US pledges failed to stop Sino moves in WPS – Bayan

From Panay News (Feb 4, 2023): US pledges failed to stop Sino moves in WPS – Bayan

Photo courtesy of Gabriela Women’s Party

MANILA – Members of progressive organizations on Thursday protested against a military agreement between the Philippines and the United States that allows American troops to use Filipino military camps and called for its outright abolition.

The rally, attended by hundreds of protesters, outside Camp Aguinaldo, the national defense and Armed Forces headquarters, was timed for the visit of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, who held separate talks with President Marcos and acting Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.

The two defense departments on Thursday jointly announced that American troops would be granted access to four Philippine military camps in addition to the five that they already had been allowed to use.

Allowing US military access to now nine camps is part of the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) between Manila and Washington, which the protesters want to be abolished.

The agreement allows US troops to rotate through these bases, including those close to the West Philippine Sea, where Chinese forces have increased their incursions.

It also allows the US military to preposition defense equipment and supplies in these bases, including those supposed to be deployed for disaster and humanitarian assistance.

The Philippines and US security alliance was sealed by the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). After the Senate booted out the US military bases in 1991, the two countries agreed in 1998 to continue to allow US troops into the country for joint exercises under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

‘Foolish to believe’

Renato Reyes, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said that despite the MDT and the VFA, and Washington’s promise that the presence of US military forces in the country “helps our cause,” the United States did not stop China’s aggressive acts in the West Philippine Sea.

“The matter of asserting Philippine sovereignty and sovereign rights rests with the Filipinos, not any foreign power. It would be foolish to believe that the United States, with its own geopolitical interests, is here to help us in asserting our sovereignty,” Reyes said.

Ivan Sucgang, chair of the League of Filipino Students, warned that the youth would be the “foot soldiers of the military” if war were to break out between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea.

The women’s group Gabriela and the LGBTQ group Lakapati said that with access to an increasing number of bases across the country, more Filipino women and transgenders would be open to abuse and harassment by US troops deployed to the Philippines as had happened in the past.

De facto base

Under Edca, the United States could set up military facilities inside Philippine bases rent- and tax-free.

Reyes said that the United States can also have access to any part of the country, turning the Philippines into a de-facto base for US troops. (Abby Boiser, Krixia Subingsubing, Dempsey Reyes, AFP © Philippine Daily Inquirer)

https://www.panaynews.net/us-pledges-failed-to-stop-sino-moves-in-wps-bayan/

CTG ‘recruiter’ surrendered

From Panay News (Feb 4, 2023): CTG ‘recruiter’ surrendered (By Ime Sornito)

Photo courtesy of PCADG Western Visayas

ANTIQUE – A suspected recruiter of the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) voluntarily surrendered to the Patnongon Municipal Police Station (MPS).

Alias “Ka Neneng Ruth”, 62, a resident of Barangay Aphagan, Patnongon, was allegedly a former member of the Southern Front Command of Komiting Rehiyon Panay.

Ka Neneng Ruth turned over a homemade long-barreled 12-gauge shotgun with one magazine and two rounds of ammunition.

The surrenderee is processing the requirements to avail herself of the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

E-CLIP is the government’s livelihood program for rebels who have surrendered to help reintegrate them into the community./PN

https://www.panaynews.net/ctg-recruiter-surrendered/

New Army chief for NegOcc

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jan 28, 2023): New Army chief for NegOcc (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

Col. Orlando Edralin*

The Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade in Negros Occidental will have a new commander starting January 31 in the person of Col. Orlando Edralin, the outgoing deputy commander of the Army’s 301st Infantry Brigade stationed in Panay Island.

Edralin will replace Col. Michael Samson, who served as the acting 303rd Infantry Brigade commander for more than a month. He was also the 303IB deputy commander for more than three years.

The incoming 303rd Infantry Brigade commander has served with the elite Special Forces Regiment and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

On the other hand, Samson is a strong contender for the position of 301st Infantry Brigade commander, as reported earlier by Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, chief of the AFP Visayas Command and concurrent commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.

The leadership of 301st Infantry Brigade is currently vacant, following the assumption yesterday of Brig. Gen. Marion Sison as the new Assistant Division Commander of 3ID.

Sison, a former 301st Infantry Brigade commander, replaced Brig. Gen. Noel Baluyan upon the latter’s retirement from the military service.

Edralin, Samson, Sison and Brig. Gen. Leo Peña, 302nd Infantry Brigade commander, who is also up for a higher position, are all members of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991.

The 301st, 302nd and 303rd Infantry Brigades are all under the supervision of 3rd Infantry Division.

It has not been established on who will succeed Arevalo as 3ID commander.

Prior to his present position, Sison also served as Joint Intelligence Task Force Sulu Commander, Philippine Army Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel and Intelligence, G2, Philippine Army, 3ID’s Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics, and acting commandant of the 3ID Division Training School.

