From Malaya Business Insight (Jan 9): Govt plans military lands’ conversion into farms
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of National Defense are working on a plan to convert portions of military reservation areas into farms.
Emmanuel Piñol, DA secretary,said he and Delfin Lorenzana, DND secretary, agreed to conduct an inventory of military land nationwide and that the two agencies will work on a memorandum of agreement to make use of the idle lands.
“In Catanduanes, I was sitting beside Delfin Lorenzana and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) chief of staff, General (Eduardo) Año. We discussed our idea of developing military reservation areas into agricultural production areas. I asked him (Lorenzana) if he would like to see soldier-farmers. He loves the idea,” Piñol said.
He said that Lorenzana agreed the idea could work since for example, Fort Magsaysay alone has 46,000 hectares.
“Sec. Lorenzana said they can supply soldiers with the rice (that they) produce. On our end in DA, if they can produce rice sufficient for the armed forces, that’s one sector of society that will no longer be dependent on our farmers,” Piñol said.
Aside from this plan, DA is also seekingP900 million funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency for the mechanization of 10,000 hectares pilot rice farms to be presented during Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the Philippines later this month.
Piñol said the Agricultural Modernization Program aims to provide farmers in 10 model sites nationwide with farm equipment that include grains dryer, post-harvest facilities, technical support and institutional development.
“Equipment will be managed by effective cooperatives which will be leased to farmers. If the scheme would be successful, benchmarks would increase in productivity and decrease in post-harvest losses since at present, we lose 16 percent of crops post-harvest,” he explained.
DA also said the program intends to have model sites with clusters of rice farms totaling 1,000 hectares per area.
“Unless we mechanize, we cannot (be at par with other countries.) Even with the cost of production, it remains high since we are not yet mechanized. We are hopeful that it gets implemented this year,” Piñol said.
At present, the average production cost of rice farmers is P12.41 per kilo of rice produced, while farm modernization rate is only close to 3 horsepower per hectare.
Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed the country produced 18,149,837.78 metric tons (MT) of rice in 2015, four percent lower than 2014’s 18,967,826.17 MT.
Areas harvested with rice also went down by 1.8 percent in 2015 to 4,656,227.14 hectares from 4,739,672.16 hectares in 2014.
Abdullah Macapar aka Commander Bravo of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) discusses various issues related to the the Bangsamoro peace process and the alleged moves of peace spoilers to create animosity between him and the Duterte administration during an interview in his camp in Balindong, Lanao del Sur on January 6, 2017. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
From the ABS-CBN (Jan 9): Cop injured in Maguindanao blast
MAGUINDANAO - A policeman was wounded in an explosion in a police detachment in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao Sunday night.
Police Officer 1 Aliboy Draper, a member of the Provincial Public Safety Company of the Maguindanao Provincial Police Office, was slightly wounded in his leg when he was hit by shrapnel after an unidentified person lobbed a hand grenade that exploded inside the 1st Maneuver Platoon detachment in Barangay Labu Labu, Shariff Aguak around 6 p.m.
Draper was on duty and standing inside the detachment when the explosion happened.
Shariff Aguak Municipal Police Station chief Insp. Armado Liwan told ABS-CBN News in a phone interview that authorities are looking into two angles on the possible motive for the grenade-throwing incident.
He said it could be personal grudge and retaliation of an unknown group in relation to their intensified anti-illegal drugs operation.
Police are now conducting an in-depth investigation to identify the perpetrators.
From Business World (Jan 10): Duterte: Local extremist groups competing over ISIS recognition
AMID reported terror threats from Muslim insurgents in Mindanao while the country is under a state of lawlessness, President Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday said the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) ideology “is here to stay” as local extremists vie for the militant group’s recognition.
Mr. Duterte reaffirmed this terror situation in his speech during Monday’s oathtaking ceremony of 220 newly-appointed officials of government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and national agencies at Malacañang, scheduled before a Cabinet meeting that afternoon.
