Davao del Sur governor wants to revive Alsa Masa

From the Business Mirror (Mar 14): Davao del Sur governor wants to revive Alsa Masa

The governor of Davao del Sur urged residents to organize anew the anti-communist vigilante group Alsa Masa in the aftermath of two guerrilla attacks on two remote towns last week.

While the Army here endorsed the move, a ranking police official cautioned against forming an armed vigilante group to avoid creating more security problems.

 

Davao del Sur Gov. Claude Bautista publicly endorsed on Tuesday the organization of Alsa Masa in the province to counter another outbreak of guerrilla attacks. He made the endorsement in a meeting with the mayors.

 

He called a meeting after the New People’s Army guerrillas raided the police station in Matanao town, killing two policemen and wounding three others. Seven soldiers were killed in the pursuit operations after the truck they were riding was blasted by a land mine that the rebels planted.

 

The NPA suffered two dead and the Army claimed it captured nine others.

 

The NPA raid came only three days after it ambushed an Army patrol in a remote village in Bansalan, also in the province. An Army attempt to retrieve its 11 wounded soldiers in the evening was met by a land mine explosion that damaged three ambulances.

 

Maj. Gen. Ariel Bernardo, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, said he supported the governor’s plan to form the Alsa Masa.

 

He said this was the appropriate move of the province to thwart any other guerrilla moves in the area. He said he did not see any wrong in it.

 

However, Chief  Supt. Wency Pascual, regional police commander, that while he was amenable to the plan, he cautioned any action to arm any vigilante, warning that an armed vigilante group could cause more trouble.

 

Pascual said he would support an unarmed Alsa Masa.

 

The Alsa Masa was formed in Davao City in the middle of the 1980s to counter the growing presence of NPA urban guerrillas, locally known as the Sparrow Unit.

 

At the height of Sparrow Unit operations in Davao City, at least two policemen, many of them just directing vehicular traffic or helping children cross the street, were gunned down by the communsit rebels daily.

 

Davao del Sur formed its counterpart armed vigilante group called Nakasaka.

 

In forming the Alsa Masa, the government military also tested the effectiveness of an armed vigilante group as a frontline unit to counter the NPA partisan actions. Local and international human-rights organizations documented several cases of civil-rights abuses, including forced disappearances, arbitrary killings and beheadings, prompting the government to disband both vigilante groups years later, when the Sparrow Unit problem had subsided.

 

http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php/en/news/regions/28958-davao-del-sur-governor-wants-to-revive-alsa-masa

Coast Guard deploys 20 new speedboats in southeastern Mindanao

From the Philippine Information Agency (Mar 13): Coast Guard deploys 20 new speedboats in southeastern Mindanao

The Philippine Coast Guard South-eastern Mindanao District formally presented 20 speedboats to be used in its search and rescue, law-enforcement and oil-spill control functions.

Commodore George Ursabia, Jr., commander of the Philippine Coast Guard in the South-eastern Mindanao District  said the six-meter- aluminum speed boats were initially acquired from the Department of Transportation and Communication for deployment.

He said seven of the speed boats will be assigned in Davao Region, three in Davao Oriental, two in Balut, Island, Davao del Sur, three in Surigao del Sur while the rest will be deployed in Sarangani Province and General Santos City.

Ursabia said the new floating assets are part of the PCG’s effort to improve its response capability.

“More equipment will be coming to upgrade the capability of the Philippine Coast Guard,” he said.

Ursabia assured that the new equipment is durable and not prone to corrosion.

The speedboats are powered by four-stroke-40-horse-power-outboard-motor-engine and are designed to be deployed only at sea.

He said every boat is manned by three personnel and can carry up to nine to 10 drowning victims during search and rescue operation.

Ursabia admitted that the boats cannot be used in running after smugglers and terrorist group like the Abu Sayyaf since their boats use high-powered engines.

He assured that the government is acquiring more sea crafts for the sole purpose of running after and interdiction of smugglers and terror groups.

Retired Brig. General Loreto Rirao, director of the Office of Civil Defense 11 welcomed the new equipment calling it a new boost to the upgrading the capability of responders on water-based disasters.

He said the new equipment is very relevant given that many communities in the Davao Region are along the sea.

“We congratulate the Coast Guard for acquiring the new speed boats,” Rirao said.

http://news.pia.gov.ph/index.php?article=2381394693109

Raps filed vs cosmetic dealer’s abductors

From the Sun Star-Zamboanga (Mar 14): Raps filed vs cosmetic dealer’s abductors

CRIMINAL charges were filed against men who recently abducted a dealer of cosmetic products in an east coast village in Zamboanga City, a top police official said.

Zamboanga City police officer-in-charge Angelito Casimiro said that kidnapping with serious illegal detention charges were filed last Monday against the suspects identified as Abdulhassan Yusop alias Bullet, and Alias Ray Santos.

The identities of the other five men remained unknown, said Casimiro.

The men were tagged as the ones who kidnapped Sabrina Ikabala Voon in the evening of February 19 in Calle Pohoc, Barangay Mercedes, 12.75 kilometers east of Zamboanga City.

Yusop was identified through the credentials he left at the office of a rent-a-car, as the getaway vehicle they used was a rented van with registered plate number GPH-851.

Casimiro said that tactical operations continue in a bid to establish the whereabouts of the hostage. He did not elaborate.

The men have ties with the Abu Sayyaf Group, which is operating in Zamboanga City and Basilan province, Casimiro added.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2014/03/14/raps-filed-vs-cosmetic-dealer-s-abductors-333127

MILF: GPH-MILF will sign peace pact after 17 years negotiation

Posted to the MILF Website (Mar 14): GPH-MILF will sign peace pact after 17 years negotiation

The Philippine Government (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will celebrate two significant events in the history of the Bangsamoro this month: the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) at a date the panels have yet to announce but will definitely be in March, and the submission of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to President Aquino by March 31, MindaNews reported on March 13.
   

The signing, coming nearly 17 years from the first negotiation, will not be in Mindanao as earlier proposed by the MILF, but in Metro Manila. Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, told MindaNews on Monday that the date and venue of the signing in Metro Manila would be announced soon as arrangements were still being finalized.  GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal have yet to announce the date and venue, the report said.

The date and venue of signing, however, was made known to those who attended the “Parangal sa Cardinal” testimonial dinner on Tuesday, March 11 at the South Seas Mall Convention Center in Cotabato City.

In his speech, Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, thanked several individuals and groups, among them the MILF and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for sending representatives and Secretary Deles, who was the President’s representative during the dinner.

The Cardinal said the President, who had earlier attended his thanksgiving mass at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, had invited him to the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) on March 27 in Malacanang.

Quevedo spoke of hope even as he acknowledged that there will be “many difficulties along the way” in the implementation of the peace agreement. But a peace agreement, he said, is “not something perfect. Like love, it has to be nurtured, nourished, to grow.”

In an earlier interview with MindaNews, Quevedo also said he hopes the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) factions and the MILF “can come together as brothers and take a look at what in the previous agreement in 1996 can be incorporated into the Bangamoro Basic Law.” Bishop Quevedo also mentioned the concerns or issues raised by the IP’s.

The GPH-MILF Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) was signed in Malacanang’s Rizal Hall on October 15, 2012. The GPH and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) signed the Final Peace Agreement that would implement the Tripoli Agreement of 1976, on September 2, 1996 also in Malacanang.

MindaNews sources earlier said a bigger venue outside Malacanang was being considered, having learned lessons from the 2012 signing of the FAB. A day before the signing then,  Deles told MindaNews they were expecting some 800 guests. On the day of the signing, a number of guests, and even the government peace panel chair then, Marvic Leonen (now Supreme Court Associate Justice), and MILF vice chair for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar, were seen standing at the start of the program because all seats had been taken.

The GPH-MILF peace process is likely to contribute another “first” in the world of peace negotiations this month:  the submission of a draft basic law of an autonomous government just days after signing a comprehensive peace agreement.

