Second Indon hostage recovered in Philippine province

From the Mindanao Examiner (Aug 18): Second Indon hostage recovered in Philippine province







Sulu provincial photos show Governor Toto Tan with escaped Indonesian sailor Mohamad Soyfan after police presented him the foreigner.

The Philippine military on Thursday said a second Indonesian hostage had been recovered by troops following a daring escape from Abu Sayyaf militants in the southern province of Sulu.

It said the victim, Ismail – one of 7 crew members of the tugboat Charles – was found late Wednesday afternoon walking alone by soldiers who were scouring the town of Luuk for other hostages.

No other details were provided by the military on Ismail.

Civilians on Wednesday spotted Mohamad Soyfan, also a tugboat crew member, in a fish pen in the village of Bual after he allegedly escaped from the Abu Sayyaf. The military said the Abu Sayyaf had set Soyfan’s execution when he managed to flee from his guards.

Soyfan was handed by village officials to the police and later presented to Governor Totoh Tan, who is the head of the provincial crisis management committee.

There were no reports on the remaining tugboat crew members – Ferry Arifin, the skipper; M. Mahbrur Dahri, Edi Suryono, Ismail, M.Nasir, and Robin Piter. The boat – owned by PT Rusianto Brothers – was heading to Samarinda in East Kalimantan following a trip from the Philippines when gunmen on speedboats intercepted it on June 22.

Indonesian media reported that the boat captain phoned his wife and told her that they were intercepted at sea by gunmen, who introduced themselves as Abu Sayyaf and were demanding 20 million ringgits for their safe release.

The hostages are believed being held by the group of Alhabsi Misaya, a former member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) which signed a peace deal with Manila in September 1996. Misaya had split with the MNLF and joined the Abu Sayyaf several years ago after Misuari reportedly ordered his execution for a still unknown reason, according to military intelligence reports.

The Abu Sayyaf previously kidnapped 14 Indonesian tugboat crewmembers in separate attacks at sea just this year and brought them to Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, and eventually released through the intercession of the MNLF headed by Nur Misuari.

http://mindanaoexaminer.com/second-indon-hostage-recovered-in-philippine-province/

Army honors 2 soldiers killed in anti-drug ops

From the Mindanao Examiner (Aug 18): Army honors 2 soldiers killed in anti-drug ops



Troops honor fallen soldiers in Maguindanao province on Thursday, Augusy 18, 2016 in this photo released by the 6th Infantry Division to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

The Philippine Army’s 6^th Infantry Division on Thursday honored two soldiers who were slain during an anti-drug operation in North Cotabato’s Midsayap town.

Captain Jo-ann Petinglay, an army spokeswoman, said the soldiers – Corporal Josel P. Miravalles and Private First Class Jay Pee Z. Duran – were killed on August 14 while fighting the group of notorious drug lord Madrox Masgal, who is also wanted by authorities in Central Mindanao.

She said the soldiers were part of operating team, composed of 62^nd Reconnaissance Company, Philippine Public Safety College, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Naval Intelligence Security Group that engaged with Masgal’s group at the boundaries of Kadilingan and Nabalawag villages. Petinglay said one NISG member was also killed and 8 soldiers from the 62^nd Reconnaissance Company were wounded in the fierce fire fight.

Major General Edmundo Pangilinan, the division commander, handed over a Posthumous Military Merit Medal to the families of the late soldiers for their acts of heroism. “These two men did not only die fighting terrorists in Central Mindanao but they also risk their lives fighting the illegal drugs in the country,” he said.

http://mindanaoexaminer.com/army-honors-2-soldiers-killed-in-anti-drug-ops/

NDF panel member from Misamis Oriental flies to Manila for Oslo talks

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 18): NDF panel member from Misamis Oriental flies to Manila for Oslo talks

One of the consultants of the National Democratic Front (NDF) from Misamis Oriental who was released Wednesday flew to Manila Thursday noon in preparation for his flight to Oslo, Norway to join the peace negotiations with the government.

The Cagayan De Oro-based Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), said that Alfredo Mapano, a.k.a. “Paris,” 62, was escorted by Fr. Christopher Ablon, the PEPP Coordinator for Mindanao.

Mapano was released from the Misamis Oriental provincial jail facilities Wednesday afternoon after the regional court here waived the payment of the Php100,000 bail with the permission of the Supreme Court.

Mapano, the former secretary general of the Communist North Central Mindanao Revolutionary Party Committee (NMRC), was arrested on August 20, 2009 while visiting his family in Cagayan De Oro City for 11 criminal offenses.

Chona Mapano, wife of Paris, was thankful that her husband was released to join the NDF peace panel in Oslo, Norway on August 22.