“(The problem here now is) ISIS and we have been debating [that] for so long. But we are now one of the opinion in the Cabinet that the ISIS ideology is here to stay,” Mr. Duterte said.
He said local terrorist groups “are competing for recognition” by ISIS by “outdoing each other in brutality.”
“The more brutal you are in raising the ideology, the more credentials that you may have for a recognition,” Mr. Duterte said.
The Maute group -- blamed for a foiled bombing late last year outside the US Embassy in Manila and the reported ambush of the presidential advance party in Lanao del Sur also last year -- is one of several armed Islamist organizations in Mindanao which have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Before leaving the town of Butig, following prolonged military operations, the Maute group left a message on a blackboard, threatening to behead Mr. Duterte and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Meanwhile, a faction of the Abu Sayyaf, notorious mainly for its kidnap-for-ransom operations, has also associated itself with ISIS.
Editorial posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 08): Editorial -- The so-called Bravo’s video
There is absolutely no new video recording of Commander Bravo or in real life, Abdullah Macapaar, or his men executing three men by firing squad. If there was one, without necessarily admitting, it was done long time ago, and the MILF absolutely had no sanction of it.
The MILF had already enforced a total ban on the operation of so-called mobile Shariah courts (in Lanao areas) that handle cases submitted to them to prevent clan conflict. The truth is that until now, the MILF has not allowed death penalty even for major crimes; instead it permits only the payment of blood money to the families of the victims.
The basic principle in the MILF justice system is that justice can only be dispensed by those who know Islamic law very well. It cannot be done by anyone else. In fact, being judge is the least desired profession among Muslims, because Islam says that the moment one is appointed, one foot is already considered in the ridge of hell. Being fair is very difficult too, because human beings are naturally inclined to favour close kith and kin, friends over stranger, etc. It is for this reason that no way that commander like Bravo can be a competent judge because he is not expert on Islamic law. He is a military man and not a judge.
The execution clip goes viral and sent out into the online world. The recording, it was alleged, was done by a rebel on his cell phone and eventually posted on Facebook. It showed three men blindfolded and separately tied to bamboo poles, while rebels aimed their automatic rifles and shot them.
The MILF immediately ordered its Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCH) to check whether there is such execution that took place in Lanao provinces in recent days. The result was negative; meaning, there was no such execution.
The MILF also ordered Commander Bravo to comment on the news item and the video clipping. The explanation is expected soon.
Meanwhile, it is very unfortunate that until now there are members of the media whose main forte in their vocation is for sensationalism. They choose to spread raw information including the most controversial ones without verifying the source, say the MILF. In effect, they are deliberately launching a hate campaign against the MILF.
Members of the media should be circumspect in carrying stories like this, because it does not promote good taste among the population. On the contrary, it promotes hatred and animosity towards the MILF. Worse, it undermines the good working relationships or partnership between the MILF and government in ensuring the success of the peace process, in particular the early passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Comparing this execution, granting it is true, with the series of massacres committed against the Moros, it is pale. It is totally not fair to bring the past wrongdoings into the open except as part of the healing process. This is the reason that in the GPH-MILF peace process there is a need to undertake transitional justice and reconciliation program in order to heal the wounds of the past.
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 10): Dureza assures IP representation in expanded BTC
Presidential peace adviser Jesu G. Dureza assured the indigenous groups of their representative in the new and expanded Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), which will draft the enabling law for the implementation of all Bangsamoro peace deals and other pertinent measures including the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997.
Dureza made the assurance during an IP peace table conversation on Tuesday, January 3, in Midsayap, North Cotabato.
This meeting with the IP leaders is part of the continuing consultation process for the “bigger peace tables” to discuss their concerns and participation in the peace process.
“The negotiating table is a smaller table and only involves the government and the rebel groups. The ‘bigger peace table’ is the general public, which will be affected by the issues tackled in the smaller table. It is, therefore, important to listen to the bigger table,”Dureza stressed during the meeting.
