GPH-MILF talks extended by a day in KL; Annex signing not likely

From MindaNews (Jul 12): GPH-MILF talks extended by a day in KL; Annex signing not likely

As has been their rule during peace negotiations in the time of the Ramadhan, sessions are supposed to be held in the morning only, in deference to the Muslims in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government (GPH) peace panel but Thursday’s session – supposedly the last day of the scheduled July 8 to 11 talks – extended until late afternoon with not a single contentious issue on wealth-sharing resolved.

Both panels have apparently stuck to their respective positions on the already initialed Annex on Wealth Sharing.

Not even the arrival of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles and Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Thursday, help.

MindaNews sources in Kuala Lumpur told MindaNews that although Deles and Lacierda did not enter the negotiating room, their presence initially raised hopes that they brought some good news from Malacanang, the day ended with no progress.

“Up to the dying minutes of the fourth day (Thursday), we have not settled the major issues on wealth-sharing,” a source from the MILF peace panel who requested not to be named, told MindaNews.

 

The government peace panel asked for an extension until Friday, the Muslims’ holiest day but the parties ended Thursday’s session with the MILF not quite sure if it was returning for the 9 a.m. session Friday.

GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer told MindaNews early Friday morning that  “yes we extended” but denied speculations that the MILF walked out. “No walkout,” she said.

Deles told MindaNews in a text message also early Friday that talks are “still ongoing today.” She described the talks as “tough but no one walked out.”

Another source in KL privy to the talks said the MILF panel left the venue room “hungry and frustrated.”

MILF sources told MindaNews early Friday morning that they would show up at the State Room of the Palace of the Golden Horses in Kuala Lumpur, venue of the talks, at 9 a.m.

The decision to return to the table was apparently made late Thursday night after a member of the government peace panel met with the MILF to convince the latter to attend today’s session.

What the Joint Statement will look like at the end of today’s session, is anybody’s guess. But it will not announce that any of the three remaining annexes has been signed.

The Joint Statement, however, is expected to contain at least one accomplishment: that the panels finally introduced the members of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) led by former EU Ambassador to the Philippines Alistair MacDonald.
The TPMT members were supposed to have been named within a month from their agreement in January.

http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2013/07/12/gph-milf-talks-extended-by-a-day-in-kl-annex-signing-not-likely/

VIDEOS | Thousands crowd evacuation centers as tensions persist in Maguindanao

From InterAksyon (Jul 12): VIDEOS | Thousands crowd evacuation centers as tensions persist in Maguindanao



Evacuees mob ARMM Vice Governor Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr. as he distributes relief goods in Datu Piang to residents displaced by the recent fighting between the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter and the military. (photo by Dennis Arcon, News5)

Thousands of civilians who fled last weekend’s clashes between a Moro rebel group and government forces remain crammed in evacuation centers in several towns of Maguindanao province as tensions persist despite the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Vice Governor Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr., who delivered relief goods at a school in the town of Datu Piang, where some of the clashes between the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter and the Army took place, was swarmed by evacuees who said it was the first assistance they had received since leaving their homes.

 

Evacuees at a school in Datu Piang swarm ARMM Vice Gov Haroun Alrashid Lucman Jr. as he dsitributes relief goods

Although overwhelmingly Muslim, there are also Christians and lumad (indigenous people) among the evacuees.

 

Nene, a Christian from Mamasapano town recalls how they fled the fighting

The displacement has been particularly difficult for the Muslim evacuees who have been unable to fulfill their religious obligations for Ramadan, which entail fasting and prayers during the day.

Although fighting has generally died down after the military ceased operations just before Ramadan started, there have been reports of harassment by armed groups.
Explosions also rocked Datu Piang, where a bridge was slightly damaged by two bombs, and Cotabato City, where one person died and four others were wounded in a grenade attack, on the eve of Ramadan.

Although the military blamed the BIFF, a faction that broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, for the Datu Piang bombing, a spokesman for the group denied responsibility for the attack on the bridge.

 

Motorcycles drive past the bomb crater left on a bridge in Datu Piang that was bombed earlier this week

At least three Army detachments in Midsayap, North Cotabato were also reported harassed by gunmen. Some of the fighting last weekend took place in the North Cotabato town of Pikit, just across the river from Datu Piang.

The weekend clashes left six soldiers and, the military claims, up to 80 BIFF fighters dead. A number of civilians were also wounded in the crossfire.

