From GMA News (Sep 14): US hails PHL designation of Abu Sayyaf as terror organization
The United States on Monday hailed a Philippine court decision to designate the militant Abu Sayyaf group as terrorist organization.
“While the Philippine government has long been pursuing the Abu Sayyaf Group and its network, this designation allows the Philippines to apply a greater range of legal tools to that effort,” US Embassy spokesman Kurt Hoyer said in a statement sent to GMA News Online.
The designation could help stem financial support to the group, enable the government to prosecute its members and seek the court's approval to put suspected militants under surveillance.
In a 19-page resolution, a copy of which the Department of Justice released to the media on Friday, the Basilan court took into consideration the "essential elements" to declare someone or a group as a terrorist under RA 9370 or the Human Security Act of 2007.
Philippines-U.S. counter-terrorism cooperation has successfully led to the killing of key local terrorists from the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao.
For more than a decade, US Special Forces provided combat training and weapons to the Philippine military to fight extremist groups blamed for the country's worst terrorist attacks.
The Abu Sayyaf, which is notorious for kidnapping and beheading of foreign hostages, including Americans, is on Washington's list of foreign terrorists and said to have links with the Al-Qaeda, although a number of its commanders, according to reports, have pledged allegiance to the extremist Islamic State group.
“The US has a close and longstanding relationship with the government of the Philippines and its security and law enforcement services. We appreciate the efforts by the government of the Philippines to continue to combat terrorism,” Hoyer said.
From GMA News (Sep 14): Army officer may face trial for ‘mishandling’ incident where 3 Lumad leaders were killed –spokesman
An Army junior officer may face military trial for allegedly mishandling the incident in Lianga town in Surigao del Sur, where three Lumad (indigenous people) leaders, including a school head, were killed by a supposed paramilitary group.
According to Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao, the platoon leader in the area is set to face formal trial before a general court martial for violations in the Articles of War, namely conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman (96) and conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline (97).
The officer, who allegedly did not follow an order to launch an offensive against the armed group harassing a Lumad community in Sitio Han-ayan in Barangay Diatagon, has been relieved from his post and is currently under the custody of the 68th Infantry Battalion.
"This is the main point of the case recommended by our field unit, which a court martial can properly determine whether the platoon leader made a mistake in his decision," Hao said without identifying the platoon leader involved.
Hao said the embattled officer's platoon was earlier asked by tribal leader Bae Gloria Campos Tumalon to leave the sitio as the community was observing the wake of her father. They, however, returned last September 1 after hearing that there was a commotion there.
Hao said some 250 meters from the sitio, the platoon heard gunshots at past 5 a.m. They then saw from higher ground that a building was burning, and that civilians were being "rounded up by armed men."
According to Hao, the platoon leader called the company commander, his immediate superior, about the situation. He was then ordered "to prepare to engage [the suspects] provided that civilians will not be harmed."
"The platoon leader said he cannot engage because of the presence of many civilians, including women and children," Hao said, adding the officer did not do as told.
When the platoon went to the scene at around 7 a.m. for clearing operations, the suspects had already fled, and residents had already left their homes.
The incident led to the deaths of Emerito Samarca, executive director of the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development, and two other Lumad leaders identified as Dionel Campos and Datu Juvillo Sinzo.
The military issued the statement after provincial Gov. Johnny Pimentel and human rights group Karapatan said they helped organize the Magahat Bagani force, the paramilitary blamed for the killings.
Aside from the platoon leader, the company commander may also be reprimanded "for failure to give clear guidance and supervision" to the platoon, Hao said,
From GMA News (Sep 14): US drone footage will prove ‘Seaborne’ killed Marwan, clash survivor says
While the government is studying an alternative version of events in the Mamasapano clash, a member of the elite Special Action Force unit sent against Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan said they were the ones responsible for his death.