He also served as commander of the 79th Infantry Battalion in Negros, where the unit was adjudged as best 3ID battalion in 2011 and 2012.

Arevalo is expected to preside over the change of 303rd IB leadership on Jan. 31 at Camp Maj. Nelson Gerona in Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental.

https://visayandailystar.com/new-army-chief-for-negocc/

NPA owns another summary execution

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jan 30, 2023): NPA owns another summary execution (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

The New People’s Army Leonardo Panaligan Command yesterday issued a statement claiming responsibility for the killing of a civilian it alleged is a member the defunct Revolutionary Proletarian Army- Alex Boncayao Brigade in Negros Occidental, making him the fourth victim of the rebel’s summary execution activities this month.

In a statement, Ka JB Regalado, spokesman of the NPA Leonardo Panaligan Command, justified the killing of Ramel Europa, a member of the RPA-ABB from 1998 to 2015, whom he linked to numerous illegal activities.

Europa, 47, as reported by the police, was found dead on January 23, beside a creek in Sitio Sambag, Brgy. Manghanoy, La Castellana, with a gunshot wound.

The police recovered a fired cartridge of a .45 caliber pistol at the scene of incident.

But a former RPA-ABB member, who requested not to be identified, clarified that Europa is not a member of their organization.

Within a period of three weeks, the NPA Army has claimed to have summarily executed three civilians in Negros Island, including a barangay kagawad that they accused as a “military informant.”

The NPA Mt. Cansermon Command on Friday also issued a statement claiming responsibility for the death of Regie “Gang Gang” dela Cruz on Jan. 25 in Sitio Maiti, Brgy Buenavista, Himamaylan City, also in Negros Occidental.

In a statement, rebel spokesperson Ka Dionesio Magbuelas alleged that dela Cruz served as an active military and police informant, whom he linked to the arrest and killing a certain Ka Carding and Ka Clea on April 22 last year.

Magbuelas also reported the confiscation of two fragmentation grenades from dela Cruz. The NPA Leonardo Panaligan Command earlier claimed responsibility for the killing of two alleged military informants, including barangay kagawad Cerilo Balasabas, and Raffy Estorco on Jan. 14 and 19, in Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental, and Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, respectively.

https://visayandailystar.com/npa-owns-another-summary-execution/

Negrense officer given Army brigade command

From the Visayan Daily Star (Feb 1, 2023): Negrense officer given Army brigade command (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

Army Col. Michael Samson, outgoing 303rd Infantry Brigade commander, has been designated by Army Chief Lt. Gen. Felix Brawner Jr. as the acting commander of the 301st Infantry Brigade.

This was revealed yesterday by Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commanding general of the AFP Visayas Command and concurrent head of Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, after he installed Col. Orlando Edralin as the new commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade.

Arevalo said he personally requested the designation of Samson as acting commander of the 301st Infantry Brigade stationed in Panay, replacing Brig. Gen. Marion Sison, who was recently designated as assistant division commander of 3ID.

Arevalo however said that the designation of Samson as 301st Infantry Brigade commander in a permanent capacity will have to pass through with the Board of Generals and Department of National Defense, as well as Malacañang, for approval.

Edralin served as deputy commander of 301st Infantry Brigade for four years, while Samson had been the deputy commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade for more than three years.

Both are members of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1991, which also includes Sison and Brig. Gen. Leonardo Pena, the commander of the 302nd Infantry Brigade stationed in Negros Oriental.

Samson also served as acting commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade twice, prior to his transfer to Panay island.

Arevalo said the change of 301st Infantry Brigade leadership between Sison and Samson may take place within three to five days.

There are three infantry battalions 12th, 61st and 92nd under the supervision of 301st Infantry Brigade in Panay island.

Samson was conferred yesterday with 3ID command plaque, in recognition of the accomplishments of 303rd Infantry Brigade, in his short stint as the acting commander.

Under his leadership, three leaders of the NPA in northern Negros, who are facing numerous cases had been arrested, while two others died, in Army-initiated encounters that also led to the recovery of 10 high powered firearms.

As to the relinquishment of 3ID command to his successor, Arevalo said he asked to the AFP to hold it in abeyance, until the turnover of 301st Infantry Brigade command.

But Arevalo said he is ready to relinquish the 3ID command within the middle of February, so that he can concentrate his new position as AFP Visayas Command chief.

https://visayandailystar.com/negrense-officer-given-army-brigade-command/

Army’s 303IB ordered to address NPA killing spree

From the Visayan Daily Star (Feb 1, 2023): Army’s 303IB ordered to address NPA killing spree (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

Col. Orlando Edralin (left) assumes command of 303rd Infantry Brigade after his installation by Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, in a ceremony held on Jan. 31 at Camp Major Nelson Gerona in Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental.* GPB photo

Army infantry units have been ordered to address the New People’s Army killing spree in Negros island, where five civilians, including a barangay kagawad, accused by communist rebels of being military informants, were killed in the first month of 2023.

