From Tempo (Feb 1): MNLF, MILF hold unity talk
Apparently in compliance with the call of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will resume their unity talks on Feb 2 in Davao City.
Maulana Robert “Bobby” Alonto, a member of the MILF peace panel in the negotiations with the Government of the Philippines (GPH), confirmed this yesterday.
He hastened to add that the unity meeting is not aimed at the MILF and MNLF’s structural union.
“We are not going to unite our groups structurally or organizationally; the meeting is to arrive at a consensus in joining our efforts for peace and economic uplift of the Bangsamoro people,” said Alonto, after his plane landed Friday in Cagayan de Oro City.
He said the MILF was hoping the meeting with MNLF will push through as tropical storm Basyang was about to hit parts of the Visayas and Mindanao.
http://www.tempo.com.ph/2014/02/mnlf-milf-hold-unity-talk/#.Uu0FDnKPIcA
Saturday, February 1, 2014
‘NPA was planning attack on cops'
From the Visayan Daily Star (Jan 31): ‘NPA was planning attack on cops'
It could have been hitting two birds with one stone for the New People's Army, if troopers of the 6 th Regional Public Safety Battalion had responded to the arson and hostage-taking incident Thursday last week in Brgy. Camansi,Kabankalan
City
It could have been hitting two birds with one stone for the New People's Army, if troopers of the 6 th Regional Public Safety Battalion had responded to the arson and hostage-taking incident Thursday last week in Brgy. Camansi,
Lirazan said he believes the NPA group was also planning to
attack or ambush the 6th RPSB troopers, who would respond to the arson
incident in an hacienda in the barangay.
The 6th RPSP police outpost is about a kilometer away from
the hacienda that was raided by about 20 NPA rebels.
At that time, Lirazan said, the police outpost was manned
only by police team with most of their colleagues out of the detachment.
He recalled that the NPA entered the hacienda compound at
about 11 p.m. Wednesday and occupied the place for several hours, taking 25
farm workers and their children, as well as four security guards, as hostages.
The Kabankalan police and 6 th RPSB troopers, who
accompanied firefighters of the Bureau of Fired and Protection, entered the
hacienda owned by the family of the late Mayor Pablo Sola at noon of the next
day, when the rebels had already withdrawn from the area police records show.
Lirazan said some of the suspects were speaking in the
Cebuano dialect, indicating that they may have came from Negros Oriental.
Although the Philippine Army soldiers did not respond to the
NPA atrocities, Col. Jon Aying, 303rd Infantry Brigade commander said his
troops were in the vicinity tracking the movement of the fleeing rebels.
Police investigation showed that the rebel suspects, five of
them women, torched the warehouse and the tractor of Hacienda Isabel owned by
the Sola family, beheaded some of the sheep, and disarmed the four security guards
of three shotguns and a .38 caliber revolver.
However, the rebels left the hostages unharmed.
Aying said they are very “cautious” about the modus operandi
of the rebels in ambushing government troopers responding to NPA atrocities.
In May last year, five Army soldiers, who were responding to
arson activities of the NPA in Brgy. Camindanga, Sipalay City
PN modernization given focus during President Aquino's term --Fabic
From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 1): PN modernization given focus during President Aquino's term --Fabic
With the Philippine coastline placed at 36,289 kilometers (equivalent to 22,549 miles), it is only fitting that focus be given on the Philippine Navy's modernization.
Giving the necessary funds to the Navy to acquire modern and well-armed ships, helicopters and other aircraft will allow the PN to develop its capability to protect and monitor the country's territorial waters against intruders.
As of this writing, the Navy has been allocated P5.3 billion by the Aquino administration for its upgrade.
It has used the money in acquiring two Hamilton-class cutters, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) in 2011 and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) in 2013 and the three AgustaWestland AW-109 "Power" helicopters, also last year.
From 2014 up to 2016, the PN is expecting the delivery of P6.4 billion worth of equipment, including the acquisition of two strategic sea-lift vessels, two armed versions of the AW-109s helicopters, and around 12 to 20 amphibious vehicles for the Philippine Marine Corps.
Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic earlier said that they are very excited with the way things are going for the PN modernization.
With these equipment, he stressed that the Navy's maritime domain awareness capability has been greatly improved.
Another development being eagerly awaited by the PN is the ongoing bidding at the Department of National Defense for its two brand-new frigates whose contract price is placed at P18 billion.
The shape, size and capabilities of these ships will be determined once the workshop for qualified proponents starts this February.
This was revealed by DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo.
"The workshop will allow the proponents to present their proposed specifications. The data/information that will be generated during the workshops will be used by the Navy in formulating the final TOR (terms of reference)," DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said.
Each proponent has a working week (around five days) to present its design to the PN technical working group and its private consultants.
As of this posting, only four shipbuilders have successfully passed the first stage of the bidding for the P18-billion frigate project.
These are Navantia Sepi (RTR Ventures) ofSpain
The second phase involves the inspection of company eligibility documents.
Three other shipbuilding firms joined the bidding but the DND declared their documents to be deficient.
These companies, identified as Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. of India, STX France SA and Thyssenkrupp Marine System, have filed a motion for reconsideration at the DND.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=10&sid=&nid=10&rid=611806
With the Philippine coastline placed at 36,289 kilometers (equivalent to 22,549 miles), it is only fitting that focus be given on the Philippine Navy's modernization.
Giving the necessary funds to the Navy to acquire modern and well-armed ships, helicopters and other aircraft will allow the PN to develop its capability to protect and monitor the country's territorial waters against intruders.
As of this writing, the Navy has been allocated P5.3 billion by the Aquino administration for its upgrade.
It has used the money in acquiring two Hamilton-class cutters, the BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15) in 2011 and the BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) in 2013 and the three AgustaWestland AW-109 "Power" helicopters, also last year.
From 2014 up to 2016, the PN is expecting the delivery of P6.4 billion worth of equipment, including the acquisition of two strategic sea-lift vessels, two armed versions of the AW-109s helicopters, and around 12 to 20 amphibious vehicles for the Philippine Marine Corps.
Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic earlier said that they are very excited with the way things are going for the PN modernization.
With these equipment, he stressed that the Navy's maritime domain awareness capability has been greatly improved.
Another development being eagerly awaited by the PN is the ongoing bidding at the Department of National Defense for its two brand-new frigates whose contract price is placed at P18 billion.
The shape, size and capabilities of these ships will be determined once the workshop for qualified proponents starts this February.
This was revealed by DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo.
"The workshop will allow the proponents to present their proposed specifications. The data/information that will be generated during the workshops will be used by the Navy in formulating the final TOR (terms of reference)," DND Undersecretary Fernando Manalo said.
Each proponent has a working week (around five days) to present its design to the PN technical working group and its private consultants.
As of this posting, only four shipbuilders have successfully passed the first stage of the bidding for the P18-billion frigate project.
These are Navantia Sepi (RTR Ventures) of
The second phase involves the inspection of company eligibility documents.
Three other shipbuilding firms joined the bidding but the DND declared their documents to be deficient.
These companies, identified as Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd. of India, STX France SA and Thyssenkrupp Marine System, have filed a motion for reconsideration at the DND.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=10&sid=&nid=10&rid=611806
Army captures BIFF camp in Maguindanao
From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 1): Army captures BIFF camp in Maguindanao
Government forces on Saturday hoisted the Philippine flag at the center of the main camp of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Barangay Ganta in Shariff Saidona town in Maguindanao after five days of sporadic air and ground assaults.
Col. Edmund Pangilinan, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, and Col. Edgar Gonzales, chief of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, hoisted the national flag in the middle of the more or less seven-hectare BIFF camp.
After the government forces sang the national anthem, Gonzales and Pangilinan led in offering prayers for the fallen guerrillas and a soldier.
Gonzales said his troops, who first entered the camp, recovered about 3,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers and 300 kilos of blasting chemicals and components for making improvised explosive devices.
Quoting local officials, Gonzales said the camp had been used by renegades (BIFF) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as “springboard” for its bombing and extortion activities in the towns of Maguindanao andNorth
Cotabato .
