After Marawi, Islamic State Still Threatens Region: Philippine Presidential Spokesman

From BenarNews (Nov 7): After Marawi, Islamic State Still Threatens Region: Philippine Presidential Spokesman



Harry Roque, then a lawyer representing slain reporters, talks to a fellow attorney before the start of a trial, June 15, 2011.

The Philippines wrested Marawi city from Islamic State-linked militants after a hard-fought, five-month battle, but IS remains a threat that can be contained only through greater cross-border cooperation, the new presidential spokesman told BenarNews on Tuesday.

The Philippines initially played down the threat posed by the extremist group in the southern city and in a battle with government forces that left more than 1,000 people dead, according to Harry Roque, a human rights lawyer who recently became spokesman for President Rodrigo Duterte.

“We were surprised,” that the fight to reclaim Marawi lasted as long as it did, Roque said in an interview.

“I think the president has said that he was surprised that they were able to engage troops in firefights for as long as they did and that they had as much ammunition stockpiled as they did,” he told BenarNews.

Pushing the last militants out from Marawi came with the realization that Southeast Asian countries, which include mostly Muslim Malaysia and Indonesia, needed to increase regional cooperation in face of the threat, Roque said. He warned that extremists were likely to strike in places with lax security.

Although the government declared the battle over on Oct. 23, saying that the main leaders on the IS side had been killed, dozens of enemy holdouts have engaged the military in skirmishes in recent days.

“We are finally in control of Marawi. However, the menace of modern-day terrorism will persist,” Roque said. “There has been a liberation of Marawi in the sense that we have retaken control, so, in that sense, we’ve won.”

But the menace of IS will persist not just in the region, but worldwide, he added.

“I do not know if it is accurate to say that it is spreading, but it’s still here in the Philippines, in Europe and in Asia. It’s all over,” Roque said, stressing that “stronger cooperation” among Southeast Asian governments was needed to counter the threat.

He said the battle also underscored how the United States was still an indispensable ally to the Philippines in the fight against terrorism.

“President Duterte looks forward to closer ties with the United States,” Roque said. “He has acknowledged the assistance of the U.S. government in the war in Marawi, even as he hasn’t changed his position that he has pivoted to Asia.”

Duterte was forced to accept military intelligence help from the United States – its long-time ally – when the battle began in late May.

He earlier threatened to expel American troops who regularly undertake training visits to the south after Washington had criticized his administration’s bloody war on illegal drugs.

Duterte has not criticized the U.S. lately and has sought to rekindle ties with Washington after President Donald Trump took office in January, Roque observed. Both presidents are expected to meet in Manila this month when the Philippines hosts Southeast Asian and other leaders for a summit.

Emphasis on rebuilding Marawi

The battle started in late May, when Abu Sayyaf Group militant leader Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged leader of IS in Southeast Asia, led hundreds of his men in attacking Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city of 200,000 people.

He was aided by brothers Omarkhayam and Abdullah Maute, who deployed their own fighters to reinforce Hapilon. Several fighters from Southeast Asia and the Middle East also joined the battle, which was advertised in pro-IS social media sites as a fight for a new caliphate in the region.

After first playing down the threat, Duterte acknowledged the government had underestimated the militant threat in Marawi, the biggest security challenge to confront any Philippine government in recent history.

Since declaring the battle over, the government is looking to reconstruct Marawi into a modern city, a long-term endeavor that could take years.

“The emphasis now is on the rebuilding of homes, so they can go back and resume normal lives,” Roque said. “The president has promised to rebuild Marawi to make it one of the most prosperous cities not just in Mindanao, as the whole country.”

http://www.benarnews.org/english/news/philippine/is-threat-11072017160809.html

Silence as PH marines pay tribute to fallen men on 67th year

From Rappler (Nov 8): Silence as PH marines pay tribute to fallen men on 67th year

The Philippine Marine Corps also celebrates the living heroes who led its operations not only in Marawi but in other conflict areas in the country   

67TH. The Philippine Marine Corps celebrates its 67th year anniversary on November 7, 2017

The crowd of Filipino Marines fell silent as the faces of fallen colleagues were shown in a video presentation honoring their heroism on Tuesday, November 7.

