Friday, July 26, 2019

Sea curfew is hurting secto

From the Daily Express (Jul 27, 2019): Sea curfew is hurting sector



Ocean King Seafood Restaurant at the right bottom corner near the Sandakan Port.SANDAKAN: Some members of the business community, including tourism players, are questioning the continued extension of the curfew imposed here as part of the Eastern Sabah Security Command or Esscom security measures introduced by the previous administration in 2013 following an incursion by militants from southern Philippines.

“This is not helpful in alleviating the economic downturn,” said Chong Fook Siong, pointing at two Caucasian tourists in a 12-seater tour van on a day tour of the town.

Hence, they want the Malaysian Government to impress on the Philippines to instead imposed curfew at their territorial sea to prevent criminal elements intruding to Sabah waters.

“Walk around Sandakan town, and any other township, you hardly notice any police patrol presence. In the colonial era, even a lone police constable was conspicuous by his presence standing in attention at street observing or walking briskly about town with authority imposing a law and order watch on all that’s going on.”

Travel advisories issued by some embassies cite the curfew as a reason, among other security concerns by Abu Sayaff or their accomplies for their citizens visiting Sandakan, including the danger of being kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf or their accomplices.

Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) President Tan Kok Liang had said there is “zero tolerable error”.


A nearby Sandakan Seafood Paradise traffic island roundabout fish icon sponsored by Ocean King Seafood Restaurant.

“This means no more kidnapping incidents. That is the tourism and business community’s expectation. Safety and security are vital.”

“the travel advisories (by foreign governments) have affected tourism operations in the east coast,” he said.

“It is unacceptable that the Philippine law enforcement agencies and armed forces are not effective in neutralising their own bad hats. As a result, here in Sabah, we feel as if we are captives due to curfew measures,” said avid sport fishing enthusiast Philip John, noting that occupancy rate is down again at his hotel.

It has been over four years now since the shocking episode of kidnapping at the seaside Ocean King Seafood Restaurant (pic) took place in May 2015, that led to the imposition of unbroken series of night curfews at sea. The restaurant, situated about 3km from Sandakan town, was then reputed to be the best seafood restaurant in Sandakan and situated in Pasir Putih, along Jalan Bokara.

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah announced recently that the dusk to dawn curfew has been extended to Aug 9. Besides Sandakan, the curfew involves the waters of seven districts in the east coast of Sabah namely Tawau, Semporna, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Kinabatangan and Beluran.

Those who depend on the sea for their livelihoods can get special exemptions from the district police chief.

Sandakan is only about an hour’s ride by speedboat from the southern Philippines island of Bakungan Besar. The curfew was imposed due to the propensity of militants from the southern Philippines especially the Abu Sayyaf group attempting to engage in kidnap for ransom activities in these waters.

“The reason that the Abu Sayyaf threat still exist after around 1,500 days since the security lapse that led to the intrusion and kidnapping with the criminals escaping to Jolo is just unjustifiable,” said Raymond Wong pointing at the scene of Ocean King from the Tanah Merah hilltop Puu Jih Shih Buddhist Temple, a tourism hotspot.

“It is difficult for people to accept that fears on possible cross border criminals coming in and we are unable to defend ourselves without a curfew,” said saltfish and dried anchovies wholesaler Mohd Amin at the fish market.

The past abduction of two Malaysians – Thien Nyuk Fun and Bernard Then Ted Fen (who was beheaded later) by Filipino gunmen at the popular restaurant which is now still closed, made Sabahans feel very vulnerable as it occurred hardly three kilometres from the high- profile security presence in the east coast under Esscom.

Businessman Datuk Chew Kok Woh said the abduction made Sandakan folk feel very insecure about their safety around the coast.

He said the location of the restaurant in Pasir Putih was such that the gunmen would have had to pass by a Marine Police station and a naval KD Sandakan station to get there at the mainland nearby the Sandakan Port, what more outlying islands such as the Selingan sanctuary and the Lankayan diving sites. Now there’s even a Coast Guard Maritime Station.

The bold kidnapping at the Ocean King Seafood Restaurant was the first such crime on the mainland in Sandakan. Previous kidnappings had occurred on remote islands or shoals in Lahad Datu and Semporna.

The popular eatery used to be patronised by politicians, senior government servants and police officers.

“People feel vulnerable. The gunmen entered and got away. It is a blow for not only tourism but also for coastal businesses,” he said

The then manager of Ocean King Restaurant, Chung Yung Tiam, who managed to escape from the kidnappers said, “Four men who were armed and wearing camouflaged army uniform suddenly climbed up the staircase of the restaurant that was built on water, at about 8pm.

“Everything happened so fast. Everyone panicked and started shouting when four men, all dressed in camouflaged attire, suddenly appeared in the restaurant,” he said. “They wore no mask and there were about 100 people in the restaurant at the time, including children.”

Matta warns that the tourism industry still expects better protection to date and Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal said that the effectiveness of Esscom’s role in Sabah must not be compromised to improve law and order.

CPP slams Negros Oriental killings

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jul 27, 2019): CPP slams Negros Oriental killings

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) has condemned the spate of killings in Negros Oriental and accused the military, police and paramilitary forces as behind the attacks and the deaths of at least 13 persons in the past five days.

Five persons, including a city councilor and a former town mayor, were separately gunned down overnight in Canlaon City and the towns of Ayungon and Siaton.

The killings brought to at least 13 the victims of shooting incidents in the province since July 23, when lawyer Anthony Trinidad was gunned down in the city center of Guihulngan.


Armed men broke into the house of Canlaon City councilor Ramon Jalandoni before shooting him at 12:14 a.m. on Saturday.

Jalandoni was brought to the Canlaon District Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival by attending physicians.

Two hours later, around 2:30 a.m., unidentified gunmen shot dead former Ayungon town mayor Edsel Enardecido and Leo Enardecido, reportedly a cousin of Edsel, in Barangay Tampocon in Ayungon.
Also killed was Ernesto Posadas, village chief of Panubigan in Canlaon City. There were still no details of his killing.

Around 7:20 p.m. on Friday, assailants on board a motorcycle gunned down Fedirico Sabejon in Barangay 3, Siaton town.

The Philippine National Police in Negros Oriental earlier reported that gunmen in several of the attacks identified themselves as members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

But in a statement issued on Saturday, the CPP accused state agents of being behind the attacks.

It said the attacks were “the handiwork of the Duterte fascist regime and its military, police and paramilitary forces, including its henchmen in the Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPA-ABB).”

The RPA-ABB broke away from the CPP and NPA in the 1990s before entering a peace pact with the government.

“The CPP holds the Duterte regime responsible for the Negros murder frenzy. The killings are Duterte’s cowardly retaliation for the losses suffered by his police forces last July 14 in Ayungon town in Negros Oriental,” according to the CPP statement.