The GPH and MILF began peace negotiations in 1997, interrupted by three major wars (2000, 2003 and 2008); and several deadlocks. In August 2011, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III sought a meeting with MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim to fast-track the peace process so that the agreement would be implemented within the second half of his six-year term.

The President will step down at noon of June 30, 2016, on the same day the first set of elected officials of the Bangsamoro, the new autonomous political entity that would replace the 24-year old Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, are expected to begin Day One of their governance.

All four Annexes to the FAB — Wealth-Sharing, Power-Sharing, Normalization and Transitional Arrangements and Modalities – that would complete what would be the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), have been signed, with the last annex, on Normalization, signed on January 25.

The parties are presently finishing the final text of what would go into the CAB. The FAB provides for the creation of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) that would draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The BTC, headed by MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal, first met in April 2013 and by late last year said they would submit the draft basic law by April 2014. But the target date for submission was moved to March 31, following a courtesy call on President Aquino in Malacanang on January 30.  After submission, the President will certify the bill as urgent to Congress.

In his State of the Nation Address on July 22 last year, the President urged Congress to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law before the end of 2014, to allow enough time for the transition period, and election of the first set of officials of the Bangsamoro Government by 2016.

The government and MILF peace panels have been meeting in the last three weeks to settle the remaining vital issues on the final text of the comprehensive agreement such as the conduct of the plebiscite and some other aspects on the transition phase.
The panels met in Manila in late February, in Cotabato City on March 4 and in Marawi City on March 11.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/878-gph-milf-will-sign-peace-pact-after-17-years-negotiation

MILF: MILF Provincial Political Committee holds advocacy in Tulunan, North Cotabato

From the MILF Website (Mar 14): MILF Provincial Political Committee holds advocacy in Tulunan, North Cotabato

Damakling Provincial Committee held advocacy on the FAB and the Four Annexes at Tulunan, North Cotabato on March 9 where the program was held at Purok 7, Dungos in Tulunan town. It was jointly sponsored by local leaders in the barangay and leaders of the committee in the locality.
  

The primordial purpose of the advocacy was to enlighten the Moro and the non-Moro residents in the community pertaining to the progress of the GPH-MILF Peace Process. Approximately 300 local residents comprising men and women attended and listened attentively.

Prof. Esmael Abdula was the guest speaker. He delved on the peace process, the FAB and its four annexes.  Abdula is currently the Chairman of the Campaign and Mass Mobilization, Sub Committee on Information, Committee on Information and member of the Steering Committee of Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute (BLMI) at the same time the institute’s training officer. Those who graced the occasion were Hon. Datu Mando “Manny”  Pedtamanan, a third termer municipal councilor  of Kabacan, and now member of Peace and Order Committee of the Province of North Cotabato and the MILF Provincial Chairman of Damakling Provincial Committee,  the Provincial Director of Committee on Information-Damakling  Province, the Vice Chairman of MILF Provincial Political Committee of North Cotabato, North Cotabato Provincial Director of Committee on Information and Dir. Moidjoddin Talusob, Executive Director of Kalilintad Development Foundation Inc.

Prof. Abdula said, “History tells us that before, you in this barangay never experienced stable peace and tranquility and it only happened after the FAB was signed on October 15, 2012. Like you, the entire Bangsamoro People started to see the “light of hope”.

Participants after hearing Abdula’s statement shouted “Allahu Akbar”, “Allahu Akbar”, “Allahu Akbar”. Sigh of joy and overwhelming positive response were observed among the participants. What added to the pleasant atmosphere in the venue and the unhidden joy felt by the participants was when Prof. Abdula discussed and explained the FAB’s on Annex on Normalization. He recalled the suffering of the Moros in the past saying, “In the course of our struggle to regain our long lost freedom, the military of the previous regimes continued to attack us. Our communities were devastated and people were forced to abandon their ruined homes and many of them have not returned home since then. They are now in evacuation centers under miserable conditions with no potable water to drink and enough food to eat.  The women, the aged and children were the collateral damage and the most affected.

http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/879-milf-provincial-political-committee-holds-advocacy-in-tulunan-north-cotabato

Group: Kidnappings worsen in Sulu

From the Sun Star-Davao: Group: Kidnappings worsen in Sulu

Human rights advocates expressed alarm Friday over the rampant kidnappings in Sulu, citing 50 incidents recorded since February 17 this year.

Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (Pahra) coordinator Warina Sushil A. Jukuy, in a media briefing at El Bajada Hotel on Friday, said if they include cases of attempted kidnapping, they might record more than a hundred incidents.

"This is alarming and this is the worst in the history of Sulu. Kidnappings are happening any time of the day," she said.

Jukuy said kidnappings used to be isolated incidents, but now, abductions in Sulu province are very rampant and perpetrators have no particular targets, stressing that even teachers, the poor, children, students, Muslims, and Christians, among others, have fallen victims.

"They are kidnapping people of different background from the heart of Jolo to the 18 other municipalities of Sulu," Jukuy said.

She said the kidnappers have not yet been identified, and all they have now are speculations of what the motives or causes of the kidnapping are.

"There are four speculations on why the rampant kidnappings are happening: initiated by the military, it is done by the opponents of the incumbent leaders, to demonize Islam, and caused by drug addicts," Jukuy said.

She said some of the abductors are kidnapping for ransom, wherein they are asking for as low as P3,000 from the victim's families but there were instances when the victims never returned to their families.

"In Sulu, citizens are no longer secure in their homes... regardless of their status in life. The community is under threat of violence," the Regional Human Rights Commission in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RHRC-Armm) said in a press release.

As the crisis possibly worsens, Jukuy, together with other human rights advocates, called on the National Government on Friday to take immediate action, saying nothing much has been done to solve it.

Jukuy said people on the ground have observed that there is very little action from law enforcers.

“There is no one guarding the civilians and the poor but there are law enforcers guarding the local government unit. It is the prime responsibility of the government to protect its people,” she said.

Bapa Joe Akmad, council of leaders of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC), said it is time for President Benigno Aquino III to look into the incidents, as it will translate to a crisis in leadership in his administration if the problem is not resolved.

"This is not only the problem of Sulu but of the Philippines as well. If the international media gets hold of these happenings, it can destroy the image of the country," Jukuy said.

The human right advocates also said the rampant kidnappings will have implications to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement, which is expected to be signed by March 27, according to Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles. [Read the related story.]

“How can the Bangsamoro government take care of its people if even the National Government cannot solve the problem? … They must also care and not be indifferent and silent about this,” said Jukuy.

With this, the RHRC-Armm called on the Philippine National Police, national and regional governments, and local government units in Sulu to put an end to the kidnappings and impunity; on the regional and provincial leadership too fully enforce the rule of law in Sulu; on the people to be more vigilant for their safety and security; and on the security sector to review the competence of its intelligence infrastructure in order to ensure that public safety is ensured and the criminals brought to justice.

Jukuy said that for a small island like Sulu, there should be checkpoints to ensure the safety of the people.

"The government should address and find a complete solution to end these," said pastor Reu Motecillo, presiding chair of MPC.

 http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/local-news/2014/03/14/group-kidnappings-worsen-sulu-333175

AFP celebrates ROTC anniversary amid abolition calls

From the Philippine Star (Mar 14): AFP celebrates ROTC anniversary amid abolition calls

Amid fresh calls for the complete abolition of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), the military will celebrate on Saturday the 102nd anniversary of the program in Camp Aguinaldo.

About 2,000 cadets from different colleges and universities in Metro Manila will participate in the anniversary of the embattled training program.

ROTC units that will join the event include those of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, University of Santo Tomas (UST), and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), where student activists recently held anti-hazing protests.

Student demonstrations were held in PUP last month in the wake of an alleged hazing incident at the university.

A female freshman said she was hit on the leg seven times with a wooden rifle by two ROTC officers for failing to attend a briefing night last January.

The complaint triggered efforts by activists to start a signature drive against the military trainings, which is part of the National Service Training Program (NSTP).

The military, however, maintained that the ROTC is beneficial to the country.

“The ROTC continues to be a significant source of manpower for the reserve force as well as the active force of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines),” AFP public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said in a statement.

