From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 24): Col. Manangquil induct “Media 101”
To promote public awareness and strengthen cooperation with media entities in its area of responsibility, the 101st Infantry (Three Red Arrows) Brigade based in Barangay Del Pilar, Piñan, Zamboanga del Norte recently organized media personalities in the province including Misamis Occidental.
The newly-elected officers known as Media 101 were officially installed into office over the week-end.
In a simple oath-taking ceremony held at Malindang Hall, 101st Brigade headquarters, Commanding Officer Col. Jesus A.Mananquil Jr., officially inducted Ms. Elena T.Pelare as President of Media 101.
Other elected officers include Mr. James Tremedal, Vice-President for Misamis Occidental and Dipolog City Information Officer Mr. Lorenzo Aseniero II, Vice-President-Zamboanga del Norte; Rosemarie P. Miranda, Treasurer; Joy Engoc, Auditor; Zorayda Eva Mostaril, Secretary; and Mr. Alfonso T. Ruda, PIA-Zamboanga del Norte, Board of Director.
Pelare expressed her gratefulness for the trust bestowed upon her by colleagues to lead Media 101 and vowed fairness in news reporting and to be responsible mediamen.
In his message, Col. Manangquil lauded the media’s desire to help in its information and dissemination campaign especially on medical outreach programs and other civic services apart from its anti-insurgency campaign.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1441445653282/col-manangquil-induct-media-101-
Sunday, October 25, 2015
OPAPP still hopeful of BBL passage
From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 25): OPAPP still hopeful of BBL passage
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) remains hopeful that the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will be passed by Congress before the Aquino administration ends.
“Wala namang dahilan para hindi pu-pwedeng mangyari [ang BBL] kung talagang mapakita rin ng ating Kongreso ang ganitong klaseng determination at support dito sa napakahabang proseso ng paghahanap ng maayos na solusyon – ng mapayapang solusyon sa kaguluhang nangyayari sa Mindanao,” GPH Chief Negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer Ferrer said.
Congress resumes session on November 3.
Ferrer said they expect the BBL to reach the bicameral conference next month. “Ibig sabihin ay naipasa na both sa House at sa Senado yung kani-kanilang mga versions at pupunta na doon sa pag-reconcile.”
She said, “Pagkatapos ay ihahabol na sa plenary for final call. Inaasahan natin at ipinapakiusap natin [sa Kongreso] na mangyari lahat yan pagdating ng Disyembre.”
If passed in December, Ferrer is hopeful that the Comelec can schedule the plebiscite by February. If ratified, President Aquino will sign the BBL into law so that by March the 'Transition Mechanism' may be put in place.
Ferrer said many sectors have expressed support for the BBL, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (CEAP), officials of Ateneo campuses, and other civil society organizations.
She said government agencies can participate in CAB implementation and in working for BBL passage since the program covers many sectors including tax issues, financing and budget, jurisdiction over energy and mineral resources and telecommunication.
"There is a need to promote understanding among different sectors on the issue because if the BBL is not passed under the Aquino administration, it will be back to zero for all of us in the next Congress," Ferrer added.
“Kailangan ma-refile yan ulit, aattend ka na naman ng mga committee hearings na aabutin ka na naman ng ilang taon bago ka makaabot kung asan tayo ngayon… nakakapanghinayang yung opportunity na ma-fast track na natin yung peace and development.”
Ferrer was the guest at the Kapihan sa Media ng Bayan last Friday held at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) building.
Kapihan sa Media ng Bayan airs live over PBS Radyo ng Bayan 738 kHz every Friday, 10-11am, with a replay on the same day in People's Television Network (PTV 4), 7-8pm and in IBC 13, 10:30-11:30pm.
Media ng Bayan comprises government media including Philippine Broadcasting System-Radyo ng Bayan, People’s Television, Philippines News Agency and Philippine Information Agency.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) remains hopeful that the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will be passed by Congress before the Aquino administration ends.
“Wala namang dahilan para hindi pu-pwedeng mangyari [ang BBL] kung talagang mapakita rin ng ating Kongreso ang ganitong klaseng determination at support dito sa napakahabang proseso ng paghahanap ng maayos na solusyon – ng mapayapang solusyon sa kaguluhang nangyayari sa Mindanao,” GPH Chief Negotiator Miriam Coronel Ferrer Ferrer said.
Congress resumes session on November 3.
Ferrer said they expect the BBL to reach the bicameral conference next month. “Ibig sabihin ay naipasa na both sa House at sa Senado yung kani-kanilang mga versions at pupunta na doon sa pag-reconcile.”
She said, “Pagkatapos ay ihahabol na sa plenary for final call. Inaasahan natin at ipinapakiusap natin [sa Kongreso] na mangyari lahat yan pagdating ng Disyembre.”
If passed in December, Ferrer is hopeful that the Comelec can schedule the plebiscite by February. If ratified, President Aquino will sign the BBL into law so that by March the 'Transition Mechanism' may be put in place.
Ferrer said many sectors have expressed support for the BBL, including the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Catholic Educators Association of the Philippines (CEAP), officials of Ateneo campuses, and other civil society organizations.
She said government agencies can participate in CAB implementation and in working for BBL passage since the program covers many sectors including tax issues, financing and budget, jurisdiction over energy and mineral resources and telecommunication.
"There is a need to promote understanding among different sectors on the issue because if the BBL is not passed under the Aquino administration, it will be back to zero for all of us in the next Congress," Ferrer added.
“Kailangan ma-refile yan ulit, aattend ka na naman ng mga committee hearings na aabutin ka na naman ng ilang taon bago ka makaabot kung asan tayo ngayon… nakakapanghinayang yung opportunity na ma-fast track na natin yung peace and development.”
Ferrer was the guest at the Kapihan sa Media ng Bayan last Friday held at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) building.
Kapihan sa Media ng Bayan airs live over PBS Radyo ng Bayan 738 kHz every Friday, 10-11am, with a replay on the same day in People's Television Network (PTV 4), 7-8pm and in IBC 13, 10:30-11:30pm.
Media ng Bayan comprises government media including Philippine Broadcasting System-Radyo ng Bayan, People’s Television, Philippines News Agency and Philippine Information Agency.
1 of 3 slain rebels claimed by PA
From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): 1 of 3 slain rebels claimed by PA
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819227
Police on Sunday said that one of the three New People’s
Army rebels killed in an encounter with soldiers from the 31st Infantry
Battalion of the Philippine Army this week has been claimed by his father after
he had been identified by authorities.
The remains of Domingo Z. Llantos Jr., 29, single, farmer
and resident of Barangay Taluto, Camalig, Albay, was taken into custody by his
father, Domingo N. Llantos Sr. for proper burial.
Llantos and two other companions died in a 45-minute
firefight between 15 communist insurgents under a certain Dupax of SPP1
Larangan 2 Komprob (Komite Probinsyal) Sorsogon and the government troopers at
5:30 a.m. on Wednesday this week at Sitio Cavite, Barangay Tinago, Juban,
Sorsogon.
Two Army soldiers, whose unit was conducting a combat
operation at the area, were wounded in the clash.
