From the Manila Standard Today (Aug 18): KL deports 641 Pinoys; Moros, Sultanate protest
A TOTAL of 641 Filipino immigrants were said to have been deported by the Malaysian government to rid the country of illegals particularly in Sabah, a move opposed by the Moro National Liberation Front and the Sultanate of Sulu.
The MNLF said Filipinos living in Sandakan, Semporna, Lahad Datu, Tawao and Kudat in Sabah were being ejected despite having legitimate documents.
The Sultanate of Sulu, which is claiming Sabah, said Malaysia had so far deported 100,000 Filipinos and that it expected that number to reach 200,000 in the coming months.
“The deportation is part of the 2004 pre-implementation plan by Malaysia as programmed by the Eastern Command forces to weed out all refugees in the country particularly in Sabah,” said Sultan Abraham Idjarani, spokesman of the Sultanate of Sulu.
He said Malaysia was forcibly taking Tausug’s out of Sabah, the ethnic group opposed to the framework agreement between the Philippine government the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Malaysia’s Star Online on Sunday said the Filipino deportees included 293 men, 188 women and 160 children, and that those were considered the largest batch of deportees this year.
The Filipinos were part of thousands of immigrants temporarily detained at the Sibuga detention center and in other jail facilities in Sandakan, Lahad Datu, Papar and Tawau.
The report said the deportees climbed aboard 22 buses for Sandakan, where they boarded a ferry bound for Zamboanga City.
Police Special Task Force Director Rodzi Md Saad said they deported 12,100 illegal immigrants between January and Aug. 15 this year, and of those 9,368 were Filipinos and 2,569 were Indonesians.
He said they expected to deport another 4,000 illegal immigrants by the end of the year.
“The number of illegals deported this year is considered high compared with 13,222 last year and 12,551 in 2012,” Rodzi said.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2014/08/18/kl-deports-641-pinoys-moros-sultanate-protest/
Sunday, August 17, 2014
BRP Ramon Alcaraz prepared to join KAKADU 2014
From AngMalaya (Aug 17): BRP Ramon Alcaraz prepared to join KAKADU 2014
Philippine Navy’s BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), currently the most advance warship of our navy, with its AgustaWestland AW-109 “Power” helicopter (PNH-431) will join KAKADU 2014, largest naval drill hosted by the Royal Australian Navy.
As a preparation, Philippine Navy personnel inspected the BRP Ramon Alcaraz’s Oto Melara, fitted the newly acquired new Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat and secured AW 109 naval helicopter.
Photos by Philippine Navy
Australia and Philippines will be joined by Japan, New Zealand, and Pakistan in KAKADU 2014. While Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vanuatu, South Korea and India will be sending personnel as observers.
KAKADU 2014 will start on August 25 and will run until September 12. The drills will be held in Northern Australia Exercise Area. BRP Ramon Alcaraz with its AW-109 helicopter leaves August 17 .
http://www.angmalaya.net/nation/2014/08/17/3327-brp-ramon-alcaraz-prepared-to-join-kakadu-2014
Philippine Navy’s BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16), currently the most advance warship of our navy, with its AgustaWestland AW-109 “Power” helicopter (PNH-431) will join KAKADU 2014, largest naval drill hosted by the Royal Australian Navy.
As a preparation, Philippine Navy personnel inspected the BRP Ramon Alcaraz’s Oto Melara, fitted the newly acquired new Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat and secured AW 109 naval helicopter.
Photos by Philippine Navy
Australia and Philippines will be joined by Japan, New Zealand, and Pakistan in KAKADU 2014. While Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Thailand, Vanuatu, South Korea and India will be sending personnel as observers.
KAKADU 2014 will start on August 25 and will run until September 12. The drills will be held in Northern Australia Exercise Area. BRP Ramon Alcaraz with its AW-109 helicopter leaves August 17 .
http://www.angmalaya.net/nation/2014/08/17/3327-brp-ramon-alcaraz-prepared-to-join-kakadu-2014
AFP pulling out Marines from Sulu?
From the Philippine Star (Aug 17): AFP pulling out Marines from Sulu?
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is pulling the Marines out of Sulu as it passes on to the Army the responsibility of dealing with the Abu Sayyaf bandits and other lawless groups operating in the island province.
Sources said from Sulu, the 2nd Marine Brigade under Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto would be reassigned to the provinces of Lanao.
The Army’s Special Operations Command (Socom) under Brig. Gen. Donato San Juan will take over the anti-terror and anti-crime operations in Sulu.
Aside from being a base of the Abu Sayyaf, Sulu has become the center of kidnapping activities by gangs who sell their victims to the bandit group.
“There’s no written order yet. The Marines were advised verbally to prepare to move to their new assignment anytime soon,” one of the sources said without explaining the reasons for the changes in the military’s field operations.
In June this year, six members of Socom’s Joint Special Operations Group were killed in a friendly fire at the height of fighting between the Marines and the bandits in Patikul. The military has created a panel to investigate the incident.
The Army and the Marines used to be deployed to Sulu as well as in Basilan at the height of the government’s anti-terror drive in 2008.
Later, under the AFP’s new Fleet-Marine concept, Army troops were pulled out from the island province and were redeployed in the mainland, leaving the Marines with the responsibility of combating the Abu Sayyaf.
With the return of the Army to Sulu, it is expected that the elite special forces, the scout ranger and the light reaction regiments will be redeployed in the area.
“We are professional soldiers. We will go wherever we are ordered to go by our commanders,” one Marine officer said when asked to comment on the impending transfer of the 2nd Marine Brigade.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/08/17/1358288/afp-pulling-out-marines-sulu
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is pulling the Marines out of Sulu as it passes on to the Army the responsibility of dealing with the Abu Sayyaf bandits and other lawless groups operating in the island province.
Sources said from Sulu, the 2nd Marine Brigade under Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto would be reassigned to the provinces of Lanao.
The Army’s Special Operations Command (Socom) under Brig. Gen. Donato San Juan will take over the anti-terror and anti-crime operations in Sulu.
Aside from being a base of the Abu Sayyaf, Sulu has become the center of kidnapping activities by gangs who sell their victims to the bandit group.
“There’s no written order yet. The Marines were advised verbally to prepare to move to their new assignment anytime soon,” one of the sources said without explaining the reasons for the changes in the military’s field operations.
In June this year, six members of Socom’s Joint Special Operations Group were killed in a friendly fire at the height of fighting between the Marines and the bandits in Patikul. The military has created a panel to investigate the incident.
The Army and the Marines used to be deployed to Sulu as well as in Basilan at the height of the government’s anti-terror drive in 2008.
Later, under the AFP’s new Fleet-Marine concept, Army troops were pulled out from the island province and were redeployed in the mainland, leaving the Marines with the responsibility of combating the Abu Sayyaf.