"Kami talaga ang pumatay doon. Napakalaking imposible naman na sila ang pumatay doon. Hindi naman sila iyong pumasok doon.," a source from the 84th Special Action "Seaborne" Company of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force said in a report on GMA News TV's "State of the Nation with Jessica Soho on Monday.
"Kami talaga ang makakapagsabi ng eksaktong totoo kasi kamis mismo ang nandoon, kami mismo ang um-assault," he said.
The survivor explained that he was inside Marwan's hut when the fighting happened.
The survivor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, made the statement in response to a newspaper report quoting an unnamed Moro Islamic Liberation Front source that said Marwan was killed by an aide.
The survivor added that the SAF has proof that it was their team that really killed the terrorist.
"Meron kaming pinanghahawakan pero hindi puwedeng ilabas eh," he said. "Iyong actual na nandoon kami na nagkakaputukan talaga."
A GMA News source said that the SAF survivor was referring to drone footage taken by a US agency that was monitoring the movements of the SAF troopers.
The results of a separate Moro Islamic Liberation Front investigation also differed from statements made by SAF troopers involved in the mission.
In an interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer, MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the truth is contained in their report.
The report said that Marwan had already been killed before SAF reached his hut.
But former SAF chief Getulio Napeñas Jr. has dared the MILF to prove their statements.
"Ilabas nila ang iyong ebidensya at iyong tao or iyong witness na siya nga ang pumatay kay Marwan. On our side, hawak namin iyong mga solid, credible pieces of evidence na SAF troops ang pumatay kay Marwan," he added.
Meanwhile, PNP Director General Ricardo Marquez said that he is planning to review the findings of the police Board of Inquiry formed to investigate the clash between the SAF and members of the MILF, the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and other armed groups that happened as a result of the operation.
From The Standard (Sep 15): Two more lumad tribesmen slain
TWO more lumad tribesmen were killed in ValenciaCity,
Bukidnon, Sunday but the Army blamed the communist New People’s Army for the
deaths.
In a phone interview, Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez, public affairs chief of the 4th Infantry Division, identified the victims as brothers Raymond Dayo Likanay, 31, and Roy, of legal age.
He said the killers were members of the Guerilla Front 68 allegedly led by a certain Alexander Llesis alias Commander Bagwis.
The NPA could not immediately be reached for comment.
Earlier, five lumad tribesmen, including two minors, were killed in what the military called an armed encounter in Barangay Mendiz, Pangantucan, Bukidnon. But the human rights group Karapatan said the victims were not rebels, and that one of those slain was a blind man.
Citing reports from the lumad community including one Datu Uba Lukbay Bayawon, Martinez said the Likanay brothers were allegedly held Monday morning by the rebels in the forested area where the two were hunting for wild animals.
In this file photo from 2010, President Benigno S. Aquino III shakes hands with lumad leader Dato Domaconog Doming Tumaytay of the Ata Manobo tribe during a visit to Sitio Talos in Barangay San Jose, Sto. Tomas, Davao Del Norte. PNA
“Brutal silang pinatay ng NPA [They were brutally slain by the NPA] under the Guerilla Front 68,” he said.
Martinez said the bodies of the victims were found at 5 p.m.
Quoting a police report, Martinez said the victims were tortured before they were shot dead.
Empty AK-47 and M-14 shells were found at the crime scene, he added.
He quoted Datu Uba Lukbay Bayawon as saying the NPA killed the brothers—his nephews—after they repeatedly refused to be recruited into the NPA.
He added that the two had received threats from the NPA long before they were killed.
The killing of the Likanay brothers come on the heels of a request by Karapatan for the United Nations to investigate the spate of lumad killings in the Caraga region as a result of the military’s intensified counter-insurgency program.
Most recently, a lumad educator and two other leaders were killed allegedly by militiamen belonging to the Magahat-Bagani Forces that were created by the military to go after suspected communist sympathizers.
The military denied the allegations.
Aside from the killings at least three soldiers were also involved in the rape of a 14-year-old lumad girl. The Army said the suspects, which it refused to identify, would be subjected to court-martial proceedings.
The leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said Monday President Benigno Aquino III should invite UN envoys to conduct an independent investigation into the killings for the sake of transparency and accountability.
“We seriously doubt that the PNP and the AFP can come up with a credible investigation. All the AFP is doing is clear itself of any liability. Issue the open invitation now, Mr. President. Let the truth come out. Let there be justice and accountability,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said.
Bayan issued the challenge after human rights group Karapatan brought the lumad killings to the attention of the UN.
For the UN to mount a probe, protocol requires that the envoys be invited by the host country.
“The open invitation should enable the UN representatives on indigenous people, internally displaced persons, extrajudicial killings and human rights defenders to conduct an impartial probe on the killings and other violations,” Reyes said.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay dismissed the Armed Forces suggestion that leftist groups were besmirching their reputation by internationalizing the issue.
“There’s no reputation to besmirch. The AFP’s reputation has long been stained with blood of the Filipino people,” Palabay said.
The AFP is obviously irked by the complaints filed by Karapatan before the United Nations Human Rights Council on the killing of two lumad leaders, Dionel Campos and Juvello Sinzo, and lumad school director Emerito Samarca,” she added.
The killings have caused some 3,000 lumad to flee their homes in Surigao del Sur.
“The AFP claimed it already did its own investigation and immediately exonerated itself from the killing. Are they trying to be funny? Who, in the right mind, would believe in this kind of investigation?” Palabay said.
The AFP is now saying the killing was a result of a tribal war.
Palabay said witnesses recognized the killers, brothers Bobby and Loloy Tejero, who are members of the paramilitary group Magahat-Bagani that were with the 36th and the 75th Infantry Battalion and 1st Special Forces of the Philippine Army when they stormed the targeted community.
In 2012, several international groups called on the government to disband the paramilitary groups.
UN Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial Killings and on Human Rights Defenders, Christof Heyns and Margaret Sekaggya pointed out the role of the paramilitary groups in the killing of Fr. Fausto Tentorio.
The UN Human Rights Council, during the Universal Periodic Review of the Philippines, also urged the Aquino administration disband these paramilitary groups.
A labor group on Monday said an inter-agency investigation organized by the Justice Department should also include lumad killings in other parts of Mindanao.
The Partido ng Manggagawa issued the call in reaction to the announcement made by Malacañang that it is willing to conduct an investigation as sought by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and many other organizations here and abroad.
“The killings of lumad leaders by alleged paramilitary forces in Lianga, Surigao del Sur, including recorded cases of lumad killings in other parts of Mindanao, should give the government the idea that these killings were rather systematic than isolated in nature as claimed by the military,” the group’s chairman, Renato Magtubo, said.
In Surigao del Sur, an Army junior officer faces court-martial proceedings for failing to respond to the shootings and burning of homes where the lumad teacher and members of the Manobo tribe were killed.
Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao refused to identify the junior officer, however.
The junior officer has been relieved of his duties as platoon leader and is now under the custody of the Army’s 68th Infantry Battalion, Hao said.
From Ang Malaya (Sep 15): Transfer of Korean corvette to Philippine Navy to proceed with ‘best support’
South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo confirmed at a press conference at Armed Forces of the Philippines headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Monday that the transfer of military equipment including a Pohang-class corvette to Philippine military is going on as planned.
“The relevant assets we are transferring to the Philippines is going as planned and we will give the best of support,” Minister Han said as quoted by Philippine News Agency.
South Korea sees the donation as a small token compared with the great contribution of Filipino troops during the Korean War.
It is expected that the said warship will arrive with intact armament and sensors.
The South Korean government has committed a corvette, a landing craft utility and 16 rubber boats.
The landing craft utility and rubber boats have already arrived May this year.
From Ang Malaya (Sep 14): Air Force confirms second C-295 military transport aircraft arriving tomorrow
The Philippine Air Force (PAF)’s second Airbus Military C-295 medium transport aircraft will arrive at Clark Field, Pampanga Tuesday afternoon. “C-295M tail number 140 left Spain last Sept. 8.
