Development projects win peace for Negros Oriental

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 29, 2019): Development projects win peace for Negros Oriental  (By Mary Judaline Partlow)



Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo (File photo)

DUMAGUETE CITY -- Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo has underscored the need for all the people in the province to unite as he vowed to put premium on development and not “bullets” as a means to attain lasting peace.

Negros Oriental, being the only province among four in Central Visayas that continues to face the problem of insurgency, has been receiving interventions from the national government to end local communist armed conflict.

The peace and order situation in the province this year was rocked by a series of shooting incidents in July, including the brutal slaying of four policemen allegedly by suspected communist rebels, that sparked public outrage.

Most of the shooting incidents were either insurgency-related or linked to the illegal drug trade, according to police authorities.

Degamo, in his yearend report on his administration’s gains for 2019, assured that despite the unfortunate events that marred the otherwise relatively peaceful atmosphere in the province, development projects especially under his focal program “HELP” will continue without let-up.

HELP stands for Health, Education and Environment, Livelihood Programs and Projects for Peace and Development.

“I have repeatedly said that winning the peace means not just employing the use of bullets, but bringing the government closer to the people by the delivery of basic services and goods,” he said.

These programs and projects, according to the governor, are aimed at helping alleviate the living conditions of his constituents, most especially those living in remote or hinterland villages that are affected by the communist insurgency.

Whether directly or indirectly, people will benefit from these as they are designed to address the more important issues and concerns facing them, the governor said.

Health is wealth

Degamo believes that “a healthy population means a wealthy community.”

One of the provincial government’s remarkable achievements this year is having brought down the malnutrition rate from 5.6 percent in 2018 to 5.2 percent in 2019, he said.

This year, the province also reported that 2,619 individuals had benefited from the Blood Program, which is free for indigents while the New Eye Care Center also served 1,500 patients more or less for free screening and cataract surgeries.

The No Balance Billing Policy adopted by the Negros Oriental Provincial Hospital (NOPH) has benefited some 40,000 patients within the year.

The provincial government has enrolled in the Provincial Leadership Governance Program of the Department of Health (DOH) in preparation for the eventual implementation of the Universal Health Care Program.

The Zero Open Defecation program initially piloted three municipalities successfully increased the percentage access to sanitary toilet from the previous 73 percent to 82 percent this year.

Last Dec. 6, the DOH declared Negros Oriental as one of the 10 malaria-free provinces in the country based on standards of the World Health Organization.

Degamo also reported that various infrastructure projects at the provincial hospital and the district hospitals are ongoing, while projects funded by the Health Facilities Enhancement Program continue to improve the hospital efficiency at NOPH, and the district hospitals in Bayawan City, Siaton, and Guihulngan City.

Addressing the gap in education system

The provincial government continues to allocate funds for education programs to assist the Department of Education in providing better access to quality education to the constituents.

The Special Education Fund (SEF) of PHP36 million for 2019 was appropriated to research, infrastructure, textbooks, personnel hiring, and sports development.

Through the SEF, some 250 teacher aides were employed in the different schools in the province with an estimated annual payout of PHP6 million.

For school year 2019-2020, a total of 39 provincial scholars were reported to have gone to medical school. After graduation and passing the board, these new doctors will serve the province for a few years as part of the contract and will boost the number of doctors already working especially in the far-flung district hospitals.

Under a specialization program to further increase health services in the province, government medical doctors in Negros Oriental are now taking post-graduate courses at hospitals in Cebu City.

In three years’ time, these doctors with specialized disciplines will be employed at the provincial hospital to cope with the demands of the DOH, Degamo said.

Environment takes center stage

Amid the challenges brought about by the global climate crisis, the provincial government embarked on a variety of projects to ensure the sustainability and protection of the environment.

As a commitment to the Paris Agreement, Degamo issued Executive Order No. 9, series of 2018, mandating the use of clean and renewable energy in the 19 municipalities and six cities in Negros Oriental and imposed a moratorium on coal.

Also, following the issuance of Executive Order No. 22-18 in December 2018 declaring every 5th of March each year as Renewable Energy (RE) Day, the governor led this year’s first-ever celebration of RE Day.

As an offshoot, Negros Oriental is the first sub-national government member from the Philippines of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, an initiative of the Royal Embassy of the United Kingdom and the Embassy of Canada.

The Powering Past Coal Alliance is a coalition of national and sub-national governments, businesses and organizations working to advance the transition from unabated coal power generation to clean energy.

In collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the province’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, some of the gains worthy to note include the locally-established 51 Marine Protected Areas, mangrove rehabilitation and management with 3,000 seedlings of “bungarol” and 33,500 propagules of “bakhaw” species distributed and planted in different mangrove sites in the province.

Also, under the Adopt-A-Forest program, farmers’ associations are maintaining 10 hectares of forestlands while the Adopt-A-River program has been implemented at feasible sites in Canlaon City, Sta. Catalina, Siaton, and Mabinay.

Twenty-four farmers’ associations with 1,600 members were organized under the Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) program areas in Bayawan City, Sta. Catalina, Siaton, Amlan, Ayungon, Vallehermoso, and Canlaon City to protect the micro-watershed in these areas.

Livelihood for all

With the aim to give the people a better quality of life through dignified and reliable jobs, the province has undertaken various endeavors to achieve this goal.

Two local and overseas job fairs were conducted this year, with 56 individuals hired on the spot out of 1,387 applicants.

Training on rag-making was also conducted, as well as the Job Coaching Program for proper skills and job matching. Other trainings conducted include fish processing, fruit and vegetable carvings, cake baking, meat processing, poultry and meat processing, among others.

The Provincial Integrated Skills Training Center through the Technical Vocational Education and Training program of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) has also conducted seven modular trainings, which produced 104 trainees with 12 female finishers.

Projects for peace, development

Degamo reported that gains from agriculture were “very strong” in 2019, even though the farming and fisheries sector had the highest poverty incidence in the province.

He said, however, that the provincial government has come up with interventions, support, and innovations to uplift the lives of this particular sector.

Funded interventions for agriculture amounted to PHP58 million from the national government, he added.

This year, the average rice and corn production on organic agriculture has increased to 2.61 metric tons (MT) per hectare (ha) and 1.25 MT/ha, respectively, versus that of last year’s data of only 1.3 MT/ha and 0.6 MT/ha in 2018.

This is more than the average production of 0.83 MT/ha based on the Philippine Statistics Authority data.

On conventional agriculture, the average production of rice increased from 2.95 MT/ha in 2018 to 3.04 MT/ha in 2019, although for corn, it remains at one MT/ha but is still higher than the PSA estimate.

This is encouraging, considering that many farmers in the province were affected by the Rice Tariffication law, but stop-gap measures were adopted to ensure that the farmers would not be displaced with the importation of commercial rice.

Other projects that would sustain food security include inland fishery projects, catfish production, and livestock sufficiency.

Despite the outbreak of the African swine fever in Luzon, Negros Oriental remained free of the virus that affects pigs with the vigilance and constant monitoring of inbound raw pork meat and processed meat products.

The Provincial Veterinary Office in coordination with the Bureau of Animal Industry had, in fact, confiscated a number of these from passengers arriving here from other ports of origin in the past months.

An amended executive order by the governor ensures stringent measures that will prevent the ingress and egress of pork meat and by-products as mandated by law.

Other programs and projects for peace and development include monetary assistance to individuals in crisis situations, amounting to PHP27 million for an estimated 6,000 beneficiaries, as well as financial aid for senior citizens, persons with disabilities and even living centenarians who each received PHP100,000 on their 100th birthday.

Degamo announced that the social pension for every senior citizen will be at PHP6,000 a year, subject to certain regulations.

Six rebel returnees integrated into the community received financial assistance of PHP65,000 from the Department of the Interior and Local Government and PHP3,000 from the provincial government, as well as additional livestock support as livelihood assistance.

For the differently-abled, a total of PHP1.5 million in assistance was handed out to more or less 174 individuals.

Tourism

In the first eight months of 2019, the province of Negros Oriental registered a spike in the number of tourist arrivals.

Records from the Provincial Tourism Office showed that 668,941 local and foreign tourists visited Negros Oriental in that period, which is 13.19 percent higher compared to the 2018 tourist arrivals marked at 590,975.

The tourists mostly came from the following countries: China (11,005); United States (9,896); Korea (6,135); Japan (4,247); Canada (2,543); France (2,216); Germany (1,839); Hong Kong (1,548); Australia (1,428); and the United Kingdom (1,208).

Negros Oriental ranks as the 13th top destination in the Philippines this year, while Dumaguete City, its capital, was recognized as one of the best places to retire in the world.

Crime prevention

Remarkably, despite the spate of shooting incidents in the province, its crime index is lowest in the region, and way below the regional average of 12.83 percent.

The peace and order in the province is generally peaceful and safe for tourists, investors, and businesses to thrive, the governor reassured.

Although Negros Oriental is under terrorist threat level 2 because of its proximity to Mindanao and the upcoming Sinulog Festival in Cebu City in January, the security preparation here is way above the perceived threat, he said.

Ending local communist armed conflict
On Aug. 14, 2019, the Negros Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NOTF-ELCAC) was formally launched in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 70 in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace via a whole-of-nation approach.

Negros Oriental was the first in the country to create and launch its Task Force ELCAC, chaired by Degamo.

Its objective is to bring together government agencies to end communist insurgency by delivering basic services as well as addressing the needs of the people, particularly in conflict areas.

Priority areas include 16 barangays in six towns and cities, namely: Barangays Bayog and Lumapao in Canlaon City; Trinidad, Binobohan, Sandayao, Tacpao, Imelda, Hinakpan, Humay-humay, and Planas in Guihulngan City; Dobdob in Valencia; San Pedro and Talalak in Sta. Catalina; Tayak in Siaton; Calango and Mayabon in Zamboanguita.

A series of Dagyawan: Talakayan sa Mamamayan and Gobyernong Serbisyo Caravans was held in all of these towns and cities by the NOTF-ELCAC, spearheaded by the DILG and in collaboration with the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas.

The Dagyawan is a solution-driven consultation with barangay officials and residents to identify their respective problems, concerns, and other issues, and find ways to address these.

The Gobyernong Serbisyo Caravan, meanwhile, brings together the different government agencies to provide various services to hundreds of residents in the communist insurgency-affected areas.

Degamo has lauded the support of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and all the national agencies for their support and cooperation to make the first round of ELCAC activities in the province a success.