With the return of the Army to Sulu, it is expected that the elite special forces, the scout ranger and the light reaction regiments will be redeployed in the area.
“We are professional soldiers. We will go wherever we are ordered to go by our commanders,” one Marine officer said when asked to comment on the impending transfer of the 2nd Marine Brigade.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/08/17/1358288/afp-pulling-out-marines-sulu
Wanted ABB member falls in Valenzuela
From the Philippine Star (Aug 17): Wanted ABB member falls in Valenzuela
An alleged member of the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), wanted for several killings in Northern Luzon, was arrested in Valenzuela City yesterday afternoon.
Arnold Vinasoy, alias “Ka Jerry,” tried to fight off his arresting officers led by Inspector Jonathan Olvena when he was cornered at past 2 p.m. at Sitio Pinalagad, Barangay Malinta, said city police chief Senior Superintendent Rhoderick Armamento.
Vinasoy eventually yield to authorities.
He and 20 others escaped from the Isabela provincial jail while serving his time for murder in August 2001.
He was tagged in the killing of a barangay councilman in Cataguing, San Mariano, Isabela in 1998, the murder of a man at Sitio Pinalagad in 2003 and the killing of a local official in Pangasinan.
Armamento said they are checking reports that Vinasoy was also involved in the killing of a local official in Metro Manila several years ago.
The suspect was detained at the Valenzuela police detention cell.
http://www.philstar.com/metro/2014/08/18/1358715/wanted-abb-member-falls-valenzuela
An alleged member of the Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB), wanted for several killings in Northern Luzon, was arrested in Valenzuela City yesterday afternoon.
Arnold Vinasoy, alias “Ka Jerry,” tried to fight off his arresting officers led by Inspector Jonathan Olvena when he was cornered at past 2 p.m. at Sitio Pinalagad, Barangay Malinta, said city police chief Senior Superintendent Rhoderick Armamento.
Vinasoy eventually yield to authorities.
He and 20 others escaped from the Isabela provincial jail while serving his time for murder in August 2001.
He was tagged in the killing of a barangay councilman in Cataguing, San Mariano, Isabela in 1998, the murder of a man at Sitio Pinalagad in 2003 and the killing of a local official in Pangasinan.
Armamento said they are checking reports that Vinasoy was also involved in the killing of a local official in Metro Manila several years ago.
The suspect was detained at the Valenzuela police detention cell.
http://www.philstar.com/metro/2014/08/18/1358715/wanted-abb-member-falls-valenzuela
Army: NPA in Agusan Sur disintegrating
From the Philippine Star (Aug 18): Army: NPA in Agusan Sur disintegrating
The communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Agusan del Sur is disintegrating following several setbacks in the rebel movement, officials of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (ID) said on Saturday.
In a statement, Maj. Christian Uy, spokesman for the 4th ID, said the NPA rebels are in desperate need of logistics following the arrest last March 22 in Cebu of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma, the party’s secretary-general.
Uy said Maj. Gen. Ricardo Visaya, chief of the 4th ID, advised local businessmen and operators of mining and logging firms in the Caraga region to reject the demands of the rebels who are trying to obtain logistics, firearms and food in order to survive.
Uy said the NPA’s support system was crippled after the arrest of the Tiamzons.
Security forces arrested the Tiamzon couple and five others in Barangay Zaragosa in Aloguinsan, Cebu.
Uy said Visaya ordered all Army units to continue their counterinsurgency operations to prevent the rebels from harassing and shaking down traders and residents.
“It is very obvious that NPA leaders in my area are now frustrated and having a hard time convincing their comrades that they are going to win this war,” Visaya said.
He urged the rebels “to lay down your arms and leave your selfish commanders behind in the mountains and we will bring you hope in the mainstream together with your family.”
Visaya vowed the government would make life better for those who surrender, noting their life in the underground has become “miserable.”
The Army said a recent setback of the NPA in the region was a failed attack on a compound of tribal leader Datu Calpit in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur on July 15.
Uy said responding Army troops killed 11 rebels including Joseph Tajora Cainong, the alleged leader of the NPA Guerrilla Front 8 in Agusan del Sur. Nine firearms were recovered after the firefight.
NPA leader “Ka Jared” told The STAR in a telephone interview yesterday that the Army officers were just daydreaming when they claimed that the local NPA is disintegrating.
Jared, who led the recent release of four Surigao policemen in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte, claimed the people in the region are frustrated with the government for failing to provide them basic services such as farm-to-market roads and classrooms.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/08/18/1358621/army-npa-agusan-sur-disintegrating
The communist New People’s Army (NPA) in Agusan del Sur is disintegrating following several setbacks in the rebel movement, officials of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division (ID) said on Saturday.
In a statement, Maj. Christian Uy, spokesman for the 4th ID, said the NPA rebels are in desperate need of logistics following the arrest last March 22 in Cebu of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman Benito Tiamzon and his wife Wilma, the party’s secretary-general.
Uy said Maj. Gen. Ricardo Visaya, chief of the 4th ID, advised local businessmen and operators of mining and logging firms in the Caraga region to reject the demands of the rebels who are trying to obtain logistics, firearms and food in order to survive.
Uy said the NPA’s support system was crippled after the arrest of the Tiamzons.
Security forces arrested the Tiamzon couple and five others in Barangay Zaragosa in Aloguinsan, Cebu.
Uy said Visaya ordered all Army units to continue their counterinsurgency operations to prevent the rebels from harassing and shaking down traders and residents.
“It is very obvious that NPA leaders in my area are now frustrated and having a hard time convincing their comrades that they are going to win this war,” Visaya said.
He urged the rebels “to lay down your arms and leave your selfish commanders behind in the mountains and we will bring you hope in the mainstream together with your family.”
Visaya vowed the government would make life better for those who surrender, noting their life in the underground has become “miserable.”
The Army said a recent setback of the NPA in the region was a failed attack on a compound of tribal leader Datu Calpit in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur on July 15.
Uy said responding Army troops killed 11 rebels including Joseph Tajora Cainong, the alleged leader of the NPA Guerrilla Front 8 in Agusan del Sur. Nine firearms were recovered after the firefight.
NPA leader “Ka Jared” told The STAR in a telephone interview yesterday that the Army officers were just daydreaming when they claimed that the local NPA is disintegrating.
Jared, who led the recent release of four Surigao policemen in Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte, claimed the people in the region are frustrated with the government for failing to provide them basic services such as farm-to-market roads and classrooms.
http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/08/18/1358621/army-npa-agusan-sur-disintegrating
Hostage survivor Warren Rodwell tells of hunger, sickness during 472 days held captive by Muslim militants
From ABC--Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Aug 17): Hostage survivor Warren Rodwell tells of hunger, sickness during 472 days held captive by Muslim militants
Warren Rodwell is escorted by US military personnel following his release.
