MILF: “Don’t use peace process in 2016 polls”, an imam urges politicians

Posted to the MILF Website (Jul 26): “Don’t use peace process in 2016 polls”, an imam urges politicians

“Politicians should refrain from using the Bangsamoro peace process as a platform from which to launch their political bids in the 2016 elections”, Ebra Moxsir, Al Haj, Imam Council of the Philippines (ICP) said yesterday, July 25.

He said in a statement that politicians using the Bangsamoro peace process in their political campaign is committing “injustice.”

“The Bangsamoro peace process, at its heart, is about social justice for a segment of our population who, for decades, were made to endure gross injustices and discrimination. Using it to further a personal, political agenda will be a form of another injustice,” Moxsir Al-haj said.

Once enacted by congress, the BBL will entrench the proposed new political entity Bangsamor that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Moxsir Al-haj expressed concern that the elections might affect the peace process.

“President Aquino is to deliver his SONA (State of the Nation Address) next week. We are already beginning to hear in the news political rumblings and rumored pairings for 2016. It is very evident that our country is about to be gripped soon by political fever,” he said.

“They should leave the Bangsamoro out of it. We need to detach the process from the political noise and see the process for what it is – a democratic means being attempted to close the socio-cultural divide among the peoples of the Republic of the Philippines,” he added.

On his part, Sulu 1st district Rep. Tupay Loong, Vice Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL, admitted that the committee had always been aware that the BBL might be dragged into politics.

The House of Representatives is expected to continue with the plenary debates on the BBL once session resumes after President Benigno Aquino’s SONA on Monday, July 27.

“As they say, the Philippines has three seasons: summer, rainy and elections. To be honest, we wanted our work on the BBL to be done before election season arrives because we know for a fact that there are those who’d make the basic law another casualty in their quest for power,” Loong said.

“But passing the BBL didn’t happen, and we’re nearing October. What I can personally promise is that we’d do everything in our capacity to ensure that the remaining House debates will be sober.
And that the fate of the BBL will be determined by its own merits, not by political forces,” he added.
“If passed, the BBL would come as an act of brinkmanship in state craft,” Integrated Bar of the Philippines acting national secretary Nasser Marohomsalic said in a statement.

For retired chief justice Hilario Davide Jr. and other surviving framers of the 1987 Constitution, the envisioned Bangsamoro autonomous region can close the centuries-old gap between law and justice in Mindanao for the Bangsamoro.

 Dean Antonio Laviña of the Ateneo School of Government urged lawmakers to complete the peace process so the country can move on to benefit from its fruits.

“It is important to have a vibrant, strong and autonomous Bangsamoro,” he said.

Laviña said the envisioned autonomous region would remain part of the Philippines, contrary to statements of anti-BBL lawmakers. It would also give the Moros more power to fulfill their aspirations for self-governance while remaining within Philippine society and territory.

Laviña sees nothing wrong with the fact that the BBL is a product of negotiations between the government and the MILF.

“The Supreme Court held that the President has the power to negotiate peace with the MILF, and to determine in what form and manner the peace process should be conducted, which includes the signing of peace agreements,” he said.

Laviña said the President also has the authority to propose new legislation to Congress, as was done in the case of the BBL.

http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/new/item/498-don-t-use-peace-process-in-2016-polls-an-imam-urges-politicians

CPP/NDF-Panay: Aquino II's 'Mutuwid na Daan' disastrous for the country, Pnoy will share the fate of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in jail

NDF-Panay propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Jul 25): Aquino II's 'Mutuwid na Daan' disastrous for the country, Pnoy will share the fate of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in jail

NDFP National Democratic Front of the Philippines

 

July 25, 2015 at 6:32pm
NDF-Panay Statement of the occasion of BS Aquino’s last SONA

In the last year of his term, the main concern of Pinoy is to find successors that would supposedly sustain his program‘matuwid na daan’ (straight path). For all its claims of national development, peace and unity and clean government,‘matuwid na daan’ was selectively unleashed only upon some leaders of opponents and instantly conferred the ‘honestunless proven guilty’ status on himself and his cohorts even as they looted pork barrel funds (PDAP, DAP) in thehundreds of billions of pesos. National economic development in terms of the Gross Domestic Product increase from abackward economy only went to enrich foreign and local capitalists and big landlord-haciendero while inflicting povertyand misery on the poor masses.

The search for worthy successors was more to ensure that the next administration remains beholden to his clique andabsolve him from his various crimes during his term in office. The people demanding to topple him, even before the endof his term, are ever nipping at his heels. He favors the ever loyal Mar Roxas to be his successor but is unsure if Roxascould claw his way in to the presidency, even with the regime’s guns, goons and gold, in the face of public anger at theregime.

The Aquino regime may claim major gains in politics, the economy, peace and order, foreign affairs, governance andpoverty alleviation in the past 5 years and seek to carry these forward by preparing successors to his rule. But the pastfive years “achievements” constituted of the ravaging of the country’s patrimony and wealth for the benefit of bigforeign and local capital while dragging the people to further sufferings and want. The last year of his term could not beeven better.