The identities of the two other slain rebels have remained
unknown as of press time.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819227
2 suspected NPA extortionists bagged in Davao Del Norte
From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): 2 suspected NPA extortionists bagged in Davao Del Norte
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819229
Two suspeected New People's Army (NPA) extortionists were
arrested during entrapment operations conducted by government security troops
in Panabo City
Capt. Rhyan Batchar, 10th Infantry Division public affairs
office chief, said the arrest took place 1 p.m. at Tibulao Terminal, Barangay
New Pandan, Panabo
City
Troopers from the 69th Infantry Battalion and the Panabo
City Police Office joint forces in the operation.
Arrested were Gary Francisco Bayoang, 25, married and
resident of Lower Pandaitan, Paquibato District, Davao
City and Daniel Francisco Bayoang, 19,
single, resident of Purok 3, Lemonsito, Barangay New Visayas, Panabo City
The pair demanded Php20,000, three sacks of rice, medicines
and three .45 caliber pistols from their victim whose identity is being
withheld for security reasons.
The two were brought to Panabo City Police Station for
further investigation and filing of appropriate charges against them.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819229
NPA owns up to the killing of Loreto mayor Otaza, son Daryl
From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): NPA owns up to the killing of Loreto mayor Otaza, son Daryl
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819249
The New People’s Army (NPA) has claimed responsibility for
the killing of Agusan del Sur town mayor Dario Otaza and his son Daryl Otaza
who were found dead at the vicinity of Purok 2, Barangay Bitan-agan, Butuan City
In a press statement, NPA Southern Mindanao Regional Command
spokesperson, Rigoberto Sanchez said the NPA imposed a death sentence to Otaza
and Daryl to give justice to the thousands of indigenous peoples and peasants
terrorized by their tyranny in Loreto and surrounding municipalities in Agusan
del sur. The NPA accused Otaza and Daryl as Bagani paramilitary leaders.
Sanchez said the NPA Operatives posing as National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI) elements raided the Otaza residence in Barangay Baan,
Butuan city, subdued Otaza’s security details and confiscated four (4)
bushmasters rifles, one (1) AK rifle, one (1) AK 2000 and two (2) 45 cal.
pistols. Sanchez said the rebels also found the Otazas in possession of some
Php 25,000.00 which had been secured and shall be turned over to their family
through a third party at the soonest possible time.
According to Sanchez, the NPA found Otaza and Daryl guilty
of committing acts constituting war crimes, crimes against humanity and other
violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
The NPA accused Otaza and Daryl for brutal murder and acts
of torture of Lumad and ordinary civilians: Benjie Planos of Barangay Kauswagan
on September13, 2013; Gabriel Alindao of Barangay Kauswagan on October 10,
2013; Romeo Wagas and Willy Gabisan of Barangay Kauswagan on October 26, 2013
and Gerry Villamo of Datu Ampunan on September 10, 2014.
The Otaza’s were also held responsible for the multiple
frustrated murder and robbery of some families residing in km. 16, Barangay
Datu Davao, Loreto on September 9, 2014 perpetrated by Bukakang Banggaan and
certain Augit and Intoy, members of the Otaza-created Taptap paramilitary
group.
Sanchez said Otaza’s paramilitary men identified as Mariel
Dioganon, Aki Dioganon , Jordan
Sanchez said the NPA also found Otaza’s Bagani forces as
behind the intense military operations jointly conducted with the 26th infantry
Battalion Philippine Army under Oplan Bayanihan that resulted to the gruesome
rights abuses against the Lumad Population such as the torture of four minors
from San Isidro, Loreto; hamletting and imposition of food and economic
blockade in five villages in Kauswagan, Loreto; forced evacuation which also
translated to the economic dislocation of at least 459 indigenous Manobo
individuals from Kauswagan and other villages of Loreto. Many of the evacuees,
Sanchez said have not reclaimed their land to this day as their villages
continue to be Otaza’s Bagani war zone.
Sanchez also mentioned divestment and destruction of not
less than 100 hectares of agricultural and upland farms which have been
rehabilitated and tilled by the evacuees after the Typhoon Pablo; attacks and
closure of two community-based learning centers which constituted violation of
the rights of the children to development and education.
He added that Otaza planned and executed espionage and
murder as NCIP provincial Chieftain together with Captain Gusi, officer of
MIG-4th Infantry Divisionas part of the AFP ‘s Task Force Gantangan, a major
component of the Oplan Bantay Laya 2, the centerpiece of which is the
perversion of the Lumad bagani culture.
According to Sanchez, Otaza continued military
counter-insurgency and paramilitarism when he became mayor of Loreto in 2010.
“Otaza's Bagani Force and the 26th IB continued their atrocious reign through
forcible arrests, fake NPA surrenders, arbitrary detention, psychological
warfare, harassment, threats against the families of the NPAs even after
entering an agreement brokered by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte with the evacuees that
no retaliatory attacks will be waged against them upon their return from evacuation
in August 2013,” Sanchez said.
Other accusations against Otaza were detailed by Sanchez in
his statement all of which were reportedly perpetrated against lumads and NPA
members.
Sanchez said Otaza was complicit in the sell-out of more
than 30,000 hectares of lands in Loreto to a foreign palm oil plantation
company.
On the other hand, Sanchez said the NPA also found Daryl
Otaza as directly participating in the commission of the mentioned crimes and
was reportedly a notorious druglord, illegally dealing prohibited drugs in
Loreto and surrounding areas.
“Enforcing the death penalty against the Otazas was part of
a just and fitting reprisal of the revolutionary movement,” Sanchez said,
adding that in waging the people’s war, the NPA has been pursuing revolutionary
justice by meting appropriate extreme penalties against war criminals to remove
the continuation of conditions of human rights violations and to render justice.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819249
4th ID assails rebel statement justifying abduction, murder of Loreto mayor, son
From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): 4th ID assails rebel statement justifying abduction, murder of Loreto mayor, son
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819276
The Cagayan De Oro-based 4th Infantry Division on Sunday
assailed the New People's Army (NPA) statement in which the rebels justified
the abduction and killing of Loreto Mayor Dario Otaza and his 27-year-old son
Daryl last Oct. 19.
Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez, 4th Infantry Division
spokesperson, called the statement made by NPA spokesperson Rigoberto Sanchez
"deceitful".
The latter earlier gave a “superficial” detailed information
accusing Mayor Otaza of the crimes against humanity that in the latter's town.
Sanchez is alleging Mayor Otaza as the mastermind of the
killings referred to as brutal murder and acts of torture of Lumad and ordinary
civilians.
One of which is the death of Benjie Planos and Gabriel
Alindao, last September 2013.
Planos and Alindao are both occupying a very big position in
the armed movement.
Their position is “Sangay sa Partido sa Lokalidad” or the
main NPA recruiter, organizers, point of contact inside the barangay.
However, when Mayor Otaza have promised a better future for
his town and urged his people to stop supporting the armed movement, Planos and
Alindao have turned their back to the armed movement just like what the victim
did in 1986.
Planos and Alindao have been subjected to death penalty of
the NPA bandits because of betrayal.
They were killed in September 2013 by the NPA and charged it
to Mayor Otaza.
Other killings mentioned in Sanchez’ statement have suffered
the same fate with the NPA’s inhumane and brutal Kangaroo Court.
