From the Manila Standard (Sep 9, 2020): P8B more for AFP warchest (By Maricel Cruz)
An extra P8 billion has been allotted to for military modernization in the proposed 2021 national government budget due to external threats.
“Considering the foreign threats we are facing in the West Philippine Sea, we are assuring the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) of sustained funding support for its modernization projects, despite the coronavirus pandemic,” Deputy Speaker and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said Tuesday.
Meanwhile, public budget watchdog Social Watch Philippines (SWP) has expressed willingness to participate in the budget legislation process, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said.
This was in response to Cayetano's call for the public to involve themselves directly in the hearings for the P4.5-trillion 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
In the proposed 2021 national budget, Pimentel said the AFP modernization program is getting P33 billion in fresh funding, or P8 billion higher than the usual P25-billion annual allocation.
The military modernization program was given P25 billion in the 2020 national government budget, but the Department of National Defense (DND) returned P9.4 billion in “unobligated (program) funds” to the National Treasury to help the government’s fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Unobligated funds are appropriations that remain uncommitted by contract.
Thus, Pimentel said, military modernization will be given a higher budger “to restore the bulk of (program) funds earlier 'repurposed' for the fight against COVID-19.”
Pimentel is a staunch backer of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the United States. The accord is in support of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries.
In a recent letter to Cayetano, SWP Co-Convenor Rene Raya thanked the Speaker for committing to promote people’s direct participation in the budget process and said group is willing to contribute its inputs and recommendations.
Raya recalled that Cayetano’s congressional office welcomed SWP’s intervention in 2006 and provided space for open discussion and analysis of the proposed national government budget among his colleagues in the minority bloc.
"That simple act of being open to citizens input back then provided inspiration for us to plod along and continue the work," he said.
Raya said SWP has since grown into a network of over a hundred civil society organizations that monitors the implementation of government commitments to social development.
Pimentel also has bill seeking to reinforce the military by giving the AFP Chief of Staff a more stable 36-month tour of duty.
The military has acquired multiple new weapons systems and capabilities pursuant to the Revised 15-year AFP Modernization Program established by law in 2013.
The latest acquisitions include two guided-missile warships worth a combined P16 billion for the Navy.
The frigates BRP Jose Rizal and BRP Antonio Luna are capable of launching missiles against hostile surface warships and aircraft as well as torpedoes against underwater targets.
Built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., the BRP Jose Rizal was put into service in July, while the BRP Antonio Luna is due for delivery this month.
The Navy also plans to acquire two heavier warships – missile-armed corvettes – worth a total of P30 billion. Last month, the DND also signed the contract for the Philippine Air Force’s acquisition of a P5.5-billion Air Surveillance Radar System (ASRS) from Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
https://manilastandard.net/news/national/333652/p8b-more-for-afp-warchest.html
Wednesday, September 9, 2020
AFP focuses on Abu Sayyaf troops in Basilan, Sulu in anti-terrorism thrust
From CNN Philippines (Sep 8, 2020): AFP focuses on Abu Sayyaf troops in Basilan, Sulu in anti-terrorism thrust
FILE PHOTO
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/9/8/AFP-Abu-Sayyaf-crackdown-Basilan-Sulu.html
FILE PHOTO
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is zeroing in on the remaining Abu Sayyaf troops in Basilan and Sulu this year, as it also grapples with the reported influx of foreign terrorists.
AFP chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said the military's anti-terrorism crackdown seeks to "significantly degrade" rebel forces in these areas.
"As far as the Abu Sayyaf Group, we are striving to really end it this year," Gapay said during the Department of National Defense budget briefing on Tuesday, in response to the query of Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman about ending the reign of terror in Mindanao. "The entire local terrorist group problem would be (resolved) by 2022, before the term of President Duterte ends, 'yun po ang timeline ng Armed Forces."
Wanted Abu Sayyaf leader Abduljihad "Edang" Susukan, notorious for kidnap-for-ransom activities, was surrendered to authorities last month. He has multiple warrants of arrest for murder, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention.
RELATED: AFP intensifies operations vs. Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao after subleader's arrest
Gapay said the three-year target covers other factions like the Maute Group, which attacked Marawi in 2017; the Al-Khalifa group in Sarangani, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
Jolo, Sulu fell victim to the most recent terrorist attacks in the country, where twin blasts killed 15 people and injured 78 others in August.
Gapay said there are eight foreign terrorists hiding in the country, most of them affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf group. There are 29 other foreigners on the military's watch list.
Last year's twin explosions, also in Jolo, were triggered by two Indonesian suicide bombers which left 22 dead. The Interior Department previously said the foreigners were likely aided by local Abu Sayyaf members.
"Our counter-terrorism strategy is comprehensive," Gapay said, as he batted for enhanced maritime security to monitor foreigners who sneak in through 'back door' ports.
Better coordination with the Bureau of Immigration will also be useful in detecting foreigners entering air or seaports using different identities, he said.
Lorenzana said local insurgency and terrorism are the country's top security concerns, followed by maritime issues in the West Philippine Sea and illegal drugs.
AFP chief Lt. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said the military's anti-terrorism crackdown seeks to "significantly degrade" rebel forces in these areas.
"As far as the Abu Sayyaf Group, we are striving to really end it this year," Gapay said during the Department of National Defense budget briefing on Tuesday, in response to the query of Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman about ending the reign of terror in Mindanao. "The entire local terrorist group problem would be (resolved) by 2022, before the term of President Duterte ends, 'yun po ang timeline ng Armed Forces."
Wanted Abu Sayyaf leader Abduljihad "Edang" Susukan, notorious for kidnap-for-ransom activities, was surrendered to authorities last month. He has multiple warrants of arrest for murder, kidnapping, and serious illegal detention.
RELATED: AFP intensifies operations vs. Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao after subleader's arrest
Gapay said the three-year target covers other factions like the Maute Group, which attacked Marawi in 2017; the Al-Khalifa group in Sarangani, and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
Jolo, Sulu fell victim to the most recent terrorist attacks in the country, where twin blasts killed 15 people and injured 78 others in August.
Gapay said there are eight foreign terrorists hiding in the country, most of them affiliated with the Abu Sayyaf group. There are 29 other foreigners on the military's watch list.
Last year's twin explosions, also in Jolo, were triggered by two Indonesian suicide bombers which left 22 dead. The Interior Department previously said the foreigners were likely aided by local Abu Sayyaf members.
"Our counter-terrorism strategy is comprehensive," Gapay said, as he batted for enhanced maritime security to monitor foreigners who sneak in through 'back door' ports.
Better coordination with the Bureau of Immigration will also be useful in detecting foreigners entering air or seaports using different identities, he said.
Lorenzana said local insurgency and terrorism are the country's top security concerns, followed by maritime issues in the West Philippine Sea and illegal drugs.
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/9/8/AFP-Abu-Sayyaf-crackdown-Basilan-Sulu.html
Police chief: Charges await NPA front organizations
From the Sun Star-Baguio (Sep 9, 2020): Police chief: Charges await NPA front organizations (By JONATHAN LLANES)
RETURNEES. Three suspected New People's Army (NPA) rebels operating in the Cordillera surrendered to police. Police Regional Office-Cordillera Deputy Director for Administration Police Colonel Lawrence Coop and Regional Intelligence Division Chief Police Colonel Reynaldo Pasiwen inspect the two modified M1 US Carbine rifles that were surrendered. (Jean Nicole Cortes)
RETURNEES. Three suspected New People's Army (NPA) rebels operating in the Cordillera surrendered to police. Police Regional Office-Cordillera Deputy Director for Administration Police Colonel Lawrence Coop and Regional Intelligence Division Chief Police Colonel Reynaldo Pasiwen inspect the two modified M1 US Carbine rifles that were surrendered. (Jean Nicole Cortes)
THE Police Regional Office (PRO)-Cordillera is contemplating on filing illegal trafficking of minors against alleged communist front organizations in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) following the surrender of three rebels.
Police Brigadier General R'win Pagka-linawan, PRO-Cordillera director, said Monday that they will use the statement of former rebels recruited as minors to the New People's Army (NPA).
"These front organizations take advantage of these individuals, which is why we will be filing cases against them like the Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA) because they are the ones who entice and recruit," Pagkalinawan said.
He added that the testimonies of the former rebels who were recruited at a young age will be used against the alleged communist front organization for violation of the International Humanitarian Laws.
"This is one of the cases that we will file against these front organizations for them to stop taking advantage of the youth whom they will provide free education when in fact, they are being taught to fight, take arms and fight the government. This is why we continue to emphasize to our youth not to be taken advantaged off by front organizations that recruit the youth in the Cordillera," he said.
According to Ka Benjie, one of the rebels who surrendered, he was recruited to join the NPA in 2007 by the CPA when he was in third year high school. He became a political instructor of KLG Marco, which is operating in Mountain Province and Kalinga, particularly in Sagada, Bontoc, Sadanga, and Tinglayan.
From a red fighter, Ka Benjie laid low and became a youth organizer in their locality, recruiting youth to become red fighters. He decided to return to the fold of the law upon realizing the menace of indoctrinating the youth with communist ideology and to pursue a quiet life in Tabuk City.
Ka Alice, meanwhile, was enticed by the Mountain Province Youth Alliance during the midst of her studies at the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College in 2018, resulting in her losing her dream to become a police officer.
She joined the armed revolution and served as assistant medic and logistic officer under Platoon Anvil, KLG Ampis, which is operating in the tri-boundaries of Mountain Province, Ilocos Sur and Abra.
Pagkalinawan said that based on the testimony of these former rebels, they were made to believe that they are fighting for a good cause from when they were recruited to become members of the left-leaning groups until they become NPA members fighting against the government.
He said through the efforts of the government, the former rebels realized that they were fighting for the wrong cause and eventually surrendered back to the folds of the law through the Whole-of-Nation Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict program of the government.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1869620/Baguio/Local-News/Police-chief-Charges-await-NPA-front-organizations
Police Brigadier General R'win Pagka-linawan, PRO-Cordillera director, said Monday that they will use the statement of former rebels recruited as minors to the New People's Army (NPA).
"These front organizations take advantage of these individuals, which is why we will be filing cases against them like the Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA) because they are the ones who entice and recruit," Pagkalinawan said.
He added that the testimonies of the former rebels who were recruited at a young age will be used against the alleged communist front organization for violation of the International Humanitarian Laws.
"This is one of the cases that we will file against these front organizations for them to stop taking advantage of the youth whom they will provide free education when in fact, they are being taught to fight, take arms and fight the government. This is why we continue to emphasize to our youth not to be taken advantaged off by front organizations that recruit the youth in the Cordillera," he said.
According to Ka Benjie, one of the rebels who surrendered, he was recruited to join the NPA in 2007 by the CPA when he was in third year high school. He became a political instructor of KLG Marco, which is operating in Mountain Province and Kalinga, particularly in Sagada, Bontoc, Sadanga, and Tinglayan.
From a red fighter, Ka Benjie laid low and became a youth organizer in their locality, recruiting youth to become red fighters. He decided to return to the fold of the law upon realizing the menace of indoctrinating the youth with communist ideology and to pursue a quiet life in Tabuk City.
Ka Alice, meanwhile, was enticed by the Mountain Province Youth Alliance during the midst of her studies at the Mountain Province State Polytechnic College in 2018, resulting in her losing her dream to become a police officer.
She joined the armed revolution and served as assistant medic and logistic officer under Platoon Anvil, KLG Ampis, which is operating in the tri-boundaries of Mountain Province, Ilocos Sur and Abra.
Pagkalinawan said that based on the testimony of these former rebels, they were made to believe that they are fighting for a good cause from when they were recruited to become members of the left-leaning groups until they become NPA members fighting against the government.
He said through the efforts of the government, the former rebels realized that they were fighting for the wrong cause and eventually surrendered back to the folds of the law through the Whole-of-Nation Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict program of the government.
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1869620/Baguio/Local-News/Police-chief-Charges-await-NPA-front-organizations
Lorraine Badoy's red-tagging causes suspension of PCOO 2021 budget hearing
From Rappler (Sep 9, 2020): Lorraine Badoy's red-tagging causes suspension of PCOO 2021 budget hearing (By PIA RANADA)
This is the second time that the actions of a PCOO official endangered the entire agency's budget
Progressive lawmakers outraged by Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy's persistent red-tagging managed to suspend her entire agency's 2021 budget hearing at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, September 9.
It was ACT Teachers Representative France Castro who called for the suspension, which was seconded by Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate. Hearing no objection, ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Eric Yap, announced the suspension.
"Kailangan muna natin, Mr Chair, sa susunod na pagkakataon nang siguro mapasagot at mag under-oath itong mga ito, itong Undersecretary na ito, para masagot ito. I am moving to suspend the briefing of the budget of the PCOO," said Castro. (We have to make sure this undersecretary responds to these concerns under oath. I am moving to suspend the briefing of the budget of the PCOO.)
The PCOO's budget hearing is now "suspended until further notice."
The delay in their budget approval is in stark contrast to the quick approval of the budgets of other executive agencies. So far, house committees have approved the proposed budgets of departments after one meeting.