“The program continues to instill discipline and leadership among the youth. It also develops their nationalism and patriotism,” he added.

Zagala said the ROTC inspires the youth “to render services, conventional and non-conventional military services, especially in humanitarian assistance and disaster response operations.”

The 102nd anniversary of ROTC will feature activities like sky diving, Scout Ranger tactics, Special Forces tactics, field artillery gun drill and Mechanized Infantry and Navy Special Warfare Group.

An awarding ceremony in honor of outstanding ROTC graduates will also be held on March 29.

Established in 1912, the once mandatory ROTC became optional following the death of UST student Mark Chua, who was killed for supposedly exposing the irregularities in his unit.

In 2002, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed into law Republic Act 9163, which created the NSTP. The law made the ROTC just one of the three courses offered to college students.

Other NSTP components are the Civic Welfare Training Service, which promotes developmental programs and the Literacy Training Service, which allows students to serve as teachers of school children.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2014/03/14/1300881/afp-celebrates-rotc-anniversary-amid-abolition-calls

Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur lauded for support to Bangsamoro

From the Philippine Star (Mar 14): Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur lauded for support to Bangsamoro



Muhaquer Iqbal, chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (right) receives from Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu the collated recommendations of the local communities  to the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front  to  address domestic socio-economic, political, and peace and security issues,  on Thursday’s provincial consultation in Buluan town on peace talks. JOHN UNSON

Residents and local executives in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur are the most active --- from among all Southern Moro communities --- in manifesting support to the creation of a Bangsamoro political entity, the chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said.

Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur are both component provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which also covers the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.

Muhaquer Icbal, MILF chief negotiator and  chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC),  told local officials in Maguindanao Thursday, during a consultation in Buluan town in the province, that they appreciate the continuing support of the provincial government to their efforts to put a mutual closure, along with President Benigno Aquino III, to the decades-old Mindanao Moro issue.

He said while local government units and incumbent LGU executives in many areas in the proposed Bangsamoro core territory have extended cordial reception to members of the BTC during recent on-field dialogues, nothing can beat how Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur  residents demonstrated support to the now culminating GPH-MILF peace overture.

“There can be no other better option to the decades-old Moro problem but peace through negtiated settlement and people from these two provinces recognizes that obviously,” Iqbal told Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu during Thursday’s consultation on the creation of a Bangsamoro entity.

Iqbal said the BTC, which is composed of commissioners from the MILF and the government, is thankful to Mangudadatu for supporting the Mindanao peace process.

Thursday’s provincial consultation on the creation of a Bangsamoro entity, to replace ARMM via an enabling measure, the Basic Bangsamoro Law (BBL), was the second in Maguindanao since February.

Local officials, led by Mangudadatu, urged the BTC, during Thursday’s consultation, to include in its socio-economic objectives Maguindanao’s eight-point development agenda  to empower local communities.

The BTC is now drafting the BBL, which is to be ratified via a plebiscite in the proposed Bangsamoro territory, which includes ARMM’s five provinces and two cities, and parcels of smaller Moro-dominated lands in surrounding administrative regions.

Mangudadatu told representatives of the MILF and the BTC  that the provincial eight-point development agenda reflects the real needs of impoverished Moro communities in the 36 towns in the province.

Mangudadatu said one of the most salient features of Maguindanao’s eight-point development agenda is to provide farmers with livelihood and free farm inputs, tools, machinery, palm oil and rubber tree seedlings, and provide education to their children through the provincial government’s scholarship program.

Mangudadatu’s Maguindanao Program for Educational Assistance and Community Empowerment (MagPEACE), which he started with only more than 700 scholars three years ago, now has more than 4,000 beneficiary-students, 80 percent of them children of active members of the MILF.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/03/14/1300842/maguindanao-lanao-del-sur-lauded-support-bangsamoro

Sayyaf captors of Jolo health officer’s son, 3 others hunted

From the Philippine Star (Mar 14): Sayyaf captors of Jolo health officer’s son, 3 others hunted

Police and the Marines are pursuing suspected Abu Sayyaf militants who had held in captivity for nine days a 10-year-old son of the municipal health officer of Jolo, Sulu and three others.

The victims – the son of Jolo municipal health officer Faranazh Intimani Jajurie, his eight-year-old cousin, housemaid Almalyn Abuhail, 18, and driver Saddam Amlih – were released in Patikul, Sulu on Wednesday afternoon, according to Capt. Ryan Lacuesta, spokesman of the 2nd Marine Brigade.

Citing the investigation, Lacuesta said no ransom was paid for the release of the victims who were immediately reunited with their families.

Jajurie’s son and cousin, along with the maid and driver, were seized last March 3 in Barangay Alat, Jolo town while on their way to school.

Lacuesta said the tracking forces have coordinated with local officials and the Barangay Action Team, composed of civilian volunteers, to track down the kidnappers.

In Zamboanga del Norte, a woman village chief, who was held captive for three months, was released in a remote coastal village in Sibuco town before dawn yesterday, police said.

The victim, Cecilia Alas-as, businesswoman and chief of Barangay Paniran in Sibuco, was snatched from her residence last Dec. 12.

A police source said Alas-as’ family, who runs a trucking business, had negotiated with the kidnappers and reportedly gave an unspecified amount in exchange for her freedom.

Alas-as told police that she and her captors walked for about five hours before reaching the place where she was abandoned.

The spate of kidnappings, particularly in Sulu, has sown fear among residents and government workers, who have threatened not to report for work due to security concerns.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Mujiv Hataman, however, urged the government workers not to make good their threat, saying this would just worsen the situation.

Hataman said he has requested Chief Superintendent Noel de los Reyes, ARMM police director, to personally visit Sulu and ensure that security plans against kidnappings there are in place.

“These kidnapping incidents have brought tension to government workers but I have directed them not to defer any government projects as measures have been adopted to ensure their safety,” Hataman said.

At least eight people are believed still being held in captivity, including two European bird watchers who were seized in Tawi-Tawi in February 2012 and brought to Sulu.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/03/14/1300507/sayyaf-captors-jolo-health-officers-son-3-others-hunted

PH, MILF to sign Bangsamoro peace pact on March 27–Deles

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 15): PH, MILF to sign Bangsamoro peace pact on March 27–Deles

The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) on March 27, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said Friday.

“After 17 long years of arduous negotiations, we are finally arriving at a political settlement that will seal enduring peace and progress in Mindanao,” Deles said in a statement.

“The signing of the CAB is expected to benefit not only the Bangsamoro but the entire country, and will radiate beyond our borders to the regional community, and perhaps the whole world,” Deles added.

No other details were given about the signing. Deles said “preparations for the event are currently underway.”

“This is an event that requires careful planning and considerations especially in terms of the venue, etc. We will be sending out invitations soon,” she said.

Earlier this week, Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, mentioned during his testimonial dinner President Benigno Aquino III had invited him to the signing.

The MILF had staged a decades-long secessionist war against the government but agreed to talk peace in the 1990s.

Its predecessor, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996 and settled for an autonomous region.

However, Mr. Aquino called the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) a “failed experiment,” pushing for a peace pact with the MILF as one of the cornerstones of his administration.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/585606/ph-milf-to-sign-bangsamoro-peace-pact-on-march-27-deles

Cudia asks SC to block his dismissal from PMA

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 14): Cudia asks SC to block his dismissal from PMA

Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Cadet 1st Class Aldrin Jeff P. Cudia has asked the Supreme Court to block and nullify his dismissal.

His petition was filed on March 10, 2014. Cudia asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) or status quo ante order (SQAO) to prevent the implementation of his dismissal.

“It is respectfully prayed of the Honorable Court that upon the receipt of this petition a Status Quo Ante Order (SQAO) or a Temporary Restraining Order be issued… [f]or the PMA to cease and desist from approving the ‘guilty’ verdict of the Honor Committee as the basis for separating or expelling Cadet Cudia from the academy,” his petition stated.

