AFP-CRS: Army Taps SOCMED Warriors vs Reds

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Sep 26, 2019): Army Taps SOCMED Warriors vs Reds



https://www.facebook.com/CivilRelationsServiceAFP/photos/a.182240175128048/2723672617651445/?type=3&theater

[The Civil Relations Service (CRS) is the unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that engages the public through its public information and community relations programs “to create a favorable atmosphere between the community and the AFP. The CRS is the equivalent of the Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs units of the US Army.]

https://www.facebook.com/CivilRelationsServiceAFP/?fref=photo

AFP-CRS: Military, police nab swede & 3 others for Isulan bombing

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Sep 26, 2019): Military, police nab swede & 3 others for Isulan bombing



https://www.facebook.com/CivilRelationsServiceAFP/photos/a.182240175128048/2723674420984598/?type=3&theater

[The Civil Relations Service (CRS) is the unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that engages the public through its public information and community relations programs “to create a favorable atmosphere between the community and the AFP. The CRS is the equivalent of the Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs units of the US Army.]

https://www.facebook.com/CivilRelationsServiceAFP/

AFP-CRS::Efforts to Upgrade AFP Capabilities to Continue

Posted to the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Civil Relations Service (AFP-CRS) Facebook Page (Sep 26, 2019): Efforts to Upgrade AFP Capabilities to Continue



https://www.facebook.com/CivilRelationsServiceAFP/photos/pcb.2723677724317601/2723676010984439/?type=3&theater

[The Civil Relations Service (CRS) is the unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that engages the public through its public information and community relations programs “to create a favorable atmosphere between the community and the AFP. The CRS is the equivalent of the Psychological Operations and Civil Affairs units of the US Army.]

https://www.facebook.com/CivilRelationsServiceAFP/

CPP/NPA-Abra: Mapanupil na Executive Order No.70 patuloy na bibiguin ng NPA at buong mamamayan ng Abra

NPA-Abra propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Sep 27, 2019): Mapanupil na Executive Order No.70 patuloy na bibiguin ng NPA at buong mamamayan ng Abra

FLORENCIO BALUGA

SPOKESPERSON

NPA-ABRA

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Matapos ang bigong kampanya ng rehimeng US-DUTERTE na Oplan Kapayapaan laban sa CPP-NPA-NDF, agad na naglabas ng Executive Order No. 70 si Duterte para bumuo ng National Task Force to End Local Communists Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). Binuo ang Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Committee kung saan pinagsama-sama ang AFP, PNP, LGU at mga sibilyang ahensya sa layuning mas lalong pag-ibayuhin ang kontra-rebolusyonaryong kampanya ngunit ang mga hakbang na Ito ay pinag-uugatan ng mga kontra-mamamayan na polisiya. Ito ay desperasyon ng estado na igupo o lumpuhin ang rebolusyonaryong paglaban ng mamamayan.

Dito sa probinsya ng Abra nagpatawag ng pulong ang Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) na pinangunahan nila Gov. Joy Bernos, 24th IB Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Jeary Faminial, PNP Abra Director PCol. Alfredo K. Dangani upang pilitin ang mga opisyales ng mga Manisipyo at mga Barangay upang pumirma sa mga dokumento na nagdedeklara sa CPP-NPA-NDF at ibang progresibong organisasyon bilang Persona Non Grata, Dagdag pa rito binuo ang mga asosasyon ng Rebel Returnee sa probinsya at munisipyong antas upang maging instrumento sa mga Intel Operation at surrenderee campaign, Itinalaga si Jubencio Balweg bilang provincial coordinator ng mga Rebel Returnee (RR). Laman ng programa ang pagpapasurender sa mga sibilyan na pinaghihinalaang supporter ng NPA na ihinaharap sa medya tulad ng nangyari kay Genebeth Balicao, kasama rito ang panggigipit at pananakot sa mga Mayor para pirmahan at ipatupad ang mga polisiya na binababa ng pambansang pamahalaan. Tuloy-tuloy rin ang mga pagbrainwash ng AFP-PNP sa mga kabataan na lumayo sa rebolusyonaryong kilusan, pagreredtagged sa mga progresibong organisasyon at pagpapakalat ng mga kasinungalingan sa mga isinasagawang Youth Leadership Summit (YLS) sa bawat munisipyo. Ginagawang daluyan ang mga organisasyon sa mga Barangay ng Counter-insurgency. Maging ang simbahan ay kinakasangkapan para sa pagpapalaganap ng mga maling kaisipan laban sa rebolusyonaryo.

Ang mga kampanya ng rehimeng US-DUTERTE ang mismong naglalahad kung bakit ito ay kontra-mamamayan, winawasak nito ang pagkakaisa ng mamamayan at nagsisindi ng Clan War, Nilulusaw ang mga dating kaayusan para sa pagtatanggol sa lupa, karapatan at rekurso. Ginagawang bulag, pipi, bingi, ang mamamayan para tuluyan silang pigilan sa kanilang adhikaing magkamit ng tunay na kalayaan mula sa pasismo. Kahit Ang mga simpleng indibidwal na nagpapahayag ng di pagsang-ayon sa nais ng AFP-PNP ay nakakaranas ng harassment, EJK atbp. Maliban sa pagtapak sa mga karapatan ng mamamayan tuloy-tuloy na nagpapakasasa sa malalaking kick-back mula sa mga pondo na inilalabas sa ngalan ng counter-insurgency sina Gov. Joy Bernos, Lt. Col. Jeary Faminial, PCol. Alfredo Dangani atbp, sa halip na mga basic services lalo na para sa magsasaka ang unahin mas inuuna pa ang makakapagbulsa sila ng salapi. Magmula rito makikita natin kung sino ang nararapat na ituring na Persona Non Grata yan ay ang AFP-PNP at si Gov. Joy Bernos.

Tulad ng mga nagdaang Oplan laban sa rebolusyonaryong kilusan hindi magwawagi ang mga desperadong hakbang na ito, hindi rin Ito tatapos sa rebolusyon dahil Ito ay magsisilbing matabang lupa para sa patuloy na pagsigla at pagyabong ng armadong paglaban ng mamamayan dito sa Abra. Sapagkat hindi lingid sa kaalaman ng mamamayan at mulat sila sa kung sino talaga ang nagsusulong ng kanilang demokratikong interes. Malawak ang karanasan ng mamamayan magmula sa Martial ni Marcos kung kayat hindi maitatago sa kanila ang pag-iral ng de facto Martial Law ngayon sa tabing ng iba’t-ibang kampanya ng estado. Patuloy na manawagan sa buong mamamayan ng Abra na huwag matakot na ilantad at Laban ang mga paglabag sa karapatan-tao na ginagawa ng AFP PNP CAFGU, patuloy na ipaintintindi sa mga mamamayan kung anu ang tunay na kalagayan ng ating lipunan sa kasalukuyang panahon. Makakaasa ang mamamayan ng Abra na laging nakahanda ang Agustin Begnalen Command NPA-Abra para bigwasan ang mga AFP-PNP bilang sagot sa kanilang pasismo.

Tutulan ang Executive Order No. 70!
Ilantad at labanan ang sabwatang Gov. Joy Bernos, Lt. Col Faminial, PCol Dangani!
Ibagsak ang rehimeng US-DUTERTE!
Ibayong isulong ang armadong pakikibaka!
Sumapi sa NPA***

https://cpp.ph/statement/mapanupil-na-executive-order-no-70-patuloy-na-bibiguin-ng-npa-at-buong-mamamayan-ng-abra/

CPP/NDF-ST: Pagtatanggol ni Albayalde sa hazing ng PMA, utak-pasista

NDF-Southern Tagalog (ST) propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Sep 27, 2019): Pagtatanggol ni Albayalde sa hazing ng PMA, utak-pasista

PATNUBAY DE GUIA

NDF-SOUTHERN TAGALOG
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Pinatunayan ni Oscar Albayalde, hepe ng PNP, ang pasistang kultura at indoktrinasyon ng AFP-PNP sa PMA nang aminin niyang siya mismo ay dumaan sa hazing. Baluktot niya pang ikinatwirang naging bahagi ito ng kanilang paghuhubog ng pagkatao bilang kadete ng PMA para paunlarin ang kani-kanilang mga sarili.

Inilalanted mismo ng mga pahayag ng AFP-PNP ang tunay nitong pasista at mersenaryong tradisyon tulad ng baluktot na pangangatwiran ni Albayalde. Pinapakita lalo nito kung paano hinuhubog ang pasistang ideolohiya at doktrina ng karahasan ng mersenaryong AFP at PNP. Gaano man ang gawing pagpapabango ng sarili, pilit na lalabas ang nakakasulasok na kabulukan at pagiging anti-demokratiko ng institusyong militar at pulisya.

Malaon nang batid ng mamamayan ang mga krimen at kalupitan ng AFP-PNP hindi lamang sa kapwa nila sundalo at pulis kundi sa mamamayan tuwing naglulunsad ito ng mga operasyong militar sa kanayunan at saturation drive sa mga maralitang komunidad sa ngalan ng kampanyang anti-droga. Kaya nagsasayang lamang ng laway si Albayalde at ang kanilang mga tagapagsalita na pawang hindi na magkandaugaga sa paglulubid ng kasinungalingan.

Kahit mapanagot ang mga nagkasala sa pagkamatay ni Darwin Dormitorio at magbitiw ang mga matataas na upisyal na responsable sa naging trahedya ni Dormitorio, hindi malilinis ng AFP ang imahen nitong nakabatay sa karahasan. Hindi matatakasan ng AFP at PNP ang multo ng patung-patong na krimen nito sa mamamayan dahil bulok-sa-kaibuturan ang institusyon ng militar at pulis.