It's the 67th "birthday" of the Philippine Marines. The celebration that President Rodrigo Duterte attended came in the wake of the bloody siege in Marawi City where 35 of them were killed.

The late First Lieutenant John Frederick Savellano was among the faces that flashed on the screen. The young officer was one of the 13 Marines killed on June 9, 2017, in a battle to retake the Baloi Bridge that served as a critical supply route for the Maute fighters in Marawi.

It was the bloodiest day in the Marawi war, a tragedy that happened just a few days after Savellano's leadership was celebrated for clearing a building that Maute fighters occupied, and retrieving up to P79 million in cash.

"Let this 67th birthday be our way of celebrating our fallen warriors' legacy by taking a pause and reflecting on why and how the Philippine Marine Corps was born," said Philippine Marine Corps Commandant Major General Alvin Parreño in his speech. But the celebration was not only for the heroism of the fallen Marines in Marawi but also of those who fought in battles in other parts of the country.

Two Marines were recently killed in action in Palawan and another two in Sulu. "For sure, no story and no hero will be left forgotten," Parreño said.

Living heroes

The Philippine Marine Corps is a component of the Philippine Navy that provides ground combat elements working in tandem with the fleet.

It's a lean and mean fighting unit composed of 8,000 fighters who are deployed around the country to, among others, guard the country's maritime territory in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and various Philippine islands.

On Tuesday, the Marines also celebrated the living heroes.

Among the recipients of the Gold Cross medal is First Lieutenant Kim Adrian Martal for leading an operation in Marawi City, Staff Sergeant Ricky Villar for fighting Abu Sayyaf members in Sulu, and Sergeant Richard Anding for also fighting in Marawi City.



COMMANDANT. Philippine Marine Corps Commandant Major General Alvin Parreño leads the 67th birthday celebration of his unit.

The Honorary Marine Brigade Command Badge was also given to Lieutenant General Rolando Bautista and Major General Danilo Pamonag – Army generals who led the overall operations in Marawi.

The same badge was given to Rear Admiral Rene Medina of the Western Mindanao Command for assisting the Marines.

The birthday celebration ended with the fabled cake ceremony that Marines worldwide are known for. The cake was paraded in an elaborate ceremony led by Marine officers before the Commandant sliced the cake and took the first bite.

He reported that the cake was fit for consumption before the President Rodrigo Duterte himself was given the second slice.

It's a tradition followed by Marines all over the world.



67TH. The Philippine Marine Corps celebrates its 67th anniversary on November 7, 2017

 

https://www.rappler.com/nation/187672-philippine-marines-birthday-67

Marawi shows PH 'woefully inadequate' vs terrorism – Lorenzana

From Rappler (Nov 8): Marawi shows PH 'woefully inadequate' vs terrorism – Lorenzana

Terrorism is among the top security concerns that ASEAN leaders are expected to discuss in regional meetings in Vietnam and the Philippines this week

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the war with heavily armed local armed groups in Marawi City had exposed the shortcomings of the Philippine military in fighting terrorism. (READ: MARAWI: 153 days and more)

"Marawi is an eye opener. Marawi showed us how woefully inadequate our capablity is for this kind of problem," Lorenzana said in the Asean Leadership Amid a New World Order forum held on Wednesday, November 8, in Makati City.

Terrorism is among the top security concerns that ASEAN leaders are expected to discuss in regional meetings in Vietnam and the Philippines this week.

Lorenzana said the Philippines had been in "denial mode" despite previous warnings against the spread of radical ideology in the region.

A faction of the Abu Sayyaf Group led by supposed Islamic State (ISIS) emir Isnilon Hapilon and young radicals led by the so-called Maute Brothers attacked Marawi in May in a bid to establish an Islamic caliphate in Southeast Asia.

The Philippine military received assistance from treaty allies US and Australia, which flew their P3 Orion surveillance planes to help locate the position of the enemies. (READ: Trump adviser hails global cooperation in Marawi)

Neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia also helped patrol shared borders to prevent the possiblity of ISIS sympathizers going to Marawi to join the war.

China and Russia – new allies of the Philippines – donated rifles.

The military declared the war over after 5 months, on October 23, after killing the leaders of the siege. Clashes continue on the ground, however, with stragglers that the military claims no longer pose a major threat.