This is not the first time that a PCOO budget was endangered by the doings of its officials. In 2018, the absence of controversial assistant secretary Mocha Uson from proceedings annoyed lawmakers so much that they deferred plenary deliberations on the PCOO budget.
'Unacceptable' use of power
This is the second time that the actions of a PCOO official endangered the entire agency's budget
Progressive lawmakers outraged by Presidential Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy's persistent red-tagging managed to suspend her entire agency's 2021 budget hearing at the House of Representatives on Wednesday, September 9.
It was ACT Teachers Representative France Castro who called for the suspension, which was seconded by Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate. Hearing no objection, ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Eric Yap, announced the suspension.
"Kailangan muna natin, Mr Chair, sa susunod na pagkakataon nang siguro mapasagot at mag under-oath itong mga ito, itong Undersecretary na ito, para masagot ito. I am moving to suspend the briefing of the budget of the PCOO," said Castro. (We have to make sure this undersecretary responds to these concerns under oath. I am moving to suspend the briefing of the budget of the PCOO.)
The PCOO's budget hearing is now "suspended until further notice."
The delay in their budget approval is in stark contrast to the quick approval of the budgets of other executive agencies. So far, house committees have approved the proposed budgets of departments after one meeting.
This is not the first time that a PCOO budget was endangered by the doings of its officials. In 2018, the absence of controversial assistant secretary Mocha Uson from proceedings annoyed lawmakers so much that they deferred plenary deliberations on the PCOO budget.
'Unacceptable' use of power
Castro and Zarate showed the participants of the hearing some Facebook posts of Badoy where she accused them of being high-level members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and of giving orders to its armed wing, the New People's Army.
(READ: [OPINION]: Lorraine Badoy's world)
Zarate said it is insulting that Badoy and the rest of PCOO and its attached agencies are now asking the House of Representatives to approve their P1.59 billion budget for 2021. The budget is lower than the P1.69 billion this year.
"Kung ganun-ganun na lang pong mag-aakusa itong isang unelected official na ito sa mga halal ng bayan at humihingi sila ng budget dito, then Mr Chair, we cannot allow that. This is not only an affront to us, but I think this is an affront to the institution." (If it is so easy for this unelected official to make accusations against elected officials and they are asking for a budget here, then Mr Chair, we cannot allow that. This is not only an affront to us, but I think this is an affront to the institution.)
Zarate also blasted Badoy for saying they are not real lawmakers, when they won their seats in the lower house through a generally clean election.
"I take offense that she is using her position, using government funds, to attack to attack our person and encourage the trolls to attack not only our person but even our family," said an incensed Zarate.
He reminded the PCOO that the labeling of someone as a communist or terrorist could lead to physical harm and even death of the person being tagged.
Zarate cited as an example Zara Alvarez, a 39-year-old activist who was shot in Bacolod City last August 17. She was among the 600 people the Duterte government wanted to formally declare as terrorists, a list which was eventually trimmed down to two after the Department of Justice said the initial list was unverified.
"She (Alvarez) was shot. 'Yung mukha niya nasa tarpaulin, rined-tag, and you cannot just say, Ms Badoy, na walang implication at walang mangyayari sa rinered-tag ninyo and you have to be responsible for your postings," said Zarate. (Her face was displayed in a tarpaulin, red-tagged, and you cannot just say, Ms Badoy, that nothing will happen to people you red-tag and you have to be responsible for your postings.)
Andanar disowns Badoy posts
Badoy, who was physically present at the hearing along with Castro and Zarate, did not speak during the meeting.
But her boss, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar, was asked to respond to the concerns.
Andanar disowned Badoy's social media posts, saying they were not official positions or statements by PCOO.
"It was a Facebook post of Undesecretary Badoy using her own Facebook page. It was not posted on the PCOO page which has two million followers. It was not even posted on PTV which has more than two million or 3 million followers , or the Philippine News Agency," he said.
The PCOO chief pleaded lawmakers not to let Badoy's posts affect his agency's entire budget, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Whatever our esteemed Undersecretary Badoy, that is her own post on her page and that should not affect the rest of the PCOO budget, including the agencies' budget... This is for the PCOO to be able to disseminate information, especially now during the time of the pandemic," said Andanar.
"I cannot imagine not having any budget to help the national government, every Filipino, to disseminate the correct, the right information, to avoid COVID-19," continued Andanar.
He also attempted to persuade lawmakers that the PCOO has nothing to do with NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict), the group of which Badoy is spokesperson and which has also been accused of red-tagging.
"The NTF-ELCAC, they have their own office. The NTF-ELCAC also creates their own content but it is not distributed in the PCOO as a platform," said Andanar.
However, PCOO's official social media pages have crossposted content from NTF-ELCAC's pages, including posts that red-tag media outfits and journalists.
It was only in early May when Andanar, feeling the backlash from these posts, limited the kind of content that can be crossposted on PCOO pages.
Also, PCOO itself is a member of the Strategic Communications cluster of the NTF-ELCAC, as admitted by News and Information Bureau chief Gigi Agtay in a budget hearing last year.
What's in PCOO 2021 proposed budget?
The P1.59 billion proposed budget is broken down as follows:
PCOO proper - P472.276 million
Bureau of Broadcast Services - P405.528 million
Philippine Information Agency - P317.596 million
Philippine Broadcasting Service - Radio Television Malacañang - P178.787 million
News and Information Bureau - P133.120 million
Bureau of Communication Services - P68.624 million
National Printing Office - P11.894 million
The PCOO proper budget shrunk by 5% compared to its budget in the 2020 General Appropiations Act. There were also decreases in the PIA's budget, by 18%, and the RTVM budget, by 21%.
Meanwhile, government corporations attached to the PCOO have the following proposed 2021 subsidies:
People's Television Network Inc - P76.227 million
IBC13 - P73.689 million
https://rappler.com/nation/lorraine-badoy-red-tagging-causes-suspension-of-pcoo-2021-budget-hearing
Zarate said it is insulting that Badoy and the rest of PCOO and its attached agencies are now asking the House of Representatives to approve their P1.59 billion budget for 2021. The budget is lower than the P1.69 billion this year.
"Kung ganun-ganun na lang pong mag-aakusa itong isang unelected official na ito sa mga halal ng bayan at humihingi sila ng budget dito, then Mr Chair, we cannot allow that. This is not only an affront to us, but I think this is an affront to the institution." (If it is so easy for this unelected official to make accusations against elected officials and they are asking for a budget here, then Mr Chair, we cannot allow that. This is not only an affront to us, but I think this is an affront to the institution.)
Zarate also blasted Badoy for saying they are not real lawmakers, when they won their seats in the lower house through a generally clean election.
"I take offense that she is using her position, using government funds, to attack to attack our person and encourage the trolls to attack not only our person but even our family," said an incensed Zarate.
He reminded the PCOO that the labeling of someone as a communist or terrorist could lead to physical harm and even death of the person being tagged.
Zarate cited as an example Zara Alvarez, a 39-year-old activist who was shot in Bacolod City last August 17. She was among the 600 people the Duterte government wanted to formally declare as terrorists, a list which was eventually trimmed down to two after the Department of Justice said the initial list was unverified.
"She (Alvarez) was shot. 'Yung mukha niya nasa tarpaulin, rined-tag, and you cannot just say, Ms Badoy, na walang implication at walang mangyayari sa rinered-tag ninyo and you have to be responsible for your postings," said Zarate. (Her face was displayed in a tarpaulin, red-tagged, and you cannot just say, Ms Badoy, that nothing will happen to people you red-tag and you have to be responsible for your postings.)
Andanar disowns Badoy posts
Badoy, who was physically present at the hearing along with Castro and Zarate, did not speak during the meeting.
But her boss, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar, was asked to respond to the concerns.
Andanar disowned Badoy's social media posts, saying they were not official positions or statements by PCOO.
"It was a Facebook post of Undesecretary Badoy using her own Facebook page. It was not posted on the PCOO page which has two million followers. It was not even posted on PTV which has more than two million or 3 million followers , or the Philippine News Agency," he said.
The PCOO chief pleaded lawmakers not to let Badoy's posts affect his agency's entire budget, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Whatever our esteemed Undersecretary Badoy, that is her own post on her page and that should not affect the rest of the PCOO budget, including the agencies' budget... This is for the PCOO to be able to disseminate information, especially now during the time of the pandemic," said Andanar.
"I cannot imagine not having any budget to help the national government, every Filipino, to disseminate the correct, the right information, to avoid COVID-19," continued Andanar.
He also attempted to persuade lawmakers that the PCOO has nothing to do with NTF-ELCAC (National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict), the group of which Badoy is spokesperson and which has also been accused of red-tagging.
"The NTF-ELCAC, they have their own office. The NTF-ELCAC also creates their own content but it is not distributed in the PCOO as a platform," said Andanar.
However, PCOO's official social media pages have crossposted content from NTF-ELCAC's pages, including posts that red-tag media outfits and journalists.
It was only in early May when Andanar, feeling the backlash from these posts, limited the kind of content that can be crossposted on PCOO pages.
Also, PCOO itself is a member of the Strategic Communications cluster of the NTF-ELCAC, as admitted by News and Information Bureau chief Gigi Agtay in a budget hearing last year.
What's in PCOO 2021 proposed budget?
The P1.59 billion proposed budget is broken down as follows:
PCOO proper - P472.276 million
Bureau of Broadcast Services - P405.528 million
Philippine Information Agency - P317.596 million
Philippine Broadcasting Service - Radio Television Malacañang - P178.787 million
News and Information Bureau - P133.120 million
Bureau of Communication Services - P68.624 million
National Printing Office - P11.894 million
The PCOO proper budget shrunk by 5% compared to its budget in the 2020 General Appropiations Act. There were also decreases in the PIA's budget, by 18%, and the RTVM budget, by 21%.
Meanwhile, government corporations attached to the PCOO have the following proposed 2021 subsidies:
People's Television Network Inc - P76.227 million
IBC13 - P73.689 million
https://rappler.com/nation/lorraine-badoy-red-tagging-causes-suspension-of-pcoo-2021-budget-hearing
Activist decries murder charge for soldier’s death in Iloilo
From the Manila Bulletin (Sep 9, 2020): Activist decries murder charge for soldier’s death in Iloilo (By Tara Yap)
A member of militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) has decried allegations that he killed a soldier during an encounter between Communist rebels and the military in Iloilo province last April.
Bayan-Panay Secretary General Elmer Forro. (Photo courtesy of Panay Today via Tara Yap / MANILA BULLETIN
“The accusation against me is nothing, but pure harassment by state forces to stop me from my advocacy work as an activist,” said Bayan-Panay Secretary General Elmer Forro.
Along with a platoon leader of the New People’s Army (NPA), Forro is facing murder and multiple attempted murder charges after Private First Class Mark Nemis was killed in an encounter that happened during a ceasefire.
Nemis was the lone casualty when NPA rebels clashed with the security team of the 301st Infantry Brigade (301 IB). Government troops were in the area after locals allegedly complained of renewed extortion by the NPA.
Forro considered the charges filed before the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutors Office as trumped-up, and another form of harassment against those critical against the Duterte administration, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to Forro, he was in Iloilo City and engaged in relief operations to provide food supply to communities affected by the strict lockdown.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/09/activist-decries-murder-charge-for-soldiers-death-in-iloilo/
Along with a platoon leader of the New People’s Army (NPA), Forro is facing murder and multiple attempted murder charges after Private First Class Mark Nemis was killed in an encounter that happened during a ceasefire.
Nemis was the lone casualty when NPA rebels clashed with the security team of the 301st Infantry Brigade (301 IB). Government troops were in the area after locals allegedly complained of renewed extortion by the NPA.
Forro considered the charges filed before the Iloilo Provincial Prosecutors Office as trumped-up, and another form of harassment against those critical against the Duterte administration, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to Forro, he was in Iloilo City and engaged in relief operations to provide food supply to communities affected by the strict lockdown.
https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/09/activist-decries-murder-charge-for-soldiers-death-in-iloilo/
Nolcom scores ‘rout’ vs. NPA
From the Manila Standard (Sep 8, 2020): Nolcom scores ‘rout’ vs. NPA (By Jess Malabanan)
https://manilastandard.net/lgu/luzon/333629/nolcom-scores-rout-vs-npa.html
The Northern Luzon Command claimed Monday it has killed 80 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) during separate encounters with the communist rebels leading to the surrender of 1,000 symphatizers and confiscation of 300 pieces of assorted high-powered firearms, the Armed Forces announced.
NOLCOM covers the whole Northern Luzon areas including Region 1, Region 2, and Cordillera, one of the NPA’s stronghold in the north, the Philippine Army said.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Gilbert Gapay, who presided the turn-over rites between outgoing Nolcom Chief Lt. Gen. Ramiro Manuel Rey and incoming commander Major General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., said the command tradition of excellence is paramount in sustaining the peace and development in Northern Luzon.