Foremost in the people’s mind is the economy. The regime gives high priority to economic growth and foreigninvestment. While engorging big foreign capitalist and their local counterpart (the Sy family of Shoemart has even risento be the 73rd richest dollar billionaire in the world) in profit, the ranks of the poor expands and became ever miserable.Inspite of the high-rise building spree and road highways expansion, no genuine national industrialization was ever evenimagined. The last remaining sector of the economy still owned by the people are being open up to foreign andmonopoly control (such as privatizing public markets in Iloilo City for the Sy’s and now being copied in Metro Manila;corporatization of public hospitals towards private ownership; selling out of public water utilities).

The rice self-sufficiency program was a failure and abandoned for a resumption of massive rice importation to cover forever larger deficits in rice production. Panay Island, in agricultural/rice production, could feed twice its inhabitants andyet imported 10,000s of tons of rice. And then, the implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) by theAquino regime would flood the country with cheap sugar and rice and would strike the final blow to struggling rice andsugar producers and workers. The rest of the middle and working class would be choosing between basic serviceoutsourcing (BPO like call centers), tourist service workers or working abroad—all vulnerable to the worsening globalcrisis. Of course, these alternative employed only fill a small portion of the working class employment.

Panay has hardly recovered from the devastation of Super typhoon Yolanda in 2013 when the Aquino regimes criminalinutility again became highlighted. PNoy’s disbursement of Emergency Shelter Assistance (ESA—the people’s money)came a year and a half too late. Panay, among the millions of disaster victims in the Visayas, even received it earlier dueto the storming by the people of the islands city and capitols (tens of thousands), demanding for compensation fromtheir own money. And yet the ESA distribution become mired in partisan politics, especially by PNoy local henchmen,and many were stolen by public officials. So many others have not received compensation due to them.

Thousands ofvictims living along sea and river banks were never given anything at all for the simple reason that they live in hazardouslocation. Thousands of public school buildings have not yet been repaired. The destroyed crops and other livelihood hasnot been compensated even as the general livelihood has not recovered yet in much of North and Central Panay.

The Jalaur River Dam was trumpeted as the regime’s foremost major project, symbolic of the regime’s drive for‘development’. And yet it will, at best, only serve as a glorified water reservoir costing some P11B (the Korean loanportion to be paid by future generations). Its irrigation capacity would only be needed during dry season especially longones. During rainy season the rains would render it useless as irrigation facility and even be dangerous if it spills its damor be smashed by strong up river flooding. During dry seasons, the water provided by the watershed would not beenough, because even farms below stream near Jalaur’s mouth in Barotac Nuevo and Dumangas, had been fighting forirrigation water ever since. Water for the high canal to irrigate additional 10,000s of hectares is only a pipe-dream—theintensifying El Nino would prove this point: no water even for just those below the Jalaur river basin unless they drain allthe waters of the Dam, how much more for other areas to irrigate. (They won’t drain—remember Angat Dam).

The regime has now hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to further subject the country to neoliberalpolicies. In Panay, some ministerial-level conferences had and are to be conducted including the ones on capitalinfrastructure (policies which facilitate capital penetration and remittances, privatizing small and medium industries andthe further exploit the blue economy (of the sea). We are allowed to participate, by hosting the APEC, the planning ofthe firm control of our livelihood by foreign capital, the sell-out of our patrimony, the bankruptcy of small and mediumindustries by subcontracting them to serve more profits of big local and foreign corporation. Our depleted sea would befurther exploited for more profits for big foreign fish factories.

The regime has doubled the regular army troops deployed in Panay to face increasing numbers of protesting peoplemassing up on the streets and to fight the invigorated NPA forces. Occasionally the regime reinforces some 2-3000 ofPNP to secure APEC and presidential sorties in Panay. Some US troops were detached to Panay to train AFP soldier to beinter-operative with US troops and to help secure APEC. So was the justification for the militarization of cities and capitaltowns in Panay. The regime then, continuing the fascist practices of the Arroyo government before it, selectivelyassassinated Romy Capalla, Fernando Baldomero, Garete and others to sow terror among the rising people. The regimefurther harasses and intimidates the people’s organization, their mass leaders and members.

We attribute to the regime’s intensification of military operation, fascist attacks, and strong-arm tactics and criminalinutility, the powerful upsurge of armed and unarmed movement to oust the Aquino regime from power. The NPA hasmore frequent attacks on enemy troops and widened areas to maneuver in Western and Eastern Panay to strike at theenemy where he least expects. Some 10,000 to 16,000 regularly mass up at 3 to 4 urban centers and capitol all over theisland to confront the regime for several times in a year.

Enrichment of monopoly foreign and local capitalists and fellow hacienderos, while continuing to impoverish the massesand making them beggars of a measly cash transfer. Further destruction of a backward agricultural economy, criminalinutility in the face of Yolanda’s calamity further allowing foreign parasitic control of our patrimony and livelihood.Doubling on militarization and fascist attacks on the people. All of the above only makes the people more determined tooverthrow the US-BS Aquino regime.

Concha Araneta
National Democratic Front Panay

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20150725_aquino-ii-s-matuwid-na-daan-disastrous-for-the-country-pnoy-will-share-the-fate-of-gloria-macapagal-arroyo-in-jail

Top US military official in Pacific says China changing facts, creates false sovereignty

From Ang Malaya (Jul 26): Top US military official in Pacific says China changing facts, creates false sovereignty

The Commander of United States Pacific Command Admiral Harry B. Harris reiterates US call to immediately halt land reclamation in West Philippine Sea. “These activities are harming the environment and will not strengthen any country’s legal claims to disputed areas in the South China Sea,” the top American military officer in the Pacific said at ASPEN Security Forum in Colorado, USA July 23.