The military has also started facilitating the return of Marawi residents to their homes.



https://www.rappler.com/nation/187708-marawi-military-shortcomings-fight-vs-terror-lorenzana

Maute stragglers leaderless, directionless, says military

From ABS-CBN (Nov 7): Maute stragglers leaderless, directionless, says military



The military said Tuesday ISIS-inspired extremists that laid siege in the southern city of Marawi remain "leaderless" despite reports that Malaysian militant Amir Baco is the new emir of the group in Southeast Asia.

READ: 'Marwan student targeted in Mamasapano operation is new IS emir'

Maute fighters could not even form a sizable group to affect the security situation in the area and most of the remaining stragglers are fighting for survival, said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla.

"We still subscribe to the belief that the group is now leaderless, directionless and most of the stragglers remaining in the area belonging to the group are merely fighting for survival," he told ANC's Dateline Philippines.

The military is now pursuing leads that one of the 11 fatalities in a confrontation on Sunday was Baco, said Padilla.

Baco, who was trained by fellow Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, is believed to have been chosen as the new emir in the region after Isnilon Hapilon was killed by state troops in Marawi.

READ: Hapilon's lair: Copies of Koran, boots, scarves

Philippine National Police Director General Ronald dela Rosa made the revelation on Monday according to information shared by arrested Indonesian terrorist Mohammad Ilham Syahputra.

READ: Indonesian linked to Maute nabbed in Lanao del Sur

However, Padilla said information from Syahputra needs to be further validated because "he has been out of the main battle area for quite some time" and their information that there is no leader for the group is the most recent.

He added, any statement from terrorists should be carefully verified because it could mislead ongoing operations.

After cross-checking Syahputra's statement, Padilla said they believe that there are remaining stragglers in the buildings they have not yet cleared.

"We are making sure that all those buildings are properly cleared so that we leave no stone unturned for any remaining member of the group to escape from the area and create havoc in other area in the future," he said.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/07/17/maute-stragglers-leaderless-directionless-says-military

Philippines upgrades military features in disputed Spratly Islands

Posted to Malaysiskini (Nov 7): Philippines upgrades military features in disputed Spratly Islands

The Philippines has started upgrading military facilities on the biggest features it occupies in the disputed South China Sea, its defence secretary said on Tuesday, asserting Manila's claims in the strategic waterway.

Delfin Lorenzana (photo) said a contractor was building a beach ramp on Thitu Island, locally known as Pag-asa, the largest of nine features the Philippines holds in the Spratly Islands.

"While construction is ongoing, albeit intermittently, depending on good weather, we expect its completion by early 2018," Lorenzana said, adding the monsoon rains have been hampering the building of the beach ramp.

"No construction can proceed without a good beaching ramp."



China claims almost the entire South China Sea, but Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the waterway where more than US$3 trillion worth of sea-borne goods pass every year.

Recent satellite imagery has shown Chinese vessels gathering around Thitu, in what some experts say could be an attempt to deter the Philippines from cementing its claim. China's ambassador has played that down, insisting his country has no ill intent.

 

The two countries have long been at odds over the South China Sea, although ties have warmed substantially under Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who says it is smarter to do business with China than pick a fight with its far superior military.

Lorenzana said the ramp was important to allow large naval ships to deliver construction materials to repair and upgrade the island's airfield, fix structures and build a new port for fishermen.

 

A small community lives on Thitu, ostensibly to prop up the country's claim, although conditions are basic compared to those enjoyed by Vietnamese and Chinese on other islands in the Spratly chain.

Defence department spokesman Arsenio Andolong said the government would spend more than 1.3 billion pesos (US$25.3 million) for the upgrades on Thitu.

 

The military has defended the work, saying almost of all South China Sea claimants have been doing the same.

China has built seven artificial islands, installing radar and anti-aircraft guns and missiles on several. Experts have predicted fighter jets will soon be deployed on those islands.

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/401143

Densus 88 to meet Madrais in the Philippines

From Antara (Nov 6): Densus 88 to meet Madrais in the Philippines

The National Polices Densus 88 counterterrorism squad plans on meeting Minhati Madrais, the Indonesian wife of a terrorist leader in the Philippines, Omarkhayam Maute, in Marawi.

