Army, partners provide services to 3,000 IPs in AgNor town

From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 26): Army, partners provide services to 3,000 IPs in AgNor town

The 4th Infantry Division of Philippine Army, together with other government agencies in Caraga had recently extended their services thru the conduct of Serbisyo Peace Caravan to some 3,000 Indigenous Peoples (IPs) held at the covered court of Santiago, Agusan del Norte.

The Serbisyo Peace Caravan was focused on prioritizing the IP communities composed mainly of the Mamanwa Tribe. It also included the local residents of said barangay that availed of the services from the government.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Glenn Joy Aynera, commanding officer of 29th Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army, the said caravan is designed to provide priority basic services of the government to the people of Santiago and the rest of the municipalities of Agusan del Norte especially the IPs. Through this activity, the localities will feel that the government is there for them.

“It formed part of the six-point peace and development agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte's administration to deliver the socio-economic development in conflict-affected areas,” bared Aynera.

A total of 27 government agencies, civil society and private organizations in Caraga region have extended their full support. The services offered help in addressing issues on health, poverty, grooming, livelihood, education, social, legal and land concerns.

The Department of Health (DOH) Caraga has offered dental/medical services, circumcision, deworming, buntis kits, hygiene kits, and jerry cans to the beneficiaries. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Caraga gave 600 falcata seedlings to the IPs and local residents. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) also distributed food curls and 500 baby foods, while the TESDA gave away training certificates.

In his message, mayor Franklin Lim encouraged the localities to avail of the free services of the government offered today in their municipality. He also expressed his hope that more of same activity will be conducted in his area of responsibility so more people can continue to benefit.

Meanwhile, Agusan del Norte Governor Ma. Angelica Rosedell Amante-Matba emphasized that without the people in the localities, there would be no government. She encouraged everyone to unite with the government and do what will serve best to the majority.

During the short program, Gov. Matba, together with the PNP, AFP officials, heads of government agencies and partner stakeholders affixed their signature in the peace covenant.

LTC Cristobal Zaragoza, commander of 401st Brigade, 4ID Phil. Army also led the oath-taking of allegiance of the 10 awardees of the Comprehensive Local Integration Program (CLIP).

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2041477462750/army-partners-provide-services-to-3-000-ips-in-agnor-town

500 miyembro ng 2nd IB matagumpay na nagtapos ng retraining

From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 26): 500 miyembro ng 2nd IB matagumpay na nagtapos ng retraining (500 members of the 2nd IB successful graduates of retraining)

Matagumpay na nagtapos ang halos 500 na miyembro ng 2nd Infantry (Second to None) Battalion sa isinagawang Battalion Retraining, kamakailan sa Camp Elias Angeles, 9th Infantry Division, San Jose, Pili, Camarines Sur.

Ayon kay 9th ID, Division Public Affairs Office (DPAO) chief Capt.Joash U. Pramis, noong Oktubre 24, 2016 ginanap ang Closing Ceremony sa naturang lugar na pinangunahan ni 9ID Commander Major General Manolito P. Orense.

Sinabi ni Pramis na umabot sa tatlong buwang pagsasanay ang isinagawa na pinamahalaan ng 9th Division Training Unit na naglalayon na pag-ibayuhin ang kaalaman at kakayahan ng sundalo at ng buong yunit.

Ang mga sundalong nagsasanay ay dumaan sa ibat-ibang aspeto kabilang dito ang pagpapalakas, pag-aaral ng mga taktikang militar, pagsasanay sa mga gawain kung may kalamidad at pagsasanay ng kanilang kakayahan sa tungkulin.

Itinuro din sa mga sundalo ang tungkol sa pagiging kapakipakinabang na mamamayan at bilang isang lingkod bayan.

Ayon kay 9ID Commander Orense, kailangan tuloy-tuloy ang mga ginagawang training sa hanay ng mga sundalo at mga yunit para makamit ang pananaw ng Philippine Army na maging isang “World Class Army by 2028”.

Kaugnay nito malaki ang tiwala ni Orense sa kakayanan ng kanyang mga nasasakupan para gampanan ang pangangalaga ng seguridad pati na rin ang kampanya laban sa droga at kriminalidad.

Samantala, itinalaga naman si Lt. Col. Jenie M. Hesaya na bagong Acting Battalion Commander ng 9ID at Headquarters Support Battalion noong Oktubre 20, 2016.

Pinalitan ni Hesaya si Maj. Armando T. Benito na siyang itinalagang Acting Chief of Staff ng Education at Training o G8.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/851477450909/500-miyembro-ng-2nd-ib-matagumpay-na-nagtapos-ng-retraining

U.S. Governmental Officials visit Cebu, renew U.S. commitment to improve literacy among Filipino youth

From the Philippine Information Agency (Oct 26): U.S. Governmental Officials visit Cebu, renew U.S. commitment to improve literacy among Filipino youth

Last week, Mr. Trey Hicks of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee visited two Cebu elementary schools and met with government and school officials to reaffirm the U.S. government’s commitment to help improve the reading skills of young learners.