Hindi na kinakailangang ipasailalim sa hazing at marahas na pagsasanay at indoktrinasyon ang sinumang nagnanais na ipagtanggol ang bayan. Ang tunay na mga makabayan at patriyotiko ay yaong mga nagsusulong ng mga demokratikong kahilingan ng bayan at nagtatanggol sa interes ng mga inaapi—mga katangian na minahal ng mga inaapi’t pinasasamantalahan sa NPA—at angkinin nilang sarili hukbo.

Ang pagiging anti-mamamayan at anti-demokratiko mismo ng AFP ang nagtulak kay Lt. Crispin Tagamolila upang talikuran ang pagseserbisyo sa militar at umanib sa NPA noong 1970. Sa ilang taon lamang ng pagiging miyembro ng AFP, narealisa nya na “ang AFP ay pangunahing instrumento ng panunupil sa makatarungang pagtutol ng naghihirap na mamamayan.” Nasaksihan nya kung papaano tinatratong utusan ng mga upisyal ng army ang mga karaniwang sundalo at ang pag-iral ng malaganap na “palakasan” at ng “sistemang patron.” Saksi mismo si Kas. Crispin Tagamolila kung papaano kinokontrol ng US ang AFP, kung paano binulok ni Marcos ang militar at pulis para tiyakin ang personal na katapatan ng mga ito sa kanya, at ipinag-utos ang paglipol sa mga aktibista ng mga military intelligence unit at liquidation squads.

Ang kabulukan ng institusyon ng AFP at pulis na nagtulak kay Lt. Crispin Tagamolila na umanib sa NPA ay nagpapatuloy at higit pang sumasahol sa ilalim ni Duterte. Kaya kahit ano pang gawing ng AFP at PNP na pagbali-baligtarin ang katutuhanan at pagmukhaing totoo ang mga kasinungalingan para sirain ang NPA sa mata ng mahihirap ay mauuwi lamang sa kabiguan.

Ang NPA ay may mayamang tradisyon ng taos-pusong pagmamahal at paglilingkod sa bayan. Isinusulong nito ang pambansa-demokratikong rebolusyon upang maibagsak ang kasalukuyang bulok at pasistang rehimeng US-Duterte. At sa pagbagsak nito, tinatanaw natin sa hinaharap ang pagtatayo ng isang sosyalistang lipunang papawi sa lahat ng makauring pagsasa

https://cpp.ph/statement/pagtatanggol-ni-albayalde-sa-hazing-ng-pma-utak-pasista/

CPP/NDF-ST: Komentaryo sa pahayag ni Secretary Panelo na walang nagawang paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte

NDF-Southern Tagalog (ST) propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Sep 27, 2019): Komentaryo sa pahayag ni Secretary Panelo na walang nagawang paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte

PATNUBAY DE GUIA

NDF-SOUTHERN TAGALOG

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Dapat ngang tawaging “payaso ng Malakanyang” si Secretary Panelo—tagapasalita at tagalinis ng kalat ni Duterte sa media. Sa naiibang talento ni Panelo sa pagsisinungaling at paglulubid ng kwento, akma nga siyang maging tagapagsalita ng Palasyo upang pabanguhin ang imahen ng rehimeng Duterte tulad ng ginawa ni Goebbels sa Nazismo ni Hitler.

Tigas ang mukha ni Panelo sa pagsisinungaling sa harapan ng mga kagawad ng media sa Malacanang noong Setyembre 23, 2019 na “walang nagaganap na paglabag sa karapatang pantao” sa bansa maging sa panig ng administrasyong Duterte. Reaksyon ito ng Malacanang sa naging ulat ni Antonio Guteress, ang Secretary General ng United Nations, na isa ang Pilipinas sa 48 bansa sa mundo na patuloy ang ginagawang mga intimidasyon at panggigipit, bilang pagganti, sa mga organisasyong sibiko, mga tagapagtaguyod at tagapagtanggol ng karapatang pantao dahil sa kanilang pakikipagtulungan sa United Nations Human Rights Council.

Pawang mga kakarampot na pasista at masusugid na mga anti-demokratikong elemento lamang, sa loob at labas ng gubyernong Duterte, ang maniniwala sa pahayag ni Panelo. Alam ng taumbayan kung gaano kabrutal at mapaniil ang pasistang adminstrasyong Duterte lalo na sa kampanya nito laban sa iligal na droga at sa “kontra-insurehensya” sa ilalim ng Oplan Kapanatagan.

Hindi kayang pagtakpan ng mga kasinungalingan, maaangas na pananalita at retoriko ng Malakanang ang paniniwala ng internasyunal na komunidad sa kalupitan at pananagutang kriminal ni Duterte dahil sa naganap at patuloy pang nagaganap na malawakang pagpatay sa mga pinaghihinalaang adik at tulak ng ilegal na droga na kalakhan ay mula sa mahihirap na Pilipino. Marami ang naniniwala na sadya silang pinatay at hindi “nanlaban” na madalas at gastado nang kwento ng mga operatiba ng gubyerno para palitawin na lehitimo ang kanilang mga operasyon laban sa iligal na droga. Hindi na lihim ang ginagawang pagtatanim ng ebidensya—baril at ilegal na droga—ng mga operatiba ng pulisya at militar para suportahan ang kwentong “nanlaban kaya napatay” ang mga biktima ng extra–judicial killings.

Higit na marami ang naniniwala, hindi lang dito sa bansa kundi maging sa ibayong dagat, na ang pasistang si Duterte ang utak at nasa likod ng mga pagpaslang, pag-atake, demonisasyon, red-tagging at pagsasampa ng mga gawa-gawang kaso para usigin at ipakulong sa mga lider at kasapi ng mga progresibong organisasyon, mga masugid na kritiko at oposisyon sa bansa.

Hindi na kayang linisin pa ni Panelo ang estabilisadong katotohanan na sa loob lamang ng mahigit na 3 taong panunungkulan ng pasistang rehimeng US- Duterte ay nahihigitan na nito ang mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng pinagsamang rehimen mula kay Ferdinand Marcos hanggang kay Noynoy Aquino. Patunay dito ang mga datos na nakatala sa ibaba.

Mahigit sa 6,000 ang opisyal na bilang na inamin ng pulisya na kanilang napapatay sa gyera kontra ilegal na droga at mahigit naman sa 25,000 pang pamamaslang na may kaugnayan sa ilegal na droga ang isinasailalim sa imbestigasyon.

Umabot naman sa 134 na tagapagtaguyod at tagapagtanggol ng karapatang pantao at mahigit sa 100 lider magsasaka at katutubo, mula sa mga progresibong organisasyon, ang biktima ng ekstrahudisyal na mga pamamaslang ng mga ahente at death squad ng rehimen. Dumarami din ang bilang ng mga mga biktima ng ekstrahudisyal na pamamaslang mula sa mga taong simbahan, media, abugado at iba pang propesyunal. Sa kabilang banda, nakapagtala ang Karapatan ng mahigit sa 381 bigong ekstrahudisyal na pamamaslang na ang pinakahuli ay ang tangkang pagpatay kay Atty Criselda Heredia na isang human rights lawyer at aktibong environment activist na nakabase sa Capiz.

Ayon din sa Karapatan, batay sa inilabas nilang datos sa publiko mula Hulyo 2016 hanggang Disyembre 2018, mahigit sa 448,000 na mga magsasaka at katutubo ang biktima ng karahasang militar ng AFP at PNP sa pagpapatupad ng Oplan-Kapanatagan gamit ang whole of nation strategy to end local communist armed conflict. Kabilang ang 368,391 na sapilitang nagsilikas sa ligtas na lugar dahil sa mga isinagawang aerial bombings ng AFP na walang pagsasaalang alang sa buhay ng mga kawawang sibilyan. Nasa 8,340 naman na indibidwal ang biktima ng indiscriminate firing ng AFP at PNP.

Nasa 2,684 ang naisadokumento ng Karapatan na iligal na inaresto kung saan 513 ang kinasuhan at ikinulong batay sa mga gawa-gawang kaso. Nasa 111 naman ang nakaranas ng torture mula sa kamay ng mga amadong pwersa ng estado. Nasa mahigit sa 6,100 ang nakaranas ng ilegal na demolisyon.

Marami pang naisadokumento ang Karapatan na mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa ilalim ng adminitrasyong Duterte na isinapubliko bilang patunay na malawakan, talamak at walang habas ang nagaganap na mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng pasistang rehimeng US-Duterte laban sa sambayanang Pilipino.

Batay sa nabanggit sa itaas na halaw sa opisyal na dokumento, mga kongkretong datos at mga sinumpaang salaysay ng mga biktima sa paglabag sa karapatang pantao na isinumite at iprinesenta sa United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) ng mga organisasyon na nagtataguyod at nagtatanggol sa karapatang pantao sa Pilipinas, pinasusubalian nito ang pahayag ng Malakanyang na walang nagaganap na paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa bansa at walang nilalabag na karapatang pantao ang administrasyong Duterte.