“Unable to hit the NPA, Duterte’s armed minions have directed his wrath against civilians who the (Armed Forces of the Philippines) have red-tagged and accused of being sympathizers of the NPA,” it said.

It called on the government to “abide by the Geneva Convention and other international protocols, and called on all of Duterte’s forces to stop targeting and killing civilians.”

The CPP directed the NPA to intensify offensives “to punish the most abusive military and police forces and defend the people of Negros and the toiling masses across the country.”

Ex-mayor, 3 others slain in separate shootings in NegOr

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 27, 2019): Ex-mayor, 3 others slain in separate shootings in NegOr

A former mayor, his cousin, a councilor, and a barangay captain were killed in two separate shooting incidents in Ayungon town and Canlaon City in Negros Oriental early Saturday.

Sketchy reports from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office identified the victims as former Ayungon mayor Edsel Gimang Enardecido, 60; his cousin, Leo Enardecido, 45; Canlaon City Councilor Ramon Jalandoni, 65, of Barangay Panubigan; and Barangay Captain Ernesto Posadas of Panubigan, Canlaon City.

The first shooting incident took place in Canlaon City at around 12:14 a.m. when
unidentified armed men, believed to be members of the New People’s Army (NPA), barged into the house of Jalandoni and shot him dead.


The gunmen marked Jalandoni’s car and a wall of his house with “Mabuhay ang NPA… Ibagsak si Duterte (Long live the NPA... Down with Duterte)”.
Some 26 minutes later, at about 12:40 a.m., unidentified armed men also forced their way into the house of Posadas and gunned him down. The suspects also wrote “Mabuhay ang NPA” on a wall of the victim's house before leaving in a white van.
Police investigators in Canlaon City believed gunmen from the same group killed both Canlaon officials based on the pattern of the crimes.
Meanwhile in Ayungon, an initial police report said unidentified armed men entered the house of former mayor Enardecido in Barangay Tampocon I at about r2:30 a.m. and shot him dead. His cousin, Leo Enardecido was killed in the same attack.

Police has reported 15 people killed in different parts of Negros Oriental in the past two days.

Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo is slated to hold a press conference at noon Saturday to address the spate of killings in the province, which has escalated following the July 18 slay of four policemen in Ayungon.

The Philippine National Police is yet to ascertain whether all the shooting incidents are related.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076198

2 alleged ISIS sympathizers nabbed in GenSan raid

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 24, 2019): 2 alleged ISIS sympathizers nabbed in GenSan raid




Google map of General Santos City.

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Authorities arrested two alleged female sympathizers of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and recovered explosives and bomb-making materials in a raid here on Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Eliseo Tam Rasco, director of the Police Regional Office-12, identified the suspects as Bai Nor Aizis Buday and Joyce Ann Fornal, who had reportedly used the aliases Fahima Az-zarah, Jamillah Fornal, Knickerbucker, Umm Omar, Sunset, and Jamillah.

Rasco said the two were nabbed during a search operation around 5:45 in a house on Lot 2, Block 4 of Johnny Ang Subdivision in Barangay Lagao.

A composite team led by elements from the Criminal Investigation Group-12 and the Army-led Joint Task Force GenSan raided the alleged safehouse based on a search warrant dated July 23 issued by Judge Joyce Kho Mirabueno of the Regional Trial Court branch 58, he said.

Recovered inside the house were two rifle grenades, two black flags with ISIS emblem, bomb-making materials, and other pieces of evidence.

A report released by CIDG-12 said the two suspects were connected with the Dawlah Islamiyah Turaife Group, which is based in Maguindanao province.

Its leader, Esmael Abdulmalik alias Abu Turaife, was among the individuals charged over twin bomb attacks last year in Isulan town, Sultan Kudarat.

Buday and Fornal, who will be charged with illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives, allegedly purchased bomb-making materials for the Turaife Group.

Meanwhile, an alleged leader of another ISIS-inspired group eluded arrest in an operation in the outskirts of Polomolok town, South Cotabato province on Tuesday.

Armed with an arrest warrant, elements from the Regional Mobile Force Battalion-12 and the Polomolok police station stormed the house of suspect Geofrey Nilong in Purok 2 of Barangay Lapu.

Lt. Col. Samuel Cadungon, Polomolok police chief, said the suspect managed to escape as the operatives were approaching the site.

“He was able to get out through a small exit passage in his room,” he said in a radio interview.

He said they recovered at the suspect’s house several suspected bomb-making materials and live bullets.

Cadungon said Nilong is a remnant and self-proclaimed leader of local terror group Ansar Al-Khilafah Philippines, which had pledged support to ISIS.

Nilong was among the persons charged in the Sept. 16, 2018 bombing in front of a lying-inn clinic here that left eight people wounded, he said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1075901

AFP-CRS: President Duterte renews call for revival of Mandatory ROTC

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): President Duterte renews call for revival of Mandatory ROTC

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AFP-CRS: Army gives late CPP-NPA Member a Proper Burial

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Army gives late CPP-NPA Member a Proper Burial



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AFP-CRS: Former rebels thank government for chance to be reunited with families

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Former rebels thank government for chance to be reunited with families

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AFP-CRS: Lumads of Talaingod conducted peace rally

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Lumads of Talaingod conducted peace rally

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AFP-CRS: 150 Military Reservists undergo Air-to-Ground Drills in Cebu

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): 150 Military Reservists undergo Air-to-Ground Drills in Cebu

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Starving NPA leaders yield to Army soldiers

From the Daily Guardian (Jul 25, 2019): Starving NPA leaders yield to Army soldiers



ARMY officials led by Captain Cenon Pancito (left), Division Public Affairs Office chief of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division; and Lieutenant Colonel Joel Benedict Batara (right), 61st Infantry Battalion commanding officer, present the two rebel leaders who yielded to authorities. (Jennifer Ponsaran-Rendon)

HARDSHIPS and starvation forced two purported local New People’s Army (NPA) leaders to surrender to military authorities in Iloilo.

The surrenderees, identified only as alias Aguila, 51, of Calinog, Iloilo, and alias Baby, 33, of Tubungan, both said life within the NPA movement is far from what was promised to them.

Aguila was the team leader of NPA-Komiteng Rehiyon Panay (KRP)’s Special Partisan Unit while Baby was the political guide and medical officer of Squad 2 of NPA-KRP’s Southern Front-Suyak Platoon.

Their surrender was processed separately but they finally yielded on Friday, July 19, 2019.

“Gutom kag kabudlay lang naagom namon. Layo gid sa ginhambal nila sa amon,” Aguila said referring to their leaders who recruited them into joining the movement.

He was also promised of a monthly salary but received none.

He said they went through extreme hunger and fatigue. He even referred to their experience as a never-ending suffering.