He lauded the civilians, some of them relatives of BIFF leaders, for guiding government forces in the center of the camp, using various trails laded with home-made explosives.
“It’s like guerrilla camps in movies where there were so many running trenches and criss-crossing routes,” an Army lieutenant, who identifies himself as Pentagon, told reporters.
Gonzales said it was a well-fortified camp difficult for ground troops to penetrate.
“Our air assets destroyed most of the fortification,” he said, adding that many of the running trenches were laden with blood stain.
Col. Dickson Hermoso, speaking for the military, said mortars, armored personnel carriers and small guns have been silent since Saturday morning except for a powerful twin blasts that hurt two journalists, 10 soldiers and civilians in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
“Government forces remain on full alert in anticipation of BIFF retaliatory attacks, including bombings in populated areas,” Hermoso said.
Earlier, the BIFF spokesperson, whom the military believed was hiding inCotabato City
He said Hassan Indal, alias Tambako, one of BIFF founding chair Ameril Kato's lieutenants, has been ejected by the BIFF leadership due to his unIslamic activities.
Tambako led the campaign against government forces in Maguindanao last year which led to the evacuation of about 50,000 Moro people.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=611813
Government forces on Saturday hoisted the Philippine flag at the center of the main camp of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Barangay Ganta in Shariff Saidona town in Maguindanao after five days of sporadic air and ground assaults.
Col. Edmund Pangilinan, commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade, and Col. Edgar Gonzales, chief of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, hoisted the national flag in the middle of the more or less seven-hectare BIFF camp.
After the government forces sang the national anthem, Gonzales and Pangilinan led in offering prayers for the fallen guerrillas and a soldier.
Gonzales said his troops, who first entered the camp, recovered about 3,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers and 300 kilos of blasting chemicals and components for making improvised explosive devices.
Quoting local officials, Gonzales said the camp had been used by renegades (BIFF) of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front as “springboard” for its bombing and extortion activities in the towns of Maguindanao and
He lauded the civilians, some of them relatives of BIFF leaders, for guiding government forces in the center of the camp, using various trails laded with home-made explosives.
“It’s like guerrilla camps in movies where there were so many running trenches and criss-crossing routes,” an Army lieutenant, who identifies himself as Pentagon, told reporters.
Gonzales said it was a well-fortified camp difficult for ground troops to penetrate.
“Our air assets destroyed most of the fortification,” he said, adding that many of the running trenches were laden with blood stain.
Col. Dickson Hermoso, speaking for the military, said mortars, armored personnel carriers and small guns have been silent since Saturday morning except for a powerful twin blasts that hurt two journalists, 10 soldiers and civilians in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Maguindanao.
“Government forces remain on full alert in anticipation of BIFF retaliatory attacks, including bombings in populated areas,” Hermoso said.
Earlier, the BIFF spokesperson, whom the military believed was hiding in
He said Hassan Indal, alias Tambako, one of BIFF founding chair Ameril Kato's lieutenants, has been ejected by the BIFF leadership due to his unIslamic activities.
Tambako led the campaign against government forces in Maguindanao last year which led to the evacuation of about 50,000 Moro people.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=611813
PA's 8th Infantry Division joins rehab efforts in 'Yolanda'-battered Leyte areas
From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 1): PA's 8th Infantry Division joins rehab efforts in 'Yolanda'-battered Leyte areas
In support of the government's ongoing rehabilitation efforts in Eastern Visayas, the Catbalogan-based 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army has partnered with the Eastern Mindanao Command's Joint Task Force "Tambayong" in repairing critical infrastructures and shelters in typhoon "Yolanda"-battered areas in Leyte.
Capt. Amado Gutierrez, 8th Infantry Division spokesperson, said such efforts include the:
--Restoration of theAbuyog Hospital in partnership with the South African
Medical Team contingent and Local Government Unit (LGU) of Abuyog, Leyte .
--Construction of core shelter in themunicipality
of Javier , Leyte
in partnership with the LGUs in the area.
--Reconstruction of houses in themunicipality
of Albuera , Leyte
in partnership with the LGUs.
--Reconstruction of the health center and barangay hall of Quezon,Ormoc City
--Re-roofing of the 802ndInfantry Brigade Administration
Building at Camp
Downes , Ormoc City
Gutierrez said that their repair and rehabilitation role will continue as long as it is needed.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=611669
In support of the government's ongoing rehabilitation efforts in Eastern Visayas, the Catbalogan-based 8th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army has partnered with the Eastern Mindanao Command's Joint Task Force "Tambayong" in repairing critical infrastructures and shelters in typhoon "Yolanda"-battered areas in Leyte.
Capt. Amado Gutierrez, 8th Infantry Division spokesperson, said such efforts include the:
--Restoration of the
--Construction of core shelter in the
--Reconstruction of houses in the
--Reconstruction of the health center and barangay hall of Quezon,
--Re-roofing of the 802nd
Gutierrez said that their repair and rehabilitation role will continue as long as it is needed.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=611669
Palace condemns IED attack, use of minors by armed group in Mindanao
From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 1): Palace condemns IED attack, use of minors by armed group in Mindanao
Malacañang on Saturday condemned the use of an improvised explosive device and so-called child warriors by armed groups fighting the government inMindanao .
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also urged the media to coordinate with officials on the ground especially in areas where fighting is likely to take place.
"Hindi maganda ang balitang yan at hindi tayo natutuwa (What happened on Saturday morning was not good and we are not amused)," she said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
Initial reports of Saturday's incident showed at least six people, including two journalists, were injured in an IED explosion in Maguindanao.
The military does not discount the possibility the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, could be behind the attack.
Valte appealed to media agencies to abide by a safety protocol and to cooperate with government representatives, including those of the police and the military, especially in controlled areas.
Meanwhile, Valte said the Palace is quite disturbed by the discovery of the remains of three child soldiers in one of the areas where fighting between the BIFF and government troops took place.
"Kahindik-hindik ang balita na may ginagamit silang child soldiers, beyond the fact that it violates so many laws, not just ours but of international laws. We condemn the practice of using child soldiers...Walang lugar ang paggamit ng menor de edad sa ganitong labanan (We are outraged that this group used child soldiers. This violates not just our laws but international laws as well. We condemn the practice of using child soldiers. Minors have no place in the battlefield)," she said.
She said the government can help address the situation through child support services, as well as the commitment of its security forces that they will not use child soldiers or warriors.
But she also appealed to parents to make sure their children are not recruited for such exploitation.
"Sa mga magulang, pakiusap natin,sana
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=611798
Malacañang on Saturday condemned the use of an improvised explosive device and so-called child warriors by armed groups fighting the government in
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also urged the media to coordinate with officials on the ground especially in areas where fighting is likely to take place.
"Hindi maganda ang balitang yan at hindi tayo natutuwa (What happened on Saturday morning was not good and we are not amused)," she said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
Initial reports of Saturday's incident showed at least six people, including two journalists, were injured in an IED explosion in Maguindanao.
The military does not discount the possibility the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, could be behind the attack.
Valte appealed to media agencies to abide by a safety protocol and to cooperate with government representatives, including those of the police and the military, especially in controlled areas.
Meanwhile, Valte said the Palace is quite disturbed by the discovery of the remains of three child soldiers in one of the areas where fighting between the BIFF and government troops took place.
"Kahindik-hindik ang balita na may ginagamit silang child soldiers, beyond the fact that it violates so many laws, not just ours but of international laws. We condemn the practice of using child soldiers...Walang lugar ang paggamit ng menor de edad sa ganitong labanan (We are outraged that this group used child soldiers. This violates not just our laws but international laws as well. We condemn the practice of using child soldiers. Minors have no place in the battlefield)," she said.
She said the government can help address the situation through child support services, as well as the commitment of its security forces that they will not use child soldiers or warriors.
But she also appealed to parents to make sure their children are not recruited for such exploitation.