It is expected to arrive at Clark Field tomorrow Sept. 15 on the afternoon. It will undergo technical inspection and acceptance process [before being] formally turned over to PAF later,” said PAF spokesperson Col. Enrico Canaya, in a message to the PNA Monday.
Canaya also said that there was no final date yet on the C-295’s turnover to the Air Force. The first C-295 with tail number 129 arrived at Clark Air Base, Pampanga in the afternoon of March 22.
The Philippines has a three C-295 contract worth Php5.29 billion with Airbus Military signed last year.
Airbus earlier said that delivery of aircraft will be earlier than schedule. “The remaining two aircraft will be delivered ahead of schedule during the second half of this year,” Airbus Defence and Space press manager for military aircraft Kieran Daly previously said.
According to original schedule, first unit was set to be delivered August 2015 and the second one was scheduled by March 2016, while the third aircraft was expected September 2016.
The C-295 is categorized as medium lift aircraft equivalent to the Fokker F-27 aircraft being maintained by the 220th Airlift Wing, the C-295s have rear ramp door similar to that of the C-130s for easier access and loading/unloading of passengers and cargoes.
From Ang Malaya (Sep 15): Navy, Air Force undergo joint training with focus on Territorial Defense
The Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force are conducting an Interoperability Exercise (IOX) with code-name DAGIT (Dagat, Langit) 2015. The Navy said DAGIT 2015 aims to enhance interoperability and operational capabilities of PN-PAF units in joint air-naval operations in support to the Unified Command’s requirements in the conduct of Internal Security Operations (ISO) and in support to the Territorial Defense Operations (TDO).
DAGIT 2015 has three phases which include the preparation Phase from September 7-11; Exercise Phase from September 14-17; and Termination Phase on September 18. “In the planning of this year’s exercise, we revisited the lessons learned during DAGIT 2014 in order to ensure that such errors are rectified in the execution of this year’s IOX,” DAGIT 2015 exercise director Colonel Jonas Lumawag said.
Navy assets participating include an Islander, one AW109E, BRP Gregorio del Pilar (PF16), boat teams and SEAL teams of the Naval Special Operations Group, Sniper team of the Marines Special Operations Group, one communications van, and one medical team.
The Air Force is deploying two MD-520MG, two SF-260TP, two OV-10, two UH1H/ UH-1D, one Huey II, one S-76A, one Sokol, one C130, one F-27, two S211, two Sniper Teams, one communications van, and one medical team for DAGIT 2015.
“Being the cutting edge in tactical operations, our involvement in this joint exercise speaks of our continuous pursuit for sustained air power. Working hand in hand with our counterparts in the Navy to promote this thrust is a rare opportunity,” 15th Strike Wing commander Brigadier General Domingo Palisoc Jr. said.
From the Visayan Daily Star (Sep 14): NegOr forms joint task force to intensify peace, security
The Negros Oriental Joint Task Force has been created to beef up peace and security to maintain the well-being of Negrenses and ensure economic development.
The task force is expected to strengthen coordination and collaboration of efforts among the more than 20 national and local government agency-members in the conduct of joint security operations.
In a workshop, Governor Roel Degamo urged the participants to intensify peace and order efforts to minimize if not eliminate all forms of criminalities and illegal activities in the province.
Degamo, however, recognized the contributions made by government agencies in strengthening the province' disaster risk reduction and management programs.
He noted that with the concerted efforts among stakeholders, the province has been declared as “conflict manageable and development ready” last year by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.
Army commander, Col. Allan Martin of the 302 nd IB, and Senior Supt. Dionardo Carlos of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office said the joint task force needs the participation and support of the communities and local government units to make the duties and responsibilities well-organized.
The task force's scope of operations include maritime safety and security, criminality, illegal drugs, insurgency, smuggling, tourism, environmental protection, disaster response, and land transportation and traffic.