On Nov. 29, the governor handed over the official list of priority projects to DILG-Region 7 regional director Leocadio Trovela who turned this over to DILG Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing III.

Densing, who delivered his keynote address during the “Dagyawan sa Barangay: Handover of Priority Projects” held at the Lamberto Macias Sports and Cultural Center here, promised that the list will be forwarded to the national government agencies concerned.

Asked what would happen next, Degamo noted that even before the Task Force ELCAC was created, his administration had already started development projects, such as infrastructure, in many parts of the province, including those affected by the insurgency.

He promised to make a follow-up with national authorities on how soon the priority projects identified through the Dagyawan series would be implemented.

Continuity, unity in 2020 ‘key’ to peace

As the year comes to a close, the governor expressed thanks to provincial and local officials, government agencies, non-government and civil service organizations, the private sector and the general public for their contributions to making the year 2019 a fruitful one.

As of Nov. 30, 2019, the provincial government has generated a total income amounting to more than PHP2.347 billion and it is expected to reach PHP2.556 billion by the end of the year.

This is a realization rate of 105 percent against the PHP2.272 billion projection for the year, he said.

Degamo stressed that to achieve peace and prosperity for the province, “we need to do away with politics while providing genuine and sincere public service for the good of all.”

He is hopeful that with a sustained campaign against the insurgency, many Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) members and supporters will come forward and surrender and return to mainstream society.

This would be possible if government agencies will make good their promise to deliver the basic necessities and sustain the provision of government services to the people especially in the hinterland barangays, he said.

At the provincial government level, the governor reassured that his administration will continue with its priority plans, programs, and projects to ensure that every Oriental Negrense will have a better future.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1089678

Salugpongan school closure one of major events of 2019

From the Mindanao Times (Dec 28, 2019): Salugpongan school closure one of major events of 2019 (Rhoda Grace Saron)

The stop-and-go peace talks with the CPP-NDF-NPA, the extension of Martial Law, and the closure of Salugpongan schools hogged the headlines this year.

Here are some of the major events to close down 2019, and usher us to the year ahead.

Salugpongan in UCCP Haran Davao City.

DepEd XI orders closure of Salugpongan schools

The Department of Education (DepEd) XI announced the “total closure” of 55 Salugpongan Ta’Tanu Igkanogon Community Learning Center Inc. in the region.

DepEd Davao spokesperson Jenielito Atillo said the closure order was the result of the investigation conducted by the five-man fact-finding committee, which found “substantial evidence” that the center committed various irregularities and offenses, including non-compliance of the curriculum standards set by the DepEd.

Addressed to Salugpongan executive director Ma. Eugenia Nolasco, DepEd assistant regional director Evelyn Fetalvero sent the Sept. 5 resolution of the fact-finding committee, which also directed the center to turn over all the records of the students to the DepEd School’s Division office for proper custody.

The Salugpongan already received a copy of the order last Monday morning. Copies of the order were also furnished to all school division superintendents in the region, the chair of the Regional Development Council and the chair of the Regional Peace and Order Council XI.

Atillo said DepEd created the fact-finding committee because “we do not want to limit our efforts to the complaints of National Security Secretary Hermogenes Esperon against Salugpongan.” The committee was formed after DepEd issued a temporary suspension against the Salugpongan on July 10.

“We want to dig deeper more and expand the horizons of the investigation,” Atillo said.

The committee was chaired by Maria Ines Asuncion, CESO V, and co-chaired by Atty. Arvin Antonio Ortiz, with Roy Enriquez, Janette Veloso and Isidra Despi as members.

On Aug. 14, the tribal chieftains in areas where Salugpongan operated testified. A former student and a former Salugpongan organizer narrated their experiences during their stay at the center the following day.

On Aug. 27, the team conducted a conference with the Salugpongan officials for them to counter the allegations.

After the investigation, the team found out the following:

a. Salugpongan did not comply with curriculum standards set by DepEd;

b. Salugpongan brought its students away from their home without the consent of their parents and used them to generate funds by making them perform the plights of the Lumad in violation of the DepEd’s child protection policy;

c. Teachers of Salugpongan are not passers of licensure exam for teachers;

d. Salugpongan operates within the ancestral domain of the indigenous peoples (IP) community without obtaining the mandatory consent of the concerned IP communities and certification from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples;

e. Some Salugpongan students did not have Learners Reference Number, in violation under DepEd Order No. 26, 2015;

f. Salugpongan has misrepresented its enrollment data. The data contained in the documents it submitted did not match the data found in the Learners Information System.

Atillo said the Salugpongan even taught its students “Bayang Mahiwaga,” not the “Lupang Hinirang,” as the national anthem, in violation of Sec. 35 of the Republic Act No. 8491.

He said Salugpongan also engaged in historical revisionism. Based on the testimony of Asenad Bago, a former student, the school taught them that a certain Fr. Faustino Victorino is the national hero, supplanting Dr. Jose Rizal.

“Salugpongan, as a school, should make the education of its students as its priority. However, the revelation of the students would point to the fact that it is not the case,” the resolution said. “The students are instead not only encouraged, but even commanded, to attend rallies.”

Army’s armored personnel carrier deployed at Davao City hall ground after President Rodrigo Duterte declare martial law in Mindanao on May 23, 2017,

Martial Law to end

Malacañang is not extending martial rule for the fourth time in Mindanao. The announcement pleased the private sector and the city government as local officials have been rooting for the city’s exemption should martial law be extended for another year.

Early this year, City Mayor Sara Duterte sent a letter to President Duterte to reconsider and review the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

The City Council also passed a resolution on August 6, authored by Councilor Mabel Sunga Acosta, committee chair on peace and public safety, requesting the President to exempt Davao City should martial law be extended.

President Rodrigo Duterte heeded the military ground commanders and Philippine security officials’ recommendation not to extend martial law, following the drop in crime incidents in the southern Philippines, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.

“The Office of the President wishes to announce that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte will not extend martial law in Mindanao upon its expiration on December 31, 2019,” Panelo told Palace reporters.

“The Commander-in-Chief made the decision following the assessment of his security and defense advisers of the weakening of the terrorist and extremist rebellion, a result of the capture or neutralization of their leaders, as well as the decrease in the crime index, among the factors considered,” he added.

The siege laid by the Islamic State-inspired Maute group on May 23, 2017, prompted Duterte to place the whole of Mindanao under martial law.

Section 18, Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution provides that a President can declare martial law and suspend the writ of habeas corpus for a period not exceeding 60 days, in case of invasion or rebellion.

“The Palace is confident in the capability of our security forces in maintaining the peace and security of Mindanao without extending martial Law,” Panelo added.

Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. earlier expressed opposition to any proposal to extend the military rule in Mindanao.

On Oct. 25, Esperon stressed that there was no need to further extend martial law in Mindanao if the Congress can pass a measure that amends Republic Act 9372 or the Human Security Act of 2007.

RA 9372, which took effect on March 6, 2007, seeks to provide law enforcement and judicial authorities with the legal tools to confront terror threats in the country.

Meanwhile, The Task Force Davao is recommending a conditional gun ban in Davao City if the Martial Law in Mindanao will finally be lifted.

Mayor Sara Duterte earlier submitted for the exemption or lifting of Martial Law in Davao city.

“We need to have prepared actions on the effect of the lifting of Martial Law,” Task Force Davao commander, Col. Consolito Yecla, told reporters yesterday during the AFP-PNP press briefing held at The Royal Mandaya Hotel.

A conditional gun ban means the permit to carry is suspended in Davao City. Owners may still apply for documents to legalize their firearms. For non-city residents, they need to leave their guns when they plan on entering Davao City. For residents, they should leave their firearms when they go out of their house.

The proposal for a conditional gun ban was raised during the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council (JPSCC) meeting at Police Regional Office XI on Monday. It is part of the culture of security hat the Task Force Davao has been espousing.

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Soldiers of Task Force Davao checks vehicle entering Davao City at a checkpoint in Barangay Sirawan, Toril.

Maximum Security Zones
Earlier, the Task Force Davao recommended that maximum security zones be established, particularly in high-traffic areas. For instance, they are thinking of limiting the number of vehicles that can park in the areas surrounding City Hall, San Pedro Cathedral, and the Sangguniang Panlungsod. They are also thinking of adopting the same measure at the Roxas night market.

“There should be an ordinance institutionalizing that effect,” he said. “And we should increase parking violation to ensure that there would be no vehicle-borne IED that will be used by terrorists in Davao city.”

Yecla said they are already preparing for the possible lifting of Martial Law in the city, but they need the cooperation of the local government and the public. “We need to back it up with policy pronouncement to ensure that we will not become a soft target for the terrorists,” he added.

NPA now down to 598 active rebels

The 10th Infantry Division said the New People’s Army (NPA) population in the region continues to shrink, as it estimated that the rebel group only has 598 active guerrillas.

“Not only in Davao region, but also some parts of North Cotabato, South Cotabato and portions of Sarangani province, Agusan Del Sur, Surigao, and Bukidnon,” Capt. Jerry Lamosao, the spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division, said during the AFP-PNP press conference held in The Royal Mandaya Hotel.

From the 11 guerrilla fronts, Lamosao said the NPA is now down to four guerrilla fronts operating in 46 barangays.

“There are many groups that dissolved,” he said. “There are only four guerrilla fronts that were numbered to 20 to 25 members and eight weakened guerrilla fronts composed of 10 to 15 members, ” he added.

He also said that there are only three remaining Pulang Bagani Commands of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee.

Based also on their record, they estimate that the NPA has a total inventory of 722 firearms.

“Records from operations and Intelligence branch and, at the same time, the report from concerned citizens regarding the validation of the number of casualties because there are some encounters that we’re not able to determine but we can identify after two to three days,” Lamosao said.

He attributed the increasing number of surrenderees and the diminishing number of NPAs to the whole-of-nation approach of the government to pursue inclusive development projects.

Lamosao said they partnered with the local government units and non-government agencies for the implementation of peace and development. He also emphasized that to prevent the rebels from shoring its militant force, the concerned agencies should address the root cause of rebellion.
Davao City tribe declares

NPA ‘persona non grata’

Close to 600 members of the Obu-Manobo tribe in the far-flung village of Tambobong, Baguio District, here declared the communist New People’s Army (NPA) as “persona non grata” in their ancestral lands.