In his speech, Gapay cited the outgoing Nolcom Chief for his accomplishments citing President Rodrigo Roa Duterte executive order No. 70, calling for the whole-nation approach to end local communist armed conflict In the countryside.
“Rey has carried on NOLCOM’s tradition of excellence in sustaining and securing peace and development in the region,” Gapay said.
Gapay urged incoming NOLCOM chief to maintain and uphold humanitarian law by strictly following the rules of engagement which truly exemplify military’s high level of professionalism and respect for human rights as he noted the “herculean task” of being the Warden of the North.
“Now, another leader just as competent and worthy is given the responsibility to sustain the accomplishments of this command,” Gapay said.
Burgos is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Maringal” Class of 1988. He has served as the commander of the 2nd Infantry “Jungle Fighter” Division of the Philippine Army.
There he pushed the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee’s Guerilla Front Cesar, which operates in the provinces of Rizal, Laguna, Quezon and Bulacan, “on the verge of irrevocable defeat,” the Army said in a statement.
NOLCOM covers the whole Northern Luzon areas including Region 1, Region 2, and Cordillera, one of the NPA’s stronghold in the north, the Philippine Army said.
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Gilbert Gapay, who presided the turn-over rites between outgoing Nolcom Chief Lt. Gen. Ramiro Manuel Rey and incoming commander Major General Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr., said the command tradition of excellence is paramount in sustaining the peace and development in Northern Luzon.
In his speech, Gapay cited the outgoing Nolcom Chief for his accomplishments citing President Rodrigo Roa Duterte executive order No. 70, calling for the whole-nation approach to end local communist armed conflict In the countryside.
“Rey has carried on NOLCOM’s tradition of excellence in sustaining and securing peace and development in the region,” Gapay said.
Gapay urged incoming NOLCOM chief to maintain and uphold humanitarian law by strictly following the rules of engagement which truly exemplify military’s high level of professionalism and respect for human rights as he noted the “herculean task” of being the Warden of the North.
“Now, another leader just as competent and worthy is given the responsibility to sustain the accomplishments of this command,” Gapay said.
Burgos is a member of the Philippine Military Academy “Maringal” Class of 1988. He has served as the commander of the 2nd Infantry “Jungle Fighter” Division of the Philippine Army.
There he pushed the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee’s Guerilla Front Cesar, which operates in the provinces of Rizal, Laguna, Quezon and Bulacan, “on the verge of irrevocable defeat,” the Army said in a statement.
Zamboanga City to commemorate 7th anniversary of Zamboanga siege
From ABS-CBN (Sep 9, 2020): Zamboanga City to commemorate 7th anniversary of Zamboanga siege (By Queenie Casimiro)
The city government of Zamboanga is set to commemorate the 7th year of the Zamboanga siege that killed 140 people.
The siege was staged by members of the Moro National Liberation Front Nur Misuari faction, who wanted to hoist the Bangsamoro Republik flag at the City Hall.
They took several residents from at least five villages as their hostages.
The firefight lasted for 23 days wherein 110 MNLF members were killed, 93 were captured and 45 surrendered to authorities.
Thirteen soldiers, five policemen, and 12 civilians also perished in the incident. Almost one hundred fifty government troops were also wounded.
The special day of remembrance tomorrow will be shown in Mayor Beng Climaco's Facebook page at 9 in the morning.
The city government of Zamboanga is set to commemorate the 7th year of the Zamboanga siege that killed 140 people.
The siege was staged by members of the Moro National Liberation Front Nur Misuari faction, who wanted to hoist the Bangsamoro Republik flag at the City Hall.
They took several residents from at least five villages as their hostages.
The firefight lasted for 23 days wherein 110 MNLF members were killed, 93 were captured and 45 surrendered to authorities.
Thirteen soldiers, five policemen, and 12 civilians also perished in the incident. Almost one hundred fifty government troops were also wounded.
The special day of remembrance tomorrow will be shown in Mayor Beng Climaco's Facebook page at 9 in the morning.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/08/20/zamboanga-city-to-commemorate-7th-anniversary-of-zamboanga-siege
Anti-communist task force to 'play God' with P16.4-billion dev't budget – Drilon
From Rappler (Sep 9, 2020): Anti-communist task force to 'play God' with P16.4-billion dev't budget – Drilon (By AIKA REY)
'You can imagine the political favors that can be done out of this system,' says Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, alarmed over the anti-communist task force being involved in funds for barangays
https://rappler.com/nation/drilon-says-anti-communist-task-force-play-god-development-budget
'You can imagine the political favors that can be done out of this system,' says Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, alarmed over the anti-communist task force being involved in funds for barangays
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon called out the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for allocating the proposed P16.4-billion barangay development fund to the anti-communist task force, saying this could be used for political purposes in 2021.
The next national elections will be in 2022, but funds for poll preparations are already included in the 2021 budget.
"Let's be candid. Next year is an election [budget] year and here is a secretariat who will be playing God to the requests of the barangays. I am being candid with you. I am not new in this bureaucracy," said Drilon on Wednesday, September 9, the first day of budget deliberations at the Senate.
The development fund is seen to prevent communist armed conflict through agricultural, infrastructure, and livelihood projects, among others, in insurgency-free barangays.
The fund is lodged under the P28.83-billion Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), which has been used in the past years to provide project funding to cities and municipalities, granted that they have the interior department's seal of good housekeeping.
Next year, more than half of the LGSF would go to the barangay development program of the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
"I call a spade a spade. You have an agency, not a regular line agency, just somebody who will be approving and disapproving barangay requests for funding. You can imagine the political favors that can be done out of this system, when in fact, there are regular agencies that can do it," added Drilon.
In his defense, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado told the panel that the NTF-ELCAC is only the repository of the projects and that the fund would be directly disbursed to local government units (LGUs).
"We act on what we are mandated to do. This is pursuant to Executive Order [No. 70] of the President. What we're looking here is precisely just to make sure that the intent and purpose of the EO is followed," he said.
Avisado also cited the Mandanas ruling on higher internal revenue allotment for LGUs – a decision that economic managers themselves previously warned would cause an unmanageable fiscal deficit if carried out sooner. The ruling will not take effect until 2022.
"The funds do not pass by the NTF-ELCAC. The funds for the program and projects are released directly to the LGUs as part of the capacity building. In line also with the mandate of the Supreme Court, the Mandanas decision," the budget chief said.
But what Avisado failed to mention was that the anti-communist task force would approve which barangays will be eligible to apply for the fund.
Rappler reported that the barangays must first secure a certification from the NTF-ELCAC that they are cleared of insurgency, based on the criteria that the task force will set.
Despite the discretion, retired generals in the Cabinet dismissed concerns that the fund would be used for political purposes.
The next national elections will be in 2022, but funds for poll preparations are already included in the 2021 budget.
"Let's be candid. Next year is an election [budget] year and here is a secretariat who will be playing God to the requests of the barangays. I am being candid with you. I am not new in this bureaucracy," said Drilon on Wednesday, September 9, the first day of budget deliberations at the Senate.
The development fund is seen to prevent communist armed conflict through agricultural, infrastructure, and livelihood projects, among others, in insurgency-free barangays.
The fund is lodged under the P28.83-billion Local Government Support Fund (LGSF), which has been used in the past years to provide project funding to cities and municipalities, granted that they have the interior department's seal of good housekeeping.
Next year, more than half of the LGSF would go to the barangay development program of the National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
"I call a spade a spade. You have an agency, not a regular line agency, just somebody who will be approving and disapproving barangay requests for funding. You can imagine the political favors that can be done out of this system, when in fact, there are regular agencies that can do it," added Drilon.
In his defense, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado told the panel that the NTF-ELCAC is only the repository of the projects and that the fund would be directly disbursed to local government units (LGUs).
"We act on what we are mandated to do. This is pursuant to Executive Order [No. 70] of the President. What we're looking here is precisely just to make sure that the intent and purpose of the EO is followed," he said.
Avisado also cited the Mandanas ruling on higher internal revenue allotment for LGUs – a decision that economic managers themselves previously warned would cause an unmanageable fiscal deficit if carried out sooner. The ruling will not take effect until 2022.
"The funds do not pass by the NTF-ELCAC. The funds for the program and projects are released directly to the LGUs as part of the capacity building. In line also with the mandate of the Supreme Court, the Mandanas decision," the budget chief said.
But what Avisado failed to mention was that the anti-communist task force would approve which barangays will be eligible to apply for the fund.
Rappler reported that the barangays must first secure a certification from the NTF-ELCAC that they are cleared of insurgency, based on the criteria that the task force will set.
Despite the discretion, retired generals in the Cabinet dismissed concerns that the fund would be used for political purposes.
https://rappler.com/nation/drilon-says-anti-communist-task-force-play-god-development-budget
NPA rebels’ remains to be cremated
From Palawan News (Sep 9, 2020): NPA rebels’ remains to be cremated (By Romar Miranda)
Lawyer Teodoro Jose Matta, program director of the provincial peace and order program, said that the relatives of the four suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) have identified the bodies late Tuesday.
In this photo released by Karapatan Southern Tagalog on its Facebook page on September 9, 2020, the families of the "Brooke's Point 5" can be seen filling out forms for the issuance of the death certificates. // Image file from Karapatan Southern Tagalog
Lawyer Teodoro Jose Matta, program director of the provincial peace and order program, said that the relatives of the four suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) have identified the bodies late Tuesday.
In this photo released by Karapatan Southern Tagalog on its Facebook page on September 9, 2020, the families of the "Brooke's Point 5" can be seen filling out forms for the issuance of the death certificates. // Image file from Karapatan Southern Tagalog
The remains of Andrea “Ka Naya” Rosal, daughter of the late spokesperson of the Communist Party of Philippines (CPP), Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal; and Rona Jane “Rjei” Manalo, former secretary-general of Gabriela Southern Tagalog, were set to be cremated in this city, after they were killed in an armed encounter with the military forces in southern Palawan town of Brooke’s Point on September 3.
Lawyer Teodoro Jose Matta, program director of the provincial peace and order program, said that the relatives of the four suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) have identified the bodies late Tuesday.
“Si Mr. Manalo [father] at saka ‘yong kamag-anak ni Ka Naya, opted to have Ka Naya and Rjei (Rona) cremated here in Puerto Princesa. Pero ‘yong dalawa, I think i-uuwi pa nila ‘yong mga katawan,” Matta said in a phone interview on Wednesday morning.
Kyle Salgado, paralegal of Karapatan Southern Tagalog (KST) assisting the family members, in a separate phone interview, once again called for “compassion from the city government” who has insisted that the relatives complete at least seven days of quarantine, in compliance to the protocol enforced in the city for individuals coming from outside Palawan. The “humanitarian team”, composed of the family members and Karapatan representatives, arrived in Puerto Princesa International Airport (PPIA) from Metro Manila on September 5, and are expected to complete their quarantine until Saturday (September 12).
“This is different from the set regulations by the Palawan local government unit (LGU), which has since cleared the family to leave once the bodies have been successfully retrieved by the families,” Karapatan said in a statement.
Lawyer Arnel Pedrosa, city administrator, insisted that the local government of Puerto Princesa has “no part whatsoever” other than following the quarantine protocol being asked of the group.
“We receive no request from them. We will act only if there is a letter or request from them,” Pedrosa said in a text message to Palawan News.
The cremation of the remains of Rosal and Manalo was yet to be set after the “necessary documents and quarantine requirements have been complied with,” according to Matta.
Rosal’s relative said that her ashes would be flown to Ibaan, Batangas, while Manalo’s father said the remains would be brought home to Sariaya, Quezon. Bonifacio “Salvador Luminoso” Magramo, believed to be the secretary of the sub-regional military guerilla unit under the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) will be flown in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.
“Wala kaming naiisip sa ngayon na filing cases. Nakikipag-coordinate kami with authorities para mas mapabilis ang pag-uuwi ng mga labi, mabigyan ng burol kahit dalawa o tatlong araw. Kailangan ma-fly na tomorrow at hindi na patagalin ng Sabado,” Salgado said.
Gabriela Southern Tagalog, in a statement issued on Tuesday, accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) of “sullying the name” of Manalo, whom they said died as a “martyr”, was being accused as a revolutionary student and environmental activist, and a community organizer.
This was in response to the social media statement by Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., commander of AFP Solcom, asking Cristina Palabay of Karapatan to “explain why an activist like [Manalo]” was caught in the said “violent incident”.
“Why was an activist like Ren [Manalo] was there in a violent incident in Palawan if she is not a terrorist like Alyas Eboy and the rest of the NPAs killed? You have been complaining of being red-tagged, so aren’t you?” the statement from Civil Relations Service of AFP said.
Manalo, Magramo, and Rosal were among the six individuals, including a Palaweño soldier, Staff sergeant Cesar Barlas of the Force Recon Group of the 3rd Marine Brigade, killed in an armed conflict in Sitio Kubuyoan, Barangay Mainit in Brooke’s Point.
https://palawan-news.com/npa-rebels-remains-to-be-cremated/
Lawyer Teodoro Jose Matta, program director of the provincial peace and order program, said that the relatives of the four suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA) have identified the bodies late Tuesday.