The initiative came to be realized when reports have it that Abu Sayyaf Group members are coming to Dumaguete City from Dapitan, and when a ship loaded with smuggled rice was intercepted in Zamboanguita town.
The task force intends to prevent illegal activities and apprehend lawless elements.
Degamo said the province has recorded a low crime rate among areas in Central Visayas, and he asked workshop participants to maintain and sustain peace and order in Negros Oriental.
From the Visayan Daily Star (Sep 14): Army officer designated as battalion commander
An Army officer, who used to serve as head of the Civil Military Operation Office of the 303 rd Infantry Brigade in Negros Occidental, has finally gotten a command of his own.
Lt. Col. Gulliver Senires recently assumed command of the Army's 50th Infantry “Defender” Battalion in Lagangilang, Abra. He replaced Lt. Col. Edmund Tubiera.
Senires, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1992, was installed as 50 th IB commander by Maj. Gen. Lysander Suerte, commanding general of the 5 th Infantry Division.
Senires is a recipient of a Distinguished Service Star, Bronze Cross Medal, Silver Wing Medal, 20 Military Merit medals, 16 Military Commendation medals, three Civic Action medals, a Long Service medal, and numerous campaign medals in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao, military records show.
His combat awards include a Gold Cross Medal, three Military Merit medals, and a Wounded Personnel medal.
From the Mindanao Times (Sep 14): DFA: US help in China tension not guaranteed
AN OFFICIAL of the Department of Foreign Affairs said there
was no clear commitment from the United States to lend help in case
tensions at the West Philippine sea escalate
into violence.
DFA assistant secretary Charles Jose, in a press conference
held Monday at the Philippine Information Agency regional office, said the
response of the US in case
war breaks out in the South China Sea would
always “depend on its national interest.”
Jose said, however, that the US
is legally obligated to come to the aid of the Philippines because of the 1951
Mutual Defense Treaty between the allied countries.
The official also quoted a statement by U.S. president
Barack Obama during his state visit in April 2014 that the “commitment to the
treaty obligations is iron-clad.”
Jose said the current negotiations at the Asean level is
still aimed at the reduction of tensions in the region, which is being claimed
by nations such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei
and Taiwan, aside from both Philippines and China.
“In the end, we have no one else to rely on but ourselves,”
Jose said.
The DFA official also commended the marines stationed at the
BRP Sierra Madre, which has been scuttled at the Ayungin shoal.
“They are truly courageous,” Jose said, and vowed that the
Armed Forces of the Philippines
would continuously supply the troops which is at the frontline of the tension
with hostile China,
which has been insisting on its implementation of an arbitrary nine-dash line.
The said line crosses several exclusive economic zones in
the Asean in the process, to which the Philippines has lodged diplomatic
protests with international tribunals. Jose added that the Philippines was
already losing 80% of its EEZ from the area alone.
From InterAksyon (Sep 14): Guingona slams 'anarchy' in Surigao del Sur, says Magahat openly extorting from communities
Senator Teofisto Guingona III denounced what he called the
“anarchy” unfolding in Surigao del Sur where, he said, the paramilitary Magahat-Bagani militia
is committing atrocities with impunity, with law enforcers unwilling to stop
their rampage.
The militia has been blamed for the mass exodus of close to
3,000 people, mostly Manobo, from their hinterland villages following the
September 1 murders of Emerito Samarca, executive director of the AlternativeLearningCenter for Agricultural and Livelihood
Development, and tribal leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Juvillo “Bello” Sinzo in Han-ayan,
Barangay Diatagon, Lianga town.
In a privilege speech Thursday, Guingona urged the
Senate to “put its foot down and do our little bit in restoring the rule of
law” in the Mindanao province by conducting an
investigation, “not here in Metro Manila but there in Surigao del Sur.”