“The South China Sea is front and center in the tug-of-war between the majority of regional nations that want to maintain the status quo and China that wants to change it to suit its narrow self-interest,” he said.

Admiral Harris said China is changing facts on the ground which essentially creates false sovereignty by building man-made islands on top of coral reefs, rocks, and shoals. “In doing so, China’s actions are destroying the surrounding underwater environment.”

“Most countries choose to pursue diplomatic means to address their disputes. China, on the other hand, is changing the status quo in the region through aggressive coercive island building without meaningful diplomatic efforts toward dispute resolution or arbitration,” the admiral said.

The military official also called on China to use the mechanisms of international dispute resolution in good faith, and to abide by those decisions as so many of its regional neighbors have already done.

“It is China’s actions that are inducing its South China Sea neighbors to build stronger relationships with each other and the U.S., driven not by a sudden U.S. effort to increase stability and security within the region, but by China’s conspicuous failure to do the same,” Harris said.

Admiral Harris served as the Commander of US Pacific Fleet from October 2013 and in May this year he assumed command of the US Pacific Command.

http://www.angmalaya.net/nation/2015/07/26/12344-top-us-military-official-in-pacific-says-china-changing-facts-creates-false-sovereignty

Reds claim growth under Aquino administration

From Rappler (Jul 26): Reds claim growth under Aquino administration

'The tactical offensives of the New People’s Army (NPA) have become bolder and more intensified'

MORE MEMBERS? The NDF belittles economic gains under Aquino government and claims NPA guerilla fronts increased under his term. Photo by Edwin Espejo/Rappler

 

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Mindanao claimed it had added more guerrilla fronts and added close to 1,000 high powered firearms under the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.

 

In a statement sent to the press, National Democratic Front (NDF) spokesman Jorge Madlos (a.k.a. Ka Oris) said the NPA guerilla fronts climbed from 42 to 47 since 2010 when Aquino was elected president.

“In the 5 years of US-Aquino regime, the armed struggle in Mindanao has gathered more strength. The tactical offensives of the New People’s Army (NPA) have become bolder and more intensified,” Madlos also said in Visayan dialect.

The NDF is the political umbrella of the CPP and its armed unit, the NPA.

The statement came on the eve of Aquino's last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27.

The President is expected to trumpet gains made by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in reducing the armed strength of the NPA.

Lt. Gen. Eduardo Año, commanding general of the Philippine Army, claimed the AFP has reduced the armed strength of the NPA to less than 4,000 armed regulars, more than half of them are reportedly in Mindanao.

The CPP-NPA-NDF previously claimed it has approximated their 1980’s strength when, at their height, it was believed the NPA has close to 8,000 fully armed regulars.

The AFP recently scored a major victory after a unit of the Philippine Scout Ranger killed Leoncio Pitao, a.k.a. Ka Parago, in a military raid in Davao City last month.

Ka Parago headed the The Pulang Bagani Battalion, first NPA battalion to be organized throughout the 46-year history of the NPA, and one of the most senior and experienced guerilla commander.

But in a show of force, more than 10,000 NPA supporters and sympathizers held an unprecedented funeral march in the streets of Davao City waving revolutionary flags and shouting slogans extoling Ka Parago and the NPA.

Madlos also belittled the economic gains under the Aquino government.

“The 6.3% average growth Gross National Product or GDP in 5 years was primarily based on the growth in the service sector,” he explained.

Madlos said both agricultural and manufacturing productions have declined from 60 percent of the GDP to only 40 percent over the last five years resulting into the increase in the number of underemployed and unemployed.

“The unemployed and underemployed has reached 11.8 million or 27 percent of the total workforce in the country,” the NDF statement further added.

The NDF spokesman blamed the implementation ‘neo-liberal policies’ of the Aquino government which, he pointed out, only led to the “exclusive growth of the ruling elite” instead of the promised inclusive growth.

The CPP-NPA-NDF has been waging a Maoist inspired guerrilla warfare since 1969.

http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/sona/2015/100561-cpp-ndf-aquino-2015-sona

Murad; continue peace process even if BBL not passed within PNoy’s term

From MindaNews (Jul 26): Murad; continue peace process even if BBL not passed within PNoy’s term

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said on Saturday that it will continue to demand for the implementation of the peace agreements it signed with the government (GPH) even if the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is not passed within President Benigno Aquino III’s term.

But MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim maintained that the “ideal time” to pass the BBL is under the Aquino administration which has only 11 months left until June 30, 2016.

He called the passage of the BBL as an instrument to execute what had been earlier agreed upon under the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamaro (CAB). But he added that with or without BBL, they will continue to press the government to implement the other aspects of the agreements and their annexes.

An acceptable version of the BBL “means in accordance with the CAB and FAB and their annexes because it’s the bottomline. We cannot renegotiate,” he told some 50 Mindanao and Manila journalists in Camp Darapanan on Saturday afternoon.



