Sunday, June 24, 2018

3 BIFF members surrender to military in Maguindanao

From the Philippine Star (Jun 23): 3 BIFF members surrender to military in Maguindanao



The three militants from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters were presented to journalists by Gen. Cirilito Sobejana of the 6th Infantry Division (right) at Camp Siongco in Maguindanao on Friday night.  Philstar.com/John Unson
Three more members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters surrendered on Friday and pledged allegiance to the Philippine flag.

One of them told reporters they decided to surrender and turn over their firearms to Gen. Cirilito Sobejana of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division after realizing that their group, based in central Mindanao’s Liguasan Delta, could be 6th ID’s next target following an airstrike there two weeks ago that destroyed their makeshift bomb-making facility and killed nine, three of them foreign terrorists.

“Kami na sigurado ang isusunod at naisip naming kawawa ang aming mga anak kung mamatay kami,” said one of the BIFF bandits, who asked to be identified only as Mangcala for his safety
.

He said the squabbles of their commanders for the leadership of BIFF, which has three factions now, one of them led by an Islamic State-inspired cleric, Imam Abu Toraife, are getting worst. 

The surrender of the three men, who also turned over four assault rifles and a .50 caliber Barret sniping rifle, brought to 18 the number of BIFF members who surrendered to the 6th ID since April this year.

The first to yield were four bandits trained in fabrication of improvised explosive devices by the slain Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, most known as Marwan, while Gen. Arnel Dela Vega, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, was at 6th ID’s helm yet.

Eleven more surrendered three weeks later to Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu through the intercession of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion, the 1st Mechanized Battalion and local officials in Paglat and General Pendatun towns in the province.

The office of Mangudadatu is now helping reintegrate the new reforming BIFF men, two of them commanders, through socio-economic interventions and religious formation by moderate Muslim theologians helping address misguided Islamic militancy plaguing isolated areas in Maguindanao and North Cotabato.

Mangudadatu earlier said President Rodrigo Duterte has also promised to provide them core shelters to hasten their return to mainstream society.

 The local government unit of General Pendatun has offered lots where to construct the houses.

“These three men first signified their desire to surrender to a local executive and officials of the 602nd Brigade and the 7th IB,” said Sobejana, who assumed as 6th ID commander only last May 25.

Both units are under 6th ID, whose coverage spans through the neighboring Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces, and several towns in Lanao del Sur.

Sobejana said there were actually five of them who were to bolt out, but the two failed to leave their enclave at the marshy border of Mlang, North Cotabato and General Pendatun, Maguindanao on agreed time.

“The duo assured they will proceed with their surrender once they can leave. There were some security considerations. We are giving them enough time to plan their safe exit from their lair,” Sobejana said.

The three BIFF men, two of them named Taul and Solaiman, are to undergo tactical debriefing meanwhile in Camp Siongco, the command center of 6th ID, while its units are to relocate their families tomore areas far from reach by their hardcore companions.

“Surely they will become subject of reprisals,” Sobejana said.

Reports have circulated early on purporting that more than 20 BIFF members had been executed by companions from April to May alone on mere suspicion they were in backchannel talks with groups interceding for their surrender. 

Two of those reportedly killed by companions gangland style, Akong Sumael and Khalid Tangan, were accused of providing the military information on their movements in the Liguasan Delta, located at the tri-boundary of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2018/06/23/1827211/3-biff-members-surrender-military-maguindanao

Photo: Muslim rebels surrender

From the Manila Bulletin (Jun 24): Photo: Muslim rebels surrender

 Three members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters who surrendered to the military wait to be presented to the commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division headquarters in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. The rebels surrendered as government troops stepped up their attacks on BIFF positions in Liguasan Marsh. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera)

Three members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters who surrendered to the military wait to be presented to the commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division headquarters in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. The rebels surrendered as government troops stepped up their attacks on BIFF positions in Liguasan Marsh. (Ferdinandh B. Cabrera)
 

Military scoffs at Sison threat, says NPA can’t topple Duterte

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jun 23): Military scoffs at Sison threat, says NPA can’t topple Duterte


Col. Edgard Arevalo, chief of the AFP Public Information Office. (Photo from his Facebook page)

The military on Friday belittled a statement made by Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founding chair Jose Maria “Joma” Sison that the insurgents could topple President Duterte if he canceled the peace talks altogether.

Col. Edgard Arevalo, spokesperson for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said on Friday that the insurgents had failed in the past to oust the [country’s sitting] President and would again come to grief this time.

“There have been peace talks after another that have failed in the past. And each time, they were trying to oust the President but never came close enough to at least unsettle a commander-in-chief,” Arevalo said.

He slammed Sison’s “temerity to make such a threat,” claiming that members of the New People’s Army, the CPP’s armed wing, had been surrendering “in droves” to the military.

More bloodshed
Sison predicted more bloodshed following the President’s decision to again cancel the resumption of formal peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

“The broad united front of patriotic and progressive forces … are advancing and can oust the Duterte regime in due time,” he said on Thursday.

Three-month lull

The government and NDFP announced on Thursday a three-month lull in peace negotiations with MalacaƱang saying the postponement would allow the President to personally review all the agreements both panels had forged in the past.

In an online interview from Utrecht, the Netherlands, Sison said there would be “no ceasefire in the next three months” because the President wanted “to launch his military offensives first and find out the results.”

Clashes between government troops and the rebels flared up anew on Thursday.

An Army soldier was wounded and classes were disrupted following a firefight with the rebels near a school in Talaingod, Davao del Norte.

In Kidapawan City, six soldiers were wounded in a roadside explosion at Barangay Doles in Magpet, Cotabato, according to Gov. Emmylou TaliƱo-Mendoza.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1003405/military-scoffs-at-sison-threat-says-npa-cant-topple-duterte

NPA rebels torch Zambales equipment used on Capas-Botolan Road

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jun 24): NPA rebels torch Zambales equipment used on Capas-Botolan Road
Armed men suspected to be New People’s Army rebels burned a backhoe and a payloader owned by a private company that is constructing a portion of the road linking Capas in Tarlac to Botolan in Zambales on Saturday (June 23) in a remote mountain village in Botolan town, according to the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The torching of the equipment took place in Sitio Oraan in Barangay Cabatuan, allegedly in a rebel-infested area, said Lt. Col. Isagano Nato, Nolcom public information chief.


The Army’s Mechanized Infantry Battalion had been deployed to pursue the armed group.

Nato said the name of the company that owns the equipment was still being verified at press time. The extent of the damage was not made public.

The government is spending P5.91 billion to build the 81.63-kilometer Capas-Botolan Road which is designed to cut travel time from 120 minutes to 90 minutes to Clark City, said Public Works Secretary Mark Villar during the Philippine Economic Briefing held at the Clark Freeport in April.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1003702/npa-rebels-torch-zambales-equipment-used-on-capas-botolan-road

MILF: Passing a CAB-Compliant BBL will correct Historical Injustices– Abdula

Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jun 22): Passing a CAB-Compliant BBL will correct Historical Injustices– Abdula



In a peace advocacy held in this town, Kalilintad Peacebuilding Institute President Prof. Esmael A. Abdula said that “Passing a Comprehensive Agreement for the Bangsamoro (CAB)-compliant Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will correct historical injustices committed against the Moro People.”