Another fabricated statement was about the four minors and
two of whom “according to Sanchez’ imagination” have been subjected to illegal
arrest and illegal detention.
Definitely, everyone has a soft heart when they hear about
“minors”.
However, these are no ordinary minors. They have been used
by the NPA bandits to do crimes to further their vested interest.
Last July 19, 2013, Ramon Diaganon, Brgy Chairman of
Kauswagan, Loreto, Agusan Del Sur, for how many years of refusing support to
the armed movement, was ambushed by these four minors (NPA child warriors).
Troops under 26th Infantry Battalion and the PNP went after
the perpetrators and with the help of the civilians in the area, these four
were apprehended.
The four were immediately turned over to Patin-ay DSWD for
proper facilitation as opposed to the story of “illegal detention”.
Most of the issues proliferated and fabricated by Sanchez
came about after losing NPA control over Loreto.
In 2013, the AFP started its Bayanihan Activities with the
people. NPA in that area, have seen this as an opportunity for them to renew
their lives.
That is why 246 NPA surrendered and lead a normal and
peaceful life.
Earlier, Mayor Otaza said “Before, while the NPAs is in the
town forcibly taking away the food and other resources from the people,
soldiers now are here giving their services to the people and bridging the gap
between the people and the government. The NPAs made our people hopeful through
their false promises, while the Government taught the people ways to realize
their dreams.”
Sanchez’ desperate move on discrediting the peace and
development advocacies of Mayor Otaza have even add up to the anguish of all
the peace-loving people especially the Lumads who are experiencing NPA
manipulation and exploitation.
Further, Sanchez’ admission of the crime is actually another
clear evidence of them (NPA) as number one violator of the Human Rights
especially the Right to Life.
Human rights is fundamental to everyone regardless of his
beliefs, religion or stature in life.
It is inherent to every human being. It cannot be waived.
"Thus, Sanchez’ reason based from his fabricated issues
about Mayor Otaza doesn’t warrant the NPA to put justice on their hands. No
person is allowed to kill. It is wrong to kill," Martinez
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=819276
Free legal assistance for members of the AFP and PNP
From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): Free legal assistance for members of the AFP and PNP
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=819150
Like any other sector of society, the ordinary members of
the military and police, officers and enlisted personnel, should not be denied
access to legal assistance, a lawmaker insists.
Rep. Felix William B. Fuentebella is seeking to provide free
legal assistance to any officer or enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of
the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), who is facing
legal complaints arising from incidents related to the performance of their
official duties.
“In our country, most people may construe the law as
favoring the rich over the poor,” the young Fuentebella laments as he urged
passage of House Bill No. 6026, now referred to the Committee on National
Defense for appropriate action.
HB 6026 is entitled “An Act providing free legal assistance
to any officer or enlisted personnel of the AFP and the PNP on any charge
before the prosecutor’s office, court, administrative or any competent body
arising from an incident or incidents related to the performance of official
duty and appropriating funds therefor.”
The author noted that ordinary citizen, like those officers
and lowly enlisted personnel of the AFP and the PNP cannot afford to engage the
services of a lawyer due to the prohibitive cost of legal services, even to
defend themselves of charges related to the performance of their official
duties.
“Under HB 6026, the Secretary of Justice, the Chief of Staff
of the AFP, the Chairperson of the National Police Commission (Napolcom) or the
Chief of the PNP shall authorize any lawyer or lawyers of their respective
agencies to provide free legal assistance to any officer or enlisted
personnel,” Fuentebella said.
Furthermore, the measure provides that any amount necessary
to implement the proposed Act shall be charged against the appropriation of the
DOJ, AFP, Napolcom and PNP of the year following its enactment into law and
thereafter.
The DOJ, in coordination with the AFP, Napolcom and the PNP,
shall issue the necessary rules and regulations to implement the proposed
statute.
Concerned about the situation where most people in the lower
echelon of society could not afford the high cost of legal services, the lawmaker
could not help but echo the words of former Vice President Salvador P. Laurel.
“Without justice, no one can feel secure. Without security,
there can be no faith. Without faith, there can be no peace. And without peace,
this nation may perish,” Fuentebella said, echoing the very words of the former
statesman, Vice President Laurel.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=819150
DND allots PhP449.3-M for acquisition of ammunition, explosives and magazine assembly
From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): DND allots PhP449.3-M for acquisition of ammunition, explosives and magazine assembly
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=819187
The Department of National Defense (DND) is allocating
PhP449,398,421 for the manufacture, supply and delivery of ammunition,
explosives and magazine assembly.
Officials said the fund will be sourced from DND/AFP Fiscal
Year 2014 General Appropriations and Philippine Army Appropriations for
Calendar Year 2015.
To be acquired are the following:
-- Cartridge, 40mm, high explosive 32,260 rounds for
PhP70,004,200 with winning bidders needed to deliver the items within 180
calendar days.
-- Cartridge, 5.56mm Ball, SS109/M855 11,354,405 rounds, for
PhP320,194,221 with deliveries to be completed within 180 calendar days.
-- Magazine Assembly for M-16 Rifle 118,400 rounds for
PhP59,200,000 with deliveries to be completed within 180 calendar days.
Interested bidders must have completed a similar project
within the last five to 10 years.
The DND Bidding and Awards Committee will hold a pre-bid
conference on Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. at DND BAC Conference Room, Basement, Left
Wing, DND Building ,
Camp Aguinaldo ,
Quezon City
Bid opening is on Nov. 19, 10 a.m., also on the same venue.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=819187
PN interested to acquire another Hamilton-class cutter -- DND official
From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): PN interested to acquire another Hamilton-class cutter -- DND official
The Philippine Navy (PN) is interested in acquiring another decommissioned Hamilton-class cutter from the United States Coast Guard (USGC).
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=819183
The Philippine Navy (PN) is interested in acquiring another decommissioned Hamilton-class cutter from the United States Coast Guard (USGC).
This was disclosed by Department of National Defense (DND)
Undersecretary for Finance, Modernization and Materiel Fernando Manalo in a
text message to the Philippine News Agency.
He made the statement when queried if the Philippines
"I don't know if Boutwell is the cutter the DND is
proposing to acquire. What I know is the PN is interested in acquiring (an)
additional cutter," Manalo said.
The PN presently operates two ex-Hamilton class cutters, the
BRP Gregorio Del Pilar (PF-15 and ex-USCGC Hamilton
These two ships are the PN's most up-to-date surface
combatants and capable of patrolling the vast expanses of the West
Philippine Sea .
Despite being armed with only a 76mm Oto Melara auto-cannon
and small caliber weaponry, the Hamilton-class cutters are ideal for the PN
since these are capable of sailing even in adverse weather condition and
capable of housing naval helicopters aside from serving as a training platform
for Filipino naval officers and crewmen expected to man the new SSVs and
missile-armed frigates coming within the next two years.
A Hamilton-class cutter has a gross tonnage of 3,250 tons, a
length of 378 feet, beam of 43 feet, and draft of 15 feet.
Its propulsion systems consist of two diesel engines and two
gas turbine engines, giving it a top speed of 29 knots.