The plan was confirmed by Brigadier General Rikwanto, head of the public relations division of the Indonesian Police headquarter, here on Monday.

Based on information from the polices counterpart in Cagayan de Oro, Rikwanto said Madrais was arrested at 9:30 a.m. local time on Sunday.

In addition to Madrais, the joint team of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police from ICPO, MIB, ISG, CIDT-Lanso, 4th Mech, and 103rd SAC had arrested Madrais six children -- four women and two men -- from the 9017 Steele Makers Village, Tubod, Illigan City.
 
Rikwanto said Madrais, who is known to be a resident of Bekasi, West Java, was the wife of one of the leaders of Maute Group, Omarkhayam Maute, who had been killed during military operations in Marawi.

The police confiscated four "blasting caps", two units of detonating cord, and a time fuse as well as an expired passport bearing the name of Madrais.

"Right now, Madrais and her children are being questioned at a police station in Iligan City," Rikwanto said.

Madrais, born in Bekasi on June 9, 1971, was believed to have arrived with a passport numbered A 2093379 in Manila in 2015, and her visa had been extended for 30 days to be effective until January 30, 2017.

http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/113366/densus-88-to-meet-madrais-in-the-philippines

Islamic State lurks in Philippine shadows

From the Asia Times (Nov 7): Islamic State lurks in Philippine shadows (By Bong Sarmiento)

While one terror battle has ended in the besieged city of Marawi, another looms as the extremist group's many local affiliates come under new leadership



Philippine soldiers stand guard in front of a door spray painted with "I love ISIS" graffiti after government troops cleared the area from pro-Islamic State militant groups inside the war-torn Marawi city, southern Philippines October 19, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

While one terror battle has ended, the next one looms in the shadows on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.

Five months after the Islamic State-aligned Maute Group laid destructive siege to the southern city of Marawi, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced on October 23 the end of government operations to liberate the city from the militants.

“The Philippine security forces, aided by its government and massive support of the Filipino people, have nipped the budding terrorism infrastructure and defeated terrorism in the Philippines,” he said.

At the same time, Lorenzana acknowledged that the tactical triumph in Marawi will not eliminate Islamic State’s ideology in the Philippines, and called for stronger regional cooperation to fight the rising threat the terror group poses to Southeast Asia as fighters return home from the battlefields of Iraq and Syria.

The call comes ahead of this week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila, where global leaders will be in attendance. Security forces have amped up their vigilance against a possible Islamic State-inspired retaliatory attack on the global meeting.

Some 60,000 police, soldiers and other law enforcement operatives have been deployed to secure heads of states, including US President Donald Trump, along with some 3,000 delegates who will hold crucial meetings on politics, security and economics.

A day before President Rodrigo Duterte announced the liberation of Marawi, troops killed Isnilon Hapilon, Islamic State’s designated emir in Southeast Asia and leader of the local Abu Sayyaf militant group, and Omar Maute, one of the two Maute brothers who led the months-long siege.



Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Eduardo Ano shows a picture of killed Islamic State emir Isnilon Hapilon and Omar Maute, leader of the Maute-Islamic State group, in Marawi City, October 16, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Froilan Gallardo

Hapilon’s presumed deputy, Malaysian Mahmud Ahmad, and Omar’s militant brother, Abdullah Maute, are also believed to have been killed in the Marawi fighting.

Yet regional security analysts have warned Philippine security officials to remain on high alert in the aftermath of the siege, from which hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians are slowly starting to return from evacuation centers to their ruined lakeside city.

“The death of Hapilon and Omar Maute will definitely create a tactical setback for pro-Islamic State groups in Mindanao,” said Rommel Banlaoi, chairman of the Manila-based Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, a think tank. “But this will not mean the end of violence in the southern Philippines and beyond.”

Lorenzana told media that his forces are still looking for Malaysian militant Amin Baco, who he described as Islamic State’s likely new designated emir in the region.

Baco, linked with regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah, is known to be an expert bomb-maker who reportedly trained under Malaysian militant Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, who was killed in Maguindanao province in 2015 in a fierce firefight that left 44 Philippine police commandoes dead.

Reuters quoted an anonymous army colonel as saying Baco could be hiding in Maguindanao or the southern island of Jolo. While his links to Islamic State were until now not known to be particularly strong, the official said he was well-placed to serve the emir role due to his familiarity with local extremist groups.