‘’We need to act together, push for the passage of a CAB-Compliant BBL so that a political solution to the Bangsamoro Question can be achieved,’’ Abdula emphasized.

Abdula added that Moro people would not accept a law on BBL that is not CAB-compliant or a BBL that will not truly address the Moro grievances”.

“The Moro people will exert all peaceful means to achieve their right to self-determination to attain lasting peace in Mindanao”, said Abdula.

Abdula further said that nothing can appease the Moro People except the passage of a BBL that is acceptable to Moro people.

The CAB was signed between the Government of the Philippines (GPH), and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Manila on August 27, 2014 in the presence of President Benigno C. Aquino III, then Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, the Malaysian Third Party Facilitator, members of the cabinet, the diplomatic corps, and leaders of the MILF led by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.

http://www.luwaran.com/news/article/1378/passing-a-cab-compliant-bbl-will-correct-historical-injustices----abdula

MILF: Humanitarian Groups appeal to authorities to uphold civilian protection during military operations against ISIS-Inspired Groups in the Bangsamoro

Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jun 23): Humanitarian Groups appeal to authorities to uphold civilian protection during military operations against ISIS-Inspired Groups in the Bangsamoro



IN PHOTO- Makeshift tents where IDP’s temporarily stay while military operations take place in the Ligawasan Marsh

The North Cotabato Composite Team of CSOs (NCCT-CSO) North Cotabato, Community-Based Peace and Protection Center (CBPPC) Maguindanao and North Cotabato, and the Tiyakap Kalilintad (TKI) Maguindanao and North Cotabato issued a statement and appealed to concerned authorities to uphold civilian protection during military operations against ISIS-Inspired Groups in the Ligawasan Marsh in Maguindanao, and North Cotabato.

“As a network of humanitarians, peace advocates, and human rights defenders, we call on concerned local government units and the military authorities to uphold humanitarian protection and to take steps to ensure civilian safety and welfare in the ongoing military campaign against the members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in and around the Ligawasan Marsh in North Cotabato and Maguindanao”, the statement said.

“We appeal to the mandated organizations who are committed to human rights to immediately hold a non-partisan investigation on the reported deaths of a 14-year old boy and a pregnant woman at the height of mortar shelling operations as in Lower Idtig in Gen. Salipada K. Pendatun municipality on June 16, 2018 and the killing of an elderly and a 13-year boy during a military raid in Sitio Makantal, Olandang, Midsayap, North Cotabato on June 12, 2018”, it continued.

The group reminded the rebel fighters to refrain from taking actions that endanger the lives of the civilians and non-combatants as they can be held accountable for violations of humanitarian laws and human rights standards governing armed conflict situations.

The group reported that “clashes between the soldiers and the BIFF members have resulted to the displacement of more than 3,000 families from the villages of Dalgan, Buliok and Kalbugan in the town of Pagalungan, Maguindanao. They sought refuge in the old market and an elementary school in the town center and later moved to the neighboring municipality of Datu Montawal, Maguindanao.”

They called the attention of concerned authorities to verify reports that soldiers and public officials are asking the evacuees to return to their places of origin despite the ongoing aerial bombings in nearby areas. We ask the duty-bearers and other stakeholders to take into consideration the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGPID) in handling the situations of the internally displaced persons.

These groups also called the public to rally behind the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will pave the way to addressing the historical injustices committed against the Moro People.

“As essential and sustainable measures to attain durable solutions to the recurrent issue of internal displacement in security-challenged areas in Mindanao, we enjoin everyone to support the enactment into law of the version of a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will correct the historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro and fulfill their legitimate right to self-determination.”

Other concerns raised were calling for the passage of the ‘Internal Displacement Act’ to set into law the obligation of duty-bearers and stakeholders in the prevention of involuntary displacement and the protection and promotion of the rights and welfare of civilians affected by man-made and natural disasters, including situations of complex emergencies.



The media practitioners were also asked to validate their report specially on covering conflict. “We request the media people to always exercise peace journalism and refrain from distorting the truth in covering the conflict in the Bangsamoro in order not to add more to the agony and sufferings of the hapless victims,” the group elucidated.

Among the signatories to the statement were: Balay Rehabilitation Center, Inc.; Cotabato Center for Peace and Development Initiatives, Inc. (CCPDI); Suara Kalilintad; United Youth for Peace and Development (North Cotabato Clusters 1, 2 and 3); Integrated Mindanawon Association of Natives (IMAN); Grassroots Against Poverty and Hunger (GAP-Hunger); Bantay Ceasefire ; Early Warning Early Response (EWER); Local Initiatives for Peace and Development (LIPAD); MyPeace; Oblates of Mary Immaculate Foundation, Inc.-Interreligious Dialogue (OMFI-IRD); Tiyakap Kalilintad Incorporated (TKI) – North Cotabato and Maguindanao Chapters; and Community-Based Peace and Protection Center (CBPPC) – North Cotabato and Maguindanao Chapters.

http://www.luwaran.com/news/article/1379/humanitarian-groups-appeal-to-authorities-to-uphold-civilian-protection-during-military-operations-against-isis-inspired-groups-in-the-bangsamoro

NDF/NDF-Mindanao: Cancellation of the June 28 NDFP-GRP peace talks shows Duterter’s partiality to militarism and deceit over the pursuit of just and lasting peace

NDF-Mindanao propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front Website (Jun 22): Cancellation of the June 28 NDFP-GRP peace talks shows Duterter’s partiality to militarism and deceit over the pursuit of just and lasting peace

Press Statement | 20 June 2018
Ka Joaquin Jacinto
Spokesperson, NDFP-Mindanao

The NDFP-Mindanao rejects the latest attempt of the the US-Duterte regime to once again sabotage and derail the peace process by arbitrarily cancelling the resumption of the 5th round of the NDFP-GRP formal peace negotiations, which is set to commence on June 28 as agreed upon by both parties after a series backchannel talks.



This is already the fourth time Duterte violated basic protocols of the NDFP-GRP peace talks as stipulated under the The Hague Joint Declaration, which ensures that no party in the negotiations takes upon itself the right to dictate arbitrary terms upon the other. Duterte cannot just dictate and impose his will on the process. This latest infringement only reveals the high degree of contempt with which Duterte’s regime shows in all its blabber of pursuing genuine peace.

Talk of peace from Duterte’s mouth is apparently nothing but a subterfuge to veil its fascism, as manifested in its militarist policies such as the continuing imposition of martial law in Mindanao. Duterte and his military minions have waylaid the peace talks in favor of the all-out military suppression and encirclement campaign of the AFP, which is set to launch Marawi-style large-scale military offensives against the revolutionary movement and the people in the next three months until the end of the year in several hinterland communities all over Mindanao, particularly in Caraga, Davao, Cotabato, Misamis, Lanao and Zamboaga.

