South Korean Defense Minister calls on President Aquino

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 15): South Korean Defense Minister calls on President Aquino

A delegation from the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Korea, led by National Defense Minister Han Min-Koo, called on President Benigno S. Aquino III on Monday afternoon, shortly after the latter arrived from his engagement in Iloilo province, at the Kalayaan Hall of Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

According to Undersecretary Honorio Azcueta of the Philippines’ Department of National Defense, during the courtesy call, Minister Han presented to President Aquino the two countries’ Agreement on the Protection of Classified Military Operations.

Minister Han was accompanied by the South Korean Defense Ministry’s Deputy Minister Yoo Jeh-Seung, Director General Yoon Sun-Gu, and Director Sung Ki-Wook, as well as South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Kim Jae Shin.

Also present during the courtesy call were National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hernando Irriberi, and other defense officials, among them Undersecretary Azcueta, Undersecretary for Finance, Munitions, Installations and Materials Fernando Manalo, and Assistant Secretary for Strategic Assessment Raymund Jose Quilop.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=804143

No truth to Chinese building halt in West Philippine Sea

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 15): No truth to Chinese building halt in West Philippine Sea

Despite earlier Chinese claims that it has stopped its reclamation works in disputed portions of the West Philippine Sea, Western Command head Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez on Tuesday announced that China is still conducting construction activities in the area.

He also said that Chinese announcement of a reclamation halt last August is not true.

"They told the world that they have completed four reclamation projects (in the West Philippine Sea) but they never did announce that they have stopped their construction works. It's just technicalities. It's true that they have stopped all reclamation activities but now they are conducting vertical construction activities in Mischief, Subi and Fiery Cross Reefs. Construction activity there is going full blast," Lopez said in Filipino.

The Western Command chief expects these facilities to be completed before the end of the year.

He said that the facilities in the above-mentioned reefs can be used for humanitarian and military use, adding that only time can tell.

"We will see, we have to be very vigilant in monitoring," Lopez stressed.

Earlier satellite images show China taking new steps to lay down what appears to be a 1.4-mile military runway on Subi Reef and putting the finishing touches on a two-mile airfield in Mischief Reef in the Spratly islands chain.

Subi was a once-submerged shoal that China built up into an area suitable for a military base.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=804190

MILF report on Mamasapano incident is incomplete -- De Lima

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 15): MILF report on Mamasapano incident is incomplete -- De Lima

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila M. De Lima on Tuesday said that the report of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the Mamasapano incident where 44 members of the elite Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) were killed is incomplete.

Likewise, De Lima noted that the DOJ's investigation on the Mamasapano incident is still not over.

The DOJ panel released part I of their report in April this year where it recommended the filing of complaints for murder against 90 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members for the death of 35 of the 36 members of the 55th Special Action Company.

It also recommended the filing of a complaint for theft.

The complaint filed was based on the testimony of the government's witness given the codename "Marathon".

The National Bureau of Investigation-National Prosecution Service (NBI-NPS) team is continuing with its investigation.

De Lima said that they were given a copy of the MILF report.

However, De Lima said, while there were findings and conclusions, there are no other evidence to support it.

"Hindi kasi pwede na report lang, conclusions lang at walang affidavits like first-hand witnesses," she said.

De Lima said that the MILF has formed a commission that conducted the fact-finding investigation.

"The findings and conclusions are found in their report but I have noticed that while there were factual observations, wala yung supporting, sinu-sino ang mga witnesses," she added.

The Part 2 of the DOJ report is supposed to cover the circumstances surrounding the death of members of the PNP-SAF's 84th Seaborne Company as well as the death of members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and civilians.

However, De Lima was silent on the "alternative truth" about the Mamasapano incident mentioned by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=804230

De Lima: Video showing aftermath of Mamasapano incident should be verified whether authentic

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 15): De Lima: Video showing aftermath of Mamasapano incident should be verified whether authentic

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila M. De Lima on Tuesday maintained the video showing the alleged aftermath of the Mamasapano incident last January where a Caucasian was among the slain "SAF 44" should be verified whether it's authentic.

De Lima said once the said video of the Mamasapano incident is authenticated, the next thing that should be determined is whether the Caucasian-looking man was a foreigner or just a Filipino who was a "mestizo".

However, De Lima clarified that she still has to determine from the team of the National Prosecution Service (NPS) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which investigated the case, whether the alleged assistance of the foreign forces in "Oplan Exodus" was included in their investigation.