As a continuing engagement, there are upcoming peacebuilding conversations with different stakeholders in Surigao Del Norte and Compostela Valley on January 12, Thursday.
Government Implementing Peace panel Chair for the Bangsamoro Peace Process Irene Santiago was also present in the said peacebuilding conversation with IP groups.
Dureza also visited the municipalities of Alamada, Midsayap, and Carmen, where he led the inauguration of a 42-kilometer road project under the Payapa at MasaganangPamayanan (PAMANA) program, the government’s peace and development program.
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 8): Malaysia reiterates willingness to assist the Philippines’s shift to federal system
During last Wednesday’s Habi at Kape Media Forum at Abreeza-Ayala Mall in Davao City, Acting Malaysian Consul General Mohon Jafri Bin Mohammad Sharif reiterated Malaysia’s willingness to assist the country in shifting to federal system by sharing experiences, expertise and knowledge.
“We can always share our experiences, expertise and knowledge on federalism and assist the Philippines”, Mohammad Sharif said.
But he admits that there will be features that will be distinct for the Philippines, given the country's archipelagic nature. “It is also important that the plans of the government and its implementation should parallel with each other to achieve the goal,” the acting consul said.
Former Malaysian Consul General Abdullah Zawawi Tahir said that such a plan cannot be achieved overnight and as it needs a thorough study and preparation. Malaysia is the sole ASEAN country with a federal set-up, federal-parliamentary one that has a fairly successful development track record.
The Duterte Administration is proposing to Congress to amend the 1987 Philippine constitution "for a parliamentary federal form of government from a unitary type."
Last September 2016, a draft for the federalist form of government from Mindanao is being readied by a seven-man group created during the Mindanao-wide Federalism Convergence Forum in Davao City.
Among the things the group agreed is the establishment of five individual states that will have its own federal state laws and federal supreme courts. These five estates shall have economic viability that would cost an estimated amount of P220 billion each.
Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Jan 7): MILF says execution against its policy
The MILF leadership on Friday reiterated its long-standing policy that qisas or death penalty is not imposed by its Shariah court inspite of a circulating video showing 3 men executed by firing squad as a way of punishment for the crime of murder allegedly committed by them.
MILF Information Committee chair Mohagher Iqbal said in an interview that its official Shariah court does not impose or sanction the imposition of death penalty but rather the payment of diat or blood money.
Iqbal noted that the recently uploaded video of the 3 men appears to be an old footage.
The MILF has already acted appropriately in the past vis-a-vis the video footage, Iqbal said.
"The MILF Central Committee has commanded the disbandment of the unofficial court that sanctioned the execution as well as ordered Commander Bravo to stop his group in trying cases as well as unauthorized military actions", Iqbal also added.
It was also learned that eventually an official Shariah court with jurisdiction in the concerned area was set up to try cases lodged before it.
Iqbal said the motive and timing for the upload of the video in facebook is suspicious, especially since the event happened years ago and that the peace process between MILF and government is already in implementation stage.
From The Standard (Jan 9): Terror group rises from jihadist ashes
DIWM, allies hatching bomb plots—general
SECURITY officials are closely monitoring a new umbrella organization of Mindanao-based terrorist groups, police and military sources told the Manila Standard Monday.
Called Dawlatul Islamiyah Waliyatul Masrik, the group replaces Ansar Khilafa Philippines, whose leader, Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, was killed on Jan. 5.
“We’ve been monitoring the formation of this new group for several months already through continuous intelligence gathering and comparing our assessments with the assessments of some independent experts on terrorism,” a military general who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
Intelligence reports said bombers from the Abu Sayyaf group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the Maute group, AKP, and even “lost command” groups of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were pulling together to launch bomb attacks.
“Their ultimate objective is to be recognized by the daesh [Islamic State] as a member or affiliate organization under the name DIWM here in the Philippines,” another security officer from the police said.
He said the bomb attacks in Davao City, Hilongos in Leyte, Midsayap in North Cotabato, and the foiled Manila bombing are interconnected.