With this latest breach in the talks, Duterte once again deprives the masses of workers, peasants and Lumad in Mindanao a sound platform to re-assert their demands for genuine agrarian reform, national industrialization, national sovereignty as well as their basic rights and freedoms, especially since the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) is the center of the 5th round of talks once it formally resumes. In particular, it deprives peasants, Lumad and Moro of a venue to further defend their land against the aggressive encroachment of imperialist plantations and mining firms.

The US-Duterte regime foists “peace consultations” as its excuse for calling off the talks. It even went as far as “inviting” individuals from the revolutionary movement as “resource persons” to these so-called “consultations.” However, looking back at the lessons gleaned from past peace talks (especially the one in 1986), this “excuse” looks more like a grand ruse to lure revolutionary forces into exposing themselves to arrests and attacks by the AFP and the PNP.

This is also to lay the ground for Duterte’s and the AFP’s insistence to hold the peace talks in the Philippines and conduct “localized peace talks,” which are clearly intended to sow confusion and division among revolutionary forces and the people in general. Apart from the demand for the venue of the talks to be transferred to the Philippines, which a glaring violation of the The Hague Joint Declarations, Duterte has also demanded the return of Prof. Jose Maria Sison to the country as a pre-condition, one which exposes Prof. Sison to mortal danger.

These so-called “peace consultations” are dubious as democratic avenues for the masses to assert their socio-economic demands and aspirations because these are launched alongside the AFP’s military operations and COPD, and, at the same time, Peace and Order Councils (where the AFP hold sway) of local government units will be mobilized to spearhead such activities. Being so, we fear that these “consultations” will only be used to dissuade the public from supporting the peace talks by propagating black propaganda as well as fake and poison news against the national-democratic revolutionary movement. If the GRP is truly serious about consulting the people, it should hold them during and within the terms of the formal peace negotiations.

On the part of the NDFP and the revolutionary forces, its representatives have long conducted thorough consultations among the masses of peasants, workers, Lumad and Moro and, from which, verified the validity of CASER. But even with this, the US-Duterte regime has proven itself as the chief saboteur of the peace process by attacking, arresting, harassing and even killing NDFP consultants, such as in the case of NDFP consultant Lora Manipis and her husband, who remain missing until this time and are feared dead.

Thus, the NDFP-Mindanao calls on the Filipino people to unite under the banner of just peace, expose and oppose efforts by the US-Duterte regime to sabotage and derail the peace talks, and continue to press for the resumption of the formal peace negotiations. We call on the people further to wage all forms of struggle to allow the peace process to continue and prosper.

We call on the various regional commands of the New People’s Army and People’s militias in Mindanao to launch more tactical offensives to counter on-going large-scale offensives of the AFP that endanger the very lives and livelihood of workers, peasants, Lumad and Moro in the island and threaten various efforts, including the NDFP-GRP peace talks, to attain just and lasting peace.###

https://www.ndfp.org/cancellation-of-the-june-28-ndfp-grp-peace-talks-shows-duterters-partiality-to-militarism-and-deceit-over-the-pursuit-of-just-and-lasting-peace/

NDF/NPA-Central Negros: Ginatanyag nga “Peacetalk” ni Duterte sa CPP-NPA-NDF Lunsay Pasalig kag Pagpanginto

NPA-Central Negros Guerrilla Front propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front Website (Jun 22): Ginatanyag nga “Peacetalk” ni Duterte sa CPP-NPA-NDF Lunsay Pasalig kag Pagpanginto

Press release | Hunyo 22, 2018
Ka JB Regalado
Spokesperson, Leonardo Panaligan Command
New People’s Army, Central Negros Guerrilla Front

Ginadayaw sang LPC-NPA ang KAUGMAON-KMP kag bug-os nga pumuluyo sa Central Negros sa ila ginhimo nga serye sang Peace Caravan, diin gintambungan sang masobra 3,000 ka pumuluyo sadtong Mayo 10, 2018 kag Hunyo 12, 2018 nga ginkulminar sa Guihulngan, Negros Oriental. Maisog sila nga nagapanawagan sang gilayon nga pagpauntat sang extra-judicial killings kag human right’s violations nga direkta ginkomiter sang state security forces partikular na sang AFP kag PNP sa ila kampanya kontra-druga, kontra-terorismo kag kontra-insurhensiya idalum sa kampanyang militar Oplan Kapayapaan sang US-Duterte nga rehimen.

Ginasinggitan man nila ang pagpa-untat sang militarisasyon sa mga kaumahan sa Central Negros kag bug-os nga isla. Ginatib-ong man nila ang pagpatuman sang CARHRIHL kag pagpadayon sang Peacetalks sa tunga sang NDFP kag GRP agud gilayon nga mahambalan sang magkatimbang nga bahin ang Comprehensive Agreements on Socio and Economic Reforms.

Kadungan sa ila ginapanawagan ang gilayon man nga pagpauntat sang TRAIN law diin naghatag sang perwisyo sa naga-antus na nga daan nga pumuluyong Pilipino sa kapigaduhon, kawad-on sang duta kag palangabuhian. Suno man sa ila, ginahangkat nila ang rehimeng US-Duterte kag ang AFP sa sinsero sini nga paghilway sang mga political prisoners labi na ang mga NDFP Consultants sa madinalag-on nga paghambalanay sang kalinong sa pungsod kag maugat ang kawsa sang gyera sibil.

Dalayawon ini nga lihok sang mga mangunguma kag pumuluyo nga nakahangup kag nagatib-ong sang demokratikong interes sang malapad nga pumuluyong Pilipino ilabe na ang pagpatuman sang matuod nga reporma sa duta kag pungsodnon nga industrialisasyon.

Samtang ginakondenar man sang NPA ang ginhimo nga “Peace Rally” sang AFP labi na sang 62nd IBPA sa Mabinay, Negros Oriental sadtong Hunyo 12, 2018. Desperado nga gingamit sang militar ang ika-120 ka tuig nga pagsukat sang “adlaw sang paltik nga kahilwayan” sa pagtursi kag pagbaliskad sang kamatuoran batok sa CPP/NPA/NDF. Ang pagdramatisa sang ila “psywar” kag “black-propaganda” kontra sa NPA, isa ka “sarswela sang ila mga kabutigan.” Tanda ini sang ila muklat nga pagsabotahe sa pagpadayon sa Peacetalks sa tunga sang NDFP kag GRP.