It earlier came out in the report of the Senate and the Philippine National Police (PNP) that the assistance provided by the United States forces was only up to "intelligence, retrieval and medical operations".

"Oplan Exodus" ended the terroristic activities of Malaysian bomb expert Zulkifli Bin hir alias "Marwan" that claimed the lives of 44 SAF troopers, some civilians, as well as the lives of some Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, 2015.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=804203

PAF's 2nd C-295 medium transport aircraft now in PHL

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 15): PAF's 2nd C-295 medium transport aircraft now in PHL

The Philippine Air Force's second Airbus C-295 medium transport aircraft arrived at Clark Air Base, Mabalacat City, Pampanga on Tuesday afternoon.

The aircraft arrived at the airfield exactly at 5:30 p.m., PAF spokesperson Col. Enrico Canaya said.

The second C-295 with tail number 140 departed from Spain last Sept. 8 and was flown in by pilots of Airbus Defense and Space.

The PAF technical inspection and acceptance committee shall undertake the necessary inspection and acceptance procedures before the aircraft will be flown to Col. Jesus Villamor Air Base (CJVAB) Grandstand, Pasay City for the turnover and blessing ceremony which will be scheduled later.

The medium lift fixed-wing aircraft acquisition is one of the projects nearing realization under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program to boost its capabilities for the medium tactical airlift requirement for humanitarian assistance and disaster response and transport of AFP personnel and logistics to any part of the country as needed.

The first and second C-295Ms were delivered in advance.

The first C-295M aircraft arrived at Clark Air Base last March 22 and was formally turned over and blessed on March 30 at CJVAB, Pasay City.

The third aircraft is expected to arrive before the year ends.

Based on a contract approved last March 26, 2014, the supply and delivery of the three aircraft are expected each in October 2015, February 2016 and June 2016.

Four pilots and 19 maintenance crew completed their training in Spain from January to March and another two from March to April, this year.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=804355

11 construction workers escape Abu Sayyaf captors

From CNN Philippines (Sep 15): 11 construction workers escape Abu Sayyaf captors



The 64th Infantry Battalion took protective custody of 11 construction workers who managed to escape from the Abu Sayyaf just hours after the bandits abducted them on Monday (September 14).

According to military sources, two of the workers escaped earlier and made their way to the nearest Marine battalion landing team headquarters.

The rest of the workers escaped later and were were found by soldiers and police officers from the Sumisip Municipal Police Station, together with Sumisip Mayor Gulam Hataman, in Barangay Limbu, Candis, Sumisip, Basilan at 5:30 p.m.

The eleven abducted victims were all brought to the 64th IB camp in Barangay Tumahubong, Sumisip.

Abu Sayyaf bandits stopped a truck carrying the workers in Barangay Benembengan, Sumisip at around 9 a.m.

The bandits then took them to Sitio Penas in the same barangay.

The workers — who belong to Michael Abubakar Construction and Engineering (MACE) — were identified as:

• Munib Sadidul
• Mustapha Gapur
• Abukaisir Nasilon
• Aldren Hadjirul
• Masser Jalaha
• Merhusin Ubbai
• Jaya Abdulla
• JUhan Sarao
• Nadzhar Gabon
• Margani Alpha
• Alsibar Jauhar

http://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2015/09/15/11-construction-workers-escape-Abu-Sayyaf-captors.html

Joint Task Group Basilan operatives rescue 9 construction workers abducted by ASG

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 15): Joint Task Group Basilan operatives rescue 9 construction workers abducted by ASG

Units from Joint Task Group Basilan have rescued the nine construction workers earlier snatched by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) brigands Monday morning at Sumisip town, Basilan province.

The nine rescued workers were among the 11 workers of the MACE construction firm the Abu Sayyaf brigands seized shortly after 8 a.m. Monday in Barangay Upper Benembengan, this town.

Supt. Oscar Nantes, provincial police director, said that two of the 11 managed to escape around 4 p.m. Monday.

1st Lt. Sally Magno, Joint Task Group Basilan public affairs office chief, said the rescue took place at 4:40 p.m. at the far-flung area of Barangay Kaumpamatsake, also in Sumisip.

She said that the rescue was conducted by elements of Marine Landing Battalion Team 11 and the 64th Infantry Battalion.

Col. Rolando Joselito Bautista, Joint Task Group Basilan commander, said the nine workers were rescued around 4:40 p.m. Monday in Barangay Kaumpamatsaken as combined Army and Marine forces continue to pursue the Abu Sayyaf brigands.

