RSBS assures outgoing fund will have refund for soldiers

From the Business World (Apr 19): RSBS assures outgoing fund will have refund for soldiers

THE Armed Forces of the Philippines Retirement and Separation Benefits System on Tuesday (AFP-RSBS) said it is confident that they will have enough money to refund its soldiers their retirement contributions once the agency liquidates its assets.

“We are very confident that we will be able to raise the total amount for refund when we start liquidating our assets,” said Norman C. Legaspi, AFP-RSBS president and CEO said during ceremonies formally abolishing the RSBS.

 

“We have to refund the contributions and the accrued interest they earned,” he added.

 

The RSBS needs to refund a total of P15 billion to P16 billion, already including the interests accrued, Mr. Legaspi said, adding that the fund currently has P17 billion worth of assets in book value.

Soldiers contribute 5% of their monthly base pay to the AFP-RSBS. In turn, their fund receives 6% interest per annum.

 

The refund will be given when the soldiers retire or are separated from the military, regardless of the nature of separation.

The RSBS president also said it will be difficult to accelerate the refund and it will depend on the results of its liquidation of assets..

In 2006 and 2007, two executive orders (EO) -- EO 590 and EO 590A -- were signed by then president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo mandating the deactivation of the AFP-RSBS.

These were not fully implemented until April 8 when Memorandum Order No. 90 rationalized the effects of both EOs and ordered the agency’s abolition.

“This memorandum paves the way for the system to streamline and wind down its operations in an efficient and orderly manner with the end in view of refunding all of its members’ contributions and accrued interests as they fall due,” a statement by the AFP-RSBS said.

 

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Nation&title=rsbs-assures-outgoing-fund-will-have-refund-for-soldiers&id=126266

Detained Bicolano farmer remains in fragile condition, Karapatan demands release of ailing political prisoners

From the sometimes pro-Communist Party of the Philippines Bicol Today (Apr 20):  Detained Bicolano farmer remains in fragile condition, Karapatan demands release of ailing political prisoners



Ramon Argente, 53, a peasant organizer from Bicol, shall be operated for a triple bypass surgery his family and SELDA is still seeking for help to complete the huge amount needed for operation expenses. Photo courtesy of freeallpps.wordpress.com

Human rights group calls on outgoing Pres. Benigno Simeon Aquino III to release based on humanitarian grounds all the ailing and elderly political prisoners before his term ends.

It includes a Bicolano farmer currently detained at Camarines Norte Provincial Jail who needs continuous medication after his triple by-pass operation in 2013.

Turning 57 years old on november, Ramon Quina Argente is a farmer from San Pablo, Del Gallego, Camarines Sur. He has coronary artery disease and was undergoing medication when he was arrested in February 18, 2013 in Brgy. Muson, Bauan, Batangas.

After the surgery, he was brought back to detention at the PNP Custodial Center and took six months before his motion for hospitalization was granted. He remains in fragile condition, as he still experiences difficulty in breathing and chest pains according to human rights group Karapatan.

“His health worsened while detained at the Camarines Norte Provincial Jail”. Combined with inhuman jail condition. Argente is currently in prison based on more than 11 trumped – up criminal charges. These include murder, arson, robbery in band with arson, double frustrated murder and the Maot case in April 2012.

“It is hard enough to live in cramped and unventilated cells for years. It is even harder for those who are already suffering from ailments, like the 82 political prisoners who are ill,” Cristina Palabay, Karapatan secretary general said.

Among those named for immediate release on humanitarian grounds aside from Argente are Adelberto Silva, Wilma Austria-Tiamzon, Concha Araneta-Bocala, and Alex Birondo. Silva, 68, a consultant for the NDFP, had undergone quadruple angioplasty before he was arrested on June 15, 2015.

Austria-Tiamzon, a peace consultant of the NDFP has spondylolisthesis (forward displacement of vertebra), hypertension and carotid artery occlusion.

The 65-year-old Araneta-Bocala, another NDFP consultant, has weak lungs because of a history of pneumonia. She also has ulcer, recurring lumbar pain due to scoliosis, anemia, vertigo, goiter, and recurring pain in her left eye, which was operated on previously.

Alex Birondo is hypertensive and insulin-dependent because of diabetes. “We don’t want another Eduardo Serrano, Benny Barid, Alison Alcantara or Crisanto Fat who all died while in prison,” Palabay said.

Political prisoner Eduardo Serrano spent his last 11 years in jail because of fabricated criminal charges for a certain Rogelio Villanueva.

Serrano was already waiting for the dismissal of the last two cases against him when he was rushed to the hospital due to heart attack. Serrano died on January 8 at the Philippine Heart Center.