Warren Rodwell, a former soldier and English teacher from Sydney, was seized from his home on the island of Mindanao, in the southern Philippines, in December 2011.
Fifteen months after his release, he says his captors initially nearly killed him through incompetence.
He says he was shot through the index finger during his capture and nearly drowned at sea whilst being taken to his first destination.
"After we got out to sea for an hour, the boat exploded. The motors caught on fire and that's when I could see the errors being made," Mr Rodwell said.
For the next 15 months, Abu Sayyaf guards moved Mr Rodwell from camp to camp in remote mountain jungles and inhospitable mangrove swamps.
"When the mosquitoes would come out they would drive you crazy," he said.
He says he struggled each day to stay in control of his mind.
"I've always had a passion for numbers, and I'd lived in China for some time so I'd add up the number like the Chinese do ... trying to solve mathematical problems," he said.
He says his situation prompted him to reflect on his life and the lives of all the people he had known.
"I thought to myself that I wanted to at least outlive my mother," he said.
Daily struggle of hunger and sickness
Hunger was a constant companion and by the end of his 15 months as a hostage Mr Rodwell had lost about 30 kilograms.
Mr Rodwell said his captors suffered from the same lack of food and sickness.
"I'd observe their behaviours and because I'd see a change in guards I'd also see some of them getting sick, others going crazy," he said.
"That was always refreshing, when you see that those who are supposed to be in the more powerful situation are suffering more than you are."
Despite being asked numerous proof of life questions and appearing in proof of life videos, Mr Rodwell thought he had been forgotten and was preparing to die.
"As soon as I was released and found out the extent of involvement and the commitment, especially those people within DFAT and the Federal Police, then I was quite overwhelmed," he said.
A ransom, or "board and lodging", was paid to the hostage takers, although it was a tiny fraction of the original demand for $US2 million.
As soon as I was released and found out the extent of involvement and the commitment [from] DFAT, and the Federal Police then I was quite overwhelmed.
Mr. Rodwell's release was both overwhelming and ordinary. He was dropped off at a wharf in the port city of Pagadian.
Skeletal in appearance, he could hardly walk to the port gate where he told an incredulous port worker that he had been kidnapped by the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf.
Keeping track of time and dates was important, and he says he will never forget the date of his release.
"I asked the port guard is it after midnight? He said yeah. I said great. It's my mother's birthday," he said.
Since being freed, Mr Rodwell has been recovering in Brisbane.
A finger that was shot during his capture has been amputated and physiotherapy had helped him regain strength.
He has been collaborating with researcher Dr Bob East on a biographical book.
[472 Days Captive of the Abu Sayyaf: The Survival of Australian Warren Rodwell will be published later this year by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-17/hostage-survivor-sheds-light-on-472-day-ordeal/5675142
Warren Rodwell is escorted by US military personnel following his release.
An Australian man kidnapped and held hostage by Muslim militants in the Southern Philippines for 472 days has shed more light on his ordeal, telling of his brushes with death and the methods he used to stop himself going insane.
Fifteen months after his release, he says his captors initially nearly killed him through incompetence.
He says he was shot through the index finger during his capture and nearly drowned at sea whilst being taken to his first destination.
"After we got out to sea for an hour, the boat exploded. The motors caught on fire and that's when I could see the errors being made," Mr Rodwell said.
For the next 15 months, Abu Sayyaf guards moved Mr Rodwell from camp to camp in remote mountain jungles and inhospitable mangrove swamps.
"When the mosquitoes would come out they would drive you crazy," he said.
He says he struggled each day to stay in control of his mind.
"I've always had a passion for numbers, and I'd lived in China for some time so I'd add up the number like the Chinese do ... trying to solve mathematical problems," he said.
He says his situation prompted him to reflect on his life and the lives of all the people he had known.
"I thought to myself that I wanted to at least outlive my mother," he said.
Daily struggle of hunger and sickness
Hunger was a constant companion and by the end of his 15 months as a hostage Mr Rodwell had lost about 30 kilograms.
Mr Rodwell said his captors suffered from the same lack of food and sickness.
Warren Rodwell lost over 30 kilograms during his 15 months as a captive of Muslim militant group, Abu Sayyaf . (AFP)
"I'd observe their behaviours and because I'd see a change in guards I'd also see some of them getting sick, others going crazy," he said.
"That was always refreshing, when you see that those who are supposed to be in the more powerful situation are suffering more than you are."
Despite being asked numerous proof of life questions and appearing in proof of life videos, Mr Rodwell thought he had been forgotten and was preparing to die.
"As soon as I was released and found out the extent of involvement and the commitment, especially those people within DFAT and the Federal Police, then I was quite overwhelmed," he said.
A ransom, or "board and lodging", was paid to the hostage takers, although it was a tiny fraction of the original demand for $US2 million.
As soon as I was released and found out the extent of involvement and the commitment [from] DFAT, and the Federal Police then I was quite overwhelmed.
Mr. Rodwell's release was both overwhelming and ordinary. He was dropped off at a wharf in the port city of Pagadian.
Skeletal in appearance, he could hardly walk to the port gate where he told an incredulous port worker that he had been kidnapped by the Islamic militant group Abu Sayyaf.
Keeping track of time and dates was important, and he says he will never forget the date of his release.
"I asked the port guard is it after midnight? He said yeah. I said great. It's my mother's birthday," he said.
Since being freed, Mr Rodwell has been recovering in Brisbane.
A finger that was shot during his capture has been amputated and physiotherapy had helped him regain strength.
He has been collaborating with researcher Dr Bob East on a biographical book.
[472 Days Captive of the Abu Sayyaf: The Survival of Australian Warren Rodwell will be published later this year by Cambridge Scholars Publishing.]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-17/hostage-survivor-sheds-light-on-472-day-ordeal/5675142
New China incursion hit
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 18): New China incursion hit
China
grabbed Panatag Shoal (Scarborough Shoal) from the Philippines
China
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/109538/new-china-incursion-hit
President Aquino has sounded the alarm over the presence of
two new Chinese vessels near the oil-rich Recto Bank (Reed Bank) in the West Philippine Sea .
Citing a military report, the President called attention to
the presence of the Chinese hydrographic research vessels at Recto Bank despite
a Washington-backed Philippine proposal for a freeze on activities that
escalate tensions over territorial disputes in the South
China Sea .
The West Philippine Sea is part of the South China Sea
within the Philippines
“What are they doing there? What studies are they
conducting? I hope [their presence] will not lead to increased tension between
[the Philippines and China
“Just a reminder, Recto Bank is [144 km] from Palawan so it is clearly within our [370-km] exclusive
economic zone.”