Aguila said he had enough, pointing that he witnessed that the NPA’s allegedly ideology is non-existent.

He was recruited when he was just 15 years old.

“Whatever’s left of me, I want to dedicate that to my family, my children especially,” Aguila said.

While at the movement, Aguila said he was not really into ambuscade.

Instead, his expertise was on agaw-armas (gun confiscation) operations, which boosted the armed capability of the NPA group.

Just like Aguila, Baby was also recruited when she was still a minor.

The then 17-year old Baby was brainwashed into believing that the government had not looked after them.

There were several times that she attempted to surrender but she was threatened until she got the courage to finally end the armed struggle.

Lieutenant Colonel Joel Benedict Batara, 61st Infantry Battalion commanding officer, said Aguila surrendered a Colt rifle (serial number 9014574), a cap magazine and five pieces of 5.56mm ammunitions, and a vintage rifle with 10 rounds of 7.62 ammunitions.

On the other hand, Baby turned over a Springfield 30 caliber rifle, 18 rounds of caliber .30 ammunition, a caliber .38 pistol with 6 ammunition, 3 empty shells of caliber .40mm ammunition, and subversive documents of high intelligence value.

The surrender of Aguila and Baby has brought to 137 the total number of NPA members who have surrendered in Panay Island following the implementation of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) in 2016.

Three years ago, 21 rebels surrendered but decreased to 3 the following year.

In 2018, the number has dramatically leaped to 66 and this year saw 47 surrenderees.

For Batara, Aguila and Baby did the right decision to turn their backs on the armed struggle.

“They have finally realized that it just brought them suffering, and sometimes, death, not only to those who have joined the movement but to their families, as well. Just try to imagine kung may anak ka na matagal ka nang hinihintay pero bumalik kang isang malamig na bangkay?” Batara quipped.

Their surrender should be considered as a second chance for a new life with their loved ones.

Under the E-CLIP, both Aguilar and Baby will receive P15,000 immediate assistance; P50,000 livelihood assistance, and firearm remuneration for their surrendered guns.

The immediate and livelihood assistance are component benefits of the E-CLIP that will offer complete package assistance to former rebels.

The immediate assistance is for the mobilization expenses of the former rebels while his/her enrollment in the program is being processed.

Livelihood assistance, on one hand, is a support given for sustenance.

The other E-CLIP benefits that surrenderees could avail include reintegration assistance, halfway house assistance, Philhealth entombment and medical assistance, housing assistance, modified c
conditional cash transfer, legal assistance, and healing and reconciliation initiatives.

https://dailyguardian.com.ph/starving-npa-leaders-yield-to-army-soldiers/?fbclid=IwAR3AtFyn6BT7PnnsrtjMVtfmpkq9rvCJVbHHfi2dPtcUVGxffWP-VD3Q1kE

AFP-CRS: Parents of minors 'recruited' by CPP-NPA fronts seek police help

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Parents of minors 'recruited' by CPP-NPA fronts seek police help

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AFP-CRS: ComVal Governor backs Department of Education suspension of Salugpungan Schools for teaching Anti-government ideologies

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): ComVal Governor backs Department of Education suspension of Salugpungan Schools for teaching Anti-government ideologies



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AFP-CRS: Army, peace implementing panel conducts info drive in former MILF camp

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Army, peace implementing panel conducts info drive in former MILF camp

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AFP-CRS: Wanted Abu Sayyaf member, bomber arrested in Zamboanga Sibugay

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Wanted Abu Sayyaf member, bomber arrested in Zamboanga Sibugay

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AFP-CRS: Former rebel wants peaceful and quiet life

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Former rebel wants peaceful and quiet life

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AFP-CRS: PNP identifies 11 CPP-NPA terrorists who murdered 4 cops

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): PNP identifies 11 CPP-NPA terrorists who murdered 4 cops



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AFP-CRS: Curbing terror, insurgency essential for economic progress

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Curbing terror, insurgency essential for economic progress



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AFP-CRS: Army provides food to abandoned, hungry anti-SONA rallyists

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Jul 26, 2019): Army provides food to abandoned, hungry anti-SONA rallyists

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Foreign Militants Working With New Islamic State Leader In Philippines

From Eurasian Review (Jul 26, 2019): Foreign Militants Working With New Islamic State Leader In Philippines

Government forces are tracking down at least seven foreigners who are working with the new Islamic State militant leader in the volatile southern Philippines, the country’s defense chief said Thursday.

The seven are believed to be under the protection of Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, a little-known commander of the Abu Sayyaf Group, officials said. He took the reins of the local Islamic State (IS) chapter after leader Isnilon Hapilon was killed in the 2017 battle of Marawi, according to Filipino and American officials.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters in Manila that the government was looking at raw information that at least a hundred foreign militants had entered the country and were operating in the south.

But of that total, he said, “we only confirmed seven foreign fighters” that were being tracked by the military’s Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom), which is based in southern Zamboanga city.

“We cannot find them so we consider those as just information and it cannot be confirmed,” Lorenzana said of the 100 militants. “We do not know if they are really there or not.”

“According to the WesMinCom there are seven foreigners. I think the nationalities are Egyptian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean. So we have the names of a couple but we are not going to give (this) out yet until we get all the names of everybody,” Lorenzana said during a program launching new vessels for the coast guard.

“Initial reports say they are with the group of Sawadjaan in Jolo,” the defense secretary said.

Regional military chief Lt. Ge. Cirilito Sobejana said troops were already tracking down the militants, but he declined to give more information, saying it may jeopardize the operation.

“We are doing something about this report,” Sobejana told BenarNews, adding that authorities decided to reveal some of the militants’ alleged nationalities as part of the military’s increased awareness campaign in the south.

“We are doing something about it and [this] increases the vigilance level of our people so everybody should be observant now,” he said.

The revelation came shortly after police and military intelligence troops arrested three Pakistani nationals over the past two months.

One of those arrested, Waqar Ahmad, 36, was a suspected bomber with IS. He was arrested following an anti-terror blitz that also led to the capture of two Filipino terror operatives in Manila. Ahmad was deported and turned over to Pakistani authorities.

The two other Pakistanis, identified as Salid Ali, 28, and Rahim Zada, 42, were also captured in Zamboanga, where Ahmad was also arrested.

The two had entered the country illegally through the southern Sulu Islands, and apparently were among those being pursued by authorities.

They were arrested after two suicide bombers, one of them a Filipino, launched an attack that left three soldiers and three civilians outside a military camp in the island province of Sulu in late June. IS claimed responsibility for that attack.

In January, an Indonesian husband and wife team, blew themselves up at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral Catholic on Jolo Island, which is part of Sulu, killing 23 people in one of the country’s worst attacks in years.

On Tuesday, Indonesian police named the couple as Rullie Rian Zeke and Ulfah Handayani Saleh, who were deported from Turkey in 2017 after they allegedly tried to cross its border to enter IS-controlled territory in Syria.