"Sa mga magulang, pakiusap natin,
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=611798
17 Navy DRRUs on alert for 'Basyang'
From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 1): 17 Navy DRRUs on alert for 'Basyang'
The Philippine Navy (PN) on Saturday announced 17 disaster response rescue units (DRRUs) have been placed on alert for possible rescue missions in the aftermath of Tropical Depression "Basyang".
There are currently six DRRUs on alert in Naval Forces Central which is based inCebu City ,
Cebu and 11 in Naval Forces West in Puerto
Princesa City ,
Palawan , Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Gregory
Fabic said.
He added that DRRUs attached to Naval Forces Central are deployed inTacloban City ,
Guimaras, Lapu-Lapu City , Cebu City and Iloilo
City
The Naval Forces West were directed to proceed to areas that might be possibly affected inPalawan .
Six of these DRRU teams are composed of all sailors while the remaining five are Marines from the 4th Marine Battalion.
Aside from these, all floating assets of the two commands are designated to proceed to their designated shelter areas to avoid storm damage.
"Basyang" is expected to bring inclement weather in Western and Eastern Visayas andPalawan while on its way
out.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=611811
The Philippine Navy (PN) on Saturday announced 17 disaster response rescue units (DRRUs) have been placed on alert for possible rescue missions in the aftermath of Tropical Depression "Basyang".
There are currently six DRRUs on alert in Naval Forces Central which is based in
He added that DRRUs attached to Naval Forces Central are deployed in
The Naval Forces West were directed to proceed to areas that might be possibly affected in
Six of these DRRU teams are composed of all sailors while the remaining five are Marines from the 4th Marine Battalion.
Aside from these, all floating assets of the two commands are designated to proceed to their designated shelter areas to avoid storm damage.
"Basyang" is expected to bring inclement weather in Western and Eastern Visayas and
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=611811
IEP: Propaganda Photo: Bodies of AFP soldiers killed in fighting with BIFF
From the Islamic Emirate of the Philippines (IEP) Facebook page (Feb 1): Photo: Bodies of AFP soldiers killed in fighting with BIFF
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuLLAHi wa barakatuhu
Bangkay ng sundalo na namatay sa bakbakan sa pagitan ng BIFF at AFP.
Ito ang patunay na di lang isa ang namatay sa panig ng sundalo.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=597484496995323&set=a.272752586135184.64480.268897169854059&type=1&theater
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatuLLAHi wa barakatuhu
Bangkay ng sundalo na namatay sa bakbakan sa pagitan ng BIFF at AFP.
Ito ang patunay na di lang isa ang namatay sa panig ng sundalo.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=597484496995323&set=a.272752586135184.64480.268897169854059&type=1&theater
IEP: Latest UMMAH Updates (2/1/2014)
From the Islamic Emirate of the Philippines (IEP) Facebook page (Feb 1): Latest UMMAH Updates (2/1/2014)
BismiLLAHirRahmanirRaheem
Latest UMMAH Updates
2/01/2014
Crossing Salbo, Maguindanao
...
An AFP convoy crossing the irrigation lining along Crossing Salbo around 9am this morning was hit by another IED (improvised Explosive Device) planted on that area by the BIFF Muyjahideen, 1 hammer was destroyed, there were casualties and injured elements but we have no exact reported number.
Latest UMMAH Updates
2/01/2014
Crossing Salbo, Maguindanao
...
An AFP convoy crossing the irrigation lining along Crossing Salbo around 9am this morning was hit by another IED (improvised Explosive Device) planted on that area by the BIFF Muyjahideen, 1 hammer was destroyed, there were casualties and injured elements but we have no exact reported number.
ALLAHu Akbar! ALLAHu Akbar! ALLAHu Akbar!
Make Du'a for the Mujahideen who are honorably fighting to protect ans establish the Deen of ALLAH wherever they are.
Make Du'a to ALLAH for ourselves to help us and guide us to be amongst those whom who are true to their oath to ALLAH and tirelessly fight against ALLAH's enemies.
Make Du'a to ALLAH to help us and protect us from the evils of the Infidels and the Murtadeen and make us NOT amongst those who befriend them and make them allies against our bothers who are honorably defending ALLAH's Deen Al-Islam, for a very cheap price of physical safety and worldly praise.
help and Support our Mujahideen brothers in anyway you can, thus, in turn doing yourself a favor by helping them.
Be reminded of the rewards ALLAH has promised for doing so.
Be reminded of the Great Rewards ALLAH has promised for those who are true to their oaths to ALLAH till they acheive the Greatest of Success, Martyrdom!
Be reminded of the punishments ALLAH has promised for those who lag behind, sitting amongst the weak/disabled, women and the children of the UMMAH where they are able to fight!
ALLAhumagfilrliy wal Muslimina wal Muslimaah, wal Mu'mineena Wal Mu'minah, Wal Mujahideena Wal Mujahidah
ALLAHumma Unsuril Islamah wal Muslimina wal Muqatilina fiy sabiliLLAHirRabbil Alamin
Don't forget to Like, Comment and Share!!
JazakumuLLAHu Khairan Katheeran WabarakumuLLAHu Fiqkum
Make Du'a for the Mujahideen who are honorably fighting to protect ans establish the Deen of ALLAH wherever they are.
Make Du'a to ALLAH for ourselves to help us and guide us to be amongst those whom who are true to their oath to ALLAH and tirelessly fight against ALLAH's enemies.
Make Du'a to ALLAH to help us and protect us from the evils of the Infidels and the Murtadeen and make us NOT amongst those who befriend them and make them allies against our bothers who are honorably defending ALLAH's Deen Al-Islam, for a very cheap price of physical safety and worldly praise.
help and Support our Mujahideen brothers in anyway you can, thus, in turn doing yourself a favor by helping them.
Be reminded of the rewards ALLAH has promised for doing so.
Be reminded of the Great Rewards ALLAH has promised for those who are true to their oaths to ALLAH till they acheive the Greatest of Success, Martyrdom!
Be reminded of the punishments ALLAH has promised for those who lag behind, sitting amongst the weak/disabled, women and the children of the UMMAH where they are able to fight!
ALLAhumagfilrliy wal Muslimina wal Muslimaah, wal Mu'mineena Wal Mu'minah, Wal Mujahideena Wal Mujahidah
ALLAHumma Unsuril Islamah wal Muslimina wal Muqatilina fiy sabiliLLAHirRabbil Alamin
Don't forget to Like, Comment and Share!!
JazakumuLLAHu Khairan Katheeran WabarakumuLLAHu Fiqkum
IEP: Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (1-28-2014)
Posted to the Islamic Emirate of the Philippines Website (August 31): Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (1-28-2014)
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=597448410332265&set=a.272752586135184.64480.268897169854059&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=597448410332265&set=a.272752586135184.64480.268897169854059&type=1&theater
PH to China: What's this new air zone?
From Rappler (Feb 1): PH to China: What's this new air zone?
Malacañang said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will ask China to clarify reports about its supposed plan to set up a new Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over waters including the West Philippines Sea.
"We are trying to get a verification on which part exactly the report is reffering to. Based on the report that came out, it is looking like it will be set up near Japan. But the DFA will work to get confirmation on the details of it," said Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte.
Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun reported that working level officials in the Chinese air force have drafted proposals for the new zone, which could set the Paracel islands at its core and could go as wide as the majority of the South China Sea. (READ: China eyes air defense zone South China Sea – report)
The report comes months after Beijing caused consternation with the sudden declaration of an ADIZ above the East China Sea, covering islands at the center of a sovereignty row with Tokyo. (READ: China creates air defense zone over Japan-controlled islands)
China demanded all aircraft provide flight plans when traversing the area, give their nationality and maintain two-way radio communication, or face "emergency defensive measures." Japan, South Korea and others reacted to this with anger.
Beijing claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety, even areas a long way from its shoreline.
The Philipines is also asking China to verify earlier reports about new fishing rules that would require foreign fishermen to seek China's permission if they want to operate in the disputed waters.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/49432-philippines-china-new-air-defense-zone
SOUTH CHINA
Malacañang said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will ask China to clarify reports about its supposed plan to set up a new Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over waters including the West Philippines Sea.