Mapano was one of the 22 NDF consultants that the Norway-based Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front-New People’s Army (CPP-NDF-NPA) wants released to join the peace panel.

The release of another NDF consultant along with Mapano last Wednesday, was delayed due to some hitches in the issuance of the release papers.

Pedro Codaste, a.k.a “Gonyong,” who was imprisoned in Malaybalay City Jail, succeeded as the secretary general of the North Central Mindanao Revolutionary Party Committee of the CPP-NDF-NPA, after the arrest of Mapano.

Codaste, 66, was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest on murder and frustrated murder charges at a checkpoint in Bayugan, Agusan Del Sur, on December 17, 2010.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=915221

Coast Guard's 1st multi-role response vessel BRP Tubbataha arrives

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 18): Coast Guard's 1st multi-role response vessel BRP Tubbataha arrives

The BRP Tubbataha, one of the 10 multi-role response vessels (MRRVs) ordered from Japan, was formally delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Thursday morning.

PCG Spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo said the handover took place around 9 a.m. at Pier 13, Manila South Harbor.

BRP Tubbataha was delivered by Japan Marine United Corporation (JMUC) sailing personnel with 12 observers from the PCG. It departed the JMUC shipyard in Yokohama, Japan last Aug. 11.

Balilo said the commissioning date is tentatively set on Aug. 22.

The BRP Tubbataha has a length of 44 meters, a draft of four meters and a maximum speed of 25 knots, a range of 1,500 nautical miles and a crew of 25 officers and enlisted personnel.

The BRP Tubbataha and the nine other MRRVs would be classified as "Parola (lighthouse)" class vessels and named after lighthouses. The Tubbataha Reef, a marine reservation area in Palawan, has a lighthouse similarly named.

The MRRV is equipped with special features for search and rescue and law enforcement operations such as fire monitors, night vision camera, radio direction finder and a workboat. It also has a bullet-proof navigational bridge.

The remaining MRRVs will arrive one after another every quarter or until 2018.

The PCG's MRRV program stemmed from the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project being implemented as an Official Development Assistance project, via a tied loan extended by the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Under the project terms, the MRRVs will be used for:

• Primary rescue vessels within the PCG District’s areas of responsibility (AOR) when the extent of the disaster is beyond the capability of floating assets deployed within the area;

• Assistance in the control of oil pollution and protection of the marine environment;

• Enforcement of all applicable maritime laws within the designated AOR, particularly relating to illegal fishing and sea patrol;

• Service as platform for rapid response during relief operations in the area;

• Transport of personnel and logistical support.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=915086

KMU opposes hero’s burial for former President Marcos

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 18): KMU opposes hero’s burial for former President Marcos

National Labor Center Kilusang Mayo Uno appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to renounce his decision to give Ferdinand Marcos a hero’s burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani by citing that the late dictator was a murderer and a thief not a hero.

“Marcos is a murderer and a thief not a hero. We reject any plan to give a hero’s burial for the fascist dictator behind the mass murder of workers, peasants and activists and the massive plunder of the Filipino people’s taxes,” said KMU chairperson Elmer “Ka Bong” Labog in a statement.

Joining Martial Law victims and other sectoral organizations in a People’s Caravan against Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the labor leader insisted that giving a hero’s burial for Marcos would be an injustice to the countless victims of extra-judicial killings and other human rights violations under his fascist dictatorial regime.

“A hero’s burial for Marcos would be an injustice to all victims of his fascist rule. If there is anything President Duterte should be busying himself with regarding the Marcoses, it should be giving justice to the victims of atrocities during Martial Law and the return of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth,” Labog said.

The KMU chairperson also said that burying Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani was a betrayal to the Filipino workers’ and people’s history and struggle for genuine democracy, freedom and social change.

“Hundreds of unionists and labor leaders have been killed for asserting workers’ rights during Martial Law. To claim that Marcos was a hero is to betray the real heroes and martyrs of the Filipino workers and people who gave sacrificed their lives in fighting for genuine democracy, freedom and social change in the country,” he added.

KMU meanwhile called on Filipino workers to oppose Marcos’ burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani saying to forego his crimes against workers and people now would give way to worse Marcosian fascist dictatorships in the future.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=915122

PA scores militants for conducting protest actions in LNMB

From the Philippine News Agency (Aug 18): PA scores militants for conducting protest actions in LNMB

The Philippine Army (PA) scored the 60 to 70 militant group members who conducted a 20-minute protest action outside the the "Libingan Ng Mga Bayani" (LNMB), Fort Bonifacio Taguig City---well smack in the arrival honors for deceased 28th Army commander Major Gen. Rodolfo Canieso Thursday morning.