“Si Mr. Manalo [father] at saka ‘yong kamag-anak ni Ka Naya, opted to have Ka Naya and Rjei (Rona) cremated here in Puerto Princesa. Pero ‘yong dalawa, I think i-uuwi pa nila ‘yong mga katawan,” Matta said in a phone interview on Wednesday morning.
Kyle Salgado, paralegal of Karapatan Southern Tagalog (KST) assisting the family members, in a separate phone interview, once again called for “compassion from the city government” who has insisted that the relatives complete at least seven days of quarantine, in compliance to the protocol enforced in the city for individuals coming from outside Palawan. The “humanitarian team”, composed of the family members and Karapatan representatives, arrived in Puerto Princesa International Airport (PPIA) from Metro Manila on September 5, and are expected to complete their quarantine until Saturday (September 12).
“This is different from the set regulations by the Palawan local government unit (LGU), which has since cleared the family to leave once the bodies have been successfully retrieved by the families,” Karapatan said in a statement.
Lawyer Arnel Pedrosa, city administrator, insisted that the local government of Puerto Princesa has “no part whatsoever” other than following the quarantine protocol being asked of the group.
“We receive no request from them. We will act only if there is a letter or request from them,” Pedrosa said in a text message to Palawan News.
The cremation of the remains of Rosal and Manalo was yet to be set after the “necessary documents and quarantine requirements have been complied with,” according to Matta.
Rosal’s relative said that her ashes would be flown to Ibaan, Batangas, while Manalo’s father said the remains would be brought home to Sariaya, Quezon. Bonifacio “Salvador Luminoso” Magramo, believed to be the secretary of the sub-regional military guerilla unit under the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee (STRPC) will be flown in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.
“Wala kaming naiisip sa ngayon na filing cases. Nakikipag-coordinate kami with authorities para mas mapabilis ang pag-uuwi ng mga labi, mabigyan ng burol kahit dalawa o tatlong araw. Kailangan ma-fly na tomorrow at hindi na patagalin ng Sabado,” Salgado said.
Gabriela Southern Tagalog, in a statement issued on Tuesday, accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) of “sullying the name” of Manalo, whom they said died as a “martyr”, was being accused as a revolutionary student and environmental activist, and a community organizer.
This was in response to the social media statement by Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr., commander of AFP Solcom, asking Cristina Palabay of Karapatan to “explain why an activist like [Manalo]” was caught in the said “violent incident”.
“Why was an activist like Ren [Manalo] was there in a violent incident in Palawan if she is not a terrorist like Alyas Eboy and the rest of the NPAs killed? You have been complaining of being red-tagged, so aren’t you?” the statement from Civil Relations Service of AFP said.
Manalo, Magramo, and Rosal were among the six individuals, including a Palaweño soldier, Staff sergeant Cesar Barlas of the Force Recon Group of the 3rd Marine Brigade, killed in an armed conflict in Sitio Kubuyoan, Barangay Mainit in Brooke’s Point.
https://palawan-news.com/npa-rebels-remains-to-be-cremated/
5 Killed, 5 firearms recovered at Sibugay encounter site
From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 9, 2020): 5 Killed, 5 firearms recovered at Sibugay encounter site (By Jocelyn Alvarez)
Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay Sept. 09 (PIA)– 5 terrorists believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) operating under ASG leader Furuji Indama in Basilan Province were killed while 5 firearms were recovered at the encounter site in Sitio Limuno, Barangay Pres. Roxas, RT Lim, this province, Wednesday (Sept. 9) morning, confirmed the Commanding Officer of 102nd Brigade Brigadier General Leonel Nicolas.
The gun battle between 44th IB and terrorists group ensued around 2:00 to 2:30 daybreak while on patrol operation in response to intelligence reports of sightings of about 15 armed men in the coastal vicinity of the said place.
“Pagdating ng ating mga sundalo sa area , nagka encounter na,” BGen Nicolas said.
“Mahirap pasukin yung lugar kaya nag request tayo ng air support at nag deploy rin ng navy patrol sa lugar,” he explained.
BGen Nicolas revealed the 5 cadavers and firearms from the enemy side were recovered by government troops along with elements of the Municipal Police Station and the SOCO while conducting clearing operation in the area early this morning.
“May mga nakatakas, and we are still in hot pursuit against this enemies,” he said.
“May pakiusap lang tayo sa mga MILF na hindi sila ang tinutugis natin, hindi sila ang kalaban, kaya steady lang sila, huwag silang gumalaw. Ayaw na nating lumaki ang sitwasyon kaya nakikipag ugnayan rin tayo sa kanila.”
BGen Nicolas said they do continuous coordination with the LGUs and other government agencies concerned with regards the situation and assured the public of a security visibility, checkpoints and heightened security in the province.
Further, he assured that highways in going in and out of Sibugay passing RT Lim is safe for unhampered delivery of essentials and Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR) specially in this time of health pandemic .
BGen Nicolas appealed to public to remain calm but vigilant and for strong cooperation from the community and to report any suspicious looking persons, movement and activities to proper authorities. (NBE/JPA/PIA-Zamboanga Sibugay)
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1052667
Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay Sept. 09 (PIA)– 5 terrorists believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) operating under ASG leader Furuji Indama in Basilan Province were killed while 5 firearms were recovered at the encounter site in Sitio Limuno, Barangay Pres. Roxas, RT Lim, this province, Wednesday (Sept. 9) morning, confirmed the Commanding Officer of 102nd Brigade Brigadier General Leonel Nicolas.
The gun battle between 44th IB and terrorists group ensued around 2:00 to 2:30 daybreak while on patrol operation in response to intelligence reports of sightings of about 15 armed men in the coastal vicinity of the said place.
“Pagdating ng ating mga sundalo sa area , nagka encounter na,” BGen Nicolas said.
“Mahirap pasukin yung lugar kaya nag request tayo ng air support at nag deploy rin ng navy patrol sa lugar,” he explained.
BGen Nicolas revealed the 5 cadavers and firearms from the enemy side were recovered by government troops along with elements of the Municipal Police Station and the SOCO while conducting clearing operation in the area early this morning.
“May mga nakatakas, and we are still in hot pursuit against this enemies,” he said.
“May pakiusap lang tayo sa mga MILF na hindi sila ang tinutugis natin, hindi sila ang kalaban, kaya steady lang sila, huwag silang gumalaw. Ayaw na nating lumaki ang sitwasyon kaya nakikipag ugnayan rin tayo sa kanila.”
BGen Nicolas said they do continuous coordination with the LGUs and other government agencies concerned with regards the situation and assured the public of a security visibility, checkpoints and heightened security in the province.
Further, he assured that highways in going in and out of Sibugay passing RT Lim is safe for unhampered delivery of essentials and Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR) specially in this time of health pandemic .
BGen Nicolas appealed to public to remain calm but vigilant and for strong cooperation from the community and to report any suspicious looking persons, movement and activities to proper authorities. (NBE/JPA/PIA-Zamboanga Sibugay)
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1052667
Tagalog News: 6ID may bagong talagang commander
From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 8, 2020): Tagalog News: 6ID may bagong talagang commander (By PIA Cotabato City)
LUNGSOD NG COTABATO, Set. 8 (PIA) – Itinalagang bagong commander ng 6th Infantry ‘Kampilan’ Division ng Philippine Army si Major General Juvymax Uy matapos ang isinagawang 37th Change of Command Ceremony kahapon sa Camp Brig. Gen. Gonzalo Siongco, Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
Pinangunahan ni Philippine Army Commanding Officer Lt. General Cirilito Sobejana ang nasabing change of command na dinaluhan ng iba’t-ibang mga punong ehekutibo ng iba’t-ibang mga probinsya sa ilalim ng hurisdiksyon ng 6th ID, mga opisyal ng Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), mga kumander ng military mula sa iba’t-ibang divisions, brigades, at battalions, at iba pang mga stakeholder ng 6ID.
Pinalitan ni Maj. Gen. Uy si dating 6th ID Commander Major General Diosdado Carreon na nagretiro na.
Si Maj. Gen. Uy ay dating nagsilbi bilang assistant division commander ng 6ID sa loob ng dalawang taon. Sa kanyang naging pahayag, nanumpa ito na ipagpapatuloy ang mga magagandang nagawa ng dating commander upang mapaglingkuran nang mabuti ang mga mamamayan ng Central Mindanao.
Inilahad naman ni Lt. Gen. Sobejana ang mga nagawa ng 6th ID sa iba’t-ibang security operations sa pamamagitan ng pamumuno ni outgoing Commander Maj. Gen. Carreon. Sa ilalim ng kanyang command ay nagawa nitong i-neutralize ang 613 mga kaaway sa pagbawi ng 415 mga baril at 84 na improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at pagkukumpiska ng 308 loose firearms.
Binigyang-diin din ni Sobejana na ipinagmamalaki nito ang 6th ID dahil nanguna ito sa mga Philippine Army major units ng taong 2018-2019.
Samantala, sa isinagawang retirement ceremony ni outgoing 6th ID Commander Maj. Gen. Carreon ay pinayuhan nito ang mga naiwan sa serbisyo na maging masigasig sa kani-kanilang tungkulin. (With reports from DPAO-6ID)
LUNGSOD NG COTABATO, Set. 8 (PIA) – Itinalagang bagong commander ng 6th Infantry ‘Kampilan’ Division ng Philippine Army si Major General Juvymax Uy matapos ang isinagawang 37th Change of Command Ceremony kahapon sa Camp Brig. Gen. Gonzalo Siongco, Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.
Pinangunahan ni Philippine Army Commanding Officer Lt. General Cirilito Sobejana ang nasabing change of command na dinaluhan ng iba’t-ibang mga punong ehekutibo ng iba’t-ibang mga probinsya sa ilalim ng hurisdiksyon ng 6th ID, mga opisyal ng Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), mga kumander ng military mula sa iba’t-ibang divisions, brigades, at battalions, at iba pang mga stakeholder ng 6ID.
Pinalitan ni Maj. Gen. Uy si dating 6th ID Commander Major General Diosdado Carreon na nagretiro na.
Si Maj. Gen. Uy ay dating nagsilbi bilang assistant division commander ng 6ID sa loob ng dalawang taon. Sa kanyang naging pahayag, nanumpa ito na ipagpapatuloy ang mga magagandang nagawa ng dating commander upang mapaglingkuran nang mabuti ang mga mamamayan ng Central Mindanao.
Inilahad naman ni Lt. Gen. Sobejana ang mga nagawa ng 6th ID sa iba’t-ibang security operations sa pamamagitan ng pamumuno ni outgoing Commander Maj. Gen. Carreon. Sa ilalim ng kanyang command ay nagawa nitong i-neutralize ang 613 mga kaaway sa pagbawi ng 415 mga baril at 84 na improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at pagkukumpiska ng 308 loose firearms.
Binigyang-diin din ni Sobejana na ipinagmamalaki nito ang 6th ID dahil nanguna ito sa mga Philippine Army major units ng taong 2018-2019.
Samantala, sa isinagawang retirement ceremony ni outgoing 6th ID Commander Maj. Gen. Carreon ay pinayuhan nito ang mga naiwan sa serbisyo na maging masigasig sa kani-kanilang tungkulin. (With reports from DPAO-6ID)
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1052549
Tagalog News: Dating rebelde, tokhang surrenderees, IPs sa Agusan del Norte sumailalim sa skills training
From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 9, 2020): Tagalog News: Dating rebelde, tokhang surrenderees, IPs sa Agusan del Norte sumailalim sa skills training (By Nora C. Lanuza)
LUNGSOD NG BUTUAN, Setyembre 9 (PIA) -- Isang skills training ang isinagawa sa Agusan del Norte na nilahukan ng mga dating rebelde, tokhang surrenderees at indigenous peoples (IPs) at mga sundalo upang maging trainers sa kani-kanilang kumonidad hinggil sa organic agricultural production.
Ayon kay Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Agusan del Norte provincial director Rey Cueva, ang team ng mga trainees ay kinabibilangan ng mga sundalo, former rebels, IP, tokhang. Ang nasabing training ay magbigay sa kanila ng kabuhayan at ang skills na kanilang matutunan ay magbibigay dinsa kanila ng trabaho.
Ang Agusan del Norte ay isa sa mga prayoridad na bigyan ng nasabing training, dagdag ni Cueva.
Mas madaling madeploy sa mga skills training kung ang magconduct nito ay mga taong kakilala na rin sa kumonidad, ayon kay TESDA Caraga regional director Ashary Banto.
Malaki ang pasalamat ni Samuel Calonzo, ang Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) regional director, dahil napiling maibahagi ang agrikultura sa kumonidad lalo na ang organic farming. Ang mga kalahok sa pagsasanay ay maging responsable sa pagturo sa komunidad sa kahalagahan ng organic agriculture farming, ani ni Calonzo.