The “persona non grata” declaration — literally meaning “unwelcome person” — came during Monday’s culmination activity of the three-day peace-building seminar attended by the tribe.

Datu Joel Unad, chairman of the Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Council of Elders, said the three-day seminar also resulted in the passing of a joint barangay and tribal council resolution calling for the closure of an alleged NPA-supported school run by the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc. (MISFI) in the area.

Unad said the villagers also hailed the surrender of 30 members of the Militia ng Bayan, a mass-based support group of the NPA and its mother organization, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP). The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.

Residents demolish Salugpongan school

On June 1, Residents of Sitio Puting Bato in Barangay Ngan, Compostela Valley joined hands in demolishing a Salugpongan school, which they accused of teaching communist ideology.

This as the provincial government turned over a newly constructed two-classroom school building, just fronting the old Salugpongan school, to the residents.

The sitio, near the boundary of Compostela and Cateel in Davao Oriental, used to be a stronghold of the New People’s Army (NPA). It is under the area of responsibility of the Philippine Army’s 66th Infantry Battalion.

In an interview at the site, Gov. Jayvee Tyron Uy said he was happy that the school building requested by the community is finally completed and ready to be used to serve the children in the area.

“The community is involved in constructing,” Gov. Uy said. The local government and national government agencies joined hands with the military and police for the realization of the school.
The governor said the two-classroom building cost P1.2 million pesos was constructed in 22 days.

Uy led the blessing and turnover ceremony with Reynante Solitario, the officer-in-charge of the Schools Division Superintendent in Compostela Valley.

Renanto Soliterio, the schools division superintendent, said two teachers, both from neighboring New Bataan town in the same province, will be assigned in the area.

In an interview, teachers Michelle Mangko, 22, and Rhea Rojas, 24, said they accepted the task because they want to “teach the children.”

“As teachers, our goal is to teach those who are in need,” Mangko said. “We pray to God to put us in a place where we are needed and this is His answer.”

“The children need us here and we know that they are the future of our country,” Mangko added.

Initially, there will be 75 students in the sitio.

The school will have a multigrade: Grade 1 to Grade 3 in one classroom and Grade 4 to Grade 6 in another classroom.

Soliterio said they prioritized the elementary students because the Bango National High School is just adjacent.

However, they are targeting high-school education by next year in Sitio Puting Bato.

https://mindanaotimes.com.ph/2019/12/29/salugpongan-school-closure-one-of-major-events-of-2019/

Eastern Visayas gaining ground in fight vs. NPA

From the Philippine News Agency (Dec 28, 2019): Eastern Visayas gaining ground in fight vs. NPA (By Sarwell Meniano)




ANTI-NPA FORCE. Soldiers of the newly-formed 93rd Infantry Battalion, also known as the 'Bantay Kapayapaan' (Peacekeeper). The battalion is composed of well-trained army officers and enlisted military personnel tasked to fight communist insurgents in Samar provinces. (Photo courtesy of Philippine Army)

TACLOBAN CITY -- Much has been done to wipe out the communist terrorist group in Eastern Visayas this year with the institutionalization of a “whole-of-nation approach” in addressing the five-decade communist insurgency.

Although the fight against the New People’s Army (NPA) took away the lives of many soldiers, policemen, and even civilians this year, government troops are more determined to end the armed struggle with the support of national government agencies and local government units.

As of November, at least 140 local government units in Eastern Visayas have declared the NPA as persona non grata for derailing development efforts in their communities.

UNWELCOME. Copies of resolutions declaring the New People's Army (NPA) persona non grata have been issued by 10 towns in Northern Samar. At least 140 local government units in Eastern Visayas have declared the NPA unwelcome in their localities. (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Army’s 20IB)

Brig. Gen. Ramil Bitong, assistant division commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division (8ID), said they expect more local government units to formally reject the ideology and activities of the terrorist communist group in their areas.

All six provinces in the region issued the declaration. Also on the list are 58 towns, three cities, and 73 villages. The region has 136 towns, seven cities, and 4,390 villages.

“Executive Order (EO) 70 is just seven months old and Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) is one of the fastest. The rate of our declaration is faster than (in) other regions but we need some more. This is not just a declaration since this is a manifestation of rejection. They cannot simply do that if they are under the influence of (the) NPA. Something has to be done,” Bitong said.

The local government’s rejection of the NPA is in connection with EO 70 that created the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC). The declaration means treating the presence of the communist terrorist group as unwelcome and unacceptable in their communities.

President Rodrigo Duterte issued the directive to institutionalize a "whole-nation approach" policy in attaining peace and end the long-time conflict between the government and the communist group.

Among the towns that created task force ELCAC is Calbiga in Samar where the NPA launched its first tactical operation 45 years ago.

Some of the villages in Calbiga have been known as sites of clashes between government troops and armed rebels. One of the bloodiest gun battles was on April 23, where six soldiers died and another six were hurt.

Capt. Reynaldo Aragones, the Army’s 8ID spokesperson, said the creation of an ELCAC in every city and town is a big boost to their community support program.

“We are more motivated now to go up in the mountains to bring basic services to vulnerable communities, now that we have the full support of (the) task force in this campaign,” Aragones said.

National Economic and Development Authority Regional Director Meylene Rosales was upbeat that through the task force’s convergence efforts, the region would be able to resolve the decades-long insurgency.

“Peace and order should have tailor-made solutions with all government resources available. We were told to realign budget this year and propose a new budget for next year to attain our goals,” Rosales said.

Anti-recruitment drive

One of the major efforts to fight insurgency is to prevent the recruitment of NPA among teens on campuses to boost their armed struggle against the government.

The army has tied up with schools to organize a community peace development forum in various schools joined by thousands of students.

These rounds of campus-based forums are not only meant for students but also educators to further strengthen their objective in sparing the youth from the persuasions of NPA front organizations that could lead to armed rebellion.

DECEPTION. A young soldier distributes reading materials illustrating the deception strategies of communist rebels. The Philippine Army has been raising awareness among students to save them from being recruited by communist rebels and their supporters. (Photo courtesy of 14th Infantry Battalion)

The capture of young rebels and the recovery of documents in Northern Samar confirmed the recruitment of students and extortion activities of the NPA in the region.

An official of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) 8 has asked tertiary students to examine the fate of young rebels.

CHED-8 Director George Colorado asked students to think of the fate of their peers who joined the communist terrorist group before listening to the latter’s ideologies.

“I don’t understand why our young people join the insurgency and they can’t learn from what happened to those who joined rebellion who suffered hunger, sickness, or even death. You can choose a better life for your family instead of going to the mountains to fight the government,” Colorado told the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

The official said young people have the option to work, provide the needs of their families, become productive citizens or lead a horrible life in the mountains.

Treacherous attacks condemned

Bitong noted that growing support in the fight against the communist terrorist group has disappointed the NPA, prompting it to launch treacherous attacks against government forces by detonating landmines.

The military reported that rebels used explosives seven times this year as they attacked soldiers and policemen.

Mines detonated by rebels this year took the lives of 13 soldiers, a policeman, and four civilians, including a boy.

The use of explosives has wounded 45 soldiers, four police officers, and 12 civilians in separate attacks in Samar provinces.

“The use of landmines is really barbaric because that does not discriminate any target. In Las Navas, Northern Samar, a boy was killed and in Borongan City, three civilians perished while several others were wounded,” Bitong added.

BOMBING VICTIMS. Passersby rescue tricycle passengers who are seriously wounded by an explosion perpetrated by the NPA in Libuton village in Borongan City, Eastern Samar on Dec. 13, 2019. The attack killed a police officer and three civilians while four policemen and 10 civilians, including three minors, were injured in the incident. (Photo courtesy of Alexis Genelex Deloria)

The latest incident was on December 13, when a junior police officer and an old woman were killed on the spot while four other policemen and 10 civilians, including three minors, were injured in a blast attack. A government employee died a few hours after while a mother succumbed to head injury after five days.

In Las Navas town, rebels detonated a landmine near a temporary patrol base of the Army’s 20th Infantry Battalion, Charlie Company last April 17 to harm soldiers but instead killed a Grade 3 pupil.

Last November 11, a civilian was wounded in Pinanag-an village in Borongan City, Eastern Samar. The landmine attack and gun battle killed six soldiers and wounded 24 others.

The other three incidents were recorded in San Jorge, Samar where 11 soldiers were injured on January 12; in Calbiga, Samar where six soldiers and six others were wounded on April 23; and in Basey, Samar where a soldier perished and six of his comrades were hurt.

The military repeatedly condemned the NPA for using landmines in their attacks, which shows disrespect to basic human rights. The rebels also disregarded the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.

2022 timeline

The Philippine Army’s 8ID is upbeat on ending insurgency in Samar and Leyte provinces by 2022 after the national government identified the region as one of the priority areas in its drive to wipe out the NPA.

Maj. Gen. Pio Diñoso III, 8ID commander, said as one of the "national priority areas" is crushing the NPA, they will be given the "best", both in personnel and assets.

“The President said that Samar (Island) is one of the priority areas. Meaning, we have the support. They will bring in all the best -- officials, armor assets, and air assets,” Diñoso, said.

“There is a marching order that before the President steps down, we can at least contain, not necessarily totally eliminate, the insurgency problem to a manageable level and it’s doable,” he said.

Samar Island comprises the provinces of Samar, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar, where the presence of the NPA is still felt due to poor road networks and thick forest cover.

The NPA, which has been waging a five-decade armed struggle against the government, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

As of October 2019, the NPA in Eastern Visayas has 506 active members and 447 firearms, affecting the region's 144 remote villages, the Philippine Army reported.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1089606

YEAR-END REPORT: Philippine military transforms daunting challenges to concrete opportunities in 2019

From the Manila Bulletin (Dec 30, 2019): YEAR-END REPORT: Philippine military transforms daunting challenges to concrete opportunities in 2019 (By Martin Sadongdong)

Donning a Barong Tagalog, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana surveyed the military equipment and technologies that were featured in a static display at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.



Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana (OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF NATIONAL DEFENSE / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)

It was the 20th of November and the Defense Department was celebrating its 80th founding anniversary.

From rifles, snipers and other high-powered firearms, miniatures of attack helicopters and ships, to advanced systems such as the Air Force’s Virtual Combat Simulator (VCS), Lorenzana checked on each material — taking pride in how far the military has come in its modernization program. He later presented them to President Duterte, the Commander-in-Chief.