MEET AND GREET.Moro Islamic Liberation Front chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim meets journalists at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao on July 25, 2015. Journalists from different parts of the country attended a 2-day forum on reporting the Bangsamoro peace process. MindaNews photo by Toto Lozano

The journalists gathered in Cotabato City for the two-day forum, “Beyond Mamasapano: Reporting the Bangsamoro Peace Process” organized by the Mindanao Media Forum. They also visited Barangay Tukanalipao in Mamasapano, site of the tragedy on January 25 that left 44 members of the elite Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police, 17 from the MILF and five civilians.

Murad said the MILF is open for any changes and improvements in the provisions in the original draft, but these should be made in accordance with the FAB and the CAB.

“We may allow improvements in some provisions that are not yet hinged on the agreement,” he said.

Appeal to Congress

He appealed to both chambers of Congress to expedite the approval and come out with a final and acceptable version of the BBL immediately because it will be uncertain if the next administration will have the same interest as Aquino on the ongoing peace process.

Congress will resume sessions this week, after the President’s State of the Nation Address on July 27. The House of Representatives will resume the period of interpellation on HB 5811, the substitute bill approved by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

In the Senate, Senator Ferdinand Marcos has yet to release copies of the substitute bill he promised to submit before they resume sessions, as SB 2408, the proposed BBL drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) in its present form and substance, according to Marcos, “will lead us to perdition.”

Murad said the delay in the passage of BBL will also mean delay in the decommissioning process, which kicked off with 145 MILF soldiers and the initial 75 high-powered firearms and crew-served weapons in June.

Should the BBL be passed, thousands more of MILF troops will be decommissioned while the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is transitioning into the Bangsamoro government.

“What is ideal is BBL will be passed as it is now,” he said.

Only solution

On the first day of the media forum on Friday, ARMM executive secretary Laisa Alamia, Cotabato City, said the version that the Senate and House of Representatives will pass should not be anything less than the ARMM, which has often been referred to as a “failed experiment”.

Alamia acknowledged that the BBL will not solve all the problems that are hounding the entire region, but said it is a necessary first step to achieving peace and development on the back of good leadership and governance.

“The only solution to the problem is to continue the peace process,” Murad said.

The MILF chair said he hopes whoever succeeds President Aquino will not be anti-peace.

Hope

The MILF chair said what’s keeping the MILF members intact is the fact that there’s still hope that their struggle will soon come to an end if they continue the peace process.

“We are trying our best to control our people for as long as they will see that’s there’s still hope for the peace process to move on,” he added.

“Having BBL is not the end of struggle. Even if we have the perfect BBL in place but we cannot sustain it, we are going back to zero again,” he said.

Murad also addressed those opposing the BBL by saying that the peace process is not only for the MILF, as the draft BBL was jointly crafted both by peace panels of the Philippine government and the MILF.

“We’re trying to work out that people will not see BBL as BBL of MILF.”

http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2015/07/26/murad-continue-peace-process-even-if-bbl-not-passed-within-pnoys-term/

EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT: “The police started to swing their truncheons, hitting the unarmed Lumads” Rius Valle

Posted to MindaNews (Jul 26): EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT: “The police started to swing their truncheons, hitting the unarmed Lumads” Rius Valle

I could not grasp the thought of a congresswoman in pursuing her own agenda of coercing IPs (Indigenous Peoples) to go home without listening to why they evacuated in the first place.

The bloody and forcible entry and dispersal of the anti-riot police, military and Alamara among the Lumad evacuees last July 23, in UCCP Haran Compound evacuation center in Davao City, was a clear reflection of military abuse and harassment experienced by the IPs in their communities.

Furthermore, the brutal means of Nancy Catamco, Alamara – a local paramilitary group – and the police was sugarcoated as a ‘rescue operation’.



Ant-iriot policemen clash with Lumads who are seeking refuge at the United Church of Christ of the Philippines’s (UCCP) Haran Compound along Father Selga St. in Davao City Thursday (23 July 2015).MindaNews photo by Toto Lozano

I was there. I was witnessing the continuation of classes of about 300 Lumad children when the police started to cut-off and destroy the gate. Then the police started to swing their truncheons, hitting the unarmed Lumads who tried to fend off their attacks while trying to block the entrance. As some of the tribesmen were bloodied and bruised, the women and children screamed as they looked on horrified.

The children were immediately evacuated to Haran’s main building while their parents tried to stop the police from entering the gates. Visibly anxious and terrified, the children huddled to their mothers who were trying to appease and comfort the little ones even as they also felt helpless and uncertain of their children’s security, especially after hearing the loud ruckus at the gate and hearing their ‘datus’ screaming “sagdok” calling for the police to “stop”  from entering.

The children were all kept safely in a room inside the compound of Haran. A 12 year-old student then asked me if he could go help in keeping the police from entering. Of course, I told him not to, adding “now is not your time.” He then asked me why could they [soldiers and police] not leave them alone in peace? “Didto sa bukid, mahadlok gyud mi kay magkampo sila sa among mga balay ug eskwelahan, karon diri sa ubos, hadlokon na pud mi nila unya pugson nga paulion. Asa na lang man diay mi ani moadto” (In the mountains, we were fearful that soldiers were camping in our homes and our schools, and now here they are, ensnaring us and forcing us to go back where we do not feel safe.  Where will we go now?), the child lamented.