In 2014, Benny Barid died of chronic asthmatic bronchitis with emphysema at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) Hospital. For three years, Barid was in and out of the hospital. He cannot stand up alone, and needs to be put in a wheelchair to move around. Fellow political prisoners, and not the government, looked for means to provide for his medicines.

In 2013, Alison Alcantara died of pneumonia, sepsis and fatal arrhythmia. He was brought to the Philippine General Hospital only after he fell into a coma at the NBP Hospital.

Crisanto Fat, a peasant leader in Negros Occidental, died of heart enlargement. He was handcuffed in a hospital bed when he died in 2011.

http://bicoltoday.com/2016/04/20/detained-bicolano-farmer-remains-in-fragile-condition-karapatan-demands-release-of-ailing-political-prisoners/

Canada lauds MILF’s commitment to end use of child soldiers

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 20): Canada lauds MILF’s commitment to end use of child soldiers

The Canadian government has lauded the ongoing efforts of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to eliminate child soldiers within their ranks, a move praised by the United Nations as the only successful continuing process in the world.

“I am very pleased to highlight this important final step – the identification and separation of children – as well as to begin the rehabilitation of children who have been recruited for and used in hostilities. Children should not be involved in wars,” said Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder in a recent visit to MILF’s Camp Darapanan to open a workshop co-sponsored by the Embassy of Canada and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

“The promotion and protection of human rights, including children’s rights, are an integral part of Canada’s foreign policy. It is an area of priority for our work here in the Philippines,” Reeder added.

Over the years, insurgent groups like the MILF and Maoist rebels Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) have been criticized by the United Nations and US State Department for giving combat or auxiliary roles to children, which resulted in their killings during armed clashes.

UNICEF said the MILF’s plan of action to end the use of child soldiers was so far “the only successful ongoing process in the world.”

The implementation of the plan will help MILF transition from a rebel movement to becoming a state actor.

A peace deal was signed by the government and the MILF in March 2014. However, the agreement can not be fully enforced without an implementing legislation that was stalled in Congress when some members of the rebel group figured in a firefight with elite Philippine National Police (PNP) commandos hunting down Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, in Mamasapano town last year.

“To be considered a credible state actor, you must be compliant with international conventions, including those on the rights of the child,” Reeder said.

Canada has been a longstanding supporter of international efforts advocating for the protection of children affected by armed conflicts.

It hosted the first International Conference on War-Affected Children in 2000. Then in 2006, Canada established the UN-based Group of Friends on Children and Armed Conflict in New York City and has acted as the chair ever since.

The forum has proven useful in bringing together various UN state members that advocate before the UN Security Council to take stronger measures aimed at those who commit grave violations.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=878172

Comply with gov't no-ransom policy -- AFP spokesperson

From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 20): Comply with gov't no-ransom policy -- AFP spokesperson

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Wednesday urged everyone to comply with the government's no-ransom policy.

This is in wake of reports claiming that a PHP50-million ransom has been paid to secure the 10 Indonesian crew members abducted off Tawi-Tawi waters last month.

"This is the first time we heard about this development. However the AFP continues to encourage everyone to observe government's no-ransom policy, the observance of the government’s no-ransom policy is because of a very specific reason, it is to discourage this kind of growing 'industry' in the area as well as to avoid providing this group a means to strengthen themselves," AFP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said.

When asked on whether the military will prevent Indonesian groups, he said the AFP's primordial concern of the armed forces is always the safety of all kidnap victims.

"There are many operations are ongoing, details of which I cannot disclose but the AFP is doing everything within its power as well cooperating with all other agencies of govt to carry specific instructions in facilitating the rescue of the victims," Padilla concluded.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=878216

NPA seizes 1,384 sacks of rice from Bukidnon trader, calls her hoarder

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Apr 20): NPA seizes 1,384 sacks of rice from Bukidnon trader, calls her hoarder

The New People’s Army said on Wednesday, it seized nearly 1,400 sacks of rice from an alleged hoarder in Valencia City in Bukidnon, last Monday.

Ariel “Inda” Magbanwag, spokesperson of the NPA’s South-Central Bukidnon Subregional Command, said the mission dubbed as “Operation Rice-Seizure” was given a green light and launched at the private warehouse of Helen Bernal in Purok 11, Barangay Batangan, at around 6 p.m. Monday.

“Within 15 minutes, the NPA confiscated 1,384 sacks of rice and loaded them into four trucks. Also confiscated were two Sony flat screens, CCTV monitors, an Automatic Voltage Regulator and sander tools,” Magbanwag said.

The communist leader accused Helen Bernal and her family of being the “biggest comprador-usurer in the whole rice paddy area in Valencia City and its adjacent towns.”