"We are trying to get a verification on which part exactly the report is reffering to. Based on the report that came out, it is looking like it will be set up near Japan. But the DFA will work to get confirmation on the details of it," said Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte.
Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun reported that working level officials in the Chinese air force have drafted proposals for the new zone, which could set the Paracel islands at its core and could go as wide as the majority of the South China Sea. (READ: China eyes air defense zone South China Sea – report)
The report comes months after Beijing caused consternation with the sudden declaration of an ADIZ above the East China Sea, covering islands at the center of a sovereignty row with Tokyo. (READ: China creates air defense zone over Japan-controlled islands)
China demanded all aircraft provide flight plans when traversing the area, give their nationality and maintain two-way radio communication, or face "emergency defensive measures." Japan, South Korea and others reacted to this with anger.
Beijing claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety, even areas a long way from its shoreline.
The Philipines is also asking China to verify earlier reports about new fishing rules that would require foreign fishermen to seek China's permission if they want to operate in the disputed waters.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/49432-philippines-china-new-air-defense-zone
Voltaire Gazmin: The untouchable
From Rappler (Feb 1): Voltaire Gazmin: The untouchable
When reports of his supposed ouster circulated in October 2013, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin headed to Malacañang to hear it straight from the President. Not true. "Pinagtri-trip-an ka nila (They’re playing tricks on you)," the President told him.
The ouster rumors floated after Gazmin made the embarrassing mistake of accusing China of building blocks in Panatag Shoal, a rocky sandbar off the coast of Zambales that has become a flashpoint in the volatile maritime dispute between Manila and Beijing.
It was during a Sept 3, 2013 budget hearing in the House of Representatives when Gazmin waved photos of concrete blocks found in the shoal. There was no reason to doubt his statements. He said military pilots do routine flights in the area, and it was in August 2013 when they saw the blocks for the first time.
"It's an obvious prelude to construction," he added, recalling how China took control of the Mischief Reef in the 1990s. Panatag Shoal is said to be rich in oil; its location, strategic to military operations. Chinese ships have occupied the shoal since a standoff in April 2012.
Filipinos were outraged by Gazmin's revelations. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it will submit it as additional evidence before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), a United Nations body where Manila has a pending protest against China.
The Panatag blocks would be momentarily forgotten when, days after the House hearing, Zamboanga City was attacked by followers of Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari.
It would take a month before the allegations were corrected by President Benigno Aquino III himself. Asked why the Philippines has not filed the protest before ITLOS, Aquino told reporters there were barnacles found in the blocks – meaning they were not built or placed there recently.
“We don’t accuse until we have proof,” the President said. (READ: Panatag blocks: No proof vs China)
Asked for explanation, Gazmin told reporters: "This is new to us. It's the first time we saw this. It's possible it was low tide when the photos were taken. During those previous missions, it was probably high tide."
Father figure
Gazmin's critics know better than to openly attack or call for his resignation. He is, after all, the closest to a father figure the President can have. The commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, Gazmin courageously protected her administration from several coup attempts including the bloodiest in December 1989 that wounded now President Aquino. It's a relationship strengthened by the past.
The President’s father, the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr, stood as one of Gazmin’s wedding sponsors when he married in 1969. By fate, Gazmin would become the senator’s jailer years later when Aquino was detained in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. Cory would often visit Ninoy and it was there that she got to know and trust Gazmin. Up to the very end, Gazmin would serve Cory as one of the pallbearers at her funeral.
So what's a faux pas about disappearing Chinese blocks between old friends who'd overcome Ferdinand Marcos and bloody coups?
The President, in fact, did not only brush off Gazmin's mistake. He sent his critics a message.
"Let me share. My mother suffered through several coup attempts but Secretary Voltaire Gazmin was never demoralized. As the fire broke out and the Air Force bombers were circling over us, he could have panicked. But he never left us. He chose to protect the republic and fight for democracy. Thank you Secretary Volts. Until this day, we owe you our debt our gratitude," Aquino said in a speech before security sector officials, generals, and troops at the height of the rumors.
The President's message is crystal clear: the old man is his old man.
The issue has since been swept under the rug. How the defense secretary can make a mistake about decades-old concrete blocks remains unexplained. In an interview last year, when we asked Armed Forces chief of staff General Emmanuel Bautista about it, he simply smiled. A security sector analyst cautioned against blowing up Gazmin's mistake because "China is reading reports in the Philippine media."
Lately, Gazmin has been more careful. As reports circulate on China's new fishing rules covering waters that include the West Philippines Sea, he hesitates to issue statements, saying the government was still verifying reports through formal channels.
No clear vision
Gazmin, a 69-year-old retired Army general, was pulled out of retirement to serve Aquino. He was hesitant but he said he would do it for Aquino.
He understood that part of his role was to address the restlessness that the military showed during the terms of his predecessors – former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
But he would discover that foiling coup attempts, which he did so well for the President's mother in the 1980s, would not be his challenge this time.
Gazmin is defense secretary at a most crucial time. The Philippine military shifts its focus from internal security operations to territorial defense as maritime disputes escalate in the region. (READ: PH military grappling with insurgency amid China tensions)
Tension with China exploded under the Aquino administration because of the change in the country's policies in the disputed waters. The previous Arroyo administration allowed joint explorations with the Chinese, a move that Aquino allies then assailed as unconstitutional. (READ: China hits back at PH: You've changed)
The new challenges of territorial defense meant working closely with the US, a treaty ally, and overseeing the procurement of multi-billion-peso military assets. Under Gazmin's watch, the Philippines is negotiating a military-to-military agreement that will set the rules for the increased presence of American troops in the Philippines and their access to Philippine military bases. (READ: PH-US bases access talks resume January 30)
Beyond this, the defense porfoilio is a position of great power used by many to launch presidential ambitions. His predecessors include former President Fidel Ramos, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Renato De Villa, and Gilbert Teodoro. Both De Villa and Teodoro ran for president but lost.
Gazmin is very different from his famous predecessors, however. In his first year in office, he was seen by some officers as one who acted more like a chief of staff than a defense chief, prying into operational tasks of military units.
He has always been deliberate in keeping a low profile. This lack of strong national presence also means a failure to articulate his vision.
“Both Secretaries Avelino Cruz and Gilbert Teodoro articulated clear visions of what national defense and security meant and how we must modernize the military to get there. I have not heard Secretary Gazmin articulate his vision for this,” Dean Tony La Viña of the Ateneo School of Government told Rappler when asked to compare Gazmin with his predecessors.
Deferring his tasks to Mar
And then there are back-to-back man-made and natural disasters that tested Gazmin's mettle in 2013.
“I have everything you have to encounter – the attack in Zamboanga, you have the earthquake in Bohol, you have the storm of Yolanda. What else can you ask for? All types of disasters hit us this year,” he told reporters in jest last December.
For La Viña, Gazmin’s performance as defense chief will be judged based on his performance as chief responder to Yolanda, the world's strongest typhoon that flattened entire towns and cities and killed at least 6,000 people.
“In that case, he seemed to have yielded the role to Secretary Roxas,” La Viña said.
As chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), it was Gazmin's task to be on top of government response to the monster typhoon. Eduardo Del Rosario is NDRRMC executive director.
“I’m not fond of facing the media but I give, we give the directions. We are doing our job. We don’t have to publish what we are doing,” he said last year in reports he was absent in the Yolanda response.
In Tacloban City, Roxas called long meetings and issued instructions while Gazmin often kept quiet and listened. In the end, Roxas would be roasted for government's inefficiencies while Gazmin conveniently escaped most of the blame game. (READ: Haiyan crisis: No ground commander and Politics, lack of command hound Tacloban)
It’s the same story during the 20-day Zamboanga City Crisis in September 2013, where Gazmin also let Roxas run the show. It frustrated observers who expected the retired general to understand the rebellion better than the interior secretary. (READ: Zambo Crisis: The fog of war)
“He seemed to have accepted then that Mar is the next president,” said a politician who helped in operations in Leyte.