Sumailalim sila sa tatlong araw na training partikular sa organic vegetable at native chicken production. Ang probinsya sa pamamagitan ng Provincial Agriculturist Office ang magbibigay ng seedlings a itatanim at ang ATI naman ang demo farms sa komunidad. (NCLM/PIA Agusan del Norte)
LUNGSOD NG BUTUAN, Setyembre 9 (PIA) -- Isang skills training ang isinagawa sa Agusan del Norte na nilahukan ng mga dating rebelde, tokhang surrenderees at indigenous peoples (IPs) at mga sundalo upang maging trainers sa kani-kanilang kumonidad hinggil sa organic agricultural production.
Ayon kay Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Agusan del Norte provincial director Rey Cueva, ang team ng mga trainees ay kinabibilangan ng mga sundalo, former rebels, IP, tokhang. Ang nasabing training ay magbigay sa kanila ng kabuhayan at ang skills na kanilang matutunan ay magbibigay dinsa kanila ng trabaho.
Ang Agusan del Norte ay isa sa mga prayoridad na bigyan ng nasabing training, dagdag ni Cueva.
Mas madaling madeploy sa mga skills training kung ang magconduct nito ay mga taong kakilala na rin sa kumonidad, ayon kay TESDA Caraga regional director Ashary Banto.
Malaki ang pasalamat ni Samuel Calonzo, ang Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) regional director, dahil napiling maibahagi ang agrikultura sa kumonidad lalo na ang organic farming. Ang mga kalahok sa pagsasanay ay maging responsable sa pagturo sa komunidad sa kahalagahan ng organic agriculture farming, ani ni Calonzo.
Sumailalim sila sa tatlong araw na training partikular sa organic vegetable at native chicken production. Ang probinsya sa pamamagitan ng Provincial Agriculturist Office ang magbibigay ng seedlings a itatanim at ang ATI naman ang demo farms sa komunidad. (NCLM/PIA Agusan del Norte)
https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1052531
5 ASG bandits killed in Sibugay clash
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 9, 2020): 5 ASG bandits killed in Sibugay clash (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)
Five Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits were killed while two soldiers wounded in a fresh firefight between the advancing troops and fleeing bandits in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, military officials said Wednesday.
Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, the Army's 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the clash broke out around 1:59 a.m. Wednesday in Sitio Limuno, Barangay President Roxas in R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Nicolas said the clash broke out when they intercepted the ASG bandits led by Furuji Indama in Sitio Limuno, Barangay President Roxas, R.T. Lim town.
Nicolas said the troops were backed by air support consisting of MG-520 helicopter gunships that pounded the bandits’ position, sending them scampering to different directions.
Two soldiers belonging to the 44th Infantry Battalion were wounded during the clash, according to Nicolas.
Nicolas underscored the importance of the information provided by residents in the area in locating the whereabouts of the ASG bandits.
“They (ASG bandits) are not residents of the place that is why they were easily identified by the residents,” he said, adding the troops recovered three high-powered firearms.
Indama's group was on the run after they figured in a clash Sunday in Barangay La Paz, Alicia, also in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
“This is the result of our pursuit operations against the armed elements of Abral Abdusalam and Sahibad Group led by Indama after our encounter in Barangay La Paz, Alicia, Zamboanga Sibugay dawn of Sunday, September 6, 2020,” Lt. Col. Don Templonuevo, 44th Infantry Battalion commander, said in a statement Wednesday.
One of Indama's followers was killed while two soldiers and three civilians were wounded in Sunday’s clash that ensued as government troops raided the hideout of the Sahibad crime group.
The Abral Abdusalam and Sahibad group are allies of the Basilan-based ASG bandits. They serve as spotters of potential kidnap victims.
Nicolas earlier said that Indama’s group was set to stage a new kidnapping in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, attributed the significant accomplishments of the troops “to all our partners and stakeholders who actively support in our campaigns against terrorism and radicalism in the region".
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114851
Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, the Army's 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the clash broke out around 1:59 a.m. Wednesday in Sitio Limuno, Barangay President Roxas in R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay.
Nicolas said the clash broke out when they intercepted the ASG bandits led by Furuji Indama in Sitio Limuno, Barangay President Roxas, R.T. Lim town.
Nicolas said the troops were backed by air support consisting of MG-520 helicopter gunships that pounded the bandits’ position, sending them scampering to different directions.
Two soldiers belonging to the 44th Infantry Battalion were wounded during the clash, according to Nicolas.
Nicolas underscored the importance of the information provided by residents in the area in locating the whereabouts of the ASG bandits.
“They (ASG bandits) are not residents of the place that is why they were easily identified by the residents,” he said, adding the troops recovered three high-powered firearms.
Indama's group was on the run after they figured in a clash Sunday in Barangay La Paz, Alicia, also in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
“This is the result of our pursuit operations against the armed elements of Abral Abdusalam and Sahibad Group led by Indama after our encounter in Barangay La Paz, Alicia, Zamboanga Sibugay dawn of Sunday, September 6, 2020,” Lt. Col. Don Templonuevo, 44th Infantry Battalion commander, said in a statement Wednesday.
One of Indama's followers was killed while two soldiers and three civilians were wounded in Sunday’s clash that ensued as government troops raided the hideout of the Sahibad crime group.
The Abral Abdusalam and Sahibad group are allies of the Basilan-based ASG bandits. They serve as spotters of potential kidnap victims.
Nicolas earlier said that Indama’s group was set to stage a new kidnapping in Zamboanga Sibugay province.
Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, attributed the significant accomplishments of the troops “to all our partners and stakeholders who actively support in our campaigns against terrorism and radicalism in the region".
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114851
Army, MILF join hands to address terrorism in Lanao Sur
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 9, 2020): Army, MILF join hands to address terrorism in Lanao Sur (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)
PEACE, DEVELOPMENT. Lt. Col. Franco Raphael Alano, commander of the Army's 55th Infantry Battalion (2nd from right), and Bangsamoro Transition Authority member Adbullah Macapaar, who is also one of the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (center), talk about peace and development in Lanao del Sur in a meeting Tuesday (Sept. 8, 2020). After the meeting, the two joined the other officials in a photo session in Camp Bilal in Tamparan, Munai, Lanao del Sur. (Photo courtesy of the 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs Office)
PEACE, DEVELOPMENT. Lt. Col. Franco Raphael Alano, commander of the Army's 55th Infantry Battalion (2nd from right), and Bangsamoro Transition Authority member Adbullah Macapaar, who is also one of the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (center), talk about peace and development in Lanao del Sur in a meeting Tuesday (Sept. 8, 2020). After the meeting, the two joined the other officials in a photo session in Camp Bilal in Tamparan, Munai, Lanao del Sur. (Photo courtesy of the 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs Office)
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has agreed to convince the members of the Dawlah Islamiya, formerly known as the Maute group, to lay down their arms and to return to the fold of the law.
In a statement Wednesday, the Army's 1st Infantry Division said the agreement was reached during a meeting between Lt. Col. Franco Raphael Alano, commander of the 55th Infantry Battalion (IB), and Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo of the North-Western Mindanao Front-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces-Moro Islamic Liberation Front (NWMF-BIAF-MILF).
Macapaar is also a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The meeting of the two officials took place Tuesday at Camp Bilal Bin Rabbah Dalu Shuhadah, Barangay Tamparan in Munai, Lanao del Sur.
Lt. Col. Domingo Dulay Jr., commander of the Army's 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, facilitated the meeting of the two officials, according to 1ID.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the measures they can undertake to resolve the terrorism issue in the area, particularly in Madalum, Lanao del Sur, which is a priority area for the military’s counter-terrorism efforts and where both the 55IB and the NWMF-BIAF-MILF oversee.
During the meeting, 1ID said, the MILF side also committed to support the Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) program of the 55IB, which aims to resolve societal issues exploited by terrorist groups to recruit more members and supporters.
Also discussed were the current peace and development initiatives in Madalum like the Liangan-Tamporong road clearing project, which was recently approved by the Lanao del Sur provincial government, the Army division said.
Once completed, the road will not only benefit the residents but also the camp transformation of the MILF, which is part of their normalization process.
Both sides also discussed better ways of coordination and collaboration between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and MILF, and the assistance that the 55IB can provide to ensure that the end state of the peace process is fulfilled.
According to 1ID, the success of the meeting was also due to the intervention of Musa Mohammad Sangila, Regional Coordinator, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, United Religions Initiative, who is a long-time partner of the AFP in peace and reform initiatives, and who is also instrumental in the normalization of the MILF in Lanao del Norte.
Also present during the meeting were Capt. Michael Karanain, 43rd Mechanized Infantry Company commander, and Mustaba Macarambon of the Government of the Philippines-MILF-Local Monitoring Team (GPH-MILF-LMT).
1ID said the activity illustrated how they and the MILF are committed to pursuing peace and development in the area and to maintaining a strong rapport between them and other partners for peace and development in Lanao.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114905
In a statement Wednesday, the Army's 1st Infantry Division said the agreement was reached during a meeting between Lt. Col. Franco Raphael Alano, commander of the 55th Infantry Battalion (IB), and Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo of the North-Western Mindanao Front-Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces-Moro Islamic Liberation Front (NWMF-BIAF-MILF).
Macapaar is also a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The meeting of the two officials took place Tuesday at Camp Bilal Bin Rabbah Dalu Shuhadah, Barangay Tamparan in Munai, Lanao del Sur.
Lt. Col. Domingo Dulay Jr., commander of the Army's 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, facilitated the meeting of the two officials, according to 1ID.
During the meeting, the parties discussed the measures they can undertake to resolve the terrorism issue in the area, particularly in Madalum, Lanao del Sur, which is a priority area for the military’s counter-terrorism efforts and where both the 55IB and the NWMF-BIAF-MILF oversee.
During the meeting, 1ID said, the MILF side also committed to support the Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE) program of the 55IB, which aims to resolve societal issues exploited by terrorist groups to recruit more members and supporters.
Also discussed were the current peace and development initiatives in Madalum like the Liangan-Tamporong road clearing project, which was recently approved by the Lanao del Sur provincial government, the Army division said.
Once completed, the road will not only benefit the residents but also the camp transformation of the MILF, which is part of their normalization process.
Both sides also discussed better ways of coordination and collaboration between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and MILF, and the assistance that the 55IB can provide to ensure that the end state of the peace process is fulfilled.
According to 1ID, the success of the meeting was also due to the intervention of Musa Mohammad Sangila, Regional Coordinator, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, United Religions Initiative, who is a long-time partner of the AFP in peace and reform initiatives, and who is also instrumental in the normalization of the MILF in Lanao del Norte.
Also present during the meeting were Capt. Michael Karanain, 43rd Mechanized Infantry Company commander, and Mustaba Macarambon of the Government of the Philippines-MILF-Local Monitoring Team (GPH-MILF-LMT).
1ID said the activity illustrated how they and the MILF are committed to pursuing peace and development in the area and to maintaining a strong rapport between them and other partners for peace and development in Lanao.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114905
223 new infections bring PNP Covid-19 cases to 4,785
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 9, 2020): 223 new infections bring PNP Covid-19 cases to 4,785 (By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)
File photo
File photo
The Philippine National Police (PNP) reported that 223 more police officers contracted the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), bringing the total number of cases among its ranks to 4,785.
As of Tuesday evening, the PNP Health Service said of the 223 new infections, 96 were from the National Operational Support Units, followed by the Police Regional Office (PRO) 3 (Central Luzon) with 61; the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) with 19; the National Headquarters and PRO 4-A (Calabarzon) with 14 each; the National Administrative Support Unit with nine; PRO 5 (Bicol) with six; and PRO 6 (Western Visayas) with four.
Meanwhile, 3,337 PNP personnel have already recovered from the disease while the death toll stands at 16.
The PNP Health Service is also monitoring 745 probable cases and 3,135 suspected cases.
Cops tested for Covid-19 observe a 14-day quarantine and undergo another test.
Once cleared, they have to rest for seven to 10 more days before going back to duty.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114827
As of Tuesday evening, the PNP Health Service said of the 223 new infections, 96 were from the National Operational Support Units, followed by the Police Regional Office (PRO) 3 (Central Luzon) with 61; the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) with 19; the National Headquarters and PRO 4-A (Calabarzon) with 14 each; the National Administrative Support Unit with nine; PRO 5 (Bicol) with six; and PRO 6 (Western Visayas) with four.
Meanwhile, 3,337 PNP personnel have already recovered from the disease while the death toll stands at 16.
The PNP Health Service is also monitoring 745 probable cases and 3,135 suspected cases.
Cops tested for Covid-19 observe a 14-day quarantine and undergo another test.
Once cleared, they have to rest for seven to 10 more days before going back to duty.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114827
Navy AW-159 choppers' specialized ops training to start soon
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 9, 2020): Navy AW-159 choppers' specialized ops training to start soon (By Priam Nepomuceno)
Philippine Navy chief, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo. (File photo)
Philippine Navy chief, Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo. (File photo)
The deck-landing training for the aircrew of the AgustaWestland (now Leonardo) AW-159 "Wildcat" anti-submarine helicopters and integration to the Jose Rizal-class missile frigates will start once British instructors arrive in the country with the easing of the pandemic, the chief of the Philippine Navy (PN) said Tuesday.
Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said the arrival of the foreign instructors has been delayed by the travel ban in effect due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.
"(We will start) once the (British) instructors arrive for the 'helops' (helicopter operations) (phase), which includes deck-landing operations and eventual integration (of the AW-159s to the ship)" he said in an interview.
The PN's two AW-159s were acquired to complement the Jose Rizal-class frigates' ASW capabilities.
The helicopters arrived in May 2019 and were commissioned in June that year.
"Also included in their training is the dipping of (the AW-159s) flash sonar and other sensors (in conjunction with the) FF-150," Bacordo said.
The dipping of flash sonar signifies that the helicopter is attempting to detect a submerged or submarine contact.
The contract for the helicopters' munition, mission essential equipment, and integrated logistic support is worth PHP5.4 billion.
The helicopters can be armed with rockets, machine guns, missiles, torpedoes, and depth charges and fitted with modern sonar systems for tracking down submarines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114833
Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo said the arrival of the foreign instructors has been delayed by the travel ban in effect due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak.
"(We will start) once the (British) instructors arrive for the 'helops' (helicopter operations) (phase), which includes deck-landing operations and eventual integration (of the AW-159s to the ship)" he said in an interview.
The PN's two AW-159s were acquired to complement the Jose Rizal-class frigates' ASW capabilities.
The helicopters arrived in May 2019 and were commissioned in June that year.
"Also included in their training is the dipping of (the AW-159s) flash sonar and other sensors (in conjunction with the) FF-150," Bacordo said.
The dipping of flash sonar signifies that the helicopter is attempting to detect a submerged or submarine contact.
The contract for the helicopters' munition, mission essential equipment, and integrated logistic support is worth PHP5.4 billion.
The helicopters can be armed with rockets, machine guns, missiles, torpedoes, and depth charges and fitted with modern sonar systems for tracking down submarines.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114833
AFP ready to aid BuCor on Pemberton release
From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 9, 2020): AFP ready to aid BuCor on Pemberton release (By Priam Nepomuceno)
US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton. (Photo from BuCor)
US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton. (Photo from BuCor)
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is more than willing to provide any form of assistance to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in facilitating the release of US Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton, its spokesperson said Wednesday.
"Sa part ng AFP, wala kaming ginagawang preparasyon. BuCor naman kasi ang in charge sa detention, processing, and actual release sa preso nila (On the AFP's part, we are not doing any preparation because BuCor is in charge of Pemberton's detention, processing, and actual release)," Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a message to reporters.
Arevalo was responding to queries on whether the military is making any preparation for Pemberton's release.
"Sa ngayon, wala pa naman silang request sa AFP (For now, they [BuCor] have yet to request assistance from the AFP)," he said.
Arevalo earlier said Pemberton is at the AFP Custodial Facility only under a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the AFP and BuCor.
"The MOA provides that the former will make available the detention facility while the latter retains the management and administration of the convicted detainees," he said.
Pemberton was convicted of homicide and sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment by the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 74 in December 2015 for killing Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude inside a bathroom of a motel on Oct. 11, 2014.
Olongapo RTC Branch 74 Presiding Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde, in a decision issued on September 1, ruled that Pemberton has a total accumulated time served with an entitlement of Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) of 10 years, one month, and 10 days.
In a public address on Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte said he granted Pemberton absolute pardon because he believed that he was not treated “fairly” while detained because his GCTA credits were not recorded by the Philippine authorities.
The President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons under Article VII, Section 19 of the 1987 Constitution.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114825
"Sa part ng AFP, wala kaming ginagawang preparasyon. BuCor naman kasi ang in charge sa detention, processing, and actual release sa preso nila (On the AFP's part, we are not doing any preparation because BuCor is in charge of Pemberton's detention, processing, and actual release)," Marine Maj. Gen. Edgard Arevalo said in a message to reporters.
Arevalo was responding to queries on whether the military is making any preparation for Pemberton's release.
"Sa ngayon, wala pa naman silang request sa AFP (For now, they [BuCor] have yet to request assistance from the AFP)," he said.
Arevalo earlier said Pemberton is at the AFP Custodial Facility only under a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the AFP and BuCor.
"The MOA provides that the former will make available the detention facility while the latter retains the management and administration of the convicted detainees," he said.
Pemberton was convicted of homicide and sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment by the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 74 in December 2015 for killing Filipino transgender Jennifer Laude inside a bathroom of a motel on Oct. 11, 2014.
Olongapo RTC Branch 74 Presiding Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde, in a decision issued on September 1, ruled that Pemberton has a total accumulated time served with an entitlement of Good Conduct Time Allowance (GCTA) of 10 years, one month, and 10 days.
In a public address on Monday night, President Rodrigo Duterte said he granted Pemberton absolute pardon because he believed that he was not treated “fairly” while detained because his GCTA credits were not recorded by the Philippine authorities.
The President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons under Article VII, Section 19 of the 1987 Constitution.
https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1114825
Opinion: Young lives taken by the god that failed, cowards partly to blame
Op/Ed piece posted to the Manila Times (Sep 9, 2020): Young lives taken by the god that failed, cowards partly to blame (By Rigoberto D. Tiglao)
THE photos posted on Facebook of University of the Philippines student Rona Manalo, smiling on the left and then as a corpse, killed in a firefight with Marines last September 3 in Palawan, are heart-wrenching. There have been many like her in recent years, such as Recca Noelle Monte, a UP engineering student also killed in battle on Sept. 4, 2014, with Army troopers in some forgotten mountain in Abra.
The bell could have tolled for me. I was their age when I was recruited to the Communist Party and sent to Samar to organize what would have been some of the first New People’s Army (NPA) units. I am grateful to my sensitive stomach for living this long: I couldn’t stand the diet of coconut meat and bugas-mais staple and asked to be deployed to Manila.
Rona Manalo, a tragedy of our times: Student to activist to slain NPA. FACEBOOK PHOTOS
That was a lifetime ago. In this day and age, why would these teenagers — with fruitful, happy lives in front of them — choose to die for a political movement that has incontrovertibly failed after 52 years of trying and after tens of thousands of innocent lives sacrificed in the altar of “the god that failed?”
That in fact is the title of a book made up of six essays written by four former true believers of communism way back in 1949, which powerfully explained why they abandoned the communist movement.
One of the essayists, Arthur Koestler, wrote a more scathing earlier condemnation of communism in his 1940 book Darkness at Noon.
I read the book in a solitary cell we called bartolina at a high-security political prison euphemistically called Youth Rehabilitation Center in Fort Bonifacio during martial law. The book made me realize that the ruthlessness of the Bolsheviks depicted by Koestler, their justification for it as “revolutionary justice” was not much different from that of their Filipino counterparts who could undertake such a despicable act —and blame it on Marcos, just to trigger “revolutionary flow” — as the Plaza Miranda bombing of Aug. 21, 1971 — 12 years before another historic event occurred on the same date, Ninoy Aquino’s assassination.
For chrissake, that was 47 years ago, and the world has changed so much. So many things have indisputably proven as clear as day that the Leninist-Maoist dream turned out to be a nightmare.
Beacon
The first communist beacon that was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had imploded three decades ago, and all its former states have junked Marxism-Leninism. China is no longer Maoist, but a single-party system government by a nationalist corp.
Long gone are the icons whose lives we were reliving as if in some movie like Che Guevarra, Commander Gonzalo of the Peruvian Shining Path, and, yes, Commander Dante. Dante’s successors, the legendary Romy Kintanar of Mindanao and the fiery Popoy Lagman, were killed by the Communist Party itself. In the 1970s we were comrades of the Viet Cong and thought that its victory in 1975 foreshadowed that of the NPA.
That was long, long ago. So why on earth would these young, idealist students still be fooled by and give up their lives for the god that failed? “She was intelligent, or else she would not have been admitted to the UP,” Rona’s uncle sadly remarked.
The biggest culprit of course is Jose Ma. Sison, the architect of the Plaza Miranda bombing, who has lived comfortably in one of the richest nations on earth for the past 34 years. It is Sison who has managed to continuously churn out the propaganda — over two dozen books, never mind if these were basically plagiarisms of the Indonesian communist ideologue D.N. Aidit — that have been so expertly done that they have fooled young people for five decades.
Another UP tragedy
As guilty as Sison and his gang though, are the Red or Pink cowards, and armchair revolutionaries who have been directly or indirectly the recruiters of Rona and Recca to be sacrificed to the failed god.
Maoists
These are the Marxist-Leninists and Maoists who see themselves as revolutionaries yet either have been afraid to risk their lives fighting in the mountains, couldn’t leave their mostly middle-class lives, or had tired of the hard life of an NPA officer.
Many drifted to the academe — still the UP or the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, which had been Sison’s original recruiting grounds — to disseminate the party’s propaganda and the cultural milieu to eventually brainwash young idealists like Rona and Recca. One venue for them also are the nongovernment organizations, devoted to this or that sector or issue, with being a party-list representative as their dream.
For instance, few at the UP know that my “commissar” at the party, the late Monico Atienza, was a top Politburo member, third in the hierarchy, after Sison and the general secretary, the late Jose Luneta. Although he was no longer in the party loop, Atienza was an instructor at UP’s Pilipino Department, still espousing Marxism-Leninism.
A former top NPA commander was a full professor and headed one UP academic center. He was chairman of UP’s mass media college, had been one of Sison’s early comrades and a founder of Sison’s first mass organization, the Kabataang Makabayan. No wonder we’ve had so many young anti-government media people.
Marxism
How could UP not maintain a culture that joining being a communist or an NPA is being ‘”progressive” and nationalist when Francisco Nemenzo, Sison’s close comrade in the old Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, had been UP Visayas chancellor, Arts and Sciences College dean, and finally president of the entire UP system. Dodong’s fondness for cognac is matched only by his undying belief in Marxism.
One example in the “legal struggle” was a cadre whom we at the Manila-Rizal party committee had ordered deployed to Samar right after martial law, following the Politiburo’s orders to leave only a skeletal force in urban areas and deploy most of our organization to fill the ranks of the NPA.
That cadre begged off, claiming she had asthma or couldn’t leave her parents. She rose through the ranks of Bayan Muna to become its chairman for many years, while living an upper-middle-class life in a gated subdivision since her husband was a capitalist, and even had a summer home in the south. This communist ironically even has a column in the country’s paper devoted to capitalist endeavors. Especially as she was comely, she no doubt inspired many young women like Rona and Recca to join the revolution and get killed there.
An activist and political prisoner in the early 1970s (although I don’t know if he was a party member), multi-awarded writer Jose Dalisay spent his working life as a professor at the UP, the head of the English department, and UP’s vice president for public affairs when he retired in 2019.
Death march
In a speech that mainly blasted police allegations that the NPA was recruiting gullible students of the UP into its ranks, Dalisay articulated the thinking of these academics who help fool young people into Joma’s death march:
“Is UP a recruiting ground for rebels? The only sane and honest way of answering this is to say of course it is; it always is. It’s no big secret that rebellion and resistance are coded into UP’s DNA, because we have always encouraged critical thinking, which in turn encourages an attitude of dissidence, of anti-authoritarianism, of rejection of the status quo.”
Strip Dalisay’s statements of its wordsmith, and he is telling young minds of the UP: “If you want to join the NPA, that’s great and very laudable. It’s your destiny if you are a real UP student. “
How do you think that kind of rhetoric would affect the decision of youths at a period in their lives when they are still seeking for meaning, the Ronas and Recas of UP?
Unfortunately, there are no academics and organizations in the UP now bold enough to tell the students there: “You will die in that useless, ruthless movement. Maoism has been dead decades ago.”
And then just as worse as these are the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rappler and the late ABS-CBN Corp., which continue to romanticize the NPA. That is another story.
Email: tiglao.manilatimes@gmail.com
Facebook: Rigoberto Tiglao
Twitter: @bobitiglao
Book orders: www.rigobertotiglao.com/debunked
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/09/09/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/young-lives-taken-by-the-god-that-failed-cowards-partly-to-blame/766455/?fbclid=IwAR05NZ85NnZ2klGWLILtpgyZkxXCjMd4i7XOPEzDwe2IZqmCsi4-j76bZtg
THE photos posted on Facebook of University of the Philippines student Rona Manalo, smiling on the left and then as a corpse, killed in a firefight with Marines last September 3 in Palawan, are heart-wrenching. There have been many like her in recent years, such as Recca Noelle Monte, a UP engineering student also killed in battle on Sept. 4, 2014, with Army troopers in some forgotten mountain in Abra.
The bell could have tolled for me. I was their age when I was recruited to the Communist Party and sent to Samar to organize what would have been some of the first New People’s Army (NPA) units. I am grateful to my sensitive stomach for living this long: I couldn’t stand the diet of coconut meat and bugas-mais staple and asked to be deployed to Manila.
Rona Manalo, a tragedy of our times: Student to activist to slain NPA. FACEBOOK PHOTOS
That was a lifetime ago. In this day and age, why would these teenagers — with fruitful, happy lives in front of them — choose to die for a political movement that has incontrovertibly failed after 52 years of trying and after tens of thousands of innocent lives sacrificed in the altar of “the god that failed?”