The situation prompted Lucman to appeal to combatants to “give way to Ramadan and let people enjoy this month.”

Next week, Maguindanao’s Peace and Order Council will be meeting to find ways to defuse the tensions and allow the rest of Ramadan to be observed peacefully, Vice Governor Datu Lester Sinsuat said.

 

Maguindanao Vice Governor Datu Lester Sinsuat

 

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/66181/videos--thousands-crowd-evacuation-centers-as-tensions-persist-in-maguindanao

BCDA seeks Air Force transfer to Subic to free up more land in Clark for commercial ventures

From InterAksyon (Jul 12): BCDA seeks Air Force transfer to Subic to free up more land in Clark for commercial ventures

The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) on Friday said it plans to move the Philippine Air Force (PAF) out of Clark so more land could be made available for development inside the Freeport.

“The BCDA is eyeing the transfer of the Philippine Air Force in Clark to enable us to utilize more lands for leasing.  We plan to implement this during the term of President Benigno Aquino,” Arnel Paciano Casanova, BCDA president and chief executive said in a statement.

Cassanova said the transfer of PAF, particularly the “Air Force City” to Cubi Point in Subic will free up at least 360 hectares of prime land inside the Clark Freeport.

The Air Force City was allocated to the 600th Air Base Wing under an agreement between the BCDA and the Department of National Defense.

BCDA has kicked off the search for someone who could draft the master plan of 36,000 hectares of the Clark Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) to develop it into a “green city” patterned after South Korea’s New Songdo international business district.
Casanova said the new master plan for the CSEZ will position Clark as the investment destination in Southeast Asia.

“Clark Green City will be environmentally sustainable, socially inclusive, economically competitive, culturally relevant, and technologically integrated," he said.
He said the project “will generate billions in investments and generate thousands of jobs.”

http://www.interaksyon.com/business/66200/bcda-seeks-air-force-transfer-to-subic-to-free-up-more-land-in-clark-for-commercial-ventures

Obama to China: 'Don't use intimidation or coercion' vs Asian neighbors

From InterAksyon (Jul 12): Obama to China: 'Don't use intimidation or coercion' vs Asian neighbors

US President Barack Obama warned China on Thursday against using force or intimidation in its tense maritime disputes with its neighbors and urged a peaceful resolution.

Obama, meeting Chinese officials who were in Washington for wide-ranging talks, "urged China to manage its maritime disputes with its neighbors peacefully, without the use of intimidation or coercion," a White House statement said.

Tensions have steadily risen between China and Japan, which accuses its growing neighbor of sending an increasing number of ships to exert its claim over sparsely populated islands managed by Tokyo in the East China Sea.

The Philippines and Vietnam have also charged that China has used assertive means to exert claims in the conflict-riven South China Sea, although tensions have abated slightly with Hanoi in recent weeks.

State Councilor Yang Jiechi, addressing a press event at the end of the two days of talks, said that China supported "freedom of navigation in all oceans" and "will continue to firmly implement its policy."

The United States since 2010 has repeatedly been outspoken over the South China Sea, saying that it has a national interest in ensuring freedom of navigation but does not take sides on individual claims.

With an eye on the tensions, the United States has boosted military cooperation with Japan and the Philippines -- which are both treaty-bound allies -- as well as with former war adversary Vietnam.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/66175/obama-to-china-dont-use-intimidation-or-coercion-vs-asian-neighbors

Govt urges 'flexibility' from MILF on wealth-sharing as KL talks extended

From InterAksyon (Jul 12): Govt urges 'flexibility' from MILF on wealth-sharing as KL talks extended

The government has appealed to the Moro Islamic Liberationt Front not to be "caught up in the trees and missing the forest" as both panels agreed to extend Friday what was supposed to be four days of formal talks in Kuala Lumpur.

"We have extended the talks up to today," government chief negotiator Miriam Ferrer said in a statement Friday, adding that both parties "need to find good compromises on key issues like taxation and revenue sharing."

"Hopefully tday we will find solutions but we need flexibility on both sides," Ferrer said.

The government panel was earlier hopeful that discussions on the wealth-sharing annex would be concluded during this week's round of formal negotiations.
Ferrer, in her opening statement Tuesday, hinted that the talks might result in the signing of one of the three remaining drafts.