Cudia also wants the high court to order his inclusion in the graduation rights, award him his academic honors, and commission him as a new Navy ensign.

The cadet also urged the high court to order the transmittal of his case records to the PMA’s Cadet and Review and Appeals Board (CRAB).

The case was raffled off to the Third Division. But the high court has not yet acted on his case.

The PMA graduation rites is on Sunday.

Cudia was dishonorably discharged for violating its Honor Code due to his tardiness in one class.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/585675/cudia-asks-sc-to-block-his-dismissal-from-pma

What Went Before: MILF-PH government peace deal

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 15): What Went Before: MILF-PH government peace deal

On July 2010, President Benigno Aquino III assembled a new panel to resume peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with Marvic Leonen, dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, as chair. A month later, the President announced that Malaysia would remain as facilitator of the talks.

On Aug. 4, 2011, Mr. Aquino and MILF chair Murad Ebrahim held a secret meeting in Tokyo to hasten the talks. The meeting is a first since peace talks began in 1997. Exploratory talks began in Kuala Lumpur within the same month.

But on Oct. 18, despite the existing ceasefire, MILF forces clashed with the military in Al-Barka, Basilan province, leaving 19 soldiers and six rebels dead. Clashes between the two sides broke out again in Zamboanga Sibugay province on Oct. 21, and in Basilan and Lanao de Norte provinces on Oct. 23.

On Oct. 24, the President declared “all-out justice” instead of an all-out war for the slain soldiers. The Philippine Air Force started an air and ground operation against “rogue elements” of the MILF in Basilan and Zamboanga Sibugay. Formal peace talks were resumed on Dec. 5, 2011, in Kuala Lumpur.

In April 2012, the government and the MILF panels agreed to create a new autonomous political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

On Oct. 15, 2012, the framework agreement was signed in Malacañang.  The framework document, the annexes and an introductory text constitute the comprehensive agreement.  The two sides still needed to work on the four annexes: Transitional mechanisms, power-sharing, wealth-sharing and normalization.

On Dec. 17, 2012, the President signed and issued Executive Order No. 120 creating the Transition Commission (Transcom) that would draft a proposed law creating the envisioned Bangsamoro autonomous government. Once drafted, the Bangsamoro basic law would be certified urgent by the President and submitted to Congress.

On Feb. 11, 2013, Mr. Aquino paid his first visit to the MILF stronghold in Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao province, for the launch of Sajahatra Bangsamoro, a social development program for the MILF and Moro communities.

On Feb. 25, Malacañang announced the 15 members of the Transcom, composed of eight representatives from the MILF and seven from the government.

On Feb. 27, the two panels signed the first annex—transitional arrangements and modalities—that outlined a transition process consisting of eight components beginning with the creation of the Transcom and ending with an exit document terminating the peace negotiations, “if and only when all agreements have been fully implemented.”

On July 13, the second annex which tackles wealth-sharing was signed by both parties. Under the annex, 100 percent of the revenue from the exploration, development and use of nonmetallic minerals would go to Bangsamoro. For metallic minerals, 75 percent of the revenue would go to Bangsamoro and 25 percent to the government. Earnings from fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas, coal and uranium would be divided equally.

Further, Bangsamoro would get 75 percent of national taxes collected from the territory, up from the current 70 percent in the ARMM.

On Dec. 8, 2013, the government and MILF panels signed the annex on power-sharing, the third of four annexes. It outlined the powers that would be reserved for the national government, those that would be held by the autonomous Bangsamoro region and those shared by both.

On Jan 25, 2014, the government and the MILF peace panels signed the normalization annex, the last of four documents that make up the comprehensive peace agreement.

On Feb. 8, the office of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) was inaugurated in Cotabato City. The BTC has been commissioned to draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will become the foundation of a future Bangsamoro entity.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/585753/what-went-before-milf-ph-government-peace-deal

CHR: No due process for sacked cadet Cudia

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 15): CHR: No due process for sacked cadet Cudia

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) on Friday asked the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) to reinstate Cadet First Class Aldrin Jeff Cudia to the PMA Corps of Cadets, saying he had not been accorded due process when he was dismissed from the PMA in February.

CHR Commissioners Ma. Victoria Cardona and Norberto de la Cruz also asked the PMA to allow Cudia to join the commencement exercises of the PMA Siklab Diwa Class of 2014 on Sunday, and to restore the dismissed cadet’s salary and benefits.

Cudia, who was running for third honors, was dismissed from the PMA on Feb. 10, for allegedly lying to justify his being late to a class. Lying is considered a major violation of the PMA’s Honor Code.

Harold Kub-aron, CHR Cordillera director, said the agency has yet to decide whether it would pursue a lawsuit against the PMA.

Manipulated

He said the CHR had been asked to address the complaint of Cudia’s father, Renato, who claimed that the hearing had been manipulated to secure a unanimous guilty verdict, a requirement before a cadet breaking the honor code can be dismissed from the academy.

The Cudia family presented on March 12 an affidavit by Commander Junjie Tabuada, head of the PMA Department of Naval Warfare, who claimed that a certain Cadet First Class Lagura, a member of the honor committee, had told him he had been pressured to change his original “not guilty” ruling.

But Col. Rozzano Briguez, the commandant of cadets, said that Lagura had executed his own affidavit and “had categorically” denied making the statement.
 
Unanimous or 8 to1?

Last week, the PMA’s Cadet Review and Appeals Board (Crab) examined the process taken to expel Cudia and upheld the honor committee ruling, which the new PMA superintendent, Maj. Gen. Oscar Lopez, had endorsed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines leadership on March 10.

Kub-aron said initial evidence had confirmed that the original vote cast by the honor court involved eight “guilty” votes and one “not guilty” vote, which the PMA should heed, instead of the second vote that unanimously ruled Cudia guilty of lying.

The CHR and the Crab held separate hearings on Cudia’s appeal this week, with Cardona and Dela Cruz holding closed-door sessions on Wednesday and Thursday to secure testimonies from the cadets, members of the PMA Corps of Professors and the academy’s staff.

Cudia was present in the sessions but without a lawyer, Kub-aron said.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/585760/chr-no-due-process-for-sacked-cadet-cudia

PH offers US use of bases

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 14): PH offers US use of bases

The Philippines has agreed to allow the United States access to the country’s military bases under a new security deal being negotiated by the two allies, amid mounting concern over China’s increasing assertiveness in the disputed waters of the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

The offer was made during a sixth round of talks held in Washington last week on an accord that will allow increased US military presence in the country, officials said on Friday.

The two sides hope to finalize terms for an “Agreement on Enhanced Defense Cooperation” before US President Barack Obama embarks on a visit to Asia, including the Philippines, next month.

Philippine officials said negotiators hurdled a major obstacle in the negotiations at the Washington talks last week.

Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino, the head of the Philippine panel, said the US negotiators have agreed that Philippine authorities can have access to US facilities set up inside local military bases to show Philippine control over these areas, a sensitive issue concerning sovereignty among Filipinos.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has said that disagreements over the issue of access and control had been delaying the negotiations on the new accord.

“Access has always been a primordial concern” for the government, Batino said, adding that the deal was “80 percent” done.

“It is safe to say that there will be language that will provide that the Philippine authorities would have access to the areas provided to the US armed forces,” he told a news conference on Friday.

“As a concept, access is assured, being within Philippine military bases, and also the right of the base commander to have access to specific areas shared with them has already been agreed in principle by both panels,” said Ambassador Eduardo Malaya, a member of the Philippine panel.
 
China factor

The Philippines is seeking a stronger defense cooperation with the US as its territorial dispute with China over areas in the South China Sea intensifies.

The United States plans to “rebalance” its forces in the Asia-Pacific region, and has similar arrangements with Australia and Singapore, as part of its strategy to counter China.

Negotiations began last August on an agreement that would allow larger numbers of US troops to have temporary access to Philippine military camps and bring in aircraft, ships and humanitarian equipment.

Hundreds of US troops have already been deployed in the country’s south to provide counterterrorism training to Filipino soldiers since 2002.