That in fact is the title of a book made up of six essays written by four former true believers of communism way back in 1949, which powerfully explained why they abandoned the communist movement.
One of the essayists, Arthur Koestler, wrote a more scathing earlier condemnation of communism in his 1940 book Darkness at Noon.
I read the book in a solitary cell we called bartolina at a high-security political prison euphemistically called Youth Rehabilitation Center in Fort Bonifacio during martial law. The book made me realize that the ruthlessness of the Bolsheviks depicted by Koestler, their justification for it as “revolutionary justice” was not much different from that of their Filipino counterparts who could undertake such a despicable act —and blame it on Marcos, just to trigger “revolutionary flow” — as the Plaza Miranda bombing of Aug. 21, 1971 — 12 years before another historic event occurred on the same date, Ninoy Aquino’s assassination.
For chrissake, that was 47 years ago, and the world has changed so much. So many things have indisputably proven as clear as day that the Leninist-Maoist dream turned out to be a nightmare.
Beacon
The first communist beacon that was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had imploded three decades ago, and all its former states have junked Marxism-Leninism. China is no longer Maoist, but a single-party system government by a nationalist corp.
Long gone are the icons whose lives we were reliving as if in some movie like Che Guevarra, Commander Gonzalo of the Peruvian Shining Path, and, yes, Commander Dante. Dante’s successors, the legendary Romy Kintanar of Mindanao and the fiery Popoy Lagman, were killed by the Communist Party itself. In the 1970s we were comrades of the Viet Cong and thought that its victory in 1975 foreshadowed that of the NPA.
That was long, long ago. So why on earth would these young, idealist students still be fooled by and give up their lives for the god that failed? “She was intelligent, or else she would not have been admitted to the UP,” Rona’s uncle sadly remarked.
The biggest culprit of course is Jose Ma. Sison, the architect of the Plaza Miranda bombing, who has lived comfortably in one of the richest nations on earth for the past 34 years. It is Sison who has managed to continuously churn out the propaganda — over two dozen books, never mind if these were basically plagiarisms of the Indonesian communist ideologue D.N. Aidit — that have been so expertly done that they have fooled young people for five decades.
Another UP tragedy
As guilty as Sison and his gang though, are the Red or Pink cowards, and armchair revolutionaries who have been directly or indirectly the recruiters of Rona and Recca to be sacrificed to the failed god.
Maoists
These are the Marxist-Leninists and Maoists who see themselves as revolutionaries yet either have been afraid to risk their lives fighting in the mountains, couldn’t leave their mostly middle-class lives, or had tired of the hard life of an NPA officer.
Many drifted to the academe — still the UP or the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, which had been Sison’s original recruiting grounds — to disseminate the party’s propaganda and the cultural milieu to eventually brainwash young idealists like Rona and Recca. One venue for them also are the nongovernment organizations, devoted to this or that sector or issue, with being a party-list representative as their dream.
For instance, few at the UP know that my “commissar” at the party, the late Monico Atienza, was a top Politburo member, third in the hierarchy, after Sison and the general secretary, the late Jose Luneta. Although he was no longer in the party loop, Atienza was an instructor at UP’s Pilipino Department, still espousing Marxism-Leninism.
A former top NPA commander was a full professor and headed one UP academic center. He was chairman of UP’s mass media college, had been one of Sison’s early comrades and a founder of Sison’s first mass organization, the Kabataang Makabayan. No wonder we’ve had so many young anti-government media people.
Marxism
How could UP not maintain a culture that joining being a communist or an NPA is being ‘”progressive” and nationalist when Francisco Nemenzo, Sison’s close comrade in the old Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas, had been UP Visayas chancellor, Arts and Sciences College dean, and finally president of the entire UP system. Dodong’s fondness for cognac is matched only by his undying belief in Marxism.
One example in the “legal struggle” was a cadre whom we at the Manila-Rizal party committee had ordered deployed to Samar right after martial law, following the Politiburo’s orders to leave only a skeletal force in urban areas and deploy most of our organization to fill the ranks of the NPA.
That cadre begged off, claiming she had asthma or couldn’t leave her parents. She rose through the ranks of Bayan Muna to become its chairman for many years, while living an upper-middle-class life in a gated subdivision since her husband was a capitalist, and even had a summer home in the south. This communist ironically even has a column in the country’s paper devoted to capitalist endeavors. Especially as she was comely, she no doubt inspired many young women like Rona and Recca to join the revolution and get killed there.
An activist and political prisoner in the early 1970s (although I don’t know if he was a party member), multi-awarded writer Jose Dalisay spent his working life as a professor at the UP, the head of the English department, and UP’s vice president for public affairs when he retired in 2019.
Death march
In a speech that mainly blasted police allegations that the NPA was recruiting gullible students of the UP into its ranks, Dalisay articulated the thinking of these academics who help fool young people into Joma’s death march:
“Is UP a recruiting ground for rebels? The only sane and honest way of answering this is to say of course it is; it always is. It’s no big secret that rebellion and resistance are coded into UP’s DNA, because we have always encouraged critical thinking, which in turn encourages an attitude of dissidence, of anti-authoritarianism, of rejection of the status quo.”
Strip Dalisay’s statements of its wordsmith, and he is telling young minds of the UP: “If you want to join the NPA, that’s great and very laudable. It’s your destiny if you are a real UP student. “
How do you think that kind of rhetoric would affect the decision of youths at a period in their lives when they are still seeking for meaning, the Ronas and Recas of UP?
Unfortunately, there are no academics and organizations in the UP now bold enough to tell the students there: “You will die in that useless, ruthless movement. Maoism has been dead decades ago.”
And then just as worse as these are the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rappler and the late ABS-CBN Corp., which continue to romanticize the NPA. That is another story.
Email: tiglao.manilatimes@gmail.com
Facebook: Rigoberto Tiglao
Twitter: @bobitiglao
Book orders: www.rigobertotiglao.com/debunked
https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/09/09/opinion/columnists/topanalysis/young-lives-taken-by-the-god-that-failed-cowards-partly-to-blame/766455/?fbclid=IwAR05NZ85NnZ2klGWLILtpgyZkxXCjMd4i7XOPEzDwe2IZqmCsi4-j76bZtg
SOLCOM: LOOK | Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade's response to Karapatan Southern Tagalog’s statement last Sunday
Posted to the Southern Luzon Command (SOLCOM) Facebook Page (Sep 9, 2020): LOOK | Lt. Gen. Antonio Parlade's response to Karapatan Southern Tagalog’s statement last Sunday, September 6, 2020.
Karapatan Southern Tagalog, in a statement on Sunday, said the group and the relatives of the slain rebels were asking authorities to abide by international humanitarian law and the 1949 Geneva Convention on the proper conduct for the deceased, whether friend or foe.
These Karapatan officials have the gall to speak of decency and humanitarian laws and yet cannot explain why their fellow 'activists' ended up dead with those NPA terrorists in Palawan.
These colleagues of theirs who, while they were alive, vehemently denied they were members of the CPP NPA NDF and loudly complained of government red-tagging them.
And yet there they were on Sept 3, dead- killed in legitimate military operations while taking up arms against government.
CPP NPA NDF through and through.
And KARAPATAN has once again stepped up in the defense and care of proven terrorists.
They proclaim themselves as "human rights defenders" and yet all they've defended are terrorists.
You will not hear KARAPATAN speak in behalf of others. Their hearts, for instance, have not bled for Algerome Bernardo, a civilian nurse who was killed during the NPA ambush of a Disaster Rescue vehicle in Brgy Dumarao, Roxas, Palawan last July 2020. Nor of the 3 other civilians wounded with him.
For him and the countless others, KARAPATAN's Cristina Palabay will not offer a word of sympathy nor ask that their remains be treated with respect and dignity.
So starkly different from her response to terrorists who get killed in legitimate encounters while battling government forces.
Our sympathies are with the family of the slain. We can only imagine the grief and pain they've had to endure that a loved one had the bad sense of joining MAKIBAKA which is the underground organ of GABRIELA, that fronts for the CPP NPA NDF. They must have known a violent end was inevitable for their kin with the kind of life she chose.
What would have happened though if the planned offensive of the NPAs in Palawan and Mindoro had succeeded and they were not stopped by government forces?
One only need look at the non-stop killings in Surigao, Bukidnon, Mindoro of our indigenous brothers and sisters in the hands of these communist terrorists.
And yet not a word of compassion nor any humanitarian appeal has escaped from the mouths of these hypocrites.
What they expend their energies on are the relentless opposition by the Kamatayan Bloc on the NTF ELCAC budget- most notably by ACT Rep de Castro and Bayan Muna Rep Carlos Zarate.
The Morong 38 whom they vehemently defended as mere activists have turned out to be NPA combatants killed in various encounters.
Lorelaine Saligumba @Fara and Lilibeth Donasco @Moc were both killed in armed engagements, but only after they had kidnapped young IP girls,aged 14 and 16 whom they treated as slaves, intially just to fetch water and carry their backpacks. These children were held captive for two years and escaped only after their leaders were killed.
These are the kinds of monsters these fronts duplicitously label as "activists" and that they fiercely defend by bringing out the "redtag" card to silence government.
LTGen Antonio Parlade Jr.
NTF ELCAC
Southern Luzon Command, AFP
#NTFELCAC
#EO70
Karapatan Southern Tagalog, in a statement on Sunday, said the group and the relatives of the slain rebels were asking authorities to abide by international humanitarian law and the 1949 Geneva Convention on the proper conduct for the deceased, whether friend or foe.
These Karapatan officials have the gall to speak of decency and humanitarian laws and yet cannot explain why their fellow 'activists' ended up dead with those NPA terrorists in Palawan.
These colleagues of theirs who, while they were alive, vehemently denied they were members of the CPP NPA NDF and loudly complained of government red-tagging them.
And yet there they were on Sept 3, dead- killed in legitimate military operations while taking up arms against government.
CPP NPA NDF through and through.
And KARAPATAN has once again stepped up in the defense and care of proven terrorists.
They proclaim themselves as "human rights defenders" and yet all they've defended are terrorists.
You will not hear KARAPATAN speak in behalf of others. Their hearts, for instance, have not bled for Algerome Bernardo, a civilian nurse who was killed during the NPA ambush of a Disaster Rescue vehicle in Brgy Dumarao, Roxas, Palawan last July 2020. Nor of the 3 other civilians wounded with him.
For him and the countless others, KARAPATAN's Cristina Palabay will not offer a word of sympathy nor ask that their remains be treated with respect and dignity.
So starkly different from her response to terrorists who get killed in legitimate encounters while battling government forces.
Our sympathies are with the family of the slain. We can only imagine the grief and pain they've had to endure that a loved one had the bad sense of joining MAKIBAKA which is the underground organ of GABRIELA, that fronts for the CPP NPA NDF. They must have known a violent end was inevitable for their kin with the kind of life she chose.
What would have happened though if the planned offensive of the NPAs in Palawan and Mindoro had succeeded and they were not stopped by government forces?
One only need look at the non-stop killings in Surigao, Bukidnon, Mindoro of our indigenous brothers and sisters in the hands of these communist terrorists.
And yet not a word of compassion nor any humanitarian appeal has escaped from the mouths of these hypocrites.
What they expend their energies on are the relentless opposition by the Kamatayan Bloc on the NTF ELCAC budget- most notably by ACT Rep de Castro and Bayan Muna Rep Carlos Zarate.
The Morong 38 whom they vehemently defended as mere activists have turned out to be NPA combatants killed in various encounters.
Lorelaine Saligumba @Fara and Lilibeth Donasco @Moc were both killed in armed engagements, but only after they had kidnapped young IP girls,aged 14 and 16 whom they treated as slaves, intially just to fetch water and carry their backpacks. These children were held captive for two years and escaped only after their leaders were killed.
These are the kinds of monsters these fronts duplicitously label as "activists" and that they fiercely defend by bringing out the "redtag" card to silence government.
LTGen Antonio Parlade Jr.
NTF ELCAC
Southern Luzon Command, AFP
#NTFELCAC
#EO70
https://www.facebook.com/ntfelcac/photos/a.210780187027040/319935179444873/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/SouthernLuzonCommandAFP/
WESCOM: PTF-ELCAC Palawan facilitates the release of the remains of 5 NPAs killed in an encounter
Posted to the Western Command (WESCOM) Facebook Page (Sep 9, 2020): PTF-ELCAC Palawan facilitates the release of the remains of 5 NPAs killed in an encounter
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan – The Provincial Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) Palawan headed by Governor Jose Ch. Alvarez, has facilitated the release of the remains of the five (5) members of the New People’s Army killed during an armed encounter with the troops of 3rd Marine Brigade in Brgy. Mainit, Brooke’s Point on September 3, Thursday.
According to Governor Alvarez, the remains of the five (5) NPA were afforded with respect and have been turned over to their families and representatives from different organizations on September 8, Tuesday at Heaven’s Gate Funeral Palace.