On behalf of the American people, Mr. Hicks, together with the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines’ United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of Education Chief Mr. Brian Levey, visited schools in Consolacion and Mandaue, and donated teaching and learning materials.

The delegation also met with government and school officials of cities of Cebu, Mandaue City, Bohol and Tagbilaran City.

“Reading is the foundation for other learning activities and a major factor in determining if a child continues to learn and stay in school,” remarked Mr. Levey. “Education unlocks children’s creativity and potential, setting them on a path towards making informed and healthy decisions and taking advantage of limitless economic opportunities.”

Mr. Hicks led a reading activity for the children and met with school leadership, teachers, and parents to understand first-hand how U.S. assistance has improved students’ reading abilities.

In 2013, responding to the need to improve basic literacy among early grade students in public schools, USAID launched a $39.7 million program called Basa Pilipinas, in partnership with the Philippine Department of Education.  USAID is training teachers of grades 1-3 to teach reading more effectively, providing quality reading materials, and supporting the Department of Education as it carries out curriculum reforms in language and literacy.

To date, Basa Pilipinas has reached over 1.6 million early grade students, trained 16,335 teachers and school heads and provided approximately 8 million copies of teaching and learning materials, written in English and local dialects (Sinugbuanong Binisaya, Ilokano and Filipino). (US Embassy Manila)

http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1141477400414/u-s-governmental-officials-visit-cebu-renew-u-s-commitment-to-improve-literacy-among-filipino-youth

Behind Duterte’s Break With the U.S., a Lifetime of Resentment

From The Wall Street Journal (Oct 21): Behind Duterte’s Break With the U.S., a Lifetime of Resentment (By Trefor Moss)

Philippines president, driven by a sense of grievance over colonial history and perceived slights, threatens to undo a vital American relationship in Asia

“When you pick a fight with him, he will not let it pass—he will deal with you,” says Jesus Dureza, a former classmate who serves in the Duterte cabinet. “This is very deep in him.”

His anti-U.S. rhetoric flared last month when he declared Mr. Obama shouldn’t lecture him on human rights. In an aside directed at no one, he used an exclamation of frustration meaning “son of a whore,” which some in the international press interpreted as a dig at the U.S. president. Mr. Obama then canceled plans for a one-on-one meeting with him at the regional summit in Laos. It was two days later that Mr. Duterte approached Mr. Obama there.

In recent weeks, Mr. Duterte has canceled U.S.-Philippine military exercises. He said he might annul a 2014 U.S.-Philippines defense pact, a key aspect of Mr. Obama’s “Asian pivot,” that lets the U.S. deploy soldiers to Philippine bases. And he has threatened to “cross the Rubicon” and ditch the countries’ 65-year-old treaty in favor of accords with Russia and China.

In Beijing, he signed business deals with President Xi Jinping, who promised the Philippines over $9 billion in loans in return for Mr. Duterte’s agreement to restart bilateral talks.

 “I’ve realigned myself in your ideological flow,” Mr. Duterte said in the Beijing speech, “and maybe I will also go to Russia to talk to Putin and tell him that there are three of us against the world—China, Philippines and Russia.”

Mr. Duterte also set aside his country’s territorial disputes with Beijing in the South China Sea, where China controls a contested reef, Scarborough Shoal, about 125 miles off the Philippine coast, that it took over in 2012.

Souring relations could leave the U.S. with fewer options for expanding its military presence in the South China Sea—a resource-rich and strategically important area claimed almost entirely by China, and in part by several Southeast Asian states—and make it harder to portray itself as a guarantor of regional security, as it has done since World War II.

Before Mr. Duterte’s talk of “separation,” U.S. defense officials said the relationship continued to function. Afterward, a State Department spokesman called his comments “inexplicably at odds” with the bilateral relationship, which officials including the president have described as “ironclad."

Philippine defense officials have said publicly they are largely in the dark about Mr. Duterte’s plans. They nonetheless make clear he intends to forge a more independent foreign policy than his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III.

Mr. Duterte is “trying to liberate us” from a “shackling dependency” on America, wrote Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. in a Facebook post this month. Filipinos are treated as “little brown brothers” of the U.S., he wrote. Mr. Yasay didn’t respond to inquiries.

Mr. Duterte’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment for this article. Publicly, he has faulted Washington for failing to halt China’s territorial grabs and for refusing to give explicit guarantees it would protect all Philippine territory, including remote possessions in the South China Sea.

Mr. Duterte’s nationalism, displayed in his angry reaction to Mr. Obama’s admonishments, echoes sentiments common among left-leaning Filipinos that America never atoned for invading the archipelago in 1898 and violently subduing the former Spanish colony. With independence in 1946, the Philippines passed into the hands of what many left-leaning politicians such as Mr. Duterte regarded as a corrupt Manila elite installed by Washington.