The seized rice will be distributed to areas affected by the drought, according to the NPA spokesperson.  

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/780459/npa-seizes-1384-sacks-of-rice-appliances-from-bukidnon-trader-calls-her-hoarder

5 cops abducted by NPA not prisoners of war, says Davao Region’s top cop

From MindaNews (Apr 20): 5 cops abducted by NPA not prisoners of war, says Davao Region’s top cop

The five police officers who were reportedly abducted by the New People’s Army (NPA) last Saturday in Paquibato District in this city are not prisoners of war (POW), according to the region’s highest ranking police officer, Chief Supt. Manuel Gaerlan.

This after a certain Rigoberto Sanchez, who claimed to be the spokesperson of the NPA Regional Operations Command-Southern Mindanao Region, admitted that the group’s 1st Pulang Bagani Command was behind the abduction and held the five officers as captives for being prisoners of war.

During a joint AFP-PNP press conference at the Task Force Davao headquarters Wednesday, Gaerlan maintained that the abductees were only responding to the community upon receiving report from the residents that a civilian was hurt in a clash between government forces and a “lawless armed group” around 7 a.m. on Saturday.

Chief Insp. Leonardo V. Tarongoy, the station commander of Paquibato Police Station, PO3 Rosenie L. Cabuenas, PO3 Rudolf Pacete, PO3 Abdul Azis A. Ali Jr. and PO2 Neil C. Arellano, and civilian driver Ronald Dordas were on board their patrol vehicle en route to Brgy. Salapawan when they were flagged down in Brgy. Mapula.

Gaerlan maintained that the captives were only performing their regular functions and were armed only with handguns.

In a press statement, Capt. Rhyan B. Batchar, chief of the 10 Infantry Division’s Public Affairs Office, said that 60 members of an “armed lawless group” attacked a detachment at Sitio Quiman-anao, Brgy. Salapawan, Paquibato District.

Injured were Mario Carliaman, member of the CAFGU Active Auxiliary, and Randy Ramirez, a civilian who was shot on his right shoulder while gathering firewood.

The CAFGUs reportedly retaliated but immediately escaped when the attackers, who carted away 19 assorted high-powered firearms, burned the detachment.

Last Monday, soldiers of the 84th Infantry Battalion engaged in two encounters NPA guerillas at Sitio Banban, Brgy. Lumiad, Paquibato District.

Batchar said they were the same group who attacked the Quiman-anao Detachment in Brgy. Salapawan last Friday.

The clash killed two from each side and left another two soldiers wounded.

Chief Supt. Wilben M. Mayor, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said in a statement issued Wednesday that they condemned the attacks against the law enforcers, saying that the police officers are civilians and not even members of the military.

“The Philippines is not at war, there is no declaration of war, nor is there any existence of conditions of war. Therefore, their continued detention is illegal under existing Philippine or any international laws. The Police Officers are civilians and not military personnel or combatants,” he said.

Gaerlan added that a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG), headed by Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director Vicente Danao, is gathering information that will lead to the location of the rebel group and their abductees.

But he suspected that they are still in Paquibato area as police have set up new checkpoints and strengthened the existing ones going to and from the area to prevent the rebel group from transporting the five abducted policemen to another place.

Gaerlan said they already alerted police authorities in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions to keep watch of suspected rebels entering their areas of responsibility.

He called on the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to do its investigation as they received reports that his men were tied or handcuffed to makeshift animal cages under subhuman conditions.

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2016/04/20/5-cops-abducted-by-npa-not-prisoners-of-war-says-davao-regions-top-cop/

Moles in shipping industry?

Posted to the Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide Website (Apr 19): Moles in shipping industry?

Security intelligence has warned of an intricate network that links terror groups to players in the economic sector.

This “brotherhood”, security experts say, serves to provide easy passage to terror groups, in particular global terror groups, such as the Islamic State (IS), seeking to strengthen their foothold in this region.

IS, which has since last year established a partnership with the southern Philippines-based Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), has set its eyes on the volatile area as its base for the Southeast Asian region to spread its ideology and influence for the establishment of a caliphate.

Counter-terrorism specialist Andrin Raj said the spate of kidnaps-for-ransom carried out by the ASG, which saw several vessels ambushed and many crewmen kidnapped in recent days, also suggested that ASG’s allegiance with the IS has brought with it support from those backing the group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

They are also holding in their stronghold in Jolo Island, a Canadian, Norwegian and Filipino whom they had abducted in September.

Intelligence suggests that there are more than 20 foreigners in ASG’s “custody” to date.

The ASG has this time upped its ransom rate by at least two-fold.

In the case of the Canadian and Norwegian, the ASG had made it clear that they would be beheaded if their governments failed to pay their ransom of 300 million pesos (RM25 million, reduced from the earlier one billion pesos/RM84 million).