I wish I could explain it to him how rooted this conflict was. But at that moment I only assured him that this is going to be okay. That we, together with their parents will defend them at all cost. That these children, these Lumads don’t deserve this kind of treatment. And that no matter how Nancy Catamco or the police say it, rescue, or anything else, it is apparent who the aggressors are, and certainly it is not the ones who were inside the gate.

 [Rius Valle is spokesperson of Save Our Schools Network in Southern Mindanao]

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2015/07/26/eyewitness-account-the-police-started-to-swing-their-truncheons-hitting-the-unarmed-lumads-rius-valle/

PA Dragon Boat Team to receive Military Merit Medal

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26): PA Dragon Boat Team to receive Military Merit Medal

The 22-member Philippine Army Dragon Boat Team, considered as one of the fastest dragon boat crews in the world, will be decorated with the Military Merit Medal on Monday for winning the gold medal at the Japan Dragon Boat Championship in Osaka, Japan last July 19.

The Army paddlers finished first in the 250-meter Men's Open Category of the competition.

The awarding ceremony will take place at the PA headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City at 7:30 a.m.

Lt. Gen. Eduardo M. Año, PA chief, will confer the Military Merit Medal during the flag-raising ceremony to the team which is composed of 20 paddlers, one steersman, and one drummer.

"Truly another world-class performance that has once again inspired the 85,000-strong Army. Our Dragon Boat Team displayed dedication and commitment to excellence, and exhibited discipline and teamwork, qualities that are worth emulating and which the Philippine Army is proud of," Año said.

In line with the vision of the Army Transformation Roadmap (ATR), the PA continues to pursue sports development, which prepares and equips soldier-athletes to become world-class.

The Philippine Army Dragon Boat Team was founded in 2009 and was first composed of Army soldiers who came from other field of sports.

Staff Sgt. Usman Anterola, the head coach, has steered the team into many championships, both local and international. He has been racing for 17 years now.

Instrumental to their success are the arduous training, expert coaching and guidance, the commitment and discipline of each of the paddlers, and the support from the people.

To stay in shape, the team trains year-round, from paddling to exercise at the gym.

They also do pool training twice a week at the Philippine Army Wellness Center to help perfect paddling techniques.

Vigorous regiment of core and aerobic exercise, free weights and running are also included in their training program.

Meanwhile, Año will officially don the new ranks to Major Gen. Gerardo F. Barrientos Jr. and Brig. Gen. Alan R. Arrojado.

Barrientos is the commander of the 1st Infantry Division.

Prior to this, he was the chief of the Office of Ethical Standard and Public Accountability (OESPA), 4th Infantry Division.

He also served as assistant division commander of the 4th Infantry Division.

He also commanded the 102nd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division and the 72nd Infantry Battalion, 4th Infantry Division. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1983.

Arrojado is the commander of the 501st Infantry Brigade, 5th Infantry Division.

He also commanded the 602nd Brigade, 6th Infantry Division, and served as group commander of the 10th Regional Community Defense Group, Army Reserve Command, and commanding officer of the 35th Infantry Battalion, 1st Infantry Division.

He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1984.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=786348

No change in AFP alert status for SONA --Military

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26): No change in AFP alert status for SONA --Military

On the eve of President Benigno S. Aquino III's sixth State-of-the-Nation-Address (SONA) on Monday afternoon, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said there is no change in the alert status of the military.

"So far, there is no change in alert status," AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato told th Philippines News Agency on Sunday.

Earlier, the AFP said that it is still to detect any threats for the SONA.

Detoyato said a brigade-sized formation will be in stand-by for possible eventualities that may occur during the SONA.

Five hundred troops each from General Headquarters, Army, Navy and Air Force and the Tanay-based 2nd Infantry Division will be on call during that event.

Soldiers from the General Headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City include the Security Escort Battalion, Military Police Battalion and Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, along with K-9s, Explosive Ordnance Division and medical units.

"But until these troops are requested by the Philippine National Police, which is the lead agency for SONA security, these soldiers and units remain in their respective camps," Detoyato said.

While the traditional militants are free to do their protest rallies, he urged them not to conduct actions that may prove detrimental to others.

"It is their freedom to express their right but we just hope and appeal that that freedom will not infringe on the freedom of others," Detoyato said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=786381

JTF-NCR expects a generally peaceful conclusion of President Aquino's 6th SONA

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26): JTF-NCR expects a generally peaceful conclusion of President Aquino's 6th SONA

Joint Task Force-National Capital Region (JTF-NCR), the military formation which will aid the police in monitoring President Benigno S. Aquino III's sixth State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, is projecting a generally peaceful conclusion of the activity.

"Basically, we are seeing a generally peaceful conclusion to the SONA," JTF-NCR deputy commander Col. Vic Tomas said in Filipino on Sunday.

Tomas also said they are expecting militant groups to come out with their sentiments against the SONA but added that the police are ready to contain these individuals should they become unruly.

The JTF-NCR deputy commander disclosed that they are not expecting any untoward for Monday's activity.

"As far as we are concerned, it's all system go (for the SONA)," he added.

Around 2,500 troops from the Armed Forces of the Philippines General Headquarters, Air Force, Navy, Army and the Tanay-based 2nd Infantry Division are on stand-by in case the Philippine National Police needs security assistance.

These include attached K-9, explosive ordnance division, crowd-control and medical units.

However, these troops will remain in their respective camps unless called by the PNP, Tomas said.