TENTACLES OF TERRORISM. Security authorities are closely monitoring the formation of a new umbrella terror group called Dawlatul Isamiyah Waliyatul Mastrik which officials say consists of existing local terror groups based in Mindanao.
“All those arrested perpetrators from all these incidents spoke of the formation of he DIWM. In fact, they came from different groups such as the Maute, Abu Sayyaf, AKP, and have backgrounds from the BIFF and MILF,” he said.
An Abu Sayyaf leader, Isnilon Hapilon, started the group in Basilan in February 2016, with a pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State.
On Monday, the Philippine National Police said it is closely monitoring five to 10 foreigners who are allegedly conducting training in terrorist camps in Mindanao.
At a press conference Monday, PNP chief Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa said there might be more foreign nationals but said they would be difficult to identify as such if they were Malays.
Also on Monday, Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduaro Año said the military was using a new approach to combatting terrorists by neutralizing their top leaders.
Ano would not offer any specifics, but said the new approach would “finish this problem once and for all.”
Last week, a Sudanese national, Abu Naila, believed to be bound for Syria to fight for the Islamic State together and his wife Kadija were killed in a shootout with security forces on the outskirts of Sarangani province.
His death followed the killing of Maguid at a beach resort in Sarangani province.
At present, Año said they had been 51 battalions deployed to different areas of Mindanao, the biggest military contingent that has been amassed on the island.
“Not in our history has there been this massive deployment of our troops, but we are going to make sure that our campaign against the Abu Sayyaf will not be prolonged and we wanted this to finish it,” Año said.
Año said they have intensified its intelligence operations while drawing on community support to provide information on terrorists in their locality.
“We are encouraging the community to help us by reporting suspicious-looking… people in their locality,” Año said.
From Update.Ph (Jan 9): India, Philippines conducting maritime exercise
The Philippine Coast Guard will be conducting a bilateral exercise with one of Indian Coast Guard’s newest and first in the series of 105-meter Samarth-class Offshore Patrol Vessel, ICGS Samarth. ICGS Samarth arrive in Manila Saturday.
Aboard the said vessel is the Indian Coast Guard delegation headed by Samarth commanding officer Deputy Inspector-General Anand Prashka Bandola.
The Philippine Coast Guard said the ICG delegation paid a courtesy call to PCG Officer-In-Charge Commodore Joel S Garcia PCG Ph.D., H.D., Al Haj at Coast Guard Headquarters in early today.
“To foster collaborative relationship among Coast Guard agencies, an organizational briefing of both agencies was then held followed by an open forum,” the PCG said. “In connection with its visit, a maritime pollution exercise and fire fighting exercise will also be held tomorrow morning within Manila-Cavite area.”
From Rappler (Jan 9): Counterterrorism: Why the death of AKP's Tokboy matters
Maguid's death also spells the death of his group Ansar Khalifa Philippines, feared for having the closest connection, among local terror groups, to ISIS fighters in Syria
PRO-ISIS LEADER. Photo shows an old mug shot of Mohammad Jaafar Maguid, the slain leader of local terror group Ansar Khalifa Philippines, who worked with foreign terrorists. File photo from the Sarangani Information Office
The hunt for Mohammad Jaafar Sabiwang Maguid or "Tokboy" ended on January 5, 2017, when the leader of the local terrorist group that is believed to have the "closest links" with Islamic State (ISIS) fighters in Syria was killed in a police operation.
The police's most wanted person in Sarangani, Maguid was a bomb maker trained by Malaysian terrorist Marwan who was killed in the infamous January 2015 Mamasapano operation in Central Mindanao.
The local police tagged Maguid as behind various killings and instances of robbery, extortion, and arson, among other crimes, in the Soccsksargen region, particularly in Sarangani, General Santos, and Sultan Kudadrat. He had a P300,000 ($6,000*) bounty on his head.