Heavily armed and equipped with maritime assets, the ASG terrorists would snatch their targets from Sabah-Philippine waters.

Of late, their targets had been slow-moving vessels, particularly tugboats towing barges.

In sounding the warning, security experts have asked regional authorities to look closely into the backroom operations of their country’s shipping industry.

“There is a serious threat of an ‘insider’ colluding with the operatives of ASG. They also know that the areas in the disputed waters are not being patrolled, so it’s easier for them to mount attacks as no maritime authorities can manoeuvre within these disputed waters.

“But the trail leads back to their sources in the shipping industry and the authorities need to investigate the source of the leaked information,” Raj, Southeast Asia regional director for the International Association of Counter Terrorism and Security Professionals, told the New Straits Times.

Global security agencies are also drawing links to the latest IS propaganda mouthpiece which has lumped Malaysia along with several other countries, including Egypt and Turkey, as an apostate state, to governments that must be fought.

IS, they said, would drum up this ideology and infiltrate governments as part of their aggressive campaign to establish their foothold in this region.

They believed Malaysia was vulnerable and would make it easier to infiltrate the country.

They said the IS would use ASG and Suluk recruits for their attacks.

“In the case of ASG and IS, there is a clear link between the two as the nexus of terrorism and transnational criminal groups are evident. They complement each other in times of need.

“The ASG, on its part, will become more prudent in its operations as it now has the IS as its main supporter and sponsor,” said an expert.

The experts, in commending Malaysian authorities for bolstering the country’s security, said efforts to safeguard national security should also be shouldered by the public.

“It is crucial for the public to play their role where they can, including the commercial sectors. It is the joint-community support policing that Malaysians must uphold.”

Raj said Malaysia had become an IS target since last year when its authorities started clamping down on IS recruits and returnees.

“The threat is real and IS will try to hit high-value commercial and industrial targets as they have done ground operational surveillance in the region and are aware of the first responders’ protocols in Malaysia.

“This region, where IS has established its base, is a safe haven as they believe there won’t be any major offensives from the armed forces as compared with Iraq and Syria and some places within the Maghreb where military operations to dislodge them are taking place every day, with coordinated and sustained ground and airstrikes.

“IS believes this will not happen in this region,” he said.

http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/moles-in-shipping-industry/

Govt Puts Temporary Ban on Unescorted Ships Sailing to Philippines

From the Jakarta Globe (Apr 19): Govt Puts Temporary Ban on Unescorted Ships Sailing to Philippines

Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan confirmed that the government has placed a temporary moratorium on sailing permits for ships heading to the Philippines from Indonesia. He added that any barges heading to the neighboring country must be escorted by the military.

"We have asked that six coal barges currently in Philippine waters should be escorted by that country's military before being picked up by the Indonesian Military [TNI] when entering Indonesian waters," Jonan said after meeting with Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Jakarta on Tuesday (19/04).

The temporary moratorium will be in force until an agreement is reached between Indonesia and the Philippines, which he said was still being discussed by TNI chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo and Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

"If there are no escorts available, we suggested that the ships should remain there. This applies to those in Tarakan and Manado [North Sulawesi]," Jonan added.

Moreover, Jonan said he expected to see more security for any ships sailing to the Philippines rather than paying more money for the release of hostages.

The temporary moratorium comes after 14 Indonesian crewmembers were taken hostage by the Philippine rebel Abu Sayyaf in two separate incidents recently. The company that owns the hijacked tugboat, Brahma 12, has agreed to pay the 50-million-peso ($1 million) ransom demanded by the Abu Sayyaf for the release of 10 Indonesian crewmembers who have been held hostage since March 26.

Chief Security Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said the rebel group had been in contact with the company, Patria Maritime Lines.

"It is agreed that [the company] will pay 50 million pesos, or the equivalent of Rp 14.3 billion, which will be handed over at a certain location," Luhut said on Tuesday, as quoted by Tempo.co.

The minister said the two sides would communicate again later this week to discuss further details.

The Abu Sayyaf group is notorious for kidnappings, beheadings, bombings and extortion. The group has also been a major influence on other terror groups in Southeast Asia, including those in Indonesia.

http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/govt-puts-temporary-ban-unescorted-ships-sailing-philippines/

Third Tug Attacked by Pirates in Sulu Sea

From The Maritime Executive (Apr 19): Third Tug Attacked by Pirates in Sulu Sea



Injured crewmember of the TB Henry rescued by Malaysian forces (image courtesy MMEA)

On Friday, the towing vessel TB Henry was hijacked and four of her crewmembers kidnapped off of Lahad Datu, Malaysia, near the intersection of Indonesian, Malaysian and Philippine waters. The attackers have not been definitively identified, but officials suspect militants associated with the designated terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. The kidnapping was the third in two weeks.