Another 1,000 men from the JTF-NCR are ready for possible mobilization if needed.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=786407

DND still investigating purported Chinese booms found off Zambales

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 26): DND still investigating purported Chinese booms found off Zambales

The Department of National Defense (DND) announced that it is still investigating the circumstances on how the purported Chinese booms were found and towed by Zambales fishermen Saturday.

We are awaiting verification on the incident & will investigate the circumstances under which the booms were found and recovered," DND spokesperson Dr. Peter Paul Galvez said.

He added that the discovery of the booms is a disturbing development given that the booms were supposedly found well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone.

"As we have aimed in the 2002 Declaration of Conduct, we remind all that the Philippines and the ASEAN are committed to peace in the region," Galvez stressed.

"Further we advise that all other parties in the region to adhere to and respect the DOC and refrain from selfish and self centered acts that we may all benefit from continued progress and development of the region," the DND spokesperson pointed out.

The booms were spotted by the fishermen floating three nautical miles west of Iba, Zambales 3 p.m.Saturday.

It was towed by nine fishing bancas at the shoreline of Barangay Sto. Rosario, Iba at 4 p.m.

It has three segments, each measuring 40 feet each and measuring two meters wide. It also has Chinese markings.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=786436

Fishermen remove Chinese-marked buoys off Zambales

From Rappler (Jul 25): Fishermen remove Chinese-marked buoys off Zambales



[Video:  EXCLUSIVE: Fishermen remove Chinese-marked buoys off Zambales
RAPPLER EXCLUSIVE: Zambales fishermen discovered three lengthy containment floating booms about six miles from the disputed Bajo de Masinloc or Scarborough Shoal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91EP0Wl6lOM

Zambales fishermen find these buoys as China asserts de facto control over the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) through island-building



CHINESE-MARKED BUOYS. Fishermen in Zambales remove these markers seen to assert China's claim over the West Philippine Sea. Screen grab from Rappler video

ZAMBALES, Philippines – Fishermen here discovered 3 lengthy floating containment booms, or buoys, located in 3 different barangays about 6 miles from the disputed Bajo de Masinloc (Scrarborough Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

 

Nine fishermen found the orange-colored floating booms in the sea off Zambales.

 

They towed the booms toward the shore and brought them to 3 barangays – Sitio Lanao, San Agustin, and Sto Rosario.

 

The fishermen said the booms' markings appear to indicate ownership by China.

 

They seem to have been placed there to set the boundary for fishermen in Zambales. These will eventually limit the areas where they can go for fishing and harvesting other marine resources, the primary sources of livelihood for these Zambales fisherfolk.

 

The Zambales fishermen found these buoys as China asserts de facto control over the West Philippine Sea.

 

In other parts of the disputed waters, China is building artificial islands that have fueled concern in the region. (READ: IN PHOTOS: China's creeping expansion)

 

The Philippines, on the other hand, is pursuing a historic arbitration case that seeks a long-term solution to the sea dispute. (READ: IN PHOTOS: Philippines challenges China in The Hague)

 

http://www.rappler.com/nation/100470-fishermen-chinese-buoys-zambales

What is future of China-PH relations? 21st Century will be Pacific Century (Part 1 of 4)

From InterAksyon (Jul 25): What is future of China-PH relations? 21st Century will be Pacific Century (Part 1 of 4) by Cesar Polvorosa Jr.

 

REUTERS FILE PHOTO

(Editor’s note: In view of the presentations made by the Philippines before the UN arbitral tribunal on the country’s suit against China regarding the West Philippine Sea territorial dispute, key aspects of China’s history can help produce insights into the dynamics of the rising superpower’s possible future relations with its neighbors, specifically the Philippines. Author Cesar Polvorosa Jr. is a business school professor of economics, world geography, and international business management in Canada. He is also a published writer in economics, business, and literature.)

"The Mediterranean is the ocean of the past, the Atlantic, the ocean of the present, and the Pacific, the ocean of the future." - John Jay, U.S. Secretary of State, 1889

The economic transformation of China is simply stupendous. During the past quarter century, China’s GDP growth averaged a sizzling 9% per annum. From the late 1970s to 2010, the size of the Chinese economy grew more than five times which altered the lives of majority of its 1.4 billion people - almost a fifth of humanity in a blink of an eye in historical terms. From an underdeveloped country China’s GDP per capita income has reached $12,900 as of 2014 (PPP) (CIA World Factbook). China is now the number one trading country in the world.

The downside of heady economic growth though had been severe pollution levels and worsening income inequality - ironic in a country that prided itself on socialist egalitarianism.  

The magnitude of such performance has some staggering implications. Thus, as an example consider the following: In 2014, the Chinese economy grew by 9.4% to reach $10.36 trillion (GDP current prices) (IMF) compared to the $9.47 trillion of the previous year. The increment of $890 billion (10.36 less 9.47 in trillions) is the size of the Netherlands economy or an addition of three Philippine-sized economies in just one year of growth.

Such profound developments in China herald the emergence of the “Pacific Century” or the almost universal expectation that the East Asian economies principally China will dominate the world of the 21st century. Thus, the 20th century was the “American Century” when the US was the superpower (and still is) while the 19th century was referred to as the “British Century” when Britain ruled a far-flung overseas empire. Each time, the country with the world’s biggest economy became preeminent in global affairs - in business, military, culture, diplomacy, and political spheres. Thus, English became the lingua franca of the world because of the legacy of empire of the British and spread in turn by the Americans. Anglo-Americans heavily influenced the world’s production of knowledge.