Bautista said the continuous pursuit operations pressured the Abu Sayyaf brigands led by Juhaibel Alamsirul alias "Abu Kik" to abandon the hostages to avoid being trapped by the pursuing troops.

He said the rescued victims were immediately taken to the headquarters of the Army’s 64th Infantry Battalion for medical check-up and debriefing.

The construction workers were aboard a truck on the way to their worksite when the Abu Sayyaf brigands waylaid and seized them.

The MACE Construction firm that is undertaking government projects--roads and bridges--in this municipality.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=804051

BIFM: BIFM strengthens campaign against illegal drugs

Posted to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) Research & Information Bureau Website (Sep 9): BIFM strengthens campaign against illegal drugs



The local government units of second congressional district of Maguindanao province seemed to have been exerting every effort to prevent the proliferation of illegal drugs. Despite these efforts, however, drugs users and pushers are rampant in the muslim moro communities.

Along this line and in accordance with the BIFM mission on enjoining what is good and prohibiting what is evil, the chief of the BIFM-Military Affairs has come up with the idea of strengthening campaign against illegal drugs and other illegal activities. Effective August 01, 2015 Mujahideen under this organization have religiously complied with our mission, as evidenced by more or less 100 men.

About 60 percent of the figure voluntarily submitted to the BIFM leadership while about 40 percent were arrested. This 60 percent who voluntarily submitted themselves were immediately released. The rest are still under custody for rehabilitation. All of these have found guilty of drug dealers, pushers, users, gambling, and smoking.

From:
Research and Information Bureau

http://www.bifm-rib.com/news.html

CPP/NDF: Bring Aquino to Account for the Unjust Incarceration of Andrea Rosal and Hundreds of Political Detainees

Propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Sep 14): Bring Aquino to Account for the Unjust Incarceration of Andrea Rosal and Hundreds of Political Detainees

NDFP National Democratic Front of the Philippines

 

Communist Party of the Philippines
September 8, 2015

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) extends its well-wishes to Andrea Rosal who was released last night from detention after more than one year of suffering unjust detention and persecution by the Aquino regime and its military and police forces.

Rosal’s release from Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City was ordered last night after the last of the trumped-up charges of murder and kidnapping filed against her was dismissed by the Quezon Regional Trial Court in Mauban yesterday.

The CPP urges the Filipino people to bring Benigno Aquino III and his top military and security officials to account for the unjust incarceration and inhuman treatment of Andrea Rosal. Aquino must be made to pay for all the sufferings that Andrea was made to undergo.

Rosal was arrested last March 2014 while she was seven months pregnant. Despite her appeals and recommendations of her doctors, Aquino’s officials refused to provide her with facilities for expectant mothers and only belatedly brought her
to the hospital just hours before she was set to give birth.

The cramped conditions in her detention cell aggravated Rosal’s pregnancy. She gave birth to daughter Diona Andrea on May 16. She would not be allowed by the police to touch her infant daughter while in intensive care. Baby Diona died two days later due to medical complications.

Despite still undergoing post-natal care, she was ordered to be immediately brought back to her cramped detention cell. Without an iota of compassion, the Aquino regime also denied her appeal to attend the burial of her child and was instead given only three hours to visit her wake.

Andrea was subjected to inhumane treatment and persecution for no other reason than being the daughter of “Ka Roger”, the erstwhile spokesperson of the CPP Gregorio Rosal. Ka Roger, who passed away in 2011, was pursued by the AFP for almost a decade but was never captured.

Andrea herself was snatched from her grandmother by elements of the AFP’s Southern Luzon Command in 1988 when she was barely six years old in order to compel her father to surrender to the AFP. She will only be released by the military a few days later under intense public pressure after Ka Roger and Andrea’s grandmother exposed their crime through the media.

The AFP and the ruling classes are so incensed for having failed to ever capture Ka Roger. The reactionary security and military officials are doubly incensed over the fact that his daugher, Andrea, has chosen the path of resistance against oppression and exploitation, serving the Filipino people’s national democratic struggle.

For one year and a half, Andrea struggled to be free from detention. Human rights advocates, her family, friends and activists succeeded in rousing broad support and amplified calls for her freedom. The justness of her cause has won broad support here and abroad. The widespread campaign for Andrea’s cause and
the international shame this brought to the Aquino regime was key to her winning freedom.