Ang liwat kag temporaryo nga pagkansela ni Duterte sa naka-skedyul na nga Peacetalks, isa ka duso-butong nga desisyon kag mga palayag. Indi siya sinsero sa pagsolbar sang ugat kag kawsa sang gyera sibil sa pungsod. Upod sa AFP gusto sini nga ipatuman ang kampanya tudo gyera batok sa CPP-NPA-NDF. Ang kamatuoran, madugay na nga nagahandum sang tunay, makatarunganon kag malawigon nga kalinong ang pumuluyong Pilipino. Gani indi rason nga nagakinahanglan pa nga konsultahon ang “stakeholders” bangud bisan sin-o man, nagaduso nga ipadayon ang Peacetalks luwas lang ni Lorenzana sang DND kag pila pa sa mga spoiled brats sang US-CIA sa pungsod. Ang matuod lunsay pasalig, panginto kag “lipserving” na lang ang ginatanyag nga Peacetalks ni Duterte kag sang AFP sa CPP-NPA-NDF.

Wala sang asahan pa ang malapad nga pumuluyo sa US-Duterte nga rehimen kundi ang maisog kag matutom nga paghimakas. Suportahon ang armadong rebolusyon nga ginasulong sang CPP-NPA para sa tunay kag makatarunganon nga kalinong sa pungsod.

https://www.ndfp.org/ginatanyag-nga-peacetalk-ni-duterte-sa-cpp-npa-ndf-lunsay-pasalig-kag-pagpanginto/

NDF/Sison: Observation on Duterte’s 3-month review of process and agreements in GRP-NDFP negotiations

Jose Maria Sison propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front (NDF) Website (Jun 22): Observation on Duterte’s 3-month review of process and agreements in GRP-NDFP negotiations

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
June 22, 2018

On the basis of the unrevoked Proclamation Nos. 360 and 374 as well as recent announcements and indications being made by Duterte himself and other GRP officials, many people expect that Duterte will make from his ¨review¨ certain conclusions and demands that he will try to impose on the NDFP and that NDFP will certainly refuse, thus rendering impossible peace negotiations between GRP and NDFP, at least for as long as Duterte is in power.
Palace: Duterte to review all past agreements with Reds
Below are some of the major expectations:
  1. He will deny the existence of a state of civil war, a nationwide armed conflict of close to 50 years, between his reactionary government and the revolutionary government and their respective armies. Duterte´s reactionary government is one of big compradors, landlords and bureaucrat capitalists servile to foreign monopoly capitalism. The revolutionary government is that of the workers, peasants and other oppressed people, with organs of political power led by the CPP, defended by the NPA and represented by the NDFP in peace negotiations.
  2. He will insult the revolutionary forces and people represented by the NDFP by categorizing them as mere nonstate actors unworthy of being respected as a co-belligerent in a civil war and slandering as mere ¨terrorists”and ¨criminals¨, not even as people or revolutionary movement driven to revolt against foreign domination and social injustice. This possibility is already presaged by the unrevoked Proclamation 374 designating the CPP and NPA as ¨terrorist¨ organizations.
  3. Consequent to 1 and 2, he will invalidate all previous previous agreements as having no basis in law, domestic and international, and insult as unlawful and stupid previous administrations of GRP and his own administration for having negotiated at all and having made agreements with the NDFP, instead of simply suppressing the forces and people represented by the NDFP with military and police action.
  4. He will avoid expressing the full counterrevolutionary arrogance of 1, 2 and 3 above by trying anyway to obtain the capitulation and political suicide of the NDFP and the people’s democratic government by demanding that they accept being categorized as nonstate actor and that the agreements with the GRP are only between the GRP agency called the OPAPP and the NDFP as a mere private entity subject to GRP criminal law at the whim of the tyrant Duterte.
If Duterte will try to impose any of the above on the NDFP, he will be quickly rendering impossible negotiations with GRP under his regime. He will be shutting out completely the possibility of achieving a just and lasting peace through negotiations and agreements on social, economic and political reforms. My observation here should help quicken his understanding of The Hague Joint Declaration and subsequent agreements between the GRP and NDFP.###

https://www.ndfp.org/observation-on-dutertes-3-month-review-of-process-and-agreements-in-grp-ndfp-negotiations/

Construction equipment burned by NPA in Zambales

From Malaya Business Insight (Jun 25): Construction equipment burned by NPA in Zambales

NEW People’s Army members burned two engineering equipment used in the construction of a road in Botolan town in Zambales on Saturday, the military said yesterday.

“Extortion” is being eyed as motive in the latest atrocity by the communist rebels, said Lt. Col. Isagani Nato, spokesman of the military’s Northern Luzon Command based in Tarlac City.

“NPA rebels usually burn equipment of construction companies that refuse to pay `revolutionary tax,’” he said.

Nato said an NPA group torched the backhoe and a payloader in Sitio Oraan, Barangay Cabatuan at around 1 p.m.


He could not immediately say who owned the burned equipment but said the company was contracted by government to construct the Capas-Botolan road which will link Zambales and Tarlac, without passing through Subic.

Nato said forces from the Army’s 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion have been deployed to pursue the NPA group.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/construction-equipment-burned-npa-zambales

Joint sea exercises for PH, foreign ships before RIMPAC

From Malaya Business Insight (Jun 25): Joint sea exercises for PH, foreign ships before RIMPAC

TWO Philippine Navy ships yesterday participated in maneuvering and communication exercises with American, Japanese, Indian and Singaporean ships in the Pacific Ocean.

Navy spokesman Cdr. Jonathan Zata said frigate BRP Andres Bonifacio and landing dock BRP Davao del Sur linked up with US Navy destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Ise, Indian multi-purpose frigate INS Sahyadri and Singaporean frigate Tenacious at the Johnston Atoll, about 750 nautical miles west of Hawaii.

The six ships were en route to Hawaii to join the Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC, the largest international maritime drill which will formally open this week.

BRPs Andres Bonifacio and Davao del Sur, with an AW-109 helicopter on board, and 700 officers and men were sent off from Cebu City to Hawaii on June 6 for the country’s first ever actual participation in RIMPAC.

The Philippine Navy has been sending small contingents of sailors as observers over the past three RIMPAC exercises. RIMPAC is held once every two years and involves dozens of navies from around the globe.

The Philippine Navy’s participation in RIMPAC is a milestone “to build and enhance relationship with other participating navies.”

“With the vigorous support from the government and its stakeholders through the modernization program, the PN now has the capability to send a contingent to RIMPAC 2018 thus, further fulfilling its diplomatic role in keeping peace and stability in the region,” Zata said.

Zata said the two PN ships linked up with the four naval ships and conducted formation exercises, including maneuvering.

“They went on different formation - diamond, abreast, line abreast, there is also the formation 1. When you say formation exercise, it’s all encompassing. They also conducted communication exercise. For them to have a successful formation exercise, they need to talk in a good communication line,” Zata said.

The six ships sailed together and are expected to arrive in Hawaii either on Tuesday or Wednesday. US officials said RIMPAC will formally open on Wednesday and conclude on August 2.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/joint-sea-exercises-ph-foreign-ships-rimpac

NPA justifies burning of heavy equipment

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jun 23): NPA justifies burning of heavy equipment

The New People’s Army Mt. Cansermon Command justified the burning of heavy equipment in Mabinay, Negros Oriental, last month, by citing the failure of the construction firm to comply with the policies of the revolutionary movement.