Sa ganito, kaya pa bang papaniniwalain ni Panelo ang taumbayan sa kanyang mga imbentong kasinungalingan? Wala, wala at wala nang maniniwala sa mga kapural ni Duterte. Wala nang natitirang kredibilidad si Duterte para maniwala ang taumbayan. Para sa taumbayan, si Duterte ay traydor, korap, pasista at talamak na mamamatay tao. Isang pinunong may kriminal na intensyon at oryentasyon para magkamal ng kapangyarihan na walang hanggan. Dapat na pigilan ng mamamayan ang patuloy pang paglubha ng mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao at higit na karumal dumal na krimen sa bayan ng rehimeng Duterte. Dapat nitong buuin ang malawak na pagkakaisa at ilunsad ang determinadong paglaban upang agarang mapapatalsik sa isang popular na pag-aalsa ng taumbayan na tulad ng nangyari sa Edsa nuong Pebrero 1986 na nagpatalsik sa diktador na si Ferdinand Marcos.####

https://cpp.ph/statement/komentaryo-sa-pahayag-ni-secretary-panelo-na-walang-nagawang-paglabag-sa-karapatang-pantao-sa-ilalim-ng-administrasyong-duterte/

CPP/NPA-Eastern Visayas: NPA warns civil-military juntas to sideswipe provincial governments in the name of EO 70

NPA-Eastern Visayas (EV) propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Sep 27, 2019): NPA warns civil-military juntas to sideswipe provincial governments in the name of EO 70

KARLOS MANUENPA
NPA- EASTERN VISAYAS

EFREN MARTIRES COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

The Efren Martires Command of the New People’s Army in Eastern Visayas today warned that the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) set up in each of the six provinces of the region are essentially civil-military juntas which will sideswipe the local governments. “Organized by virtue of Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 70 and its ‘whole-of-nation approach,’ the PTF-ELCAC empowers the Armed Forces of the Philippines to subordinate and mobilize the civil authorities and civil society in the name of ‘counter-insurgency,’” the EMC said in a statement.

Ka Karlos Manuel, spokesperson for the EMC, said that through the PTF-ELCAC, the AFP conducts the charade that local governments and officials as well as the people support the Duterte regime’s “counter-insurgency” program. “Thus, the PTF-ELCAC will lead to orchestrate ‘persona non grata’ declarations, forced surrenders, anti-communist gatherings and ‘peace rallies’ in barangays, schools and other institutions as the AFP militarizes the civil spheres of society. Everybody else will be compelled into acquiescing with the fascist ‘counter-insurgency’ that is leading to extrajudicial killings, illegal arrests, harassments, and other human rights violations.”

“The PTF-ELCAC thus means de facto martial law and will surely engender rising rights violations not only in the 31 ‘identified priority barangays’ but throughout Eastern Visayas.”
The EMC spokesperson called on the people to expose and oppose EO 70, Memo 32 and other fascist schemes of the Duterte regime. “We call on the human rights defenders, church people, media, academics, politicians and all freedom-loving people to oppose the Duterte regime’s tyranny and the wanton violation of democratic rights through the ‘whole-of-nation approach’ and its instrumentalities through the PTF-ELCACs.”

He likewise urged local government officials to resist the militarization of their offices, heed the demands of their constituents for protection against the fascist attacks of the military and police, and to be open to the democratic demands of the people.#

https://cpp.ph/statement/npa-warns-civil-military-juntas-to-sideswipe-provincial-governments-in-the-name-of-eo-70/

CPP/NDF-EV: NDF-EV urges youth and students to fight for free education and other democratic rights against the fascist tyranny of Duterte

NDF-Eastern Visayas (EV) propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Sep 27, 2019): NDF-EV urges youth and students to fight for free education and other democratic rights against the fascist tyranny of Duterte

FR. SANTIAGO “KA SANNY” SALAS

SPOKESPERSON

NDF-EV

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT OF THE PHILIPPINES

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

After getting strident opposition from the youth sector, the Duterte regime’s Commission on Higher Education (CHED) itself proved the sham of the much-ballyhooed “free education” program by stating some students are far more deserving than others to receive government education subsidy.

“Duterte’s ‘free education’ is another dirty joke at the expense of the students. The youth are already much acquainted with the socialized tuition scheme where some subsidize others and the reactionary government hides its abandonment of education. Duterte’s CHED in the region itself blurts out education is a privilege and not a right,” said Fr. Santiago “Ka Sanny” Salas, National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas spokesperson.

Fr. Salas noted that aside from the free education scam, those who made it to college continue to face Duterte’s fascist tyranny through campus militarization and other attacks on students’ democratic rights. Out of fear of millions of militant youth and students calling for his ouster, Duterte is rushing anti-democratic impositions such as proposals for military presence in campuses and the conduct of school surveillance, Red-tagging, threats against campus press freedom, the revival of mandatory ROTC and the lowering of the minimum age of criminal liability.

Fr. Salas challenged the youth to persevere with their militant spirit and defy and foil the schemes of Duterte’s fascist tyranny. “Various schools, youth organizations and the whole youth and students’ sector must work together to briskly expose the free education scam, call for a nationalist, democratic, and mass-oriented education, fight against campus militarization and defend their democratic rights.”

The NDF-EV spokesperson urged the youth to join the broad spectrum of opposition to expedite the ouster of the Duterte regime. “Aside from their sectoral interests, they must fight alongside the basic masses. Only when the youth unites with the peasants, workers and other democratic classes and sectors can they achieve genuine change.”

Fr. Salas concluded, “Throughout history the Filipino youth have been at the forefront of those fighting for revolutionary change, from the Katipunan to the New People’s Army. We welcome the youth who are targeted by the fascist US-Duterte regime and all others who are of right age and want to voluntarily and truly serve the country to continue the fight on to the next level by taking up the armed struggle. Be part of the New People’s Army and the People’s Democratic Government. Valiantly fight alongside the masses toward the overthrow of the loathed regime and onward until national democracy is achieved.”#

https://cpp.ph/statement/ndf-ev-urges-youth-and-students-to-fight-for-free-education-and-other-democratic-rights-against-the-fascist-tyranny-of-duterte/

CPP/NPA-Mountain Province: Tuloy-tuloy na labanan ang pandarambong ng Oplan Kapanatagan sa Mt. Province!

NPA-Mountain Province propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Sep 27, 2019): Tuloy-tuloy na labanan ang pandarambong ng Oplan Kapanatagan sa Mt. Province!

MAGNO UDYAW

NPA-MOUNTAIN PROVINCE

LEONARDO PACSI COMMAND

NEW PEOPLE'S ARMY

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

Patuloy na umiigting ang todo-gera ng rehimeng US-Duterte laban sa mamamayan, kasabay ng paglala ng krisis sa ekonomya at pagluhod ng rehimen sa mga imperyalista.

Sa bulag na pagnanais na puksain ang paglaban ng mamamayan, inaarangkada ng rehimen at ng armadong pwersa nito ang Oplan Kapanatagan.

Tiyak na bibiguin ito ng mamamayan at ng rebolusyonaryong kilusan, katulad ng ipinamalas ng matagumpay na aksyong militar ng Leonardo Pacsi Command (NPA – Mt. Province) laban sa mga nanghimasok na tropa ng Charlie Company, 50th Infantry Battalion sa Aguid, Sagada, Mt. Province noong Setyembre 26, alas-onse ng umaga.

Sa naturang opensiba, namatay si Corporal Jordan Manawa at di-mabilang ang sugatan sa hanay ng mga pasistang tropa.

Pandarambong at hindi kapanatagan. Sa ilalim ng Oplan Kapanatagan Cordillera-Ilocos Alpha, pinatitindi ng AFP at PNP ang pandarambong at panunupil ng mamamayan ng rehiyon.

Ngayong buwan, naglunsad ang Northern Luzon Command ng AFP ng malawakang operasyong militar sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng Cordillera at Ilocos, kabilang ang Mt. Province, kasabay ng tuloy-tuloy na harassment, paglabag sa karapatang-tao, at saywar (psychological warfare).

Sa Mt. Province, patuloy ang panggigipit at redtagging sa mga aktibista at organisasyong masa, na bahagi ng pagkukundisyon ng rehimen upang ilatag ang batas militar sa buong bansa.

Batay sa mga ulat ng mga taga-Besao at ng karatig na bayan ng Tubo, Abra, nanghimasok ang mga tropa ng pulis at militar sa mga komunidad upang “kumpiskahin ang mga inimbak na armas ng NPA” sa mga tahanan.

Nakakampo rin ang mga tropa ng militar sa loob ng mga pampublikong lugar, katulad ng eskwelahan, na lantarang paglabag sa Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law o CARHRIHL.

Sa inaasahang pagdiriwang ng ika-51 anibersaryo ng CPP sa Disyembre, naglipana rin ang mga ahente ng pulis at militar na nagpapanggap na miyembro ng NPA upang makapanghuthot ng salapi mula sa mga opisyal ng gubyerno, batay sa mga ulat ng mga taga-Sagada at Tubo.

Takot at hindi kapanatagan ang dulot sa mamamayan ng mga nakaparadang sasakyan ng AFP at ng ingay ng mga drone, helicopter, at recon plane.

“Kapanatagan” ng nga dayuhan at ganid na proyekto. Binuo ang Regional Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict na nasa pamumuno ng AFP at PNP upang paigtingin ang papel ng mga ito bilang protektor at private security force ng mga dambuhala at mapanirang proyekto sa enerhiya, logging, at minas.

Sa ilalim ng RTF-ELCAC, mas madali nang makakasangkapan ng AFP-PNP ang mga local government unit, ahensya ng gubyerno, at huwad na organisasyon upang manghimasok sa mga komunidad at supilin ang paglaban ng mga mamamayang apektado ng mga nasabing proyekto.

Kasalukuyang inookupa ng 50th IB, 54th IB, at 52nd Division Reconnaissance Company ng 5th Infantry Division ang mga komunidad sa Kalinga, Mt. Province, at Ifugao, na pangunahing maaapektuhan ng Chico River Pump Irrigation Project ng Tsina at Alimit Dam Project ng SN Aboitiz.