Andrea’s cause has brought to international focus the plight of political detainees in the Philippines now numbering close to 550. Like Andrea, they have been subjected to intense state persecution. With no exception, political detainees have been charged with multiple trumped-up cases backed by “professional” witnesses, and made to suffer delayed prosecution of cases and
prolonged detention—with some suffering 8-10 years of imprisonment without finality to the cases filed against them. The Aquino regime and its security forces aim to capture more.

Learning from Andrea’s victory, every political detainee must exert all-out effort to raise the loudest cry for justice from the bowels of the reactionary state’s dungeons; while outside, their family and friends can organize and mobilize broad support. Their lawyers must continue to adeptly handle the legal
cases and expose the farcical charges raised against the political detainees. Political detainees must combine the legal and political struggle keeping in mind that the political struggle is principal in their struggle for freedom.

In the past, the struggle of political detainees for freedom were not confined to the legal or political. Especially under martial law, scores upon scores of political detainees availed of various means of “self-release”. Every second under detention was devoted to devising myriad methods of escape: digging tunnels, sawing off bars, using deception to walk through the gates, and many others. A number of political detainees were also rescued by the New People’s Army (NPA) while en route to court or while being transferred from one jail to another.

It is clear that the current policy of the US-directed Aquino regime and its military and police is to subject revolutionaries and activists to prolonged detention in order to prevent them from serving the Filipino people’s national democratic cause.

Indeed, political detainees must do everything in their might to attain freedom and rejoin the mainstream of the people’s national democratic revolution.

As always, the revolutionary forces are ever willing to assist political prisoners who wish to attain justice and freedom. However fortified, the enemy’s prisons are not invincible. There are a thousand ways to break the enemy’s chains and shackles in order to attain the freedom to help advance the people’s
democratic revolution.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20150914_bring-aquino-to-account-for-the-unjust-incarceration-of-andrea-rosal-and-hundreds-of-political-detainees

Ex-SAF chief: No foreigner participated or died in Mamasapano

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 15): Ex-SAF chief: No foreigner participated or died in Mamasapano

Getulio Napeñas, the sacked chief of the Special Action Force (SAF), on Tuesday maintained that no foreigner took part or died during the Mamasapano operation which resulted in the killing of international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and the death of 44 elite cops, among others.

“Unang-una, I will say it again, walang foreigner or Americans na nagparticipate or namatay sa combat operation,” Napeñas said in an interview on Radyo Inquirer 990 AM. (First of all, I will say it again, no foreigner or Americans participated or died in the combat operation.)
 

Relieved SAF chief Getulio Napeñas. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

“Isa-isa na winithdraw iyan galing sa field at isa-isa na inautopsy ‘yan ng crime laboratory. It would be impossible na hindi nila malaman kung ano nga ba ang nationality ng tao na namatay na 44,” he added. (They were individually extracted from the field and the autopsied by the crime laboratory. It would be impossible not to know the nationality of the 44 who died.)

He also dared those saying that a foreigner died during the combat in Maguindanao to prove their claim.

“Again, kung meron man ‘yung mga tao na nagke-claim na Amerikano kung ano-anong nationality, ilabas na lang nila ang ebidensya, ang witness nila at ebidensya. After all sabi ko nga inisa-isa ‘yan na na-examine ng crime lab sa Cotabato City ang mga tao na namata,” he said. (Again, if there are those claiming that an American or a foreigner of whatever nationality (died), they should reveal their evidence and witnesses. After all, as I have said, those who died were individually examined at a crime lab in Cotabato City.)

The Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday reported that a Caucasian-looking man was killed in Mamasapano, citing a video which showed a man with his shaven head tilted to the right, right eye and mouth half-open, left eye completely shut.

READ: Unidentified Caucasian killed in Mamasapano

 

FOREIGN CASUALTY? A screengrab of a video allegedly taken by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front shows a foreign-looking combatant among the dead Special Action Force Special Action Company commandos during the Mamasapano bloodbath in Maguindanao province on Jan. 25. Was the man an American? SCREENGRAB

Persistent rumors have it that two Americans—one a “blue-eyed man”, and the other, black and huge—were killed in a clash with Moro rebels. The US embassy, however, has denied the allegation.

Napeñas said that the Caucasian-looking man on the photos and video might be PO2 Romeo Cempron.