Rebel spokesperson John Malaya, in a statement issued by the Mt. Cansermon Command, said the construction firm was ordered to stop their project, but it did not comply.

The three heavy equipment, that were being used for national road concreting project in Brgys. Luyang and Bagtic in Mabinay town, Negros Oriental, were torched by communist rebels on May 21, the military said.


The damage to the three heavy equipment, that included a steamroller, a backhoe and a bulldozer, has been estimated by the Mabinay police at P5.4 million.

Col. Alberto Desoyo, newly-installed commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said earlier that they will help secure government projects, especially in the hinterlands of Negros.

Authorities are looking at the possibility that the rebels burned the equipment in retaliation for the private construction firm’s failure to pay “revolutionary tax” to the NPA, after receiving a demand letter.

On the other hand, Malaya debunked military claims that they are recruiting minors to join the revolutionary movement, stressing that what they are recruiting are those 18 years old and above.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2018/June/23/topstory8.htm

Aussies train WV soldiers

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jun 23): Aussies train WV soldiers

The Australian Defense Force trained Army soldiers in Western Visayas in combined urban operations, that took into consideration lessons learned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the Battle of Marawi.

Capt. Eduardo Precioso, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office chief, said yesterday that the month-long training, that was participated in by personnel of the 3ID, 6th Light Armor Company, 3rd Field Artillery Battalion and the 53rd Engineering Brigade, was aimed at enhancing the knowledge, interoperability, tactics, techniques, and procedures of the participants on combined urban operations.


Some of the participants are soldiers of the 15th Infantry Battalion, who had participated in the fight against the ISIS-inspired Maute terrorist group, who occupied Marawi for several months, before being neutralized by the AFP.

While the ADF shared their knowledge in military tactics to be employed in urban operations with the Philippine Army troops, Precioso said they also learned rural fighting warfare from the Philippine Army.

The Battle for Marawi underscores the complexity of urban warfare, that was compounded by the lack of familiarity of the AFP in fighting in cities.

Marawi City was liberated from the Maute Group after five months of intense fighting that left 974 terrorists, 168 soldiers and policemen, and 47 civilians dead.

“We learned from them, they learned from us,” Precioso said, apparently referring to the cross-military training that, he added, also strengthened the bilateral relationship between Philippine and Australian armed forces.

The Philippine-Australian Army Combined Urban Operations Training at Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz, ended June 20, with a 20-minute capability demonstration vigorously performed by the personnel of the Operation Control (OPCON) units of the 3ID and ADF Joint Task Group 629 headed by Lt. Col. Judd Finger.

The combined urban operations training was supervised by a Land Advisory Team from Joint Task Group 629, and majority of the pool instructors came from 3ID, who were also trained during the Philippine-Australia Army to Army Exercise 2018-2 in March this year.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2018/June/23/topstory4.htm

Group voices alarm as military turns lumad schools into barracks

From the often pro-Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) online publication the Davao Today (Jun 24): Group voices alarm as military turns lumad schools into barracks

A group has called on the government to recognize the law that prohibits the military and all its instrumentalities of utilizing schools as garrisons.

In a recent statement released to the media, the Save Our School Network in Southern Mindanao cited the case as seen in a video during a skirmish between the army and the New People’s Army in Sitio Tibucag, Barangay Dagahoy in Talaingod town, Davao del Norte where the military used the lumad school as their barracks.

SOS referred to the provisions of Republic Act 7610 or the Act Providing Stronger Deterrence and Special Protection against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination, particularly Article 10, Section 22 (e).

“We must recognize (that) this law is provided to ensure the protection of civilians, most especially children, in this time where the armed conflict must be in places away from populated communities,” the group said.

RA 7610, particularly the quoted section states that “public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and rural health units shall not be utilized for military purposes such as command posts, barracks, detachments and supply depots.”

But SOS expressed the belief that what had happened in Tibucag is also taking place in other lumad communities and schools in Mindanao.

“The military encampment in schools and communities endangers the lives of the civilian communities,” SOS emphasized, adding that the state forces in the country have been ignoring the law as they are camping inside the lumad schools and in houses in Talaingod.

The fact is that since the opening of the school this year, SOS was able to record six cases of military encampment in Salugpongan Ta Tunu Igkanugon Community Learning Center schools in the areas of Sitio Km 17, Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod which took place last May 26, 2018; in Sitio Km 30 in Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod; and in Sitio Laslasakan, Barangay Palma Gil, Talaingod last May 29.

The group added that the Salugpongan School in Sitio Tibucag, Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod was utilized three times by the military as their camp, specifically on May 29, June 6 and June 13, 2018.

Aside from the school, the soldiers had also established a detachment around 10-20 meters away from the school and Tibucag but within the site where the residents stay, the SOS added.

“For several years the residents in Sitio Tibucag have long been used as ‘shield’ during military operations. Residents revealed that soldiers have ordered them to stay inside their homes to avoid rebel attacks,” the group said, adding that three battalions of soldiers are now deployed in Talaingod town.

The militarization in Talaingod has turned lumad residents into prisoners in their own community as the armed soldiers roam and constantly monitor their movements, including that of the teachers and students at lumad schools, the SOS denounced.

As a result of intensified military operations in the area, 13 out of 21 schools of Salugpongan have failed to commence classes, the group claimed.

“We need to ask why the Lumad in Talaingod are the ones being intimidated and being endangered by this state of militarization. We need to challenge Education Secretary Leonor Briones, to go beyond promoting the trivial GMRC courses (Good Manners and Right Conduct), but rather she should enforce RA7610 in protecting Lumad schools,” the SOS continued.

The group also dared President Rodrigo Duterte to retract its call of bombing lumad schools.

“We support the communities’ demand for the military to pull out from their communities and stop the attacks on schools,” the SOS said.

http://davaotoday.com/main/human-rights/group-voices-alarm-as-military-turns-lumad-schools-into-barracks/

Joma depicts scenarios that will render GRP-NDFP talks impossible

From the often pro-Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) online publication the Davao Today (Jun 24): Joma depicts scenarios that will render GRP-NDFP talks impossible

Dark clouds are hovering over the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

NDFP Chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison recently made some observations on President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed “3-month review” that will cover further inquiries and scrutiny of the process and agreements entered into by both panels.

Sison said Duterte, after the review and based on his recent announcements and indications, is expected to issue certain conclusions and demands that will be refused by the NDFP.

Such impositions and demands made by Duterte will further make the current peace negotiations difficult, he emphasized.

Sison has presented four major expectations on Duterte’s handling of the peace process, the first one is the President’s denial on the existence of a state of civil war that has been waged nationwide for the last 50 years.

Not only Duterte but also his reactionary government is assumed to deny the state of civil war, especially the Armed Forces of the Philippines, he added.