He said the on-site inquiry was requested by Surigao del Sur
Governor Johnny Pimentel, who has confirmed that the military, despite its
denials, organized, trained and armed the Magahat and other
militias in the province and demanded that the military “disarm, disband or
kill” the “monster” it had created.
Pimentel, said Guingona had promised to “bring the
witnesses, the numerous witnesses, the numerous victims, the wives of those who
have died, to testify, to tell what has happened.”
Guingona also slammed the Army, echoing Han-ayan residents’
testimonies that troops who had occupied their village before the Magahat arrived
had not lifted a finger even if the executions of Campos and Sinzo, done in front of hundreds
of villagers the militia had rounded up, had happened only around a kilometer
away from where the soldiers were positioned.
The Army has washed its hands of responsibility for the
Lianga murders, claiming that the killings were the offshoot of a “tribal war”
between a Manobo faction opposed to the communist New People’s Army and another
supposedly sympathetic to the rebels.
The military has openly accused schools set up by
nongovernmental and religious organizations in indigenous peoples’ communities
in Mindanao, including the award-winning
ALCADEV, of advocating support for the communists.
But Guingona, a native of Mindanao, said Pimentel “swore”
that Samarca had nothing to do with the NPA and was only there to help the
community run the school, teach the children, teach the farmers.”
Worse, the senator said, the Magahat’s abuses
did not end with the Lianga murders.
“To this day, I have been informed that the Magahat-Bagani are
in the next municipality (to Lianga), the neighboring municipality of Barobo.
They are there right now, in fact, in Barangay San Vicente,” he said, going
from house to house and telling residents, “Dati nagbabayad kayo ng taxes sa NPA, ngayon
kami naman, magbabayad kayo sa amin (Before you paid taxes to the
NPA, now it is our turn, you pay us).”
Noting that the Barobo barangay he spoke of was not in the
highlands, Guingona said he asked Pimentel why authorities were not stopping
the Magahat’s extortion.
Pimentel’s reply: “Ayaw makialam ang pulis, ayaw
gumalaw ang pulis, dahil daw (The police don’t want to
get involved, the police don’t want to move, because it supposedly is a)
military matter."
“Clearly, this is not the rule of law. Clearly, this is
anarchy,” Guingona said. “Why are people who are not members of the police, who
are not members of the military, going around with high-powered firearms,
shooting people, torturing people, knocking on doors, extorting from citizens?”
From InterAksyon (Sep 15): China building third airstrip on disputed South China Sea islets - expert
Chinese dredgers at Mischief Reef (Reuters file)
China appears to be building a third airstrip in contested territory in the South China Sea, a US expert said on Monday, citing satellite photographs taken last week.
The photographs taken for Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank on September 8 show construction on Mischief Reef, one of several artificial islands China has created in the Spratly archipelago.
The images show a rectangular area with a retaining wall, 3,000 meters long, matching similar work by China on two other reefs, Subi and Fiery Cross, said Greg Poling, director of CSIS's Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative.
"Clearly, what we have seen is going to be a 3,000-meter airstrip and we have seen some more work on what is clearly going to be some port facilities for ships," he said.
Security experts say the strip would be long enough to accommodate most Chinese military aircraft, giving Beijing greater reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia, where it has competing claims with several countries.
News of the work comes ahead of a visit to Washington next week by Chinese President Xi Jinping. US worries about China's increasingly assertive territorial claims are expected to be high on the agenda.
A spokesman for the US Defense Department, Commander Bill Urban, declined to comment specifically on Poling's assessment, but repeated US calls for a halt to land reclamation, construction and militarization of South China Sea outposts to "ease tensions and create space for diplomatic solutions."
"China's stated intentions with its program, and continued construction, will not reduce tensions or lead to a meaningful diplomatic solution," he added.
A new airstrip at Mischief Reef would be particularly worrying for the Philippines, a rival claimant in the South China Sea. It would allow China to mount "more or less constant" patrols over Reed Bank, where the Philippines has long explored for oil and gas, Poling said.