READ: Wife learned hubby died from mysterious texter | The faces of the #SAF44

“Iyan ‘yung lumabas na picture din noon, si PO2 Cempron, na kamukha ng.. Caucasian looking na tao iyan. Inadmit na namin noon pa na may isang tao kami na Caucasian-looking (at) si PO2 Cempron nga ‘yun. When you say ‘buddy’ ‘yan ‘yung buddy na kasama niya. Dalawa kayo, buddy ang tawagan n’yo, dual kayo na nagtatawagan ng buddy,” Napeñas explained. (The photos circulating are that of PO2 Cempron’s, who looks Caucasian. We already admitted before that we have a man who is Caucasian-looking and that is PO2 Cempron. When you say “buddy,” that’s what you call your companion. There are two of you, and you call each other buddies.)

The video obtained by the Inquirer showed that every time the footage shows the Caucasian-looking man, those who were taking the video would refer to him as “buddy.”
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/128392/ex-saf-chief-no-foreigner-participated-or-died-in-mamasapano

Video of ‘dead American’ prompts call for new Mamasapano probe (Contains graphic images)

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 15): Video of ‘dead American’ prompts call for new Mamasapano probe

[Video: Unidentified Caucasian killed in Mamasapano?  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hHSKRoy4h4

Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Tuesday called on the Senate to re-investigate the Mamasapano operation following the release of a video showing a Caucasian man among the fatalities.

“The Senate should reopen its probe on the Mamasapano incident and uncover the real role of the United States in the botched operation,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement.

“Recent videos showing what appears to be a dead Caucasian, believed to be an American soldier or operative, lends credence to earlier assertions that the US was directing the entire operation to get Marwan,” he said.

In March, the Senate committee on public order released its report on its independent probe on the issue. The committee said President Benigno Aquino III was responsible for the operation which resulted in the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) troopers, 17 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and three civilians.

But before that, rumors circulated that American soldiers were among those killed in the encounter. At that time, however, there was no proof.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer on Tuesday revealed that there was video footage of the aftermath of the encounter showing a Caucasian man among the SAF fatalities. It added that another casualty was an African American. INQUIRER.net later released a censored excerpt of the said video.

Reyes said an independent fact finding mission of the group Suara Bangsamoro quoted witnesses claiming that a US soldier joined the operation dubbed Oplan Exodus.

“That a US soldier was among the dead indicates that the US was deeply involved in actual combat operations and may have been directing movements on the ground,” Reyes said. “The dead US soldier was embedded in a unit of a SAF. This combat role for the US violates anew the Philippine Constitution.”

He added that the Philippine National Police (PNP) Board of Inquiry had earlier acknowledged the presence of six US servicemen at the tactical command post of the SAF in Maguindanao.

“This is an indication that the US was directing the entire operation as it had exclusive control of real-time information on the movements of the SAF and other armed groups in the area. The BOI also reported that one American even ordered a Filipino general to fire artillery at the suspected MILF forces that had surrounded the SAF,” Reyes said.

Reyes said the involvement of the US government was “crucial in establishing accountability in the Mamasapano operation.”

“There can be no closure and justice if the US is not held liable for the deaths of so many,” he said.

He added that Aquino should be held accountable for allegedly allowing a foreign government to interfere in Philippine military operations.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/722103/video-of-dead-american-prompts-call-for-new-mamasapano-probe

Pictures dispute Mamasapano ‘alternative truth’ — report

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Sep 15): Pictures dispute Mamasapano ‘alternative truth’ — report



Photos of the aftermath of the death of terrorist Marwan “prove” that members of the Special Action Force (SAF) killed him, a report said.

The pictures that showed SAF members with the half-naked body of Marwan and in his hut in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, was provided by a “source,” according to a report of ABS CBN network.

One of the images apparently showed Senior Inspector Gednat Tabdi cutting the finger of Marwan, whose real name was Zulkifli bin Hir, a Malaysian bomb maker.

The right index finger was tested for DNA by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation which confirmed that it was from the dead terrorist.

Tabdi, a member of the SAF’s 84th Seaborne Company that assaulted Marwan’s hut, was one of 44 police commandos killed in the ensuing firefight with rebels and lawless elements in the adjacent corn fields of Tukanalipao, Maguindanao.

Another photo showed a SAF member in front of Marwan’s body. He was holding the dead terrorist’s .45-caliber pistol.

The source said the pictures were proof that the claim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that an aide of Marwan killed the terrorist was a “lie.” It also tended to dispute the “alternative truth” being floated by President Benigno Aquino III.