In 2019, the Philippine military had its fair share of ups and downs in terms of safeguarding the national security and peace and order while having one of the most under-equipped armed forces in Southeast Asia.

The country was not spared from continued terrorist attacks from Daesh-inspired and local threat groups. It remained on a quest to achieve the seemingly elusive peace with the five-decades old problem on Communist insurgency. It is faced with new and emerging threats from foreign influences — most especially China.

However, General Noel Clement, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, said the challenges that the country faced in 2019 were turned into “concrete opportunities.”

“The year 2019 has been replete with daunting challenges, which the Armed Forces was able to transform into concrete opportunities,” Clement said.

Slow modernization

Modernizing the Philippine military proved to be one of the priorities of President Duterte. Indeed, how can a country protect itself from local and foreign threats if it has no credible Armed Force?

The AFP intends to allocate P25 billion in its proposed P258-billion budget in 2020 primarily for the acquisition of various land, air, and sea assets as part of its Revised AFP Modernization Program dubbed “Horizon.”

Horizon, which has three phases, aims to modernize all branches of the AFP namely the Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force and Philippine Navy. The first phase was implemented from 2013 to 2017, the second is from 2018 to 2022, and the last phase will be from 2023 to 2028.

Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, AFP spokesperson, said that 22 capability, materiel and technology development (CMTD) projects have been completed under the Horizon 1 as of August 2019. Some 25 CMTD projects and six bases support systems development projects are still in the various stages of procurement process and implementation.

Meanwhile, Zagala said the completion of 76 projects under the Horizon Phase 2 was being expedited to further enhance the Armed Forces’ capabilities for air and maritime defense.

On a brighter note, among the major assets that were delivered this year include the amphibious assault vehicles (AAVs), anti-submarine helicopters, Level 3 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cobra attack helicopters, multi-purpose attack crafts, the BRP Conrado Yap, small unit riverine crafts and the AFP Civil Engineering equipment.

The AFP is also expecting the delivery of its pioneer missile-capable frigates, the BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna, next year while plans for the acquisition of the country’s first ever submarines are on-going.

Issues with China

The modernization of the AFP will be crucial in defending the country’s maritime territory what with the lingering sea row by the Philippines and China in the South China Sea, where the latter is claiming 80 to 90 percent of the area including the West Philippine Sea, or those areas within the country’s 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The country was angered with the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in the Recto Bank in June. The lives of the boat’s 21-member crew were put in danger after they were abandoned at sea by the Chinese that rammed them.

It was followed by various reports of uncoordinated passage of Chinese vessels in the Philippine waters. Media reports showed that there were at least 12 incidents of Chinese vessels passing through the Philippine waters without informing the proper authorities. Some of the vessels were attack ships of China’s Coast Guard while others were marine research vessels.

The military also monitored an increase in the number of Chinese fishing boats swarming the territories in the West Philippine Sea.

All these issues challenged the military’s response to foreign threats, but Clement assured the public that the AFP remains committed to protect and defend the country’s territories.

“The AFP continues to monitor and patrol our territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea and the Philippine Rise in the eastern seaboard,” he said.

The acquired sea assets are expected to be of big help for the military in patrolling the Philippines’ maritime territory, he added.

Terrorism

The year also saw the rise of suicide bombing which used to be a non-conventional means of terrorist attack in the Philippines.

In 2019, three suicide bombings were recorded by the military — most notably was the June 28 attack involving the first known Filipino suicide bomber who blew himself up with a cohort at the tactical command post of the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team in Indanan, Sulu. The attack claimed eight lives, including three soldiers and three civilians.

The other cases were the suicide attack involving an Indonesian couple at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral in Jolo, Sulu on January 27 that killed 18 people and wounded 82 others; and a female foreigner who detonated a body-worn bomb in Indanan on September 8.

Another case of suicide bombing was recorded on July 31, 2018 when a Moroccan national detonated a bomb inside a white van at a military detachment in Lamitan, Basilan. Ten people died in the incident.

Duterte had ordered the military and police to crush the terrorist groups in the country, particularly the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), before the year ends.

Data from the AFP showed that from January 1 to December 11, 175 ASG rebels have been neutralized by the authorities, 82 of whom surrendered, 70 were killed, while 23 were apprehended.

Meanwhile, 107 Daesh-inspired Maute terrorists, the group that laid siege in Marawi City on 2017, were neutralized: 39 of them were killed, 34 surrendered and 34 were captured.

The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) also suffered heavy blows as 57 of its members were neutralized: 14 were killed, 41 surrendered and two were captured.

One of the biggest accomplishments of the AFP in its fight against terrorism was the successful rescue of British-Filipino couple Allan and Wilma Hyrons from their ASG captors on December 22. The couple was abducted on October 4.

It was followed by the safe rescue of Indonesian fishermen Maharudin Lunani and Samion Bin Maniue, who were abducted by the ASG on September 22 along with another companion in the waters off Sabah, Malaysia.

The military has also actively worked with Malaysia and Indonesia to curb the issues in the Sulu and Celebes Seas where sea piracy and kidnappings were prevalent, and to prevent the entry and exit of foreign terrorists at the backdoor of the concerned countries.

Communist insurgency, peace talks

Aside from terrorist groups, the AFP also waged a war against communist groups since the collapse of the peace talks between the national government (GRP) and the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) in 2017.

However, Duterte raised the possibility of reviving the peace talks when he ordered Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to start the informal talks with CPP founder Jose Maria “Joma” Sison earlier this month.

The planned resumption of the peace negotiations were off to a rough start when suspected Communist rebels launched three violent attacks against withdrawing troops in Camarines Norte, Iloilo and Quezon province amid a unilateral ceasefire between the GRP and the CPP-NPA-NDF from December 24, 2019 to January 7, 2020. A soldier was killed while eight others were wounded in the series of attacks.

This year, the AFP had 468 encounters with the Communist groups that also resulted in the dismantling of 12 guerilla fronts across the country, Clement said.

He added that 12 more guerilla fronts will be the subject of their combat operations until March 2020, excluding the period of the holiday truce.

“The rest of the targets will be weakened by then,” Clement said optimistically as he sees an end of the problem on communist insurgency by 2020.

Hopeful in 2020

Looking forward, Lorenzana encouraged the military to continue pursuing excellence in public service while Clement thanked the public for its support to the soldiers and hopes that they will continue to do so in 2020.

“The call to a more effective and efficient Defense sector is imperative in light of the enormous and varied security challenges confronting the nation,” Lorenzana stated.

“As your AFP continues to professionalize, evolve and modernize, your enormous trust and support to the AFP has made us more capable in addressing current and emerging threats to our national security,” Clement said.

https://news.mb.com.ph/2019/12/30/year-end-report-philippine-military-transforms-daunting-challenges-to-concrete-opportunities-in-2019/

Panelo: Photos of surrendering NPA rebels merged into ‘collage

From the Business Mirror (Dec 30, 2019): Panelo: Photos of surrendering NPA rebels merged into ‘collage’ (By Jasper Y. Arcalas)

MALACAÑANG on Sunday said the photos recently released by the Philippine Army showing supposed surrender of some New People’s Army members were not manipulated, but were “authentic” but “collaged” pictures.

Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo said Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana told him that the photos were two separate genuine pictures that were merged together.

“I talked to Secretary Delfin Lorenzana today, and his explanation was that the two pictures were just merged, like a collage. Those two pictures are both authentic,” Panelo said in Filipino during a radio interview on Sunday.

He added that Lorenzana has already ordered an investigation over the controversial photo that was released to the public recently.

Nonetheless, Panelo said there is nothing wrong with the photo released by the army, despite them being two photos merged into one.

“It was not manipulated. It was just collaged. The two pictures were merged in one picture. So that’s not manipulation. It would be different if the two photos are not real and were merged just to show that a lot of rebels surrendered,” he explained.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/12/30/panelo-photos-of-surrendering-npa-rebels-merged-into-collage/

Palace warns Reds: Don't violate ceasefire again

From the Philippine Star (Dec 29, 2019): Palace warns Reds: Don't violate ceasefire again (By Alexis Romero)

"He should come home so they can have a one-on-one meeting. If he does not come here, that means, he is afraid and he is not sincere," Panelo said of CPP founder Jose Maria Sison.  The STAR/Edd Gumban, file

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Sunday called on communist rebels to refrain from committing another violation of the holiday ceasefire even if the rebels have denied launching offensives against government forces.

Security officials have accused the New People's Army, the armed wing of the communists, of carrying out attacks in Labo, Camarines Norte and Tubungan, Iloilo on Dec. 23, the first day of the 16-day truce. The incidents resulted in the death of one soldier and the wounding of eight government troopers.

The National Democratic Front, which represents the rebels in the peace talks with the government, has claimed that the NPA members did not violate the ceasefire because they only defended themselves from the attacks of the military and the police. NDF has also claimed that it had yet to receive copies of the orders directing the military and the police to suspend their operations against the NPA.

It has since acknowledged receipt of copies of the orders to suspend military and police operations.

Asked to react to the NDF's claim, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo reiterated that the communist rebels should avoid staging attacks during the ceasefire period, which started last Dec. 23 and will end on Jan. 7.

"Whatever the reason is, pinagbigyan sila ni Presidente. Kaya huwag na nila ulitin (the President let it pass. So they should not repeat it)," Panelo said in a radio interview.

RELATED: 'Localized' peace talks best way to end insurgency — OPAPP

Panelo said President Duterte remains open to resuming the talks with the rebels despite the recent incidents involving the NPA. He, however, maintained that Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, who has been on self-exile in the Netherlands since 1987, should come home to the Philippines to meet with Duterte.

"He should come home so they can have a one-on-one meeting. If he does not come here, that means, he is afraid and he is not sincere," Panelo said.

Panelo also dismissed as "nonsense" Sison's statement that he does not want to come to the Philippines because he is worried for his safety.

"Nothing will happen to him (Sison) here," the Palace spokesman said.

Duterte canceled the talks with the NDF in 2017 after the NPA staged successive offensives against the military and the police. The President, however, reversed his decision this month, saying a leader should always be open to peace negotiations. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/12/29/1980623/palace-warns-reds-dont-violate-ceasefire-again

NDF Bicol: Military resorting to fake news to desperately build image

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Dec 28, 2019): NDF Bicol: Military resorting to fake news to desperately build image (By: Mar S. Arguelles)

LEGAZPI CITY — The military is so desperate to build its image that it has to resort to spreading fake news, disinformation and manipulate photo releases to the media, the spokesperson of the National Democratic Front (NDF) in Bicol said on Saturday.

