, he said.

Mindanao military officials said the Maute gunmen murdered three traders in the town of Piagapo, near Marawi, in November last year.

Three jihadists were killed in Pantar, another neighboring town, on Feb. 8, while three of the Piagapo merchants’ suspected killers were arrested in that town last month.

The military also reported skirmishes with the Maute gunmen in the towns of Masiu and Pagayawan near Marawi last month.

The renewed fighting came after President Duterte and other political leaders in the Mindanao region warned of a potential repeat of the siege of Marawi which claimed more than 1,100 lives.

Duterte imposed martial law over Mindanao until the end of the year to curb the militants’ challenge.

Ebrahim Murad, head of the Philippines’ main Muslim rebel group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a peace treaty with Manila in 2014, also warned Tuesday that jihadists were recruiting and could seize another Filipino city.

http://thestandard.com.ph/news/top-stories/259474/new-anti-terror-unit-boosts-saf.html

Clashes as IS-linked gunmen seek new Philippine base: Military

From Channel News Asia (Feb 23): Clashes as IS-linked gunmen seek new Philippine base: Military



Gunmen who escaped during the early days of the US-backed operation to recapture Marawi have led a series of fresh skirmishes with the security forces in Mindanao, says the military AFP/RICHEL UMEL

Months after being routed from the southern Philippine city of Marawi, militants are waging a fresh and deadly bid to set up a Southeast Asian caliphate in the same region, the military warned Friday (Feb 23).
 
The gunmen have mustered a force of about 200 fighters and fought a series of skirmishes with the security forces this year after government forces retook Marawi last October, Colonel Romeo Brawner told AFP.

"They have not abandoned their objective to create a caliphate in Southeast Asia," said Brawner, the commander of a Marawi-based military task force.

"Mindanao is the most fertile ground," he said, referring to the country's southern region.

Struggling with widespread poverty and armed Muslim insurgencies seeking independence or self-rule, Mindanao must improve poor supervision of Islamic schools or madrasas where most young gunmen are recruited, he added.

He said the armed forces are retooling to meet the challenge of the Maute group, which occupied Marawi over five months and has pledged allegiance to the Middle East-based Islamic State group.

Gunmen who escaped during the early days of the US-backed operation to recapture Marawi are leading the recruitment effort, flush with cash, guns and jewellery looted from the city's banks and private homes, Brawner said.

The recruits are mostly locals, but an unspecified number of Indonesians, some with bomb-making skills, have recently arrived there, he said.
 
Mindanao military officials said the Maute gunmen murdered three traders in the town of Piagapo, near Marawi, in November last year.

Three jihadists were killed in Pantar, another neighbouring town, on February 8, while three of the Piagapo merchants' suspected killers were arrested in that town last month.

The military also reported skirmishes with the Maute gunmen in the towns of Masiu and Pagayawan near Marawi last month.

The renewed fighting came after President Rodrigo Duterte and other political leaders in the Mindanao region warned of a potential repeat of the siege of Marawi which claimed more than 1,100 lives.

Duterte has imposed martial law over Mindanao until the end of the year to curb the militants' challenge.

Ebrahim Murad, head of the Philippines' main Muslim rebel group the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a peace treaty with Manila in 2014, also warned Tuesday that jihadists were recruiting and could seize another Filipino city.
 

2 dead in clash between 2 MILF rival groups in Maguindanao

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Feb 23): 2 dead in clash between 2 MILF rival groups in Maguindanao

Two people were killed while a ranking rebel leader and several others were injured during a clash between two rival groups of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Maguindanao.

The clash came after Wednesday’s murder of a town councilor there, the military said Friday.

Lieutenant Colonel Gerry Besana, chief of the 6th Infantry Division’s Civil Military Operations (CMO) battalion, said Haon Sindatok, commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) 105th base command, was injured in the left arm during a clash Thursday night until Friday dawn with members of the MILF’s 118th base command – under Commander Ustadz Wahid Tundok – in Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Datu Salibo towns, both in Maguindanao.