But China ,
which claims 90 percent of the 3.5-million-square-kilometer South
China Sea , sent the ships anyway and by the Philippine military’s
description the vessels were surveying and charting the area.
Aquino did not say when the military spotted the vessels and
when he was briefed on the matter.
But he said the incursion was the latest in what he
described as China ’s
“seasonal” attitude toward its territorial dispute with the Philippines
“Whenever we deal with China
“There’s a season when China
Despite the Philippines
He cited the presence of the two research vessels at Recto
Bank as the latest case of Chinese intrusion into Philippine territory.
It was unclear when the two Chinese vessels arrived in the
area, but their presence there was the first provocative act of Beijing since
it rejected the US-Philippine proposal for a freeze in activities that escalate
tensions in the sea, which Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario tried to push
at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF) in
Naypyidaw, Burma (Myanmar), last week.
Three-step plan
The proposal was part of the Philippines ’
three-step plan for a peaceful settlement of territorial disputes in the South China Sea .
The two other steps are the conclusion of a code of conduct
that would prevent rival claims from erupting into conflict and the settlement
of the disputes through international arbitration.
Daniel Russel, the top US diplomat in Asia, was the first to
propose the freeze on July 28, but China, which rejects US involvement in the
disputes, turned it down, saying the tensions in the region were only being
exaggerated by some of the claimants, referring to the Philippines and Vietnam.
The Asean foreign ministers did not discuss the
US-Philippine freeze proposal at the ARF because there was already the
Declaration of Conduct of the Parties in the South China Sea that the bloc and China
Competing claims
Besides China ,
the Philippines and Vietnam , Brunei ,
Malaysia and Taiwan also claim parts or all of the South China Sea .
Without military muscle to confront China , the Philippines
PH sovereign rights
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) maintains that the Philippines
“Recto Bank or Reed Bank is not an island, or a low-tide
elevation. Rather, it is a completely submerged bank that is a continental
margin of Palawan … It forms part of the
[370-km] continental shelf of the Philippine archipelago under the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said in
July, rejecting China’s complaint about a London-listed company’s drilling
operations at Recto Bank.
In his television interview, Aquino recalled that a vessel
that belonged to the British company Forum Energy Plc was once driven away by a
Chinese ship even if it was operating within Philippines
“Now their ships are in the same area, the Recto Bank,”
Aquino complained.
Philippine license
In February 2010, Forum Energy obtained from the Philippines
The Philippines
SC72 has a seven-year exploration period extendible by three
years and a 25-year production period that can be extended by 15 years.
The service area includes the Sampaguita gas field,
discovered in 1976, and a number of leads identified from earlier seismic
evaluation.
Forum Energy has been ready to start exploration in the
area, but the dispute between the Philippines
and China
The Philippines
Chinese permit?
But the Chinese foreign ministry insisted that such
explorations required permit from Beijing , an
assertion flatly rejected by the Philippines
In March 2011, two Chinese gunboats went too close to a
vessel that was surveying at Recto Bank for oil and gas deposits, forcing the
Philippine military to send aircraft and vessels to drive the Chinese boats
away.
In April 2012, Philex said in a disclosure to the Philippine
Stock Exchange that Forum Energy had a report that was “expected to show an
improvement in the resources previously known” in the Sampaguita gas discovery
at Recto Bank.
Earlier, Forum Energy said that based on a 2006 study, the
Sampaguita field had a potential of up to 566 billion cubic meters of natural
gas, more than five times the initial estimate.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/109538/new-china-incursion-hit
Filipino peacekeepers: Should they stay or go?
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 17): Filipino peacekeepers: Should they stay or go?
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Malacañang on Saturday said President Benigno Aquino III had yet to decide whether or not to pull out the Filipino peacekeeping forces from the Golan Heights and Liberia, even as the Department of National Defense (DND) had recommended it.
Liberia is among the West African countries stricken by the deadly Ebola virus, while the Golan Heights is the volatile buffer zone between Israel and Syria. The civil war in Syria continues to rage, while to the south Israel is currently involved in a battle of deadly missile barrages with Palestine in Gaza.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over government run-dzRB radio that Mr. Aquino wanted to be appraised of the protection and safeguards available to the more than 400 Filipino troops deployed to these two places under the UN flag.
“My impression is the President has not made a decision yet. He still wants to know the available safeguards,” Valte said.
There are 115 Filipino soldiers in Liberia and 332 in the Golan Heights.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the DND recommendation considered the health and security risks faced by the Filipino troops.
Earlier, Mr. Aquino decided that the Filipino peacekeepers in Syria would stay put after two groups of Filipino soldiers were kidnapped weeks apart by Syrian rebels last year, Valte said.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/109513/filipino-peacekeepers-should-they-stay-or-go
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Malacañang on Saturday said President Benigno Aquino III had yet to decide whether or not to pull out the Filipino peacekeeping forces from the Golan Heights and Liberia, even as the Department of National Defense (DND) had recommended it.
Liberia is among the West African countries stricken by the deadly Ebola virus, while the Golan Heights is the volatile buffer zone between Israel and Syria. The civil war in Syria continues to rage, while to the south Israel is currently involved in a battle of deadly missile barrages with Palestine in Gaza.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over government run-dzRB radio that Mr. Aquino wanted to be appraised of the protection and safeguards available to the more than 400 Filipino troops deployed to these two places under the UN flag.
“My impression is the President has not made a decision yet. He still wants to know the available safeguards,” Valte said.
There are 115 Filipino soldiers in Liberia and 332 in the Golan Heights.
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the DND recommendation considered the health and security risks faced by the Filipino troops.
Earlier, Mr. Aquino decided that the Filipino peacekeepers in Syria would stay put after two groups of Filipino soldiers were kidnapped weeks apart by Syrian rebels last year, Valte said.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/109513/filipino-peacekeepers-should-they-stay-or-go
Suspected Sayyaf men abduct mechanic, kill another
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 17): Suspected Sayyaf men abduct mechanic, kill another
Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants abducted a chief mechanic and killed his assistant, who tried to run away, in a heavily secured provincial government compound in the southern Philippines, officials said Sunday.
About 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen breached a perimeter wall of the Sulu provincial government compound late Saturday and took chief mechanic Ronald Pelegrin at gunpoint from the motorpool under cover of darkness, said Senior Superintendent Abraham Orbita, who heads Sulu’s police forces.
The gunmen also tried to seize Pelegrin’s deputy, Dante Avilla, but the latter resisted and was shot and killed by the militants when he tried to run away. A mobile police force unit stationed in a nearby building failed to stop the attack by the gunmen, who fled through a hole in a fence that they also used to barge into the compound, Orbita said.