The tugboat TB Henry and her 10 crewmembers had finished delivering a cargo of coal to the island of Cebu. They were making the 500 nm return trip to Tarakan, North Kalimantan, Indonesia, when pirates attacked their vessel in the region of Tawi-Tawi, the southernmost point of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Philippines - the same area as the previous two hijackings.

The TB Henry's crew resisted the pirates and prevented them from taking possession of the tug and her tow. One was shot in the chest while resisting capture. The wounded crewmember and five others managed to escape, and were rescued by Malaysian forces; four others were taken hostage. The kidnappings bring the total number of mariners held hostage in the attacks to 18, the majority of them Indonesian nationals.

On Tuesday, Indonesia's coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Luhut Pandjaitan, told reporters that the operator of the first vessel in the string of hijackings – the tug Brahma 12 – had negotiated to pay a ransom of one million dollars for the release of her 10 crewmembers. He said that the discussions in that case were relatively straightforward, but that the pirate group holding the second set of hostages was more difficult to negotiate with. Pandjaitan suggested that the kidnappings were motivated by financial considerations. "They are a group that's motivated by money, not ideology," he said.

Separately, Indonesian military spokesman Tatang Sulaiman called for joint maritime patrols with the Philippines and Malaysia. "We are trying to set up cooperation on coordinated patrols between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines," he said. "If there is some kind of disturbance or security threat, it could be overcome in [our] respective areas," Sulaiman said, adding that Indonesia had already sent two warships to the area.

However, the forceful government response to the outbreak of pirate attacks is creating unintended consequences for the local population, officials say. On Tawi-Tawi and nearby islands, business owners and residents reported that following the tug hijackings, Malaysian security forces have effectively created a maritime blockade in an attempt to prevent infiltration by Abu Sayyaf. Traders and entrepreneurs have reportedly had to stop shipments of goods with partners in Sabah island, an Abu Sayyaf stronghold, as Malaysian authorities are intercepting shipping. Tawi-Tawi gets approximately 80 percent of its goods from Sabah, local officials say.

The congressional representative of Tawi-Tawi, Congresswoman Ruby Sahali, appealed to the Philippine government to help address the issue with Malaysian officials.

“This problem is so serious. At least 13 wooden-hulled vessels carrying food supplies from Sabah, bound for our province, were recently stopped by Malaysian authorities,” she said, adding that the price of rice has doubled since the start of the blockade.

http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/third-tug-attacked-by-pirates-in-sulu-sea

Socio-economic interventions weaken Abu Sayyaf, officials say

From the Philippine Star (Apr 20): Socio-economic interventions weaken Abu Sayyaf, officials say



A drone photo of one of the many road projects of the ARMM government in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. Courtesy of engineer Soler Undug

The Abu Sayyaf in Basilan is now restive with its dwindling control of poor people due to continuing government poverty mitigation efforts since 2012 to hasten the island’s socio-economic growth.

Members of the regional peace and order council (RPOC) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday said in Tipo-Tipo town alone, the ARMM administration concreted in recent months four major farm-to-market roads interconnecting hostile territories, where the Abu Sayyaf once had impregnable lairs.

“The Abu Sayyaf is using the issue of poverty to fan anti-government sentiments among local folks from where it gets food and collects money to fund its activities.

Once empowered, people will realize there is no benefit in patronizing the group,” said an official of the ARMM’s Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), who hails from Basilan. 

Military sources said the new roads and the concreting of old ones in Tipo-Tipo by the ARMM government, through the regional public works department and the Basilan District Engineering Office (DEO) are “irritants” for the Abu Sayyaf.

The sources said the continuing compression of Abu Sayyaf bastions, as a positive impact of ARMM’s infrastructure projects in the province, prompted the group to escalate roadside bombings in recent months and the April 9 attack on soldiers moving towards their camp in Barangay Baguindan to hoist the Philippine flag there.

“As if they want to show to the people in the province that they remain a force to reckon with, but the truth is their world is getting smaller each time a road project in the province gets completed. In police parlance we call that `police community relations’ effort,” said Senior Superintendent Oscar Nantes, Basilan’s police director.

Nantes said the law enforcement efforts of the provincial police was, in fact, made easier by the connectivity now of remote barangays to municipal police offices.

A matrix obtained from police and military officials who are also RPOC members indicated that the office of the ARMM’s public works secretary, engineer Don Loong, and the chief of the Basilan DEO, Soler Undug, constructed four major arteries crisscrossing Tipo-Tipo’s isolated farming enclaves in the past three years.