History’s scars

The son of a provincial governor on Mindanao, Mr. Duterte grew up in a troubled region with ample cause to resent both Manila and Washington. A largely Muslim area in an overwhelmingly Catholic nation, it was never fully conquered by Spain. When the U.S. took over, Mindanao’s sultanates put up stiff resistance.

For the people Mindanao, the colonial experience left scars and a hatred of perceived oppression and disrespect, says Ms. Duterte, the president’s sister, who lives in Davao City, Mindanao’s largest. She says their grandmother, a Muslim, helped Mr. Duterte come to believe that Washington was guilty of crimes during its invasion and colonization.

He was a rebel from the start, say friends and family. As a boy, he was expelled from his strait-laced Jesuit school for squirting blue ink on a priest, recalls Mr. Dureza. At high school he was a brawler. “He always had that hair-trigger temper,” says Carlos Dominguez III, a childhood friend and now Mr. Duterte’s finance secretary.

He staggered into the family home one night, clutching a stab wound from a street fight, his sister says. He later shot a college classmate in the leg in reprisal for an attack on a friend, Mr. Dureza says, noting that the other man recovered and Mr. Duterte faced no legal blowback.

At university in Manila, he studied politics under Jose Maria Sison, who later founded the Communist Party of the Philippines and in 1969 launched an armed insurrection. Mr. Sison, now in exile in the Netherlands, says he schooled Mr. Duterte in what he viewed as the evils of American imperialism and the corrupt nexus of business and political families who have ruled the Philippines at the expense of ordinary Filipinos—a system Mr. Duterte has pledged to upend.

The Philippine communist party is listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. Mr. Duterte has said he sympathizes with the party, which he never joined.

His views on law and order coalesced in the 1980s when violent criminal gangs terrorized Davao City. Mr. Duterte was robbed at gunpoint, leading him to swear to destroy the gang responsible and others such as them, says Leo Villareal, who worked with Mr. Duterte at Davao City Hall.

Mr. Duterte worked through the mid-1980s as a city prosecutor, having surprised his family by finishing law school, his sister says. The country was descending into chaos, ruled by U.S.-backed strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

After a “People Power” revolution ousted Mr. Marcos in 1986, the criminal-justice system deteriorated, with wealthy Filipinos often escaping prosecution through bribes while other cases could drag on for years. Mr. Duterte came to see the legal process as “something that can be delayed or derailed,” Mr. Dureza says, with direct action the only way to effect change.

Elected mayor of Davao City in 1988, he adopted a strict approach that his sister, Ms. Duterte, says was modeled on Singapore’s disciplinarian leader, the late Lee Kuan Yew. He imposed curfews, and smoking and drinking restrictions.

He declared a crackdown on suspected drug dealers, and vigilante death squads in Davao killed more than 1,400 alleged criminals, according to Human Rights Watch and other rights groups. Mr. Duterte has said in speeches and interviews he encouraged police to be tough and shoot anyone resisting arrest but never personally ordered murders.

‘The Punisher’

His measures were popular, and locals gave him the nickname “The Punisher.” He served seven terms, with interruptions for term limits, until 2016.

Along the way, Mr. Duterte nursed grievances over perceived U.S. slights, including a 2002 incident in which an American slipped out of the country under mysterious circumstances after a bomb exploded in his Davao City hotel room. Mr. Duterte suspected a CIA plot and brooded over the episode for years, friends say.

The U.S. embassy in Manila says: “We took no action beyond providing routine consular services assisting a U.S. citizen with a medical evacuation. As services were rendered, we consulted closely with Philippine authorities.”

Soon after the 2002 incident, the U.S. denied Mr. Duterte a visa, and his partner, a nurse, had her U.S. work visa canceled, say a friend and an associate of Mr. Duterte’s who are familiar with the incidents and attribute the moves to U.S. concerns about extrajudicial killings in Davao City. The U.S. embassy in Manila declined to comment on the matter.

From 2002, the U.S. military was providing counterterrorism support in parts of Mindanao at Manila’s request to help subdue Muslim separatists. In 2007, the government suggested holding an annual joint U.S.-Philippine exercise in Davao.

That provoked Mr. Duterte, who persuaded the Davao City council to pass a resolution permanently preventing American forces from exercising in the area. “I don’t want American soldiers in my city,” he told the council, local media reported. “Because of their arrogance and pretended superiority, the Americans invaded Iraq to kill Saddam Hussein but ended up destroying the country. We don’t want that to happen to us.”

Mr. Duterte initially refused supporters’ entreaties to run for president. He reversed course last November because he said he couldn’t stomach the idea that then-poll leader Grace Poe, who held American citizenship until 2012, might win.

His victory in May’s election came after he promised to wipe out crime and spread the benefits of a fast-growing economy more evenly. “It’s going to be bloody,” he predicted during a January interview with the Journal. “People will die.”

Mr. Duterte is popular at home, with 76% of Filipinos saying in a poll this month by Social Weather Stations, a research group, that they are satisfied with his work.

His presidential campaign featured only mild criticism of the U.S. That changed after he took office and faced foreign criticism.