"A few days ago, several friends, all leading lights in their respective organizations, visited me in the office to express their support. They even brought a gift -- a pair of pens. And we all know on what occasions we have special use of pens. That’s why I have these pens with me in this trip," she said.

In  Malacanang, deputy Palace spokesperson Abigail Valte said the fact that both sides agreed to extend the talks was "a good thing."

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/66188/govt-urges-flexibility-from-milf-on-wealth-sharing-as-kl-talks-extended

MILF: Yakan City Committee holds consultation on the impasse on the peace process

From the MILF Website (Jul 12): Yakan City Committee holds consultation on the impasse on the peace process

Yakan City Committee of the MILF held a 1-day consultation on the impasse of the peace process last July 9, 2013 at Barrio Militar Barangay Menzi, this city.
  

More than 40 participants mostly officials of various line agencies and sectoral committees including women (SWC) attended the consultation. An aleem who rendered an invocation and delivered a message said, "Hindrances are always present in our endeavors, even our own brother or close kin are sometime against us what more with other people...its should not be treated as problems but challenges". 

The participants were anxious to know the real situation of the GPH-MILF peace process especially when for a couple of months the peace process hit a snag due to disagreements on the wealth-sharing annex.

The chairman of YCC said, "Even without negotiation we are all united in the struggle of the Bangsamoro under the banner of the MILF and now that we are engage in negotiation we have to exert more efforts to consolidate our strengths as we have had in the past to face the toughest situations in the future". He said further, “We should not be frustrated rather we have to be prepared for any eventualities that we may encounter in our midst".

District chairmen reported before the audience of their achievements and challenges that they have faced. The municipal chair of Maluso Municipality related the problems of his community on the aspect of livelihood where hundreds of his constituents are losing jobs due to the encroachment of foreign fishing vessels into their fishing areas resulting to inadequacies of fish catch by local fishermen. The women sector reported on the activities they have undertaken that dealt mostly on the welfare of the children and women.

The program ended with strong commitment of support to the MILF leadership and the peace panel in its negotiations with Government of the Philippines with high hope that a breakthrough shall take place in the negotiation now taking place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with members of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT) attending for the first time since it was created.

Former European Union ambassador to the Philippines and now ambassador to Cambodia, Alistair McDonald heads the TPMT, which is tasked to monitor the implementation of all agreements of the parties especially the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and its annexes (Transitional Arrangement and Modalities, Power-sharing, Wealth-sharing, and Normalization) which will be signed as comprehensive peace agreement, and finally to evaluate the full implementation of the parties leading to signing their “Exit Agreement”.

http://www.luwaran.com/

MILF: MILF mum on Cha-Cha move in Congress

From the MILF Website (Jul 12): MILF mum on Cha-Cha move in Congress

Despite its long-held belief that real solution to the Bangsamoro Question requires amending the Constitution, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is not jumping its gun to support, at least in principle, the charter change (cha-cha) initiative reverberating in the House  of Representatives.
  

“It is an internal legal process that the MILF is not supposed to participate,” Muhammad Ameen, chair of the MILF Secretariat, told Luwaran in an interview today.

He was commenting on report that charter change is again up in the air, with Speaker Sonny Belmonte stating that he will file a resolution that would call for a constituent assembly (con-ass).

“We are not there; let us  wait for the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) to finish its job and make a stand whether amending the Constitution is required or not,” he explained.

He recalled that to this day the government and MILF continue to disagree on whether this amendment is necessary or not. The government said that the present Constitution has the flexibility to accommodate and entrench the Basic Law and the MILF firmly taking a contrary view that changing the status quo form of government to asymmetrical relationship (ministerial form) would require amendment of the Constitution.

One of the functions of the BTC is to make proposals, if necessary, to amend the Constitution. The first function is to draft the Basic Law and the third is to coordinate socio-economic development projects, if necessary.

In the past, many senators and congressmen also favored charter change. Their main focus is on the economic provisions of the Constitution, which to them, are very rigid that stunted development of the country. They referred to the ownership of certain industries and those that are involved in the exploration, development and utilization of our natural resources.

Some solons favored ownership of lands by foreigners, a move opposed by others especially the nationalists and leftists. They branded this move as a sell-out.

http://www.luwaran.com/

CPP/NPA: NPA to reach 10,000 Red fighters in few years amidst Aquino failure to address roots of civil war

From the CPP Website (Jul 12): NPA to reach 10,000 Red fighters in few years amidst Aquino failure to address roots of civil war

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said for the first time in its history, the number of New People’s Army (NPA) Red fighters with high-powered rifles is on its way to reach 10,000 levels in the next few years amidst the utter failure of the Aquino regime to address the nationalist and democratic demands of the Filipino people which are at the root of the raging civil war.