Resignation calls
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, a former defense chief himself, was one of the few persons who publicly called out Gazmin. Enrile could not understand why the military did not prepare enough for Yolanda and why only one platoon was deployed to Tacloban City for such a strong typhoon.
Gazmin later told reporters no country could prepare for such a strong typhoon. He said other countries would have "suffered the same devastation" if they are to experience Yolanda.
“You can say it was inadequate but that because of our [limited] capacity. We only have 3 C130s. Our plan now is to acquire more C130s,” Gazmin said.
But typhoon survivors talk about the government’s failure to warn them about the storm surges. Government and military assets were destroyed because they were not prepositioned in the proper places. Relief distribution was delayed by politics and protocols. Organizational issues and conflict with local officials bogged down the efforts.
Malacañang blamed local officials when Gazmin and Roxas themselves flew into Leyte a day before Yolanda’s landfall supposedly to supervise government response.
They defied advice to stay out of the typhoon path so when Yolanda made landfall, the 2 Cabinet secretaries who were supposed to be on top of the situation were incommunicado for hours. They forgot to bring with them satellite phones, a must-have for disaster officials.
Calls for Gazmin's resignation came from a old friend – former Ambassador Roy Señeres with whom he worked with for years at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, in the 1990s. Gazmin was defense attaché. Seneres was labor attaché.
"The blood of those who perished are in the hands of Gazmin and disaster chief Eduardo Del Rosario. They must resign," Señeres told Rappler.
Aquino wouldn't hear any of the complaints against government response to Yolanda. Instead he chose to boost the morale of his troops at the height of the criticism. For the first time in military history, a President attended the graduation of the Officer Candidate School (OCS), where he devoted his speech to commend the sacrifices of soldiers as first-responders in disasters.
Again, he congratulated Gazmin.
Treating them like plebes
Because he completedly trusts Gazmin, President Aquino ignored a recommendation by the Feliciano Commission, which investigated the botched 2003 Oakwood mutiny, for presidents to appoint a civilian to the top defense post.
Gazmin is the first defense secretary appointed with a military background since the Feliciano Commission made that recommendation. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr also became a defense chief under Arroyo, but he came from the national police, a civilian organization.
Why a civilian for the post? The commission said this was meant to insulate defense and strategic decisions from the culture in the Philippine military, where they tend to protect each other and defer to their seniors.
Gazmin is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1968. A decorated soldier, he rose in the ranks to become Army chief before he retired in 2000. His military career spanned 3 decades.
He is a soldier through and through. He rules like a commanding officer, sometimes "treating his men like they are plebes," said a source familiar with Gazmin's leadership style.
Disappoint Gazmin and you will be treated like a plebe.
It was an awkward moment during a presentation for USAID in Tacloban City as they waited for the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry. Gazmin did not hide his disapproval of NDRRMC's Del Rosario when he let his local counterpart present the status of relief efforts to the international aid group. Gazmin did not care about the many people in the room when he angrily looked at De Rosario, castigating him why he was not the one doing the presentation.
Later in the airport, Gazmin would call Del Rosario. People knew Del Rosario must have taken a dressing down.
Rappler learned that Del Rosario offered to resign in January, but Gazmin rejected it. It would have been the second resignation at the NDRRMC under Gazmin. One year ago, Del Rosario's able predecessor, Benito Ramos quit ostensibily to take care of his ailing wife. Camp Aguinaldo insiders said Ramos' resignation was triggered by disagreements with Gazmin over contracts entered into by the agency.
Board of Gazmin
In contrast, lucky are those who have worked with Gazmin.
As he is known to wield influence on the President, he has been criticized for playing favorites and pushing for his chosen officers to lead plum posts in the military. The Board of Generals, the body that vets military officers for promotion, has been jokingly referred to by some as the “Board of Gazmin.”
Lately, eyes are on his former spokesperson now Major General Hernando Iriberri, currently the commander of the 7th Infantry Division operating in Ilocos and Central Luzon resgions.
Although he is more junior than other candidates, he is now rumored to be a strong candidate to become the next chief of the Philippine Army – if not in February, the next vacancy.
Iriberri laments the controversy. “It’s unfair to the President. Ultimately it’s his decision,” Iriberri said.
Gazmin's legacy
Gazmin may have his shining moment in the aggressive implementation of the long delayed modernization of the Armed Forces, thanks to the P81-billion fund the President gave the military.
The Philippine military, one of Asia’s weakest, is acquiring critical assets including 12 fighters jets and 2 brand new warships to improve the country's capacity to patrol the disputed waters.
It is his task to oversee that the revised Armed Forces modernization is finally implemented in the institution notorious for deep-seated corruption.
There are a lot of assets in the pipeline and they’re a huge morale booster for the soldiers. The procurement process is facing delays and controversies, but if all goes well this may be Gazmin’s saving grace.
Not that he needs one under this President.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/49421-profile-voltaire-gazmin
FATHER FIGURE:
President Benigno Aquino III and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. Malacañang
photo
When reports of his supposed ouster circulated in October 2013, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin headed to Malacañang to hear it straight from the President. Not true. "Pinagtri-trip-an ka nila (They’re playing tricks on you)," the President told him.
The ouster rumors floated after Gazmin made the embarrassing mistake of accusing China of building blocks in Panatag Shoal, a rocky sandbar off the coast of Zambales that has become a flashpoint in the volatile maritime dispute between Manila and Beijing.
It was during a Sept 3, 2013 budget hearing in the House of Representatives when Gazmin waved photos of concrete blocks found in the shoal. There was no reason to doubt his statements. He said military pilots do routine flights in the area, and it was in August 2013 when they saw the blocks for the first time.
"It's an obvious prelude to construction," he added, recalling how China took control of the Mischief Reef in the 1990s. Panatag Shoal is said to be rich in oil; its location, strategic to military operations. Chinese ships have occupied the shoal since a standoff in April 2012.
Filipinos were outraged by Gazmin's revelations. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it will submit it as additional evidence before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), a United Nations body where Manila has a pending protest against China.
The Panatag blocks would be momentarily forgotten when, days after the House hearing, Zamboanga City was attacked by followers of Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari.
It would take a month before the allegations were corrected by President Benigno Aquino III himself. Asked why the Philippines has not filed the protest before ITLOS, Aquino told reporters there were barnacles found in the blocks – meaning they were not built or placed there recently.
“We don’t accuse until we have proof,” the President said. (READ: Panatag blocks: No proof vs China)
Asked for explanation, Gazmin told reporters: "This is new to us. It's the first time we saw this. It's possible it was low tide when the photos were taken. During those previous missions, it was probably high tide."
CONCRETE BLOCKS:
The Philippine Navy found 75 concrete blocks in Panatag Shoal
Father figure
Gazmin's critics know better than to openly attack or call for his resignation. He is, after all, the closest to a father figure the President can have. The commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, Gazmin courageously protected her administration from several coup attempts including the bloodiest in December 1989 that wounded now President Aquino. It's a relationship strengthened by the past.
The President’s father, the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr, stood as one of Gazmin’s wedding sponsors when he married in 1969. By fate, Gazmin would become the senator’s jailer years later when Aquino was detained in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. Cory would often visit Ninoy and it was there that she got to know and trust Gazmin. Up to the very end, Gazmin would serve Cory as one of the pallbearers at her funeral.
So what's a faux pas about disappearing Chinese blocks between old friends who'd overcome Ferdinand Marcos and bloody coups?
The President, in fact, did not only brush off Gazmin's mistake. He sent his critics a message.
"Let me share. My mother suffered through several coup attempts but Secretary Voltaire Gazmin was never demoralized. As the fire broke out and the Air Force bombers were circling over us, he could have panicked. But he never left us. He chose to protect the republic and fight for democracy. Thank you Secretary Volts. Until this day, we owe you our debt our gratitude," Aquino said in a speech before security sector officials, generals, and troops at the height of the rumors.
The President's message is crystal clear: the old man is his old man.