The four projects stated in the document were the Parang Basak-Bohe Baka-Bohe Lebbeng Road, the Tipo-Tipo-Lagayas-Candiis Road and the Albarka-Tipo-Tipo Proper-Limbo Kassah-Magkawa-Kuhon Road, which straddles through agricultural sites in Tipo-Tipo.

The city government of Lamitan, the provincial capital of Basilan, has confirmed there has been a dramatic increase in the procurement of Copra and other farm products by domestic traders from farmers in areas traversed by newly-concreted thoroughfares.

“Even in Lamitan City, the productivity of farmers improved by many folds as a result of the completion of ARMM road projects in its barangays and so the local business climate is improving,” said Vice Mayor Roderick Furigay.

Furigay, who had served as Lamitan City mayor for three consecutive terms prior to his election as vice mayor in 2013, said his constituent-traders are thankful to ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman for implementing costly infrastructure projects even in the remotest town in the province.

“We are now `savoring,' like food, the good tastes of these massive socio-economic initiatives of the ARMM and Malacañang. Economic development is the best thesis to address security problems in Basilan and in Lamitan City,” Furigay said.

Evacuees from three barangays in Tipo-Tipo, where soldiers and Abu Sayyaf bandits figured in fierce encounters from April 9 to 14, had told relief workers, dispatched by Hataman’s office to attend to their needs, that Abu Sayyaf forces in the municipality are rabidly opposed to sending children to public schools.

“They want our children to hate non-Muslims and be prepared to fight the government when they grow up,” a farmer’s wife, Sittie Kalima, was quoted by a Cotabato City-based ARMM relief worker as saying during their relief operations in Basilan last week.

Evacuees had said the Abu Sayyaf’s latest rampage in Tipo-Tipo was sparked by increasing restiveness in its ranks owing to the reduction of the areas it controls as a consequence of the ARMM’s infrastructure thrusts.

Besides the new roads built in the area by the ARMM government, the town also boasts now of having a small seaport in Bana-Bana, also built by the Hataman administration through the regional public works department and the office of Undug.
Records from state auditors, supported with drone aerial photos of various ARMM infrastructure projects in Basilan, also revealed that the offices of Loong and Undug, both civil engineers, had constructed a total of 181 kilometers of roads in the island province in the past three years.

Both engineers aim to construct more than 300 kilometers more of new arterial networks in the coming quarters using the ARMM’s yearly infrastructure budget.
Loong said Hataman and President Benigno Aquino III would both have a bilateral legacy of having built in the autonomous region 1,328 kilometers of roads, 103 ports, 101 bridges, 44 drainage structures, 17 shore protection structure, under the regular infrastructure efforts of the DPWH-ARMM from 2012 to 2016.

“No other president and ARMM chief executive have ever initiated such kind of joint socio-economic ventures in the region since its creation 25 years ago,” Loong said.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/04/20/1574903/socio-economic-interventions-weaken-abu-sayyaf-officials-say

ARMM provides assistance to families affected by conflict in Basilan

From the Mindanao Examiner (Apr 20): ARMM provides assistance to families affected by conflict in Basilan

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has provided relief assistance to more than 700 families displaced by the military operation against members of the Abu Sayyaf in Tipo-Tipo town here.

Secretary Rahima Alba of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-ARMM, said the fighting affected more than 3,000 people in the villages of Baguindan, Silangkum and Bohe-Piang.

She said the DSWD and the ARMM’s Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team (HEART) validated the number of affected families in the area to provide relief assistance and other appropriate intervention. The ARMM-HEART has already provided 260 sacks of rice to the affected families, according to Alba.

ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman has instructed the ARMM-HEART to closely monitor the ongoing military operation and prepare for necessary aids to the civilians.

He had earlier expressed grief over the death of 18 soldiers in the clashes on April 9.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with our soldiers and their families, and in this time of mourning we would like to express our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones to an act of cowardice committed by a terror group that has brought nothing to our shores but death and grief,” Gov. Hataman said.

The fighting broke out when elements of the Joint Task Group Basilan caught up with the ASG headed by Isnilon Hapilon and Radzmil Jannatul alias Kubayb in during a pursuit operation.

Hataman said his administration “will continue to tread the path of peace as we work harder to bring justice to the people of our region. We will not cease in our efforts towards peace and we condemn this act that betrays our faith and our values — an act to which we will respond with justice swiftly and rightfully served.”

http://mindanaoexaminer.com/armm-provides-assistance-to-families-affected-by-conflict-in-basilan/

US turns over barracks to up counter-terrorism capacity in Sulu

From the Philippine Star (Apr 20): US turns over barracks to up counter-terrorism capacity in Sulu



The barracks will house police officers who are receiving US-sponsored training at Camp Kasim. File photo

The US Embassy in Manila turned over on Tuesday a P16.9 million-worth police barracks for counter-terrorism training in the provincial headquarter in Sulu.