Soldiers stand against pro-Islamic State graffiti in Marawi City, Philippines June 2, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

Analysts say attacks could also be organized by Puruji Indama, an Abu Sayyaf chieftain based in the island province of Basilan who formed the Abu Dujana Battalion of the Soldiers of the Caliphate in East Asia.

Banlaoi anticipates possible new attacks from Naim Mujahid’s Ansar Khilafa Philippines militant group which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State. Formed in 2014, the group is based in Sarangani province near General Santos City, a backdoor entry point to the Philippines from Indonesia’s Sulawesi and Kalimantan provinces where Islamic militancy has long thrived.

Mujahid has strong links with Mahmoud Ahmad, the Malaysian academic who helped to fund and fought alongside the Maute Group in Marawi. The military has claimed to have killed Mahmoud, who is believed to have been operating in Mindanao since 2014, but his death has still not been independently verified.

Banlaoi also points to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a militant group that broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for making peace with the government, as another dangerous pro-Islamic State group capable of stirring chaos in Mindanao.

The BIFF operates in Maguindanao province, scene of deadly clashes between MILF and government forces until a peace deal was forged in 2014. In the months that war raged in Marawi, MILF forces launched separate offensives against the BIFF to help the government fight the spread of Islamic State ideology in the region.

Cotabato City, the seat of government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that is surrounded by Maguindanao province, has been placed on high alert since the Marawi crisis for possible spillover effects of the fighting.





A dozen or so young men previously brazenly paraded in the streets of Cotabato with a black Islamic State flag, raising the specter that a locality where a Philippine marine battalion is stationed could be the next flashpoint for a Marawi-style attack, particularly with the BIFF’s presence in nearby Maguindanao.

Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi has denied the parade of Islamic State’s flag happened in her locality, but jas noted that security measures have been heightened to secure her constituents from possible Islamist attacks.

The Marawi siege laid bare the Philippine military’s lacking urban warfare capabilities and brought to fore the international connections of local Islamic State-aligned groups with foreign fighters, mostly Indonesians and Malaysians, but also from Arab countries.

Amid fears of a next assault or spectacular attack on a symbolic target, the military has belittled the capabilities of the other Islamic State-aligned groups to do so. The Marawi siege took careful planning and huge financial support for firearms, ammunition and food supplies for the hundreds of fighters.

Of the more than 1,100 people killed in the Marawi siege, 920 were militants, 165 were government troops and 47 were civilians, the Philippine military said. But “the risks won’t end when the military declares victory (in Marawi),” said Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC).

“Indonesia and Malaysia will face new threats in the form of returning fighters from Mindanao, and the Philippines will have a host of smaller dispersed cells with the capacity for both violence and indoctrination,” she added.

It’s not clear if foreign nationals involved in the Marawi siege have fled the Philippines or are in hiding. This month Philippine forces captured Indonesian Mohamadin Ilham Syaputra, one of the last holdouts in Marawi, who has reportedly admitted a role in the 2016 bombing in Jakarta that killed eight people. Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.



Philippine marines stand at attention during their send-off ceremony ending their combat duty against pro-Islamic State militant groups in Marawi City, October 21, 2017. Photo: Reuters/Romeo Ranoco

In October 2016, IPAC released a study entitled “Pro-ISIS Groups in Mindanao and their links to Indonesia and Malaysia,” which warned of an impending attack in the island.

Support for Islamic State ideology “has facilitated cooperation across clan and ethnic lines, widened the extremist recruitment pool to include computer-savvy university students and new international communication and possibly funding channels,” the report said. “It means that more deadly violence in the Philippines involving alliances of pro-ISIS groups is a matter of when, not if.”

The study mentioned the slain Hapilon and Omar Maute – personalities who eventually figured prominently in the Marawi siege that erupted seven months after IPAC released its research. Philippine intelligence has since come under fire for not foreseeing and preventing Marawi’s occupation and subsequent destruction. Officials have said they will need at least US$1 billion for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

On October 4, Omar Maute’s Indonesian wife, Minhati Midrais, alias Baby, was arrested in Iligan City. Police claimed to have found bomb-making materials in her rented house. They say they have investigated her cell phone to ferret out militant connections and forestall future Islamic State inspired attacks.