WEDDING SPONSOR:
The late Senator Ninoy Aquino was a wedding sponsor when Defense Secretary
Voltaire Gazmin got married
The issue has since been swept under the rug. How the defense secretary can make a mistake about decades-old concrete blocks remains unexplained. In an interview last year, when we asked Armed Forces chief of staff General Emmanuel Bautista about it, he simply smiled. A security sector analyst cautioned against blowing up Gazmin's mistake because "China is reading reports in the Philippine media."
Lately, Gazmin has been more careful. As reports circulate on China's new fishing rules covering waters that include the West Philippines Sea, he hesitates to issue statements, saying the government was still verifying reports through formal channels.
No clear vision
Gazmin, a 69-year-old retired Army general, was pulled out of retirement to serve Aquino. He was hesitant but he said he would do it for Aquino.
He understood that part of his role was to address the restlessness that the military showed during the terms of his predecessors – former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
But he would discover that foiling coup attempts, which he did so well for the President's mother in the 1980s, would not be his challenge this time.
Gazmin is defense secretary at a most crucial time. The Philippine military shifts its focus from internal security operations to territorial defense as maritime disputes escalate in the region. (READ: PH military grappling with insurgency amid China tensions)
Tension with China exploded under the Aquino administration because of the change in the country's policies in the disputed waters. The previous Arroyo administration allowed joint explorations with the Chinese, a move that Aquino allies then assailed as unconstitutional. (READ: China hits back at PH: You've changed)
The new challenges of territorial defense meant working closely with the US, a treaty ally, and overseeing the procurement of multi-billion-peso military assets. Under Gazmin's watch, the Philippines is negotiating a military-to-military agreement that will set the rules for the increased presence of American troops in the Philippines and their access to Philippine military bases. (READ: PH-US bases access talks resume January 30)
Beyond this, the defense porfoilio is a position of great power used by many to launch presidential ambitions. His predecessors include former President Fidel Ramos, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Renato De Villa, and Gilbert Teodoro. Both De Villa and Teodoro ran for president but lost.
Gazmin is very different from his famous predecessors, however. In his first year in office, he was seen by some officers as one who acted more like a chief of staff than a defense chief, prying into operational tasks of military units.
He has always been deliberate in keeping a low profile. This lack of strong national presence also means a failure to articulate his vision.
“Both Secretaries Avelino Cruz and Gilbert Teodoro articulated clear visions of what national defense and security meant and how we must modernize the military to get there. I have not heard Secretary Gazmin articulate his vision for this,” Dean Tony La Viña of the Ateneo School of Government told Rappler when asked to compare Gazmin with his predecessors.
Deferring his tasks to Mar
And then there are back-to-back man-made and natural disasters that tested Gazmin's mettle in 2013.
“I have everything you have to encounter – the attack in Zamboanga, you have the earthquake in Bohol, you have the storm of Yolanda. What else can you ask for? All types of disasters hit us this year,” he told reporters in jest last December.
For La Viña, Gazmin’s performance as defense chief will be judged based on his performance as chief responder to Yolanda, the world's strongest typhoon that flattened entire towns and cities and killed at least 6,000 people.
“In that case, he seemed to have yielded the role to Secretary Roxas,” La Viña said.
As chairman of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), it was Gazmin's task to be on top of government response to the monster typhoon. Eduardo Del Rosario is NDRRMC executive director.
“I’m not fond of facing the media but I give, we give the directions. We are doing our job. We don’t have to publish what we are doing,” he said last year in reports he was absent in the Yolanda response.
In Tacloban City, Roxas called long meetings and issued instructions while Gazmin often kept quiet and listened. In the end, Roxas would be roasted for government's inefficiencies while Gazmin conveniently escaped most of the blame game. (READ: Haiyan crisis: No ground commander and Politics, lack of command hound Tacloban)
It’s the same story during the 20-day Zamboanga City Crisis in September 2013, where Gazmin also let Roxas run the show. It frustrated observers who expected the retired general to understand the rebellion better than the interior secretary. (READ: Zambo Crisis: The fog of war)
“He seemed to have accepted then that Mar is the next president,” said a politician who helped in operations in Leyte.
Resignation calls
Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, a former defense chief himself, was one of the few persons who publicly called out Gazmin. Enrile could not understand why the military did not prepare enough for Yolanda and why only one platoon was deployed to Tacloban City for such a strong typhoon.
Gazmin later told reporters no country could prepare for such a strong typhoon. He said other countries would have "suffered the same devastation" if they are to experience Yolanda.
“You can say it was inadequate but that because of our [limited] capacity. We only have 3 C130s. Our plan now is to acquire more C130s,” Gazmin said.
SENATE HEARING:
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. Senate file
photo
But typhoon survivors talk about the government’s failure to warn them about the storm surges. Government and military assets were destroyed because they were not prepositioned in the proper places. Relief distribution was delayed by politics and protocols. Organizational issues and conflict with local officials bogged down the efforts.
Malacañang blamed local officials when Gazmin and Roxas themselves flew into Leyte a day before Yolanda’s landfall supposedly to supervise government response.
They defied advice to stay out of the typhoon path so when Yolanda made landfall, the 2 Cabinet secretaries who were supposed to be on top of the situation were incommunicado for hours. They forgot to bring with them satellite phones, a must-have for disaster officials.
Calls for Gazmin's resignation came from a old friend – former Ambassador Roy Señeres with whom he worked with for years at the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC, in the 1990s. Gazmin was defense attaché. Seneres was labor attaché.
"The blood of those who perished are in the hands of Gazmin and disaster chief Eduardo Del Rosario. They must resign," Señeres told Rappler.
Aquino wouldn't hear any of the complaints against government response to Yolanda. Instead he chose to boost the morale of his troops at the height of the criticism. For the first time in military history, a President attended the graduation of the Officer Candidate School (OCS), where he devoted his speech to commend the sacrifices of soldiers as first-responders in disasters.
Again, he congratulated Gazmin.
Treating them like plebes
Because he completedly trusts Gazmin, President Aquino ignored a recommendation by the Feliciano Commission, which investigated the botched 2003 Oakwood mutiny, for presidents to appoint a civilian to the top defense post.
Gazmin is the first defense secretary appointed with a military background since the Feliciano Commission made that recommendation. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr also became a defense chief under Arroyo, but he came from the national police, a civilian organization.
Why a civilian for the post? The commission said this was meant to insulate defense and strategic decisions from the culture in the Philippine military, where they tend to protect each other and defer to their seniors.
Gazmin is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1968. A decorated soldier, he rose in the ranks to become Army chief before he retired in 2000. His military career spanned 3 decades.
He is a soldier through and through. He rules like a commanding officer, sometimes "treating his men like they are plebes," said a source familiar with Gazmin's leadership style.
Disappoint Gazmin and you will be treated like a plebe.
It was an awkward moment during a presentation for USAID in Tacloban City as they waited for the arrival of US Secretary of State John Kerry. Gazmin did not hide his disapproval of NDRRMC's Del Rosario when he let his local counterpart present the status of relief efforts to the international aid group. Gazmin did not care about the many people in the room when he angrily looked at De Rosario, castigating him why he was not the one doing the presentation.
Later in the airport, Gazmin would call Del Rosario. People knew Del Rosario must have taken a dressing down.
Rappler learned that Del Rosario offered to resign in January, but Gazmin rejected it. It would have been the second resignation at the NDRRMC under Gazmin. One year ago, Del Rosario's able predecessor, Benito Ramos quit ostensibily to take care of his ailing wife. Camp Aguinaldo insiders said Ramos' resignation was triggered by disagreements with Gazmin over contracts entered into by the agency.
Board of Gazmin
In contrast, lucky are those who have worked with Gazmin.
As he is known to wield influence on the President, he has been criticized for playing favorites and pushing for his chosen officers to lead plum posts in the military. The Board of Generals, the body that vets military officers for promotion, has been jokingly referred to by some as the “Board of Gazmin.”
Lately, eyes are on his former spokesperson now Major General Hernando Iriberri, currently the commander of the 7th Infantry Division operating in Ilocos and Central Luzon resgions.