 

The US Pacific Command’s (Pacom) Joint Interagency Task Force West started construction of the building inside Camp Kasim early in 2015. It was completed the other week.

 

The embassy in a statement said the building would serve as barracks for police officers who are receiving US-sponsored training at Camp Kasim, a police headquarter named after Sr. Supt. Julasirim Kasim who died in gun battle against the Abu Sayyaf Group in 2009.

 

The ground floor of the new barracks has a conference room, International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance training office, and two private offices, while the top floor consists of both male and female barracks areas.

 

The barracks can support 36 police officers on training.

 

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2016/04/20/1574932/us-turns-over-barracks-counter-terrorism-capacity-sulu

Troops sent to Sulu to rescue Abu Sayyaf hostages

From Gulf News (Apr 20): Troops sent to Sulu to rescue Abu Sayyaf hostages

Military and police officers vow to observe no ransom policy

A joint military and police ground troops team was sent to rescue two Canadians, one Norwegian, and a Filipino in Sulu, southern Philippines, ahead of the April 25 deadline given by suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen who demanded P1.2 billion (Dh95 million) for their release, lower than the P4 billion they had asked for in November 2015, a month after the four were kidnapped from an upscale resort on Samal Island, Davao del Norte, on September 21, 2015, sources said.

“We do not follow deadline[s]. As long as we get the new information [on their whereabouts], the troops will hit them,” said Maj. Filemon Tan junior, spokesperson of Western Mindanao Command, adding, “There is new information. That’s why we added additional troops.” Military spokesperson Col. Restitute Padilla and Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor said the government’s no ransom policy will be followed, adding the rescue operation would ensure the safety of the kidnap victims. The troops were sent to Tawi-Tawi and Basilan, strongholds of the Abu Sayyaf Group, other sources said. The rescue operation aimed at freeing Norweigian Kjartan Sekkingstad, 56; Canadian nationals John Ridsdel, 68, and Robert Hall, 50; and Hall’s Filipina partner Marites Flor. They were kidnapped from the Island Garden City of Samal, Davao del Norte last year.

In early April 2016, the Abu Sayyaf Group posted a video online that showed a kidnapper demanding P300 million per hostage, and gave families of the kidnap victims until April 25 to respond. In March 2016, the group posted a 37-minute video on the Facebook page Pamantasan NG Tawheed at Jihad Filibin, which showed a hooded Abu Sayyaf member saying, “something terrible” would happen to the four victims if the ransom demands were not met by April 8, 2016. The deadline was later moved to April 25. In November 2015, a video captured by SITE Intelligence Group showed a masked kidnapper demanding P1 billion for each hostage, or a total of P4 billion. No deadline for the ransom payment was given at the time. Other Abu Sayyaf victims include 14 Indonesians and four Malaysians who were seized off southern Philippines and taken to Sulu weeks ago; six Filipinos; and a former Italian Catholic missionary who was seized from his pizza restaurant in southern Zamboanga Sibugay province in October 2015. Since the early 2000s, soldiers of the Philippine government have been receiving intelligence from the US help curb Abu Sayyaf Group’s activities. Both the US and the Philippines have included the Abu Sayyaf Group in their respective lists of terror groups that are engaged in kidnap-for-ransom, beheadings, bombings and other terror activities. Southern Philippines is ruled by 46-year old former separatist Filipino-Muslim rebel groups engaged in peace talks with the government; a 46-year old communist group also talking peace with the government; and other Filipino-Muslim terror groups, formerly Al Qaida-linked and now Daesh-linked, that are not holding negotiations with the government. Roman Catholic lowlanders are based in Northern Luzon and central Visayas, two of three major islands in the Philippines.

http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/philippines/troops-sent-to-sulu-to-rescue-abu-sayyaf-hostages-1.1717420

Canada ‘very concerned’ about Abu Sayyaf threat to behead Canadian hostages

From GMA News (Apr 20): Canada ‘very concerned’ about Abu Sayyaf threat to behead Canadian hostages

Canada on Wednesday expressed serious concern over a threat by the Abu Sayyaf to behead two Canadian hostages if the $13-million ransom in exchange for their release is not paid by April 25.

“We, obviously as a government, we are very, very concerned about the situation of our nationals. Their safety and security are our primary concern,” Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder told journalists.

The latest video released by Abu Sayyaf gunmen, who are holding John Ridsdel and Robert Hall in Mindanao, are demanding $6.5 million or about P300 million for each hostage – the largest ransom the extremist group has ever asked for in years. The figure was reduced from the original P1 billion being demanded by the group for each hostage last year.