Newly promoted Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, chief of the AFP Visayas Command (VISCOM) and concurrent commander of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, yesterday said he ordered commanders of infantry battalions and brigades in Negros to act on the spate of killings, which the NPA has claimed responsibility.

“I want to see results of their operations in the coming days,” Arevalo said, adding that “we have no reason not to solve this.”

In separate statements, the New People’s Army claimed responsibility for the death of five civilians they accused as military informants, last month in Negros Island.

Arevalo, who yesterday installed Col. Orlando Edralin as the new commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade at Camp Major Nelson Gerona in Murcia, Negros Occidental, said the NPA wants to project of their strength despite the debacles they suffered in the past several months because of intensified focused military operations, by terrorizing and killing innocent civilians, to prevent them from cooperating with authorities.

With regards to rebels labeling their victims of summary executions as military informants, Arevalo dismissed it as part of their propaganda effort, even from before.

Appropriate charges will be filed against those responsible for the killing of civilians, he added.

Edralin, on his part, said he will prioritize and focus in the conduct of a “more intelligence driven civil military and focus military operations, in order to ensure the neutralization of the remaining rebels in our area of operation,” which is Negros Occidental.

As the saying goes, “it will be long and hard, blood will surely flow, but for sure, there will be no withdrawal”, he stressed.

We will be more relentless in pursuing the remaining armed fighters and supporters of the terrorist armed groups of the CPP NPA NDF, in our area of operation, until all the remaining weakened guerilla fronts are dismantled, Edralin said.

While doing this, we will continue with our collaboration and coordination with the different national and local government agencies, together with our key stakeholders to support our local government units in the conduct of their local peace engagements, he added.

Edralin further said that they will also continue to capitalize and implement the framework of the NTF ELCAC (National Task Force on Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict), or the whole government, or nation approach, in order to sustain the gains and continue with the delivery of much needed socio economic programs and interventions in the different cleared and isolated barangays.

https://visayandailystar.com/armys-303ib-ordered-to-address-npa-killing-spree/

No let-up in focused military operations vs. NPA

From the Visayan Daily Star (Feb 2, 2023): No let-up in focused military operations vs. NPA (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

As the New People’s Army in the Visayas region, including Negros Island, continues to weaken, Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the AFP Visayas Command, has vowed no let-up in focused military operations, coupled with the implementation of community support programs, to prevent the NPA from ever gaining footing in any areas of the region.

Of the nine NPA guerilla fronts in Visayas, four were already dismantled, including two in Negros, namely the Northern Negros and South East Fronts, Eastern Front of Komiteng Rehiyonal Panay and the Bohol guerilla front, Arevalo said.

He also described the three remaining guerilla fronts in Negros Island as “weakened.”

However, Arevalo, who supervises the two Army infantry divisions, Philippine Air Force and Nay assets in Visayas, said that they are now focusing their efforts in Samar, where the communist terrorist group appears to be stronger.

For the month of January this year, VISCOM records show that a total of 18 NPA rebels have been neutralized, with two killed in encounters, three others arrested, 14 surrendered, and 93 former rebel supporters also withdrawing their allegiance to the CPP NPA.

Over the same period, 35 assorted guns were recovered, the report added.

Despite the weakening of three guerilla fronts in Negros Island, Arevalo, who installed on Col. Orlando Edralin as the new commander of 303rd Infantry Brigade in Negros Occidental, said “we should not be complacent.”

While we call them as “weakened,” apparently referring to the remaining NPA guerilla fronts, Arevalo said it does not mean that they cannot commit violence against our troops and the people.

We should step up our operations against them, and see to it that they will be weakened some more, and preventing them from conducting more atrocities, he added.

Arevalo also reported that “the active partnership and collaboration of the different stakeholders under the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict” also gained ground with several community development projects completed and hundreds more being implemented, paving the way for the people in the former NPA-infested barangays to actively support and pledge their allegiance to the government.

Military records further showed that 127 community development projects under the Barangay Development Program (BDP) of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF ELCAC) were completed last year, of which 71 are infrastructure projects, while 56 are non-infrastructure projects.

This is on top of 244 community development projects under the BDP that are currently being implemented.

https://visayandailystar.com/no-let-up-in-focused-military-operations-vs-npa/

DSB: From ‘hotbed of insurgency’ to top tourist destination

From the Visayan Daily Star (Feb 2, 2023): DSB: From ‘hotbed of insurgency’ to top tourist destination (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

Mayor Marxlen dela Cruz (3rd from right) and his brother, Vice Mayor Nehemias Jr. (3rd from left), led the unveiling of Don Salvador Benedicto logo during its 40th founding anniversary on Feb. 1, in the presence of the town’s councilors.*GPB photo

Once a hotbed of insurgency 40 years ago, the municipality of Don Salvador Benedicto is now the top tourist destination of Negros Occidental, Mayor Marxlen dela Cruz disclosed yesterday.