The infighting started when Councilor Sahabudin Namli, 42, was shot dead in Datu Saudi Ampatuan on Wednesday. Namli was Tundok’s brother-in-law.

Tundok reportedly initiated the attack against Sindatok’s group, which he suspected of killing Namli.

Citing reports from government forces on the ground, Besana said two followers of the warring rebel groups had been killed and 11 others were hurt in the overnight skirmishes that also sent hundreds of families fleeing to safer grounds.

The displaced families from Barangay Madia are now in relatives’ homes in the villages of Dapiawan and Elian, both in Datu Salibo town.

“Tension had died down Friday dawn but both sides are still in fighting mode,” he said.

Besana said the MILF leadership had already sent emissaries to pacify the warring MILF leaders.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/970853/2-dead-in-clash-between-2-milf-rival-groups-in-maguindanao

Army acquires 22 grenades held in Bulacan for 13 years

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Feb 24): Army acquires 22 grenades held in Bulacan for 13 years

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO-The father of a militiaman turned over 22 grenades to the Philippine Army’s 70th Infantry Battalion in Bulacan province on Feb. 23, the Armed Forces’ Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) said on Saturday (Feb. 24).

In a statement, Nolcom said Rene Alcaraz, father of a member of the CAFGU Active Auxiliary, said the grenades were found in April 2005 in a lot in Barangay (village) San Mateo in Norzagaray town. It said the Army was trying to determine the source of the grenades.

Nolcom also reported the surrender of an alleged member of the New People’s Army in Cagayan Valley, the second to yield to the 17th Infantry Battalion since December.

Joel Ballinan, 19, surrendered on Feb. 23 in Rizal town. He supposedly used the aliases Joren and Javier as a logistics officer and team leader of a squad in the Danilo Ben Command of the NPA.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/971072/army-acquires-22-grenades-held-in-bulacan-for-13-years

Police, military action sought on NPA sightings in north Negros Oriental

From InterAksyon (Feb 24): Police, military action sought on NPA sightings in north Negros Oriental



A flag dance is performed during a rebel ceremony in Negros. (InterAksyon file)

The president of the League of Municipalities in Negros Oriental has sought the help of the Philippine National Police and the Army over reported sightings of armed men believed to be New People’s Army fighters in four towns in the province’s north.

Ayungon Mayor Edsel Enardecido said during the LMP meeting in Dumaguete City Wednesday that the NPA was expanding its activities and base in the Manjuyod, Bindoy, Ayungon, and Tayasan, which are adjacent to each other and which he said constitute the rebels’ expansion area.

In fact, the four local government units have agreed to hold a joint peace and order council meeting soon to discuss the problem, Enardecido said.

Senior Superintendent Edwin Portento, provincial police director, acknowledged they have received reports of such sightings but did not elaborate.

Nevertheless, he said he had gone to the mountains of Bindoy about three weeks ago to validate reports about the expansion of the NPA in the town.

He and Enardecido also admitted receiving reports of people evacuating for fear of the rebels.

Portento expressed optimism that the arrival of the 15th Infantry Battalion and the presence of the other Army units will be sufficient to address the insurgency problem.

‘Bribes’ for rebel deaths won’t solve Duterte’s woes – Sison

From InterAksyon (Feb 24): ‘Bribes’ for rebel deaths won’t solve Duterte’s woes – Sison



File photos of communist leader Jose Maria Sison (from josemariasison.org) and President Rodrigo Duterte (from Malacanang) INTERAKSYON COMBO IMAGE

President Rodrigo Duterte’s “stupid and outrageous” offer of P50,000 bounties for the deaths of New People’s Army commanders “is an old discredited trick of the military, which has not worked at all to damage or destroy the revolutionary movement,” the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines said.

Jose Ma. Sison mocked Duterte, saying he “believes too much in killing revolutionaries and bribing the unscrupulous like him to solve any problem of his, like the growing revolutionary movement of the people.”

At the same time, he slammed Duterte’s bounty offer because it “incites the murder of revolutionaries and induces his own officers with reward money to engage in summary executions or extrajudicial killings.”