“After they identified the bodies, they were advised to follow the public health standard protocol to be quarantined for seven days at Rocksar Pension house designated as a quarantine facility before they can fly back the remains of their loved ones.
The provincial government will provide their needs during their quarantine period,” said Gov. Alvarez.
The Provincial Health Office, Provincial Disaster Risk, and Reduction Management Office, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, City Health Office, Rescue 165 and Peace and Order Program together with PTF-ELCAC’s PLEDS cluster joined hands to facilitate the necessary support for the release of the bodies.
“The government is here to help facilitate the bodies and turn-over them to their families, yet we condemned in the strongest possible terms the atrocities they brought to the peace-loving people of Palawan. We believed that the killing of
these 5 NPA leaders and members is a big blow to the terrorist organization and we reiterate our call for its remaining forces to surrender, or else suffer the same fate with their fallen comrades,” said Retired Marine Colonel Glenn Destriza, Director, Operation Center of PTF-ELCAC Palawan.
The five (5) members of the NPA killed during the encounters with the Marines were
identified as Bonifacio Magramo/Bonifacio Mapalad alias “Boiwan", the Secretary, SRMA-GU 4E of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee; Andrea “Ka Naya” Rosal, Secretary KLG-Palawan; Noel “Ka Celnon” Siasico/Ciasico, NPA’s Front Operational Command; Rona Jane “Pandan/Ka Amir” Manalo and a certain “Ka RG/Jay-ar”.
Meanwhile, SSgt. Cesar Barlas died protecting the people of Palawan against the CPP-NPA’s infiltration during the armed encounter and was given an honor by the provincial government for his gallantry in action.
#AFPyoucanTRUST
#WholeofNationApproach
#SupportELCAC
#TeamWESCOM
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan – The Provincial Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) Palawan headed by Governor Jose Ch. Alvarez, has facilitated the release of the remains of the five (5) members of the New People’s Army killed during an armed encounter with the troops of 3rd Marine Brigade in Brgy. Mainit, Brooke’s Point on September 3, Thursday.
According to Governor Alvarez, the remains of the five (5) NPA were afforded with respect and have been turned over to their families and representatives from different organizations on September 8, Tuesday at Heaven’s Gate Funeral Palace.
“After they identified the bodies, they were advised to follow the public health standard protocol to be quarantined for seven days at Rocksar Pension house designated as a quarantine facility before they can fly back the remains of their loved ones.
The provincial government will provide their needs during their quarantine period,” said Gov. Alvarez.
The Provincial Health Office, Provincial Disaster Risk, and Reduction Management Office, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office, City Health Office, Rescue 165 and Peace and Order Program together with PTF-ELCAC’s PLEDS cluster joined hands to facilitate the necessary support for the release of the bodies.
“The government is here to help facilitate the bodies and turn-over them to their families, yet we condemned in the strongest possible terms the atrocities they brought to the peace-loving people of Palawan. We believed that the killing of
these 5 NPA leaders and members is a big blow to the terrorist organization and we reiterate our call for its remaining forces to surrender, or else suffer the same fate with their fallen comrades,” said Retired Marine Colonel Glenn Destriza, Director, Operation Center of PTF-ELCAC Palawan.
The five (5) members of the NPA killed during the encounters with the Marines were
identified as Bonifacio Magramo/Bonifacio Mapalad alias “Boiwan", the Secretary, SRMA-GU 4E of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee; Andrea “Ka Naya” Rosal, Secretary KLG-Palawan; Noel “Ka Celnon” Siasico/Ciasico, NPA’s Front Operational Command; Rona Jane “Pandan/Ka Amir” Manalo and a certain “Ka RG/Jay-ar”.
Meanwhile, SSgt. Cesar Barlas died protecting the people of Palawan against the CPP-NPA’s infiltration during the armed encounter and was given an honor by the provincial government for his gallantry in action.
#AFPyoucanTRUST
#WholeofNationApproach
#SupportELCAC
#TeamWESCOM
https://www.facebook.com/ptfelcac/photos/pcb.328942798520253/328942655186934/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/ptfelcac/photos/pcb.328942798520253/328942681853598/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/wescom/
WESCOM: Progresibong Grupo Patungong Terorismo--Maitatanggi niyo pa ba?
Posted to the Western Command (WESCOM) Facebook Page (Sep 9, 2020): Progresibong Grupo Patungong Terorismo--Maitatanggi niyo pa ba?
https://www.facebook.com/ptfelcac/photos/a.112802430134292/328527181895148/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/wescom/
https://www.facebook.com/ptfelcac/photos/a.112802430134292/328527181895148/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/wescom/
NOLCOM: AFP Turns Over Engineering Projects to Cagayan Province
Posted to the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) Facebook Page (Sep 9, 2020): AFP Turns Over Engineering Projects to Cagayan Province
https://www.facebook.com/crgnolcom/photos/a.1813617812020579/3440006829381661/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/NOLCOM/
https://www.facebook.com/crgnolcom/photos/a.1813617812020579/3440006829381661/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/NOLCOM/
CENTCOM: Former Rebels in Bohol Receive Livelihood Kit
Posted to the Central Command (CENTCOM) Facebook Page (Sep 9, 2020): Former Rebels in Bohol Receive Livelihood Kit
SINCERITY AND DEDICATION TOWARDS GENUINE PEACE || Forty four former rebels received P10,000 each worth of "Negosyo Kits" from the provincial government of Bohol, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Armed Forces of the Philippines on Friday, September 4, 2020. The dispersal of livelihood assistance to former rebels is part of the DTI’s initiation of livelihood seeding program dubbed as “Pa... See More
— with Bohol, 302nd Infantry - Achiever Brigade, Katapatan Battalion - 47IB, Bohol, Cebu, Philippines and The Bohol Chronicle.
— with Bohol, 302nd Infantry - Achiever Brigade, Katapatan Battalion - 47IB, Bohol, Cebu, Philippines and The Bohol Chronicle.
https://www.facebook.com/3rdCivilRelationsGroup/photos/a.1134687523312627/3233348510113174/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/CentralCommandAFP/
WESTMINCOM: Five local terrorist group members were killed in their most recent encounter with the government forces
Posted to the Western Mindanao Command (WESTMINCOM) Facebook Page (Sep 9, 2020): Five local terrorist group members were killed in their most recent encounter with the government forces
While conducting security operations, troops of the 44th Infantry Battalion and the Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Police Office clashed with more or less 10 local terrorists in Sitio Limuno, Barangay Roxas, R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay Province in the early morning of September 9, 2020.
A fierce firefight ensued which lasted for an hour.
"We incurred two battle casualties who were immediately extricated from the area and are now in stable condition," said Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, 102nd Infantry Brigade Commander.
“We also rescued a wounded individual who is suspected to be a member of the LTG,” Brig. Gen. Nicolas added.
The intermittent firefight continued which lasted for five hours.
While conducting clearing operations, troops recovered the enemy cadavers; assorted IED components; three M16A1 and one M14 rifles (already reported earlier); one Carbine, 5.56mm R4A3; one upper receiver of M16; 10 magazines of M14; 150 rounds cartridge, Cal. 7.62mm Ball; five magazines of M16; five bandoleers; five backpacks; three solar panels; two motorcycles; and one tricycle.
"I commend the troops of the 44IB for your numerous accomplishments. Carry on your good work for the people of Zamboanga Peninsula," said Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, JTF ZamPeLan Commander.
As per initial investigation conducted by the military and the SOCO team, two of the five slain enemies were identified as Ustadz Bulangis and Ilim Aguilon.
“The recovered motorcycles and IED components could have been used to create havoc, but, our gallant soldiers already thwarted their bomb plots,” said Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, Jr., WestMinCom Commander.
"The armed forces stand firm to its commitment to serve and protect the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic," Maj. Gen. Vinluan added.
"We attribute our significant accomplishments to all our partners and stakeholders who actively support in our campaigns against terrorism and radicalism in the region," he concluded.
Pursuit operations are still ongoing.
#AFPyoucanTRUST
#TeamWestMinCom
#TeamAFP
#teamwmc
6th Infantry Division - Kampilan601 Infantry - Unifier Brigade602nd Liberator Troopers603 Persuader Brigade1st Mechanized Lakan BattalionUnang Marinong BrigadaTeam TabakJoint Task Force BasilanHaribon11th Infantry Division "Alakdan Troopers"2MBde Red ShieldGagandilan Siete1102 Infantry "ganarul" Brigade1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne DivisionOnebct Aegis PaKwatromarinobrigada Sulu Jtf Tawi Tawi IndomalphiJoint Task Force ZamboangaJoint Task Force ZamboangaJoint Task Force SuluUnbeatable Ranger Battalion29th Infantry DivisionTow Westmin CmoNaval Forces West PNCmou Western MindanaoKatapatan Pangkatihan-Dagatan33rd Infantry Makabayan Battalion57th Infantry Masikap Battalion1st Mechanized Lakan Battalion90th Infantry Bigkis Lahi BattalionSeventh Infantry Tapat BattalionReliablecmo R SectionRedskin Cmo37IB - Conqueror Battalion40 Infantry "Magiting" Battalion2nd Mechanized Infantry-MAKASAGBattalionSecondMechanized MakasagBattalionOnlyOurBest MbltFiveOnlyOurBest MbltFive38th Infantry We Clear BattalionAfman Alexander RosalesLa Independencia FilipinasDrei Eldrei HilomaBravo Company 44IB,1ID,PA
https://www.facebook.com/afpwestmincom/photos/pcb.1844694862339228/1844802905661757/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/afpwestmincom/photos/pcb.1844694862339228/1844802955661752/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/afpwestmincom/photos/pcb.1844694862339228/1844802902328424/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/afpwestmincom/
While conducting security operations, troops of the 44th Infantry Battalion and the Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Police Office clashed with more or less 10 local terrorists in Sitio Limuno, Barangay Roxas, R.T. Lim, Zamboanga Sibugay Province in the early morning of September 9, 2020.
A fierce firefight ensued which lasted for an hour.
"We incurred two battle casualties who were immediately extricated from the area and are now in stable condition," said Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, 102nd Infantry Brigade Commander.
“We also rescued a wounded individual who is suspected to be a member of the LTG,” Brig. Gen. Nicolas added.
The intermittent firefight continued which lasted for five hours.
While conducting clearing operations, troops recovered the enemy cadavers; assorted IED components; three M16A1 and one M14 rifles (already reported earlier); one Carbine, 5.56mm R4A3; one upper receiver of M16; 10 magazines of M14; 150 rounds cartridge, Cal. 7.62mm Ball; five magazines of M16; five bandoleers; five backpacks; three solar panels; two motorcycles; and one tricycle.
"I commend the troops of the 44IB for your numerous accomplishments. Carry on your good work for the people of Zamboanga Peninsula," said Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, JTF ZamPeLan Commander.
As per initial investigation conducted by the military and the SOCO team, two of the five slain enemies were identified as Ustadz Bulangis and Ilim Aguilon.
“The recovered motorcycles and IED components could have been used to create havoc, but, our gallant soldiers already thwarted their bomb plots,” said Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan, Jr., WestMinCom Commander.
"The armed forces stand firm to its commitment to serve and protect the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic," Maj. Gen. Vinluan added.
"We attribute our significant accomplishments to all our partners and stakeholders who actively support in our campaigns against terrorism and radicalism in the region," he concluded.
Pursuit operations are still ongoing.
#AFPyoucanTRUST
#TeamWestMinCom
#TeamAFP
#teamwmc
6th Infantry Division - Kampilan601 Infantry - Unifier Brigade602nd Liberator Troopers603 Persuader Brigade1st Mechanized Lakan BattalionUnang Marinong BrigadaTeam TabakJoint Task Force BasilanHaribon11th Infantry Division "Alakdan Troopers"2MBde Red ShieldGagandilan Siete1102 Infantry "ganarul" Brigade1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne DivisionOnebct Aegis PaKwatromarinobrigada Sulu Jtf Tawi Tawi IndomalphiJoint Task Force ZamboangaJoint Task Force ZamboangaJoint Task Force SuluUnbeatable Ranger Battalion29th Infantry DivisionTow Westmin CmoNaval Forces West PNCmou Western MindanaoKatapatan Pangkatihan-Dagatan33rd Infantry Makabayan Battalion57th Infantry Masikap Battalion1st Mechanized Lakan Battalion90th Infantry Bigkis Lahi BattalionSeventh Infantry Tapat BattalionReliablecmo R SectionRedskin Cmo37IB - Conqueror Battalion40 Infantry "Magiting" Battalion2nd Mechanized Infantry-MAKASAGBattalionSecondMechanized MakasagBattalionOnlyOurBest MbltFiveOnlyOurBest MbltFive38th Infantry We Clear BattalionAfman Alexander RosalesLa Independencia FilipinasDrei Eldrei HilomaBravo Company 44IB,1ID,PA
https://www.facebook.com/afpwestmincom/photos/pcb.1844694862339228/1844802905661757/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/afpwestmincom/photos/pcb.1844694862339228/1844802955661752/?type=3&theater
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