A high-ranking intelligence officer said Maguid's death also spelled the death of his group Ansar Khalifa Philippines (AKP), one of the local terrorist groups that pledged allegiance to ISIS. (There is no agreement on how to spell the group's name. It is also called Ansar al-Khalifa, Ansarul Khilafa, and Ansar Khilafa.)
Maguid's death means that AKP is one less group to worry about for Philippine security officials, who have watched the pro-ISIS local terror groups forge tactical alliance in the wake of pronouncements of declaring a wilayat or province in the southern Philippines. (READ: ISIS to declare a province in Mindanao?)
"Ansarul Khilafa, originally based in Sarangani, may be the group with the closest links to fighters in Syria. It is now clear that AKP worked with the Maute Group on the Davao market bombing; the shared ideological commitment has become an operational alliance," according to a report of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), an Indonesian think-tank, that was published in October 2016.
RED CAR. Mohammad Jaafar Sabiwang Maguid was intercepted on board a red Toyota Wigo in the vicinity of Angel Beach Resort in Barangay Kitagas of Kiamba town on January 5, 2017. Photo obtained by Rappler
AKP is believed to have worked with the Maute Group in the September 2016 bombing of a market in Davao City, the hometown of President Rodrigo Duterte, in an apparent attempt to distract the military from its focused operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group in Sulu and Basilan in the aftermath of its beheading of Canadian hostages.
Maguid's death also means one less group that would radicalize students online. "Tokboy also reportedly was successful in recruiting students from a variety of campuses in General Santos City, Cotabato and even Lanao Del Norte on the promise of getting them advanced religious training," the IPAC report added.
Closest links to ISIS fighters in Syria
AKP does not get as much attention in the media as the other pro-ISIS groups. But it is feared by terror experts and observers largely because it is said to have the closest connection to ISIS fighters in Syria – among local terror groups here.
IPAC identified 2 "critically important connections" between Maguid and ISIS in Syria – Indonesian Saifullah Ibrahim, also known as Ibrahim Ali and Sucipto, and Filipino Mohamad Reza Kiram.
There was no evidence that AKP itself had activated those links with ISIS fighters, but the possibility had been a cause for concern.
AKP also had extensive links with jihadi groups in the region, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. "Some of those ties go back more than a decade and were forged in prison. They can easily be reactivated through social medi aand mobile phone links," the report added.
RED CAR. Mohammad Jaafar Sabiwang Maguid was killed at Angel Beach Resort in Barangay Kitagas of Kiamba town on January 5, 2017. Photo obtained by Rappler
Saifullah Ibrahim, who has long been operating in Mindanao and is behind the 2002 bombing of Fitmart stores in Tacurong and General Santos, made connections with ISIS fighters when he was arrested and temporily detained in Indonesia. He was extradited to the Philippines and spent long years in jail until he was acquitted and released in 2014.
Saifullah Ibrahim, who generally served as a "conduit for funding through Indonesia," immediately joined Marwan in Maguindanao, according to IPAC. He moved in with AKP upon the death of Marwan in the botched Mamasapano operation in January 2015. He was killed by the Philippine Marines in Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat, 10 months later.
The other connection was the Tausug Mohamad Reza Kiram or Abdulrahman. The man believed to be responsible for the 2012 Zamboanga bus bombing was seen training AKP recruits in 2014, according to IPAC. He reportedly later left for Syria to join the fight there.
In the aftermath of Maguid's death, security operations are now focused on pursuing the foreign terrorists he had been working with and prevent them from joining the other pro-ISIS organizations. (READ: Cops kill foreign terrorist, Tokboy's 'patner')
From Rappler (Jan 9): AFP chief: Reds should work with military in new campaign plan
Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año talks about the military's new campaign plan, DSSP Kapayapaan
DSSP KAPAYAPAAN. In this file photo, the military presents to President Rodrigo Duterte its new campaign plan during a command conference on January 6, 2017. Malacañang photo
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) designed a new campaign plan, Development Support and Security Plan Kapayapaan or DSSP Kapayaan, which promises to be tough on terrorists but supportive of peace talks with communist insurgents and Muslim rebels.