Dela Cruz, who led yesterday celebrations marking the 40th founding anniversary of Don Salvador Benedicto, disclosed that the municipality is now a favorite destination, especially during weekends, where many resorts and coffee shops have been established in the past several years.

Unlike before, where the road was dangerous for travelers, it is now concreted, and the peace and order situation has been normalized, over the past decades.

During the 1980s, Don Salvador Benedicto used to be the site of many gun battles between government forces and the New People’s Army.

Husband and wife, Nehemias and Cynthia dela Cruz, used to be activists during the Martial Law days, and later on served as mayor of Don Salvador Benedicto, which has been regarded as the summer capital of Negros Occidental because of its cool weather and scenic spots.

In marking the 40th founding anniversary, Marxlen, the son of Nehemias and Cynthia, said “it is very emotional for us, since many Salvadorians has sacrificed a lot, even their lives, to make the town peaceful, and what it is today.”

On February 3, Mayor dela Cruz said they will honor and to pay tribute to members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Police, as well as those in national and local government agencies, who are now mostly retired.

We should be grateful to them, for making Don Salvador Benedicto what it is today, he stressed.

The town is also marking its 30th Kali-Kalihan Harvest Festival, which opened yesterday with the Agri Trade Fair and Pista sa Banwa Food Fair, and Diwata sang Kali pre-pageant night.

https://visayandailystar.com/dsb-from-hotbed-of-insurgency-to-top-tourist-destination/

NPA killing spree unabated

From the Visayan Daily Star (Feb 2, 2023): NPA killing spree unabated (By GILBERT P. BAYORAN)

The killing spree of the New People’s Army continues, as it again claimed responsibility for the killing of another civilian they tagged as a military informant on January 30 in Sitio Subo, Brgy. Macagahay, Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental.

In a statement, Ka JB Regalado, spokesman of the NPA Leonardo Panaligan Command, said that Divine Anubong was meted with the death penalty, for his counter revolutionary activities.

Anubong is the sixth victim of rebel atrocities in Negros Island, since the start of the year.

Initial investigations of the Moises Padilla Police Station said that barangay tanod Christopher Ruales invited the victim to a dialogue with one of the six unidentified suspects.

Expecting that it was a business transaction, Anubong and one of the suspects went to a banana grove, about 50 meters from his residence.

Michael Anubong told the Moises Padilla police that his brother was shot several times by the suspects, who later fled towards the hinterland areas of the barangay.

The victim, who succumbed to multiple gunshot wounds, died on the spot, according to the police.

Regalado alleged that Divine reported frequently to an Army detachment in Brgy. Montilla, Moises Padilla, being a military intelligence asset.

Prior to the imposition of death penalty, he added that Divine had been warned several times, from 2010 until 2021, regarding his counter revolutionary activities, which he continuously ignored.

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, commander of the AFP Visayas Command, ordered the Philippine Army, to address the spate of killings claimed by the NPA in Negros Island.

https://visayandailystar.com/npa-killing-spree-unabated/

AFP, PNP, MILF take part in ‘kambollayoka’ basketball friendship games

From MindaNews (Jan 30, 2023): AFP, PNP, MILF take part in ‘kambollayoka’ basketball friendship games (By MARIVIC OMANDAM DAVIS)

Teams participating in the Kambollayoka Basketball Friendship Games during the ceremonial opening game at Kampo Ranao’s basketball court on Sunday, 29 January 2023. MindaNews photo by MARIVIC DAVIS OMANDAM

From the battlefield to the basketball court.

At least 180 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are participating in the “Kambollayoka Basketball Friendship Games” as part of sustaining the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process and healing the wounds of war.

Top AFP and MILF leaders, who are also Members of Parliament (MP), graced the opening of the basketball league here on Sunday, January 29.

MP Basit “Jannati Mimbantas” Abas said the friendly basketball games aim to “solidify the brotherhood” between members of the MILF and the state security forces.

“Today, after all the efforts made over the years to sustain the gains of peace in Lanao del Norte, we are beginning to realize our dream of having a wave of lasting peace in our province and for the island of Mindanao,” said Abas, also the commander of the MILF Northeastern Mindanao Front.

He was thankful that the dialogues and the mechanisms in the Bangsamoro peace process have worked so far in creating a “climate of peace” in the area.

Decades ago, state security forces and MILF fighters were embroiled in a deadly armed conflict.

Former President Joseph Estrada even declared an all-out war against the MILF on March 21, 2001 that led to the capture of the front’s sprawling Camp Abubakar in the then undivided Maguindanao province.

The armed conflict stunted the growth of Maguindanao and the neighboring provinces of Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte.