The ship has cruising range of 14,000 miles and a sea and
loiter time of 45 days.
It has a complement of 167 officers and men.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=819183
Saturday, October 24, 2015
NPA claims killing of Agusan Norte paramilitary
Posted to the often pro-CPP Davao Today (Oct 25): NPA claims killing of Agusan Norte paramilitary
The New People’s Army on Saturday admitted on the killing of Ricardo Sulhayan last October 7 in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte.
Cesar Renerio, National Democratic Front spokesperson said Sulhayan is a member of the Bungkatol Liberation Front – Task Force Gantangan (BULIF-TFG) which, the NPA claims, is involved in taking away the lands owned by some Higaonons “to facilitate entry of logging and sell it to local and foreign investors.”
The group is also responsible in killing and threatening Lumads who refuse to join them, said Renerio.
Renerio said Sulhayan was riding his motorcycle on October 7 at around 2:30 pm when a team of the NPA’s blocked him in Barangay Camagong, Nasipit.
“The NPA’s meant to arrest him and have him persecuted before the People’s Court when he resisted,” said Renerio.
Renerio said Sulhayan was shot five times resulting to his instantaneous death
He said Sulhayan is a member of Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM) “with ID number RES-AO7-E-M 3064 and a rank of Sargeant.
He said the Army provides arms to Lumad paramilitary groups.
“Groups like the BULIF are used to scare the community and restrict their struggle for self determination so that foreign and local logging and mining interests can easily enter the area. They are legitimate targets of NPA actions,” he said.
The NPAs also informs Sulhayan’s family that they will turnover his personal belongings and money amounting to P7,700 through a local radio station.
Meanwhile, the NPA denied involvement in the disappearance of a Lumad identified as Serino Bustillo, a resident of Sitio Malahoni, in Barangay Camagong last October 8, and the killing of civilians Eunilo Pitogo and Cresencia Pitogo.
Renerio said the Pitogos were killed by members of Calpit Egwa and Romeo Banusan’s group in Sitio Inagawan, Barangay La Purisima, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur last October 1.
http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/npa-claims-killing-of-agusan-norte-paramilitary/
The New People’s Army on Saturday admitted on the killing of Ricardo Sulhayan last October 7 in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte.
Cesar Renerio, National Democratic Front spokesperson said Sulhayan is a member of the Bungkatol Liberation Front – Task Force Gantangan (BULIF-TFG) which, the NPA claims, is involved in taking away the lands owned by some Higaonons “to facilitate entry of logging and sell it to local and foreign investors.”
The group is also responsible in killing and threatening Lumads who refuse to join them, said Renerio.
Renerio said Sulhayan was riding his motorcycle on October 7 at around 2:30 pm when a team of the NPA’s blocked him in Barangay Camagong, Nasipit.
“The NPA’s meant to arrest him and have him persecuted before the People’s Court when he resisted,” said Renerio.
Renerio said Sulhayan was shot five times resulting to his instantaneous death
He said Sulhayan is a member of Army Reserve Command (ARESCOM) “with ID number RES-AO7-E-M 3064 and a rank of Sargeant.
He said the Army provides arms to Lumad paramilitary groups.
“Groups like the BULIF are used to scare the community and restrict their struggle for self determination so that foreign and local logging and mining interests can easily enter the area. They are legitimate targets of NPA actions,” he said.
The NPAs also informs Sulhayan’s family that they will turnover his personal belongings and money amounting to P7,700 through a local radio station.
Meanwhile, the NPA denied involvement in the disappearance of a Lumad identified as Serino Bustillo, a resident of Sitio Malahoni, in Barangay Camagong last October 8, and the killing of civilians Eunilo Pitogo and Cresencia Pitogo.
Renerio said the Pitogos were killed by members of Calpit Egwa and Romeo Banusan’s group in Sitio Inagawan, Barangay La Purisima, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur last October 1.
http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/npa-claims-killing-of-agusan-norte-paramilitary/
Another Lumad School Attacked
From The Standard (Oct 25): Another Lumad School Attacked
DESPITE warnings from the Department of Education and local officials, a village leader allegedly led a mob of townsmen and some soldiers in destroying a school run by a private organization and named after an Italian priest who was killed for championing the rights of lumad (indigenous people).
The Fr. Fausto Tentorio Memorial School in Barangay White Culaman in Kitaotao, Bukidnon was destroyed by a mob led by barangay chairman Felipe Cabugnason and aided by some soldiers, Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate and Neri Colmenares said on Saturday.
The school, run by the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc., was named after Italian priest Fausto “Pops” Tentorio of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions who was killed on church grounds in Arakan, North Cotabato in 2011.
Tentorio is believed to have been killed by members of the paramilitary group Magahat Bagani, which is also believed to be behind the violence committed against leaders of indigenous people in Mindanao, locally called lumad.
“We condemn this atrocity against the lumad school in Kitaotao. We pledge all help that we can extend to find justice for the teachers and students affected by this savagery,” Zarate said, urging victims to file criminal, administrative and civil charges against Cabugnason and the soldiers who aided him.
“The Department of Education and the local government in Bukidnon have already warned Cabugnason and the military that they have no authority to shut down this lumad school, much less demolish it. Yet, they still persisted in doing their clearly illegal acts,” Zarate said added.
“The state of impunity is now running amuck in Mindanao and we have yet to see concrete actions from the government,” he added.
Colmenares, for his part, expressed concern over the vilification of the lumad school, saying that the accusation of being affiliated with rebel groups has resulted to human rights violations including extrajudicial killings.
“It is a pity that the village chief is taking its cue from the military, and espousing the lie that these lumad schools are the makings of rebel groups, and its teachers and students are rebel supporters or rebels themselves.
“Instead of supporting the efforts of Churches and non-government organizations to provide the much-needed education that his tribe members need, he is the first to vilify and attack the school that provided free education for lumad children,” Colmenares said.
“The demolition of this school is a crime against the lumad children who benefit from this school, to the memory of Fr. Pops Tentorio who had built lumad schools all over Mindanao before he was brutally murdered, and to all lumad people who are struggling for their right to their lands and to self-determination,” Colmenares pointed out.
Meanwhile, Kitaotao Vice Mayor Rodito Rafisura said the town council will start on Monday a probe on the demolition of the school.
MISFI executive director Percinita Sanchez told The Standard that Cabugnason together with soldiers in civilian clothes “broke the school’s fence and threatened some 28 students and teachers in the boarding school to immediately pack their things and were ordered to leave the school on Friday.’’
Sanchez said that Cabugnason sent an eviction letter to Fr. Fausto Tenorio Memorial School and were addressed to MISFI early October, “ordering them to shut down the Kitaotao-based school or he would forcibly enter the IP school and close the school immediately.”
Cabugnason’s eviction letter cited grounds for closure, such as the lack of a permit to operate and the school’s alleged connections with rebel group New Peoples’ Army.
Sanchez denied claims by Cabugnason that the school haven’t secured yet a permit to operate from the Department of Education, adding that they are “currently working with the Department of Education-Division of City Schools in Malaybalay,” which covers the town of Kitaotao to “disprove false claims.”