It is a highly anticipated document, particularly among communist rebels and observers of the peace negotiations under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. They're keen on how the military will adjust its operations to support the peace process with the group responsible for Asia's longest-running communist insurgency.
Kapayapaan is the Filipino word for peace.
Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año, who is notorious among communist guerrillas, said he expects them to now work with the military. (READ: Rebel hunter Año is new AFP chief)
"The leftists have nothing to worry about. In fact we expect them to cooperate with us so that we can work out the attainment of a permanent and lasting peace," Año said on Monday, January 9, on the sidelines of the annual New Year's Call held inside Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.
The government and the guerrillas will resume talks in Rome this month, but they have yet to sign a bilateral ceasefire pact that hinges – as far as the rebels are concerned – on the release of the remaining political prisoners. What's holding now are the ceasefire declarations declared separately by the military and the rebels.
The military presented the new campaign plan to Duterte during a command conference in Malacañang on Friday, January 6, although a copy of the document has yet to be made public.
The new campaign plan also sets the direction for the military to support police operations against illegal drugs. Año said the military will focus on the following goals:
Sustained military operation to defeat the foreign and local terrorist organizations
Contribute to the promotion of peace
Active support to law enforcement in war against drugs
Contribute to nation building.
Primacy of peace process
Año said the military will uphold the "primacy of the peace process" while it focuses its combat operations on ending the terror threats particularly from the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Maute Group.
"We did not only focus on the security aspect, but we also focused on how we're going to attain a peaceful settlement with other peace inclined armed groups such as the Communist Party of the Philippines, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Moro National Liberation Front," Año said.
"We also focused on how we're going to defeat terrorist groups such as the Abu Sayyaf, Maute Group, and foreign terrorist groups" he added.
DSSP Kapayapaan replaces the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) Bayanihan, which the military credits for significantly clearing 71 of the country's 76 provinces of the presence of the communist armed group New People's Army. The communists have blamed IPSP Bayanihan for alleged human rights violations by the military, however.
Año said the military will also continue patrols in the West Philippine Sea and modernize its hardware. He also welcomed warmer ties with China and Russia while committing to maintain relationships with the country's treaty ally, the US.
"We are seeing how we are warming our relationship with other countries like China and Russia. We'll maintain our working relationship with the US. We can say that right now we are not facing external threat against our country," said Año.
"We will take advantage of this so we can end the terrorist threat," he added.
From Rappler (Jan 9): PH defense chief plans to visit troops in West PH Sea
(UPDATED) Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana says he will await the recommendation of the military on when he could visit the troops there
TROOPS VISIT. The military says the planned visit of Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to the troops deployed in the West Philippine Sea is no reason to anger China. Rappler file photo
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana plans to visit troops in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), a gesture that is meant to assure the public that the Philippines is not neglecting the country's maritime claims amid warmer ties with China.
"We continue our maritime and aerial patrols there. We are also taking care of the troops assigned there. One of the plans of our Secretary of National Defense is to visit our troops there, in his convenient available time. We will make sure that we are maintaining our presence in the West Philippine Sea and ensure the integrity of our territory," Armed Forces chief of staff General Eduardo Año said on Monday, January 9, in Filipino.
The visit has not been scheduled. "I am awaiting what the navy or the air force would recommend as I may go there by ship or plane," Lorenzana told Rappler in a text message.
The last time the Philippines made a high-profile visit to the West Philippine Sea was in May 2015 when then Armed Forces chief General Gregorio Catapang brought local and international media to Pag-Asa Island at the height of tension between Manila and Beijing over the international arbitration case that was filed and later generally won by the Philippines. (WATCH: AFP chief tours disputed South China Sea)
China back then protested the visit of the Philippine military chief to the only maritime feature in the area that is occupied by civilians, about a hundred Filipinos who moved in mostly from mainland Palawan.