However, the government and the MILF signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in 2014, after 17 years of peace negotiations.

The CAB paved the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in January 2019. It replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

MP Abdullah Macapaar, popularly known as Commander Bravo of the MILF’s Northwestern Mindanao Front, said the basketball league showcases the camaraderie being enjoyed now by the former enemies following the signing of the Bangsamoro peace agreement.

“This is a good platform for the whole community to see that the AFP, the PNP and the MILF are united as one for peace and prosperity of Mindanao,” he said.

Aliyah Baniaga Adam, country coordinator for the Strategic Communication on Capacity Building (SCCB) project, said that a few months ago, a concern about the “rocky relationship” between the security sector and MILF members in the area was brought up.

This led to the staging of the friendly basketball games, she added.

Brigadier General Yegor Barroquillo, Jr., newly installed 103rd Infantry “Haribon” Brigade commander, said the basketball games hope to sustain the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process.

“The main objective of this activity is to further enhance our partnership with the MILF. With that, we can avoid the necessary problems and complications in the near future,“ he said.

Barroquillo noted that the MILF has been helping the military in the fight against the Islamic State-aligned Dawlah Islamiya operating in the area.

In turn, the military agreed to help the MILF in settling rido or family feud in their area of responsibility, he added.

The 103rd Infantry Battalion, PNP, MILF, SCCB and the United States Institute of Peace collaborated to hold the basketball league, which will be held in the different parts of Lanao.

https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2023/01/afp-pnp-milf-take-part-in-kambollayoka-basketball-friendship-games/

Fighting erupts in Zambo town

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner (Feb 1, 2023): Fighting erupts in Zambo town

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE – Security forces clashed with gunmen in the remote southern Philippine town of Sirawai in Zamboanga del Norte and officials said soldiers and elite police units were pursuing the group.

Maj. Shellamie Chang, a regional police spokeswoman, said the fighting, which erupted on Monday, January 30, in the village of Doña Cecilia, lasted an hour.

She said members of the 42nd Infantry Battalion and police commandos from the 905th Mobile Company and Regional Mobile Force Battalion engaged the gunmen in fierce clashes.

Chang said the fighting broke out after security forces mounted an operation against the members of the dreaded Lumarang criminal gang. “The operation resulted in an armed encounter between government troops and armed men believed to be members of Lumarang Criminal Group. The firefight lasted for about one hour with no casualty on the government side,” she said.

She said security forces have been deployed around the village to prevent the gunmen from escaping. “Personnel Sirawai municipal police station and augmented personnel from 2nd Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Mobile Force Company conducted a checkpoint at Doña Cecilia to serve as blocking force,” Chang said, adding police also dispatched intelligence agents to help track down the gang members.

Chang did not say how many gunmen were involved in the clashes or whether they were involved in the January 26 ambush of seven people in the same village. The ambush killed the village chieftain of Balubuan Allie Manangca and his family members - Ani Manangca; Alfahad Manangca, Anisa Jaji Manangca and Shilben Basa. Two others - Alwaf Manangca and Norman Tulino – were wounded in the attack.

The attack occurred ahead of the October 30 Barangay and Sanguniang Kabataan elections. The victims were travelling in a pickup truck when gunmen, hiding behind the bushes on both sides of the dirt road, sprayed them with automatic weapons. (Mindanao Examiner)

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2023/02/fighting-erupts-in-zambo-town.html

Austin in Philippines to discuss larger US military presence

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner (Feb 1, 2023): Austin in Philippines to discuss larger US military presence

MANILA - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the Philippines on Wednesday for talks about deploying U.S. forces and weapons in more Philippine military camps to ramp up deterrence against China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea.

Austin flew from South Korea, where he said the U.S. would increase its deployment of advanced weapons such as fighter jets and bombers to the Korean Peninsula to bolster joint training with South Korean forces in response to North Korea’s growing nuclear threat.

In the Philippines, Washington's oldest treaty ally in Asia and a key front in the U.S. battle against terrorism, Austin visited southern Zamboanga city and met Filipino generals and a small contingent of U.S. counterterrorism forces based in a local military camp, regional Philippine military commander Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said.

The more than 100 U.S. military personnel have provided intelligence and combat advice for years to Filipino troops battling a decades-long Muslim insurgency, which has considerably eased but remains a key threat.

More recently, U.S. forces have intensified and broadened joint training focusing on combat readiness and disaster response with Filipino troops in the Southeast Asian nation’s western coast, which faces the South China Sea, and in its northern Luzon region across the sea from the Taiwan Strait.

American forces have been granted access to five Philippine military camps, where they could rotate indefinitely under a 2014 defense pact called the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

In October, the U.S. sought access for a larger number of its forces and weapons in an additional five military camps, mostly in the north. That request would be high on the agenda in Austin’s meetings, according to Philippine officials.