Ma. Roja Banua, NDF Bicol spokesperson, said that “spreading fake news and photos would not improve their (military) image but it would further tarnish it.”

Banua was reacting to the issue of a manipulated photo attached to a press release by the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry Battalion that earned criticisms from netizens since it was used by the media on Thursday.

The photo, showing the surrender of former New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in a ceremony in Masbate City on Thursday, gained attention on social media when netizens pointed out that it was “manipulated” or “photoshopped” to add the image of people standing in line before a table full of firearms.

Banua said the presentation of the former rebels were “recycled” saying the story and the firearms surrendered were for several times have been presented to the media.

“In desperation they (military) have to engage in this kind of gimmickry and propaganda by fooling the people,” Banua said.

In line with the 51st Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the military and police machinery launched on Thursday an Indignation Rally against the NPA in Bicol and the event in Masbate was meant to be another highlight in the government’s campaign against communist insurgency.

Banua said that aside from the government-sponsored rallies, it has issued press and photo releases to the media about the success of the government campaign against insurgency.

The NDF is committed to oppose President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 70, institutionalizing the whole-of-nation approach in attaining peace and the creation of a national and regional task force to end local communist armed conflict, she said.

“The movement is steadfast to protect the freedom of the press and the people’s right to information,” Banua said.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1206897/ndf-bicol-military-resorting-to-fake-news-to-desperately-build-image

'Localized' peace talks best way to end insurgency — OPAPP

From the Philippine Star (Dec 29, 2019): 'Localized' peace talks best way to end insurgency — OPAPP

This photo from state-run Philippine News Agency shows an anti-communist rally at the EDSA Shrine on December 26, 2019. December 26 marks the anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines.  Facebook/Philippine News Agency

MANILA, Philippines — Although the Christmas ceasefire is a welcome development, "localized" peace talks with communist rebels are the best way to end the 51-year-old insurgency, presidential peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement.

The government has opted for the localized talks, which it calls Local Peace Engagements, to negotiate the surrender of members of the New People's Army and of local communist militias.

READ: OPAPP: New panel to oversee localized 'peace engagements' with Reds

"The LPE approach directly addresses the needs of people and communities and prevents them from being exploited by the insurgents. The government provides basic services, livelihood, and security, among others, as a means of capacitating them," Galvez said.

The Communist Party of the Philippines has rejected the "localized" peace talks, saying the reforms needed to end the insurgency must be on a national level.

"Localized talks are a classic divide and rule tactic. The idea is to hoodwink local CPP leaders and NPA commanders into agreeing to local ceasefire arrangements and later on induce them to surrender," the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, which represents the communist rebels at peace talks, also said in July 2018.

But Galvez said the LPEs have led to mass surrenders "of members of the CPP-NPA Southern, Northeastern, and Western Mindanao Regional Party Committees operating in Regions [Zamboanga Peninsula], [Northern Mindanao], [Davao] and CARAGA."

RELATED: 'Honest mistake': Army apologizes for manipulated photo of alleged rebels

"Through the efforts of local chief executives, the Regional Task Force – Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) IX, and the CPP-NPA’s Western Committee, the parties forged an agreement in which they committed to jointly carry out socio-economic programs and projects in their communities," he said.

Galvez said that he is hopeful that unilateral but reciprocal ceasefires declared by the government and by the Communist Party of the Philippines would be "a step towards finally putting an end to the armed violence" but also warned that peace talks have not prevented rebel attacks.

"As peace talks were being held at the national level, attacks were being carried out by the rebels. In short, there have already been precedents. We have to be prepared and make sure that such incidents are prevented at all costs," Galvez said.

READ: Palace: Reds must explain attacks during ceasefire

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2019/12/29/1980545/localized-peace-talks-best-way-end-insurgency-opapp

Bangsamoro meeting with Turkish officials ‘not unconstitutional’

From the Philippine Star (Dec 29, 2019): Bangsamoro meeting with Turkish officials ‘not unconstitutional’ (John Unson)

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Friday insinuated in his Tweeter post the possibility of filing a diplomatic protest against Turkey and charges against BARMM officials for the meetings that he said was “a slap on Philippine sovereignty.”  AFP/Emmanuel Dunand

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The dialogue between Bangsamoro Chief Minister Hadji Ahod Ebrahim and Turkish officials in Ankara, Turkey from Dec. 11 to 16, was not unconstitutional, a senior regional official said yesterday.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, local government minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), said the engagement was, in fact, held in the presence of representatives from the Philippine diplomatic corps assigned in Turkey.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Friday insinuated in his Tweeter post the possibility of filing a diplomatic protest against Turkey and charges against BARMM officials for the meetings that he said was “a slap on Philippine sovereignty.”

Turkey, a member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that includes more than 50 Muslim states, is a benefactor of the current peace process between Malacañang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Ebrahim, an appointed BARMM chief minister, is MILF’s leader who acts as chairman of the group’s central committee.

The creation of BARMM was premised on two peace compacts between the government and the MILF – the 2012 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro that were a product of 22 years of peace talks that Malaysia, another OIC member-state, brokered.

Turkey leads the International Decommissioning Body at the forefront of the MILF’s and the government’s gradual deactivation of Moro rebels and transfer of their firearms to hasten the restoration of normalcy in the Southern Philippines.

Sinarimbo said Ebrahim traveled to Ankara for the meetings with Turkish government officials with full imprimatur from President Duterte.

“The travel of the chief minister was upon the invitation of the government of Turkey and he was given authority to travel abroad by the Office of the President of the Philippines,” Sinarimbo said.

He said Bangsamoro regional officials are certain the Turkish government will not ruin the southern Mindanao peace process it has been supporting for a long time by inviting Ebrahim for official functions in Ankara in a manner transgressing the diplomatic ties between Turkey and the Philippines.

“There is an inter-governmental relations mechanism that should have been the venue for resolving the confusion and misunderstanding on the chief minister’s travel to Turkey,” Sinarimbo said.

The inter-governmental relations body was jointly established by Malacanang and BARMM in support of measures meant to ensure strong governance cooperation between both sides. 

 
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/12/29/1980479/bangsamoro-meeting-turkish-officials-not-unconstitutional

WOMEN OF THE EASTERN CALIPHATE//By blood and marriage (Part 2)

Posted to Rappler (Dec 27, 2019): WOMEN OF THE EASTERN CALIPHATE//By blood and marriage (By ANA P. SANTOS AND NIKKO DIZON//Illustrations by NICO VILLARETE)

Part 2: Their men fight at the frontlines, but by blood and marriage, these women played a crucial role in the Marawi siege and the establishment of an ISIS caliphate in the Philippines

It was the men who manned the trenches in the battle for Marawi and the establishment of the Philippines as an Islamic State (ISIS) hub in the East, but it was these women who held down the fort.

In the last of this two-part series, Rappler analyzes the influence of the “soft power” women wield in war and violent extremism. The role of a mother is elevated to that of a matriarch-leader who provides the psychological and emotional ammunition needed to brave months of fighting. Brides are married as tactical strategies to unite battalions fragmented by tribal lines. Later, these allied troops would come together under one extremist ideology and fight under ISIS.

The men they are associated with are better remembered but these women have their own war stories – forged by blood and marriage.

READ: PART 1 | Hiding in plain sight


Matriarch and Kingmaker: Farhana Maute



MANILA, Philippines – Farhana Maute was dressed in a deep yellow abaya decorated with small colored beads that formed peacock feather patterns. Her face was covered with a black scarf and she wore hip beige sneakers.

The other detainees who were sitting around her were dressed in yellow T-shirts plastered with the word, “DETAINEE” in thick black letters.

Even in a courtroom where she was going to be tried for rebellion, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms, serious illegal detention with murder, there are some rules that do not apply to Farhana, now in her 60s.

Her two sons, Omar and Abdullah Maute, led the armed unit that bore their name but it was the Maute matriarch who was pulling the strings, managing the two key lifelines of any war – logistics and money.

Farhana comes from the influential Romato clan in Central Mindanao. Her pedigree gave her political connections, social capital, and the economic resources to establish various business ventures that included furniture businesses in Lanao del Sur, a bazaar in Novaliches, and homes in both Manila and Mindanao. According to reports, she used her business in Surabaya, Indonesia to launder terrorist funds flowing into the Philippines.

Her relatives were members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who broke ranks with the leadership and joined the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Government intel sources said her husband had long been known to be coddling Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) fighters. “Dati mga utusan lang ang mga Maute ng JI,” said the military source. (The Mautes used to just be the goffers of the JI.)

That was until they started to crawl their way up from obscurity to notoriety one terror attack after another.

(FAST FACTS: What you should know about the Maute Group)

Before they led the Marawi siege, the Maute Group was involved in the kidnapping of 6 sawmill workers in April 2016. Four of the sawmill workers were released while two, Jaymart Capangpangan and Salvador Janubas, were beheaded dressed in orange jumpsuits, a signature of ISIS execution.

The Mautes were also held responsible for the September 2016 Davao night market bombing and in November of the same year, they clashed with the military after they occupied the Butig Municipal Hall and raised the ISIS black flag.

According to court records reviewed by Rappler, one of the surviving sawmill workers said that Farhana wanted the two victims to be killed because they were “military informants.” He added that he recognized Farhana from when she had bought lumber a few days before they were kidnapped. His testimony is part of the evidence in the case of serious illegal detention with murder that Farhana is charged with.

“Matapang talaga 'yan si Farhana (Farhana is really fierce),” the government intelligence source told Rappler, recounting how Farhana assailed police officers when her children were detained.

Terrorism runs in the family
When terrorism expert and political analyst Rommel Banlaoi outlined the Maute family tree in relation to the Marawi siege, it looked like an organizational chart – each family member had his or her own respective duty. Abdullah headed military operations while Omar handled political affairs. Another brother, Mohammad Khayam, oversaw operations and intelligence while their other brothers were also fighters. Their parents were in charge of finance and logistics.

“Blood ties make recruitment easy and betrayal or defection difficult,” said Banlaoi.

It also helps bring down the organization when you topple the main leader.

A senior military officer who was involved in the Marawi siege said that there had been one or two women who participated in insurgency movements, but it was through Farhana that he saw the kind of influence that women wield. He asked that he not be named because he no longer has the authority to speak on the issue.