Meanwhile, retired-Director Getulio Napeñas, former SAF chief, scoffed at the MILF claim about who killed Marwan.

“Pwede naman palang iabot sa silver platter, bakit kinailangan pang pumasok ang tropa namin for operations na ganyan? Namatayan pa kami nang marami,” (If they could give [Marwan] on a silver platter, why did our troops need to conduct an operation where we lost a lot of men?) Napeñas said.

Napeñas said they did not have any assets or insiders in Marwan’s group.

The former SAF commander said the MILF was just trying to divert attention from the fact that MILF men killed his men.

“Gusto nilang i-divert yung katotohanan na MILF ang pumatay dun sa 44,” (They just want to divert the truth that the MILF killed the 44) Napeñas said.

He lamented that justice had not been served the slain lawmen eight months after the incident on January 25, 2015.

“Wala pang katarungan sa kanila,” he said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/722017/pictures-prove-saf-killed-marwan-report

Tire company mulls lawsuit vs DND move to cancel deal

From the Business Mirror (Sep 13): Tire company mulls lawsuit vs DND move to cancel deal

THE winning bidder in a multimillion-peso tire-delivery contract with the Department of National Defense (DND) said it mulls a lawsuit as the DND moves to cancel the deal.

Tire company Caloocan Standard Inc. (CSI), represented by Alexander Kho, wrote the defense department, saying that it would be forced to seek redress in court, unless officials would honor the contract, which was perfected through a bidding process.

The BusinessMirror obtained a copy of Kho’s letter addressed to the chairman of the DND Bids and Awards Committee (BAC). “Any member of your committee might be held answerable for civil damages, much more the CGPA [commanding general, Philippine Army], since all proponents for this particular procurement had already labored, spent much time and resources, paid bidding documents, hired professionals and lawyers if only to win the bidding,” Kho said in his letter.

“And here is the Army belatedly telling everybody that it does not need the goods being procured on the guise that it has an excess stock, notwithstanding its prior determination in the year 2013 of its need thereof that paved the way for its inclusion in the 2014 General Appropriations Act,” he added.

CSI won on December 13 last year the bidding for the delivery of 7,043 pieces of lug-type and directional tires. However, in a May 12 letter, Angelito Castillo, head of the DND BAC Secretariat, told CSI it would no longer pursue its contract with the firm.

“Much to the regret of the DND Bids and Awards Committee, we wish to inform you that the Department of National Defense will no longer pursue the aforestated procurement as the end-user of these commodities,” Castillo said in his letter, a copy of which the BusinessMirror also obtained.

“The Philippine Army has requested for its cancellation, as well as the realignment of fund supposedly allocated for the project,” Castillo added.

Castillo said in the letter that “upon the request of the Commanding General, Philippine Army, the Secretary of National Defense is constrained to cancel the project the same being no longer necessary.” Kho however responded, wherein he also asked for a reconsideration of the project’s cancellation, saying the reasons given by the DND were not only “unconstitutional but unduly exposes the CGPA to criminal, administrative and civil prosecution.”

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/tire-company-mulls-lawsuit-vs-dnd-move-to-cancel-deal/

Ceasefire monitors broker truce between rebels, barangay officials

From the Philippine Star (Sep 14): Ceasefire monitors broker truce between rebels, barangay officials

Government and Moro ceasefire monitors brokered a truce meant to end confrontations between a group of rebels and barangay officials in Lutayan town in Sultan Kudarat province.

Army Major Carlos Sol, chief secretariat of the government’s Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities, on Monday said the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that figured in hostilities last week with barangay officials and community watchmen in Barangay Bayasong, Lutayan had left to pave the way for the resolution of the conflict.

The rebels, led by Commander Guiamandin, raided a peasant enclave in Barangay Bayasong last week, provoking running firefights with armed barangay officials and a community volunteer security group.

Central Mindanao’s pioneer radio outfit, the Notre Dame Broadcasting Corp., had said in a report that three barangay tanods and the chair of Bayasong, Falcon Bansil, were wounded in the ensuing firefights.

Sol said members of the government-MILF joint ceasefire committee brokered an interim truce between the two groups to stave off escalation of hostilities in Barangay Bayasong. He said the hostilities were only between two local groups and did not in any way involve the MILF as a revolutionary organization.