“The visit of Secretary Austin definitely, obviously will have to do with many of the ongoing discussions on the EDCA sites,” Philippine Ambassador to Washington Jose Romualdez said at a news briefing. Austin was scheduled to hold talks Thursday with his Philippine counterpart, Carlito Galvez Jr., and National Security Adviser Eduardo Ano, Romualdez said.

Austin will separately call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June and has since taken steps to boost relations with Washington.

The U.S. defense chief is the latest senior official to visit the Philippines after Vice President Kamala Harris in November in a sign of warming ties after a strained period under Marcos’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

Duterte had nurtured cozy ties with China and Russia and at one point threatened to sever ties with Washington, kick visiting American forces out and abrogate a major defense pact.

Romualdez said the Philippines needed to cooperate with Washington to deter any escalation of tensions between China and self-ruled Taiwan — not only because of the treaty alliance but to help prevent a major conflict.“We’re in a Catch-22 situation.

If China makes a move on Taiwan militarily, we’ll be affected — and all ASEAN region, but mostly us, Japan and South Korea,” Romualdez told The Associated Press, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the 10-nation regional bloc that includes the Philippines.

The Philippines and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, along with Taiwan, have been locked in increasingly tense territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

The U.S. has been regarded as a crucial counterweight to China in the region and has pledged to come to the defense of the Philippines if Filipino forces, ships or aircraft come under attack in the contested waters.

The Philippines used to host two of the largest U.S. Navy and Air Force bases outside the American mainland. The bases were shut down in the early 1990s after the Philippine Senate rejected an extension, but American forces returned for large-scale combat exercises with Filipino troops under a 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement.

The Philippine Constitution prohibits the permanent basing of foreign troops and their involvement in local combat. (Jim Gomez, AP)

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2023/02/austin-in-philippines-to-discuss-larger.html

U.S. Peace Corps volunteers return to the Philippines

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner (Feb 1, 2023): U.S. Peace Corps volunteers return to the Philippines

MANILA - Dozens of American volunteers have arrived in the Philippines to resume the U.S. Peace Corps’ work in the sectors of education, youth development, and coastal resource management for the benefit of communities across Luzon and Visayas, according to the American embassy.

It said the 37 volunteers are the 279th U.S. Peace Corps batch to serve in the Philippines since 1961 and at the invitation of the Philippine government, the volunteers will fulfill a range of roles requested by host communities for the coming 27 months.

The first batch of U.S. Peace Corps volunteers since the pandemic arrive in the Philippines to undertake development work with local communities on education, youth, and the environment.

These roles include co-teaching English in public elementary and secondary schools, serving as youth development facilitators in Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-accredited organizations and residential shelters, and supporting local governments in establishing marine protected areas and implementing coastal resource management plans.

Starting in April, the American volunteers will be deployed to their permanent sites in the provinces of Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Zambales, La Union, Laguna, Benguet, Ilocos Sur, Camarines Sur, Bohol, Cebu, Capiz, and Negros Oriental. They will undertake two months of language, technical, and cultural training prior to deployment.

Additional volunteers will arrive in the Philippines in May, August, and September as the U.S. Peace Corps ramps back up its operations this year.

“We are thrilled to welcome the first group of American Peace Corps volunteers to the Philippines since the start of the pandemic. We are ready to meet this historic moment with our community partners and staff,” U.S. Peace Corps Country Director Jenner Edelman said.

The U.S. Peace Corps suspended its global operations and repatriated American volunteers from more than 60 countries, including from the Philippines, in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite the absence of American volunteers, U.S. Peace Corps staff in the Philippines continued to work closely with the Philippine government and other local partners to vaccinate over 27,000 Filipinos against COVID-19, support nationwide distance learning, prepare schools for safe resumption of face-to-face classes, introduce alternative income-generating activities to communities recovering from the pandemic, and strengthen community-level volunteerism.

For decades, the U.S. Peace Corps has engaged in critical global health work, and the COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. American Peace Corps volunteers will continue to work alongside community members to make progress on the biggest development challenge the world has faced in more than a century.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2023/02/us-peace-corps-volunteers-return-to.html

Austin visits restive Philippine region

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner (Feb 2, 2023): Austin visits restive Philippine region

ZAMBOANGA CITY – United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III flew to the southern Philippines, a hotbed of Muslim and communist insurgencies, where a small number of American counterterrorism soldiers are deployed.

Photo released by the Western Mindanao Command shows U.S. Defense Chief Lloyd Austin meeting with senior Philippine security officials in Zamboanga City on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. (Mindanao Examiner)

Austin, accompanied by U.S. Embassy and American military officials, met with senior Filipino security commanders led by the Chief of Staff of the Philippine armed forces Gen. Andres Centino and Lt. Gen. Roy Galido, chief of the Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

No reporters were allowed to cover Wednesday’s visit, February 1, but a statement released by the Western Mindanao Command said Austin had a conference with Filipino officials which focused on strengthening mutual cooperation and establishing a good relationship between the Philippine military and the newly deployed members of the United States of America’s Special Operations Task Force 511.2 (SOTF 511.2).