Such brazen attacks on government personnel and unarmed villagers in Sulu and outlying island provinces have kept the Abu Sayyaf a major national security concern despite crippling battle setbacks dealt by more than a decade of U.S.-backed Philippine offensives. Aside from ransom kidnappings, the militants are also notorious for beheadings and bombings.
More than 300 Abu Sayyaf militants, split into factions, remain active in Sulu, a poor, predominantly Muslim region 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of Manila, and in outlying islands and provinces.
The militants still hold several Filipino and foreign captives in their jungle bases, according to the military.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/630114/suspected-sayyaf-men-abduct-mechanic-kill-another
Abu Sayyaf. AFP FILE PHOTO
About 30 Abu Sayyaf gunmen breached a perimeter wall of the Sulu provincial government compound late Saturday and took chief mechanic Ronald Pelegrin at gunpoint from the motorpool under cover of darkness, said Senior Superintendent Abraham Orbita, who heads Sulu’s police forces.
The gunmen also tried to seize Pelegrin’s deputy, Dante Avilla, but the latter resisted and was shot and killed by the militants when he tried to run away. A mobile police force unit stationed in a nearby building failed to stop the attack by the gunmen, who fled through a hole in a fence that they also used to barge into the compound, Orbita said.
Such brazen attacks on government personnel and unarmed villagers in Sulu and outlying island provinces have kept the Abu Sayyaf a major national security concern despite crippling battle setbacks dealt by more than a decade of U.S.-backed Philippine offensives. Aside from ransom kidnappings, the militants are also notorious for beheadings and bombings.
More than 300 Abu Sayyaf militants, split into factions, remain active in Sulu, a poor, predominantly Muslim region 950 kilometers (590 miles) south of Manila, and in outlying islands and provinces.
The militants still hold several Filipino and foreign captives in their jungle bases, according to the military.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/630114/suspected-sayyaf-men-abduct-mechanic-kill-another
AFP downplays 2 Moro groups’ pledge to support ISIS
From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 17): AFP downplays 2 Moro groups’ pledge to support ISIS
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan. PHOTO/A2C Bryan Bautista/ AFP PAO
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday downplayed the claims of two Moro extremist groups that they had pledged support to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr., AFP spokesperson, said the assertions of the Abu Sayyaf group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters did not hold ground until verified to be true.
“Until we have proven something, it doesn’t prove anything. It doesn’t hold ground,” the official said in reaction to the two extremist groups’ supposed pledge to the ISIS jihadists.
Clips have been uploaded on YouTube showing the BIFF and the Abu Sayyaf rebels affirming their support for ISIS.
Tutaan pointed out that the clips might have been meant to heighten the groups’ notoriety in the public eye so that they would be feared more and could go on with their criminal activities.
Tutaan pointed out that the supposed links between the bandit groups had not been verified.
He reminded the media to be careful in presenting the issue since it could affect public perception.
“There are no facts so far that would show that they have links to ISIS. Anybody could just say that. The thing is, if it’s presented wrongly, it could affect the people’s perception,” he said.
YouTube videos were uploaded recently showing alleged BIFF and Abu Sayyaf leaders reading a statement of support for the ISIS, which now controls large areas in Iraq and Syria.
Tutaan said the AFP has been cautious in dealing with the issue “because we don’t want to cause undue alarm.”
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/630122/afp-downplays-2-moro-groups-pledge-to-support-isis
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan. PHOTO/A2C Bryan Bautista/ AFP PAO
The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday downplayed the claims of two Moro extremist groups that they had pledged support to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr., AFP spokesperson, said the assertions of the Abu Sayyaf group and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters did not hold ground until verified to be true.
“Until we have proven something, it doesn’t prove anything. It doesn’t hold ground,” the official said in reaction to the two extremist groups’ supposed pledge to the ISIS jihadists.
Clips have been uploaded on YouTube showing the BIFF and the Abu Sayyaf rebels affirming their support for ISIS.
Tutaan pointed out that the clips might have been meant to heighten the groups’ notoriety in the public eye so that they would be feared more and could go on with their criminal activities.
Tutaan pointed out that the supposed links between the bandit groups had not been verified.
He reminded the media to be careful in presenting the issue since it could affect public perception.
“There are no facts so far that would show that they have links to ISIS. Anybody could just say that. The thing is, if it’s presented wrongly, it could affect the people’s perception,” he said.
YouTube videos were uploaded recently showing alleged BIFF and Abu Sayyaf leaders reading a statement of support for the ISIS, which now controls large areas in Iraq and Syria.
Tutaan said the AFP has been cautious in dealing with the issue “because we don’t want to cause undue alarm.”
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/630122/afp-downplays-2-moro-groups-pledge-to-support-isis
PNoy unfazed by delays, sees Bangsamoro peace process completed as envisioned
From InterAksyon (Aug 17): PNoy unfazed by delays, sees Bangsamoro peace process completed as envisioned
The Bangsamoro Road Map, as rendered by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
Amid a call to speed up the crafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law to embody the key agreements of the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, President Benigno Aquino III told TV5 he remains confident that a sound, just and comprehensive law will be the outcome of the entire process.
He aired his views in an exclusive interview just five days before he is scheduled to receive from his legal advisers the draft of a bill that he will then pitch to Congress, for a Bangsamoro Basic Law to be enacted hopefully early in 2015.
He likened the delays - blamed by some on the length it's taking Palace lawyers to go through the draft provided by the transitional council after the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro - to the tedious process of ensuring the "devil in the details" is anticipated and addressed in order to avoid legal questions later.
In an exclusive interview last Aug. 13 with Atty. Mel Sta. Maria, TV5 resident legal analyst, which will air at 10 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 17), Aquino said, speaking mostly in Filipino:
"Well, when we entered into this process, we never said that anything we asked for would automatically happen. We all really have to persevere and be patient. But I am optimistic of the future. Why? Because even now --and right after the signing of the CAB - the MILF has been fulfilling many of their commitments to us."
He cited as example of the MILF's fidelity to its word its acts of helping the government track down wanted criminals that had taken refuge in its areas.
Moreover, he said the MILF repeatedly helped calm down their constituents in times when tensions were rising over one incident or issue: "May mga panahon na pwedeng nagkaroon ng tensyon o napataas ang tensyon, sumama sila sa pagpapababa nung tensyon. So, palagay ko yung lahat nung nakalagay sa Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro e nandun pa rin ho at mas matibay pa.
[There were times when tension could have gone out of hand, but they helped bring this down. So, in my view everything placed in the CAB is still there and has been honored and is being strengthened]."