US military access in the Philippines is currently limited to annual joint exercises and port visits.

Nearly a century of US military presence in the Philippines ended in 1992 when the United States closed its bases, including what were then among the largest overseas US military facilities. The Philippine Senate voted a year earlier not to renew the lease on the bases.

While that ended a special relationship going back 40 years between the United States and its former colony which won its independence in 1946, an alliance has endured.

No US bases

The Philippine negotiators did not say whether there will be any limit to the number of US troops or their length of stay.

Batino, however, said any US military facility will not be “a base within a base.”

The Constitution disallows foreign military bases unless under a treaty approved by the Philippine Senate. Opponents of the new accord say it is a way to permanently station US troops in the country to circumvent the constitutional prohibition on foreign bases.

Batino said the agreement would be legally binding but would not require ratification by the Senate, which could delay the actual US deployment.

Under the draft accord, the Philippines will allow US forces joint use of facilities in several military bases like those in Manila, Clark, Palawan, Cebu, Nueva Ecija and La Union, said a military official with knowledge of the negotiations.

“We are only offering US military forces access to fewer military bases,” said Malaya.

The Philippines refused a request for use of civilian airfields and ports, like Subic Freeport Bay, Laoag and Davao international airports, according to the military official.

Philippine and US negotiators are set to hold a seventh round of talks in Manila at the end of the month.

Malaya said specifics such as “who would secure what area” would still have to be hammered out.

He said that the Philippines has maintained its position that the agreement’s duration “would be shorter than 20 years.”

The officials declined to set an April deadline for the talks, citing the need to ensure that language was in line with Philippine laws and yielded the maximum benefits for the hosts.

“If the  negotiations are successfully concluded and that happens before the arrival of President Obama, then we will be happy of course,” the officials said.

US presence a deterrent

The Philippines sees hosting more US forces as an important part of its strategy to counter an increasingly assertive China in an escalating dispute over rival claims to the South China Sea, and to help provide humanitarian assistance during natural disasters.

“It will not stop China from its bullying tactics, but it will become more cautious and might exercise self-restraint due to the US presence,” said Rommel Banlaoi, an analyst at the Philippine Institute of Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.

“The Philippines will also benefit from more exercises and more assistance from the US and it will elevate the Philippines to a major non-Nato ally in the Pacific,” he said.

Friction between China and the Philippines and other states in the region over disputed territories in the South China Sea has increased since last year despite diplomatic efforts to forge an agreement on maritime conduct.

The dispute revolves round competing claims over the Spratlys, a group of 250 uninhabitable islets spread over 165,000 square miles, and other groups of shoals and islets that the Philippines claims as part of its territory as they lie well within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Just a working title

On Sunday, three Chinese Coast Guard ships stopped two Filipino civilian vessels from delivering food, water and construction materials to troops based on a ship that was deliberately run aground on reef in the Spratlys, the Ayungin Shoal, in 1999 to reinforce the Philippines’ claim.

The Philippines called the Chinese actions “a clear and urgent threat to the rights and interests of the Philippines.”

The framework agreement was previously referred to as an “Agreement on Increased Rotational Presence,” which Batino said was “just a working title.”

The change to “Enhanced Defense Cooperation” as a title just manifests the fluidity of the negotiations because during the constant discussions, “language may be changed from time to time,” he said.

“We also believe Enhanced Defense Cooperation captures the essence of the agreement which is to elevate robust cooperation with us to a higher level owing to the shared history between the two militaries and conduct of training activities under the VFA (Visiting forces Agreement) for 15 years. It’s just time even for a further enhancement of our cooperation,” Batino said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/585732/ph-offers-us-use-of-bases

Abducted village chief freed in Zambo Norte

From MindaNews (Mar 14): Abducted village chief freed in Zambo Norte

A barangay official who was kidnapped three months ago was released in Zamboanga del Norte province, a police official disclosed Friday.

Chief Insp. Ariel Huesca, Police Regional Office-9 information officer, said that Cecilia de las Alas was freed at around 4 a.m. Thursday in Barangay Bongalao, Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte.

De las Alas, the barangay captain of Paniran, Sibuco, was abducted by three gunmen who barged into her residence evening of last December 12.

The gunmen dragged Alas-as to the shoreline of Barangay Paniran and forced her to board on a waiting motorized banca that sped to the high seas.

Huesca said that De las Alas, after her release, was immediately brought to her residence in Barangay Paniran, Sibuco and reunited with her family.

 

Huesca said they later proceeded to Barangay San Roque in this city where her other relatives are staying.

De las Alas’ release came two days after a public school teacher, who was kidnapped also last December, was freed in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Freed on Tuesday was Cathy Mae Casipong, a teacher at the Sibogtok Primary School in Barangay Limaong, this city.

Casipong, 23, was seized by 10 gunmen aboard two motorized bancas on December 18, 2013 near Sitio Paraitan, Barangay Limaong.

Casipong and her co-teachers were aboard a motorized banca on the way to the city proper via Barangay Vitali when the gunmen accosted them.

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2014/03/14/abducted-village-chief-freed-in-zambo-norte/

US troop expansion ‘needs no new Senate approval’

From the Manila Times (Mar 14): US troop expansion ‘needs no new Senate approval’

THE proposed increased rotational presence (IRP) of American forces in the country or enhanced defense cooperation between the Philippines and the United States does not require Senate concurrence once approved by the two sides.

The Philippine panel head, Defense Undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino, on Friday said the legal framework for the agreement on the IRP is basically anchored on two existing pacts—the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA)—and is not a subject of current negotiations.

“In that light, I think it is worthy to emphasize that the Philippine panel’s position is that—this is an implementing document of the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement which have already been concurred in by our Senate in separate instances,” Batino said.

An implementing agreement “will not have to pass through the Senate for its concurrence,” he said.

Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia Eduardo Malaya, a panel member, said what the two panels discussed was whether the agreement would be legally binding, adding that they gave the assurance that “it will be legally binding, then they accepted that explanation.”

The two panels also discussed the right of access by Philippine authorities over American structures and equipment that would be put up inside the camps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

According to Malaya, access to US facilities is assured in essence since the areas to be shared are within the premises of existing Philippine military bases.

What is being discussed is the sharing of responsibilities with respect to security, he said.

Batino said there would be no exclusivity on the locations provided to the Americans, which would all be temporary in nature, and that some of them would even be jointly used by both forces.

“With these characteristics, we can’t see that this won’t be a base within a base,” Batino said.

Erring American personnel would be subject to the provisions of the VFA on matters of jurisdiction.

http://manilatimes.net/us-troop-expansion-needs-no-new-senate-approval/82619/

US, PH training exercise starts: No pullout from Ayungin Shoal

From the Manila Standard Today (Mar 15): US, PH training exercise starts: No pullout from Ayungin Shoal

US and Philippine Marines started their first field training exercise in Palawan on Friday, even as Foreign Affairs said it never agreed to pull out its grounded vessel at the Ayungin Shoal as demanded by China, which is claiming the area.

The US Embassy in Manila said the training exercise was part of many defense exercises under the Philippine Marine Engagement Program.

“Effective maintenance management is vital to maintaining unit readiness,” the embassy said.

It said US 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge would be docking at the Manila South Harbor on March 18 “for a routine port call and a four-day goodwill visit.”

Last Sunday, the USS Cowpens, a guided-missile cruiser, also docked in Manila for a port call.

In a statement, Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez reminded the Chinese government that the BRP Sierra Madre, a commissioned Philippine Naval Vessel, was placed at the Ayungin Shoal in 1999 even before the signing of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties due to China’s “Illegal occupation.”

China has been claiming virtually the whole of the South China Sea as its own including the Ayungin Reef, which the Philippines says is within Philippine territory.

“The BRP Sierra Madre, a commissioned Philippine Naval Vessel, was placed in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a permanent Philippine installation in response to China’s illegal occupation of Mischief Reef in 1995,” Hernandez said.

“This was prior to the signing of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea in 2002.”