Ridsel and Hall were abducted by the group on Sept. 21, 2015 on the resort island of Samal in the province of Davao del Norte. Also held captive are Filipina Marites Flor, said to be Hall’s partner, and Norweigian Kjartan Sekkingstad, the manager of the Ocean View Samal Resort. A P300-million ransom is also being demanded for Sekkingstad’s freedom.

Reeder would not provide specific details about the situation or current efforts being made to secure the freedom of the two Canadians, but said “we are closely engaged with the government of the Philippines on this.”

“Our thoughts are with the families. It's a family-led initiative in terms of trying to support the families in these difficult times and I can't really say too much more,” Reeder said.

The kidnappings emphasize the years-long problem on peace and security in parts of Mindanao, a region rich in natural resources, but has been dogged by decades-long Moro insurgencies, widespread poverty, lawlessness, unemployment and has tuned into a haven for local and foreign terrorist groups.

“We are doing our best for their safety and security and we hope that they'll be safe and sound and release very soon,” Reeder said.

The Abu Sayyaf, blamed for numerous terror attacks around the country, several kidnappings of foreigners and is notorious for beheading its captives if their demand for ransom is not met, is listed as a terrorist organization by the Philippines and the United States.

Philippines-US counter-terrorism cooperation has successfully led to the killing of key local terrorists from the Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao, but the group continues to thrive even as its members have dwindled in recent years.  

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/563382/news/nation/canada-very-concerned-about-abu-sayyaf-threat-to-behead-canadian-hostages

Rescue goes sour

From the Mindanao Times (Apr 19): Rescue goes sour

3 killed in NPA clash with gov’t troops trying to save abducted cops

ONE SOLDIER and a militiaman were killed, while two others were wounded, when pursuing troops clashed with rebels in Sitio Banban, Barangay Lumiad in Paquibato District at 8 a.m. yesterday. Meanwhile, a communist guerilla was also killed and a firearm recovered at the site.

 

Capt. Ruel Llanes, civil-military operations officer of the 84th Infantry Battalion, said the troops were pursuing the rebels who attacked the 72nd IB Detachment in Barangay Salapawan on Saturday morning and abducted the chief of the Paquibato Police Precinct PCI Lenoardo Tarongoy and four other officers.

 

Llanes said the firefight ensued for almost one-hour that resulted to the death of Pfc. Jaylord S. Vicente and the wounding of militiaman, Edward Sapuez.

 

The two other wounded soldiers were identified as Cpl. Wilmar Pacina  and Cpl. Ronel Fanuga. They were all airlifted to Camp Panacan Station hospital.

 

During the clearing operation, soldiers stumbled upon the body of an unidentified rebel and recovered an M16 rifle.

 

In a separate interview, Chief Insp. Andrea Dela Cerna, spokesperson of Police Regional Office-XI, said 15 personnel  from the City Public Safety  Company  were already deployed to the Paquibato Police Precinct, following the abduction of its commander and four others.

 

Sr. Insp. Bryan Deiparine will be the officer-in-charge of precinct.

 

Dela Cerna further said that Chief Supt. Manuel R. Gearlan, newly appointed acting regional director of PRO-XI, gave a directive for stricter checkpoints to restrict the movement of the fleeing NPAs.

 

“The alerted units were told to include the tri-boundaries of the city while the pursuit operations are still ongoing  to rescue the abducted policemen,” she said.

 

On Saturday, the chief of the Paquibato Police Precinct and four of his men were reportedly abducted by members of the New People’s Army in Purok 5,  Barangay Mapula at 12 noon .

 

Prior to the incident, one militiaman and a civilian were wounded after the rebels attacked and burned the army detachment in Barangay Salapawan at 7:30 a.m. of the same day.

 

According to the report, Ricky Aguio,  a barangay peace and order unit member of Barangay Mapula, called the commander of Paquibato police and reported that the 72nd IB detachment was attacked by communist rebels.

 

At 8:45 a.m., the officer brought along PO3 Rosenie Cabuenas, PO3 Abdul Asiz Ali, PO2 Neil Arellano to investigate. They failed to come back.

 

Later, Gina Ordas, 47, said that her husband, the mobile patrol driver, was abducted along with the police officers.

 

Based on the report, Ronald Dordas, mobile patrol driver ,said  while they were  in Barangay Mapula  when they were intercepted  by about 50 NPAs allegedly  led by Kumander Jinggoy  upon reaching Purok 6 at 11:45 a.m.

 

They were brought to unknown direction. He was then released at 6 p.m. of the same day and he stayed at the residence of June Pascual.

 

http://mindanaotimes.net/rescue-goes-sour/