In fact, Sanchez said the DepEd and Kitaotao Mayor Lorenzo Gawilan Jr. already warned Cabugnason that he has no power to shut down the school.
Sanchez said that Cabugnason’s hostility came as a surprise to them “since he and many of the townspeople had been very supportive of the school since it was set up, as he was always present in many of its activities, such as moving-up rites, and others.”
The attack against lumad schools are among the issues raised by Manilakbayan 2015, a caravan and mobilization from Mindanao that will arrive in Manila on Oct. 26, 2015. Some 87 lumad schools suffered from various forms of military attack.
Many schools in Davao, Agusan, Bukidnon and Surigao have been repeatedly forced to suspend their operations amid allegations that they were being supported by communist rebels.
In Surigao del Sur alone, a director of another lumad school, the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development together with two other tribal leaders were killed inside the school compound last September, trigerring fear among tribesfolk and forcing them to evacuate.
Sanchez said that several teachers and students from the school are now traveling by land to Davao City, to join other refugees affected by the attacks.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/news/headlines/190356/another-lumad-school-attacked.html
DESPITE warnings from the Department of Education and local officials, a village leader allegedly led a mob of townsmen and some soldiers in destroying a school run by a private organization and named after an Italian priest who was killed for championing the rights of lumad (indigenous people).
The Fr. Fausto Tentorio Memorial School in Barangay White Culaman in Kitaotao, Bukidnon was destroyed by a mob led by barangay chairman Felipe Cabugnason and aided by some soldiers, Bayan Muna Reps. Carlos Zarate and Neri Colmenares said on Saturday.
The school, run by the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation Inc., was named after Italian priest Fausto “Pops” Tentorio of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions who was killed on church grounds in Arakan, North Cotabato in 2011.
Tentorio is believed to have been killed by members of the paramilitary group Magahat Bagani, which is also believed to be behind the violence committed against leaders of indigenous people in Mindanao, locally called lumad.
“We condemn this atrocity against the lumad school in Kitaotao. We pledge all help that we can extend to find justice for the teachers and students affected by this savagery,” Zarate said, urging victims to file criminal, administrative and civil charges against Cabugnason and the soldiers who aided him.
“The Department of Education and the local government in Bukidnon have already warned Cabugnason and the military that they have no authority to shut down this lumad school, much less demolish it. Yet, they still persisted in doing their clearly illegal acts,” Zarate said added.
“The state of impunity is now running amuck in Mindanao and we have yet to see concrete actions from the government,” he added.
Colmenares, for his part, expressed concern over the vilification of the lumad school, saying that the accusation of being affiliated with rebel groups has resulted to human rights violations including extrajudicial killings.
“It is a pity that the village chief is taking its cue from the military, and espousing the lie that these lumad schools are the makings of rebel groups, and its teachers and students are rebel supporters or rebels themselves.
“Instead of supporting the efforts of Churches and non-government organizations to provide the much-needed education that his tribe members need, he is the first to vilify and attack the school that provided free education for lumad children,” Colmenares said.
“The demolition of this school is a crime against the lumad children who benefit from this school, to the memory of Fr. Pops Tentorio who had built lumad schools all over Mindanao before he was brutally murdered, and to all lumad people who are struggling for their right to their lands and to self-determination,” Colmenares pointed out.
Meanwhile, Kitaotao Vice Mayor Rodito Rafisura said the town council will start on Monday a probe on the demolition of the school.
MISFI executive director Percinita Sanchez told The Standard that Cabugnason together with soldiers in civilian clothes “broke the school’s fence and threatened some 28 students and teachers in the boarding school to immediately pack their things and were ordered to leave the school on Friday.’’
Sanchez said that Cabugnason sent an eviction letter to Fr. Fausto Tenorio Memorial School and were addressed to MISFI early October, “ordering them to shut down the Kitaotao-based school or he would forcibly enter the IP school and close the school immediately.”
Cabugnason’s eviction letter cited grounds for closure, such as the lack of a permit to operate and the school’s alleged connections with rebel group New Peoples’ Army.
Sanchez denied claims by Cabugnason that the school haven’t secured yet a permit to operate from the Department of Education, adding that they are “currently working with the Department of Education-Division of City Schools in Malaybalay,” which covers the town of Kitaotao to “disprove false claims.”
In fact, Sanchez said the DepEd and Kitaotao Mayor Lorenzo Gawilan Jr. already warned Cabugnason that he has no power to shut down the school.
Sanchez said that Cabugnason’s hostility came as a surprise to them “since he and many of the townspeople had been very supportive of the school since it was set up, as he was always present in many of its activities, such as moving-up rites, and others.”
The attack against lumad schools are among the issues raised by Manilakbayan 2015, a caravan and mobilization from Mindanao that will arrive in Manila on Oct. 26, 2015. Some 87 lumad schools suffered from various forms of military attack.
Many schools in Davao, Agusan, Bukidnon and Surigao have been repeatedly forced to suspend their operations amid allegations that they were being supported by communist rebels.
In Surigao del Sur alone, a director of another lumad school, the Alternative Learning Center for Agriculture and Livelihood Development together with two other tribal leaders were killed inside the school compound last September, trigerring fear among tribesfolk and forcing them to evacuate.
Sanchez said that several teachers and students from the school are now traveling by land to Davao City, to join other refugees affected by the attacks.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/news/headlines/190356/another-lumad-school-attacked.html
#Manilakbayan: Mindanao tribes demand a stop to Lumad killings
From Rappler (Oct 25): #Manilakbayan: Mindanao tribes demand a stop to Lumad killings
Hundreds of participants of a protest caravan dubbed Manilakbayan are expected to arrive in the county’s capital, Sunday, October 25
STOP LUMAD KILLINGS. Lumads, students, church, and rights group stage a protest outside the House of Representatives during the deliberation of military's budget for 2016. Sheina Campos, 12, Eufemia Cullamat, and other witnesses during the September 1 killings in Lianga, Surigao del Sur of tribal leaders join the protest action. Photo by Vincent Go/Rappler
Nearly a week after their long journey against killings of Lumad or indigenous peoples in Mindanao, hundreds of participants of a protest caravan dubbed Manilakbayan are expected to arrive in the county’s capital on Sunday, October 25.
The caravan participants, who are called Manilakbayanis, travelled from Surigao City to Eastern Visayas, before crossing over to Luzon island, highlighting their call to stop human rights violations in various Lumad communities. (READ: TIMELINE: Attacks on the Lumad of Mindanao)
The campaign captured the national attention after a paramilitary group, on September 1, murdered a school director and two Lumad leaders in Surigao del Sur. (READ: #StopLumadKillings trends: Nasaan ang Pangulo?)
The spate of killings of rights activists and Lumad also alarmed two United Nations special rapporteurs who described the attacks as unacceptable and deplorable.
Church groups and activist organizations from Southern Tagalog welcomed the Lumad and their advocates when they arrived in the region Saturday, October 24.
“We join our brothers and sisters in their journey from Mindanao to let the people in the national capital know about their sufferings and struggles, and to demand [that] Noynoy Aquino immediately take action. Their struggles are not different from what we are experiencing due to massive militarization and human rights violations in the region,” said Diana de Chavez, spokesperson of BIGKISAN-Southern Tagalog.