Although he is more junior than other candidates, he is now rumored to be a strong candidate to become the next chief of the Philippine Army – if not in February, the next vacancy.
Iriberri laments the controversy. “It’s unfair to the President. Ultimately it’s his decision,” Iriberri said.
Gazmin's legacy
Gazmin may have his shining moment in the aggressive implementation of the long delayed modernization of the Armed Forces, thanks to the P81-billion fund the President gave the military.
NEW CHOPPERS: The
wife of defense secretary Voltaire Gazmin performs the ceremonial pouring of
the champagne. Photo from Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Philippine military, one of Asia’s weakest, is acquiring critical assets including 12 fighters jets and 2 brand new warships to improve the country's capacity to patrol the disputed waters.
It is his task to oversee that the revised Armed Forces modernization is finally implemented in the institution notorious for deep-seated corruption.
There are a lot of assets in the pipeline and they’re a huge morale booster for the soldiers. The procurement process is facing delays and controversies, but if all goes well this may be Gazmin’s saving grace.
Not that he needs one under this President.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/49421-profile-voltaire-gazmin
Photos of child soldiers found at Philippine rebel camp: military
From Rappler (Feb1): Photos of child soldiers found at Philippine rebel camp: military
Photographs of child soldiers were among the items left behind as the military overran a camp of hardline Muslim rebels in Mindanao, a military commander said on Saturday, February 1.
Colonel Edgardo Gonzales said that he found the photos when he inspected the 7.5-hectare (18-acre) camp of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) rebel group in the remote town of Shariff Saydona Mustapha in Southern Philippines on Saturday.
"There were pictures of children carrying rifles. Some looked like they were 12 years old," Gonzales told Agence France-Presse (AFP) as he searched through the abandoned camp about 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of Manila.
"They were showing off their capability. There were 4 kids posing with guns. I believe it was not just for show. I believe those rifles were issued to them," he said.
The military launched an offensive against the BIFF on Monday, January 28, just two days after the government successfully concluded peace talks with the main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The week's fighting left one soldier and at least 53 BIFF members dead, including 3 child soldiers recruited by the rebels, the military said.
Gonzales said the military would eventually release the pictures, which have not been seen by AFP.
The colonel said he had not personally seen child soldiers but his men had reported encountering them in battles with the BIFF.
"My men have said they have seen kids. Some of them have no guns. They just follow a comrade from the BIFF and when the comrade is shot, they pick up his gun and start fighting," he said.
The BIFF is a small group of militants opposed to the peace effort with the MILF, which has carried out many deadly attacks in recent years in a bid to derail the peace process.
On Saturday, the rebels set off two improvised explosive devices near the camp that wounded 6 soldiers and 6 civilians, including two crewmen of a major TV broadcaster.
President Benigno Aquino's spokeswoman Abigail Valte said "the news that they used 3 child soldiers is shocking, beyond the fact that it violates so many laws, not just ours but international laws."
She condemned the use of minors in combat and said government child support services would address the problem.
She also called on parents not to allow their children to be recruited.
A spokesman for the BIFF, Abu Misry, told AFP his group did not use child soldiers, however, and charged that the military was planting or staging the evidence against them.
"Those kids who died were not used as soldiers. They were civilians, killed by (military) airstrikes or by their 105 mm howitzers," he said angrily.
National military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala denied the claim, saying the 3 slain youths, aged 15-17, were uniformed BIFF fighters.
He also said there were previous videos and photographs of the BIFF conducting military-style training of children.
Zagala stressed that it was difficult to recognize child soldiers during combat.
"It is very hard to distinguish especially in the heat of battle when they are carrying firearms and shooting at you," he said.
The military has already reported the incident to the government's Commission on Human Rights and is awaiting further action, he added.
The website of the UN special representative on children and armed conflict said that it "continued to receive credible reports that the (BIFF) armed group was actively training and providing weapons to children."
http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/south-central-asia/49449-photos-child-soldiers-found-philippine-rebel-camp
Photographs of child soldiers were among the items left behind as the military overran a camp of hardline Muslim rebels in Mindanao, a military commander said on Saturday, February 1.
Colonel Edgardo Gonzales said that he found the photos when he inspected the 7.5-hectare (18-acre) camp of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) rebel group in the remote town of Shariff Saydona Mustapha in Southern Philippines on Saturday.
"There were pictures of children carrying rifles. Some looked like they were 12 years old," Gonzales told Agence France-Presse (AFP) as he searched through the abandoned camp about 800 kilometers (500 miles) south of Manila.
"They were showing off their capability. There were 4 kids posing with guns. I believe it was not just for show. I believe those rifles were issued to them," he said.
The military launched an offensive against the BIFF on Monday, January 28, just two days after the government successfully concluded peace talks with the main Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The week's fighting left one soldier and at least 53 BIFF members dead, including 3 child soldiers recruited by the rebels, the military said.
Gonzales said the military would eventually release the pictures, which have not been seen by AFP.
The colonel said he had not personally seen child soldiers but his men had reported encountering them in battles with the BIFF.
"My men have said they have seen kids. Some of them have no guns. They just follow a comrade from the BIFF and when the comrade is shot, they pick up his gun and start fighting," he said.
The BIFF is a small group of militants opposed to the peace effort with the MILF, which has carried out many deadly attacks in recent years in a bid to derail the peace process.
On Saturday, the rebels set off two improvised explosive devices near the camp that wounded 6 soldiers and 6 civilians, including two crewmen of a major TV broadcaster.
President Benigno Aquino's spokeswoman Abigail Valte said "the news that they used 3 child soldiers is shocking, beyond the fact that it violates so many laws, not just ours but international laws."
She condemned the use of minors in combat and said government child support services would address the problem.
She also called on parents not to allow their children to be recruited.
A spokesman for the BIFF, Abu Misry, told AFP his group did not use child soldiers, however, and charged that the military was planting or staging the evidence against them.
"Those kids who died were not used as soldiers. They were civilians, killed by (military) airstrikes or by their 105 mm howitzers," he said angrily.
National military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala denied the claim, saying the 3 slain youths, aged 15-17, were uniformed BIFF fighters.
He also said there were previous videos and photographs of the BIFF conducting military-style training of children.
Zagala stressed that it was difficult to recognize child soldiers during combat.
"It is very hard to distinguish especially in the heat of battle when they are carrying firearms and shooting at you," he said.
The military has already reported the incident to the government's Commission on Human Rights and is awaiting further action, he added.
The website of the UN special representative on children and armed conflict said that it "continued to receive credible reports that the (BIFF) armed group was actively training and providing weapons to children."
http://www.rappler.com/world/regions/south-central-asia/49449-photos-child-soldiers-found-philippine-rebel-camp
Al Qaeda's black flag seized in BIFF camp
From Rappler (Feb 1): Al Qaeda's black flag seized in BIFF camp
BLACK FLAG: Al Qaeda's black flag found in a BIFF camp in Maguindanao
The Philippine military said it seized a black flag in a Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) camp captured in Maguindanao in a week-long offensive.
The flag is similar to Al Qaeda's black flag that has appeared in violent Muslim protests around the world. A similar flag was seized in 2012 from an Abu Sayyaf camp in Zamboanga City.
Wrote Rappler CEO Maria Ressa in a September 2013 piece: "The black flag taps into a secret motivation of al-Qaeda: a 'narrative that convinces them that they’re part of a divine plan,' according to former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Ali Soufan in his book, The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda."
Al-Qaeda believes its black banners herald the apocalypse that will bring about the triumph of Islam. (Read more about the black flag here.)
The BIFF broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had previous links to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The MILF said it had severed ties with the terrorist network. (READ: MILF and terrorism: Hypocrisy, lies, truth)
BIFF's founding leader Ameril Umra Kato has constantly dismissed the peace process entered into by the MILF with the Aquino government. His group has renewed calls for independence.