He said the Bangsamoro leaders apparently realize it's not just the President who will be put to shame if the peace process fails: "Sila rin ang mapapahiya. Yung mga umaasa e madidismaya. Marami na hong nagtutulong tulong para mangyari ito [They will also lose face. All those who have pinned their hopes on this will be dismayed. Many people have staked so much, helping out to make sure this is pursued to its end]."
He acknowledged that threshing out finer details in any agreement is always tedious.
"Para bang nagkakaintindihan tayo pero gusto nating maging napaka-comprehensive nitong basic law na wala nang makwestyon o wala nang kailangang imbentuhin pa pagdating ng panahon [It's like we all have an understanding that we want a very comprehensive basic law that no one can question or will not need to be revised in the future]."
PNoy getting draft on Monday
The President, according to Palace officials Sunday, will receive from his legal advisers on Monday (Aug. 18) the draft bill they reviewed that worked in the discussion over 10 days of the original government peace panel and the MILF in Davao from Aug. 1-10.
The review meetings were called amid mounting concern that the draft bill might not faithfully reflect the fundamental provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed last year.
The President will act quickly on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) once he receives it, Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Sunday, and submit the draft law to Congress, giving the latter time to pass the law early 2015.
The Palace is following the roadmap and timetable for setting up a Bangsamoro Transitional Assembly, and the elections of officers of the Bangsamoro Political Entity - which is expected to be held along with elections of 2016, Coloma added.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/93470/pnoy-unfazed-by-delays-sees-bangsamoro-peace-process-completed-as-envisioned
The Bangsamoro Road Map, as rendered by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.
Amid a call to speed up the crafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law to embody the key agreements of the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, President Benigno Aquino III told TV5 he remains confident that a sound, just and comprehensive law will be the outcome of the entire process.
He aired his views in an exclusive interview just five days before he is scheduled to receive from his legal advisers the draft of a bill that he will then pitch to Congress, for a Bangsamoro Basic Law to be enacted hopefully early in 2015.
He likened the delays - blamed by some on the length it's taking Palace lawyers to go through the draft provided by the transitional council after the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro - to the tedious process of ensuring the "devil in the details" is anticipated and addressed in order to avoid legal questions later.
In an exclusive interview last Aug. 13 with Atty. Mel Sta. Maria, TV5 resident legal analyst, which will air at 10 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 17), Aquino said, speaking mostly in Filipino:
"Well, when we entered into this process, we never said that anything we asked for would automatically happen. We all really have to persevere and be patient. But I am optimistic of the future. Why? Because even now --and right after the signing of the CAB - the MILF has been fulfilling many of their commitments to us."
He cited as example of the MILF's fidelity to its word its acts of helping the government track down wanted criminals that had taken refuge in its areas.
Moreover, he said the MILF repeatedly helped calm down their constituents in times when tensions were rising over one incident or issue: "May mga panahon na pwedeng nagkaroon ng tensyon o napataas ang tensyon, sumama sila sa pagpapababa nung tensyon. So, palagay ko yung lahat nung nakalagay sa Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro e nandun pa rin ho at mas matibay pa.
[There were times when tension could have gone out of hand, but they helped bring this down. So, in my view everything placed in the CAB is still there and has been honored and is being strengthened]."
He said the Bangsamoro leaders apparently realize it's not just the President who will be put to shame if the peace process fails: "Sila rin ang mapapahiya. Yung mga umaasa e madidismaya. Marami na hong nagtutulong tulong para mangyari ito [They will also lose face. All those who have pinned their hopes on this will be dismayed. Many people have staked so much, helping out to make sure this is pursued to its end]."
He acknowledged that threshing out finer details in any agreement is always tedious.
"Para bang nagkakaintindihan tayo pero gusto nating maging napaka-comprehensive nitong basic law na wala nang makwestyon o wala nang kailangang imbentuhin pa pagdating ng panahon [It's like we all have an understanding that we want a very comprehensive basic law that no one can question or will not need to be revised in the future]."
PNoy getting draft on Monday
The President, according to Palace officials Sunday, will receive from his legal advisers on Monday (Aug. 18) the draft bill they reviewed that worked in the discussion over 10 days of the original government peace panel and the MILF in Davao from Aug. 1-10.
The review meetings were called amid mounting concern that the draft bill might not faithfully reflect the fundamental provisions of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed last year.
The President will act quickly on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) once he receives it, Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Sunday, and submit the draft law to Congress, giving the latter time to pass the law early 2015.
The Palace is following the roadmap and timetable for setting up a Bangsamoro Transitional Assembly, and the elections of officers of the Bangsamoro Political Entity - which is expected to be held along with elections of 2016, Coloma added.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/93470/pnoy-unfazed-by-delays-sees-bangsamoro-peace-process-completed-as-envisioned
Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress: less than 50 session days left ‘til yearend
From MindaNews (Aug 17): Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress: less than 50 session days left ‘til yearend
http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2014/08/17/bangsamoro-basic-law-in-congress-less-than-50-session-days-left-til-yearend/
Four months after its submission to Malacanang (Office of
the President), the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), reviewed and now
“mutually acceptable” to government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF), is finally on its way to Congress but it’s a race against time with
only less than 50 session days left until December 31, 2014, the Aquino
administration’s target for passage of the law.
The final draft of the BBL will be submitted to President
Aquino “before end of next week” and to Congress “before end of the month),
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles told MindaNews
on Friday afternoon, after the GPH and MIFL issued a joint statement that that
they had “concluded discussions” on the remaining unresolved issues of the BBL.
The Joint Statement, signed by Executive Secretary Paquito
Ochoa and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Mohagher Iqbal who signed
as chair of the Bangsmaoro Transition Commission (BTC), the body tasked to
draft the Basic Law, was issued August 15, exactly 138 days to the end of the
year, the target date for passage of the BBL.
President Benigno Simeon Aquino III was supposed to have
certified the bill as “urgent” when he delivered his State of the Nation
Address (SONA) on July 28 but by then, the peace panels to whom the BTC in a
July 3 resolution, elevated its concerns on the Malacanang-proposed revisions
to its draft, had not succeeded in coming up with a “mutually acceptable”
draft.
In last year’s SONA, the President urged Congress to pass
the Bangsamoro Basic Law by yearend 2014 to allow enough time for the
transition period before the election of the first set of officials of the
Bangsamoro government in May 2016. The Bangsamoro, according to the GPH-MILF
roadmap, should be in place by June 30, 2016, the same day President Aquino
ends his six-year term.
In his SONA on July 28, Aquino said: “if we are able to
legislate the Bangsamoro Basic Law before the end of the year and conduct the
necessary plebiscite, we will be able to give the Bangsamoro Transition
Authority one and a half years to show positive change.”
“Should this be delayed, however, the period for proving
that it was right to choose the path of peace will naturally be shortened,” the
President said.