Hernandez said that, contrary to China’s allegations, the Ayungin shoal was part of the Philippines’ territory as provided by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“The Philippines reiterates that Ayungin Shoal is part of its continental shelf over which the Philippines has sovereign rights and jurisdiction,” he said.

On Thursday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang urged the Philippines to stay “good on its commitment” and “tow away the ship grounded on the Ren’ai Reef”.

He accused the Philippines of distorting the facts and confusing the difference between right and wrong.

“China has been telling what is true about the Ren’ai Reef and expounded on its position” Qin said.

“The Chinese Foreign Ministry has made solemn representations to the leading official of the Philippine Embassy in China about the Philippines’ attempt to carry out construction work on the Ren’ai Reef.”

Both China and the Philippines have territorial claims over the waters and resources in the West Philippine Sea.

China wants to occupy 90 percent of the whole South China Sea that overlaps the territories of other countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/03/15/us-ph-training-exercise-starts-no-pullout-from-ayungin-shoal-/

‘Founders’ of MNLF drop Nur

From the Manila Standard Today (Mar 15): ‘Founders’ of MNLF drop Nur

The founding leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front, called the Top 90 batch, have declared MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari “persona non grata” for leadership blunders, including the three-week attack in Zamboanga City in September last year.

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will sign the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in Malacañang on March 27.

Hadji Abul Khayr Alonto announced the new development in Marawi City in a public forum  before thousands of residents in Lanao del Sur earlier this week.

“We have declared Nur Misuari a persona non grata with the MNLF. There is no other MNLF now but us,” Alonto said.

“In the same manner, we invite all factions within the Misuari faction, including the MNLF Council of 15, to join us,” Alonto added.

Alonto said the 32 surviving members of the Top 90 agreed to declare Misuari a persona non grata for his “leadership blunders that put the organization into disarray.”

“After 17 long years of arduous negotiations, we are finally arriving at a political settlement that will seal enduring peace and progress in Mindanao,” presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles said.

“The signing of the CAB is expected to benefit not only the Bangsamoro but the entire country, and will radiate beyond our borders to the regional community, and perhaps the whole world,” she added.

The signing will be witnessed by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Malaysia has served as third party broker of the peace talks since 2001.

The CAB will pave the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro - a political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

After it is signed, the Transition Commission will complete the Bangsamoro Basic Law and submit it to Congress by June.

The BBL will include the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) signed by the government and the MILF in 2012 and the four annexes on transitional arrangements, power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and normalization (disarmament).

The Bangsamoro is envisioned to have for its core territory the entire ARMM, as well as six municipalities in Lanao del Norte, namely Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal; all other barangays in the municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan, Pikit, and Midsayap that also voted for inclusion in the ARMM during the 2001 plebiscite; and the cities of Cotabato and Isabela.

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4004111469161356591&pli=1#editor/target=post;postID=6958750157220975168

Defense deal closed; RP allows US forces access to military bases

From the Daily Tribune (Mar 15): Defense deal closed; RP allows US forces access to military bases

The Philippine government yesterday said a deal to allow a greater US military presence in its territory could be signed next month, in a timely defense boost amid a worsening territorial row with China.

There was optimism the pact could be secured ahead of US President Barack Obama’s April visit to Manila after the two sides agreed on a contentious issue that would see US forces build “structures” on their hosts military bases,Defense officials said.

“Discussions in the sixth round were substantive and productive, and significant progress was made,” Defense Undersecretary Pio Batino told reporters following the latest round of talks in Washington last week.

The panel negotiating for enhanced defense cooperation with Washington, previously known as increased rotational presence of US military in the country, assured that local authorities will also have access to US facilities to be set up under the agreement.

Batino, at the same time, stressed the agreement, if reached, will not need Senate approval.

He explained that the agreement would fall as an implementing document of the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

“The Philippine panel’s position is that this is an implementing document of the MDT and the VFA which have already been concurred in by our Senate in separate instances and therefore, this being our belief, that it is merely an implementing agreement and will not require the Senate concurrence, and therefore will not have to pass through the Senate for its concurrence,” Batino said.

He added that while negotiations are still fluid, meaning changes can happen anytime, between the two parties, access to US facilities by Philippine authorities has been primordial concern for the panel.

“Though we all know the fluidity which characterizes all negotiations, it is safe to say that there will be language that will provide that the Philippine authorities would have access to the areas provided to the US armed forces,” Batino said.

He emphasized that the Philippine panel stand is to have all temporary structures to be set up by the US should be within camps of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

“That is the direction of the Philippine panel that all structures, all activities that would relate to the implementation that this new agreement would be confined primarily within AFP facilities,” Batino said.

The Philippine panel has previously stressed there will be no permanent bases to be set up under the agreement now being negotiated.

Asked if the agreement would be ready for signing by the time US President Barrack Obama visits the country in April, Batino replied “the priority task of the panel is to negotiate an agreement, to come up with an agreement that will serve the national interest and to make sure that this agreement will be compliant with Philippine Constitution and laws, this is what we are focusing (on).”

But another panel member, Ambassador Lourdes Yparaguirre, admitted they will be happy to see the agreement signed before Obama’s arrival.

“If the negotiations are successfully concluded that happens before the arrival of President Obama then we will be happy of course but at the same time we are aware that these types of negotiations do take time,” she said.

Ambassador Eduardo Malaya, who is also member of the panel, stressed the issue on access is assured and that discussions are centered more on the security aspect.

“The areas to be shared are areas within existing Philippine military bases or facilities so these areas are within those bases so in essence access is assured. It could be said that access is a given, what is being discussed is the sharing of responsibilities with respect to security,” he stressed.

“I think at this time both panels have reached agreement on language and we would be able to hammer down the specifics as to who would be securing what area. But as a concept access is assure this being within Philippine military bases and also the right of the base commander to have access to specific area will be shared with them is, have already been agreed in principle by both panels,” Malaya added.

He said the agreement would be shorter than 20 years.

He also expressed belief that the agreement, if reached, would be signed by Cabinet members and other dignitaries, not by President Aquino and Obama.

However, existing US facilities inside AFP installations like Camp Aguinaldo and in Zamboanga City, where the US-Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines is maintaining presence, are not that accessible to Filipino troops.

There were instances before that even ranking AFP officers were barred from entering US facilities in Zamboanga City.

Meanwhile, barely a week after a United States guided-missile cruiser arrived in Manila for a routine port call, another US military vessel will be coming next week for similar call.

USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), the flagship of the US Pacific Fleet, is scheduled to arrive at the Manila South Harbor on March 18 for a four-day routine port call.

In a statement, the US Embassy said the goodwill visit highlights the strong historic, community and military connections between Washington and Manila.

The USS Blue Ridge and the 7th Fleet staff are homeported in Yokosuka, Japan, and are responsible for US Navy operations from the International Dateline west to the India and Pakistan border.

The embassy said USS Blue Ridge will be open for media tour upon its arrival.

Only last Sunday, USS Cowpens (CG-63), a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser arrived in Manila for a routine port call that highlights the strong historic and military connections between the Philippines and US.

The frequent US port calls are happening amid the continuing tension between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea, particularly at Ayungin Shoal where Philippine ships were blocked by Chinese coast guard from delivering supplies to Filipino troops stationed in the area.

The Philippine military was forced to drop supplies to the troops, using Islander aircraft, to prevent them from starving.

Last Jan. 27, Chinese coast guard harassed Filipino fishermen trying to venture into Panatag Shoal, locally known as Bajo de Masinloc which is a rich fishing ground.
The Chinese fired water cannon to drive away the local fishermen.

Philippine authorities filed another diplomatic protest against China but was turned down by Beijing.

Despite the incident, the Philippine government remained committed to resolve the dispute through international arbitration before the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (Itlos).

Earlier, visiting US Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert said the US is committed to assisting the Philippines in case of China invasion of Philippine territories.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/defense-deal-closed-rp-allows-us-forces-access-to-military-bases

CPP/Sine Proletaryo: Video --Istatus - NEMR

Sine Proletaryo video posted to the CPP Website (Mar 14): Video: Istatus -- NEMR



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbxkk2tDVnw&list=UUIdJcoTlC5Q5jrKCOh4dJeA

The fifth video of the series "Istatus" featuring the revolutionary victories in Northeast Mindanao Region.