Sa Abra, Ilocos Sur, at Mt. Province, malawakang operasyong militar ang tugon ng 7th ID (24th IB at 81st IB) sa paglaban ng mga magsasaka at Kaigorotan sa Cordillera Exploration Co. Inc. o CEXCI ng Freeport McMorran-Phelps Dodge at Sta. Clara-Philnewriver Hydropower Companies.

Kasabay nito ang paghahawan ng daan para sa BIMAKA Renewable Energy Development Corp. o BREDCO na nakatakdang maitayo sa Besao matapos nitong dayain ang pagkuha sa free, prior, and informed consent.

Paglaban ng magsasaka at pambansang minorya sa huwad na “kapanatagan”. Dahil sa lumalalang pasismo, krisis sa ekonomya, at pambansang pang-aapi, walang ibang sasaligan ang mamamayan kundi ang sama-samang pagkilos at paglaban.

Walang-habas ang pangangamkam sa lupang ninuno ng Kaigorotan at pagtapak sa kanilang karapatan sa sariling pagpapasya.

Lalo namang naibabaon sa gutom ang mga magsasaka dahil sa mga neoliberal na polisiya sa ekonomya ng Estado – katulad ng huwad na reporma sa buwis at liberalisasyon sa pag-aangkat ng bigas – na pinalalala ng paggambala ng militarisasyon sa kabuhayan.

Ginagatungan lamang ng Oplan Kapanatagan ang sumisidhing galit at paglaban ng mamamayan ng Mt. Province, Cordillera, at Ilocos.

Bilang Hukbo ng mamamayan, paiigtingin ng LPC ang armadong pakikibaka upang isulong ang tunay na kahilingan ng mamamayan at ipagtagumpay ang demokratikong rebolusyong bayan na may sosyalistang perspektiba.

Ilantad at labanan ang pandarambong ng Oplan Kapanatagan sa Mt. Province!
Patalsikin ang pasistang rehimeng US-Duterte!
Ipagtagumpay ang rebolusyong Pilipino!

https://cpp.ph/statement/tuloy-tuloy-na-labanan-ang-pandarambong-ng-oplan-kapanatagan-sa-mt-province/

Army soldier slain, another hurt in Mountain Province clash

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 27, 2019): Army soldier slain, another hurt in Mountain Province clash

An Army soldier was killed while his companion was wounded during a gunfight with communist rebels in Sagada, Mountain Province on Thursday, the military said.

Killed was Army Cpl. Jordan Malnawa of Pinukpuk, Kalinga while the wounded has yet to be identified, said Army Maj. Noriel Tayaban, the 5th Infantry Division spokesperson.

Army soldiers found two anti-personnel landmines and assorted chemical components for improvised explosive devices from the clash site in Barangay Aguid.

Brig. Gen. Henry Doyaoen, 503rd Infantry Brigade commander, said the encounter lasted for 30 minutes and may have wounded an undetermined number of New People’s Army rebels.

Doyoen said the government troops were scouring the site to remove planted landmines as reported by villagers when they were attacked by the rebels.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1170296/army-soldier-slain-another-hurt-in-mountain-province-clash

Another suspect in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat blast arrested — police

From GMA News (Sep 25, 2019): Another suspect in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat blast arrested — police

A fifth suspect in the Isulan, Sultan Kudarat explosion early this month was nabbed in General Santos City on Monday, September 23.

The Police Regional Office 12 on Wednesday identified the suspect as Kamlon Tongab Camsa, alleged vice chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front's military affairs.

A bag containing two hand grenades was seized from him, police said.

At present, the suspect is under the custody of the General Santos City's Police Station 2. A case against him is being readied by authorities.

The military earlier reported that four other suspects on the blast that wounded seven individuals have been apprehended. They were identified as Hassan Akgun, a Swedish national; Abedin Camsa, Normia Camsa, and Norshiya Camsa.

Police earlier said extortion could be a motive for the incident, however, they also did not rule out terrorism as the reason for the attack.

Meanwhile, Police Brigadier General Alfred Corpus, regional director of PRO 12, hailed security forces for the arrest of the suspects. He also thanked the residents who have helped them to arrest the perpetrators of the incident.

"I commend the operatives involved as well as our counterpart agencies for the success of this operation. I would like also to recognize the help coming from members of the community who fed us with valuable information leading to the arrest of this suspected ISIS sympathizers," Corpus said.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/regions/709277/another-suspect-in-isulan-sultan-kudarat-blast-arrested-police/story/

“Lessons Learned” book on the GRP-MNLF peace nego: a journey back to 1993-1996

From MindaNews (Sep 26, 2019): “Lessons Learned” book on the GRP-MNLF peace nego: a journey back to 1993-1996

JAKARTA – Twenty-three years after the Final Peace Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front was signed, negotiators and facilitators gathered at the ASEAN Hall here on Monday to remember and reflect on the period 1993 to 1996, and returned home with copies of the findings of a research put together in a book launched on the same day.

The launch was held at the seminar on the outcome of a research project of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations – Institute for Peace and Reconciliation (ASEAN-IPR) on “Lessons Learned from a Process of Conflict Resolution between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as Mediated by Indonesia (1993–1996).”

The seminar’s very long title is also the book’s, with “Lessons Learned” as the main.

Author Jamil Maidan Flores (L) is joined by dignitaries at the launch of his book “Lessons Learned from a Process of Conflict Resolution between the Government of The Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as Mediated by Indonesia (1993-1996)” on September 23, 2019 at the ASEAN Hall in Jakarta. Among the dignitaries are Ambassador Noel Servigon, the Philippines’ Permanent Representative to ASEAN (3rd from left) and Indonesia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir (5th from left). MindaNews photo by CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS

Authored by Jamil Maidan Flores, “Lessons Learned” was carried out by a team of researchers from Indonesia and the Philippines led by Flores and started in October 2018 with the support of the Japan ASEAN Integration Fund.

The book takes the reader to a journey back to the 1990s, including what went on behind the scenes – within the GRP, the MNLF, the Indonesian facilitators and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (now Cooperation) – that could not be revealed then.

Its scope, however, does not include the implementation period beyond the signing of the peace agreement but is limited only to the three-year period – 1993 to 1996 — where Indonesia mediated the four rounds of formal peace talks – and 70 meetings at the technical level, seven informal consultations, nine Mixed Committee meetings — that eventually led to the signing of the Final Peace Agreement on September 2, 1996 in Malacanang in the presence of President Fidel Ramos and Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas.

Retired General and former Ambassador Manuel Yan signed the agreement for the Philippine government while Prof. Nur Misuari signed for the MNLF.

Monday’s launch reunited some key personalities who sat across the negotiating table and those who facilitated the talks a quarter of a century ago, this time, seated beside each other as panelists.

Misuari was not present but Professor Mashur Jundam was, along with Muslimin Sema, who was MNLF Secretary General then, and lawyer Jose Lorena, who was a member of the MNLF’s legal panel then.

Lawyer Nabil Tan, then Vice Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and a member of the government peace panel then, also shared his insights.

Author Jamil Maidan flores (front row, L) with Indonesian dignitaries and Moro guests (back, L to R) Muslimin Sema, Nabil Tan, jose Lorena and Mashour Jundam. MindaNews photo by CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS

Lorena and Tan are now members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the body that is governing the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao during the three-year transition period until June 30, 2022.

From the Indonesian side, Rezlan Ishar Jenie, former chair of the Peace Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Southern Philippines (now Executive Director of the ASEAN-IPR); Hassan Wirajuda, facilitator and chair of the Mixed Committee of the Peace Talks who later became Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Yuli Mumpuni Widarso, Supervisor of the Coordinating Secretariat for the Mixed Committee, were among the panelists, but several other former Ambassadors to the Philippines and team members during that period, were also around.

Lessons from the region

In his address, Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir, Indonesia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, described the GRP-MNLF peace process as “one of the prominent success stories of peaceful conflict resolution” that provides “lessons from the region on how countries can settle a conflict through peaceful means with the involvement of a third party as a mediator and facilitator.”

Fachir said the research also aims to “instill the habit of dialogue and peaceful settlements of dispute in ASEAN.”

READ: Lessons from ASEAN on how countries can settle a conflict through peaceful resolution

Jenie, Executive Director of the ASEAN-IPR, said Monday’s event was a milestone for the Institute and expressed hope the lessons learned “would add to the existing body of knowledge and understanding, of how conflict resolution, reconciliation and peace are attained and sustained.”

Abdurrahman Mohammad Fachir, Indonesia’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs (second from right) accepts a copy of the book, “Lessons Learned from a Process of Conflict Resolution between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as Mediated by Indonesia (1993-1996)” from Artauli Tobing, Indonesian Representative to the ASEAN Institute for Peace and Reconciliation’s Governing Council on 23 September 2019 at the ASEAN Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo courtesy of ASEAN-IPR

He called for more best practices and lessons learned to share, as the ASEAN-IPR hopes to be “the hub in sharing these lessons, for the benefit of the region, and the world.”

READ: More best practices and lessons learned to share… for the benefit of ASEAN and the world

Ambassador Noel Servigon, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to ASEAN hailed the “importance of mediators as champions of peace and how diplomacy became instrumental in bringing out peace between the government and MNLF.”

Lessons Learned
The book’s Chapter 6, titled “Some Lessons Learned,” lists only eight although Flores says “the great bulk” would emerge at a much later time, during the Tripartite Review on the implementation of the FPA but that process started only in 2006 which is “very much beyond the purview of this project.”

The eight lessons, according to the book:

• Nurture the human factor
• Organize for collaboration
• To hear the voice of reason, silence the guns
• Resistance is everywhere; do not underestimate it
• The Message is the thing. Keep communication flowing
• When you need help, get a mediator
• Engage in Diplomacy or Perish
• It’s the people, stupid!

