Westmincom fetes soldiers for gallantry

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 25, 2020): Westmincom fetes soldiers for gallantry (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)



GALLANTRY. Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, pins the wounded personnel medal to a soldier in an awarding ceremony Friday at Camp Navarro General Hospital. Five soldiers receive medals for gallantry in action against the Abu Sayyaf Group bandits in Sulu. (Photo courtesy of Westmincom Public Information Office)

The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) has awarded medals and provided cash incentives to five soldiers for gallantry in action against the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits in Sulu.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Westmincom, led Friday the awarding of medals and cash incentives at Camp Navarro General Hospital here to 2Lt. Ceasar Exequiel Lipana; Staff Sergeant Jerwin Uday; Private 1st Class Bernard Beyag; and Private 1st Class Gener Bareo.
They belong to the Army’s 45th Infantry Battalion who clashed against ASG bandits Wednesday in Barangay Latih, Patikul, Sulu. The clash, which lasted for about 34 minutes, resulted in the death of six Abu Sayyaf bandits while eight soldiers were injured.

The fifth recipient of the wounded personnel medal is Corporal Edgardo Rebotaso of the 15th Scout Ranger Company, 5th Scout Ranger Battalion. He was wounded during a clash with more or less 40 ASG bandits on February 23, 2020 in Barangay Bakong, Patikul.

Rebotaso was one of the two soldiers who were injured during the clash that resulted in the death of two ASG bandits, including a mid-level leader.

Sobejana commended the awardees for their "exemplary performance as defenders of peace".

“I laud all our soldiers on the ground for their professionalism and dedication. They have been persistent in performing their sworn duties, putting their lives at stake for the safety and protection of the many,” Sobejana said.

“Let us continually live up to our best services and be an inspiration to our fellow Filipinos,” he added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1100907

Army foils NPA plan to disrupt SAP release in Butuan

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 25, 2020): Army foils NPA plan to disrupt SAP release in Butuan (By Alexander Lopez) 



RECOVERED. Government troops recover an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, assorted medicines, backpacks, and personal belongings following a five-minute firefight with the communist New People's Army in Barangay Nongnong, Butuan City, on Friday (April 24). Residents said the rebels were planning to disrupt the distribution of government assistance in the area. (Photo courtesy of 23IB)

BUTUAN CITY – Following civilian tipoff, government troops repelled communist New People's Army rebels who were allegedly planning to disrupt the distribution of aid under the Social Amelioration Program (SAP) in a remote village here Friday.

In a press release on Saturday, the Army's 23rd Infantry Battalion (IB) said soldiers were sent to Sitio Kawayanan in Barangay Nongnong here after the military received information about the presence of NPA gunmen in the area.

Lt. Col. Francisco L. Molina, 23IB commander, said the residents were worried that the rebels were planning to extort money from them after receiving their government aid.

“At this point in time, the terroristic act of the CNTs (communist NPA terrorists) is unacceptable, especially the government and the people (are) facing crises brought about by (the) Covid-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. The support from the government for those affected by the crises should not be extorted and taken away from them," Molina said.

He said the responding troopers clashed with about 15 rebels, who scampered to different directions after the five-minute encounter.

"Traces of bloodstains in the position they abandoned suggest that some of the rebels were wounded,” Molina added.

The soldiers recovered an AK-47 rifle, ammunition, assorted medicines, backpacks, and personal belongings following the firefight.
"A concerned civilian provided our trooper with a sketch pinpointing the exact location of the rebels," he said, thanking the locals for their support for the Army.

Molina also called on the NPA to stop harassing government personnel involved in releasing the SAP assistance, which aims to ease the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on poor families.

In a separate interview, 1Lt. Roel Maglalang, 23IB civil-military operations officer, said government troops have been actively involved in the distribution of SAP and other relief goods since the lockdown started last month.

Maglalang said 23IB troopers are also assigned to checkpoints and other critical areas to secure front-liners.

The NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United Kingdom, the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1100940

Release of jailed Reds injustice to Filipinos, victims’ kin

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 25, 2020): Release of jailed Reds injustice to Filipinos, victims’ kin (By Benjamin Pulta)


Solicitor General Jose Calida (File photo)

Solicitor General Jose Calida has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss a petition seeking the release of detained communist rebels.