The two apparently left to join IS via Turkey in March 2016, taking their three children with them. But Turkish authorities caught them in January 2017 and deported them back to Indonesia, where government officials enrolled the couple in a short rehabilitation program before releasing them.

It was not clear, however, how the two managed to sneak into the Philippines, but local police earlier caught five Filipino accomplices who said that the Indonesian couple had apparently sailed to Jolo from the nearby island of Lampinigan.

The two met with Sawadjaan who plotted and financed the church bombing in Jolo, according to Philippine police sources.

[BenarNews//Jeoffrey Maitem and Mark Navales contributed to this report from Cotabato City, Philippines.]

https://www.eurasiareview.com/26072019-foreign-militants-working-with-new-islamic-state-leader-in-philippines/

Bicol airport site attacked anew

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jul 26, 2019): Bicol airport site attacked anew

Suspected New People’s Army rebels staged another attack at the construction site of the Bicol International Airport is going on in Daraga town in Albay province on Friday morning.

Major Ricky Aguilar, public affairs chief of the Army’s 9th Infantry Division, said an explosion was reported at the construction site of the Bicol International Airport at 10:05 a.m. at Barangay Alobo.

A team of soldiers in a nearby Philippine Army detachment was immediately deployed to the area.

“The team had a firefight with the armed men when they responded to the area,” Aguilar said.

A report said a dump truck owned by E.M. Cuerpo Inc. was damaged in the attack.


Aguilar said clearing operations were ongoing.

On September 28, 2017, at least 10 heavy equipment also owned by E.M. Cuerpo Inc. were burned by unidentified armed men.

Last June, the military and police have tightened the security around the airport as the construction of buildings and facilities on it neared completion.

Bulatlat: Stop the killings!

Posted to the pro-Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) online propaganda publication Bulatlat (Jul 26, 2019): Stop the killings! (By Ronalyn V. Olea)


We dread receiving yet another news of extrajudicial killing from human rights groups. The level of killings in Negros alone is reminiscent of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo days. During the height of Arroyo’s counterinsurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya, at least two activists were killed each week. At the end of her term, more than a thousand civilians were gunned down.

The pattern too is almost the same. Activists belonging to people’s organisations and their supporters were tagged as communists or sympathizers of New People’s Army (NPA) before they were gunned down. The “more fortunate” targets became victims of trumped-up criminal charges, arrested and detained for many years.

It was only after the investigation of then United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions Philip Alston that the killings declined. Alston correctly linked the killings and other human rights violations to Oplan Bantay Laya, where state security forces did not differentiate civilians from combatants. His primary recommendation was the elimination of extrajudicial executions from counterinsurgency operations.

Under Duterte, a more vicious counterinsurgency program, ironically dubbed as Oplan Kapanatagan, has been in place. With the whole-of-nation approach, civilian agencies are blatantly used for “counterinsurgency.” Former military officials have been appointed in many civilian posts; their offices maximized for surveillance, red tagging, and direct attacks against perceived enemies of the state. The most recent example is the Department of Education’s closure of 55 Lumad schools in Mindanao on the basis of “intelligence reports” that the schools have been teaching rebellion to the children.

In Negros, Philippine National Police Director Oscar Albayalde has vowed to continue Oplan Sauron, the intensified campaign of PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines against “communist insurgency.” Government website Philippine News Agency stated that 20 have been killed in the past six months due to Oplan Sauron.

Who were these communists according to the police?

• Six farmers killed on Dec. 27, 2018 in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental
14 farmers killed on March 30, 2019 in three different towns
• Two lawyers — Benjamin Ramos and Anthony Trinidad
• Escalante City Councilor Bernardino Patigas
• Romeo Alipan, barangay chairman of Buenavista, Guihulngan City
• Arthur Bayawa, principal of the Guihulngan Science High School, and his sister, Ardale, an officer of the local Department of Education office

These are just some of the victims as reported by human rights alliance Karapatan.

Defend Negros, Stop the Killings network said there have been 73 victims of extrajudicial killings since January 2017.

Albayalde’s statement justifying Oplan Sauron reeks of impunity. Like Oplan Tokhang, the PNP wishes the public to regard as normal the butchering of civilians. The victims in all these killings are not just cold statistics. They have left behind wives, children, mothers, and other loved ones.

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s resolution to investigate the killings in the Philippines is a welcome development. The Philippines, as a signatory to various human rights treaties, could not evade responsibility and must be held accountable.

The UN investigation is crucial at this time when victims could no longer rely solely on legal remedies, with their lawyers and other human rights defenders also getting killed. More importantly, how could they expect justice when the chief executive is the one issuing the order to kill?

https://www.bulatlat.com/2019/07/26/stop-the-killings-3/

ALL IN ONE WEEK//15 people, including 1-yr-old baby, dead in separate killings in Negros Oriental

From GMA News Online (Jul 26, 2019): ALL IN ONE WEEK//15 people, including 1-yr-old baby, dead in separate killings in Negros Oriental

A total of 15 people, including a one-year-old baby and several policemen, have been killed in separate shooting incidents in Negros Oriental that all happened in the space of one week.

A GMA News 24 Oras report on Friday said Marlon Ocampo and his one-year-old son were killed by suspected members of the New People's Army in Santa Catalina town Thursday night.

Ocampo's live-in partner, who got wounded, and their two other children survived the attack.

Authorities found a letter at the crime scene supposedly written by an alleged NPA member who claims Ocampo used to be a military asset.

In Guihulngan town, Barangay chair Romeo Alipan was killed also by suspected NPA members on the same day, Thursday.

In the same town, still Thursday, brothers Arthur Bayawa and Ardale Bayawa were also killed inside their house. Arthur was the principal of the Guihulngan City Science High School while his brother was city school division office chief.

Investigators are still trying to determine the motive behind the twin killings.

In Siaton, a motorcycle-riding assailant killed Raklin Astorias, who was also aboard his own motorcycle, on Thursday.

The Thursday killings spree happened just two days after lawyer Anthony Trinidad, 53, was shot dead. His wife Novie Marie was rushed to a hospital in Dumaguete City.

Initial police investigation showed that Trinidad was on board his sports utility van Tuesday afternoon when "riding-in-tandem" suspects approached his vehicle and shot him several times.

Guihulngan City Police chief Lieutenant Colonel Bonifacio Tecson said that Trinidad was among the names in a hit list by the Kawsa Guihulnganon Batok Komunista (KAGUBAK).

A day after the lawyer's killing, a man was also shot dead in Dumaguete City. He was identified as Ingwi Fabugays, said to be involved in petty crimes in the city.

He was killed while inside their home with his live-in partner and mother.

Also killed on Wednesday were rebel returnee Wenny Alegre and peasant leader Felimino Janayan, in Zamboangita.