The CPP issued this statement in reaction to public admission by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) that it has failed to make a dent on the strength of the NPA. The AFP, however, downplayed its failure by understating the strength of the NPA as “over 4,000” members from the base number of 4,384 when the AFP launched its Oplan Bayanihan campaign in January 1, 2011.

“Clearly, the AFP cannot counter the fact that over the past several years the NPA has steadily continued to grow in strength,” said the CPP. “The nationwide advances of the revolutionary armed struggle is indubitable demonstrated by the increasing frequency and bigger tactical offensives being carried out by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.”

“To portray themselves as impressive, the AFP repeats the baseless claim that the NPA had the peak strength of 25,000 in 1986 but has recently dropped to 6,000 and has further been whittled down to 4,000 under the Aquino regime,” pointed out the CPP.

“These are all groundless claims being made by the AFP. In fact, the peak strength of the NPA was only at 6,100 Red fighters with high-powered rifles in 1986. Because of the internal errors, the NPA’s strength slowly declined up to 1992 and thereabouts, when the CPP launched the 2nd rectification movement. By 1998, the NPA strength returned to the level of the early 1980s when it started to make big strides forward.”

“Over the past several years, the NPA has surpassed its former peak strength in 1986 and is on its way to reach the 10,000 levels in the next few years,” pointed out the CPP. “The NPA is setting its sights on building around 180 guerrilla fronts nationwide with one company of Red fighters each, and with its armed strength further amplified by tens of thousands of armed militias and members of barrio self-defense committees.”

“Commands of the NPA nationwide continue to fulfill the tasks of extensive and intensive guerrilla warfare, while pushing forward the widespread the revolutionary land reform movement and methodically building the infrastructure of the people’s democratic government from one level to another higher level,” added the CPP. “There are, of course, NPA units that are still small and weak, but these are being assisted by other NPA units that are stronger and more advanced.”

“According to targets of the Oplan Bayanihan made public by the AFP in 2011, the strength of the NPA will supposedly have been reduced by more than half by the middle of 2013 or around this time. The plan set by the AFP in the next phase is to transfer ‘counter-insurgency duties’ to the Philippine National Police and have the AFP concentrate on ‘external threats’.”

“Clearly, the Aquino regime’s Oplan Bayanihan is bound to fail,” said the CPP. “Not only has the AFP failed to reduce the NPA strength to insignificant levels, it has succeeded only in rousing the oppressed people further to engage in armed and unarmed resistance by subjecting them to brutal and repressive military campaigns deceptively characterized by the AFP as ‘peace and development’ operations.”

“The Aquino regime’s Oplan Bayanihan will end up like the Arroyo’s Oplan Gordian Knot and Oplan Bantay Laya I & II, Estrada’s Oplan Makabayan and the first to the fourth phase of the Oplan Lambat Bitag carried out by the Aquino and Ramos regime from 1986 to 1998,” said the CPP. “All these oplans have met utter failure because these are nothing but war plans to suppress the Filipino people and stop them from waging democratic struggles and armed resistance.”

“The correctness and necessity of waging revolutionary armed struggle has become more crystal clear to the Filipino people with the Aquino regime choosing to terminate peace negotiations and further advancing the neoliberal policies that serve the interests of foreign big mining companies and plantations, other big capitalists and Aquino’s big landlords and big business allies to the detriment of the Filipino people.”

“Aquino and his military officials are obsessed with defeating the people’s armed resistance through military force and armed campaigns of suppression,” said the CPP. “Aquino and the AFP are very wrong to think that with all-out US financial and military support, it will be able to put an end to the people’s armed and democratic revolutionary resistance through sheer force.”

“After three years in power and all its political dressing-up, the Aquino regime has failed to win back the trust of the people for the rotten social and political system which has become ever more oppressive and exploitative.”