It said Austin also reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to support its allies in their campaigns against terrorism and in sustaining peace in their respective areas of responsibility.

Filipino forces continue to battle several Muslim extremist groups allied with the Islamic State and the communist rebellion in many parts of the region of Mindanao.

American soldiers had in the past assisted Philippine troops in the battalion level and provided intelligence and counterterrorism training to Filipino infantrymen, especially in the restive provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, including in Maguindanao, a stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and Dawlah Islamiya and other IS groups harboring foreign terrorists.

Before flying back to Manila, Austin also inspected the headquarters of SOTF 511.2 located inside Western Mindanao Command and met with American soldiers.

Galido said he welcomed the visit of Austin and vowed close cooperation with the U.S. in an effort to defeat terrorism and insurgency in the South. “Team WestMinCom is grateful and fortunate enough to be visited by the US Secretary of Defense. This shows how strong is our working relationship and how committed our most powerful ally is to help us in addressing our security issues here in the southern part of the Philippines.”

“As the commander of the most diverse unified command of the Armed forces of the Philippines, I am deeply elated by their gestures of support in our campaign against terrorism and insurgency in our area of operation,” he said.

Austin visited the Philippines to ensure U.S. access to four more locations under an Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement dating to 2014, allowing the Pentagon to deploy or rotate American troops to a total of nine bases throughout the country.

He also had a meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, promising to help the Philippines modernize its defense capabilities as well as increase the interoperability of American and Filipino military forces.

“From defense perspective, we will continue to work together with our great partners and to build and modernize your capabilities as well as increase our interoperability,” Austin said.

Marcos said he sees the future of the Philippines and the Asia-Pacific tied up with the United States because of the Philippines’ and the region’s strong and historic partnership with the US.

“And again, I have always said that it seems to me that the future of the Philippines and, for that matter, the Asia Pacific will always have to involve the United States simply because those partnerships are so strong and so historically embedded in our common psyches that can only be an advantage to both our countries,” Marcos said.

“So thank you once again for coming to visit with us and to give us the opportunity to discuss with you and through you, the American government, our own outlook on this situation as it stands at the present,” he added.

Marcos thanked Austin for visiting the Philippines amid a very complicated situation in the region to exchange some ideas, thoughts and information with him on the current situation in the Asia-Pacific.

The Philippines, Marcos said, can only navigate properly in this environment with the help of its partners and allies in the international sphere. “As we traverse these rather troubled waters — geopolitical waters, the economic waters — that we are facing, I again put great importance on those partnerships, specifically with the United States… all partnerships and alliances that we are able to make with our friends around the world,” Marcos said.

Both countries also announced plans to accelerate the full implementation of the EDCA and the substantial completion of the projects in the existing agreed locations.

The EDCA is a key pillar of the U.S.-Philippine Alliance, which supports combined training, exercises, and interoperability between our forces. Expansion of the EDCA will make the alliance stronger and more resilient, and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities.

The U.S. said it has allocated over $82 million toward infrastructure investments at the existing five sites under the EDCA, and is proud that these investments are supporting economic growth and job creation in local communities.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2023/02/austin-visits-restive-philippine-region.html

CPP/NDF-Ilocos: Resist the Balikatan Exercises 2023 in Ilocos Norte! Fight for the security and sovereignty of the Philippines against the US imperialist hegemony!

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Philippine Revolution Web Central (PRWC) Website (Feb 3, 2023): Resist the Balikatan Exercises 2023 in Ilocos Norte! Fight for the security and sovereignty of the Philippines against the US imperialist hegemony!

 

This article is available in PilipinoIloco

Rosa Guidon

Spokesperson

NDF-Ilocos

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

February 03, 2023

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines-Ilocos vehemently resists and condemns the US imperialist and the Marcos regime’s plan of conducting the 38th Philippines-United States Balikatan Exercises in the province of Ilocos Norte on April 24-27, 2023. This would be the second joint exercises to be held in Ilocos Norte after the first joint exercises that took place in Currimao and Laoag City last June 2022 . These military exercises pose danger to the people residing in the said area and would trample on the sovereignty of the Philippines.

Col. Michael Logico who would lead the 38th Balikatan Exercises revealed that barangay Bayog, of the municipality of Burgos had been pre-identified as the operational area of the exercises on April 24-27. The shoreline of Bayog will serve as the coastal air defense site of the exercises, where live fire exercises will be carried out to test the new war materiel of the United States.

President Marcos, Governor Matthew Marcos Manotoc and the Provincial Board of Ilocos Norte allowed the planned exercises, but did not consult and seek the permission of the residents of the area where the military exercises would be held. This is inspite of the trainors’ warnings of the dangers of the said exercises including the possibility of destruction of the coral reefs’ in the coastal area.