Various groups, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) had earlier challenged the Aquino administration to probe the killings of the Lumad despite the alleged suspects’ links with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). (READ: CBCP dares Aquino admin: Probe Lumad killings; Christian churches condemn Lumad killings)
The military, however, denied any involvement in the death of Lumad leaders.
The spate of violence has already displaced nearly 3,000 indigenous peoples, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Week-long camp-out in Manila
From Quezon and Laguna provinces, an estimated 2,000 ‘Manilakbayanis’ will travel to Muntinlupa City where they are expected to be received by various advocates in Alabang Sunday morning.
The participants will proceed to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig where scores of political prisoners are currently detained.
“People from all walks of life have been waiting for the people of Mindanao in uniting to call for justice and plunder in their respective lands. We will be standing side by side with our Manilakbayanis from Mindanao as we assert our rights in Malacañang,” said De Chavez.
The delegates will spend Sunday night in Baclaran Church before going to UP Diliman, where a week-long camp-out will be held.
http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/110529-manilakbayan-mindanao-tribes-stop-lumad-killings
Hundreds of participants of a protest caravan dubbed Manilakbayan are expected to arrive in the county’s capital, Sunday, October 25
STOP LUMAD KILLINGS. Lumads, students, church, and rights group stage a protest outside the House of Representatives during the deliberation of military's budget for 2016. Sheina Campos, 12, Eufemia Cullamat, and other witnesses during the September 1 killings in Lianga, Surigao del Sur of tribal leaders join the protest action. Photo by Vincent Go/Rappler
Nearly a week after their long journey against killings of Lumad or indigenous peoples in Mindanao, hundreds of participants of a protest caravan dubbed Manilakbayan are expected to arrive in the county’s capital on Sunday, October 25.
The caravan participants, who are called Manilakbayanis, travelled from Surigao City to Eastern Visayas, before crossing over to Luzon island, highlighting their call to stop human rights violations in various Lumad communities. (READ: TIMELINE: Attacks on the Lumad of Mindanao)
The campaign captured the national attention after a paramilitary group, on September 1, murdered a school director and two Lumad leaders in Surigao del Sur. (READ: #StopLumadKillings trends: Nasaan ang Pangulo?)
The spate of killings of rights activists and Lumad also alarmed two United Nations special rapporteurs who described the attacks as unacceptable and deplorable.
Challenge to President Aquino
Church groups and activist organizations from Southern Tagalog welcomed the Lumad and their advocates when they arrived in the region Saturday, October 24.
“We join our brothers and sisters in their journey from Mindanao to let the people in the national capital know about their sufferings and struggles, and to demand [that] Noynoy Aquino immediately take action. Their struggles are not different from what we are experiencing due to massive militarization and human rights violations in the region,” said Diana de Chavez, spokesperson of BIGKISAN-Southern Tagalog.
Various groups, including the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) had earlier challenged the Aquino administration to probe the killings of the Lumad despite the alleged suspects’ links with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). (READ: CBCP dares Aquino admin: Probe Lumad killings; Christian churches condemn Lumad killings)
The military, however, denied any involvement in the death of Lumad leaders.
The spate of violence has already displaced nearly 3,000 indigenous peoples, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
From Quezon and Laguna provinces, an estimated 2,000 ‘Manilakbayanis’ will travel to Muntinlupa City where they are expected to be received by various advocates in Alabang Sunday morning.
The participants will proceed to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig where scores of political prisoners are currently detained.
“People from all walks of life have been waiting for the people of Mindanao in uniting to call for justice and plunder in their respective lands. We will be standing side by side with our Manilakbayanis from Mindanao as we assert our rights in Malacañang,” said De Chavez.
The delegates will spend Sunday night in Baclaran Church before going to UP Diliman, where a week-long camp-out will be held.
http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/110529-manilakbayan-mindanao-tribes-stop-lumad-killings
U.S. patrols to raise stakes with Beijing in disputed South China Sea
From InterAksyon (Oct 24): U.S. patrols to raise stakes with Beijing in disputed South China Sea
USS Cowpens passes USS George Washington in the South China Sea. Reuters file photograph
Plans to send U.S. warships or military aircraft within 12 nautical miles of China's artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, possibly within days, could open a tense new front in Sino-U.S. rivalry.
A range of security experts said Washington's so-called freedom of navigation patrols would have to be regular to be effective, given Chinese ambitions to project power deep into maritime Southeast Asia and beyond.
But China would likely resist attempts to make such U.S. actions routine, some said, raising the political and military stakes. China's navy could for example try to block or attempt to surround U.S. vessels, they said, risking an escalation.
Given months of debate already in Washington over the first such patrol close to the Chinese outposts since 2012, several regional security experts and former naval officers said the U.S. government might be reluctant to do them often.
U.S. allies such as Japan and Australia are unlikely to follow with their own direct challenges to China, despite their concerns over freedom of navigation along vital trade routes, they added.
"This cannot be a one-off," said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
"The U.S. navy will have to conduct these kinds of patrols on a regular basis to reinforce their message."
The Obama administration has said it would test China's territorial claims to the area after months of pressure from Congress and the U.S. military. It has not given a timeframe.
"I think we have been very clear - that we intend to do this," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters last Monday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said this month that Beijing would "never allow any country to violate China's territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly islands in the name of protecting navigation and overflight".
UNCLOS
Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, 12-nautical mile limits cannot be set around man-made islands built on previously submerged reefs.
Four of the seven reefs China has reclaimed over the last two years were completely submerged at high tide before construction began, legal scholars say.
China claims most of the South China Sea. Other claimants are Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
NO-GO ZONE
Bonnie Glaser, a security expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said U.S. missions would likely be regular, with the navy wanting to ensure it did not become effectively shut out of the area.
"I know the U.S. does not want that outcome. Nobody wants to give the Chinese a new no-go zone and an effective territorial sea they are not entitled to," she said.
Glaser said she believed China would be careful about interfering with a U.S. patrol, despite past frictions.
Myles Caggins, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, declined to comment when asked whether a U.S. show of force might be more symbolism than substance unless there was a sustained naval effort, or whether the administration was factoring in further Chinese assertiveness.
He said U.S. thinking was illustrated by President Barack Obama's statement at a news conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington last month that "the United States will continue to sail, fly and operate anywhere that international law allows".
Despite Xi's comment at the news conference that the man-made islands would not be militarized, some mainland Chinese analysts believe the reclamations will form the heart of a new military screen protecting Chinese submarines on southern Hainan Island, as well as boasting extensive civilian facilities.
These submarines will soon carry nuclear weapons and represent the core of China's nuclear deterrence, giving it a second strike capability.
DANGEROUS ESCALATION
While China's outposts are seen as vulnerable in a conflict, up until that point they will allow Beijing to extend both civilian activities, such as fishing and oil exploration, as well as military patrols. One airstrip is finished and two others are being built.
Zhang Baohui, a Chinese security expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said he feared a "dangerous escalation", with China likely to react to any attempt to make the patrols routine.
Rather than freedom of navigation, Zhang said he believed Beijing saw the issue as one of great power rivalry.
"It is all about power, and that is what makes this so dangerous," he said.