At the Laos summit, he lashed out at Mr. Obama for alleged American war crimes over a century ago, holding up a photo of slain Filipinos and describing them as his own ancestors, says a person who was there.

Some of Mr. Duterte’s colleagues say they are caught off-guard by his outbursts, in which he departs from prepared remarks.

“We can only write the speeches,” says one communications official, “we can’t make him read them.”

 

—Carol E. Lee, Cris Larano and Chun Han Wong contributed to this article

http://www.viet-studies.net/kinhte/DuterteResentment_WSJ.htm

America’s grip on the Pacific is loosening

From The Financial Times (Oct 25): America’s grip on the Pacific is loosening (By Gideon Rachman)
 
There is more than bluster involved in the Philippines’ pivot towards China



Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are criss-crossing America in the last frantic weeks of the presidential election campaign. But events will not stand still, while “America decides”. On the other side of the world, the US has just suffered a significant strategic reverse.

That setback is the apparent decision by the Philippines to switch sides in the emerging power struggle between the US and China. On a visit to Beijing last week, Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines, announced a “separation” from the US and a new special relationship between his country and China.

In one of the odder diplomatic pronouncements of an odd year, Mr Duterte proclaimed in the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital: “There are three of us against the world — China, Philippines and Russia. It’s the only way.” This statement was greeted by warm applause from his audience.

Mr Duterte has a tendency to shoot his mouth off. In an appearance soon after taking office, he made headlines by calling US president Barack Obama the “son of a whore”. But there is more than mere bluster involved in the Duterte pivot. The Filipino leader has also said that he intends to end military co-operation with the US. Joint naval patrols in the Pacific will apparently come to a stop, as will joint counter­terrorism operations on the southern island of Mindanao. Some American strategists are worried that the Philippines might even now become a base for the swiftly expanding Chinese navy.

Mrs Clinton, in particular, will understand the significance of all this. A central theme of her period at the state department was an effort to bolster America’s position in Asia and the Pacific. It was Mrs Clinton who proclaimed in 2010 that the US has a “national interest” in freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. This statement outraged the Chinese, whose famous “nine-dash line” on oceanic maps appears to claim that almost all of the South China Sea lies within Beijing’s territorial waters.

As Mrs Clinton told Goldman Sachs, in a speech given in 2013 and recently leaked, she is worried that China’s maritime claims will give it a “chokehold on sea lanes and also on the countries that border the South China Sea”. Those concerns have since been further stoked by China’s programme of “island” building in the disputed waters.

The Philippines was at the centre of America’s strategic and legal efforts to loosen China’s potential chokehold over the South China Sea. Some of the tensest disputes in the sea — such as arguments over the ownership of Scarborough Shoal — involve a face-off between China and the Philippines. It was Manila that brought a legal challenge against Beijing’s claims over the South China Sea, winning a ruling at an international tribunal in July. This ruling is crucial to Washington’s argument that its dispute with China is not a crude power struggle but rather an effort, by the US, to protect the international legal order in the interests of all.

On a purely strategic level, the Philippines is (or was) also vital to America’s efforts to counter the military facilities that China seems to be building on its artificial islands. Earlier this year, Manila and Washington agreed to increase America’s military presence in five bases on Filipino territory, including an air base on the island of Palawan, very close to the disputed Spratly Islands. Those US-Philippine agreements now look likely to be revoked. More broadly, America’s moral case for “standing up to China” looks much weaker if China’s own neighbours no longer seem so worried by its territorial claims.

Some American strategists take comfort from Mr Duterte’s obvious eccentricity. They argue that, in the long run, the Philippines will rediscover its strategic interest in seeking the protection of Uncle Sam. But it is also possible that Mr Duterte, for all his wild man antics, is actually part of a larger trend in Southeast Asia.

Next year, the Philippines will lead the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. And this will happen just as two other important US allies in the region — Thailand and Malaysia — have begun to tilt towards China. The military coup in Thailand in 2014 led to a downturn in relations between Bangkok and Washington, as the Americans called for a swift return to democracy and the Thai generals resisted. In 2015, Thailand announced the purchase of Chinese submarines. Najib Razak, the prime minister of Malaysia, has also looked to Beijing for succour as he has attempted to fend off corruption investigations in the west.

Faced with all these setbacks in Southeast Asia, the US will be on the lookout for some new diplomatic and strategic opportunities. One country that seems certain to continue to push back against Chinese dominance of the region is Vietnam. This month, the USS Frank Cable and the USS John S McCain became the first two American warships to visit the Vietnamese naval base of Cam Ranh Bay since the end of the Vietnam war in 1975.