Año is confident that Lorenzana's planned visit will not anger China, citing warmer ties with the military superpower despite the continued presence of its ships inside the Philippine's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
"Ang makapag-upng tension diyan kung meron kang ginagawang (What would escalate tension are activities that will constitute) military aggressive actions. Visiting troops is part of our command activity," said Año.
Año said the modernization plan of the military will include developing a "deterrent capability." But he stressed he is confident there are no external threats at the moment, noting warmer ties with China and even Russia.
Año said the Philippine military will also keep its ties with the country's longtime treaty ally, the US.
"We are seeing how we are warming our relationship with other countries like China and Russia. we'll maintain our working relationship with the US. We can say that at the moment we are not facing any external threat against our country," he said.
From Rappler (Jan 9): PH military aims to crush Abu Sayyaf, Maute Group in 6 months
'When we say we aim to significantly defeat the enemy, we mean we want to render them or their capabilities down to a very minimal level," says AFP chief General Eduardo Año
COMMAND CONFERENCE. In this file photo, President Duterte talks to AFP chief Eduardo Año after a command conference on January 6, 2017. Malacañang photo
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has set an ambitious campaign plan that aims to crush local terror groups particularly the Abu Sayyaf and Maute Group in the next 6 months.
"The target of the Armed Forces chief of staff is [to finish them off in] the next 6 months. Let's see if we can do that in 6 months. It will be good. If not, we'll extend it until the end of the year," said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Monday, January 9.
The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is notorious for its kidnap-for-ransom activities while the Maute Group is known for seeking to attract the support of foreign terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS).
This is not the first time that the military vowed to crush the ASG under the Duterte administration. The first AFP chief appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte, retired general Ricardo Visaya, also pledged to defeat the ASG when he assumed command of the military in July 2016. (READ: AFP backs peace talks, will 'finish' Abu Sayyaf)
Under Visaya's short stint, the military deployed close to 8,000 troops to Sulu to run after the kidnap group. Yet, in November last year, the ASG kidnapped a German off Tawi-Tawi and dumped his slain companion – a woman – in Sulu.
The military said the ASG is still keeping at least 27 local and foreign hostages in Sulu.
Visaya's replacement, Armed Forces chief General Eduardo Año, said they will aim to rescue all of them.
Año, a former chief of military intelligence, said they have intensified intelligence operations while encouraging communities to assist the government by reporting suspicious activities.
The military, which is under the supervision of the Department of National Defense, just completed a new campaign plan to follow instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte. Development Support and Security Plan (DSSP) Kapayapaan promises to be tough on terrorists but supportive of peace talks with communist insurgents and Muslim rebels.
Without going into details, Lorenzana said there will be organizational changes and troop movements to allow a fresh approach to the problem that has plagued the country for decades. "We are going to do something new or innovative to finish this problem once and for all," said Lorenzana.
Año said they will assess their accomplishments by June 2017. He expects the local terror groups to be "significantly defeated" by then.
"Campaign plans are assessed every 6 months so we're going to assess our accomplishments in June. We should have significantly defeated the Abu Sayyaf," Año said.
"When we say we aim to significantly defeat the enemy, we mean we want to render them or their capabilities down to a very minimal level," Año added.
From Rappler (Jan 10): Pirates kill 8 fishing boat crew off Zamboanga
The Philippine Coast Guard says two other crew members survived the attack while 5 are still missing
Pirates killed 8 crew members of a fishing boat in Siromon Island in Zamboanga City, state media reported on Tuesday, January 10.
Quoting Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Commander Armand Balilo, state-run PTV4 reported on Tuesday that two other crew members survived the attack while 5 were still missing.
The incident comes a week after the PCG, with the Philippine Navy, rescued a cargo vessel from hijackers in Zamboanga waters.
On January 3, pirates in two speedboats reportedly attacked the M/V Ocean Kingdom, which was headed to Davao from Zamboanga. Authorities arrived after receiving an alert from the vessel, and kept the pirates from boarding the ship.