China had never formally declared a 12-mile territorial zone around the reclamations, so any U.S. show of force was premature, he added.
Sam Bateman, an adviser to Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and a former Australian naval officer, also noted the lack of any formal declaration, adding Washington risked underestimating China's angst over being contained in the South China Sea.
"There is a real risk of a confrontation between China and the U.S. that the U.S. might have to withdraw from," he said, urging more diplomacy instead.
"I'm not sure what their end-game is."
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/119376/u-s--patrols-to-raise-stakes-with-beijing-in-disputed-south-china-sea
USS Cowpens passes USS George Washington in the South China Sea. Reuters file photograph
Plans to send U.S. warships or military aircraft within 12 nautical miles of China's artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea, possibly within days, could open a tense new front in Sino-U.S. rivalry.
A range of security experts said Washington's so-called freedom of navigation patrols would have to be regular to be effective, given Chinese ambitions to project power deep into maritime Southeast Asia and beyond.
But China would likely resist attempts to make such U.S. actions routine, some said, raising the political and military stakes. China's navy could for example try to block or attempt to surround U.S. vessels, they said, risking an escalation.
Given months of debate already in Washington over the first such patrol close to the Chinese outposts since 2012, several regional security experts and former naval officers said the U.S. government might be reluctant to do them often.
U.S. allies such as Japan and Australia are unlikely to follow with their own direct challenges to China, despite their concerns over freedom of navigation along vital trade routes, they added.
"This cannot be a one-off," said Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
"The U.S. navy will have to conduct these kinds of patrols on a regular basis to reinforce their message."
The Obama administration has said it would test China's territorial claims to the area after months of pressure from Congress and the U.S. military. It has not given a timeframe.
"I think we have been very clear - that we intend to do this," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters last Monday.
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said this month that Beijing would "never allow any country to violate China's territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly islands in the name of protecting navigation and overflight".
UNCLOS
Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, 12-nautical mile limits cannot be set around man-made islands built on previously submerged reefs.
Four of the seven reefs China has reclaimed over the last two years were completely submerged at high tide before construction began, legal scholars say.
China claims most of the South China Sea. Other claimants are Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
NO-GO ZONE
Bonnie Glaser, a security expert at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies, said U.S. missions would likely be regular, with the navy wanting to ensure it did not become effectively shut out of the area.
"I know the U.S. does not want that outcome. Nobody wants to give the Chinese a new no-go zone and an effective territorial sea they are not entitled to," she said.
Glaser said she believed China would be careful about interfering with a U.S. patrol, despite past frictions.
Myles Caggins, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, declined to comment when asked whether a U.S. show of force might be more symbolism than substance unless there was a sustained naval effort, or whether the administration was factoring in further Chinese assertiveness.
He said U.S. thinking was illustrated by President Barack Obama's statement at a news conference with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington last month that "the United States will continue to sail, fly and operate anywhere that international law allows".
Despite Xi's comment at the news conference that the man-made islands would not be militarized, some mainland Chinese analysts believe the reclamations will form the heart of a new military screen protecting Chinese submarines on southern Hainan Island, as well as boasting extensive civilian facilities.
These submarines will soon carry nuclear weapons and represent the core of China's nuclear deterrence, giving it a second strike capability.
DANGEROUS ESCALATION
While China's outposts are seen as vulnerable in a conflict, up until that point they will allow Beijing to extend both civilian activities, such as fishing and oil exploration, as well as military patrols. One airstrip is finished and two others are being built.
Zhang Baohui, a Chinese security expert at Hong Kong's Lingnan University, said he feared a "dangerous escalation", with China likely to react to any attempt to make the patrols routine.
Rather than freedom of navigation, Zhang said he believed Beijing saw the issue as one of great power rivalry.
"It is all about power, and that is what makes this so dangerous," he said.
China had never formally declared a 12-mile territorial zone around the reclamations, so any U.S. show of force was premature, he added.
Sam Bateman, an adviser to Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies and a former Australian naval officer, also noted the lack of any formal declaration, adding Washington risked underestimating China's angst over being contained in the South China Sea.
"There is a real risk of a confrontation between China and the U.S. that the U.S. might have to withdraw from," he said, urging more diplomacy instead.
"I'm not sure what their end-game is."
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/119376/u-s--patrols-to-raise-stakes-with-beijing-in-disputed-south-china-sea
MILF: IDB reconvenes anew under a new chair
Posted to the MILF Website (Oct 24): IDB reconvenes anew under a new chair
(Photo by OPAPP)
The Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB), the mechanism established by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels and tasked to oversee the decommissioning of MILF weaponry and combatants reconvened last Tuesday, October 20, with a new chair and chief of staff, according to a report posted at OPAPP Website on October 22.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/new/item/631-idb-reconvenes-anew-under-a-new-chair
(Photo by OPAPP)
The Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB), the mechanism established by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels and tasked to oversee the decommissioning of MILF weaponry and combatants reconvened last Tuesday, October 20, with a new chair and chief of staff, according to a report posted at OPAPP Website on October 22.
The
seven-man team is now headed by Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Pulat, with two
other foreign experts and four other local experts nominated by the GPH and the
MILF panels, the report said.
The meeting
was also attended by GPH peace panel members -- former Agriculture secretary
Senen Bacani and National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Yasmin
Busran-Lao. Retired Lieutenant General Rey Ardo and Professor Mario Aguja, two
of the local experts assigned with the IDB were also present.
Amb.Pulat
succeeds Ambassador Haydar Berk who led the team that was instrumental in
guaranteeing a smooth decommissioning of the initial 145 MILF combatants and 75
crew-serve and high powered armaments last July.
Aside from
Pulat, the IDB is also being reinforced by the appointment of Norway
Hovland led
the IMT in restoring the ceasefire that broke down on January 25 in Mamasapano
and in conducting the IMT's own investigation on the incident.
He is
joined by three other Norwegians who will head the Joint Verification and
Monitoring Teams (JVMTs) of the IDB who are taking turns in administering the
weapons storage area of the decommissioned firearms inside Camp Iranun
These three
are Inger Grete, a retired female police officer, and Jan Stenvik and Asbjorn
Lode, who have previously served in various peace-keeping capacities in
different parts of the world. Every JVMT has a member each from the Armed
Forces of the Philippines
During
Pulat’s team’s courtesy call on Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles and GPH peace panel chair Miriam
Coronel-Ferrer on October 22, he said that, “People on the ground are closely
watching what is happening to the 145 initially decommissioned combatants. We
are here, ready to assist, and willing to do whatever is necessary to ensure
the success of the process.”
“The
Government of the Republic of Turkey supports the efforts of the Philippine
Government in bringing a lasting peace to Mindanao
and thus, is committed to its work within the IDB. We believe that Ambassador
Mustafa Pulat, as a qualified and able diplomat, will continue contributing to
the work of the IDB,” said the Embassy of Turkey on Pulat’s assignment. Prior
to being IDB chief, Pulat served as Turkey ’s
Ambassador to the Abuja-Federal Republic of Nigeria (2013-2015) and as the
country’s Consul General in Berlin
Decommissioning
is one of the important components of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro
(CAB) signed in 2014 by the government and the MILF. It is under the bigger and
broader normalization arrangement which seeks to return normalcy to communities
affected by the decades-long armed conflict in Mindanao .