Duterte raised the bounty offer during a visit to Camp General Adriano Hernandez in Iloilo province on Thursday. He also offered P25,000 for NPA fighters and unspecified amounts for rebel medics and “tax collectors.”

Explaining why the bounties would not work, Sison, who is now chief political consultant of the National Democratic Front, said “even when the reward money for the head of a revolutionary is P1 million, the killer-informer is lucky if he gets five pesos because the corrupt military officers get a share of the reward money from the level of generals downwards.”

“The killer-informer cannot complain because for him to do so he would be to broadcast his act of betrayal and invite punishment from the revolutionary movement or his own murder by the military agents of Duterte,” he added. “At any rate, when the people get to know who has betrayed and murdered a revolutionary, the traitor is eventually punished by the people´s army.”

Manhunt on for 10 suspected NPA members in Negros Oriental

From the Sun Star-Cebu (Feb 24): Manhunt on for 10 suspected NPA members in Negros Oriental

THE Central Command (Centcom) vowed to hunt down New People’s Army rebels in Negros Oriental who set fire to a 10-wheeler dump truck last Thursday afternoon.

Col. Medel Aguilar, Centcom spokesperson, said they will not rest until they locate the insurgents, whom he described as having resorted to banditry.

“If you mention NPA, what is always attached to that is the act of violence, an act of terror,” he said.

Medel said the rebels are extorting money from business owners whose properties are burned if they fail to give in to their demands.

In Sitio Tabalugo, Barangay Budlasan, Canlaon, Negros Oriental, the dump truck was set on fire by 10 suspected NPA members. Samuel Barnayha, 37, drove it.

When the truck arrived in Tabalugo to haul sugarcane, the 10 armed men shouted at Barnayha to leave before setting fire to the vehicle, which belonged to Lito Albellar, 50.

Aguilar said that the NPA committed several atrocities in Negros Oriental last year, including the murder of 21 persons in separate incidents.

Last July, five police officers and their commander, Supt. Arnel Arpon, were also killed in an ambush in Barangay Magsaysay, Guihulngan City.

The following month, Junjun Benido, the barangay captain of Hinakpan, Guihulngan City, was shot dead.

 http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2018/02/24/manhunt-10-suspected-npa-members-negros-oriental-590560

Seized union organizer was held, interrogated incognito then presented as ‘rebel’ – KMU

From InterAksyon (Feb 24): Seized union organizer was held, interrogated incognito then presented as ‘rebel’ – KMU

KMU_Free_Maoj_Maga_poster

Detail from a KMU poster demanding freedom Marklen Maojo Maga.

Detained union organizer Marklen Maojo Maga was illegally arrested, driven around blindfolded and denied access to his relatives and counsel as he was interrogated for several hours Thursday, a day before police presented him to media as a supposed communist rebel and then subject to inquest, again without a lawyer, the Kilusang Mayo Uno said.

The labor center, in a statement on Saturday, accused the Philippine National Police of “spreading fake news, fake charges and planted evidences against the 39-year old union organizer, who it said was “abducted” by plainclothes state security agents as he played basketball with neighbors on Colorado Street, Greenland New Townhomes, San Mateo, Rizal after bringing his son to school Thursday morning.

Maga is the son-in-law of Rafael Baylosis, a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, who was also arrested recently in Quezon City and charged with what human rights groups have described as “trumped up” charges of illegal firearms possession based on planted evidence.

KMU secretary general Jerome Adonis said the same tactic was used on Maga and that police “planted the firearms allegedly seized in his bag.”

The KMU also called the murder charges against the union organizer as “fake” because it “involved an incident in Agusan del Sur, where Maga has never been to as he has long been a union organizer in the port area of Manila, in factory belts in Valenzuela and in special economic zones in Central Luzon” and, before that, a student activist at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

It said at least eight men grabbed and handcuffed Maga then forced him into a white Hi-Ace van with the license plate VH 1410, which was accompanied by another car and motorcycle.

“Maga was illegally arrested, without any standing warrant against him. At the time of his abduction, he was not informed of why they were taking him or what charges were being leveled against him,” it said.