Three airstrips, once completed, would allow China to threaten all air traffic over the features it has reclaimed in the South China Sea, he said, adding that it would be especially worrying if China were to install advanced air defenses.
Satellite photographs from late June showed China had almost finished a 3,000-meter airstrip on Fiery Cross.
Satellite images from earlier this year showed reclamation work on Subi Reef creating land that could accommodate another airstrip. Poling said the latest images made it obvious that such an airstrip was being built at Subi.
China stepped up creation of artificial islands in the South China Sea last year, drawing strong criticism from Washington.
Asked about Mischief Reef on Monday, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei repeated China's claim to "indisputable sovereignty" over the Spratly Islands and its right to establish military facilities there.
From Rappler (Sep 14): 10 construction workers held hostage in Basilan
(UPDATED) They were in a DPWH truck in a remote village in Sumisip, Basilan
At least 10
construction workers were held hostage by alleged Abu Sayyaf members in
Sumisip, Basilan, on Monday, September 14, according to military and police
sources.
Initial reports
from the Army's 104th brigade said that Abu Sayyaf members stopped a truck of
the Department of Public Works and Highways that was carrying 8 workers along
the highway of Barangay Upper Binembengan, Sumisip town at around 9:20 am
Monday.
A police report
meanwhile said 10 construction workers from a certain "Mace Construction Company"
were abducted as they were on their way to the road construction site. They
were later brought to an undisclosed area. A later report said around 11
workers were missing, based on the count of the company that hired them.
The hostage
takers were reportedly led by a certain Commander Alamsirul of the notorious
Abu Sayyaf Group.
The workers were
still being held by the Abu Sayyaf as of 1 pm Monday. Government forces are
still checking the area, in hopes of recovering the kidnapped workers.
Basilan is the
birthplace of the Abu Sayyaf, which is behind the most sensational kidnapping
incidents in Mindanao.
From the Sun Star-Cagayan de Oro (Sep 14): Lawyers’ group slam AFP security plan
A LAWYER’S group
has branded the military’s Internal Peace and Security Plan “Bayanihan” as an
instrument of the big business and capitalists to drive away civilians,
particularly indigenous peoples (IPs), from “areas of interest” for
development.
The Union of
People’s Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM), which marked its 10th year with an
island-wide gathering of legal and paralegal personalities in one of the hotels
here, said lumads have increasingly become targets of rights abuses allegedly
done by state security forces as more and more businesses seek to exploit
resource-rich tribal lands.
“Because of
militarization in the hinterlands, many of our lumads have been forced to leave
their domain, fearing they will be branded as New People’s Army supporters,
such are the cases of lumads with trumped-up charges filed by the military in
connivance with the national police,” Bayan Muna Representative and UPLM
chairman Carlos Zarate said.
Zarate said the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has become the security agency of big
businesses owning vast plantations and of mining companies to the detriment of
the IPs.
Zarate also
deplored the fact that sometimes, even the human rights of lawyers and
paralegal personalities helping the victims are violated and rights defenders
are sometimes subjected to trumped-up charges as well.
The lawyers’
group said the judicial processes have also caused tremendous delays in the
administration of justice or worse, have sometimes resulted in preventing
justice from being served.
For this reason,
the UPLM would be pushing for judicial reforms, the lawyer’s group said.
UPLM-Northern
Mindanao said among the difficulties they face in handling cases of human
rights abuses are the often non-identification of perpetrators and the long
wait for the resolution of cases.
Dale Mordeno,
UPLM Cagayan de Oro chairman, said judicial reforms in furtherance of human
rights cases should be introduced so that abuses would be lessened or
eradicated.
“Judicial reforms
are necessary in terms of examining or revisiting existing laws that are no
longer applicable and amend those laws to suit our legal processes,” Mordeno
said.
He said UPLM is
lobbying for the passage of a bill that would put an end to strategic lawsuits
against public participation (Slapp).