In Ayungon town, meanwhile, Reden Eleuterio was killed by alleged communist rebels who suspected him of being a police asset.

Elueterio was the cousin of the four policemen tortured and killed by alleged NPA rebels last week, July 18. The slain lawmen were Police Corporal Relebert Beronio, Patrolman Raffy Callao, Patrolman Ruel Cabellon, and Patrolman Marquino de Leon.

An arrested suspected has already squealed on his six supposed accomplices. He said 20 others, whose identities he did not know, were also involved in the torture and killings.

President Rodrigo Duterte has already dangled a P3-million bounty for any information that will lead to the solving of the case.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/702528/15-people-including-1-yr-old-baby-dead-in-separate-killings-in-negros-oriental/story/

Tagalog News: Army 84th IB nagsagawa ng medical consultation sa Pantabangan

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Tagalog News: Army 84th IB nagsagawa ng medical consultation sa Pantabangan



Humigit kumulang 900 residente sa bayan ng Pantabangan ang nabenipisyuhan sa libreng konsultasyong medikal at dental ng mga kasundaluhan ng Army 84th Infantry Battalion. (7th Infantry Division)

LUNGSOD NG CABANATUAN -- Humigit kumulang 900 residente sa bayan ng Pantabangan ang nabenipisyuhan sa libreng konsultasyong medikal at dental ng mga kasundaluhan ng Army 84th Infantry Battalion o 84th IB.

Ayon kay 84th IB Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Honorato S. Pascual Jr, mananatili at magpapatuloy ang suporta ng hanay sa mga ganitong aktibidad na layong tumulong sa mga komunidad na nasasakupan.

Bukod sa libreng bunot ng ngipin at konsultasyong pangkalusugan ay namahagi din ng mga kagamitan sa eskwela, tsinelas sa mga estudyante gayundin ay mayroong libreng pagkain, gupit sa lahat ng mga lumahok sa aktibidad.

Katuwang ng mga kasundaluhan sa pagdaraos ng aktibidad ang mga pribadong asosasyon gaya ng Destura Construction at Mio Owners’ Republic.

Pinuri naman ni 7th Infantry Division Commanding General Major General Lenard Agustin ang naging programa na nagpapatunay sa pagtutulungan ng iba’t ibang tanggapan o stakeholders tungo sa paghahatid serbisyo at pagtugon sa pangangailangan ng mamamayang Pilipino.

Mananatili aniyang bukas at nakasuporta ang buong hanay sa mga ganitong aktibidad para sa mga nangangailangang kababayan. (CLJD/CCN-PIA 3)

PAF holds campus peace and development forum in Tarlac

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 26, 2019): PAF holds campus peace and development forum in Tarlac



Tactical Operations Group 3 Group Commander Lieutenant Colonel Susan Rodolfo recognizes the important role of the youth in nation-building and achieving peace and development in the country. (Trixie Joy B. Manalili/PIA 3)

TARLAC CITY -- San Manuel High School hosted Tuesday the first Campus Peace and Development Forum of the Tactical Operations Group 3 (TOG 3) of the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

About 200 senior high school students, teaching staff and school administrators converged as resource persons from the Philippine Information Agency, National Economic and Development Authority and PAF discussed the Responsible Sharing of Information, Role of Youth in Nation-building, Personality Development, Leadership Styles, Qualities of an Effective Leader and Getting the Ideal Job.

TOG 3 Group Commander Lieutenant Colonel Susan Rodolfo said the activity aims to enlighten the students and all the participants on the efforts of the government in ensuring the safety and well-being of the next generation.

“This is to inform the participants what the government is doing to attain peace and development in our country. Peace and development go hand in hand and can only be achieved through a whole-of-nation approach,” Rodolfo explained.

The group commander recognized the important role of the youth in society.

“We encourage the involvement and support of the youth to the government to realize our peace and development programs in the country,” she furthered.

TOG 3, the operating arm of the Tactical Operations Wing Northern Luzon of PAF, is in-charge of planning, controlling and coordinating the employment of air power in its area of responsibility.

Aside from this, it undertakes civil affairs activities in partnership with other organizations in order to provide basic necessities or services to the community. (CLJD/TJBM-PIA 3)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1025056

Tagalog News: PAF, nagsagawa ng campus peace and development forum sa Tarlac

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Tagalog News: PAF, nagsagawa ng campus peace and development forum sa Tarlac


May 200 mag-aaral, guro at administrator ng San Manuel High School ang dumalo sa kauna-unahang Campus Peace and Development Forum na isinagawa ng Tactical Operations Group 3 ng Philippine Air Force. (Trixie Joy B. Manalili/PIA 3)

LUNGSOD NG TARLAC -- Isinagawa ng Tactical Operations Group 3 o TOG 3 ng Philippine Air Force o PAF ang kauna-unahang Campus Peace and Development Forum sa San Manuel High School.

May 200 mag-aaral, guro at administrator ng paaralan ang dumalo sa forum kung saan ipinaliwanag ng Philippine Information Agency, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) at PAF ang Responsible Sharing of Information, Role of Youth in Nation-building, Personality Development, Leadership Styles, Qualities of an Effective Leader at Getting the Ideal Job.

Ayon kay TOG 3 Group Commander Lieutenant Colonel Susan Rodolfo, layunin ng aktibidad na bigyang-kaalaman ang estudyante at iba pang dumalo sa mga hakbangin ng pamahalaan upang masiguro ang seguridad at kapakanan ng susunod na henerasyon.

Aniya, ipinapalaganap ang mga pamamaraan ng gobyerno upang makamit ang kapayapaan at kaunlaran sa ating bansa.

Dagdag pa ni Rodolfo, magkaakibat ang kapayapaan at kaunlaran na matatamo lamang sa pamamagitan ng whole-of-nation approach.

Kinilala din niya ang mahalagang gampanin ng mga kabataan sa lipunan.

Hinikayat ni Rodolfo ang pakikisangkot at suporta ng mga kabataan sa pamahalaan upang maisakatuparan ang mga programang pagkapayapaan at pangkaunlaran sa bansa.

Ang TOG 3, nagsisilbing operating arm ng Tactical Operations Wing Northern Luzon ng PAF, ang namamahala sa pagpaplano, pagkontrol at pagkoordina sa employment air power ng mga lugar na sakop nito.

Bukod dito, nakikipagtulungan din ito sa iba’t-ibang organisasyon upang makapagbigay ng iba’t-ibang serbisyo sa komunidad. (CLJD/TJBM-PIA 3)

Subanen tribe denounces NPA in ancestral domain, supports government’s campaign vs insurgency

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Subanen tribe denounces NPA in ancestral domain, supports government’s campaign vs insurgency

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LEON B. POSTIGO, Zamboanga del Norte - - - The Subanen tribe in Zamboanga Peninsula region expressed their full support to the government’s campaign to end local communist armed conflict in the country.