“A quick check into the plate number of the white Hi-Ace van revealed that it is registered to a different vehicle,” the KMU said. The driver of the vehicle, who logged in a the subdivision guardhoue as Ken Estocado Flores, “introduced himself as a policeman,” it added.

Although there were several eyewitnesses, including Maga’s basketball playmates, they were warned against informing his wife. It was only around noon when one of the witnesses finally told her.

Maga was finally allowed to contact his family around 5 p.m., almost 10 hours after he was seized, but when his lawyers and a team from KMU and youth group Anakbayan saw him at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group detention facility in Camp Crame, they were “not presented with any charge sheet or warrant against him.”

It was during Maga’s interrogation in Crame that “one of the police officers presented to him a photograph of a half-cocked .45 caliber” and seven bullets, and told the weapon was his. Maga denied this and refused to sign documents presented to him.

“At the time of his abduction, Maga only had in his possession a basketball, a backpack with an airpump for his bike and his bicycle,” the KMU stressed. “All were confiscated by the police.”

Early Friday afternoon, Maga was presented by the CIDG as an alleged member of the executive committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines’ National Youth and Students Bureau, National Organizing Division, then taken to the Department of Justice for inquest.

“His lawyer was not informed and was not present during the inquest proceedings, where trumped up charges of illegal possession of firearms were reportedly filed against him,” the labor center said.

According to police reports, elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group – National Capital Region, Internal Security Division and Intelligence Group of the Philippine National Police, and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted the said operations against Maga.

“Organizing workers is not a crime,” the KMU’s Adonis said. “Maga’s abduction and arrest is clearly trade union repression. The PNP is spreading fake news, filing fake charges and planting fake evidences to criminalize Maga who has actively been organizing workers to assert their rights against Duterte’s tyrannical rule.”

Opinion: Media should stop romanticizing the NPAs

Opinion piece by Getsy Tiglao in the Manila Bulletin (Feb 23): Opinion: Media should stop romanticizing the NPAs

I don’t know why in this day and age, Philippine media continues to romanticize the criminal and terrorist group known as the New People’s Army (NPA). They put on the front page photographs of these Communists, in effect giving this rebel group millions of pesos worth of free publicity.

Editors are quick to pixelize violent images of crime scenes on both print and on television, but then they unthinkingly showcase photographs of armed NPA cadres – the same people who won’t hesitate to shoot down a Filipino soldier, policeman, or any politician or businessman who refuses to pay their illegal “revolutionary taxes.”

It’s been 50 years since the creation of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). By this time, the members of media who in their youth may have been sympathetic to the Communist movement, should have realized that Communism is a failed ideology. Even the People’s Republic of China, which has a unitary Socialist-Communist government, grew and developed only after adopting capitalist and market reforms starting in 1978.

They should also know by now that the CPP was the one behind the Plaza Miranda bombing on August 21, 1971, as testified by many witnesses, including former cadres. Jose Maria Sison, the founder of the CPP, wanted to trigger a revolution but what he caused instead was a declaration of martial law in the entire country.

Parts of Mindanao and the Visayas continue to be poor and undeveloped because of the presence of the NPAs. Investors are reluctant to build industries in far-flung areas because of the likelihood that the communists will attack them and destroy their property and businesses if they don’t pay the communists’ extortion fee.

Despite this, Philippine media still devotes long and fawning interviews with Sison, the CPP’s propaganda leader who is enjoying the good life in Europe. Local media publishes glamorized portraits of young pretty NPAs with their Macbooks without the slightest awareness of the hypocrisy of it all. They are unwittingly sending a message to the youth that it’s cool to be a Communist cadre. Yes, the girl says, I am an NPA but I love Apple!

The fact is that Communist cadres are always on the run from the military. They trod through miles of dirt and jungle, eat mainly camote and old coconut (niyog), and suffer through bouts of malaria, diarrhea, and various illnesses, including tuberculosis. Their teeth fall due to malnutrition and bad hygiene.

If they don’t surrender to government, they are eventually killed in an encounter or shot by their fellow Communists when they cleanse ranks. This is the reality, and not the idealized version being promoted by Communist propagandists, aided in part by mainstream media. Is this really the future that newspaper and television executives want for our youth?