"There is a proper time for everything. The protest actions conducted by the League of Filipino Students, Gabriela and others outside the LNMB while (arrival honors) are taking place for the deceased (28th PA commander) Major Gen. Rodolfo Canieso and first Presidential Security Group commander of President Corazon C. Aquino this 11 a.m. is unacceptable," PA spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao said in Filipino.

Canieso succumbed to a massive stroke last July 31. He is a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1957. He served as the 28th PA commander from Feb. 28, 1986 up to July 1, 1987.

The militants were in the area to protest President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's decision to bury former strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos at the LNMB.

Interment is tentatively scheduled on Sept. 18.

"(We are asking) that they respect the LNMB as it is the final resting place for our dead heroes and soldiers and give peace, solemnity, and respect for the families (visiting there)," he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=915153

House’s Makabayan bloc seeks amnesty for NPA guerrillas, supporters

From the Business Mirror (Aug 17): House’s Makabayan bloc seeks amnesty for NPA guerrillas, supporters

THE Makabayan Bloc is asking the House of Representatives to urge President Duterte to grant a general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty to all citizens charged and convicted of crimes in relation to the insurgency waged by the New People’s Army (NPA).

In House Resolution 198, seven lawmakers said such amnesty should also cover acts committed in conjunction with the pursuit of their political beliefs.

The resolution was introduced by Party-list Reps. Carlos Isagani T. Zarate of Bayan Muna, Antonio L. Tinio and France L. Castro of ACT Teachers; Emmi A. de Jesus and Arlene D. Brosas of Gabriela; Ariel B. Casilao of Anakpawis and Sarah Jane I. Elago of Kabataan.

In seeking the grant of a general amnesty, the lawmakers said Section 19, Article VII of the Constitution expressly provides that the President shall have the power to “grant amnesty with the concurrence of the majority of all the members of Congress.”

They stressed that many Filipinos have been arrested, imprisoned, charged or convicted for acts or omissions punishable under the Revised Penal Code or special laws in connection with the rebellion waged by the NPA or for other crimes in pursuit of their political beliefs.

“Presently, the human-rights group Karapatan recorded a total of 519 political prisoners, 42 of whom are women, 125 have illnesses of varying degrees, 40 are elderly, nine are couples and 129 have been in prison for more than 10 years,” they said.

Karapatan also reported “that nearly all the charges filed against these political prisoners are fabricated charges of common crimes.”

Twenty-one of these prisoners are peacetalks consultants of the National Democratic Front (NDF) who should have been long freed on the basis of the 1995 Philippine government-NDFP Joint Agreement for Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig).

“There is now an openness and goodwill between the government of President Duterte and the NDF for the resumption of the long-stalled peace process to tackle the root causes of the nearly five-decade old armed conflict in our country… In order to promote an atmosphere conducive to the attainment of a just, comprehensive and enduring peace, and, in line with the peace and reconciliation initiatives of President Duterte, there is a compelling need to declare a general, unconditional and omnibus amnesty in favor of Filipinos who have been arrested, jailed, charged and/or convicted for acts or omissions punishable under RPC and/or special laws in connection with the rebellion waged by the NPA or for other crimes in pursuit of one political belief related to its activities,” they added.

“The proposed amnesty, which excludes those crimes against chastity and rape, should restore to the grantees their civil and political rights suspended or lost adversely by virtue of any executive, administrative or criminal action or proceedings against the grantee,” the Makabayan lawmakers added.

They explained the proposed amnesty is necessary for the general interest of the Philippines and the Filipino people for a just and lasting peace.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/2016/08/17/houses-makabayan-bloc-seeks-amnesty-for-npa-guerrillas-supporters/

NPA rebels wounded in fierce gun battle with gov’t troops

From the Manila Bulletin (Aug 17): NPA rebels wounded in fierce gun battle with gov’t troops

Butuan City – An undetermined number of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels was believed to be critically wounded during a fierce gun battle with government troops in the hinterland of Sitio (sub-village) Linao-linao, Barangay (village) Lower Olave, in Buenavista town, Agusan del Norte province.

In the initial firefight, PFC. Albert Adaya of the Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion was wounded in action and immediately evacuated to the advance command post (ACP of the 4th Infantry (Diamond) Division at Camp Bancasi here for medical treatment.

Butuan City Map (Photo courtesy of Google Map

Based on a report from the Civil Military Operation (CMO) of the Army’s 23rd Infantry Battalion (23rd IB), the gun battle erupted at 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday. A running gun battle ensued after the initial gunfight, police and military reports said.