At the height of that war, Cam Ranh Bay served as a crucial base for both the US Navy and Air Force in the fight against North Vietnam. It is a historic irony, and a sign of how the rise of China is changing Asia, that Vietnam could yet invite the US military back to Cam Ranh Bay — this time as an ally, not an enemy.
https://www.ft.com/content/28eb69ca-99cc-11e6-b8c6-568a43813464

Indigenous peoples’ meet with Gina Lopez turns into 3-way talk with AFP chief

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Oct 25): Indigenous peoples’ meet with Gina Lopez turns into 3-way talk with AFP chief




Indigenous peoples (IP) calling for the demilitarization of their communities had a chance to air their gripes directly to the military chief yesterday during a dialogue with Environment Secretary Gina Lopez at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

The indigenous peoples from across the Philippines are holding a weeks-long campout on the campus of the state university to bring to national attention their plights in their communities.

Lopez listened to various concerns—from calls to close mining sites to demands for justice for the killing of indigenous peoples in the past year

When she heard that one of the calls of the indigenous groups was to demilitarize their communities, she phoned Gen. Ricardo Visaya on the spot and put the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff on speaker phone to allow him to explain the military’s side.

Visaya explained to the indigenous peoples: “The soldiers assigned to your place are not there to disturb you but to respond to the presence of the NPA (New People’s Army) who are exploiting you.”

“It’s not militarization. When you speak of militarization, the military interferes with the barangay—how your place is to be run. They just guide you. They will just teach you so there will be quiet and happiness,” Visaya said, to increasing murmurs from the gathered tribal folk.

‘The NPA recruit lumad’

From Agusan del Sur province, where he was at the time, Visaya said, “Each encounter with the NPA, those who are killed are lumad. The NPA recruit lumad. We don’t want you to join them.”

Lopez, upon hearing the reactions of the indigenous people’s leaders, told Visaya that “they’re concerned the military is killing civilians.”

Visaya responded: “There are lumad who die because they joined the NPA.” This was met with jeers from the crowd, which gave way to cries of “berdugo!” and chants of “militar sa kanayunan, pagbayarin!”

Earlier, Lopez assured the indigenous peoples about Visaya: “He’s for you… He doesn’t want the militarization of ancestral domains. If something happens after he says it’s enough, you just contact him, or contact us. Let’s fix it.…So we will work together.”

Cancel permit, stop violence

Minda Dalinan, representing the B’laan tribe from South Cotabato, noted the perceived link between mining in their area and the military presence. “Cancel [the permit of] Sagittarius Mining. If it’s cancelled, the violence from the military and police will stop.”

She also spoke out against the heavy-handed response to the indigenous peoples’ rallies in Metro Manila over the past week. “Despite the violence we suffer in the countryside, they still inflict violence on us in Metro Manila. What does the AFP and especially the police want? Why don’t they allow us to say what we feel?”

A rally by the IPs at AFP headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, was met with a water cannon. At the US Embassy in Manila, tear gas cannisters were lobbed and a policeman ran over protesters with a van.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/831477/indigenous-peoples-meet-with-gina-lopez-turns-into-3-way-talk-with-afp-chief

Baybay City earns stable internal peace and security area declaration

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): Baybay City earns stable internal peace and security area declaration

The Philippine Army’s 802nd Brigade has declared Baybay City as stable internal peace and security (SIPS) area, a step away from being declared as insurgency-free.

Some parts of Baybay City’s upland villages are formerly known as hotbed of communist insurgents. Although armed rebels were sighted in these areas, there had been no firefight between government troops and rebels.

The SIPS declaration would mean economic stability since it will attract more investment and generate jobs, said 802nd Brigade Commander Col. Francisco Mendoza.

Baybay City hosts one the world’s biggest virgin coconut oil producers and suppliers of certified organic coconut oil by at least three international standards setting organization - the SC Global Oil Corporation located in Caridad village.

The company also supplies banana chips to international market.

Another major industry in Baybay City is the Specialty Pulp Manufacturing, Inc, that processes high-quality specialty pulp made mainly from Manila hemp or abaca fiber. The firm supplies raw materials for currency production to Hong Kong and Japan.

Recently, the city government signed a memorandum of agreement with officials of the Metro Retail Stores Group for the setting up a branch of the retail giant.

Baybay City Mayor Carmen Cari welcomed the SIPS declaration and hopes that the status would result in more development in upland villages.

The declaration will also support the local government’s tourism campaign promoting the city as one of the top destinations in Eastern Visayas.

The city offers tourist destinations such as the Lintaon peak, which is comparable to Tagaytay. Other attractions are heritage sites at the city center where houses from Spanish to American and Japanese Era are well-preserved.

The city is also a popular destination during Lenten season where pilgrims from other parts of the country visit St. Anthony de Padua in Pomponan village.

Baybay City, the third largest city in Eastern Visayas in terms of land area, also hosts the Visayas State University, one of the premier universities in Southeast Asia for agriculture research.

The city is also the home of Mount Pangasugan, the last remaining rainforest in the Philippines and the last forest frontier in Eastern Visayas where animal species listed by the World Conservation in the Red List of Threatened Animals are found.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=934413

PNP confirms gun seized in anti-drug operation issued to fallen SAF 44 member

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): PNP confirms gun seized in anti-drug operation issued to fallen SAF 44 member

Police authorities in Region 12 on Tuesday said physical and macro-etching examination conducted on a rifle recovered from the son of a police officer in Pikit, North Cotabato belonged to one of the members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) who died in a clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last year.