The US, which spends more on defense than the next seven countries combined, has often been assertive militarily to advance its national interests as defined by its leaders - e.g. Afghanistan and Iraq. Britain cut a bloody swath to create a vast overseas empire especially in South Asia and Africa.
Thus, as China is poised to grab the mantle of economic leadership from the US, the issue is how will China be as a superpower? By purchasing power parity (PPP) calculations of the IMF, World Bank and CIA, China is already the biggest economy in the world. So what happens as China displaces the US as the world’s number one economy?

Having the biggest economy translates into possessing huge resources to build up the armed forces. How will China behave as a superpower when in 2035 it is expected that its defense expenditures will exceed the United States? (estimate of R.S., Kalha, Institute for Defense Study and Analysis comment 17 Jan. 2015). What will be its implications on the world but especially on the Philippines with which it is embroiled in a territorial dispute?

The history of the country is always a guide to its possible future. In the case of China it can offer us a glimpse of its superpower future by giving us insights into the dynamics of its past glories, struggles, priorities, power shifts, and major endeavors.

The great divergence and convergence

This emergence of China (including India) as a superpower in the 21st century comprises the compelling global narrative of the end of the existing World Order and the coming of a new one. Famed British historian Niall Ferguson (6 Killer Apps) referred to the time when the Europeans developed way ahead of the rest of the world starting around the 1500s as the “Great Divergence.” Now, the rest of the world particularly China and India are catching up with the West in a new “Great Convergence.”

In fact, for much of the past millennia China had been paramount in global affairs far longer than the West. While Egypt and Mesopotamia can claim to be the oldest civilizations, China is arguably the longest continuous civilization. Thus, from this perspective, China in the early 21st century is only reverting to its former hegemony.

Such a wealth of historical experience should confer on China the collective wisdom of the Ages, the virtues of good governance, maturity, and grace in its relationship with other neighboring countries. What does the historical and contemporary evidence suggest?

In its long and rich history, China produced exemplary philosophers who played vital roles in guiding both the morality and pragmatism of individual and state behavior. The most prominent of these was Confucius who emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity. For Confucius, what characterized superior rulership was the possession of de or “virtue” which was conceived of as a kind of moral power that allows one to win a following without recourse to physical force (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Confucianism had been so influential in East Asia in general that the region is sometimes referred to as the “Confucian Crescent” (e.g. as discussed in The East Asia Edge by Hofheinz and Calder).

Read Part 2 of 4, ‘Shock & Awe in the 15th Century: China's 27,000 sailors, 300 ships, 7 voyages’, on Tuesday, July 27.

Read Part 3 of 4, ‘China following US capitalist footsteps and its various implications’, on Friday, July 31.

Read Part 4 of 4, ‘Internal conflicts that pull Chinese actions in many directions’, on Monday, August 3.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/114839/what-is-future-of-china-ph-relations-21st-century-will-be-pacific-century-part-1-of-4

Former NPA couple weds

From the Philippine Information Agency (Jul  24): Former NPA couple weds

MALAPATAN, Sarangani, July 24 (PIA)--- One month after surrendering to government authorities, two former NPA members took their vows on Saturday (July 18) as husband and wife in a “traditional tribal wedding ceremony” inside a military camp here.

Fulong Rafael Lantingan, the Indigenous People’s mandatory representative in Malapatan solemnized the wedding at 10 a.m at Headquarters Alpha Company, 73IB, barangay Poblacion, Malapatan, Sarangani.

The newlyweds were former NPA couple Shirley Katot and Federico Bacali, both under Platoon 1, Guerilla Front 71 operating in Malapatan.

The couple began their relationship while in the movement and was even married by their leaders under “party rules.”

But based on Philippine laws, the “wedding is not binding" which was one of the reasons the pair decided to take their vows.

The wedding was witnessed by Sarangani Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon, 1002nd Brigade Commander Col. Ronald Villanueva, 73rd Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Ronnie Babac, DILG-Sarangani Provincial Director Flor Limpin and town’s Mayor Alfonso Singcoy who all served as godparents to the couple.

 “The wedding of the NPA couple in a tribal wedding ceremony only shows the government’s sincerity in helping the former rebels to return to the mainstream society,” Lt. Col. Babac said.

According to him, the government is duty-bound to provide assistance to any NPA members “once they decide to return to their families and live a normal life that is free from fear and uncertainties.”

“It is but appropriate for the government to take an extra mile in showing to the victims of NPAs’ deception that there is a government that is willing to help them,” Babac added, saying “this is aside from the livelihood assistance that they can get under the Comprehensive Local Integration Program.”

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1671437728653/former-npa-couple-weds

China hits out at US remark on sea spat

From the Manila Standard Today (Jul 26): China hits out at US remark on sea spat

THE United States is trying to influence a United Nations arbitration tribunal hearing the Philippines’ complaint against China over maritime disputes in the South China Sea, according to the state-owned Xinhua news agency.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang scored the remark made by IS assistant state secretary Daniel Russell who said arbitration is the only practical means left for China and the Philippines to solve competing claims in the South China Sea, Xinhua reported.