Calida, on April 24, asked the court to dismiss a petition for lack of merit, saying "to grant the petition would result in grave injustice not only to the People of the Philippines but also to the surviving relatives of petitioners' victims who are still waiting for justice to be finally served."

The petition, he said, "is one that involves perception and deception", noting that while the petitioners in the suit claim to be political prisoners, they are actually under detention for non-bailable offenses.

Some five of the 22 petitioners are charged before Branch 32 of RTC Manila with 15 counts of murder for their involvement in the Inopacan massacre, which came to light after 68 skeletal remains were discovered in Inopacan, Leyte in 1992.

They were the victims of the inhumane Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) internal cleansing dubbed project "Venereal Disease," Calida said.

"One must call a spade a spade. The petitioners are all valuable members of the terrorist organization,” he said.

He added that "without a doubt, this petition is a ruse" to remove them from the confines of jail.

"Contrary to their claim, there are no humanitarian considerations involved but merely opportunistic legalism to distort established judicial processes," Calida said.

He said the petitioners' continued detention affords them "ready access to government resources if and when the dreaded virus reaches the doors of their cells, no less different outside their cells."

The petition filed on April 8 by the Public Interest Law Center and the National Union of People’s Lawyers was on behalf of 22 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

They said the petition also covers prisoners who are similarly situated “but cannot be included in this petition due to the difficult circumstances”.

It also asked the High Court to compel the government to create a Prisoner Release Committee, “similar to those set up in other countries, to urgently study and implement the release of all other prisoners in various congested prisons" throughout the country.

Among those listed as petitioners at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and at the Manila City jail were Dionisio S. Almonte, 62; Ireneo O. Atadero Jr., 57; Alexander Ramonita K. Birondo, 68; Winona Marie O. Birondo, 61;Rey Claro C. Casambre, 68; Ferdinand T. Castillo, 60; Francisco O. Fernandez Jr, 71; Renante Gamara, 62; Vicente P. Ladlad, 70;Cleofe S. Lagtapon, 66; Ediesel R. Legaspi, 62; Adelberto Silva, 72; Alberto L. Villamor, 63;Virginia B. Villamor, 65; Emmanuel Bacarra, 55; Oliver Rosales, 48; Oscar Belleza, 63; Norberto A. Murillo, 66; and Dario Tomada, 60.

Detained at the Bureau of Corrections is Lilia Bucatcat, 73.

Ge-ann Perez, 21, is detained at the Taguig City Jail Female Dormitory while Reina Mae Nasino, 22, is detained at the Manila City Jail Female Dormitory.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1100974

Commies arrogantly misrepresenting Igorots, Cordillerans: mayor

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 25, 2020): Commies arrogantly misrepresenting Igorots, Cordillerans: mayor (By Gigie Arcilla)



Mayor Gabino P. Ganggangan of Sadanga town, Mt. Province (Photo from Mayor Ganggangan Facebook page)

A Mountain Province town mayor expressed disgust over leftist groups’ arrogant misrepresentation of Igorots and Cordillerans to push for the communist ideology that has already been a lingering "virus" in the country.
Sadanga Mayor Gabino P. Ganggangan, in his Facebook post on April 21, said leftist organizations nor their officers are never authorized to speak on behalf of the natives of Mt. Province.

“At this time of national health emergency, the CPP-NPA-NDF and their front organizations (leftists) are again exploiting the situation to bolster their agitations against our duly constituted government,” Gavino said, referring to the Communist Party of the Philippines – New People’s Army – National Democratic Front.

The Cordillera People's Alliance (CPA), he added, along with their allied leftist groups have been criticizing the government, organizing rallies and protest activities geared towards heightening dissent as they have always been doing for the past decades.

“They keep on doing these things using our collective identity as IGOROTS/ KAIGOROTAN and Cordillerans especially wearing our native attire and gongs which are rather reserved for use in rituals and other cultural traditions,” he said. “They project the impression to the world that they represent us all as if we ever gave them such mandate to speak for us!!!”

He assured that as mayor of Sadanga, Mt. Province, his constituents will never give communists the consent to represent them.

As the country battles the dreaded coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), he urged other officials to insulate their people from the "communist virus" lurking for the past five decades.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

“As elected officials in our provinces and region let’s make it our duty to guide and lead our constituents especially shielding our youth from their influence,” he said.

He also urged them, being the legitimate representatives and leaders of the people, to take a stand publicly just like what he did.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101010