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130712_npa-to-reach-10-000-red-fighters-in-few-years-amidst-aquino-failure-to-address-roots-of-civil-war

CP/NDF: Governor Lee’s proposal is part of psywar, intelligence, combat scheme of Oplan Bayanihan

Posted to the CPP Website  (Jul 11): Governor Lee’s proposal is part of psywar, intelligence, combat scheme of Oplan Bayanihan

Luis Jalandoni
Chairperson
NDFP Negotiating Panel

Sorsogon Governor Lee’s proposal for “localized peace talks” is a part of the intelligence, psychological warfare, and combat scheme under Oplan Bayanihan. It is in line with the so-called “new approach” of President Aquino, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) under Secretary Deles.

“Localized peace talks” is an old and futile attempt by the reactionary forces to split the revolutionary movement. It is bound to fail because the revolutionary leadership has repeatedly made it clear that only the Negotiating Panel of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) is mandated to engage in peace negotiations with the Manila Government. All units of the revolutionary movement follow strictly this policy.

In the face of the Aquino regime’s escalation of gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, as exposed in the recent killing of revolutionaries hors d’ combat in Bicol, the New People’s Army (NPA), the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the NDFP continue to grow vigorously in strength all over the country. They are resolutely determined to carry on the struggle for national and social liberation, democracy and a just peace. They have the enthusiastic support of the oppressed and exploited masses. They are not deceived by the worn-out tactics of the likes of Aquino, the AFP, Deles and Governor Lee.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20130711_governor-lee-s-proposal-is-part-of-psywar-intelligence-combat-scheme-of-oplan-bayanihan

MNLF gunmen abduct 12 people in Basilan province

From the Mindanao Examiner blog (Jul 12): MNLF gunmen abduct 12 people in Basilan province

Former Moro rebels abducted a dozen people in a raid on a remote village in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said Friday.

Officials said the Moro National Liberation Front gunmen, numbering about 50, stormed the village of Bohe Baca in Tipo-Tipo town on Thursday afternoon and seized the villagers.

Among those taken by the raiders were 7 minors, including an infant.

Colonel Rodrigo Gregorio, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, identified the hostages as Faija Banua, 44; Satra Banua, 13; Haide Banua, 9; Dalma Ambihal, 50; Alsaima Buddiman, 15; Binbin Banua, 9; Hapsa Ambihal, 28; Kalipa Ambihal, 22; Fathma Buddiman, 5 months old; Pasri Ambihal, 2; Haipa Ambihal, 5; and a still unidentified villager.
He said four of the hostages - Alsaima Buddiman, Fathma Buddiman, Dalma Ambihal, and a still unidentified villager - were already freed by gunmen following a negotiation led by Lieutenant Colonel Paolo Perez, commander of the 18th Infantry Battalion, and village officials.

“As of press time, negotiations for the safe release of the remaining hostages are still ongoing,” Gregorio said.

The gunmen were headed by MNLF leader Hassan Duwalay, alias Commander Addang, whose three daughters - Umma, Kelma and Pubu Duwalay – had been abducted also on July 9 in Lamitan City in Basilan province.

It was not immediately known whether those being held by former rebels had anything to do with the disappearance of the Duwalay sisters, whose fate remains unknown.

The military suspects the abduction of the villagers was connected to a long family feud.

Just recently, some 500 MNLF members, many of them armed with rockets and automatic weapons, marched unannounced through Lamitan City, sending residents into panic. The show of force caught local authorities by surprise.

MNLF leaders said the march was part of their peace consultation in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. The show of force was unprecedented in recent decades.

The parade sent soldiers and policemen scampering for cover and defensive positions as security forces hurriedly put up check points and road blocks to ensure control of the tense situation.

But despite the layers of road blocks, the former rebels insisted on marching through them and further caused tension in Lamitan. Security commanders, in an effort to avert any confrontation, allowed the MNLF members to pass through.

Two army armoured personnel carriers were also sent to the city as back up to troops securing Lamitan. Army officials have met with the leader of the MNLF, Nurin Ismael, to convince his group to peacefully leave the city because the presence of former rebels has caused panic to the locals.

Officials said Ismael’s group has apologized to the authorities for the uncoordinated march and eventually returned to their bases.

http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2013/07/mnlf-gunmen-abduct-12-people-in-basilan.html

IPSP ‘Bayanihan’ a failure, admits AFP chief

From the Daily Tribune (Jul 12): IPSP ‘Bayanihan’ a failure, admits AFP chief

More than two years after the implementation of the military’s Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) “Bayanihan,” which is designed to render communist insurgency irrelevant by 2016, the strength of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) remained at more than 4,000 or almost the same when the campaign was launched in 2011.