“Hindi mo talaga pagkakamalan ang babae kasi traditional ang mga gawa – asawa, tiga-aalaga. Ang tingin talaga sa terrorista, lalaki,” he said. (You really wouldn’t suspect women because their roles were traditional – wives, caregivers. When you think of a terrorist, you think of a man.)

According to the military source, after Farhana was arrested on June 9, 2017 in Lanao del Sur while on her way to buy vehicles to help wounded soldiers escape, the military began to feel the Mautes losing ground.

Their own intel told them that factions and fights began to break out among the brothers and the groups they had allied themselves with.

Because of her political stature and status in the community, Farhana’s arrest weakened community support for the siege. Without her network and connections, logistical supply chains crumbled.

“The influence of a woman is psychological and emotional. To her husband, she provides psychological support that makes them a powerful radicalized couple working as a team. To her children, she is a source of morale and psychological support,” he said.

“Her arrest affected their stability. It dampened their spirits. Sa giyera, ang labanan (in war, the battle) is keeping up the will to fight,” the source added.

Another senior intelligence official confirmed this. “Matriarchal pa rin ang society natin (Our society is still matriarchial).” He added that Filipino Muslim women appear to be quiet and in the background but their men – husbands and sons – always look to them when it comes to making decisions.

It was the additional boots on the ground provided by foreign terrorist fighters who have no attachment to Farhana or the Maute family that gave the rebels the tenacity to engage the military in battle for another 4 months.

Cayamora, the Maute patriarch, was also arrested in June 2017, but according to the military source, Farhana’s arrest was more devastating “from a soft power” point of view.

Farhana is currently detained in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.

The family terrorist enterprise: Juromee Dongon and her sisters



When Juromee Zainab Dongon was arrested for illegal possession of firearms in Lanao del Norte in February 2018, news headlines tagged her as the widow of Marwan, the notorious Malaysian terrorist and bomb maker who was killed in the 2015 Mamasapano shootout with the police.

Less known is that Juromee was previously married to another ASG chieftain and that her sisters were all married to other ASG leaders.

Juromee married Khadaffy Janjalani in her teens. Janjalani’s older brother founded and organized the ASG back in 1991. Janjalani took over as head when his brother was killed. Juromee was his wife until he was killed in a military operation in 2006.

Then she married Marwan, a once-elusive Malaysian terrorist wanted for staging the only successful Al-Qaeda-linked attack in Malaysia. Marwan was also wanted in Indonesia for his involvement in the 2002 Bali bombings carried out by Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the Indonesian extremist group bent on establishing an Islamic State in Southeast Asia.

Marwan found his way to the Philippines in 2003 to evade arrest in the wake of the crackdown after the Bali bombing.

Over his years of hiding, Marwan made the Philippines his home. It was his marriage to Juromee and at least two other Filipino women that facilitated Marwan’s assimilation into the community. He passed on the JI ideology of violent extremism and reportedly trained at least 300 militants in bomb-making and detonation.

Cesar P. Garcia, who was former director-general of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), said that women were not considered major players during the nascent years of terrorism in the country. He said that during that time, terrorists used women as sex slaves and errand girls.

“The only time women actually became an interest to us was when the Dongon sisters cropped up,” Garcia recalled. He told Rappler he had once interrogated Juromee after Janjalani was killed – when she was widowed for the first time.

“If my memory serves me right, we just reached out to her, hoping she could be of service to us because of the links of her brother, Rejivan Dongon alias Abu Tariq, and her sisters with other jihadists,” Garcia said.

He admitted not asking why she had married Janjalani, how many children they have, and other questions that would involve a wife.

“I focused on the principals,” Garcia said, referring to the top jihadist leaders.

Marriages and alliances

Garcia recalled that Juromee looked “very plain.” He added: “There was nothing spectacular about her. She did not look like a wide-eyed fanatic. She had very ordinary ambitions. If she did imbibe radicalism, she didn’t show it. Parang kawawa pa nga eh." (She seemed rather pitiful.)

During the interrogation, Juromee asked Garcia if the Philippine government could find her a job in Saudi Arabia. Garcia said her request was not granted as it might be construed as the Philippines sending jihadists and sympathizers to the Middle East.

“Little did we know at that time that she would end up as the wife of Marwan. We thought she just wanted to go to Saudi to be an OFW,” Garcia said.

Government intelligence officers confirmed that Juromee’s parents were both migrant workers in Saudi Arabia who converted to Islam. When they came back to the Philippines, they were likely to have been influenced by their spiritual leader, Ruben Lavilah, who was linked to ASG and the Rajah Sulaiman Movement (RSM), a terrorist group whose members are Islam converts.

Juromee’s sisters, Aminah and Norain, were all married to top terrorist leaders.

Aminah Dongon was the wife of Jainal Antel Sali, also known as Abu Solaiman, a trusted aide of ASG chieftain Janjalani and sister Juromee’s first husband. Norain Dongon is married to Ahmad Santos who handled the media arm of the ASG. Santos is a balik-Islam or Muslim convert who later founded RSM.

Intelligence sources told Rappler that the significance of the Dongon family is how their marriages “cemented the alliances between the Abu Sayyaf, RSM and the JI – and solidified the extremist ideology of ISIS.”

Under a unified ideology and no longer divided by their tribal factions, the 3 groups staged attacks with the terrorist trademark of targeting mass casualties in a public space like the 2004 SuperFerry bombing that killed 116 people. Aminah’s husband, Abu Solaiman, was tagged as the brains behind the bombing. Before the Marawi siege, the SuperFerry bombing was regarded as the deadliest terror attack in the Philippines.

“There is honor for these women to be married to mujahid or Islamic guerrilla warriors. Since in their culture, women are second class citizens, marrying a mujahid with power and influence is considered ‘marrying up.’ There is a higher social status to it,” said the government intelligence source.

Marriage to a mujahid transcends physical attraction and romantic embellishments. “It is spiritual. When your objective is the consolidation of (military) resources and wealth, love in marriage is secondary,” the intelligence source said.

Sleeping with the enemy

Juromee, Aminah, and Norain unified battalions through the tactical strategy of marriage. Other members of their family straddled both sides of the battlefield through their romantic involvement with law enforcement agents.

When authorities arrested Juromee Dongon in February 2018 in Lanao del Norte, they also arrested another sister, Lorilie Dongon Atta, and her husband, Senior Police Officer 4 Andy Atta.

In a separate operation, police arrested Juromee’s father, Romeo Dongon, alias "Faisal" and sister, Norain, for possession of illegal firearms. The Dongon patriarch was also a member of the ASG.

Bombing equipment and firearms were found in their possession and they were charged with associating and providing support to terrorist groups.

It was not only Lorilie who was involved with law enforcement.

Another brother, Renierlo “Ren-Ren” Dongon, was a terrorist who reportedly had a love affair in 2013 with a police official, Superintendent Cristina Nobleza.

According to then-Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald dela Rosa, the male Dongon was detained on suspicion of bomb-making. Nobleza, who was then assigned to the presidential anti-crime commission, was in charge of interrogating him. Nobleza is a balik-Islam convert who was the deputy regional chief of the PNP Crime Laboratory in Davao.

Nobleza, 49, and the Dongon brother who is in his late 20s, were arrested in April 2017 in Clarin, Bohol. By this time, the Marawi siege was already a month in and ASG militants had reportedly traveled via pump boat from Sulu to Bohol to raid a resort and kidnap tourists.

The duo and their companions were caught while trying to evade a checkpoint on their way to provide reinforcements to the ASG members who were cornered in military operations.

A day after the arrest, security forces conducted raids on two properties listed under Nobleza and confiscated firearms, bomb-making materials, and “subversive documents pertaining to terrorist activities.”

The Dongon family united rebel groups in danger of splintering and they blurred enemy lines all through their marriages and romantic dalliances.

“The Dongons are an example of family terrorist enterprise,” the military intelligence source told Rappler.

Women in jihad: We have just barely scratched the surface

Jihadist networks, with ISIS taking the lead, are opening up their ranks and encouraging women to stake their rightful place, navigating the underground in covert operations or from the frontlines as suicide bombers.

The interactive graphic below shows how each of the 4 women contributed to jihadist movements by engaging in different activities from recruitment to marriage around Southeast Asia. Click or tap on the women’s names to see their activities and the extent of their influence:


Farhana   Myrna   Karen   Juromee

According to Sidney Jones, executive director of the Jakarta-based think tank, Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), “Women are now a permanent part of the jihadi structure.”

Jones cautioned against simplifying the reason women join jihad within the context of male influence or romantic attachment. “It is a mistake to think that a woman’s participation in jihad is dependent on her relationship with a man. The decision to engage in terrorist activity was already there – without reference to a man.”

A footnote in the United Nations Development Programme report on Preventing Violent Extremism pointed out that while more men are involved in radicalization than women, “the pattern seems to be changing.”

The number of female suicide bombers has significantly increased. Since 2000, 40% of the suicide bombers of Chechen rebels in Russia have been women called the “Black Widows.” West Africa’s Boko Haram has been deploying more and more female suicide bombers.

While mostly present in active conflict zones, suicide bombers are also creeping into peace zones and creating terror in urban areas.

In 2018, the Indonesian city of Surabaya was rocked by suicide attacks carried out by an Indonesian family of 5. Currently, a number of radicalized Indonesian women are serving prison sentences for plotting suicide bomb attacks. The bombing of the Jolo Cathedral in Southern Philippines at the beginning of this year was also carried out by an Indonesian couple – and the first to be carried out in part by a woman.

The 2019 coordinated suicide bomb attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka were also carried out by family networks.

In the Philippines, the Filipino women identified as ISIS supporters were mostly involved in recruitment and money transfers. But terrorism experts warn that this is no indication that they will be confined to backend supporting roles.

“In Southeast Asia, the women have been progressive compared to many other regions in the world. Women have participated in the terrorist campaigns in a very major way and this trend is going to expand. In the future, we are likely to see greater participation of women in terrorism in the Philippines,” said Singapore-based terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna.

The following graphic shows how the women (their names in red banners) fit into a larger network of the eastern caliphate and further to other parts of Southeast Asia:




THE LARGER PICTURE. Here's how the women are connected in a network of high-profile individuals and incidents of terrorist activities in the Philippines.