In a resolution signed during a meeting held at Barangay Titik, Leon Postigo town, IP leaders coming from the different provinces in the region unanimously agreed to denounce the CPP-NPA in their ancestral domain which covers about 48,000 hectares of land.

They also declared the terrorist group persona non grata in their lands.

The Subanen tribe had formed an IP Federation as a show of support to the government’s campaign in the implementation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order No. 70, emphasizing a whole-of-nation approach, convergence of various government line agencies in addressing local communist armed conflict.

Barangay Titik of Leon Postigo town has been categorized by the security sector as one of the infiltrated areas by the CPP-NPA.

Meanwhile, government agencies which participated during the IP leaders convergence delivered services to the residents of Barangay Titik through a Serbisyo Caravan.

About 500 IPs benefitted from the distribution of food packs and seedlings, medical check-up, dental services and free haircut, among others made available in coordination with the provincial government of Zamboanga del Norte. (ALT/EDT/PIA9-Zamboanga del Norte)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1025110

Tagalog News: IPs, nagkaisa sa pagsuporta sa programa ni Pangulong Duterte na wakasan ang problema sa insurgency

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Tagalog News: IPs, nagkaisa sa pagsuporta sa programa ni Pangulong Duterte na wakasan ang problema sa insurgency

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LEON B. POSTIGO, Zamboanga del Sur - - - Suportado ng tribong Subanen sa Zamboanga Peninsula region ang programa ng Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte na wakasan ang local communist armed conflict sa bansa.

Sa isang pagpupulong na ginanap sa bayan ng Leon Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte, sabay-sabay na pumirma ang mga IP leaders ng tribong Subanen sa resolusyon na tumutuligsa sa New Peoples’ Army o NPA at dineklara ang mga itong persona non grata sa loob ng kanilang ancestral domain.

Bumuo ang mga IP leaders na nagmula pa sa iba’t ibang panig ng rehiyon, ng isang IP Federation bilang pagpapakita ng kanilang pagkakaisa sa pagsuporta sa hakbang ng gobyerno laban sa insurgency.

Nasa 48,000 ektarya ang pag-aaring lupa ng tribong Subanen na sumasakop sa iilang mga barangay sa mga bayan ng Zamboanga del Norte at Zamboanga del Sur.

May kalayuan ang mga barangay na nasa boundary na ng dalawang probinsya. Pahirapan ang daanan at hindi kadalasang abot sa mga serbisyo ng gobyerno kaya naman ang mga komunidad dito ay kadalasang nabibiktima sa recruitment ng rebeldeng grupo. (ALT/EDT/PIA9-Zamboanga del Norte)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1025111

Tagalog News: Ancestral domain ng tribong Subanen sa Zamboanga Peninsula idineklarang zone of peace

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Tagalog News: Ancestral domain ng tribong Subanen sa Zamboanga Peninsula idineklarang zone of peace

Featured Image

LEON B. POSTIGO, Zamboanga del Norte - - - Idineklara bilang isang zone of peace ang ancestral domain ng tribong Subanen sa rehiyon ng Zamboanga Peninsula.

Ito ay matapos ang konsultasyon sa mga indigenous peoples na kinabibilangan ng tribong Subanen sa isang pagpupulong na ginanap sa Barangay Titik, Leon Postigo, probinsya ng Zamboanga del Norte.

May lawak na 48,000 ektarya, saklaw ng ancestral domain ang iilang mga barangay sa bayan ng Leon Postigo, Sindangan, Siayan at Godod ng nasabing probinsiya. Samantala sakop din dito ang iilang barangay ng Bayog sa Zamboanga del Sur.

Ang inisyatibo ay parte ng puspusang kampanya at implementasyon alinsunod sa Executive Order No. 70 ng Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte, na layuning ipatupad ang whole of nation approach upang maresolba ang local communist armed conflict sa bansa.

Isa ang Barangay Titik sa mga lugar sa Rehiyon 9 na napili bilang pilot area para sa implementasyon ng E.O. 70.

Nag-abot naman ng tulong gaya ng medical check-up, libreng gamot, dental services, haircut at iba pa ang iba’t-ibang ahensya ng gobyerno kasama ang lokal na pamahalaan ng probinsya sa mga residente ng barangay na hindi bababa sa 500 katao.

Nasa 20 ahensya ng gobyerno ang naghatid ng serbisyo at personal na bumisita sa lugar.

Masaya namang nagpahayag ng kanilang saloobin ang iilan sa mga benepisyaryo ng aktibidad at nagpaabot ng kanilang suporta sa kampanya ng gobyerno. (ALT/EDT/PIA9-Zamboanga del Norte)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1025112

Bomb retrieval continues in Marawi's ground zero

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Bomb retrieval continues in Marawi's ground zero

MARAWI CITY -- The retrieval operations for unexploded explosives are ongoing inside the "most affected area" (MAA) here following the discovery of an aerial bomb near a residential area, an official of the National Housing Authority (NHA) said Thursday.

NHA’s Roderick Ibañez, head of Marawi Project Management Office, said the "unexploded ordnance" or UXO was accidentally discovered by the clearing team on Tuesday (July 23) amid the ongoing rehabilitation works in the area.

Ibañez said the bomb was confirmed by a follow-up verification using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and sniffing dogs, with the help of the Explosive and Ordnance Team of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

Ibañez said five UXOs have so far been retrieved since EDDMARI Construction started its rehabilitation works in the MAA on March 1 this year.

Lt. Col. Elmer Oamil, commander of the Joint Task Group Builder based inside the MAA, said troops of the Army's 553rd Engineer Battalion have already excavated nine meters deep of earth but faces difficulty in retrieving the unexploded ordnance.

“We cannot yet identify if it is 250 or 500-pounder bomb. The excavation is very difficult, we have to do it very slowly because it is very critical to the lives of our troops who do the excavation,” Oamil said.

The Philippine Air Force(PAF) reported it has dropped 70 bombs that did not explode during aerial bombings against Islamic State-inspired militants in the 2017 siege.

The PAF earlier said the bombs consisted of 110-pounder, 250-pounder, and 500-pounder ordnance. Twenty-nine UXOs have already been retrieved and disposed of even before the rehabilitation started, PAF said.

The latest UXO retrieval involving a 500-pounder bomb was on June 26 and was detonated the same day.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076085

Anti-insurgency body to craft programs for Cordillera

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Anti-insurgency body to craft programs for Cordillera



PLANNING SESSION. The economic and livelihood cluster under the regional task force to end local communist armed conflict (TF-ELCAC) composed of regional line agencies starts laying down the plans for implementation to reach the goals not only to end insurgency but to bring opportunities and development to the people in the grassroots level. The planning session started on Thursday for the two-day regional planning workshop. (Redjie Melvic Cawis/ PIA-CAR)

BAGUIO CITY -- The Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) here started on Thursday to craft anti-insurgency and poverty alleviation programs for the Cordillera Administrative Region.