Initial reports received here from police and military said combat maneuvering troops of the Bravo Company of the 23rd IB were securing the unit’s Peace and Development Teams (PDTs) who were assisting villagers on their projects through “Bayanihan” approach when they engaged an undetermined number of heavily armed members of the guerilla-Front Committee 4-A of the CPP-NPA Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NMRC).

Two gunship helicopters of the Philippine Air Force’s (PAF) Tactical Operations Group (TOG) were also dispatched to extend air cover to the operating troops of the 23rd IB in Linao-linao area.

http://www.mb.com.ph/npa-rebels-wounded-in-fierce-gun-battle-with-govt-troops/

Battle-tested soldier returns to lead peace in south Luzon

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Aug 18): Battle-tested soldier returns to lead peace in south Luzon


Lt. Gen. Ferdinand Quidilla DELFIN T. MALLARI

A battle-tested Army senior officer, who led his men in the fight against communist rebels in southern Luzon 30 years ago as a young lieutenant, is back on the region’s frontline, this time to carry out President Duterte’s peace initiatives.

“It was considered a badge of honor to be assigned to Southern Tagalog and Bicol [during those days]. The fighting here was intense,” Lt. Gen. Ferdinand Quidilla said on Monday when he took over the military’s Southern Luzon Command (Solcom).

The post was previously held by Gen. Ricardo Visaya, who was appointed Armed Forces chief of staff by the President in July, and Maj. Gen. Romeo Gan, head of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division, in an acting capacity.

Peace talks between the Duterte administration and the communist-led National Democratic Front of the Philippines are expected to formally resume on Aug. 22 in Oslo, Norway.

In his command speech, Quidilla recalled his first stint as head of the Army’s 74th Infantry Battalion, based in Quezon province’s Bondoc Peninsula, then one of the most active guerrilla fronts in the country, in 2002. It was the peak of the military campaign against the New People’s Army.

With his new post as top military officer in Southern Tagalog and Bicol, he said he would continue to implement the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan as one of the core programs of the government’s national security strategy.

Launched in 2010, the IPSP Bayanihan is a multisectoral approach to end insurgency in the country, with emphasis on “noncombat operations.”

Solcom will pursue the “rehabilitation and reconstruction of conflict-affected areas,” combining focused military operations and support for community-based peace and development efforts, Quidilla said.

He directed his subordinates to review and study the history of communist insurgency in Southern Tagalog and Bicol.

“Identify the conflict-prone places in your respective areas. Study the data intensively to find ways … to make us all more efficient in attaining the objectives of the IPSP Bayanihan,” he said.

Solcom covers 15 provinces in two regions, with a total population of 15 million.
Quidilla, a native of South Cotabato province, was replaced as head of the 9th ID by Maj. Gen. Manolito Orense.

Visaya, Gan, Quidilla and Orense belong to the Philippine Military Academy’s “Matikas” Class of 1983.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/807212/battle-tested-soldier-returns-to-lead-peace-in-south-luzon

Soldiers, cops get P5,000 allowance

From the Philippine Star (Aug 18): Soldiers, cops get P5,000 allowance



President Duterte pins a medal on Supt. Reynaldo Arino of the Special Action Force as PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa and Interior Undersecretary Catalino Coy look on during the PNP’s 115th anniversary celebration at Camp Crame yesterday. BOY SANTOS

More than 250,000 soldiers and policemen are set to receive P5,000 in additional allowances next month in place of the raise in pay President Duterte had promised them.

Duterte promised personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) a raise, but the annual budget submitted for 2017 does not include any increase in salaries.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said that the matter can be remedied if Duterte issues an executive order mandating an across-the-board increase in the allowances of soldiers and policemen by September.

“We hope the President would sign the EO that we have drafted soon so we could immediately effect the increase in the allowances of soldiers and policemen,” he said. Diokno said the increase in the salary of soldiers and policemen will hopefully be in effect by 2018.

He spoke at a press conference for the government’s social development summit in Davao City yesterday.

Diokno said there is still a problem in the budget for the pension of AFP retirees, which has remained much bigger than the actual allocation for the existing salaries of the military personnel.

“The problem has always been there since the time of former president (Fidel) Ramos and has remained uncorrected by the succeeding administrations,” he said.

However, there will be no pay raise for teachers and nurses yet as soldiers and policemen have to be prioritized, Diokno said.

Awardees

Meanwhile,  27 policemen received awards  yesterday during the 115th Police Service Anniversary celebration at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
President Duterte led the celebration of more than a century of commitment and dedication of police officers.