This was admitted by no less than Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista during a press conference after presiding over a command conference at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday.

Bautista said that the strength of the NPA is pegged at present at “a little more than 4,000.”

Military data showed that the NPA has an estimated strength of 4,043 in end 2011. The IPSP “Bayanihan” was launched January 2011. In end 2010, the AFP placed the NPA strength at 4,384.

It was gathered that as of this time, the NPA manpower is pegged at 4,070.

In spite of this, Bautista claimed significant gains brought about by IPSP “Bayanihan,” which is his brainchild during his stint as AFP deputy chief of staff for operations or J3.

“We have neutralized 323 NPAs, most of them surrenderees and that is how we want it (for them) to abandon (armed) struggle,” Bautista said.

Firearms exchanges, Bautista said, is at 203 to 47 in favor of the government.

“These are not our criteria now for measuring our performance...we are looking at the peaceful condition in different localities...if there is development, if there is economic progress in the areas that is the ultimate,” Bautista said.

Bautista also mentioned the declaration of 29 provinces as free from communist influence. He said three more provinces will be turned over to the local government within the year.

“Our intent is render armed struggle irrelevant, we have significant number of surrenderees from the ranks of the NPA, notwithstanding, there have been continuous recruitment,” Bautista said.

Bautista said that the NPA is most active in Eastern Mindanao, specifically in Compostela Valley and adjacent provinces.

“The campaign remains on track, the ‘Bayanihan’ timeline of 2016 we will win the peace,” Bautista said.

AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. said that the NPA took advantage of the people’s misery during calamities in their recruitment. He particularly cited the NPA’s recruitment in some parts of Mindanao during the onslaught of typhoon “Pablo.”
http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/nation/item/16559-ipsp-bayanihan-a-failure-admits-afp-chief

MILF panel walks out of KL talks

From the Daily Tribune (Jul 12): MILF panel walks out of KL talks

PEACE NEGOTIATIONS NOW UNCERTAIN

Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) walked out of the peace negotiating table in Kuala Lumpur yesterday as they rejected a wealth-sharing annex that was rehashed in Malacañang after being initialed by negotiators of both the MILF and the government at a previous meeting.

The walkout happened late in the afternoon with the MILF members leaving the venue of the peace talks without signing any documents presented by the government panel.

A report from online news service Rappler cited a text message from MILF peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal describing the result of the currrent negotiations in Malaysia with the government on the creation of the Bangsamoro substate as “fruitless talk.”

Iqbal also indicated that the proposal for the wealth sharing annex presented by the government was “too rigid.”

The MILF contingent left without giving any commitment to return to the negotiating table today, the report said.

President Aquino’s spokesman Edwin Lacierda was with the negotiating teams, apparently sent by Aquino, but he refused to comment when asked about what transpired during the meeting.

Earlier, Aquino said a long meeting was held the other day that lasted until midnight to draw the government panel’s agenda in the talks.

“We finished at about midnight, last night, going over the budget, and some details about our ongoing negotiations on the annexes on the Framework Peace Agreement with the Bangsamoro. So, it took us quite a long while, and I had to admit the energy level was a bit down this morning…,” Aquino said.

Last July 8, in Kuala Lumpur,  before the talks resumed, members of both panels had discussed the delays in the peace process and tried to resolve them through letters.

At the  opening of the peace talks held at the State Room of the Palace of the Golden Horses hotel in Kuala Lumpur,  Mohager Iqbal, MILF peace panel chairman, had revealed  that MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim “decided to write” President Aquino a letter to reiterate the “unwavering commitment of the MILF to resolve the conflict peacefully” and “politely informed him (President) of the growing frustration of the people and some members of the MILF as a result of the delay of the talks.”

The meeting in Malacañang last Wednesday began at 10 am and lasted until 8 pm in the evening.

Aquino did not mention, however, the exchanges of notes with the MILF leaders.
Iqbal said Murad explained to Aquino that the delay was perceived to be not coming from the side of the MILF but from the administration.

Iqbal did not say what Murad’s recommendations were but said “the President responded positively to the letter.”

“I am so sorry I cannot disclose the content of the letter because I don’t have the mandate to do so. Our chairman did not allow that copies be made except one that is intended for the Facilitator for the record of the Malaysian Secretariat,” Iqbal said.