Local officials said Guiamandin and Bansil are locked in a rido (clan war) sparked by a land dispute and rivalry for control of strategic patches of lands at the border of Buluan town in Maguindanao and Lutayan.

“A ceasefire was declared, which both groups promised to respect, through the combined efforts of the government-MILF joint ceasefire committee, the local government unit in Lutayan, the police and the military,” Sol said.

Sol said the LGU of Lutayan assured to help convince the protagonists to the conflict to reconcile amicably.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2015/09/14/1499765/ceasefire-monitors-broker-truce-between-rebels-barangay-officials

Two years after ‘rebellion,’ Zamboanga siege case enters trial proper stage

From GMA News (Sep 14): Two years after ‘rebellion,’ Zamboanga siege case enters trial proper stage

Two years after the deadly three-week Zamboanga siege in September 2013 and after the arraignment of more than 100 of the 236 accused, the rebellion case that stemmed from the incident is finally advancing to the trial proper stage.

 

Assistant State Prosecutor Cesar Angelo Chavez said the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 158 in Pasig City which is handling the case, has scheduled the last three pre-trial hearings for September 22, 23, and 24. After the scheduled hearings, the proceedings enter the trial proper.

 

Chave explained that a pre-trial allows issues involving a case to be "simplified." He added: "The prosecution and the defense also agree and admit facts para hindi na i-prove sa court."

 

A total of 236 members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) stand accused and the information or charges stemming from the incident have been amended 11 times already, Chavez said.

 

He said all detained accused - totaling more than 100 - have already been arraigned, while two others have been dropped from the information after they turned into state witness. 

 

"Actually mabilis na siya [ang takbo ng kaso] considering the transfer of the detention of the accused and the number of documents and number of the accused," Chavez told GMA News Online in an interview.

 

Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Anthony Fadullon assured the public that the rebellion case is "going through a very comprehensive pre-trial" but refused to elaborate or touch on the merits of the case.

 

"I cannot say more as we have a gag order from the court. I hope you understand," Fadullon said in a separate interview.

Rebellion charges

 

Charges of rebellion and violation of the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity were filed in two batches in October and December 2013 against MNLF chairman Nur Misuari and more than 200 others for the Zamboanga City siege.

 

Misuari and his men were charged with rebellion for taking up arms and attacking government security forces and civilians, and by committing “acts of murder, pillage, disorder, looting, arson, and destruction of private and public properties."

 

The cases were originally filed with the Zamboanga RTC but had to be transferred to Metro Manila since the Zamboanga Hall of Justice was damaged during fighting between the MNLF and government forces. The case was assigned to Pasig Judge Maria Rowen Modesto San Juan.

 

The arrested suspects were initially held at the San Ramon Prison and Penal Farm in Zamboanga City, but eventually transferred to Camp Bagong Diwain Taguig City.

 

Meanwhile, Misuari, his commander Habier Malik, and several others remained at large to this day. The military and police are already jointly hunting down the accused at large. 

 

They were also charged for their acts of violence against residents who did not take an active part in the armed hostilities, and for taking non-combatant civilians as hostages during the fighting.

 

According to the military, the Zamboanga City attack led to the deaths of nine soldiers, five policemen, 11 civilians, and at least 100 MNLF rebels, and injuries to other civilians in the area.

 

The Zamboanga City attack also resulted in several casualties and extensive damage within the city, particularly in barangays Mariki, Rio Hondo, Sta. Barbara, Sta. Catalina, Kasanyangan, Talon-talon, and Mampang.

 

The criminal charges also covered the armed group's breaking into houses, taking about 300 hostages whom they used as human shields, and the burning of 9,732 houses and buildings, both public and private, causing more than P200 million in damage.

 

Only one other trial involves as many accused in recent history, that of the Maguindanao murder case, that stemmed from the killing of 58 people in Ampatuan town on November 23, 2009. The bail hearings for the murder trial only ended some four years after it started.

 

Chavez remained hopeful that the rebellion trial won't drag on as long as the Maguindanao murder trial

 

"This will be faster kasi iyong pre-trial stage ay detailed. So kaunti na lang ang mga issues and facts na kailangan i-prove sa court," Chavez said.

 

The defense earlier offered a plea bargain, but it was rejected. 

 

"Nag-offer sila mag-plea for lesser offense pero ayaw tanggapin ng city government of Zamboanga, since they are the private complainants," said Chavez. 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/536800/news/nation/two-years-after-rebellion-zamboanga-siege-case-enters-trial-proper-stage