Lu also touched upon issues concerning entitlement of maritime features and jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, the report added.

PH-CHINA TIES.  An employee of the Philippine Postal Corporation 
holds a copy of newly - released commemorative stamps  marking
  the   40th anniversary of the Philippines-China diplomatic relations.
DANNY PATA

But China’s position of neither accepting nor participating in the case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague remains unchanged and the U.S. should fulfill its pledge not to take sides on the South China Sea issue on Friday and reaffirmed that the U.S. is not a party concerned.

Lu said Russell’s comment is attempting to push forward the Philippines’ unilateral move on arbitration of the South China Sea issue.

The US acts like an “arbitrator outside the tribunal”, designating the direction for the arbitral tribunal established at the request of the Philippines, Lu said.

This is inconsistent with the stance the U.S. claims to uphold on the South China Sea issue, Lu said, and he also urged the U.S. not to undermine regional peace and stability.

On Jan. 22, 2013, the Philippines unilaterally initiated compulsory arbitration proceedings with respect to the relevant issues between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

Since then, the Philippines has “obstinately” pushed for the above-mentioned arbitration proceedings despite repeated objections of China, the Xinhua report said.

According to Lu, in 2006, the Chinese government made a declaration in pursuance of Article 298 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, excluding disputes regarding such matters as those related to maritime delimitation and historic titles from the compulsory dispute settlement procedures including arbitration.

That is a proper practice of exercising the rights to which China is entitled under the international law as a state party to the UNCLOS, Lu said.

According to Lu, the Philippines’ initiation of the arbitration ignored China’s legitimate rights under such international laws as the UNCLOS, and breached commitments made by the Philippines not to unilaterally seek arbitration.

Lu said China’s stance is based on international law and has been clearly stated in the position paper published by the Foreign Ministry in December last year in response to the arbitration.

The Chinese government published a position paper on Dec. 7, 2014, to elaborate on the legal basis for China’s position on the arbitration proceedings. It says that the Arbitral Tribunal manifestly has no jurisdiction in this case.

According to the position paper, China and the Philippines have agreed, through bilateral instruments and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, to settle their relevant disputes through negotiation.

It says by unilaterally initiating the present arbitration, the Philippines has violated its obligation under international law.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/07/26/china-hits-out-at-us-remark-on-sea-spat/

MILF hopes PNoy calls for passage of Bangsamoro Law in final SONA

From GMA News (Jul 26): MILF hopes PNoy calls for passage of Bangsamoro Law in final SONA

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front hopes President Benigno Aquino III will push for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law during his final State of the Nation Address on Monday, its chairman said Saturday.

At a forum with Mindanao and Manila journalists at Camp Darapanan, MILF Chairman Al-Haj Murad Ebrahim said the group expects the president to reiterate his support for the bill, which will implement the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in 2014.

Murad also hopes the president would use the opportunity "to enlighten those who are still opposing," and that Congress will pass an "undiluted" BBL that complies with the CAB and its annexes.

"What is ideal is that BBL will be passed as it is now," he said. "We do not want to fail our people."

Murad clarified that the BBL is not meant just for the MILF but for the entire Bangsamoro people.

He added it is now the responsibility of the Philippine government to deliver on the agreements reached in the CAB.

Murad said, however, that even if the BBL is not passed before the end of the Aquino administration "we will continue to demand that the CAB and its annexes be implemented.

"Among those agreements are the delineation of powers that the proposed Bangsamoro political entity will have, which powers the national government will keep, and which will be shared.

He said that any president who will replace Aquino will have to solve the "Bangsamoro question", which can only be solved through the peace process.

Passage of the BBL was delayed after the January 25 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, where more than 60 people died in a law enforcement operation against international terrorists hiding in a remote part of the distant town.

Murad admitted that the clash had “a very big impact on the ongoing peace process."

However, the CAB, a product of 17 years of negotiations, cannot be renegotiated.

"We will not allow violations [of the CAB], but we may allow improvements to provisions not directly coming from the agreement," he said in reference to House and Senate revisions to the BBL.

Constitutionality

The BBL has drawn criticism for provisions that some lawmakers and legal experts say are unconstitutional, including those that supposedly create a separate police force and create counterparts of Constitutional bodies.

Supporters of the bill, including chief government negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer countered that the BBL will not create a separate police force and the proposed bodies will not replace the Constitutional commissions.

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI, who supports the peace process and the passage of the BBL, said Friday that the bill should "go without [the provisions] being deleted to the Supreme Court." The SC can remove unconstitutional provisions.

However, he admitted that the SC will not be able to insert otherwise good provisions that Congress removes.

Bangsamoro political partyMurad said that although the MILF has formed the United Bangsamoro Justice Party in preparation for elections for the Bangsamoro government in 2016, it will not participate in the polls unless the BBL is passed.

He said, however, that non-organic members of the UBJP -- supporters of the Bangsamoro struggle who are not members of the MILF -- might yet join the elections givent that the MILF Central Committee has yet to decide on the matter.

However, if the BBL is passed and elections for the Bangsamoro regional government are held, the party will only contest positions in that government.

Local government positions "will complicate" the situation and the party would rather leave local politics to politicians already involved.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/528522/news/nation/milf-hopes-pnoy-calls-for-passage-of-bangsamoro-law-in-final-sona