Nurture the human factor

When negotiators see their counterparts as mere representatives of goals and objectives that compete with their own, there can only be an adversarial relationship “but once negotiators see their counterparts as flesh-and-blood human beings like themselves… the atmosphere changes. Negotiators become more informal, more relaxed, more open to a collaborative working relationship.”

Organize for collaboration

Much of the progress of the Peace Talks is credited to the way the negotiations were organized: in a hierarchy. “Issues were first discussed and solutions explored at the technical level in the Support Committees, and their recommendations were submitted to the Mixed Committee for further refinement, and then finally submitted to the Formal Peace Talks.”

To hear the voice of reason, silence the guns

Alatas proposed the signing of a formal ceasefire agreement between the GRP and the MNLF because “the voice of reason can be heard only when the guns are silent.”

Resistance is everywhere. Do not underestimate it.

“When an established state and a rebel movement are negotiating toward a peaceful resolution, they have a formidable common enemy: the deep-seated and widespread prejudice held not by the negotiating parties but by their respective constituencies. In this case the prejudice is centuries old, born of the Moro wars waged between the colonial government in Manila and the Sultanates of Southern Philippines.”

The Message is the thing. Keep communication flowing.

At the end of each negotiation, the panels and the facilitator issued a press statement “to prevent the media to write stories about the Talks on the basis of speculation.”

“In an ideal situation the media should have been a close ally of the Ramos Government and of the MNLF in the social education of the people not only in Mindanao but also all over the country. There should have been a social education campaign that enlightened the people on the historical background of the conflict and tore at the wall of prejudice between Muslim and Christian Filipinos.”

When you need help, get a mediator.

The book quotes President Fidel Ramos as saying that third party facilitation is “indispensable if the parties are poles apart on fundamental political issues.”

The MNLF had refused to negotiate peace in the 1970s and the 1990s without mediation by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (then Conference), to which Indonesia belongs and where the MNLF sits as an observer.

The research found that unmediated peace talks such as the Cory Aquino administration’s with the MNLF and the Estrada administration’s with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, failed.

Engage in Diplomacy or Perish

The book describes how diplomacy played a key role in the peace negotiations and how diplomatic moves behind-the-scenes helped resolve contentious issues.

It’s the people, stupid!

In his speech, Flores said that if the reader can remember only one of these lessons, he hopes it is Lesson Number 8 because “it’s the people who make peace, not the leaders who sign peace treaties.”

Jamil Maidan Flores, author and project manager of the research project titled “Lessons Learned from a Process of Conflict Resolution between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) as Mediated by Indonesia (1993-1996” speaks at the launch of the book bearing the same title at the ASEAN Hall of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on 23 September 2019. MindaNews photo by CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS
“To be precise, peace is the handiwork of the sum of individuals who decide to stop fighting and to live in the mainstream of a harmonious community. In the final analysis, peace is made at the level of the individual,” he said.

READ: It’s the people who make peace, not the leaders who sign peace treaties

The research found that ownership of the peace process in 1993 to 1996 appeared to be limited only to the negotiating parties and a few civil society organizations, that consultations with the people that the Ramos Government committed to undertake regularly “did not go down far enough into the grassroots. If it did, the Ramos Government would have saved itself a lot of trouble. That is one more lesson.”

The research acknowledged that there are likely more lessons to be learned “from another close look at the Peace Talks of 1993-1996” and there “certainly are more lessons to be learned from looking at what happened in the Southern Philippines peace process in the years that followed. But that is another story.”

https://www.mindanews.com/booksmindanews/2019/09/lessons-learned-book-on-the-grp-mnlf-peace-nego-a-journey-back-to-1993-1996/

Slain rebel in Miag-ao clash identified

From Panay News (Sep 27, 2019): Slain rebel in Miag-ao clash identified

ILOILO – The New People’s Army (NPA) rebel who died in an encounter with Philippine Army soldiers on Monday in Barangay Ongyod, Miag-ao town has been identified.

Vincent “Denden” Yuvero was a 20-year-old resident of Barangay To-og, Miag-ao, according to Colonel Joel Benedict Batara, commander of the Philippine Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB).

Yuvero was identified by a former NPA colleague, Batara added.

This ex-NPA rebel, Batara said, also confirmed that Yuvero belonged to the Suyak Platoon, Southern Front, Komiteng Rehiyon Panay of the NPA.

“Yuvero’s family already claimed his cadaver. Right now we are continuing our hot pursuit operation against his other fleeing companions,” said Batara.

He urged them to surrender.

“We assure their safety,” said Batara.

Government troops and rebels clashed in Barangay Ongyod on Sept. 23, three days after a skirmish there Friday last week.

One Army soldier was wounded. Sergeant Janny Labrador of the 61IB was hospitalized for a gunshot wound on a leg.

After the rebels retreated, soldiers recovered an M16 rifle, antipersonnel mine, medicines, backpacks, kitchen utensils and subversive documents of high intelligence value, according to Captain Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.

The 30-minute encounter happened at around 8 a.m. There were an estimated 15 rebels.

“Iniwan nila ang kanilang namatay na kasama para mabilis ang pagtakbo nila,” said Pancito.

https://www.panaynews.net/slain-rebel-in-miag-ao-clash-identified/

3 NPA clashes in a week; Iloilo police on alert

From Panay News (Sep 27, 2019): 3 NPA clashes in a week; Iloilo police on alert

ILOILO – Following three successive clashes between Philippine Army troops and New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in Miag-ao and Igbaras towns in less than a week, the Iloilo Police Provincial Office (IPPO) put on alert all police stations.

Of particular concern to the IPPO are 16 towns considered rebel-infested. These are the following:

* Guimbal, Miag-ao, Tubungan, Igbaras, and San Joaquin in the 1st District

* Alimodian and Leon in the 2nd District

* Calinog, Maasin, Bingawan, Janiuay, Lambunao, and Badiangan in the 3rd District

* Passi City in the 4th District

* San Rafael and Lemery in the 5th District
Government troops and rebels clashed in Miag-ao on Sept. 20 and Sept. 23, and in Igbaras on Sept. 25.

“All police units have been instructed to fully guard their stations. Policemen were also ordered to carry long and short firearms and be ready to engage the rebels if attacked,” said Police Captain Antonio Monreal, IPPO spokesperson.

Police Colonel Roland Vilela, IPPO director, also directed police stations to strengthen their barangay intelligence network. The goal is to monitor the rebels’ movement and preempt attacks.

On Sept. 25 10 rebels exchanged fire with the Army’s 61st Infantry Battalion (61IB) troops in Barangay Igcabugao, Igbaras at around 8 a.m. There were no casualties or injuries.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Joel Benedict Batara, commander of the 61IB, the repelled rebels would have attacked Century Peak Energy Corp.’s hydropower plant in the area.

On Sept. 23, 15 armed men clashed with soldiers in Barangay Ongyod, Miag-ao at around 8 a.m.

One rebel died (Vincent Yuvero, 20, of Barangay To-og, Miag-ao) and one soldier was wounded (Sergeant Janny Labrador).

An hour before the encounter, rebels fired shots at the detachment of the Citizens Armed Force Geographical Unit in Sitio Sambag, Barangay Dagami, Maasin town. There were no casualties or injuries.

“The Maasin harassment was a diversionary tactics of the rebels. They did not know we have more soldiers in Miag-ao ready to engage them,” said Captain Cenon Pancito III, spokesperson of the Philippine Army’s 3rd Infantry Division.

The rebels belonged to the Suyak Platoon, Southern Front, Komiteng Rehiyon Panay led by Joven Ceralvo alias Lex, said Pancito.

“This group is hampering not only development projects in the area but also the people’s peaceful lives,” said Batara.

On Sept. 20 government troops and some 15 rebels clashed in the same village.

https://www.panaynews.net/3-npa-clashes-in-a-week-iloilo-police-on-alert/

Malaysia arrests 16 suspected ISIS militants, some planning attacks on politicians, non-Muslims

From Asia One (Sep 26, 2019): Malaysia arrests 16 suspected ISIS militants, some planning attacks on politicians, non-Muslims

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has detained 16 people on suspicion of terrorism following swoops in six states, said counter-terrorism chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay on Thursday (Sept 26).

Datuk Ayob said the suspects - three Malaysians, 12 Indonesians and an Indian - were detained between July 10 and Sept 25 in Sabah, Selangor, Sarawak, Penang, Pahang and Kuala Lumpur.

One of the Malaysian suspects was planning to stage attacks on politicians and non-Muslim groups in the country, "apparently for making negative comments towards Islam, suppressing the faith, and for insulting the Malays," said Mr Ayob.

Two other Malaysians were arrested in Sabah for spreading Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) propaganda and managing the movements of eventual suicide bombers.

"Both of them had helped arrange the path for a couple and their three children who carried out suicide bombing attacks at a church in Jolo, South Philippines, last December," news portal Malay Mail quoted Mr Ayob as saying.

He said the first suspect, an Indonesian man aged 25, was detained in Keningau, Sabah on July 10.

"We believe the suspect was helping Indonesian ISIS militants to smuggle themselves to southern Philippines via Sabah. This a followup to our ops in Sabah in May," he said.

He added that another suspect, a 38-year-old Indian woman, was detained on Aug 2 for collecting funds for a terrorist group.

He said she has since been deported to her home country.

The remaining suspects were detained in the other states.