President Benigno Aquino III, the military and the MILF have since tagged the BIFF as a "spoiler" to the imminent signing of a comprehensive peace agreement between both sides. (READ: Aquino vows to crush 'spoilers')
Just a few hours after the peace negotiations in Kuala Lumpur ended successfully on January 25, the military attacked known BIFF strongholds in Maguindanao. The clashes have lasted almost a week and killed at least 51 rebels and one soldier, according to the military.
The renewed conflict has displaced 10,000 residents.
Justifying the offensive, the military said it was assisting the police in serving the warrants of arrest against BIFF members responsible for previous violent attacks in Mindanao.
Captured camps
The Army's 601st Brigade under Brigadier General Edmundo Pangilinan said it had captured 3 BIFF camps at the Reina Regente Complex in Maguindanao after 6 days of military offensive. The camps include a headquarters, a bomb-making facility, and a training facility.
They also seized seized war materiel and subversive documents. (Below are photos courtesty of the 601st Brigade.)
The military offensive is scheduled to end on Saturday, February 1, but the military could ask for another extension depending on developments.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/49413-photos-military-captures-biff-camps
BLACK FLAG: Al Qaeda's black flag found in a BIFF camp in Maguindanao
The Philippine military said it seized a black flag in a Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) camp captured in Maguindanao in a week-long offensive.
The flag is similar to Al Qaeda's black flag that has appeared in violent Muslim protests around the world. A similar flag was seized in 2012 from an Abu Sayyaf camp in Zamboanga City.
Wrote Rappler CEO Maria Ressa in a September 2013 piece: "The black flag taps into a secret motivation of al-Qaeda: a 'narrative that convinces them that they’re part of a divine plan,' according to former Federal Bureau of Investigation agent Ali Soufan in his book, The Black Banners: The Inside Story of 9/11 and the War Against al-Qaeda."
Al-Qaeda believes its black banners herald the apocalypse that will bring about the triumph of Islam. (Read more about the black flag here.)
The BIFF broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which had previous links to Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. The MILF said it had severed ties with the terrorist network. (READ: MILF and terrorism: Hypocrisy, lies, truth)
BIFF's founding leader Ameril Umra Kato has constantly dismissed the peace process entered into by the MILF with the Aquino government. His group has renewed calls for independence.
President Benigno Aquino III, the military and the MILF have since tagged the BIFF as a "spoiler" to the imminent signing of a comprehensive peace agreement between both sides. (READ: Aquino vows to crush 'spoilers')
Just a few hours after the peace negotiations in Kuala Lumpur ended successfully on January 25, the military attacked known BIFF strongholds in Maguindanao. The clashes have lasted almost a week and killed at least 51 rebels and one soldier, according to the military.
The renewed conflict has displaced 10,000 residents.
Justifying the offensive, the military said it was assisting the police in serving the warrants of arrest against BIFF members responsible for previous violent attacks in Mindanao.
Captured camps
The Army's 601st Brigade under Brigadier General Edmundo Pangilinan said it had captured 3 BIFF camps at the Reina Regente Complex in Maguindanao after 6 days of military offensive. The camps include a headquarters, a bomb-making facility, and a training facility.
They also seized seized war materiel and subversive documents. (Below are photos courtesty of the 601st Brigade.)
'SUCCESSFUL': The
Philippine Army's 601st troopers take a group photo after successful operations
to capture BIFF camps
DOCUMENTS: The
military says they also recovered subversive documents
The military offensive is scheduled to end on Saturday, February 1, but the military could ask for another extension depending on developments.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/49413-photos-military-captures-biff-camps
Philippine bombing injures 12
From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Feb 1): Philippine bombing injures 12
A roadside bombing on Saturday wounded 12 people, including two television journalists on a military in the southern Philippines where security forces are battling Moro rebels.
Among the wounded were six soldiers and four other civilians hit by shrapnel from the blast along the highway of Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
The journalists, Jeff Caparas and his cameraman Adrian Bulatao, both from ABC 5 television, were in a separate vehicle when the bomb explosion occurred. The bomb was reportedly planted in a parked tricycle in the village of Lower Salbu and exploded as the convoy passed.
The television network reported on its website that Bulatao was in shock, but conscious, although in pain, while Caparas is also wounded, but was on his feet.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast, but the military was quick to blame the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters under Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato, which has been fighting security forces since January 27.
Kato and another senior rebel leader, Abdulla Macapaar, were both accused by Philippine authorities as behind the series of deadly attacks in Mindanao in 2008, and had been disowned by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF headed by Murad Ebrahim after they split with the rebel group with Kato forming his own called Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement - Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
The military said Kato and Macapaar had led rebel forces in attacking civilian targets after peace negotiators failed to sign a Muslim homeland deal because the Supreme Court declared the accord unconstitutional. Because of the attacks, police and military authorities have launched an operation to capture the two leaders.
Kato has repeatedly criticized Ebrahim for abandoning their struggle for independence and betraying the MILF when he agreed to a secret meeting called by President Aquino in Japan in August 2011, saying Murad corrupted the rights of the Bangsamoro people, adding the MILF chieftain should have consulted his leaders before meeting with Aquino.
Kato suffered a stroke in 2011, but his condition remains unknown, although there were reports that a new commander – Sheik Mohidin Animbang – has taken over the command of the rebel group, whose members were mostly former fighters of the MILF and rival Moro National Liberation Front.
The military offensive came a day after Filipino peace negotiators signed an accord with the MILF on how the country’s rebel group would lay down their weapons.
Journalists covering the war in Maguindanao are embedded with the military or often tailing government troops in their operations or patrol.
The 6th Infantry Division now said it had killed over 50 rebels and captured several enemy encampments, but Abu Misry Mama, a rebel spokesman, strongly denied the military’s claim and branded them as propaganda, although he admitted that 7 members of his group were wounded in the clashes that already displaced thousands of families in the province.
http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2014/02/philippine-bombing-injures-12.html
A roadside bombing on Saturday wounded 12 people, including two television journalists on a military in the southern Philippines where security forces are battling Moro rebels.
Among the wounded were six soldiers and four other civilians hit by shrapnel from the blast along the highway of Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
The journalists, Jeff Caparas and his cameraman Adrian Bulatao, both from ABC 5 television, were in a separate vehicle when the bomb explosion occurred. The bomb was reportedly planted in a parked tricycle in the village of Lower Salbu and exploded as the convoy passed.
The television network reported on its website that Bulatao was in shock, but conscious, although in pain, while Caparas is also wounded, but was on his feet.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast, but the military was quick to blame the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters under Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato, which has been fighting security forces since January 27.
Kato and another senior rebel leader, Abdulla Macapaar, were both accused by Philippine authorities as behind the series of deadly attacks in Mindanao in 2008, and had been disowned by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF headed by Murad Ebrahim after they split with the rebel group with Kato forming his own called Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement - Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
The military said Kato and Macapaar had led rebel forces in attacking civilian targets after peace negotiators failed to sign a Muslim homeland deal because the Supreme Court declared the accord unconstitutional. Because of the attacks, police and military authorities have launched an operation to capture the two leaders.
Kato has repeatedly criticized Ebrahim for abandoning their struggle for independence and betraying the MILF when he agreed to a secret meeting called by President Aquino in Japan in August 2011, saying Murad corrupted the rights of the Bangsamoro people, adding the MILF chieftain should have consulted his leaders before meeting with Aquino.
Kato suffered a stroke in 2011, but his condition remains unknown, although there were reports that a new commander – Sheik Mohidin Animbang – has taken over the command of the rebel group, whose members were mostly former fighters of the MILF and rival Moro National Liberation Front.
The military offensive came a day after Filipino peace negotiators signed an accord with the MILF on how the country’s rebel group would lay down their weapons.
Journalists covering the war in Maguindanao are embedded with the military or often tailing government troops in their operations or patrol.
The 6th Infantry Division now said it had killed over 50 rebels and captured several enemy encampments, but Abu Misry Mama, a rebel spokesman, strongly denied the military’s claim and branded them as propaganda, although he admitted that 7 members of his group were wounded in the clashes that already displaced thousands of families in the province.
http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2014/02/philippine-bombing-injures-12.html
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