The firearm, according to Supt. Romeo Gaglgo Jr, information chief of Police Regional Office No. 12, said the firearm was described as Ferfrans cal. 5.56mm rifle with defaced serial numbers. Its new serial number was "FF 090465."

Galgo said based on the inventory of lost firearms with accessories submitted to PNP National Headquarters in relation to Mamasapano incident, the rifle was issued to PO2 Ephraim Mejia, one of the casualties in the Mamasapano incident that left 44 police special unit members killed.

The SAF operation (Oplan Wolverine) was successfully accomplished with the death of the country's most wanted Indonesian terrorist - Zulkifli bin Hir alias "Marwan."

Two weeks ago, the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group led by Supt. Maximo Sebastian Jr conducted joint operation in Pikit, North Cotabato with the Philippine Army and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA 12) that led to the arrest of Nasser Karim, son of Senior Insp. Sindatu Karim, Pikit deputy police chief.

The operation resulted in the recovery of assorted high powered guns and ammunition, including rifle grenades from Karim, including the rifle that belonged to the fallen SAF 44.

“This proves that some of the firearms of SAF 44 are still in the hands of private individuals, thus, deeper investigation is being conducted as to how said firearm falls into the hand of said suspect," Galgo said.

"We are hoping that through this breakthrough some of the questions behind the Mamasapano incident will be answered,” he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=934490

PNP on full alert status on All Saints' Day

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): PNP on full alert status on All Saints' Day

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa has ordered a full alert status nationwide in observance of All Saints' Day.

Likewise, the PNP chief also directed that there will be no "break" such that all leaves are cancelled on that day.

"Sa ating mga kapulisan (To our policemen), we expect na wala tayong break, wala tayong (we have no) leave dahil tayong lahat ay magdu-duty sa lahat ng sementeryo at sa subdivision na iiwan ng mga tao na pupunta sa sementeryo (because all of us will be on duty in cemeteries and subdivisions)," Dela Rosa said.

"Full alert status tayong lahat at doon naman sa mga mamamayan natin (all of us are on full alert status and to our countrymen...), we are advising you to please secure your premises, 'yung households ninyo bago kayo pumunta sa sementeryo dahil yung mga akyat-bahay diyan, magpipiyesta sa bahay ninyo kung hindi ninyo na-lock properly yung mga pamamahay ninyo (secure your households before going to the cemetery because unscrupulous individuals would likely take advantage while you're away)," he added.

At the same time, the PNP chief urged the public to observe Undas (All Saints' Day) in a very serene way.

"Please observe Undas in a very serene way. Basta hindi magulo, hindi magi-inuman, hindi mag attract ng pansin ng ibang tao dahil magagalit yung ibang tao dahil (Please don't drink liquor and refrain from being noisy because the others want it solemn)," Dela Rosa said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=934313

PAF looking for S-70A engine assy

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): PAF looking for S-70A engine assy

The Philippine Air Force (PAF) has allocated the sum of PHP26 million for the acquisition of an engine assy needed for the maintenance of its sole Sikorsky S-70A medium transport helicopter with tail number 739.

Submission and opening bids is on Nov. 9, 9:00 a.m. at the PAF Procurement Center Conference Room, Villamor Air Base, Pasay City.

The Sikorsky S-70A is manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It was developed for the US Army in the 1970s, winning a competition to be designated the UH-60 Black Hawk and spawning a large family in US military service.

The PAF initially has two S-70A units delivered in 1984 but one of the aircraft crashed and was written off in 1992. It was used for VIP transport.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=934326

DND, S. Korean firm ink deal for PHL's first missile firing frigates

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): DND, S. Korean firm ink deal for PHL's first missile firing frigates

The Department of National Defense (DND) and South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) finally signed the contract for the country's first two missile armed frigates.

This was confirmed by DND public affairs office chief Arsenio Andolong in a message to the Philippines News Agency.

He said the contract was signed by DND Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and HHI representatives around 3:00 p.m. Monday at the Philippine Navy Headquarters, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

"Notice of Award (NOA) was formally served to HHI last Aug. 4," Andolong said.

"NOA was given to HHI as GRSE (Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd) was post-disqualified after it was determined that their Net Financial Capacity was insufficient and therefore not in compliance with Republic Act 9184 (Government Procurement Policy Board)," he added.

GRSE along with HHI was one of the six proponents in the DND's frigate program.

In the NOA, HHI offered PHP15,744,571,884 for the two frigates.

The DND has allocated the sum of PHP18 billion for the acquisition of two missile-capable frigates, with PHP16 billion going to the construction of the ships and PHP2 billion for its munitions.

The ships will be armed with a variety of sensors and weapons capable of detecting and neutralizing air, surface, and submarine threats.

It will be also capable of electronic warfare.

Aside from this, the frigates, according to their technical specifications, must be capable of performing of extended maritime patrol with an embarked naval helicopter and extended maritime surveillance capability through air-and-surface-search radar, and sound navigation and ranging (sonar) for sub-surface search.