Mr Ayob said the Indonesian suspects had been in the country for about two to three years and were working as labourers.

https://www.asiaone.com/malaysia/malaysia-arrests-16-suspected-isis-militants-some-planning-attacks-politicians-non-muslims

4 More Suspected Pro-IS Militants Caught in Southern Philippines

From BenarNews (Sep 26, 2019): 4 More Suspected Pro-IS Militants Caught in Southern Philippines

Excavators tear down buildings and clear debris in Marawi, southern Philippines, in front of the city’s Grand Mosque, Sept. 4, 2019. [Froilan Gallardo/BenarNews]

Four Islamic State-linked suspects were arrested Thursday in connection with a string of attacks in the southern Philippines, police said, as authorities charged six other alleged militants, including a Swedish national, after catching them in the region earlier this week.

The four suspects apprehended in Zamboanga city were identified as Aljiver Habibula, 35; Omar Julaspih, 22; Rody Marail, 36; and Nash Amik, 32. The men are believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), a small gang of self-styled Islamic militants operating in the south, said Col. Thomas Joseph Martir, the local police commander.

“They are members of the Abu Sayyaf Group Urban Terrorist Group operating in Sulu, Basilan and Zamboanga City,” Martir said.

Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, an Abu Sayyaf leader, became chief of the Philippine branch of Islamic State (IS) after Isnilon Hapilon was killed during fighting at the end of an IS takeover of southern Marawi city in 2017.

While carrying out the arrests police recovered bomb-making components, communication devices, electronic parts and ammonium nitrate, which is commonly used to build home-made explosives, he said.

Three days before Thursday’s arrests, police and military elements caught Swedish man Hassan Akgun and five Filipinos during a raid in General Santos, another city in the Philippine south.

Charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives were filed against Akgun, although authorities had not yet established a link between the Abu Sayyaf and his group of suspected militants, Philippine National Police spokesman Brig. General Bernard Banac told BenarNews.

“He is really working with international terror groups. As to what really is his task, it is still under validation,” Banac said by phone.

Dozens of foreign militants are believed to be on the run in the southern island of Mindanao, two years after Hapilon and his top commanders were slain in the battle of Marawi. Five months of fighting between militants and government forces there killed more than 1,200 people, including militants, soldiers and civilians.

Some militants, including some whom security officials described as foreigners, escaped in parts of Mindanao and have been trying to replenish their ranks to launch more attacks. So far, they have not been able to succeed, largely because the south remains under tight military control.

It is believed that Agkun was working with a group linked to IS, but it is too early to say whether he had any links with the new IS leader, Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, said Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Western Mindanao Command.

“We are still getting more details as to his work,” he said, adding that the terror groups were “now finding it hard to recruit for new members because of strong support of the residents and local officials in our campaign.”

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/militants-arrested-09262019114811.html

Top Kidnapper Nabbed in Zamboanga Sibugay

Posted to Kalinaw News (Sep 26, 2019): Top Kidnapper Nabbed in Zamboanga Sibugay

CAMP SANG-AN, Labangan, ZDS – Third highest ranking member of the Abu Sayyaf Kidnapper Group was arrested by the joint Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion and PNP operation in Brgy Canacan, Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay province 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 25, 2019.

“Nasirin Balajadji, was apprehended by the virtue of warrant of arrest for the crime of kidnapping for ransom with no bail recommended”, said Lt. Col. Don Templonuevo, 44th Battalion commander.

“Balajadji was involved in the kidnapping of Baker Atyani, a Jordanian Journalist, in the year 2012”, added Templonuevo.

According to Police Col. Jerry Protacio, PNP Provincial Director, “He was also involved in the abduction of Roland Del Torchio, an Italian retired Catholic priest and the kidnapping of Rexon Romoc, an eight-year old boy who was held captive by the group for seven months in the year 2016”.

The arrested kidnapper is in the custody of PNP for proper disposition and filling of case.

Meanwhile, Col. Leonel Nicolas., 102nd Infantry Brigade Commander, who has operational jurisdiction of Zamboanga Sibugay said that, “The arrest was attributed to the report of a peace-loving and concerned civilian in our area of responsibility”.

For his part, Maj. Gen. Roberto Ancan, the 1st Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Zampelan (Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao Provinces) commander, commended the efforts of the troops, the concerned civilian.

“The arrest of the top kidnapper is a significant accomplishment for the peace-loving constituents of our area of responsibility,” said Ancan.

“With our relentless collaboration with PNP, rest assured that we will continuously neutralize, defeat or destroy threat groups to sustain the gains of peace in Western Mindanao”, Ancan concluded.

Division Public Affairs Office 1st Infantry Division Philippine Army
CPT CLINT ANTIPALA
Chief, Division Public Affairs Office, 1st Infantry Division
E-mail: tabakdpao@gmail.com
Mobile Number: 09177938341

[Kalinaw News is the official online source of information on the pursuit for peace by the Philippine Army. It provides information on the activities of Army Units nationwide in the performance of their duty of Serving the People and Securing the Land. This website is a property of the Civil-Military Operations Regiment, Philippine Army located at Lawton Avenue, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
Contact us: contact@kalinawnews.com]

https://www.kalinawnews.com/top-kidnapper-nabbed-in-zamboanga-sibugay/

‘Left groups’ link to NPA confirmed’

From the Visayan Daily Star (Sep 26, 2019): ‘Left groups’ link to NPA confirmed’

An initial 300 of the 2,510 former allies of the New People’s Army, who surrendered on Sept. 20 during the Northern Negros Peace Summit in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, have confirmed the links of several leftist organizations to the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA- National Democratic Front, Brig. Gen. Benedict Arevalo yesterday revealed.

Arevalo said the former NPA allies, who used to be members of leftist organizations, are more than willing to sign affidavits to that effect.

The National Democratic Front-Negros earlier slammed Arevalo for the implementation of what it called a “hoax” peace summit in Escalante City, and for filing charges against arrested activists, who were preparing the tribute for the Escalante massacre anniversary on Sept 20.

The recent arrest of eight activists, tagged as NPA rebels, yielded Molotov bombs, assorted guns, and explosives in Brgy. Jonob-Jonob, Escalante City.

“We are not Red-tagging, just telling the truth,” Arevalo said, in response to accusations against them of linking leftist and militant organizations to the CPP-NPA-NDF.

Arevalo said he is willing to participate in any congressional or Senate hearing, should there be any, to look into the revelations of former NPA allies in Negros, that he described as the “biggest scandal” he ever knew.

He added that they have documentary evidences, and witnesses to talk about it.

The Carmelite JPIC (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation), Alternative Solidarity Initiative Network (ASIN) and JPIC Franciscan Brothers of Charity, in a joint statement, slammed what they called a distortion of historical truths in the celebration of the Escalante massacre, that was organized by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the National Police, in cooperation with local government executives, as well as the arrest of eight activists.

The marking of the Escalante massacre (ESCAM) also coincided with the three-day Northern Negros Peace Summit hosted by the City of Escalante, headed by Mayor Melecio Yap, and highlighted by the surrender of 2,510 former NPA allies in northern and central Negros, who turned in 41 assorted firearms.

The religious groups called the peace summit a “sham” that, they claimed, robbed the people of the celebration of the true spirit of ESCAM, while NDF-Negros called the peace summit a hoax.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2019/September/26/topstory5.htm

QC court sentences alleged Maute terrorist to 40 years in jail

From Rappler (Sep 26, 2019): QC court sentences alleged Maute terrorist to 40 years in jail

Quezon City RTC Branch 92 Presiding Judge Eleuterio Bathan convicts Unday Macadato of illegal possession of a hand grenade



'MAUTE TERRORIST'. Unday Macadato is presented to the media in Camp Crame on May 8, 2018. Photo from PNP

The Regional Trial Court of Quezon City has convicted an alleged Maute terrorist of illegal possession of a hand grenade and sentenced him to reclusion perpetua or a maximum of 40 years in prison.

In a 20-page decision issued by Branch 92 Presiding Judge Eleuterio Bathan, the trial court did not give weight to the defense of Unday Macadato that his arrest was illegal, and that he was not Unday Macadato.

Bathan said that Macadato’s warrantless arrest was legal because he was caught “in flagrante” or in the act of doing something wrong.

“His warrantless arrest was legal, because at the time of the warrantless arrest, accused Unday was executing an overt act indicating that he was actually committing an offense done in the presence and within the view of the arresting officer, and that is loading his pistol and thereafter inserted said pistol in his body bag,” the decision read.

Bathan also said that the discovery and confiscation of the hand grenade and the handkerchief bearing the ISIS logo were justified under the concept of warrantless search, incidental to a lawful warrantless arrest.

The judge said: “As regards accused line of defense that his warrantless arrest was illegal and nothing was taken from him during his arrest is of no moment and will not hold water. His claim that nothing was taken from him during the arrest is unbelievable.”

“From his very testimony, he claimed that a driver’s license was taken from him. He is not telling the truth, because according to him, his driver’s license was taken from him by the arresting officers,” he added.

Macadato alias Solaiman Omar was arrested without a warrant in Cubao on May 7, 2018, based on information from locals that he bragged about his connection to the Maute terror group.

He was arrested ahead of the first anniversary of the Marawi siege instigated by the Maute Group. Authorities said they also found on Macadato a short firearm and a black flag with an ISIS logo which he claimed were planted.

The court also debunked the claim of Macadato that he was not the Unday Macadato that police searched for. The court cited witnesses, including his supposed relatives based in Quezon City, who corroborated cops' statements about his identity.

“He should have asked his relatives who are residents of Fairview and Cubao to testify in his favor proving his good character that could save him from the charged,” the judge said.

“Denial is inherently a weak defense which cannot outweigh positive testimony. As between a categorical statement that has the same earmarks of truth on the one hand and bare denial, on the other, the former is generally held to prevail,” he added.