“The plans and programs of the clusters will be crafted and finalized that will spell out how the clusters will implement programs and activities to attain the goal of not just to end insurgency but also to provide a better opportunity and life for the people,” National Security Adviser and NTF-ELCAC vice-chairperson Hermogenes Esperon said during the press briefing on the sidelines of the workshop.

The regional task force has a national counterpart in which President Rodrigo Duterte acts as the national task force commander.

Esperon said all the directors --members of the Regional Development Council (RDC) and the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC)-- will come up with plans and programs that will address the concerns of insurgents.

“These issues are being exploited as issues against the government,” he said.

In the two-day regional planning workshop, the participants will come up with the regional action plan and implementing arms of 12 lines of efforts which include: situational awareness and knowledge management; local government empowerment; legal cooperation; strategic communication; sectoral unification, capacity building and empowerment; basic services; poverty reduction, livelihood and employment; infrastructure, resource management and employment; localized peace engagement; peace, law and enforcement and development support; Enhanced Comprehensive Integration Program (E-CLIP) and amnesty program; and international engagement.

National Security Council Undersecretary Vicente Agdamag said they hope to make Cordillera the model in achieving the ELCAC goals.

“We will focus our effort and will emphasize on the delivery of basic services,” Agdamag said.

The goal primary goal of ELCAC is the development of the place and improvement of the lives of the people.

“It’s not only on ending the local communist armed conflict but more than that, it is about regional development at hindi nagtatapos sa pagtigil ng labanan (our effort will not end by ending insurgency),” Agdamag said.

Also during the briefing, a former New People's Army cadre said the government has the logistics, the resources, and energy but it has to make it felt by the people down to the grassroots and the farthest village in the countryside.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076076

Classes suspended in 13 NoCot schools as AFP, BIFF clash

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Classes suspended in 13 NoCot schools as AFP, BIFF clash



Google map of Pikit, North Cotabato.

Classes have been suspended in at least 13 schools in Pikit, North Cotabato, as military operations against the Islamic State-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) continue, education officials said Friday.

At least 6,000 pupils were affected by the suspension of classes following the military's "surgical" operations that started Thursday on the Liguasan marshland, said Brig. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr., Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade commander.

Rosario said the ongoing military operations are focused on areas bordering North Cotabato and Maguindanao provinces where the Islamic State-inspired BIFF militants usually converge.

Dima Guiani, Pikit West schools district supervisor, said the suspension of classes was issued Friday due to the clashes in the interiors of Pikit, particularly in Barangay Kabasalan.

“Some pupils did not report to school this morning while others showed up and the teachers too, now we ordered them to go home,” Guiani said.

“The children have been terrified hearing loud explosions that sent the ground shaking in Barangay Kabasalan,” he said.

Aerial and ground assaults launched before dawn Thursday left an elderly woman dead, and her husband and grandson wounded.

The injured victims, Alimudin Masla, 62; and his 10-year-old grandson, are now confined at the Cruzado Medical Clinic at Poblacion Pikit being watched by uniformed and plainclothes soldiers.

Rosario said an intelligence report indicated that Masla is a BIFF member, an allegation Masla denied.


The military said air and ground attacks were carried out after intelligence information confirmed the presence of BIFF commander Abu Toraife and other foreign terrorists in the area.

He said two soldiers of the 7th Infantry Battalion were wounded in the running gun battles since Thursday.

In the Maguindanao side of the conflict, a soldier died on Thursday morning during a two-hour encounter with fleeing BIFF militants in Barangay Dasawao of Shariff Saydona Mustapha town.

Rosario said the local government of Pikit is now attending to the needs of an undetermined number of evacuees who fled their homes since Thursday dawn.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076111

6 ASG bandits surrender in Sulu

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): 6 ASG bandits surrender in Sulu

The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has suffered another blow as six of the group’s members have separately surrendered amid the continuous focused military operations against them in Sulu, officials said Friday.

Lt. Col. Gerald Monfort, Joint Task Force Sulu spokesperson, said one of the six ASG bandits surrendered Tuesday while the other five yielded on Wednesday.

Monfort said the six handed over three caliber .30 M1 Garand rifles when they surrendered to Brig. Gen. Francisco Ariel Felicidario III, Army’s 11th Infantry Division assistant commander.


Monfort said the ASG surrenderers told military authorities they were compelled to surrender out of fear from the continuous combat operations, as well as the declining support from the civilian populace.

Several ASG bandits have also expressed disillusionment with the ASG hierarchy and many others are just waiting for proper timing to escape, the military official said.

He said two of the six ASG surrenderers, aged 20 and 19 bared they were lured to join the organization when they were still in their teens.

Monfort said the ASG surrenderers were brought to the Camp Teodulfo Bautista Station Hospital for medical check-up. They will be registered with the government’s Assistance Program for former rebels to receive benefits and to be reintegrated back into society.

Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., Joint Task Force Sulu commander, said the ASG is now feeling the pressure of the government’s anti-terror campaign.

“The AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the entire peace-loving Tausug community have united to end the ASG problem in Sulu. Hence, I am confident that our mandate to crush them by the end of this year will materialize,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte has given the AFP until December this year to destroy the ASG in the provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076143

'Rebels' fire upon cops, troops out to probe killings

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): 'Rebels' fire upon cops, troops out to probe killings



Suspected New People’s Army (NPA) members allegedly harassed and fired upon police personnel and Army troops Friday morning as they were returning to the center after extracting the bodies of a one-year-old boy and his father, who were shot dead in Sitio Tara, Barangay San Jose in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental, the night before.

No one was injured among the government forces, said Lt. Col. Ramir Redosendo, battalion commander of the 11th Infantry Battalion (11IB) of the Philippine Army based in Negros Oriental.


Sketchy and initial reports from the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) said that at about 10 a.m., a composite team of police personnel led by Police Capt. Michael Rubia, chief of the Sta. Catalina Police Station; the 705th Regional Mobile Force Battalion 7; and Bravo Company soldiers of the 11IB were returning to the town proper from Sitio Tara after investigating the deaths and extracting the bodies of Marlon Ocampo and his son, Marjon.

On their way back to town, six to seven armed persons, who were believed to be NPA members, fired at them and immediately fled.
The bodies of the shooting victims were not immediately withdrawn due to the reported presence of alleged NPA members.

Ocampo and his son were shot dead by unidentified armed men inside their home in Sitio Tara, Barangay San Jose at about 8 p.m. Thursday.