The fall of ISIS-held territories in the Middle East and the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has created a need to decentralize operations to wilayats (or provinces) like the Philippines. The role of women will increase as there is a need to replenish male combatants who were either killed or arrested.

Women are likely to emerge in terror cells and move from the traditional role of moving resources and combatants to more active roles. Currently, the Philippine government is monitoring the activity of women in certain terror cells.

Sword of honor

Intelligence sources told Rappler they believe the suicide bombing attempt by a foreign woman in Indanan, Sulu in September was a way to encourage more jihadist women, including Filipino women, to be fighters, too.

“Suicide bombing is a display of commitment and if it is successful, they get more support from like-minded individuals,” one of them explained.

The Indanan suicide bomber has not yet been named but she was the wife of another foreign jihadist allied with ISIS Philippines leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan. She was supposedly also the stepmother of her husband’s young children.

A female government intel specialist has been studying the role Filipino women play in jihad since Farhana and her daughter were arrested.

She goes to the south quite often as part of her work and most recently learned that the narrative used by recruiters to convince others to take up jihad is the act of “parang sabil” (sword of honor) or a valiant attempt to wage war and attack the enemy.

“Parang sabil” is the Tausug concept of defending one's freedom and liberty from colonizers. The connotation of “magsasabil” is the courage to defy and fight the enemy.

“Recruiters are actually having a difficult time convincing people to join so they resort to different narratives,” the female intelligence specialist said.

Government intelligence sources, interviewed separately, repeated the same message: in these abnormal times for ISIS, with their goal of establishing a caliphate constantly being frustrated, jihadists are looking for men to recruit but the women are ready.

The participation of women in jihad will grow, the female intel specialist said, as extremists are rebuilding the group. Women are now well-represented in society and that will also be reflected in the jihadist movement.

“We have only begun to scratch the surface of the role of women in jihad,” she said. – with reports from Michelle Abad/Rappler.com

https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/245822-women-eastern-caliphate-by-blood-marriage-isis-part-2

WOMEN OF THE EASTERN CALIPHATE//Hiding in plain sight (Part 1)

Posted to Rappler (Dec 27, 2019): WOMEN OF THE EASTERN CALIPHATE//Hiding in plain sight (By ANA P. SANTOS AND NIKKO DIZON//Illustrations by NICO VILLARETE)

(UPDATED) Part 1: From hapless accomplices, women are becoming willing and enthusiastic actors in jihad

From the battlefield, the Marawi siege and the establishment of the Philippines as the eastern province of ISIS was led by men who headed militant troops. But war requires money, weapons, trained soldiers – and as a Rappler research found out – women who established the ties of the key terrorist groups in the Philippines.

Today, the emerging face of the radicalized extremist is female. From hanging back in the shadows, women are moving up to take a more active role in terror networks, alongside their male counterparts. Their once low-key roles of sheltering fugitives, marrying jihadists and giving birth to future mujahideen, serving as couriers or errand girls, or being forced into sexual slavery, allowed women to largely evade military surveillance, bypass security checks, and be overlooked in counter-terrorism efforts.

In this two-part series, Rappler reveals how jihadist wives used their perceived innocence as a veil of stealth tactics to collect, move, and transfer large sums of money to jihadi networks to buy weapons, fund training camps, and later, bankroll the 2017 Marawi siege. They mostly used a mix of cash remittance services or the hawala system – similar to the padala system of sending money through trusted friends and relatives.

In putting together this report, Rappler referenced several think tank reports, court records, open source documents and interviewed dozens of military officers, government intelligence sources, and terrorism experts in Indonesia, Singapore, and the Philippines.

Like these women, the exchange of money was hidden in plain sight. Inevitably, authorities tracked them down following the money trail they left behind. Among them were a public school teacher and a former airline ground crew.


Myrna Mabanza, public school teacher

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – In 2016, an estimated $107,000 was transferred to members of the Islamic State (ISIS) network in the Philippines, acccording to a United Nations Security Council bulletin. The transfers were facilitated by Myrna Mabanza, a public school teacher married to Malaysian bomb maker, Mohammad Najib Hussein, also known as Abu Anas.

Abu Anas was the leader of the Ansar al-Shariah Battalion until he was killed in December 2015. Shortly after his death, a video of him beheading a Filipino civilian was released.

A United Nations Security Council bulletin detailed how Mabanza transferred money to ISIS affiliates in the Philippines and acted as a go-between linking militants from Malaysia and Indonesia to Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) leader and ISIS-appointed emir, Isnilon Hapilon, for combat training in the Philippines.

From January to March 2016, Mabanza acted as a conduit between Hapilon and the Syrian Arab Republic. In January 2016, Mabanza coordinated the transfer of up to $100,000 with Hapilon and upon his instruction, delivered it to members of the ISIS network in the Philippines.

In March 2016, a senior ISIS official in the Syrian Arab Republic planned to send financial support to the ISIS network in the Philippines through Mabanza.

A report by the Institute for the Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta-based terrorism think tank says that in April 2016, Mabanza facilitated travel and accompanied a representative of the Indonesian terrorist group, Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), to Basilan to meet Hapilon. The JAD representative traveled to the Philippines to purchase guns for ISIS-aligned forces and planned to smuggle them back to Indonesia.

They also wanted to arrange for bootcamp military courses for pro-ISIS recruits from Indonesia. After Isnilon agreed, the recruits from Indonesia were brought to the Philippines and were schooled in weapons-handling and bomb-making.

Who would suspect a teacher?

Mabanza’s access to terror networks and her ability to move within them was due to her profession and her own family background. As a teacher, people trusted her. “One time, she asked two friends to transfer money. They did not know that it was terrorist money,” an intelligence officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity and had followed her case, told Rappler.

Rommel Banlaoi, terrorism expert and political analyst, said this method of transferring money through friends and relatives is referred to as the “hawala system.”

“It may be small amounts of money but when collected, it becomes large. And it cannot be traced by authorities,” Banlaoi explained.

Mabanza was a licensed teacher who taught kindergarten in a public school in Zamboanga City. She was born in Zamboanga City but her other listed addresses include Basilan, and Jeddah and Daina in Saudi Arabia. It is unclear if she was working in Saudi Arabia, but being a teacher provided the perfect cover for the work she did for ISIS in the Philippines.

“Who would suspect a teacher?” the intelligence officer said.

Her friends might not have even suspected that her husband was a Malaysian jihadist. The couple has a son who must be around 4 years old by now.

Documents related to investigations done by Indonesian and Malaysian authorities obtained by Rappler show that Mabanza met Abu Anas in October 2015 on Facebook. After chatting about Islamic teachings for a while, Mabanza went to Basilan to meet him. After a series of visits, Mabanza became his second wife. Just two months after they wed, in December, Abu Anas was killed in a firefight in Basilan.

The widowed Mabanza remained in touch with Abu Sayyaf leader Hapilon through Facebook and cellphone to coordinate fund transfers. She was also assigned to look for viable targets – individuals who could pay a hefty ransom if kidnapped.

Mabanza no longer needed any indoctrination as she grew up in a family of terrorists. Her uncle, Abu Termije, was an original member of the ASG when it was founded by Abdurajak Janjalani in the 1980s. Termije is reported to have died in a military operation in 2009. Her cousins, also from Basilan, were ASG members and considered bomb experts.

Intelligence radar

The intelligence officer said that Mabanza came on their radar in the third quarter of 2015, when ISIS Philippines was being formed. Philippine intelligence kept their eye on Mabanza, relying mostly on information gathered by ground assets in Zamboanga City. The surveillance went on for more than a year, during which Mabanza was able to “transfer a lot of money.”

“That time, we didn’t have any detailed information on Myrna. We just knew that she was facilitating the entry of terrorists, meaning she would meet them at ports and bring them to Basilan,” the intelligence officer said.

Then they received word that Mabanza was supposedly part of a plan to bomb Zamboanga City.

“What we wanted to know was where they will place the bombs. Our asset said Mabanza knew that,” the intelligence officer said. He added that they were also told that Mabanza had a laptop where she kept information related to the ISIS Philippines activities.

The government intelligence officers worked with the Zamboanga regional police “to invite” the 25-year-old Mabanza for questioning in September 2016. They also searched her house. According to the Rappler source, authorities confiscated her mobile phones and laptop.

“We submitted the laptop and the contents were analyzed by other officers. What we found was a wealth of information about ISIS Philippines, and I believe some of this information is still helpful in our efforts against terrorism, not just in our country but in the region, too,” the source said.

Mabanza spent the night in a police station being interrogated by authorities. The Rappler source came face-to-face with her, too.

“Matapang siya at galit siya sa akin (She was fierce and angry at me). I knew she was a prominent member of ISIS Philippines because of her husband Abu Anas. I would mention information I knew she wouldn’t be able to deny. She knew I knew what her activities were,” the source said.

He was able to confirm during the interrogation that Mabanza facilitated receiving and disbursing the funds used by the terrorist network. In 2018, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control listed Mabanza as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for her involvement – together with Hapilon – in the transfer of an estimated $107,000 to members of ISIS’s network in the Philippines in 2016.

Following this order, the Financial Intelligence Unit of Trinidad and Tobago issued a memo freezing Mabanza’s assets.

Appeal to emotions

Mabanza was released in the afternoon the day after her arrest. Aside from having no solid case that could be filed against her, the source said colleagues also pitied Mabanza’s then infant son.

“I thought she was wily enough to bring her baby and a relative with her to the police station. While she was being interrogated, she would ask for a break so that she could check on her son who was in the other room with the relative and breastfeed him. Naawa 'yung mga pulis sa kanya (The police pitied her),” the intelligence officer said.

An officer of the Zamboanga police headquarters confirmed with Rappler that Mabanza was released for “humanitarian reasons.”

The intelligence source said Abu Anas played smart in choosing a Filipino wife. Mabanza’s profile was a perfect fit for the needs of the terrorist cell here in the Philippines. She was educated and had a profession that people respected and would not question.

Mabanza was reportedly set to be married to another foreign terrorist after Abu Anas was killed. But her arrest changed the plan – it blew her cover and rendered Mabanza “ineffective” to the terrorist group.

“Last I heard, Myrna is in a province in Southern Philippines, teaching again,” the intelligence officer said.

Cousins: Myrna and Al Maida Marani Salvin

The death of Hapilon in the Marawi siege and Mabanza being out of commission left a void in the jihadi money transfer chain. This was taken up by Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan who took over Hapilon’s role as ASG chief and Al Maida Marani Salvin, Mabanza’s cousin and the second wife of Abu Talha, one of Sawadjaan’s key advisors.