47 days
Based on Deles’ statement, the final draft BBL will be
submitted to President Aquino before August 22 and to Congress before August
31.
Assuming that the earliest it will be submitted to Congress after the succession of holidays — will be Tuesday, August 26, that is 128 days to December 31, out of which there are a total of 77 days listed under “resumption of session” in the legislative calendar and a total of 51 days for three periods of recess.
Assuming that the earliest it will be submitted to Congress after the succession of holidays — will be Tuesday, August 26, that is 128 days to December 31, out of which there are a total of 77 days listed under “resumption of session” in the legislative calendar and a total of 51 days for three periods of recess.
The sessions that started July 28 will go on until September
26. Legislators will go on break from September 27 to October 19, resume
sessions from October 20 to 31, take a break again on November 1 to 16, resume
sessions from November 17 to December 19 and go on Christmas break from
December 20 until January 18.
Out of the 77 days, however, MindaNews counted only 47
actual workdays because 30 days of the 77 are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Congress has a four-week day only (Mondays to Thursdays)
purportedly because legislators go home and devote their Fridays to their
constituents.
“Enough time”
But Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, eyed to be the chair of a special House committee that would handle the proposed BBL, told MindaNews Friday evening that there is “enough time” to pass the law.
But Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, eyed to be the chair of a special House committee that would handle the proposed BBL, told MindaNews Friday evening that there is “enough time” to pass the law.
“Very good, very good,” he said, upon learning that Deles
said the final draft BBL would be submitted to Congress before end of the
month.
“Kayang-kaya” (It can be done), Rodriguez said,
adding committee hearings can be done “during weekends” or even “during
recess.”
He reiterated earlier statements that he would invite Nur
Misuari, founding chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MNLF), the group
from which the MILF broke away in the late 1970s, and Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato
of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway group from the
MILF, to the committee hearings on the BBL.
Misuari and Kato are both fugitives from the law but
Rodriguez said “we will ask for a suspension of the effects of the warrants of
arrest” as they are being hunted down for political offenses. Misuari and Kato
have pending warrants for criminal offenses.
Rodriguez also said he wants to invite the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation which brokered the peace process between the Philippine
government and the MNLF and which is an observer in the GPH-MILF peace process.
On July 1, he told MindaNews that if the draft can stand the
test of constitutionality, there should be no problem.
He said daily hearings could be conducted in the capitals of
the six regions of Mindanao in August and
September to hasten passage of the urgent bill.
First quarter
Rodriguez said the Commission on Elections (Comelec) can
begin preparations for the plebiscite while Congress is deliberating on the
bill.
Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez had earlier said they
need six months to prepare for the plebiscite.
If the bill is not passed by yearend, Congress, according to
its legislative calendar, will resume sessions on January 19 and will go on
recess again on March 20. Between January 19 and March 20 is a total of 61
session days but take out Fridays to Saturdays and the Chinese New Year holiday
on February 19, there will be only 36 workdays left to March 20.
Once the BBL is ratified in a plebiscite, the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is deemed abolished and the Bangsamoro
Transition Authority (BTA) takes over and begins the ministerial form of
government.
ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman has repeatedly said they are
preparing for a smooth transition from the ARMM to the Bangsamoro.
If the GPH-MILF roadmap is followed, the Bangsamoro
government shall have been set up and its first set of elected officials shall
have taken their oath of office by June 30, 2016, the same day President Aquino
ends his six-year term.
http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2014/08/17/bangsamoro-basic-law-in-congress-less-than-50-session-days-left-til-yearend/
Draft Bangsmoaro Basic Law out of peace panels’ hands; back to BTC and OP
From MindaNews (Aug 17): Draft Bangsmoaro Basic Law out of peace panels’ hands; back to BTC and OP
Following this statement, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles told MindaNews that the final draft BBL would be submitted to the President “before end of next week” and to Congress “before end of the month.”
http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2014/08/17/draft-bangsmoaro-basic-law-out-of-peace-panels-hands-back-to-btc-and-op/
After a month’s unsuccessful attempts by the government
(GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels to come up with a
“mutually acceptable” draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), the Office of the
President, particularly the Executive Secretary, has taken over the
finalization of the draft with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), the
body that drafted the BBL.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa took over noon of August
10, the last of the 10-day “workshop” of the GPH and MILF panels at the
Waterfront Insular Hotel here, meeting separately with the government and MILF
peace panel chairs, averting what would have been yet another unsuccessful
fourth workshop after the unsuccessful three workshops totaling 11 days in July
in Kuala Lumpur and Manila.
Early evening of August 10, the GPH and MILF peace panels
met with the press and although they sounded uncomfortable when asked about
specifics, announced a date – “August 18, 2014, in sha Allah” — for them to
“finish an agreed draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.”
The peace panels got involved in the crafting of a “mutually
acceptable” draft BBL when the MILF-chaired BTC (composed of eight
commissioners from the MILF and seven from the GPH), passed a resolution on
July 3 elevating to the panels its concerns over the Malacanang-proposed
revisions to the 97-page draft BBL it submitted to the Palace on April 22.
At the start of the 10-day Davao “workshop” on August 1,
government peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer had told MindaNews that the
panel believes the outcome of the “workshop” should be returned to the BTC
because it was the BTC that gave them the panels the mandate to work on the
draft.
No panel-to-panel meet
There was no formal announcement from both panels that the draft was out of their hands. But after the August 10 announcement that they would “finish an agreed draft” by August 18, there was no panel-to-panel meeting anymore even as both panels were in the same venues — Malagos Garden Resort on August 13 and Marco Polo Hotel on August 14 and 15.
There was no formal announcement from both panels that the draft was out of their hands. But after the August 10 announcement that they would “finish an agreed draft” by August 18, there was no panel-to-panel meeting anymore even as both panels were in the same venues — Malagos Garden Resort on August 13 and Marco Polo Hotel on August 14 and 15.
Ochoa and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Alfredo Benjamin
Sabater Caguioa met with MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal, concurrent BTC
chair, in those three days of exchanges of position papers and conversations
that ended Friday noon, August 15 with a two-paragraph, nine-line Joint
Statement signed by Ochoa and Iqbal as BTC chair.
The Statement announced that they had “concluded discussions
on the various issues” involving the draft BBL “originally drafted by the
Bangsamoro Transition Commission and submitted to the President last April” and
that the parties agreed that “resolutions arrived at by both parties will be
incorporated into the final draft Basic Bangsamoro Law that will be prepared
and submitted to President Benigno S. Aquino III.”
Following this statement, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles told MindaNews that the final draft BBL would be submitted to the President “before end of next week” and to Congress “before end of the month.”