Macadato was not charged with terrorism but Bathan outlined his alleged involvement in the Maute Group. He is included in the list of personalities being sought by authorities for rebellion, under Martial Law Instruction No. 1 dated September 2017.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/241120-qc-court-sentences-alleged-maute-terrorist-prison

Kidnapper of Jordanian journalist, retired Italian priest arrested

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner (Sep 26, 2019): Kidnapper of Jordanian journalist, retired Italian priest arrested

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A joint Army and police team arrested in Zamboanga Sibugay last Wednesday the Islamic militant who allegedly kidnapped Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani and retired Catholic priest Rolando del Torchio.

Capt. Clint Antipala, spokesperson of the Army’s 1st Infantry “Tabak” Division, said Nasirin Balajadji did not resist when troops and members of the PNP Anti-Kidnapping Task Force arrested him at barangay Kabasalan in Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay late Wednesday afternoon.

Antipala said the arrest was made based on the arrest warrants issued by a local court for the kidnapping of Atyani and Del Torchio.

“We are certain Balajadji was part of the Abu Sayyaf militants who planned and executed the kidnapping of the two foreigners,” he said.

Atyani, who works for the Pan-Arab Al-Arabiya news channel, was working along with two Filipino crewmen on a documentary when militants in Sulu kidnapped them on June 2012.

He was released 18 months later.

Antipala said Balajadji was also one of the Abu Sayyaf militants who kidnapped Del Torchio, a retired Italian priest who opened a pizza restaurant in Dipolog City.

Del Torchio was released unharmed by his abductors in Sulu after six months.

He was a priest of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME).

The Union of Catholic Asian News reported that Del Torchio served as a missionary in the town of Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte province from 1988 to 1996.

After he left the priesthood in 2001, Del Torchio moved to Dipolog City where he worked with a nongovernment organization that helps poor farmers. He later established a pizzeria business.

https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2019/09/kidnapper-of-jordanian-journalist-retired-italian-priest-arrested/

4 Sayyaf bombers captured in Zamboanga

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner (Sep 26, 2019): 4 Sayyaf bombers captured in Zamboanga

PAGADIAN CITY – Four Abu Sayyaf bombers were captured at dawn Thursday ahead of a grand Catholic celebration next week in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines, police said.

Police said various explosives and an improvised bomb, including five 40mm mortars, ANFO or ammonium nitrate fuel oil, ammunition, blasting caps and two cellular phones and ammonium nitrate hidden in a bamboo and plastic containers were among those seized from the men.

Police photos released to The Zamboanga Post show suspected Abu Sayyaf militants and explosives seized from them in Zamboanga City.

The terrorists, all from the southern province of Sulu, were captured after police commandos raided their hideout in the seaside village of Baliwasan Grande. The four men have been identified as Aljiver Habibula, 35; Omar Julaspih, 22; Rody Marail, 36; and Nash Amik, 32.

All are natives of Sulu and temporarily residing in the village of Baliwasan Grande, and natives of Sulu, according to Major Helen Galvez, a regional police spokesperson.

She said various law enforcement agencies and military forces participated in the security operations that led to the capture of the suspects.

Regional police chief Brigadier General Froilan Quidilla lauded the troops for the capture of the four men. He also urged the public to stay vigilant and report to authorities suspicious persons. “We encouraged the community to be more vigilant and report all suspicious persons in their areas,” he said.

Just recently, marine soldiers and police forces also captured an Abu Sayyaf fighter, Amran Dala, in the village of Mercedes.

Dala, a native of Basilan province, was being linked to the 2009 beheading of kidnapped Filipino man, Marquez Singson, and two Chinese nationals Michael Tan and Oscar Dee; and the 2015 bombing of a water pipeline in the province and the beheading of a soldier during an Abu Sayyaf attack there.

Zamboanga is to celebrate the month-long Hermosa Festival in October and is expected to attract thousands of Catholic faithful and tourists. (Zamboanga Post)

https://mindanaoexaminer.com/4-sayyaf-bombers-captured-in-zamboanga/

153 AgNor IPs, OSYs graduate from Army’s mobile computer literacy training

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 26, 2019): 153 AgNor IPs, OSYs graduate from Army’s mobile computer literacy training (By 29IB Philippine Army)

CABADBARAN CITY, Agusan del Norte -- A total of 153 indigenous peoples (IPs) and out of school youths (OSYs) graduated from the Army’s mobile computer literacy (MCL) training in Santiago, Agusan del Norte on September 16, 2019.

The students who completed the MCL training were composed of 78 IPs and 75 OSYs, where 23 are males and 130 are females.

Mayor Franklin D. Lim of the municipality of Santiago through Roger B. Tonio, Municipal Planning and Development Officer, expressed his deep gratitude to the Army for their MCL program.

Buenafe G. Enaya, the supervising specialist of TESDA, emphasized the importance of computer literacy in modern technologies as this will give the youth an advantage over others.

Datu Roldan Porogoy, Indigenous People Mandatory Representative of Santiago also expressed his heartful thanks to the Philippine Army for their MCL training as this training provided opportunities to young IP and OSY to learn the use of computers which have been of great benefit to the young people in their everyday lives.

Lt. Col. Isagani O. Criste, Commanding Officer of 29IB, lauded the youths for their ccoperation, “You, young men and women did well by investing your time and effort in learning computer operations."

"The skill and lessons that you've gained in this course, will open your mind to the possibilities and opportunities that are just there waiting for you. However, your success will depend not just on having the skill but more importantly, on how you apply it to become productive citizens and members of your barangay, and your overall community,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Julius Cesar C. Paulo, Executive Officer, 402nd Brigade, also thanked the local government unit of Santiago and other stakeholders who have supported the training. "Your efforts to support this kind of endeavor proved that you value the future of our young Lumads and out of school youths. To the youths, the learnings which you have acquired will form part of your personal development leading to better opportunities that can help uplift your lives and inspire those around you. So, make the most out of it,” he said.

This MCL training dubbed as Project “GAKAL” (Gabay Aral para sa Kabataang Lumad), is in line with the Executive Order No. 70 mandated by Pres. Rodrigo Roa Duterte which institutionalizes the whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace and development to various conflict-affected areas. Such program was initiated by the Philippine Army in collaboration with other agencies and local government units. Its purpose is to provide access to computer education to the marginalized sectors of the community especially the IP and OSY.

Two batches of MCL graduates were produced in the municipality of Santiago this year for a total of 310. The next target beneficiaries will be the youths from the municipality of Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR). (1Lt Nonette B. Banggad, CMO Officer, 29IB, PA/PIA Agusan del Norte)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1027727

NV forms body vs communist armed conflict

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 26, 2019): NV forms body vs communist armed conflict

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya – This province recently formed a provincial task force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (ELCAC).

Through the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) and the Provincial Anti-illegal Drug Abuse Council (PADAC), the ELCAC was created which is designed to implement a provincewide approach to stop communist armed conflict in its 275 barangays.

The PTF-ELCAC will be composed of the following clusters: Local Government Empowerment , Legal Cooperation and International Cooperation, Basic Services, Livelihood and Poverty Alleviation Cluster, Infrastructure and Resource Management ,Amnesty Program, Sectoral Unification, Capacity Building and Empowerment and its Secretariat.

The membership of the PTF-ECLAC will come from government agencies aand Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the province.

Pia File Photo

Governor Carlos Padilla, PPOC and PADAC chairman, said each cluster will craft its own plans and acitivities in line with the National Peace Framework through Executive Order No. 70.

“The cluster heads will soon present their activities during our meetings so that we can be abreast with the present situations and we can further plan to address peace and order issues and concerns in various areas,” he said.

Padilla said one of the major focus of the PTF-ELCAC will be the gathering of socio-economic issues and concerns being confronted by communities and to carry out development interventions of various agencies to address them.

“Communities or barangays especially in remote areas will be prioritized with the implementation of the ELCAC so that we can ensure their socio-economic development,” he added. (ALM/MDCT/BME/PIA 2-Nueva Vizcaya)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1027822

TRADOC, to work harder to become an instrument of transformation

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 26, 2019): TRADOC, to work harder to become an instrument of transformation

Major General Cornelio Valencia Jr assumes as the new commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command. (Gabriela Liana S. Barela/PIA 3)

CAMP O’DONNELL, Tarlac -- Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) will work harder to become an instrument of transformation.

“To my predecessor Major General Roy De Mesa, we will take care and built upon the legacy that you leave behind and work harder to make TRADOC an instrument of transformation, now and in the future. The challenge of following in the footsteps of a visionary like Major De Mesa is not an easy one but it is a challenge I accept with the same enthusiasm and commitment that I had during my first commission. Then, as now, every assignment has been a challenge to contribute to the service. Then, as now, every new responsibility has been an opportunity to contribute to a stronger army and a better country,” newly-installed TRADOC Commander Major General Cornelio Valencia Jr said during the Change of Command Ceremony.

“TRADOC boast to be a force of the Philippine Army (PA) standards and under my leadership, expect nothing less. We will give much importance in promoting PA’s education and training with the end goal of developing a system responsive and relevant to the needs of our personnel and units,” Valencia added.

In the coming days, TRADOC will come up with a more detailed plan on how it will accomplish its mission and how it will truly and effectively contribute to PA’s vision of becoming a world-class army and a source of national pride by 2028.

“As I paved on the leadership of TRADOC, I ask three things from the officers and unformed personnel and civilian employees of the command: An open mind, a diligent work ethic and a strong team spirit,” he furthered.(CLJD/GLSB-PIA 3)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1027797

Gov't beefs up services in Brgy Eureka to end local armed conflict

From the Philippine Information Agency (Sep 26, 2019): Gov't beefs up services in Brgy Eureka to end local armed conflict



GINGOOG CITY, Misamis Oriental, Sept. 26 (PIA)--Boosting government programs and services in Barangay Eureka, here, the Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental held the Launching/Activation of the Misamis Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict in Operationalizing Executive Order 70 and Convergence Areas for Peace and Development (CAPDev) Program, September 26.