Ka Maria Malaya relates how the revolutionary forces, especially the New People's Army in the region frustrate the regime's Oplan Bayanihan by launching successful tactical offensives.

Agrarian revolution launched by the CPP, NPA benefits tens of thousand families in the region.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/

CPP/NPA: Paananalakay ng 42nd IB PA binigo ng mga Pulang mandirigma sa ilalim ng Norben Gruta Command

NPA propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Mar 14): Paananalakay ng 42nd IB PA binigo ng mga Pulang mandirigma sa ilalim ng Norben Gruta Command

Diego Magtanggol
Spokesperson
NPA Camarines Sur Front Operations Command (Norben Gruta Command)

 

Muli na namang ipinamalas ng mga Pulang mandirigma ng Norben Gruta Command ang kahandaan sa mga di inaasahang pananalakay ng mga reaksyunaryong AFP. Ika-23 ng Pebrero taong kasalukuyan, napalaban ang isang iskwad ng Pulang mandirigma na may bilang na labing-isa sa mga elemento ng 42nd IB PA sa Sitio Kaliryuhan Brgy. Bagong Silang, Pasacao,Camarines Sur.

Bago ang labanan, bandang ala-una ng araw na iyon ay may nagpaabot na masa na may kaaway malapit sa base ng mga Pulang mandirigma, agad namang nagpulong ang kumand at pinaalerto ang lahat ng mga kasama at nagposisyon sa kanya-kanyang pormasyon. Dahil sa pawala-wala ang kaaway nanatiling nakaposisyon at nakaalerto ang mga Pulang mandirigma habang minomonitor ang kaaway. Bandang alas-tres ng hapon ng araw ding iyon biglang sumalakay ang di bababa sa labing-limang elemento ng Bravo Coy ng 42nd IB na nakabase sa Brgy. Cambalidio Libmanan Camarines Sur.

Dahil sa maayos na posisyon at koordinasyon ng bawat fire-team, mahusay na nakapamutok ang mga Pulang mandirigma, na nagresulta sa pagka-demoralisa ng kaaway kaya nabigo ang tangkang kubkob sa yunit ng BHB.

Habang nagkakaputukan naanalisa ng kumand ng BHB na palayo at matataas na ang putok na nanggagaling sa kaaway. Dito na nakakuha ng pagkakataon ang mga Pulang mandirigma na magmaniobra palayo sa lugar. Sa prosesong pag-atras, maayos at ligtas nilang nilisan ang pinangyarihan ng labanan dala ang isang sugatan na agad namang nalapatan ng pangunang lunas at kasalukuyang nasa maayos na kalagayan.

Tumagal ng hindi bababa sa 20 minuto ang ng labanan. Batay sa ulat ng mga masang nakakita sa mga umaatras na kaaway, may naunang dalawang inusungan na sugatan at may dalawa pang isinunod na ikinarga sa duyan, kaya apat ang kumpirmadong nasugatan sa panig ng mga elemeto ng 42ndIB.

Patunay lamang ito na mahusay na koordinasyon at kahandaan ng mga Pulang mandirigma. Taas morale sa hanay ng BHB, dahil ang sana’ydepensiba ay naipaling sa opensiba sa pagkakakuha nila ng inisyatiba sa naturang labanan at nagdulot ng demoralisasyon at kaswalati sa hanay ng kaaway.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20140314_paananalakay-ng-42nd-ib-pa-binigo-ng-mga-pulang-mandirigma-sa-ilalim-ng-norben-gruta-command

Former AFP General faces new battle at Davao Customs

From the Philippine News Agency (mar 14): Gov’t troopers capture 2 top NPA leaders in Sorsogon encounter

Government troopers from various services captured two top-ranking New People’s Army (NPA) commanders in an encounter Friday morning in Sitio Batakanina, Batan, Barangay Sablayan, Juban, Sorsogon.

The government soldiers were combined elements from the 903rd Infantry Brigade, 22nd Infantry Battalion, 8th Special Forces Company, Naval Special Operations Group and Naval Intelligence Special Forces of the Naval Forces for Southern Luzon.

Chief Supt. Victor P. Deona, Police Regional Office 5 director, identified those captured as Elias Pura alias Kumander Ka Soling and one known only as Ka Ino, allegedly the finance officer of the Bicol Regional Party Committee, operating in Sorsogon.

Deona said the encounter took place at about 6:15 a.m. Friday while the joint police and military forces were patrolling the area after receiving information that a big group of armed men went there.

He said that based on estimate, there were 30 armed rebels that the government forces encountered.

After a 30-minute firefight, Ka Ino was wounded while Pura was apprehended while trying to escape.

Other rebels fled the encounter scene when then realized that they were fighting a superior group and ran towards different directions while some blended with the village folk, Deona said.

The government men recovered M653 baby armalite rifle, two .45-caliber pistols, improvised explosive device, a grenade, a laptop and personal belongings from Pura and Ka Ino.

They brought Ka Ino to the hospital and is now under tight security.

Meanwhile, members of the 92nd Reconnaissance Company of the Philippine Army recovered two M16 armalite rifles, a carbine, cellphones, anti-government documents, materials for making explosives and personal belongings from NPA rebels they encountered in Barangay Jangan, Balud, Masbate, at about 6:10 a.m., also on Friday.

A report said the Army soldiers encountered about 15 armed rebels in the incident, who immediately retreated towards and unknown direction.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=625561

DVO-Davao Norte leads in winning peace

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 14): DVO-Davao Norte leads in winning peace
 
The strong collaboration of the provincial government of Davao del Norte and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has given the province greater advantage in winning peace.

Governor Rodolfo del Rosario said Capitol’s partnership with the AFP has fueled the localized peace process by bridging essential government services to the geographically isolated and depressed areas of the province.

The province and the AFP, through the 10th Infantry Division, rolled out the Convergence for Peace and Development from 2011 to 2013, together with the Philippine National Police, other agencies and the private sector.

The initiative brought together government resources to far-flung, politically threatened areas directly benefitting a total of 169,364 Dabaonons.

But the most important impact of the program, according to the governor, are the rising number of rebel returnees and the liberation of some 52 barangays from the influence of the New People’s Army last year.

Del Rosario noted the success of the alliance has bolstered human security that set the groundwork for human development, which is the core of the governor’s P.E.O.P.L.E. agenda.

“Human security is holding ground here in Davao del Norte through our concerted efforts,” the governor said in his keynote address at the recent 6th founding anniversary of the 1003rd Infantry brigade.

The governor further revealed the province and the army have stepped up their convergence operation towards reducing risks caused by natural calamities through the Oplan A.N.D.A.M. (Advocacy on Natural Disasters Awareness and Management) program.

The program was launched last December to reduce the vulnerability and build the resilience of communities to disasters, with the support of the army, PNP, the Department of Education and the local government units.

Del Rosario is optimistic the fresh partnership will effectively address the growing threat to people’s lives, not only due to political conflicts but also due to natural disasters.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=625387

PHL panel for EDC says access to proposed US facilities in PHL always a 'primordial concern'

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 14): PHL panel for EDC says access to proposed US facilities in PHL always a 'primordial concern'

The Philippine panel for the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDC) on Friday stressed that having access to the proposed US facilities, which will be set-up in the country once the talks are completed, is always a "primordial concern".

"The issue of access by Philippine authorities has always been a primordial concern for the panel and right from the beginning we have voiced this out to the US panel that this would be an important requirement for the PHL panel with respect to the negotiations of this agreement," said Defense undersecretary Pio Lorenzo Batino, head of the Philippine panel.

Batino issued this statement during a briefing Friday at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Commissioned Officers Club in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

He said this view was also shared by panel member Ambassador Eduardo Malaya who stated that areas, which US facilities may be constructed, are within existing Philippine military bases.