“Duterte´s reactionary government is one of big compradors, landlords and bureaucrat capitalists servile to foreign monopoly capitalism. The revolutionary government is that of the workers, peasants and other oppressed people, with organs of political power led by the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines), defended by the NPA (New People’s Army) and represented by the NDFP in peace negotiations,” Sison said.

Secondly, Sison said Duterte will insult the revolutionary forces and people represented by the NDFP by categorizing them as mere nonstate actors unworthy of being respected as a co-belligerent in a civil war and slandering as mere ¨terrorists” and ¨criminals¨.

Such verbal attack, he added, is already presaged as the President refused to revoke Proclamation 374 designating the CPP and NPA as ¨terrorist¨ organizations.

And consequent to first and second observations, Sison said Duterte will invalidate all previous agreements as having no basis in law, domestic and international.

He added that Duterte will “insult as unlawful and stupid previous administrations of GRP and his own administration for having negotiated at all and having made agreements with the NDFP, instead of simply suppressing the forces and people represented by the NDFP with military and police action.”

Fourthly, Sison said the President will avoid expressing the full counterrevolutionary arrogance of the first three observations by trying anyway to obtain the capitulation and political suicide of the NDFP and the people’s democratic government by demanding that they accept being categorized as nonstate actor and that the agreements with the GRP are only between the GRP agency called the OPAPP and the NDFP as a mere private entity subject to GRP criminal law at the whim of the tyrant Duterte.

The NDFP chief political consultant warned that if Duterte will try to impose any of the above observations on the NDFP, he will be quickly rendering impossible negotiations with GRP under his regime.

“He will be shutting out completely the possibility of achieving a just and lasting peace through negotiations and agreements on social, economic and political reforms. My observation here should help quicken his understanding of The Hague Joint Declaration and subsequent agreements between the GRP and NDFP,” Sison pointed out.

http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/joma-depicts-scenarios-that-will-render-grp-ndfp-talks-impossible/

US gives additional PhP 296.2 M to assist women and households in Marawi

From MindaNews (Jun 24): US gives additional PhP 296.2 M to assist women and households in Marawi  

TheU.S. Embassy in the Philippines is giving additional USD 5.5 million (PhP 296.2-M) additional assistance for Marawi City, bringing to 31,95 million dollars or 1.7 billion pesos the total US government contribution to humanitarian and recovery work in and around Marawi, Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Michael Klecheski said.

A press release from the US Embassy quoted Klecheski as saying the additional assistance, delivered through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will promote the role and inclusion of women in the recovery and rehabilitation of Marawi as well as support ongoing humanitarian assistance work in and around the country’s lone Islamic city.




Residents search for items they could salvage from what remains of their house in Marawi’s Ground Zero or Most Affected Area (MAA) on April 5, 2018, under the Kambisita sa MAA project of the city government of Marawi and Task Force Bangon Marawi. Kambisita allows Ground Zero residents to visit their homes – or what remains of them – for three days from April 1 to May 10.
But they will be able to return and rebuild their homes only on the first quarter of 2020. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

At least 90 per cent of the city’s estimated 210,000 population fled their villages in May last year when members of the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group and its allies laid siege on the city after a failed attempt by authorities to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the Abu Sayyaf and proclaimed Emir of the IS in Southeast Asia.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi “liberated from the terrorist influence” on October 17, a day after Hapilon and Maute Group leader Omarkhayam Maute were killed. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana terminated all combat operations in Marawi City on October 23, 2017, exactly five months to the day the fighting began.

In partnership with local governments and organizations, USAID will work with diverse groups of women to promote community dialogue and encourage civic engagement. It will also work to counter gender-based violence and trafficking in persons, and to help displaced girls return to school.

Klecheski underscored the important role women pay in building peace and security.

The press release noted that women have been “disproportionately impacted by the conflict in Marawi, including by psychological trauma, reduced mobility, and diminished participation in civic activities.”

From the additional assistance, Php136.1-M ($2.55 million) will respond to the needs of displaced persons, particularly women and girls, promote the leadership of women and girls in fostering peacebuilding and alternatives to violent extremism, as well as integrate gender into recovery and rehabilitation work.

The remaining Php160.1-M ($3 million) will be used to restore livelihoods through training and recovery grants to help more than 7,800 displaced families as well as provide water and sanitation for more than 10,000 displaced households inside and around Marawi City. 

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2018/06/us-gives-additional-php-296-2-m-to-assist-women-and-households-in-marawi/

Civilians guard communities vs. Sayyafs

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 23): Civilians guard communities vs. Sayyafs

SULU – Armed villagers continue to guard their communities against the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippine province of Sulu following the successful recovery of 2 hostages from the hands of militants.

Civilians, who are fed up with the atrocities of the notorious group, vowed to protect their communities and help police and military in securing lives and properties in the Muslim province.


Just this week, Abu Sayyaf militants freed the daughter of a former Sulu mayor and his ex-wife they kidnapped in Talipao town after a group of armed vigilantes seized the wives of their leader and threatened to execute them.

The militant group tied to the Islamic State quickly released Eddilyn Tulawie, 27; and her 57-year old mother, Addang, on the evening of June 20 near Talipao town where the Abu Sayyaf abducted them in their house before dawn of the same day.

Eddilyn‘s father, Tambrin Tulawie, was the town’s former mayor, whose son Nezar is the incumbent mayor.

The vigilantes, mostly villagers, armed themselves and hunted down 3 wives of Abu Sayyaf leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who was behind the abductions, and took them captive to force the militants to free their hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf released the victims safely after vigilantes - fed up with Abu Sayyaf atrocities in Sulu – threatened to behead one by one Sawadjaan’s wives.
The militant group is still holding nearly a dozen hostages, mostly foreign sailors it kidnapped at sea off Tawi-Tawi and Basilan provinces in recent years.

There was no immediate statement from the mayor or other officials on the recovery of the hostages by the vigilantes. But the military’s Western Mindanao Command claimed the duo was rescued following an “intensified operation” by soldiers, policemen and civilians.

“The intensified operations launched by combined troops of the Joint Task Force Sulu, BPATS (Barangay Police Action Team), and the Talipao Police led to the immediate release of the two kidnap victims,” it said.

It said the hostages were abandoned and “rescued” at a forested area near Kagay village in Talipao. “While scouring the area, the operating troops were able to rescue the two hostages in the forested area and were immediately brought to the residence of former Talipao Mayor Tambrin Tulawie,” the military said. “It is the peoples' participation and their resolve against the kidnappers that forced the bandits to abandon the victims in the area where they kept them for several hours.”

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2018/06/civilians-guard-communities-vs-sayyafs.html

Explosion injures 6 in Mindanao

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 24): Explosion injures 6 in Mindanao

Police said a powerful explosion wounded at least 6 people in southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, a known stronghold of communist rebels in the troubled region.

Police said the blast occurred in Bukal village in Nabunturan and that three children were among the injured. The explosion occurred before midnight Saturday, but it was unclear whether the blast was an act of terrorism.