New attacks, security analysts warn, could come from so-called “lone wolf” Muslim militants inspired by Islamic State propaganda, as has happened in several Western countries. Security officials say they are now carefully guarding Duterte’s hometown of Davao City, where a September 2016 bomb claimed by pro-Islamic State militants killed 15 and injured 70.

http://www.atimes.com/article/islamic-state-lurks-philippine-shadows/

Communist rebels call for protests before ASEAN summit

From Anadolu Agency (Nov 11): Communist rebels call for protests before ASEAN summit

Rebels slam US-Philippine ‘master-puppet relationship’ which will be strengthened by President Donald Trump’s visit

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) on Monday urged Filipinos to stage massive protests in cities and ordered its revolutionary forces to launch tactical offensives against government troops in the countryside ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings next week in Manila.

“The CPP calls on the people of Asia and the world to unite and intensify their resistance against inter-imperialist collusion and rivalries through ASEAN, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (forum) and other imperialist instrumentalities which subject the toiling people to worsening forms of oppression and exploitation,” said a statement released on Philippine Revolution Web Central, the CPP’s official website.

The leaders of ASEAN’s 10 member states Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam along with dialogue partner-countries Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Russia and the United States will convene Nov. 10-14 to discuss a number of issues, including the South China Sea conflict and regional economic development.

The CPP also blasted Washington, which it said “seeks to further break down economic barriers to favor U.S. monopoly capitalists”.

It also cited threats by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to launch a war against Pyongyang as a move to justify U.S. efforts to build up its military presence and strengthen its foothold in South Korea and around the South China Sea.

The communist rebels also slammed Trump’s visit to the Philippines, which will “cement the master-puppet relationship” of Washington and Manila under President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime.

“He (Trump) will surely be pleased by the Duterte regime’s vigorous push for further economic liberalization, particularly with its rush to further open the economy to full foreign control by trimming down the “negative list” of areas of the economy reserved to Filipinos,” said the statement.

The CPP cited the U.S. military’s presence, intervention and control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as the Duterte administration’s subservience to U.S. imperialism.

When Duterte won the presidency in 2016, he launched new peace initiatives with the communists in a bid to end decades-long conflict, but the peace negotiations have faced challenges due to truce violations --- a string of communist rebel attacks, including the ambush of a convoy of the Presidential Security Group in July.

There had been over 40 rounds of peace negotiations under the country’s past five presidents which have failed for various reasons.

The party in July ordered its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), to carry out counteractions and offensives across the country when martial law imposed on the islands of Mindanao was proposed to be extended following clashes in the southern Philippine city of Marawi.

The NPA has been waging an insurgency since 1969 that has left tens of thousands of people dead.

 

http://aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/communist-rebels-call-for-protests-before-asean-summit/958382

NPA siblings yield in Sultan Kudarat

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 7): NPA siblings yield in Sultan Kudarat

Two more communist rebels have surrendered to military authorities, raising the number of surrenderees to 62 in Sultan Kudarat, the Army said Tuesday.

Lt. Colonel Harold Cabunoc, Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion commanding officer, said exhaustion and extreme hunger forced the two New Peoples’ Army (NPA) siblings to lay down arms and rejoin the mainstream society.

Jonathan Kasa, 21, and his brother Jerry, 19, joined their father Zip, in fighting government forces as NPA rebels since May 2015.

The Kasas belong to the Dulangan Manobo tribe in the hinterland village of Kabulanan here. They were members of Platoon Cloud Phone of NPA Guerilla Front 73 operating in Sultan Kudarat province, particularly in the hinterlands of Sen. Ninoy Aquino and Bagumbayan towns.

Cabunoc said the Kasas joined the rebel movement as they were fighting for their rights over a vast expanse of forested area that they claimed as their ancestral land.

"The communist movement promised to return our traditional hunting grounds. We were excited to fight for our land when they handed over high powered weapons to us," Jonathan told Army officials during the surrender rites Monday.

After two years of evading the government forces, the siblings realized their struggle was going nowhere.

"I found out that we have become wanted persons. The NPA recruiters had also failed to deliver their promises to our community," Jerry said in vernacular.