"If I may add, the areas to be shared are areas within existing Philippine military bases or facilities so these areas are within those bases so in essence access is assured," Malaya said.

It could be said that access is a given, what is being discussed is the sharing of responsibilities with respect to security and I think at this time both panels have reached agreement on languaging, and we would be able to hammer down the specifics as to who would be securing what area but as a concept, access is assured this being within Philippine military bases and that the right of the base commander to have access to specific area will be shared with them, as it has already been agreed in principle by both panels," he stressed.

According to Batino, all structures and activities by US forces, once the EDC is okayed, will be limited or confined to existing AFP facilities.

After the reconstitution of the Philippine negotiating panel and before the fifth round of talks last Jan. 30-31, the Philippine side presented a full draft text which more comprehensively articulated the Philippines’ position which are consistent with the Philippine Constitution and relevant laws as well as informed by the country’s historical experiences.

At the instance of the Philippine panel, the United States agreed to the inclusion of provisions on environment and safety, and opportunities for potential Philippine suppliers of goods, products and services.

Batino emphasized that, as in the preceding five rounds, the Philippine negotiating panel was guided by the principles of full respect for Philippine sovereignty, non-permanence of US troops and no US basing in the Philippines, mutuality of benefits and respect for the Philippine Constitution, including the prohibition against nuclear weapons.”

The other members of the Philippine negotiating panel are Ambassador Lourdes Yparraguirre, Justice undersecretary Francisco Baraan III and DND assistant secretary for strategic assessments Raymund Jose Quilop.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=625529

Pinoy and American Marines stage drills in Palawan as another US warship due to visit

From InterAksyon (Mar 14): Pinoy and American Marines stage drills in Palawan as another US warship due to visit

Filipino and American Marines have been conducting field and amphibious training in Palawan, with more exercises scheduled as another United States warship is set to visit Manila next week.

The drills and naval visits come amid negotiations between the Philippines and US on the increased rotational presence of American troops in the country and continuing tensions between Manila and Beijing over territory in the West Philippine Sea.

They also precede the visit next month of US President Barack Obama.

The US embassy in Manila said the USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19), flagship of the 7th Fleet, will be docking at Manila South Harbor on March 18 “for a routine port call and a four-day goodwill visit.”

Vice Admiral Robert L. Thomas, 7th Fleet commander, will attend the welcoming ceremony for the warship, which is based in Yokosuka, Japan.
Last Sunday, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG63) also docked at Manila. The cruiser has a crew of 360, 20 of them Filipino-Americans.

US warships have been visiting the country more frequently since tensions with China picked up.

In Palawan, Philippine Marines and the US Marine Corps’ 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion began their first field training exercise on March 10 as part of the Philippine Marine Engagement Program, a regular bi-lateral training program.

This will be followed by another “subject matter expert exchange” with I Marine Expeditionary Force based in San Diego, California at Philippine Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, to be followed by a maintenance management exchange in Manila and Palawan.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/82698/pinoy-and-american-marines-stage-drills-in-palawan-as-another-us-warship-due-to-visit

PHL will not withdraw ship from Ayungin Shoal - DFA

From InterAksyon (Mar 14): PHL will not withdraw ship from Ayungin Shoal - DFA



The rusting BRP Sierra Madre: despite its derelict state, the naval warship, where a small Marine contingent bravely holds fort, has served as the Philippines' last sentinel in the Ayungin Shoal, a symbol deemed nettlesome by Beijing in its expansive claim over the West Philippine Sea. INTERAKSYON.COM FILE

The Philippines will not withdraw from Ayungin Shoal in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) amid Beijing’s allegation that it agreed to remove a grounded Philippine naval ship that has served as Manila’s military detachment in the area since 1999, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

Manila maintained the shoal, also known by its international name - Second Thomas Reef - is part of the country’s continental shelf “over which the Philippines has sovereign rights and jurisdiction.”

China's Foreign Ministry claimed the Philippine government had made a commitment to withdraw the vessel from the Ayungin, which Beijing claims as part of its territory.

The exchange of diplomatic barbs is the latest manifestation of the two nations' long-standing territorial feud, reignited in recent years by tense confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in two disputed shoals – Scarborough and Ayungin – off Manila’s western coasts.

Seven Filipino navy personnel are guarding the outpost that was set up in 1999 to mark Ayungin as part of Philippine territory.

Further, the DFA, in a statement, said “the BRP Sierra Madre, a commissioned Philippine Naval Vessel, was placed in Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a permanent Philippine installation in response to China's illegal occupation of Mischief Reef in 1995.”

Mischief Reef is a Philippine-claimed territory in the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea that was occupied by China in 1995.

The DFA said the installation of the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin was prior to the signing of the Declaration of Conduct of Parties or DOC in the South China Sea in 2002.

The DOC is a non-binding code of conduct signed by Beijing and the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, of which the Philippines and other South China Sea claimants Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, are members.

Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are other members of the ASEAN.

It calls on all claimants to exercise restraint and stop new occupation of territories in the South China Sea, which is claimed by China nearly in its entirety despite objections from its Asian neighbors. However, DOC lacks the power to sanction states that will violate its provisions.

The Philippines filed a case against China before an arbitration tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands early last year, to complain against China’s “excessive” claims. A resolution is pending.

China, Taiwan, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia lay claim on parts or virtually the entire contested region, islands and reefs where undersea gas deposits have been discovered in several areas.

Many have feared the conflicts could erupt into a military confrontation.

China objects to third-party intervention to the disputes, particularly the involvement of the United States, which declared that it is in its national interest to ensure unfettered access to the busy sea lanes and peaceful resolution of the row.

Beijing prefers to negotiate one on one with other claimants-- which would give it advantage because of its sheer size, compared to rival claimants which are smaller and have less military force.

China is likewise pushing for the shelving of disputes and for joint development in the strategic waters pending a final resolution of the claims.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/82707/phl-will-not-withdraw-ship-from-ayungin-shoal---dfa

PHL says US defense deal close, amid China row

From InterAksyon (Mar 14): PHL says US defense deal close, amid China row

The Philippines said Friday a deal to allow a greater US military presence on its territory could be signed next month, in a timely defense boost amid a worsening territorial row with China.

There was optimism the pact could be secured ahead of US President Barack Obama's April visit to Manila after the two sides agreed on a contentious issue that would see US forces build "structures" on their hosts military bases, Filipino officials said.

"Discussions in the sixth round were substantive and productive, and significant progress was made," Philippine Defence Undersecretary Pio Batino told reporters in Manila following the latest round of talks in Washington last week.

Fellow negotiators said: "If the negotiations are successfully concluded and that happens before the arrival of President Obama, then we will be happy of course".

However, the officials declined to set an April deadline, citing the need to ensure the language was in line with Philippine laws and yielded the maximum benefits for the hosts.

Washington has said Obama will visit the Philippines in April as part of a four-nation tour of East Asia.

The Philippine government sees hosting more US forces as an important part of its strategy to counter an increasingly assertive China in an escalating dispute over rival claims to the South China Sea.

With its military capabilities dwarfed by China's, the Philippines has been looking for more diplomatic and military support from the United States, its former colonial ruler and longtime ally.

A decades-long dispute over rival claims to parts of the South China Sea has sharply worsened over the past two years, with the Philippines accusing China of bullying and violating international laws.

Among the recent flare-ups, Manila accused the Chinese coastguard of firing a water cannon on January 27 at two Filipino fishing boats near a shoal that is within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

The Philippines then said Chinese ships blocked Filipino vessels from bringing food to Filipino marines on another shoal within its territory.

Both outcrops lie many hundreds of kilometers away from the nearest Chinese landmass, but China claims most of the sea, even waters approaching the coasts of its neighbors.

American forces were forced to pull out of major military bases in the Philippines in 1992, ending nearly a century of military presence, amid a rental dispute and rising anti-American sentiment.

However, since 2002 several hundred Special Forces troops on short term deployments have training Filipino counterparts who are fighting Islamic militants in the south.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/82723/phl-says-us-defense-deal-close-amid-china-row