The PNP celebrates Aug. 17 as Police Service Anniversary in commemoration of the joint founding anniversaries of the Insular Constabulary established in 1901 and the Integrated National Police organized in 1975, both forerunner organizations of the PNP.

The 115th Police Service Anniversary is celebrated with the theme: “Hamon ng Pagbabago, Pinag-ibayong Serbisyo.”

Leading the individual awardees is Police Senior Supt. Valeriano de Leon from Police Regional Office 11. He received the Medalya ng Kasanayan and achievement award being the Best Senior Police Commissioned Officer for Administration.

Supt. Reynald Ariño from Special Action Force received the Medalya ng Kasanayan and achievement award for being the Best Senior Police Commissioned Officer for Operations.

Other individual awardees were Insp. Lito Pirote from Anti-Illegal Drugs Group – Best Junior Police Commissioned Officer; Senior Police Officer 1 Mhay Rubio from PRO 3 – Best Senior Police Non-Commissioned Officer; Police Officer 2 Jonathan Robles from PRO 3 – Best Junior Police Non-Commissioned Officer.

Other awardees are non-uniform personnel Rosana Tupaz from PRO 6 – Best Non-Uniformed Personnel (Supervisory Level); and Mary Jeanne Nadres from Directorate for Plans – Best Non-Uniformed Personnel (Non-Supervisory Level).

Unit awardees are: Police Regional Office 2 – Best Police Regional Office, award received by Chief Supt Gilbert Sosa, Regional Director of PRO 2; Special Action Force – Best National Operational Support Unit, award received by Chief Supt. Benjamin Lusad, director of SAF.

Information Technology Management Service – Best National Administrative Support Unit, award received by Chief Supt. Edwin Jose Nemenzo, Director of ITMS; Bulacan Police Provincial Office – Best Police Provincial Office, award received by Senior Supt. Romeo Caramat Jr., acting provincial director of Bulacan PPO; Iligan City Police Office – Best City Police Office, award received by Senior Supt. Leony Roy Ga, city director of Iligan CPO.

Sta. Rosa City Police Station – Best Component City Police Station, award received by Supt. Giovanni Martinez, chief of police of Sta. Rosa CPS; Nagcarlan Municipal Police Station – Best Municipal Police Station, award received by Chief Insp. Leopoldo   Ferrer Jr., chief of police of Nagcarlan MPS; Regional Public Safety Battalion 13 – Best Regional Public Safety Battalion, award received by Supt. Chito Bersaluna, acting battalion commander of RPSB 13;
Pangasinan Provincial Public Safety Company – Best Provincial Public Safety Company, award received by Supt. Virgilio Pascua Jr., company commander of Pangasinan PPSC; Zamboanga City Public Safety Company – Best City Public Safety Company, award received by Supt. Areston Limos, company commander of Zamboanga CPSC; Women And Children Protection Desk PRO 11 – Best Women And Children Protection Desk, award received by Chief Insp. Jacqueline Antero, chief of WCPD PRO 11; Regional Police Human Rights Desk PRO 3 – Best Regional Human Rights Desk, award received by Supt. Hercules Ileto, chief of Regional Human Rights Desk PRO 3.

Police Strategy Management Unit PRO COR – Best Police Strategy Management Unit, award received by Chief Supt. Robert   Quenery, DRDA of PRO COR; and Regional Special Training Unit PRO 2 – Best Regional Special Training Unit, award received by Supt. Jojo de la Cruz, chief of RSTU PRO 2.

President Duterte presented Special Awards to Police Regional Office 5 – unit with most members of private armed groups neutralized during the election period (PRO level), award received by Chief Supt. Melvin Ramon   Buenafe, Regional Director of PRO 5; Cebu Police Provincial Office – unit with most number of firearms accounted, seized, recovered and surrendered during the election period (PPO/CPO level), award received by Senior Supt. Jose Macanas, acting provincial director of Cebu PPO; Police Regional Office 13 – unit with the least number of election related violent incidents during the election period, award received by Chief Supt. Rolando Felix, regional director of PRO 13.

Regional Special Operations Task Group, Pangasinan – Best Regional Special Operations Task Group, award received by Chief Supt. Marlou Chan, deputy director, DIPO-Eastern Mindanao; Rizal Police Provincial Office PRO 4A – unit with most number of confiscated, seized, recovered and surrendered loose firearms, award received by Senior Supt. Adriano Enong, provincial director of Rizal PPO; and  Criminal Investigation and Detection Group – unit with the notable accomplishment in the campaign against illegal drugs, award received by Chief Supt. Roel Obusan, acting director of CIDG.

Honored

President Duterte honored one of the fallen soldiers killed in an encounter in Midsayap town, Cotabato upon his body’s arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday afternoon.