Iqbal did not say when Murad wrote the President and to whom it was coursed.
Aquino had his meetings with Murad three times: on Aug. 4, 2011 in Japan; on October 12, 2012 in Malacanang at the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB); and on Feb. 11, 2013 at the launching of the government’s socio-economic initiative, “Sajahatra Bangsamoro” in Cotabato province.

None among the officials of the office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) had made mention that letters were have been exchanged between Murad and Aquino.

Iqbal noted that the last time the panels met in Kuala Lumpur on April 8 to 11, they agreed to exchange notes and to meet again after the May 13 elections.

Malaysian facilitator, Dato’ Tengku Abd’ Ghafar bin Mohamed, who shuttled between Manila and Maguindanao on June 6 to 8, had played a crucial role on how to resolve the contentious  issues on the remaining three annexes by serving as courier in the exchanges of notes between the parties.

Iqbal in his opening statement for the current talks in Malaysia, however, hinted of the feeling of frustration from the MILF.

“It has been two months and 29 days since we met here last April 11 for the 37th GPH-MILF Exploratory Talks where we agreed “to exchange notes on the coming days” and “to meet again after the May 13 Philippine elections.” That did not happen,” he said.

During the “long period of uncertainty in the talks, so much negative speculations have filled the air. It is not good to hear these, but they were all expressed loud and clear. To many, the impression is that there is an impasse of the peace talks,” he added.

He added the official explanation coming from government that they needed time to conduct a due diligence study on wealth-sharing is less discernible because “the annex on wealth-sharing, alongside annex on power-sharing, has been on the agenda since July 2012; and members of the two peace panels have initialled the annex on wealth-sharing on Feb. 27, after no less than two from each peace panel led by their respective chairmen, had agreed on the final text of this annex during several rounds of executive sessions.”

“The parties must find a political solution that is above the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and below independence. If we faithfully subscribe to this formulation, the parties can move the process very fast. There would be no back-and-forth movements like what happened for the last more four months,” Iqbal added.

“We express our grave concern over the reported government’s changing policy on our relations with development partners and the GPH instruction to these development partners to slow in their engagements with the MILF,” he added.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/16569-milf-panel-walks-out-of-kl-talks

MILF negotiator sees an impasse in peace talks with PH gov’t

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jul 12): MILF negotiator sees an impasse in peace talks with PH gov’t
The peace negotiation between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) face rough sailing in Kuala Lumpur, with no assurance that the MILF would return on Friday to resume talks.

“We’re heading for an impasse,” MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

This was the same message Iqbal gave the government panel as their meeting adjourned on Thursday.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles and presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda are in Kuala Lumpur to reiterate the government’s commitment to the peace negotiations.

The government panel led by chief negotiator Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer has asked for an extension in the talks in Kuala Lumpur to further discuss with the MILF panel the wealth-sharing annex.

However, a source privy to the negotiations said the MILF panel was not certain if it would return to the venue of the talks on Friday to discuss the controversial annex.

“The MILF is still thinking if they would return on Friday. The MILF has nothing to lose. It’s the government that is trying to beat its deadline,” said the source, who requested anonymity for not having been authorized by parties to the peace talks to speak to the media.

Polly Cunanan, spokesperson of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), confirmed that the government requested for another day of negotiations.

The government was hopeful that the wealth-sharing annex would be signed during this current round of talks. The MILF earlier protested the changes the Aquino administration wanted to make in the annex even after the document prepared by the technical working group has been initialed.

The MILF said it would stick to the initialed document.

The OPAPP said on its Facebook account that the technical working groups of the government and the MILF signed the joint report on the normalization annex.

“They agreed to further discuss and find agreeable language in the next meeting,” the OPAPP said.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/80525/milf-negotiator-sees-an-impasse-in-peace-talks-with-ph-govt

AFP assessing Oplan Bayanihan

From InterAksyon (Jul 11): AFP assessing Oplan Bayanihan

The Armed Forces of the Philippines is assessing its counterinsurgency program, Internal Peace and Security Plan Bayanihan, at a conference in Camp Aguinaldo on Thursday.

The assessment, to be led by AFP chief General Emmanuel Bautista, will be followed by a press conference at 2 p.m.

Bautista was among the military officials who formulated the Bayanihan strategy, which seeks to end the 44-year old communist insurgency in the country, one of the longest running in the world.

The conference is also expected to assess plans for the military to shift to external defense in the face of intensifying territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea.