“Decommissioning
is a very critical part of the similarly critical normalization process. As you
understand, there is still no BBL so you are joining us at a crucial and
interesting time,” said Deles to Pulat. “We appreciate you getting on board at
this time. It is our view that it is better to have systems and the
architecture in place for decommissioning even before the basic law is passed
rather than scramble later.”
GPH Chair
Ferrer, meanwhile, stressed that she looks forward to seeing a “fully working
IDB very soon.”
“Administratively,
the OPAPP and the Panel can assist the IDB but the single, most important thing
is for IDB to work closely with the MILF with regard a detailed verification of
the MILF combatants.” (Source: OPAPP Website)
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/new/item/631-idb-reconvenes-anew-under-a-new-chair
GRP, MILF make final push for BBL passage
From the Daily Tribune (Oct 25): GRP, MILF make final push for BBL passage
“The best way to move forward is to pursue the path of peace. We don’t want war (to happen again) and we don’t want it to continue anymore. (T)he BBL is a priority bill, nay an administration bill, that seeks to establish peace inMindanao ,” Iqbal said in a statement posted on its
Website.
“Every one of us can help because the passage of the BBL is of national interest,” he stressed. “After more than 42 years of armed conflict, and of 17 years of long, hard, and harsh negotiations, then the government has to (exhaust) all possible extra efforts and measures to get the law passed.”
The MILF chief peace negotiator reaffirmed the rebel group’s commitment in the peace process despite delays in the passage of the BBL as well as its continued trust on the commitment made by Congress’ leadership to pass a law that would embody the Bangsamoro aspiration for autonomy without diminishing the current powers enjoyed by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Government of the Philippines (GRP) peace panel chairman Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, for her part, stressed the support and participation of every Filipino on the success of the Bangsamoro peace process is important.
“The BBL is not just for the MILF but for all of us. People want the peace process to be 100 percent risk-free, but part of it is a leap of faith out of good intentions,” Ferrer said. “Our appeal is to have the faith with us so that we will have the best results.”
She added the passage of the BBL will lessen the problems of the next president as the proposed law will correct the structural problems within ARMM.
“Our challenge to the next President, do you want to inherit a problem or the solution? Let’s give peace a chance.”
The government chief negotiator noted that delays in the passage of the BBL are partly due to misinformation circulated immediately after the Mamasapano incident.
“After the Mamasapano tragedy, political opponents of the current administration used the BBL to derail the peace process while some politicians continue to use this as a platform to bolster their 2016 election campaign,” Ferrer said.
She debunked some claims as simply ridiculous. These include conspiracy theories that the BBL caters to Malaysia’s vested interests on Mindanao particularly the claim on Sabah and that the proposed law will lead to secession led by the MILF in which Ferrer cleared that the main aim of the peace talks is to stop the war and institute the needed reforms in order to achieve national unity.
“The MILF has committed to observe the ceasefire and undergo decommissioning of weapons and combatants while other groups continue to use violent and indiscriminate means. They remain committed to the peace process despite the delay on the passage of the BBL,” she said.
She also clarified that there is nothing unconstitutional in the BBL, noting that the key features and structural changes in the draft law are all within the flexibilities of the Philippine Constitution.
Ferrer also emphasized the inclusivity of the Bangsamoro law.
“The BBL is not just for the MILF. It protects the rights and welfare of all inhabitants of the prospective Bangsamoro.”
Iqbal noted that delays on the passage of the BBL can also be blamed on on misperceptions and prejudices against Muslims.
“(L)egislators wanted to change the BBL because of these fears and prejudices. (This is) not only (because of) what happened in Mamasapano but also about the (the fear of giving the Bangsamoro with) a lot of authority, if given a lot of power and autonomy,” Iqbal said.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/grp-milf-make-final-push-for-bbl-passage
Continuing
his appeal for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in Congress, Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal highlighted
that it is the solution to ending the internal armed conflict in Mindanao and
promoting peace and national unity among Filipinos.
“The best way to move forward is to pursue the path of peace. We don’t want war (to happen again) and we don’t want it to continue anymore. (T)he BBL is a priority bill, nay an administration bill, that seeks to establish peace in
“Every one of us can help because the passage of the BBL is of national interest,” he stressed. “After more than 42 years of armed conflict, and of 17 years of long, hard, and harsh negotiations, then the government has to (exhaust) all possible extra efforts and measures to get the law passed.”
The MILF chief peace negotiator reaffirmed the rebel group’s commitment in the peace process despite delays in the passage of the BBL as well as its continued trust on the commitment made by Congress’ leadership to pass a law that would embody the Bangsamoro aspiration for autonomy without diminishing the current powers enjoyed by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“We never
say die (in lobbying for the passage of the BBL). Congress can do it,” Iqbal
said. “(T)he role of the (Bangsamoro) Transition Commission which I happen to
head has been consistently and tirelessly monitoring the progress... (of) the
deliberations of the BBL in the halls of Congress.”
Government of the Philippines (GRP) peace panel chairman Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, for her part, stressed the support and participation of every Filipino on the success of the Bangsamoro peace process is important.
“The BBL is not just for the MILF but for all of us. People want the peace process to be 100 percent risk-free, but part of it is a leap of faith out of good intentions,” Ferrer said. “Our appeal is to have the faith with us so that we will have the best results.”
She added the passage of the BBL will lessen the problems of the next president as the proposed law will correct the structural problems within ARMM.
“Our challenge to the next President, do you want to inherit a problem or the solution? Let’s give peace a chance.”
The government chief negotiator noted that delays in the passage of the BBL are partly due to misinformation circulated immediately after the Mamasapano incident.
“After the Mamasapano tragedy, political opponents of the current administration used the BBL to derail the peace process while some politicians continue to use this as a platform to bolster their 2016 election campaign,” Ferrer said.
She debunked some claims as simply ridiculous. These include conspiracy theories that the BBL caters to Malaysia’s vested interests on Mindanao particularly the claim on Sabah and that the proposed law will lead to secession led by the MILF in which Ferrer cleared that the main aim of the peace talks is to stop the war and institute the needed reforms in order to achieve national unity.
“The MILF has committed to observe the ceasefire and undergo decommissioning of weapons and combatants while other groups continue to use violent and indiscriminate means. They remain committed to the peace process despite the delay on the passage of the BBL,” she said.
She also clarified that there is nothing unconstitutional in the BBL, noting that the key features and structural changes in the draft law are all within the flexibilities of the Philippine Constitution.
Ferrer also emphasized the inclusivity of the Bangsamoro law.
“The BBL is not just for the MILF. It protects the rights and welfare of all inhabitants of the prospective Bangsamoro.”
Iqbal noted that delays on the passage of the BBL can also be blamed on on misperceptions and prejudices against Muslims.
“(L)egislators wanted to change the BBL because of these fears and prejudices. (This is) not only (because of) what happened in Mamasapano but also about the (the fear of giving the Bangsamoro with) a lot of authority, if given a lot of power and autonomy,” Iqbal said.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/grp-milf-make-final-push-for-bbl-passage
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