It will be armed and fitted a variety of air-to-air, anti-ship, and anti-submarine weapons.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=934314

Signing of missile firing frigate deal highlights PN's goal to strong, credible

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): Signing of missile firing frigate deal highlights PN's goal to strong, credible

The signing of the contract for the country's purchase of missile firing frigates highlights the Philippine Navy (PN)'s goal to be a strong and credible Navy by 2020.

This was stressed by PN spokesperson Capt. Lued Lincuna in a statement Tuesday.

"The acquisition of the two brand new and modern frigates serves as a 'big step' in realizing a once a dream of a world class and well-equipped PN, capable and credible in protecting its people, and the sovereignty of the land and the interest of its national territory," he added.

On Monday, Department of National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana formally inked the contract for the Frigate Acquisition Program, as the principal signatory together with officials and delegates from South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).

The signing took place at the PN's headquarters in Naval Station Jose Andrada, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

The project involves the construction and delivery of two missile firing frigates to the PN.

The signing of the contract signals the start of the construction and is the culmination of the long and tedious procurement process for the project.

As background, the Notice of Award was approved, issued and was duly conformed by HHI on Sept. 13 with the amount of USD336,912,000 or PHP15,744,571,584.

Witnessing the event were Ambassador of South Korea to the Philippines Kim Jae Shin; Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Installation and Logistics Jesus Rey Avilla; Undersecretary for Financial Management Josue Gaverza Jr; Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics Major Gen. Job Yucoco and his assistant, Brig. Gen. Arnulfo G Rafanan; Senior Military Assistant Brig. Gen. Arnel Duco; and PN Vice Commander Rear Admiral Rafael Mariano.

On the other hand, distinguished members of HHI delegation included the Senior Vice President/Owner HHI, Ki Sun Chung; Senior Sales Officers Ki Young Sung and Jae Rak Kim; Technical Sales Officer, Unchul Kim; Project Consultant, Myeongok Han; and Local Representative, Yolanda Lim Gamba.

Also present in the signing were the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Gaudencio C. Collado; Commander of Philippine Fleet, Rear Adm. Bayani Gaerlan; Commander of Western Command, Vice Adm. Ronald Joseph Mercado; Philippine Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Bayani Gaerlan; Naval Sea Systems head Commodore Virme Torralba; and Project Management Team Chairman, Commodore Robert Empedrad and members.

The activity is of utter significance to the DND and to the PN, in particular. It is the single most expensive modernization project signed by the Duterte administration as of this time.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=934337

Pres. Duterte's Tokyo visit to bolster strategic partnership between PHL and Japan

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): Pres. Duterte's Tokyo visit to bolster strategic partnership between PHL and Japan

President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to arrive here Tuesday for an official visit from Oct. 25 to 27 following his back-to-back state visits to Brunei and China, to discuss the economic and defense cooperation and scale up the strategic partnership between the Philippines and Japan.

The state visit, which will involve meetings with Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and business leaders, coincides with the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan.

“As you are aware, the reason for the visit of the President is because (Japanese) Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe reiterated an invitation he has been extending to the President to come to Japan. And this invitation was in fact reiterated and accepted in the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos,” Consul General Marian Jocelyn Tirol-Ignacio said.

The lease of TC 30 military planes and the development assistance and investments are among the items President Duterte may seek in a bid to capitalize the country's economic and defense alliance with Japan.

Ignacio said the Philippine-Japan relationship is quite multi-faceted, covering the range of political, economic, and cultural interests that affect Filipinos working and living in Japan.

Japan has also received more than 400,000 Filipino tourists for the first half of the year alone.
A growing professional community of engineers and technical interns in the IT sector consists of 1,600 Filipinos.

“Japan is very keen to continue with the relationship that it has had with the Philippines for a long number of years. In the economic area, for example, Japan continues to be the top trading partner for the Philippines,” Ignacio said.

“On the political level, we have seen quite an interest in high-level visits. The high-level visits constitute the coming of Foreign Minister Kishida to the Philippines, and what I want to note here is that when he came, he called on the President. His visit to the Philippines was in fact, the first visit that he has ever made outside of Japan after his reassignment as Foreign Minister. So this is a very big signal of the importance that the Philippines has for Japan,” she added.

Ignacio said the country can expect several signing of letters of intent from Japanese companies during President Duterte's visit.

"We understand that there might be about eight businesses that will be signing Letters of Intents and Memorandum of Understanding and this is intended to generate investment into the Philippines so we have big companies both in the manufacturing and in the investment sector, in the agricultural sector," she said.

Meeting with the Filipino community

First in the order of President Duterte's visit is a meeting with the Filipino community in Japan.
Joseph Philip Banal, founder of the 200-member Dabawenyos' Organized Society-Japan or DOSJ, is from Davao City and came to Japan in 1994 with his family.