The NDF-Ilocos primarily condemns the imperialist US and the connivance of President Marcos, the AFP and the Department of National Defense for the said military exercises to be conducted in the province. We denounce them for pre-identifying Bayog as their operational area and coastal air defense site and venue for live fire exercises which pose risks to the village people of Bayog and other communities in Ilocos Norte that the exercises will cover.

In the past 37 years, the US-RP Balikatan Exercises are conducted by the US Armed Forces to train the Armed Forces of the Philippines to strengthen the US imperialist’s defense against its rival imperialist powers. The US-RP Balikatan Exercises is contained in the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Mutual Defense Treaty of the Philippines and the United States. This year’s Balikatan Exercises that would be held in Ilocos Norte, as well as in Fuga, Calayan and Batanes is among the biggest trainings that the US will run in the Philippines that would involve 16,000 forces of the AFP and the US Armed Forces.

Likewise, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III is currently going around Asian nations to execute their plan of setting up EDCA sites in the region. EDCA sites are locations designated by the US to where its military bases and facilities would be put up. In this regard, the NDF-Ilocos unites with the Filipino people in condemning the visitation of Austin in the Philippines and the conspiracy of DND Secretary Carlito Galvez for the completion of the five EDCA sites being set up here in the Philippines and adding four more sites. Apparently, these EDCA sites serve as bases for the US imperialist war of aggression, not for the defense and security of the Philippines, but rather a magnet for attacks of its enemies such as Russia and China.

Gen. James Bierman, the commanding general of the US Armed Forces’ Third Marine Expeditionary Force and Marine Forces Japan, tactlessly revealed that the US has long been preparing the stage for its war against China in the Asia-Pacific. Bierman arrogantly exposed that he is preparing the war theater in the Philippines and Japan, just as he prepared Ukraine to attack Russia. Before they blew up the war in Ukraine, the US trained the soldiers and Ukrainian people. That is why the continuing war in Ukraine is the US’ war and its imperialist allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization against Russia to seize the wealth and resources of Ukraine and dominate Eastern Europe’s economy.

The military exercises currently carried out by the US are part of Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific Military Strategy to encircle and attack China that is also pushing its superiority in Asia by building up its military facilities in the West Philippine Sea to corner the territory and its marine resources. The US in return tries hard to wrench China’s military superiority in its similar motive to take hold of the natural wealth in the disputed territory, which is supposedly for the Filipinos.

Contrary to Col. Logico’s duplicity that the impending military training is not a provocation, the live fire exercises that would be carried out in Burgos, Ilocos Norte on April is undeniably another provocation of US against China that asserts the One China Policy or Taiwan’s sovereignty against US’ domination.

The imperialist US empowers its military might to fortify its economic hegemony in Asia-Pacific. This is why US Pres. Joseph Biden gathered the 14 countries for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity last December 2022 to prevent imperialist China’s domination on the investments, trade and control of the resources of the said region.

For what reason does the Philippines allies itself with US for mutual defense against China, when the Marcos regime also claims to be a friend of China? In forging alliance with the US for mutual defense, the Marcos regime in effect is stabbing China’s back. Thus, the Philippines also becomes an inevitable target of China’s attack. Clearly, the Philippines is being crushed in the middle of two colliding rocks – both imperialists US and China. And what is clearer is that, it is not true that the US considers the Philippines as its intimate friend, but a pawn in its war to maintain its hegemony in the world.

The live fire exercises that would take place in Bayog, Burgos, Ilocos Norte on April is too dangerous for the fisherfolk and peasant communities there. They will be exposed to the risk of being hit in the live firing during the exercises. In designating Bayog as a coastal air defense and operational area in the said Balikatan Exercises, it is clear enough that the US is preparing the village as a stage area in its imperialist war against China, and that it is not far-fetched that a war would ensue here in the Philippines, just as the war happening in Ukraine now, and Ilocos Norte would be a war front.

The Ilokano people had been condemning China’s callousness in defying the Philippines’ sovereignty in taking over the West Philippine Sea to grab its natural resources. At the same manner, we should not allow Ilocos to be used as a stage area of US’ war against China. We should not allow the imperialist US to drag our country into catastrophe in its war and transgress our sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The NDF-Ilocos enjoins the Ilokano people to fight for our security against the Balikatan Exercises 2023 to be held in Ilocos Norte. We should unite with the Filipino people in resisting US imperialist war of aggression and provocation in its vile interest of monopolizing the world economy. We should struggle with the Filipino people in pursuit of our sovereignty, independence and genuine peace.#

https://philippinerevolution.nu/statements/resist-the-balikatan-exercises-2023-in-ilocos-norte-fight-for-the-security-and-sovereignty-of-the-philippines-against-the-us-imperialist-hegemony/