The remains of Petty Officer 3 Darwin Espallardo of the Navy arrived on board Cebu Pacific Air flight 5J 858 at 3:40 p.m. from Zamboanga City.

Present to receive the body were his widow Cleofe and son Dwyndy ll, and Navy officers and enlisted men, as well as Naval Intelligence Group Capt. Caesar Valencia.
Duterte arrived at the tarmac one hour and 10 minutes after Espallardo’s remains landed. He comforted the widow and son of the fallen soldier.

Espallardo, from Legazpi, Albay was killed along with Corporal Jose Miravalles and Private First Class Jaypee Duran, both of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division Recon Company when they were about to serve search warrants against a certain Commander Madrox, reportedly a leader of a Moro “lawless” group in Barangay Nabalawag in Midsayap, Cotabato at 4:30 a.m. last  Aug. 14.

Madrox was also killed in the ensuing encounter, according to reports.
He was known for operating a drug ring which has distributors in remote villages in  Cotabato’s Midsayap and Aleosan towns.

Espallardo was given a meritorious medal and medal of valor.

The Espallardo family will receive P250,000 cash assistance, livelihood, housing assistance, as well as college scholarship from the government.

Duterte promised the family that they will receive the benefits within a week

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/08/18/1614689/soldiers-cops-get-p5000-allowance

Malaysia oil tanker believed to have been hijacked near Indonesia

From Fox News (Aug 17): Malaysia oil tanker believed to have been hijacked near Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia –  Malaysian and Indonesian maritime authorities are searching for a fuel tanker with 10 crew members that has disappeared in an apparent hijacking.

Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency chief Ahmad Puzi Kahar said Wednesday that the MT Vier Harmoni was suspected to have been hijacked after leaving a port in Malaysia's southern Johor state and taken to waters off the Indonesian island of Batam, which is south of Singapore.

Indonesia's western naval command and its coast guard said they also were searching for the tanker but there was no indication so far it had entered Batam.

Vier Abdul Jamal, chief executive of the ship's owner Vierlines Asia Group, said the Indonesian-flagged vessel has 10 Indonesian crew on board and is currently chartered by another company.

The charterer and the harbor master where the vessel was loaded lost contact with Vier Harmoni on Tuesday evening and its tracking device is not active, he said.

The vessel, which has an experienced captain, could be hijacked, sunk or suffering engine problems, he said.

The Malaysian maritime agency said the tanker was carrying 900,000 litres of diesel and left from Tanjung Pelepas port in Johor.

Ahmad Puzi, the agency's chief, said "internal problems" might be behind the disappearance.

The 53-meter (175 foot) long Vier Harmoni was built in 2014.

Indonesia has suffered a series of kidnappings of its seamen this year by Abu Sayyaf militants based in the southern Philippines. Those incidents, which occurred off Borneo in waters that border Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, involved the militants abandoning the vessels and demanding ransoms for the kidnapped men.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/08/17/malaysia-oil-tanker-believed-to-have-been-hijacked-near-indonesia.html

Confront Abu Sayyaf, IS as unified force, Asean told

From Free Malaysia Today (Aug 17): Confront Abu Sayyaf, IS as unified force, Asean told

These terror groups have become a threat to the region, says terrorism expert Aruna Gopinath.



KUALA LUMPUR: Asean should confront terror groups Abu Sayyaf and Islamic State (IS) as a unified force because these groups have become a common threat to the region, said an expert on terrorism.

Associate Professor Aruna Gopinath, the desk officer on Southeast Asian Studies at the Centre for Defence and International Security Studies at the National Defence University, said there was a need for the regional grouping to unanimously decide on action to be taken against these militant groups, especially Abu Sayyaf which has been recognised by IS as “a caliphate in the region”.

Asean must decide whether there was a need for a military offensive against the Philippine terrorist group, she told Bernama.

“We believe in the Asean non-interference policy but this is a common threat now as Abu Sayyaf is not just attacking Malaysia. It’s going everywhere from Thailand to Singapore, and we don’t know what their next move is,” she said.

Touching on the non-interference policy, Aruna said negotiations could only take place when “you are able to talk to somebody, but when diplomacy fails, the ultimatum is war”.

“I believe that if these people (Abu Sayyaf) are not cooperating, we should go on the military offensive,” she said in commenting on the recent increase in the spate of abductions by the group.

In July last year, Abu Sayyaf senior leader Isnilon Hapilon was seen on social media taking an oath of allegiance to IS.

The IS has also declared the Philippines as a caliphate in a video released last June in a move seen as an attempt by the group to recruit more fighters from neighbouring countries in the region.