Police Staff Master Sgt. Jonathan Abucayon, chief of the investigation section of the Sta. Catalina Police Station, said two other children, aged 3 and 5, were unharmed, but their mother, Angel Miranda, was wounded and brought to a hospital here for treatment.

The motive of the incident has yet to be determined, Abucayon said.

The death of the father and son brought to seven the total number of people slain in Negros Oriental a day.

The other killings included that of a barangay captain and two Department of Education employees in Guihulngan, a civilian in Ayungon, and another one in Siaton.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076133

‘Wanted’ leftist urban poor leader nabbed in Sarangani

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): ‘Wanted’ leftist urban poor leader nabbed in Sarangani



Google map of Alabel town, Sarangi province.

Police arrested on Friday a leader of a militant urban poor group who is listed as the number four top most wanted person in Alabel town.

Brig. Gen. Eliseo Tam Rasco, director of the Police Regional Office-12, said suspect
Margie Genosas was nabbed by joint operatives around 9:50 a.m. in Barangay Kawas in Alabel, Sarangani.

Genosas, an organizer of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap or Kadamay in Sarangani,
has standing warrants of arrest for frustrated murder and being an alleged “professional squatter,” in violation of Section 27 of Republic Act 7279 or the Urban Development and Housing Act.


The warrants were issued by Judge Rebecca Dardo-Seredrica of the Regional Trial Court Branch 46 and Judge Ma. Peliza Parido-Dinopol of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court for Alabel-Malungon in Sarangani, respectively.

Rasco said the suspect was arrested in a manhunt operation at her temporary home in Purok 10 of Barangay Kawas, an area identified by the police a “land conflict area” that is being occupied by irregular settlers.

Citing intelligence reports, Rasco said the suspect was allegedly a member of the Guerilla Front 71 of the New People’s Army (NPA), which operated in Sarangani and Davao Occidental provinces, from 2009 to 20016.
He said Genosas reportedly opted to lay low from the NPA but remained an active member of party-list groups, Bayan Muna and Gabriela.


“She is also the leader and organizer of the Kadamay group that was involved in the land conflict in Alabel,” Rasco said in a report.

Rasco said the suspect is currently under the custody of the Alabel police station, pending her transfer to the provincial jail.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076131

AFP gets e-trikes

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): AFP gets e-trikes



Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief-of-Staff General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. 

Electric tricycles or e-trikes will now be a common sight in five military camps following the donation of such eco-friendly vehicles to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday.

The Department of Energy donated 50 e-trikes for distribution to five military camps for the transportation of soldiers, their dependents, civilian employees, churchgoers, tourists, and guests inside these camps.

Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City, Camp Aquino in Tarlac, Camp Nakar in Quezon, Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija, and Sangley Point in Cavite are among the camps identified to get their e-trikes, charging stations, routes, rules, and provisions regarding the use and services of these vehicles.

“Serving the nation becomes a fulfilling experience when we see that we have partner agencies such as the Department of Energy, who are in solidarity with our cause for continued development. Let us show them that we are indeed deserving of such generosity," said AFP Chief-of-Staff General Benjamin Madrigal Jr.

The donation is part of DOE's e-trike project, in partnership with the Asian Development Bank and the Clean Technology Fund. Its objective is to promote energy efficiency and clean technologies in the transport sector.

The introduction of e-trikes with lithium-ion battery technology is envisioned to pave the way for increased safety standards and improved environmental compliance.

The ceremonial signing of the Deed of Donation (DOD) and turnover took place at the AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, said military public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato in a statement Friday.

Signing the DOD for the AFP Madrigal, DOE Undersecretary Jesus Cristino Posadas, and AFP Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Brig. Gen. Fernyl Buca.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076103

Denounce CPP-NPA if you aren't commies, Karapatan, NUPL dared

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26, 2019): Denounce CPP-NPA if you aren't commies, Karapatan, NUPL dared



Major General Antonio Parlade, Jr., Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations (PNA File photo)

It is ironic for groups that claim to be human rights defenders harping on a call for the United Nations Human Rights Commission probe into alleged extra-judicial killings in the Philippines, to condemn only the killing of a lawyer and ignore the execution of four policemen in Negros Oriental.

This, according to Major General Antonio Parlade, Jr., of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC), who said he cannot help but wonder why Karapatan and National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) are mum when the 4 policemen were brutally killed but have been creating noise with the slay of lawyer Anthony Trinidad, who was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen on July 23.


“It is time you come clean of your biases. If you say you are not what we say you are, communist thugs that is, denounce the CPP NPA now,” he said in a statement on Thursday. “You are not even sure who hit them but you are already blaming the government.”

He added that Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay should raise a howl before the United Nations since they profess to fight for the rights of individuals whose right to life had been brutally violated.

“As we averred before, your advocacy is fake and selective. You need to justify the funds you have been scamming the European organizations, and now is the time to prove Joma (Communist Party of the Philippines founding chair Jose Maria Sison) wrong for red-tagging your organization,” he said, adding that it was Joma himself who named the communist legal front organizations.

He also urged NUPL to do the same as they are so self-righteous with their claim of defending those who are aggrieved.

“How can you let this gruesome incident pass in silence? Carlos Conde of Human Rights Watch has already condemned the summary execution as a serious violation of International Humanitarian Law. Who else can provide the right legal perspective of this barbarism of the NPAs but the distinguished lawyers amongst your rank,” he said.

Parlade, who is also Armed Forces of the Philippines Deputy Chief of Staff for Civil-Military Operations, renewed his earlier warning against the brutality of CPP-NPA, which had been declared a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

“They could target you and blame the government. It’s part of their ploy. In their CPP Anniversary Statements published in the CPP website last year, they admitted to torturing and killing their own cadres, thousands of them during the purge,” he added. “Until today those killings are attributed to the government. They continue to appear in the list of the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappeared (WGEID), a list which Karapatan has been trying not to be cleared, or they lose relevance to their foreign donors.”

It is the government, he said, who can protect the people and not organizations espousing communist ideology.

“If the government ordered those killings, then why are you still standing Ms. Cristina Palabay? The government has nothing to gain doing that. Our trust rating is up to the ceiling and we don’t want that demolished,” Parlade said.

Own red-tagging

The CPP, he said, red-tagged its own comrades who ended up dead in their purging operations -- Oplan Ahos, Oplan Kadena de Amor, Oplan Olympia, Oplan Missing Link, Oplan Zombie, and Oplan VD in Inopacan Leyte.

“Let us not forget the Plaza Miranda bombing, where Joma Sison ordered its execution so people will blame the Marcos government,” he added.


Parlade invited human rights groups to watch the video of Fr Balweg, rebel priest who was killed by comrades in the NPA, as he admitted to killing ordinary members of the community while clad in military uniform, in order to put blame on the government.

"It's all over the social media. Let's learn our lessons from these barbaric NPAs and stop defending them," he added.


https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1076112