Slapp, Mordeno
said, often diminishes the capacity of its members to effectively represent
their clients.
But Mordeno said
the path to the much needed reforms is circuitous as these can only be done
through the right fora such as through Congress or the Supreme Court.
From InterAksyon (Sep 14): Lawmakers seek repeal of memo allowing soldiers in schools
Military outpost inside Alcadev campus. Photograph from Karapatan - Caraga
Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro, FSC on Monday said
that alleged cases of military abuses in several schools in Mindanao
are being investigated, but partylist lawmakers insisted that, beyond that, the
Department of Education (DepEd) should recall a memorandum allowing the staging
presence of military personnel in schools.
"Isn't it time to repeal this [memorandum] because of the violations?
Unless you repeal this, more lives will be in danger ... I say that blood
is in your hands, impunity is going on because of this memo," Gabriela
partylist Representative Luz Ilagan told Luistro at the hearing of the 2016
budget of the Department of Education.
For his part, ACT Teachers partylist Representative Antonio Tinio said DepEd
should not just investigate the cases, but review and recall the memorandum.
Davao Oriental Representative Thelma Almario, the acting appropriations
chairperson, said that DepEd should view "with a sense of urgency"
the cases of alleged military abuses in schools, adding that investigations
usually take years.
Ilagan cited the recent killing of AlternativeLearningCenter
for Agricultural and Livelihood Development (Alcadev) executive director
Emerito Samarca, Malahutayong Pakigbisog Alang Sa Sumusunod (Mapasu) chairman
Dionel Campos, and his cousin Bello Sinzo.
The three were allegedly murdered by the tribal militia known as Magahat,
although other reports indicated that troops from some units of the Army's 4th
Infantry Division were involved.
Ilagan also deplored the alleged attack involving the military-backed
paramilitary groups Magahat and Bagani in Purok 16, Sitio Nalindog, Brgy.
Bolhoon in Surigao del Sur on August 9, which led to the evacuation of some 45
families and the closure of the Nalindog Tribal Community School operated by
the Tribal Filipino Program of Surigao del Sur and Alcadev. The militia groups
also threatened to burn down the school and volunteer teachers.
The recent attack in Surigao del Sur came less than a week after the illegal
arrest of another volunteer teacher in GingoogCity,
Misamis Oriental.
Luistro said the incidents have been referred to the proper investigating body.
"The Department of Education strongly condemns these alleged incursions of
schools. Once it came to our attention, we immediately brought it to the proper
investigating body," Luistro said.
The policy being referred to by Ilagan was DepEd Memorandum No. 221 on the
Guidelines on the Protection of Children During Armed Conflict, issued on
December 13, 2013.
Signed by Secretary Luistro, the issuance allowed the Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) to conduct "civil-military" activities "inside
or within a school or a hospital."
Under the memo, Luistro said, the AFP activities will be governed by its own
guidelines dated 15 July 2013.
The school principals receive written requests for the conduct of AFP
activities, and then forward them to the DepEd division office for
approval. After the activity, the school principal is to submit a report
to the division office.
The AFP Guidelines indicated that the activities were needed "to
prevent" the occurrence of the Grave Violations Against Children During
Armed Conflict pursuant to and in compliance with the United Nations Security
Council Resolution 1612 and 1882, more specifically the violations known as
Attacks on Schools and Hospitals.
The main intent of the above policies/guidelines was "to prevent/ bring to
unnecessary risk and/or endanger all children, teachers, medical/dental
professionals, health workers, and/or employees/workers of the school and
hospital concerned, and the school or hospital itself."
Earlier, Kabataan partylist Representative Terry Ridon filed a resolution to
conduct an inquiry into the memo.
"Even if both DepEd Memo 221 and AFP Letter Directive 25 only allow what
they called civil-military operations, the said issuances would still be
inimical to the protection of children's rights. Allowing presence of the
military in educational institutions is tantamount to increasing risks for
children, especially those living in situations of conflict," Ridon had
said.