The goal of the CPP is to overthrow the government through violent means, mainly guerrilla warfare. Thus their armed wing, the NPA, has been behind many ambushes of soldiers and policemen. The Duterte administration gave up on its talks with the Communists last year due to the non-stop NPA attacks that resulted in the deaths of many, including civilians.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has long identified the CPP-NPA as a serious threat to our democracy. I believe that our military has the smarts and capability to defeat the Communists. The problem has always been the lack of support to the AFP and the general reluctance of leaders to order a full-scale campaign against the rebels.

This is slowly changing though as President Rodrigo Duterte, despite his socialist leanings, has seen the crucial role of the AFP in keeping the republic intact. Military arms and equipment are now being upgraded. So are the salaries and benefits of our men and women in uniform.

Imagine if the AFP had failed to win the war in Marawi. We would have had a city within our country controlled by the decapitation-happy Islamic State.

Many Philippine presidents start out with a desire to enter into peace negotiations with the Communists. But then they always leave the negotiating table feeling frustrated and betrayed.

The Duterte administration is only the latest to try, and fail, to reach an agreement with a group that has no genuine desire for peace. Really, now, how can you expect government to agree to a deal where the NPA will not lay down their arms?

Media people should start looking at Communist groups for what they really are – as a threat to our democratic society.

Unfortunately, local media has taken the adversarial role of the press to the extreme, forgetting that it also has a role in building a nation. There is no shame in helping your country grow and develop so that millions of Filipinos can be lifted out of poverty. What is shameful is helping criminals and terrorists in their goal to overthrow a legitimate government through violent means.

Editors, reporters, publishers, and newspaper owners should rethink their practice of promoting – inadvertently, I hope – the Communist ideology. Our media people should think deep and hard as to which side they want to win.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/23/media-should-stop-romanticizing-the-npas/



High-powered firearms cache allegedly owned by Abu Sayyaf recovered by military

From GMA News Online (Feb 23): High-powered firearms cache allegedly owned by Abu Sayyaf recovered by military

Government troops recovered a cache of high-powered firearms allegedly owned by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu on Thursday night.

Eight high-powered firearms—four M16 rifles and four M14 rifles—were discovered by the Marine Battalion Landing Team-3 of the Joint Task Force Sulu in Sitio Kadkad, Barangay Pitogo, Kalingalan Caluang in Sulu at 7:30 p.m.

The military received a tip from a concerned citizen, and soon dispatched a team.

A member of the Abu Sayyaf identified as Apo Eting guarded the firearms but fled on a motorized banca when the troops drew near.

Brigadier General Cirilito E. Sobejana, Armed Forces of the Philippines JTF Sulu commander, commended the troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Ramil Densing of MBLT-3 for the discovery of the firearms cache. He also thanked the residents and the local government unit for their support and cooperation.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/644424/high-powered-firearms-cache-allegedly-owned-by-abu-sayyaf-recovered-by-military/story/

Suspected NPA charged

From the Manila Bulletin (Feb 23): Suspected NPA charged

A suspected communist rebel has been charged today before the Department of Justice (DOJ) after he was caught with a firearm in Rizal today.

The arrested alleged member of the New People’s Army (NPA) has been identified as Marklen Maja, 38, a member of the militant group Kilusang Mayo Uno and son-in-law of National Democratic Front (NDF) consultant Rafael Baylosis.


Maja was subjected to inquest proceedings before the DOJ where a criminal complaint has been filed against him for illegal possession of firearm.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor handling the complaint has declared the case submitted for resolution.

In its complaint, the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) said Maja was arrested at around 9:20 a.m. yesterday at a basketball court of Greenland Newtown Subdivision in Barangay Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal.

Joint operatives of the PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) arrested Maja based on an arrest warrant issued by the Cabadbaran City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 34 in Agusan del Norte over a murder case he is facing.

During Maia’s arrest, a 45 caliber pistol loaded with seven live ammunition was found in his backpack.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2018/02/23/suspected-npa-charged/