There isn’t much personal information available on Salvin, but documents related to Malaysian and Indonesian investigations reviewed by Rappler show that Salvin was part of Sawadjaan’s funding chain, receiving money transfers from abroad sent by remittance centers. Funders included 3 men who were working in oil palm fields in Sabah – Indonesian Andi Baso and his high school friend, Malaysian Mohammad Alif Bin, who went by the name “Yoga,” and a Filipino who used the name Iwan.

Funds were supposed to buy weapons for the ISIS groups in the Philippines and bankroll trips of foreign fighters. Baso, who has been tracked in the Philippines and working with Sawadjaan, said he was planning a terror attack in Sabah July or August 2019, but plans were cut short when Salvin was arrested that April in Zamboanga City for possession of explosives, bank books, and transaction slips linked to ISIS-PH funding.

Baso, 20, is the son-in-law of the Indonesian suicide bombers who bombed the Jolo Cathedral in January 2019. Meanwhile, Yoga who was coordinating fund transctions between other jihadists and Salvin, was arrested the following month in Sabah.

Last September, the US Treasury Department added Salvin and Sawadjaan to its list of global terrorists. According to the bulletin, Philippine authorities tagged Salvin as involved in “financial transactions, procurement, transportation of firearms and explosives, and facilitated foreign fighters to the Philippines” – very similar to what Mabanza was doing.

Included in the list were companies, individuals and money transfer offices involved in funneling money from different parts to terrorist organizations.

The sanctions blacklist followed US President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order that bolsters America’s capabilities to run after financial backers of militant groups, their leaders and supporters.

"This new authority serves to put all foreign financial institutions on notice that enabling terrorists and their financial backers to rely upon the international financial system to facilitate their malign activities will have consequences," the US Treasury Department said in its bulletin.

While Mabanza and Salvin took on the underground non-combatant tasks of receiving and distributing money or acting as spies, there are women who have moved up to the frontline to take aim. In these screengrabs of a firefight between government troops and ASG fighters in Sulu that Rappler obtained from intelligence sources in Sulu, a woman is taking part in the shootout.

PARTICIPANT. Cici Rezky Fantasy Rullie, said to be around 18, is believed to be the daughter of the Indonesian couple who bombed Jolo Cathedral in January 2019. Cici is seen here engaging in a shootout with the military. Rappler-sourced video screengrab

The woman is believed to be Cici Rezky Fantasy Rullie, said to be about 18 years old, daughter of the Indonesian couple who bombed the Jolo Cathedral in January 2019 and the wife of Baso. (READ: AFP confirms report: Indonesian couple behind Jolo Cathedral bombing)

Around December 2018, Baso and Cici arrived in the Philippines through Sabah. With them were Cici’s mother, Ulfah Handayani Saleh, her younger brother and younger sister. Their father, Rullie Rian Zeke, was already waiting for them.

According to IPAC director Sidney Jones, the couple has a long history of radicalization that includes terror acts in the name of JAD and a frustrated attempt to enter The Caliphate in Syria. (READ: Who were the Indonesian husband and wife behind Jolo bombing?)

The Jolo Cathedral bombing made Ulfah Handayani Saleh the first woman to take part in a suicide bombing in the Philippines. Her daughter Cici is shooting at troops from the frontlines.
Karen Aizha Hamidon, former airline ground crew and serial jihadi bride

It was India’s counter-terrorism unit that alerted Philippine authorities about Karen Aizha Hamidon's involvement in terrorist activities. In July 2016, a group of suspected ISIS terrorists arrested in India disclosed that a Filipino woman named Hamidon had radicalized them and other Indians. Photos of Hamidon were found as attachments in their accounts on Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging application.

According to Indian intelligence, Hamidon had allegedly been radicalizing Indian youth for years and was also being suspected of recruiting fighters from other countries like the United Kingdom, Australia, and Bangladesh. This prompted the Indian government to request assistance from the Philippines in gathering evidence to prosecute Hamidon.

According to court documents secured by Rappler, government cyberterrorist agents went undercover in mid-2016 to monitor Hamidon’s social media movements and exchanges with other jihadists around the world.

Under the usernames "JavaNJannah" and "AQSA," Hamidon posted voice messages in jihadi social media where she identified herself, pledged her loyalty to ISIS, and invited others to wage jihad in Marawi.

She also used her AQSA profile to post an ad to sell her washing machine for P3,000 in an online site and boosted that ad in jihadist chat groups. Undercover agents followed this exchange and posed as interested buyers to locate her.

At Hamidon’s hearing last November 28, a government witness testified that he went to the designated address and engaged Hamidon in conversation to match her voice to the online voice messages and positively identify her. “I negotiated with her to lower the price of the washing machine,” he said. Haggling was part of his cover.

It was Hamidon's online posting of an ad about a washing machine for sale that ultimately led to her arrest.

At her hearing, she could not be heard uttering a word. Hamidon refused to speak – even when asked to state her name, instructing her lawyer instead to do so on her behalf.

Hamidon was arrested in her Taguig City home on October 11, 2017. She was charged with at least 295 counts of inciting to rebellion through social media and the internet, and is currently in detention in Camp Bagong Diwa.

Philippine intelligence sources said that two of their counterparts in India’s National Investigation Agency came to Manila in April 2018 to interrogate Hamidon about her involvement in the recruitment of Indians.

Always the bride, ever the recruiter

Hamidon, state security officers confirmed, was a former airline ground crew and business process outsourcing officer. Speaking on condition of anonymity, they said she was the wife of Mohammad Jaafar “Tokboy” Maguid, Filipino founder and leader of Ansarul Khalifah Philippines (AKP), an ISIS-affiliated terrorist group allegedly behind the 2016 bombing of the Davao night market.

Maguid, who was one of the men who appeared in a January 4, 2016 video, was killed by police the following year – January 5, 2017. In that 2016 video, 4 groups made a bay'ah (pledge of loyalty) to ISIS in Basilan, signifying their consolidation of forces. The 4 consisted of the following: ASG under Hapilon, AKP under Maguid, the "Ansar Sharia Battalion," and Abu Ammar of "Ma’rakapt Al-Ansar Battalion."

In her counter-affidavit, Hamidon said that she was married to at least 3 men with jihadist ties.

In 2015, she married Singaporean Muhammad Shamin bin Mohamed, alias “Sidek,” over Facebook after he paid a dowry of P53,000. Sidek was arrested in Singapore for planning to join ISIS in Syria and using social media to incite violence.

The following year, she met Maguid via Telegram. He introduced himself as a member of the Moro National Liberation Front and, according to her counter-affidavit, she “fell in love with him” after one week of chatting. Hamidon flew to Sarangani province to personally meet Maguid after he paid a dowry of an undisclosed amount on March 19, 2016.

The "love" didn't last as Hamidon divorced Maguid after just two months, in May 2016, after a joint forces raid on him. She claimed that until then she did not know that Maguid was the notorious AKP leader.

In the same affidavit, Hamidon said she then married Abdul Jalil Rickard, an American she met online.

Their wedding and personal meeting were preempted when Rickard was stopped from coming to the Philippines.

Documents on the cross-border investigation of Hamidon’s case shown to Rappler state that Rickard paid her a dowry of P119,000 (about $2,342.83)* and include the name of another husband, Ahmed Magdy, an Egyptian optomitrist who gave a dowry of P40,000 (roughly $787.4).

The documents also say that Hamidon is fluent in at least 8 languages, including Arabic, Spanish, Tausug, and Bisaya, and has both biology and psychology degrees from a university in Zamboanga and an unfinished nursing degree from a university in Manila.

Hamidon denied that she was out to meet men to radicalize them but admitted that she was looking for foreign men who could uplift her status in life. She also denied that she was used as a “honey trap” by ISIS to recruit Indian men and insisted that she is just looking for a husband and, according to the documents, considers “Indian men as good looking men who have the capability to provide for her financial needs.”

Motivated by money?

Rommel Banlaoi, a terrorist expert, described Hamidon as a “hustler” whose radicalized views may have been pumped by money rather than extremist religious beliefs. “She's in there for the money. She would offer herself for marriage to get a dowry. That's her racket.”

Various government intelligence sources also said that money may have been a main motivator for Hamidon and describe her as more of an opportunist rather than a security threat. She was reportedly soliciting religious donations for the orphans and widows of jihadists and on the side, recruiting jihadists from all over the globe.

A Philippine intelligence officer who asked not to be named confirmed with Rappler that apart from her terror links established through marriage, Hamidon’s path to radicalization was puzzling.

Her family was Christian and none of her 5 siblings were reported to have been involved in terrorist activities. Rappler sources confirmed that one sibling is currently working in the military.

“We don’t think the other family members knew what she was doing. From what we know, none of them visit her in detention. It seems that they don’t want to have anything to do with her," said one of the intelligence sources.

Hamidon’s mother was present at her November 28 hearing and was seen discussing Hamidon’s detention conditions with her legal counsel, Gerry Manalili. She wanted to make sure her daughter would have the food and vitamins she needed.

Hamidon has always denied the charges brought against her, claiming that she is only an Islamic propagator, the equivalent of a Christian missionary who spreads religious teachings for “religious purposes only.”

When Hamidon was first arrested in 2017, she publicly announced her denial. She told reporters, “I’m only a woman, weak and feeble by nature. I am not capable of taking up arms against the Philippine government.”

Nava Nuraniyah, an analyst with the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), who has interviewed and studied radicalized Indonesian female migrant workers, debunked the thinking that women are only victims lured into terrorism.

“I think that narrative applies only to children,” said Nuraniyah who said that seeing women purely as victims dilutes the agency by which women willingly participate in terrorist acts.

In her mugshot and when she was presented to the media after her arrest, Hamidon wore thick, elaborate eye makeup. That was intentional on Hamidon’s part to project that she is “deeply Islamic,” according to a female intelligence officer. Thick eyeliner or kohl shows a deep Islamic faith, she explained.

Whether her motives were financial gain or promoting a call to wage jihad or both, Hamidon has established herself as an infamously prolific recruiter. She is now wanted by intelligence agencies in over a dozen countries. – with reports from Michelle Abad/Rappler.com

READ PART 2 | Women of the Eastern Caliphate: By blood and marriage
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/investigative/245849-women-eastern-caliphate-hiding-plain-sight-isis-part-1