Abu Sayyaf came into the picture after they split up with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which was then led by Hashim Salamat, following the MILF’s acceptance of autonomy for the Bangsamoro.

“The group (Abu Sayyaf) tentatively came to power in 1991 led by Abdul Razak Janjalani. They said they were going to carry out the separatism ideology in a very aggressive manner,” said Aruna, whose research has focused on the conflict in Mindanao.

She said the militant group then started killing a lot of non-Muslims, especially Christians, and insisted on separatism and “thought they could get separated faster through killing, but the government never gave in”.

Abu Sayyaf, which was reported to have started with about 100 followers, today has more than 400 members.

Meanwhile, a political analyst at the International Islamic University Malaysia, Dr Maszlee Malik, said the Abu Sayyaf/IS matter had gone beyond the security issue.

“We are in a state of a war of civilisation and propaganda, a war of values and cultures. So, when such a thing happens, we must stand together as one and fight this unwanted barbaric trend that’s coming to our soil.

“It should be a collective effort among civil society, people of conscience fighting this extremism and terrorism because with IS recognition of Abu Sayyaf, the militant group is now trying to export its sentiments (to this region),” he said.

Maszlee said IS had at least 6,000 channels in the social media, including Twitter, Telegram, WhatsApp and YouTube, and in various languages to promote its propaganda and beliefs.

“The IS issue must be viewed in a bigger picture. Failure to do so, could result in a very wrong conclusion.

“If we look at the discourse or narrative that is being used by IS and the way it recruits members, it is all on injustice towards Muslims, regardless of where it happens,” he said.

Maszlee said this propaganda would definitely tempt Muslims to subscribe to its fight, “but what it fails to understand is that if the group goes deeper, it will cause more trouble to Muslims all over the world.

“You cannot eliminate one wrong with another. So for simple logic, simple thinking, people cannot understand the underlying facts beneath the propaganda. They (IS) are using simplistic propaganda to attract the younger generation, the youths,” he added.

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/08/17/confront-aby-sayyaf-is-as-unified-force-asean-told/

Two Kidnapped Seafarers Escape Abu Sayyaf

From the Maritime Executive (Aug 17): Two Kidnapped Seafarers Escape Abu Sayyaf


Image courtesy Lt. Ron Villarosa / facebook    

  
Early Wednesday morning, local residents on the island of Sulu, Mindanao found an Indonesian seafarer trapped in fishing nets in a mangrove swamp. Mohammed Sayfan, 28, had just escaped after months of captivity at the hands of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group.

Local police forces said that Sayfan fled when the militants threatened to behead him; Abu Sayyaf has built a reputation for killing prisoners when ransoms go unpaid.

A military spokesman said that a second hostage, identified only as Ismail, was found in the same area Wednesday afternoon.

Media reports did not indicate whether other hostages had been harmed. Both men were crewmembers of the tugboat Charles, which was boarded by Abu Sayyaf members in late June. The terrorists abducted a total of seven seafarers and let another six go. The attack was part of a months-long string of Abu Sayyaf tug hijackings off of Sabah, Malaysia, near the maritime boundary with the Philippines.

The Sulu Archipelago has been the home base of the Abu Sayyaf Group for decades, especially the larger islands of Sulu, Jolo, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi.

On Monday, Philippine forces in Basilan said that they had stormed a final Abu Sayyaf stronghold in Tipo-Tipo, known as Hill 355. The operation cleared the last of the militants' bases in the municipalities of Tipo-Tipo, Baguindan and Bohe-Piang, an area of roughly 50 square miles. The success adds to a joint assault last Sunday to clear Baguindan and Hill 440.

"[Army forces] finally seized the enemy’s stronghold at Brgy Silangkum, Tipo-Tipo, Basilan Province. The hill is the ASG’s last stronghold after the terrorists went on the run from the relentless military operation that started in July," said Lt. Ron Villarosa, Public Affairs Officer of the Fourth Special Forces Battalion in a statement. "A total of ten enemy bunkers, four tunnels, several foxholes and two Improvised Explosives Devices (IEDs) were seized on Hill 355."

Lt. Villarosa said that the operation was carried out with intelligence from local volunteers.