 Two adult women, and a teenager were also injured in the explosion and police said it is still investigating the blast. It said police investigators recovered pieces of mangles aluminium containing traces of gun powder.


Police have tightened security patrol in the town.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2018/06/explosion-injures-6-in-mindanao.html

8 soldiers wounded in Sulu blast

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 24): 8 soldiers wounded in Sulu blast

Eight government soldiers were wounded in an explosion after an Abu Sayyaf explosive they had recovered accidentally went off in Patikul town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said Sunday.

Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, said the soldiers were rushed to a military hospital in the capital town of Jolo. He said the soldiers were gathering war materiel left behind by the Abu Sayyaf following heavy clashes in Patikul town on Saturday when the blast occurred.

“Numerous firearms and war materiel were also recovered including an improvised explosive device which accidentally exploded and resulted to the wounding of eight soldiers,” Besana said.

He said members of the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion led by Lt. Col. Samuel Yunque clashed with about 40 militants under Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders Almujer Yaddah, Sonny Boy Sajirin Ellam Hasirin in Bangkal village.

The fighting, Besana said, lasted 30 minutes. “Troops were able to maneuver and take advantage and pushing the bandits to scamper to different directions after 30 minutes of firefight,” he said, adding, the clashes may have incurred casualties on the enemy side.

He said the soldiers, whose unit is part of the Joint Task Force-Sulu, have intensified their operations against the Abu Sayyaf. Besana, reading a report by task force commander, Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo, quoted him as saying: “We have intensified our operations to pursue the fleeing bandits to prevent them from committing atrocities against the people.”

Lt. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said Joint Task Force Sulu continues to exhaust all efforts and means to contain the Abu Sayyaf and constrict its movement. “We are continuously intensifying the conduct of focused military operations, in coordination with the local governments and the people of Sulu, to neutralize the terrorist group,” he said.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2018/06/8-soldiers-wounded-in-sulu-blast.html

Internal security ops slowing down AFP modernization

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 23): Internal security ops slowing down AFP modernization

The government’s ongoing campaign against various threat groups are definitely slowing down efforts to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Saturday.

"Of course, because money that could have been used for modernizing our troops are used to fight terror. For instance, (in) the five-month Marawi siege, the AFP spent almost PHP4 billion (to fight and defeat the Maute Group terrorists), excluding the amount to care for the IDPs (internally displaced persons) by other agencies that ran into billions as well," Lorenzana said in response to queries on whether ongoing internal security operations have an effect on the AFP’s modernization.

Fighting in Marawi City began on May 23, 2017 when elements of the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group attacked the city, triggering a battle that ended five months later in October when military units neutralized Abu Sayyaf leader and IS Southeast Asia “emir”, Isnilon Hapilon, along with 1,000 militants.

The same was said by defense department spokesperson Arsenio Andolong during an interview last Wednesday.

"Horizon Three (still) has to be studied and discussed kasi nagbago na 'yung mix natin (because we have a new mix). May movement na kasi (There has been movement), so that will allow us to now plan for what (equipment and platforms) we need,” Andolong said when asked what the public could expect for Horizon Three of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, which is expected to run from 2023 to 2028.

“(It) pre-supposes that we have already reached the level of credible defense posture, so we will now be concentrating on territorial defense already. But of course, we still have our internal security operations that are ongoing. Isa yan sa mga humahadlang sa ating (That is one of the hindrances to our) modernization because our attention is being divided," he said.

Horizon Two, which is slated for 2018 to 2022, is the AFP's transition period from internal security operations to territorial defense.

However, due to the conflicts, the progress of the AFP in this acquisition phase is "somewhere in between" as the defense department is acquiring equipment for internal and external defense usage, Andolong said.

Horizon One lasted from 2013 to 2017 and resulted in the acquisition of the three Del Pilar-class frigates, 12 FA-50PH light-lift interim fighters, and two strategic sealift vessels, to name a few.

The pieces of equipment slated for acquisition during Horizon Two are towed and self-propelled howitzers, multiple launch rocket systems, armored recovery vehicles, five support vehicles, tactical radios, ground mobility equipment (light, medium, heavy), individual weapons, crew-served weapons, and night-fighting equipment for the Army; multi-role fighters, radar systems, light and medium lift aircraft, heavy lift helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, attack and combat utilityhelicopters, special mission and long-range patrol aircraft for the Air Force; frigates, corvettes, submarines, amphibious assault vehicles, anti-submarine helicopters, attack craft, medium lift helicopters, and multi-role vessels for the Navy.

Also being eyed are combat engineer, force protection, explosive ordnance disposal, as well as humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief and medical equipment.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039229

Modern AFP able to conduct more precise ops vs. threat groups

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 24): Modern AFP able to conduct more precise ops vs. threat groups

A fully-modernized Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will have the capability to conduct more precise, agile and responsive operations against rebels and other threat groups with little or no collateral damage.

This is the main reason why Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison is very much against the ongoing modernization of the military, AFP public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said Saturday.

"Operations will be more precise, responsive, agile, and (there will be) application of calculated force to address, engage and neutralize armed threats," he added.

Detoyato also stressed that a fully-modernized AFP will prevent, if not minimize, collateral damage and reduce human rights violations.

Sison earlier called the AFP modernization a waste of time and of taxpayers' money.

He made the statement in response to reports that President Rodrigo Duterte has already signed Horizon Two of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, which will run from 2018 to 2022.

The project is worth PHP300 billion and is designed to acquire high-tech weapons and platforms for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

"Ang pag-oppose ni Mr. Sison sa AFP modernization ay hayagang pag-amin na ang counter-insurgency efforts ng AFP ang tinik sa kanilang mga balak (Mr. Sison's opposition to AFP modernization is a direct admission that the counter-insurgency efforts of the AFP is a hindrance to their plans)," Detoyato pointed out.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039272

Joma ‘insincere’ in holding peace talks: DND chief

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 24): Joma ‘insincere’ in holding peace talks: DND chief

Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana has accused Jose Ma. Sison, founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), of being insincere for the peace talks to succeed which have been dragging for decades.

Lorenzana said Sison’s name calling of President Rodrigo R. Duterte as “political swindler and butcher” does not reflect the sincerity of Sison and the New People’s Army (NPA) to resolve the long-running insurgency problem now on its 50th year.

Lorenzana made the statement in an exclusive interview with the Philippine News Agency at the sidelines of the FVR Golf Tournament held at the Philippine Veterans Medical Center golf course in Quezon City on Saturday.

At the same time, Lorenzana criticized Sison for insisting to hold peace talks in a foreign country like Norway, instead of the Philippines, to resolve a domestic conflict.

“The reaction of Sison of the peace talks does not help, because what is wrong when the President said that we should first study the agreements,” he said.

“What the President wants is to hold the peace talks here in the country,” Lorenzana added.

The on-and-off peace negotiations between the government and the communist rebels have been going on for decades without finding a genuine and lasting solution.