With Chinese incursion into disputed territories becoming more aggressive, Manila has been rushing to acquire more modern equipment for external defense and has sought arbitration before the United Nations.

Oplan Bayanihan replaced the counterinsurgency programs of the past administration -- Oplans Bantay Laya 1 and 2 -- which were blamed for an upsurge in human rights abuses, particularly extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

However, human rights groups say there has been no letup in the abuses under Bayanihan.

And the first half of this year saw a spike in attacks by communist rebels on government forces and large business establishments across the country that have claimed scores of lives and led to several millions of pesos in destroyed properties and infrastructures.

Among these attacks were recent ambushes in Mountain Province, which killed a police trainee and wounded nine others; in Allacapan, Cagayan where eight members of the Special Action Force died; and in La Castellana, Negros Occidental in which a policeman and eight civilians were killed.

The rebels have also suffered their own setbacks, including the recent deaths of eight guerrillas in Sorsogon, among them the National Democratic Front spokesman for the Bicol region and his staff.

Peace talks between the government and communist rebels have also been stalled and recently, the government said it is not keen on returning to the negotiating table.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/66094/afp-assessing-oplan-bayanihan

AFP data shows NPA strength hasn’t waned

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Jul 11): AFP data shows NPA strength hasn’t waned

About two-and-a-half years after the Armed Forces of the Philippines launched “Oplan Bayanihan,” the counter-insurgency drive has failed to dent the communist rebels numerical strength, data presented by the military chief Thursday showed.

AFP Chief of Staff General Emmanuel Bautista said there were 4,384 New People’s Army guerrillas when the anti-insurgecy campaign was launched on January 1, 2011. Today, he said there are still “a little over 4,000″ rebels, or a decline of only about nine percent.

The NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, has been waging a Maoist rebellion for 44 years now and more than 30,000 people have died in the conflict.

At its peak in the late 1980s, the guerilla strength was estimated to be more than 26,000.

In a press briefing after the command conference on the mid-year assessment of internal security operations at Camp Aguinaldo, Bautista attributed the seemingly paltry impact  of the drive to the communist rebels recruitment that outpaced the number of surrenderees.

“We have significant number of surrenderees from ranks of the NPA…there have been continuous recruitment and it’s unfortunate the recruits they’re getting are from the youth from farmers, indigenous people,” he said.

Bautista was one of the proponents of the “Oplan Bayanihan,” the military’s blueprint to achieve peace. It involves the participation of stakeholders and a “greater emphasis on non-combat dimension” to end rebellion. The drive aims to make insurgency insignificant by 2016.

“The campaign remains on track—the Bayanihan timeline by 2016. We will win the peace and if you join us win the peace, all of our people join us win the peace, we can achieve that earlier. It’s for all of us.  It’s for our people,” Bautista said.

The government’s Internal Peace and Security Plan  or “Oplan Bayanihan” is geared towards “winning the peace and not just defeating the enemy.”

The government has been holding on-and-off peace talks with the insurgents since the mid-1980s but the negotiations have frequently stalled over rebel conditions like their demand that jailed comrades be freed.

In recent weeks, the communist rebels have stepped up large-scale attacks.

“What we have realized after six months of this year, on the peace overtures of the government, the [NPAs] responded with violence and it is sad that many of these were directed on civilian and non military targets, in fact there is increase in NPA human rights violations,” Bautista said.

The military also claimed that the NPA guerillas were also able to squeeze P200 million in campaign fees from politicians during the last mid-term elections.

For the first half of the year, Bautista said the military has “neutralized” 323 insurgents, most of them surrendered to the government.

“But as I said these are not our criteria now for measuring our performance.  For example we are looking at the peaceful condition in the different localities,” he said.

He said that Eastern Mindanao remains a communist hotspot and the region will be a “focus area”  of the “Bayanihan” drive.

“Remember we’re doing that as we also undertake [rehabilitation] efforts in Pablo-affected areas. That’s the sad part of it because there is heightened violence in those calamity areas,” Bautista said.

When asked if there were any snags in the implementation of the counter-insurgency drive, Bautista stressed the need to engage more stakeholders, adding that “strategies are dynamic.”

“We will intensify efforts in second semester to sustain the campaign to win peace for people,” the military chief said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/443095/oplan-bayanihan-fails-to-dent-npa-strength-military-chief