The description of the operation mirrors earlier attempts to eradicate Abu Sayyaf on Basilan. In 2002, the Philippine military, aided by hundreds of American troops, swept through the island; however, analysts suggested that the terrorist group was able to reconstitute itself as soon as troop levels were drawn down. Large-scale military deployments with thousands of personnel followed again in 2006 in another attempt to overrun the group's bases and win over the local populace. In 2007, the Philippine military claimed to have reduced the group's strength on the island to 200 fighters; the number is still estimated to be small, but the group remains enough of a threat that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has called on the military to wage an all-out campaign to "destroy" Abu Sayyaf.

http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/two-seafarer-hostages-escape-abu-sayyaf

Indonesian sailor says pirates were about to behead him when he swam out to sea in flight

From the Japan Times (Aug 18): Indonesian sailor says pirates were about to behead him when he swam out to sea in flight



A government doctor checks Indonesian hostage Mohammad Safyan after he escaped from Abu Sayyaf captors, in Jolo, Sulu, in southern Philippines Wednesday. | REUTERS

An Indonesian tugboat crewman escaped from his Islamist militant captors in the Philippines on Wednesday by swimming out to sea after the militants threatened to cut his head off, a Philippine army spokesman said.

Members of the Islamic State-linked Abu Sayyaf group captured the Indonesian, Mohammad Safyan, 28, and six other Indonesian seamen from their boat as it was passing off southern Philippine islands on June 23.

Residents of Jolo island spotted Safyan floating off the shore after he escaped under cover of darkness, an army spokesman, Maj. Filemon Tan, told reporters.

“We were told he managed to escape by running and swimming to the sea,” Tan said, adding that Safyan had said the militants were about to execute him when he escaped.

Nine hours later, soldiers, who were sent back to the area where Safyan had evaded his captors, found a second Indonesian crewman, Ismail, chief officer of the same tugboat.

He was immediately brought to a clinic for a medical checkup, Tan said. No details were given on how he escaped.

Abu Sayyaf rebels operating in Muslim areas of the largely Christian Philippines have developed a reputation as ruthless kidnappers.

They have increasingly been turning their attention to vessels passing through busy shipping lanes in the Sulu Sea as security along coasts has been tightened.

The rebels, who have vowed allegiance to Islamic State, recently beheaded two Canadians they kidnapped from a beach resort after a ransom deadline passed.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last week ordered the army to destroy the militants, saying if not, the Philippines risked being “contaminated” by Islamic State.

Indonesian authorities have said piracy in the area, a major sea lane for the world’s top thermal coal exporter, could reach levels previously seen in Somalia.

Analysts say $40 billion worth of cargo passes through the waters a year, including supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait.

The rise of hijackings at sea has prompted Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia to try to coordinate maritime patrols.

Tan said the Abu Sayyaf were holding 15 foreign hostages, including a Norwegian, a Dutch, five Malaysians and eight Indonesians. Eight Filipinos were also held in the group’s jungle stronghold.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/18/asia-pacific/indonesian-sailor-says-pirates-behead-swam-sea-flight/#.V7UsTcbOfIU

Abu Sayyaf threatens to behead Filipino hostage

Anadolu Agency (Aug 17): Abu Sayyaf threatens to behead Filipino hostage

Hostage calls on officials in majority Muslim Sulu province to pay $21,530 before 2 p.m. on Aug. 24

Suspected Daesh-linked militants in the Philippines south have released a video threatening to behead a Filipino hostage unless a ransom demand is paid by Aug. 24.

 

In a two-minute video clip released Wednesday, the hostage -- in his early 20s -- appeals to local officials in the majority Muslim island province of Sulu to pay ransom of 1 million pesos ($21,530) to the Abu Sayyaf and rescue him.

 

“I am Patrick James Almodovar,” he says in the local Tausug dialect in the video, also reported by a local television station.

 

“To Governor Totoh Tan and Mayor Kerkar Tan and to my relatives, I am appealing for your help to free me from my captors and they are asking one million pesos and if they don’t get what they are demanding, they will behead me exactly at 2 in the afternoon.”

 

According to the Mindanao Examiner, Almodovar’s kidnapping had not been reported and security forces did not immediately respond to the video.

 

On Tuesday, the military confirmed that an elementary school teacher was abducted by suspected Abu Sayyaf members in Liang village in Sulu’s Patikul town.

 

Last month, Abu Sayyaf militants seized Levi Gonzales, his pregnant wife and their companion in another village in Patikul.

 

The group has reportedly threatened to behead Gonzales, a technician, if the telecommunications company he works for does not pay a 1 million peso ransom.

 

Earlier this year, the group beheaded two Canadian hostages after ransoms failed to be paid. It has threatened to decapitate a Norwegian captured with them in September if a 300 million peso ($6 million) ransom demand is not met.

 

Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.

 

It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.

 

The Abu Sayyaf is among two militant groups in the south who have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process between the government and the country's biggest Moro group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, that Daesh could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.

 

http://aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/abu-sayyaf-threatens-to-behead-filipino-hostage/630377