Banal, a staff member of the Embassy of Algeria, said his group's main objective is to help the less fortunate children of Davao. The first fund-raising project of DOSJ was the "Kadayawan sa Tokyo" held in 2011, which was able to donate a day care center in Mati, Davao Oriental.

Aurora Dobashi, founder of the Filipino English Teachers in Japan Global (FETJ Global) in 2000, has lived in Japan for almost 27 years. “I have been teaching all my life and practically I teach, I train, I organize events for Filipinos in Japan. We train them,” she said. Members of the FETJ are mostly BS Education graduates or with at least two years of college education.

Business and economic interests

Consul Ignacio said President Duterte would address the Philippine Economic Forum.

“The economic forum is important because for the first time, our Japanese business partners will have their first look at the President. He has generated a lot of interest here in Japan and as you are aware, there is a lot of investments by the Japanese in the Philippines,” she said.

Ignacio said the Japanese business partners have been waiting for the President to expound on his 10-point agenda.

On other matters, President Duterte is also expected to meet with the Japan-Philippines Parliamentarians Friendship League.

Another highlight of the President's visit is the possibility of the HARVEST loan coming into fruition.

"This is important because the focus will be on Mindanao. There is a lot of interest, I think, between the Philippines and Japan to try to extend some kind of assistance that goes beyond Metro Manila but goes all over the region. Cebu, for example, and in Mindanao, even in Davao," Ignacio said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=934391

PHL, Japan to formally sign TC-90 lease agreement Wednesday

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): PHL, Japan to formally sign TC-90 lease agreement Wednesday

The Philippines and Japan will formally sign the lease agreement for the five TC-90 training aircraft, which will be used to patrol the country's vast territories on Wednesday.

This was confirmed by Department of National Defense (DND) Undersecretary for Finance, Ammunitions, Installations and Materials Raymundo De Vera Elefante who is now in Japan for the signing.

He added the country will pay USD7,000 each for the first four aircraft yearly and only USD200 for the fifth, or total of USD28,200 for all TC-90s.

Elefante said the lease agreement is renewable every year.

"It's almost for free and we will free training (to fly and handle the aircraft) and it will help us (in) guarding our shores, from the air," he said in Filipino.

The TC-90s will come from the stocks of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and it also useful for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and maritime security.

The DND official said that they are looking at the possibility of using for 20 years as it will prove very handy for the Philippines while its military is upgrading its equipment.

The TC-90, which is part of the Beechcraft King Air aircraft family, was offered by Japan shortly after the Agreement Concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology was finalized last Feb. 29.

The TC-90's patrol range is double those of small Philippine aircraft which only has a maximum range of 300 kilometers.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=934397

Pres. Duterte looks forward to see no foreign soldiers in PHL

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 25): Pres. Duterte looks forward to see no foreign soldiers in PHL

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he looks forward to a Philippines without foreign troops around, only Filipino soldiers.

Pres. Duterte made the remark in a media interview before leaving for his three-day official visit to Japan upon invitation extended to him by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

”I would like to say this with all candor, I look forward to the time when I no longer see any military troops or soldier in my country except the Filipino soldier,” Pres. Duterte said.

He said his goal of zero foreign troops in the country is part of his efforts to pursue an independent foreign policy as provided in the Philippine Constitution.

”I said I do not have to dovetail what the policies of our countries are and especially in the matter of stationing of military troops in my country. I really hate it. I don’t want it. We don’t need it. We are not going to war and there’s not going to be any war in the future,” the President said.

The president said he will visit Japan "with full trust that we can understand each other and Japan will understand my position vis-à-vis with the foreign policy that I want to implement."

"It’s just a question of a policy that is really truly Filipino," he added.

When asked if his administration intends to rescind the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the United States, Pres. Duterte said he would like to discuss it with US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Russel.

”We have the EDCA, forget it. If I stay here long enough, if it is an executive agreement, then I’ll just…I don’t want to see any military man of any other nation except for the Filipino soldiers. That’s all I want,” Duterte said.

Russel arrived last Sunday in the Philippines and met with Secretaries Delfin Lorenzana of National Defense and Perfecto Yasay of Foreign Affairs.

The US official reportedly warned Pres. Duterte over the latter’s fiery rhetoric remarks and deadly crime war, an interference that irked the Filipino leader.

”Russel says Duterte comments causing worries in business communities. Then go away, we can endure, we will recover I assure you. We will live and survive. We have gone to the worst of times in this planet,” President Duterte replied while holding copy of Inquirer newspaper which bannered the story about Russel’s warning.

The president said he is not a "tuta" (lapdog) of any country, including the US.

”You count me out. I’m not one of them. I am not also a tuta (lapdog) of any country. Mind you, only the Filipino can make me 'tuta'. Period,” the President said.

During state visit in China last week, President Duterte announced his separation from the United States while pursuing an independent foreign policy.

EDCA is a supplemental agreement to the previous Visiting Forces Agreement signed between the US and the Philippines in 1998.

The EDCA was signed by former Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg in April 28, 2014. The Supreme Court had upheld its constitutionality.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=934420