Lorenzana, a retired major general of the Philippine Army who saw action at the height of the Moro rebellion in Mindanao in 1970s and 1980s, blasted Sison ”for ordering the NPA of an all-out war and oust the President.”

“What I can say, Mr. Sison, just come home and we will talk about what you are fighting for, otherwise if you don’t come back here we will talk to the local NPA leaders, and you will be irrelevant and you will be consigned to the dustbin of history,” Lorenzana added.

Sison’s safety is being assured by no less than the President.

Lorenzana also reacted to the threat of Sison to order the NPA to attack government forces because Sison is exiled comfortably in the Netherlands, out of harm’s way, while the NPA rebels risk their lives fighting.

“It is easy for you (Sison) to say because you are living in a foreign country, enjoying and living a life of luxury and comfort,” he said.

He said Sison and the NPA “want to tie the hands of the government,” adding “this does not help” for the peace talks to progress.

Lorenzana supported the President’s call for the peace talks to be held in the country, not in a foreign land.

The defense chief said that the government is sincere in its effort for the long-drawn peace talks to be successful

With regards to the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio Economic Reforms (CASER) proposed by the National Democratic Front (NDF) of the CPP/NPA, it is unacceptable as pointed out by columnist Bobby Tiglao, because the aim is to “nationalize all industries like power and everything.”

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039286

OPAPP holds ‘Bangsamoro Peace Process’ forum in Zamboanga City

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 23): OPAPP holds ‘Bangsamoro Peace Process’ forum in Zamboanga City



OPAPP Undersecretary Nabil Tan (holding a microphone) discusses updates on the Bangsamoro Peace Process in a media forum on Saturday, June 23, in Zamboanga City. Beside him is Atty. Jose Lorena, Commissioner of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission whose talk centers on the Bangsamoro Basic Law. (Photo by: Teofilo P. Garcia Jr.)

ZAMBOANGA CITY--Bangsamoro, which will soon replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is not an “Islamic State.”

Commissioner Jose Lorena of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) said that Bangsamoro is a “secular state,” where the residents are Muslims, Christians and highlanders or the Lumads.

Lorena made this clarification here on Saturday during a media forum entitled “Understanding the Bangsamoro Peace Process” organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).

The other resource speaker in the forum is OPAPP Undersecretary Nabil Tan, the chairperson of the Government Implementing Panel for the Bangsamoro Peace Accords.

Lorena, a lawyer, sought to dispel the notion that once an area is named Bangsamoro, it is for, or dominated by, Muslims.

He said the region’s name will be changed to Bangsamoro since the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) is “more confusing.”

“Because if you talk of Muslim Mindanao, the impression is that the residents are all Muslims,” he added.

Lorena has also allayed fear of non-muslims, saying the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) provides equal rights to all the Bangsamoro residents.

“In fact you can be a chief minister even if you are a non-muslim, even if your are a christian,” he said.

“Bangsamoro is not a Muslim political entity,” he further said.

The objective of the forum is to provide a venue for local journalists, who are also covering the neighboring island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi, to understand the entire Bangsamoro Peace Process, including the passage of the BBL.

“This is part of the over-all campaign of the Duterte administration to resolve the decades-old problem of armed conflict in Mindanao,” the OPAPP said in a letter to the Zamboanga Press Club, Inc.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039255

3 BIFF members yield in Maguindanao anew

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 23): 3 BIFF members yield in Maguindanao anew



BIFF SURRENDERERS. Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, Army’s 6th Infantry Division commander (in fatigue uniform), points to the guns surrendered by the three bonnet-wearing Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters on Friday (June 22). (Photo by 6ID)

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – Three more IS-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) yielded to the Army on Friday following military air and ground assaults on the lairs of the terrorist group in Maguindanao.

Brigadier General Cirilito Sobejana, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) commander, told reporters the three BIFF members hid on the marshland following the Army's offensives on June 10.

According to Roy Saidali Maningkala, BIFF unit head, there were originally four of them in the group but one decided to stay behind and may follow their decision later on.

Maningkala said they hid in the bushes and thick water lilies in Liguasan Marsh, evading government troops for 13 days as the Army continued to patrol the marshland. Maningkala said the four of them  survived sleepless nights and hunger until they realized it was time to give up.

“I realized I have to take care of my family first, I was touched by my son’s (mobile) phone call asking me why I was not around when he needed most my presence in school,” he told reporters in the dialect.

Maningkala said he convinced his followers to surrender because fighting alongside the armed group that pledged allegiance to the IS was a lost cause that will lead them to nowhere. Only two of his three followers agreed with him about the plan.

Maningkala and followers Junior Dia Kaul and Bin Tato Sulaiman, all residents of Sitio Tukananes, Barangay Midpandakan, General Salipada K. Pendatun, Maguindanao, sought the help of a local official who linked them to the Army’s 602nd Army Brigade in Carmen, North Cotabato.

They turned in five firearms that included one M-14 rifle, one M16 rifle, one Carbine rifle, and two homemade .50-caliber sniper rifles. Sobejana stressed that the relentless pursuit operations by ground troops in the marshland forced the three BIFF fighters to surrender.

“Obviously, they ran out of space in the marshland because the Army has penetrated this new battleground,” he said. The surrenderers are currently undergoing custodial debriefing in this camp.

The trio said they joined the BIFF group more than two years ago in exchange for a monthly incentive of PHP6,000. They accepted the offer, believing it would sustain the needs of their families, but no cash incentives were given to them.

Early this month, five BIFF members also surrendered to the military with their rifles after realizing they were fighting a futile struggle. A total of 18 BIFF militants have so far yielded to the 6ID since January this year.  At least 23 BIFF were killed in the ongoing military offensives, including five Indonesians and a Singaporean, over the past two weeks.

A soldier and two civilians were also killed, including a pregnant woman who was allegedly hit by mortar fire while tending a rice field in Gen. SK Pendatun, Maguindanao at the height of the clashes with the terror group.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039241

6 hurt in IED explosion in ComVal town

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 24): 6 hurt in IED explosion in ComVal town

Six people sustained injuries when a fragmentation grenade exploded in Purok 1, Barangay Bukal, Nabunturan, Compostela Valley on Saturday night.

Chief Insp. Milgrace Driz, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 identified the injured victims as Jessavee Mae Aranaydo, 9; Christian Abellana, 8; Jay-art Javillana Jr, 4; Cecile Nuebe, 41; Catalino BuƱol, 40; and, Daisy Pandisigue, 18.

Driz said all victims sustained minor injuries.

While the remote barangay serves as a bypass area of New People's Army (NPA) rebels, Driz said the area also has soldiers and a Civilian Volunteers Organization.

Based on initial investigation, Driz said the IED explosion came from an M203 grenade launcher.


The incident is still under investigation of the Nabunturan municipal police but the explosive ordnance technician already took from the blast site an aluminum shrapnel and soil with gunpowder burnt for forensic examination.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039294