The Ochoa-Iqbal statement of August 15 was not their first.
Two months earlier, Ochoa and Iqbal also issued a statement – a longer one — a
seven paragraph, 23-line “Press Statement on the status of the Draft Bangsamoro
Law” in an attempt to address the restlessness of those awaiting news on the
submission of the draft law to Congress.
“Thorough process of review”
The BTC submitted its draft to Malacanang on April 22,
expecting Malacanang would submit the same to Congress when it resumed sessions
on May 5 after the Holy Week break. But as June 11, the schedule for Congress
to adjourn sine die was fast approaching, it was also getting clearer that
Congress would adjourn without receiving the draft.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita
Quintos-Deles had hinted in her opening remarks at the International Conference
of Cotabato at the Notre Dame University in Cotabato City
She said it was still undergoing a “thorough process of
review” by the Office of the President to ensure Congress gets a “more refined
and strengthened” draft.
The Ochoa-Iqbal statement was dated June 7 but was e-mailed
to the media by Deles’ office afternoon of June 10.
The statement noted that since the signing of the
Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro on March 27, BTC members had been
working on the BBL, “consulting with experts and various stakeholders, and
building consensus among its members” and that the President expects a law that
is “equitable, practical, and empowering, and which serves the interests of the
entire nation.”
“Precious legacy”
The statement acknowledged that the BTC had submitted its draft to Malacanang and that they acknowledge the “urgency behind the immediate passage of the BBL,” that a thorough review of the provisions was necessary “to ensure that these are consistent with what the parties agreed upon in the 17 years of peace negotiation.”
The statement acknowledged that the BTC had submitted its draft to Malacanang and that they acknowledge the “urgency behind the immediate passage of the BBL,” that a thorough review of the provisions was necessary “to ensure that these are consistent with what the parties agreed upon in the 17 years of peace negotiation.”
“At present, efforts have already been made to coordinate
with the Senate and House leadership to ensure that the draft BBL is submitted
to Congress when sessions resume in July,” the June 7 statement real.
“We believe that investing time in this process will redound to the benefit of
all, laying the foundations for peace, prosperity, and progress in Mindanao––a
precious legacy that will be cherished by generations of Filipinos, especially
our Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao, for years to come,” it added.
Iqbal had earlier said that there was supposed to have been
a “four-tiered” engagement with the Office of the President on the draft BBL
before its submission to Congress.
The first level was supposed to have been between Ochoa and
the BTC, hence that joint press statement on June 7. The fourth and last level
would have been between President Aquino and Al Haj Murad Ebrahim. Only the
fourth level-engagement happened, the MILF said in an editorial posted on its
website on July 23.
The Malacanang-reviewed draft was handed over to the MILF on
June 21. Iqbal and MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim were shown a copy of the
reviewed draft with Malacanang’s proposed revisions, in Hiroshima
Murad and Iqbal were in Hiroshima
to address The Consolidation for Peace for Mindanao
(COP 6) on June 23 and met with President Aquino on June 24, shortly before the
President addressed the same seminar, where they raised “concerns” over
Malacanang’s proposed revisions.
Murad and Iqbal gave no details about what transpired during
the meeting with the President that day but two days later, on June 26, Iqbal
in a speech in Istanbul , Turkey
http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2014/08/17/draft-bangsmoaro-basic-law-out-of-peace-panels-hands-back-to-btc-and-op/
2 Sulu motorpool mechanics abducted, one killed
From MindaNews (Aug 17): 2 Sulu motorpool mechanics abducted, one killed
An estimated 30 armed men stormed the provincial motorpool in Patikul, Sulu late Saturday night and abducted the mechanic and his assistant.
The Sulu Provincial Police Office in a report to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said an estimated 30 armed men abducted chief mechanic Ronald Pelegrin, 39, and his assistant, Dante Avila, 29, at around 10:30 p.m.
The report said that while the police pursued the armed men, they found Avila dead, believed to have been shot by the armed men.
http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2014/08/17/2-sulu-motorpool-mechanics-abducted-one-killed/
An estimated 30 armed men stormed the provincial motorpool in Patikul, Sulu late Saturday night and abducted the mechanic and his assistant.
The Sulu Provincial Police Office in a report to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said an estimated 30 armed men abducted chief mechanic Ronald Pelegrin, 39, and his assistant, Dante Avila, 29, at around 10:30 p.m.
The report said that while the police pursued the armed men, they found Avila dead, believed to have been shot by the armed men.
http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2014/08/17/2-sulu-motorpool-mechanics-abducted-one-killed/
Army arrests 2 suspected kidnap gang members
From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 17): Army arrests 2 suspected kidnap gang members
Military authorities arrested here on separate occasions Friday and Saturday two suspected members of a kidnap-for-ransom group operating in Maguindanao.
Arrested with firearms were Samer Ayao, 18, of Barangay Tanual, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao; and Raf Uko, 30, also of Datu Odin Sinsuat, according to Col. Noli Mapili, chief of the 5th Army Special Forces Battalion.
Tipped about Ayao’s whereabouts, Mapili said he formed a special team to track down the suspect who was nabbed while on board a van in Barangay Balabaran, Datu Odin Sinsuat town at past 7 p.m. Friday. He yielded a home-made automatic rifle.
Upon interrogation, Ayao admitted he had a companion identified as Raf Uko who was to come to Barangay Balabaran Saturday morning.
A follow-up operation by the same Army unit on Saturday resulted in the arrest of Uko, who was carrying a caliber .38 revolver, an improvised rifle and methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.
Follow-up operations also resulted in the recovery of a van and a motorcycle used by the suspects in drug peddling.
Mapili said the suspects have been turned over to police authorities inCotabato City
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=673681
Military authorities arrested here on separate occasions Friday and Saturday two suspected members of a kidnap-for-ransom group operating in Maguindanao.
Arrested with firearms were Samer Ayao, 18, of Barangay Tanual, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao; and Raf Uko, 30, also of Datu Odin Sinsuat, according to Col. Noli Mapili, chief of the 5th Army Special Forces Battalion.
Tipped about Ayao’s whereabouts, Mapili said he formed a special team to track down the suspect who was nabbed while on board a van in Barangay Balabaran, Datu Odin Sinsuat town at past 7 p.m. Friday. He yielded a home-made automatic rifle.
Upon interrogation, Ayao admitted he had a companion identified as Raf Uko who was to come to Barangay Balabaran Saturday morning.
A follow-up operation by the same Army unit on Saturday resulted in the arrest of Uko, who was carrying a caliber .38 revolver, an improvised rifle and methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu.
Follow-up operations also resulted in the recovery of a van and a motorcycle used by the suspects in drug peddling.
Mapili said the suspects have been turned over to police authorities in
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=673681
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