"Sa dugay nga panahon, usa nga hinungdan nga dili galambo ang nasod sa Pilipinas tungod kanunay nagkagidlay ug kanunay kita nagkagubot. Ang katuyuan karon, mga igsuon, mao nga unta niining gibuhat nga unang lakang sa gobyerno inyo untang mabati, inyo untang matilawan nga maundang na ang pagpatay sa Pilipino batok sa Pilipino," Provincial Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano said. 

Provincial Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano urges national line agencies to habitually provide the services to fully realize the goals of President Rodrigo Duterte to end local communist armed conflict throughout the country.

(For a very long time, one of the reasons why the Philippines does not progress is the continuous chaos and people do not live in harmony. The goal today, my siblings, is hopefully the first step of the government be felt and experience that moment where Filipinos will stop killing their fellows)

Also participated in by various national line agencies, the event provided dental, medical, circumcision, legal, driver's licensing, barber, land titling, and farming and skills training services.

Livelihood cheques, tree, vegetable and fruit seedlings, volleyballs, basketballs, food packs, hygiene kits, books, toys, and other goods were also distributed in the barangay.

To further aid in the development of the area, the provincial government handed over P600,000 cheque to Barangay 10 for the improvement of line canal, P600,000 to Barangay Murallon for the construction of covered court phase 2, P300,000 to Barangay Ricoro for their water system.

Barangay Eureka received P600,000 for the construction of covered court phase 1, while Barangay 20 got P600,000 for the construction of covered court phase 1.

Provincial Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano hands over cheque amounting P600,000 to Barangay Murallon for the construction of covered court phase 2. The awarding of check is one of the highlights of the launching of the Misamis Oriental Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict. Governor Emano is assisted by Gingoog City Mayor Erick Cañosa and Vice mayor Peter Unabia.

Twenty-three surrenderees from the area received a total of P1.551 million from the Department of the Interior and

Local Government (DILG)-10 under their Enhanced Comprehensive Livelihood and Integration Program (E-CLIP).

"Ang gibuhat karon sa armadong kusog sa nasod, sa kwerpo sa kapulisan, ang gibuhat sa buhatan sa nasyonal, sa inyong mayor, bise mayor, sa lalawigan sa Misamis Oriental nga ang gobyerno gipaduol sa katawhan labi na sa kabus sa Barangay Eureka," Emano said.

(What the armed forces of the country, police personnel, national government agencies, your mayor, vice mayor, Province of Misamis Oriental have done today is to bring the government closer to the people especially the marginalized people of Barangay Eureka)

Noting how such program will improve the lives of his constituents, Emano urged the national line agencies to habitually provide the services to fully realize the goals of President Rodrigo Duterte to end local communist armed conflict throughout the country. (PIA10)

https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1027924

Police intel officer hurt in NoCot ambush

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 26, 2019): Police intel officer hurt in NoCot ambush



Google map of Carmen, North Cotabato

A police intelligence officer was critically wounded in an ambush perpetrated by still-unidentified gunmen in Carmen, North Cotabato.

Lt. Col. Bernard Tayong, speaking for the North Cotabato police, identified the victim as Sgt. Abejay Dandan, of Barangay Kibudtungan, Carmen, and currently detailed with the Regional Intelligence Division of the Police Regional Office -12.

Tayong said the victim was on his way home on board his vehicle and was passing by Barangay Kitulaan in the same town around 6:30 p.m. when waylaid by armed men positioned on both sides of the road.

“Despite being hit, Dandan still managed to speed off from the site and went straight to the Carmen municipal hospital,” Tayong said.

From there, hospital staff members called on the local police office and informed them about the incident, he said. Responding cops immediately proceeded to the ambush site and recovered empty shells from an M16 rifle and .45-caliber pistol.

Tayong said the victim was later transferred to a hospital in Kidapawan City because of his serious condition.

Police investigators are still trying to determine if the ambush has something to do with the victim’s job as an intelligence officer.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081507

4 ASG men yield bomb-making materials in Zambo City

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 26, 2019): 4 ASG men yield bomb-making materials in Zambo City

'

BOMB-MAKERS'. The Police Regional Office-Region 9 releases a photo of two of the four suspected Abu Sayyaf bombers arrested by a team of police and military forces in a law enforcement operation Thursday (Sept. 26, 2019) on Manggal Drive, Baliwasan, Zamboanga City. Residents initially suspected them as involved in illegal drugs. (Photo courtesy of PRO-9 PIO)

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- A joint police and military team arrested four suspected Abu Sayyaf bombers and seized explosives and bomb-making components in this southern port city, officials said Thursday.

Col. Thomas Joseph Martir, Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director, said the suspects were arrested in a law enforcement operation, through a search warrant, around 3 a.m. Thursday in a rented house in Manggal Drive, Barangay Baliwasan this city.

Martir identified the suspects as Aljiver Habibula, Omar Julaspih, Rody Marail and Nash Amik, all residents of Sulu.

The search warrant for violation of Republic Act 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, was served following surveillance on the activities of the suspects, police said.

Baliwasan Barangay Chairperson Jamiely Czarina Cabato said the suspects were placed under surveillance as they were suspected to be dealing illegal drugs.

Cabato said their suspicion began when the suspects chose to stay at the house they were renting while the other residents in the area evacuated when a flash flood recently inundated the area.

Martir said the raiding team recovered from the suspects’ rented house the following: four non-electric blasting caps; one electric blasting cap; five 40-millimeter (MM) ammunition; detonating cord; 500 milliliter plastic bottle filled with ammonium nitrate fuel oil; one cellular phone fashioned out as a triggering device; electric tape; electric wire (stranded with different colors); magnetic wire; common nail; and, bamboo container filled with white granules believed to be ammonium nitrate.

He said the arrested suspects are believed to be members of the Abu Sayyaf’s Urban Terrorist Group (UTG) operating in Basilan, Sulu, and this city.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081504

Parents urge AFP to end hazing at PMA

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 26, 2019): Parents urge AFP to end hazing at PMA



The Philippine Military Academy's rampart in Fort del Pilar, Baguio City (PNA file photo)

An official of the Philippine Military Academy Parents’ Association (PMA-PA) in the Soccsksargen region on Thursday appealed to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to put an end to hazing and other forms of violent initiations at the academy.

Willie Ramos, PMA-PA regional president, made the appeal as he confirmed that one of the two 4th class cadets confined at the AFP Medical Center in Quezon City due to alleged hazing is from the city.

Cadet Dwight Bentayo, who hails from Barangay Katangawan here, is under “intensive care and observation” at the hospital, along with cadet Orlino Abuel, according to Ramos.

Ramos’ son, Joshua Willie, and Bentayo were assigned in the same company.

A relative of Bentayo, who requested anonymity, said the cadet reportedly suffered serious internal injuries after getting heavy beating in the abdominal area.

The family, which includes several police officers here, has been closely coordinating with the AFP and PMA regarding the medical status of the cadet.

Ramos said the AFP should take decisive action to effectively stop hazing at the PMA as it has already cost a number of lives.

He cited the case of cadet Darwin Dormitorio, a classmate of Bentayo and Abuel, who died in Fort del Pilar, Baguio City on September 18 due to hazing injuries.

Ramos said authorities should make sure that all personalities involved in these incidents would answer for their actions and deliver proper justice to the victims.

“We’re hurting and at the same time worried about our children. As parents, we’re always thinking that they’re alright and now these things happen. Imagine, they will be staying there for four years,” he said in an interview.

He said they hope that the untimely death of the 20-year-old Dormitorio, who was from Cagayan de Oro City, would not be in vain and would result in “real changes” at the PMA.

Ramos warned that if similar cases occur in the future, it is possible that parents would have doubts about sending their children to the country’s premier military institution.

“We have a law on hazing and it should be properly implemented by the PMA,” he added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081528

'Top ASG kidnapper’ nabbed in Zamboanga Sibugay

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 26, 2019): 'Top ASG kidnapper’ nabbed in Zamboanga Sibugay



Google map of Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur -- Government troops arrested an alleged Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandit involved in the series of kidnappings here in the region in previous years, officials said Thursday.

Lt. Col. Don Templonuevo, the Army’s 44th Infantry Battalion commander, identified the arrested suspect as Nasirin Balajadji, third highest-ranking ASG member.
Templonuevo said Balajadji was arrested Wednesday in a law enforcement operation through a warrant of arrest in Barangay Canacan, Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Templonuevo said Balajadji, who was arrested by a joint team of military and policemen, has a standing warrant of arrest for the crime of kidnapping with ransom with no recommended bail.

He said the suspect was involved in the kidnapping in June 2012 of Baker Atyani, a Jordanian journalist, who was freed 18 months later in Sulu.

Col. Jerry Protacio, Zamboanga Sibugay police director, said the suspect was also involved in the kidnapping of retired Italian priest Rolando Del Torchio in October 2015 and Rexon Romoc in August 2016.
The ASG bandits freed Del Torchio in April 2016 while Romoc in February 2017.

Col. Leonel Nicolas, the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, attributed the arrest of the suspect to the report of a peace-loving and concerned civilian “in our area of responsibility”.

Maj. Gen. Roberto Ancan, Army’s 1st Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Zampelan (Zamboanga Peninsula and Lanao Province) commander, commended the efforts of the troops and the concerned civilian that led to the arrest of the suspect.

“The arrest of the top kidnapper is a significant accomplishment for the peace-loving constituents of our area of responsibility,” Ancan said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1081558