Learning about the government's offer of livelihood opportunities and other social benefits, they decided to escape with their issued M-16 rifles.

Cabunoc presented the brother-surrenderees to Bagumbayan Mayor Jonalette De Pedro who vowed to assist the “lumad” communities in resolving their problems.

"I have always supported the indigenous people by delivering social services to their communities," De Pedro said.

Since May this year, a total of 62 communist rebels belonging to IP communities have surrendered. Some of them have been given livelihood projects under the Comprehensive Local Integration Program of Sultan Kudarat.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1015028

Army braces for NPA retaliatory attacks in NoCot

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 7): Army braces for NPA retaliatory attacks in NoCot

The Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion is bracing for retaliatory offensive from communist New Peoples’ Army in North Cotabato after the military overran a rebel training camp in a remote village here, an Army official said Tuesday.

Lt. Colonel Harold Argamoza, 39th IB chief, said the Army is winning the war in the countrysides due to peoples’ support to government forces.

He added the Army is prepared for retaliatory attacks from the rebels. He cited the case at Sitio Mahayag, Barangay Bulatukan, Makilala, where soldiers and rebels clashed after residents reported the massing of Red fighters in the area on Sunday night.

Argamoza said a team of soldiers went to the village to verify and validate the information but as they approached sitio Mahayag, they were ambushed by about 40 armed men that triggered an hour-long firefight.

The fighting ceased when the rebels fled deep into the forest, located at the foot of Mt. Apo, the country’s highest peak.

After clearing operations, the soldiers found a rebel training camp that can accommodate at least 50 people.

“There were recruitment activities, there was training happening in the camp at the time of the clash,” Argamoza told reporters.

He could not say though whether the rebels who belong to NPA Guerilla Front 51 suffered casualties, as there were no slain or wounded insurgents captured.

Soldiers recovered two rifles, ammunition, training kits and bags left by the fleeing rebels.

Argamoza lauded the support extended by the local residents who became victims of extortion by communist rebels and also suffered the pain of leaving homes every time the fighting erupted.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1015099

Be vigilant, Lorenzana tells ASEAN security teams

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 7): Be vigilant, Lorenzana tells ASEAN security teams

National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana urged military and police units tasked to secure the leaders and delegations attending next week's Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit to be vigilant at all times.

"We cannot be very complacent. We should be aware, we should be on guard. Kung pwede lang talagang strikto yung palakad natin sa security so that walang mangyari (We need to be strict in implementing tight security measures to prevent any untoward incident)," Lorenzana said on the sidelines of the Department of National Defense's 78th founding anniversary ceremony Monday.

He said no security threat has been detected so far.

An estimated 60,000 personnel from 21 agencies and their equipment will be deployed to various ASEAN meeting venues in Metro Manila, Bulacan and Pampanga to secure the week-long event.

Lorenzana added that should anything untoward happen during the ASEAN Summit, there would be a massive backlash against the Philippines.

"So, it is very important that we should secure the heads of state while (they are) here. Kasi kung may mangyari sa kanila dyan, may bukol sa atin yan e (If something happens to them, we will be liable). It will backfire on us," the defense chief added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1015031

More reserve forces needed: Lorenzana

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 7): More reserve forces needed: Lorenzana

With military reserve forces playing a valuable role in the five-month battle to liberate Marawi City from the Maute Group terrorists, it is high time to increase the number of these units, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Monday.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) activated the reserve soldiers to augment regular units involved in the Marawi campaign, Lorenzana said on the sidelines of the celebration of the Department of National Defense's 78th founding anniversary.

"They served as the overall security in Iligan City, performing such tasks as manning checkpoints and forming visible presence in public places," he said.

These actions, he said, show the importance of reservists in nation-building.

"Thus, to increase their number, we have crafted a bill to revive the Reserve Officers Training Corps, making it a mandatory program for Grades 11 and 12," the defense chief said.

"I urge everyone to please help the department in lobbying for the immediate passage of this bill because our AFP needs a stronger and bigger reserve force. We will also request our reservists’ assistance in rehabilitating war-torn Marawi City," he added.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1015036

Beaching ramp in Pag-asa Island to be completed by 2018

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 7): Beaching ramp in Pag-asa Island to be completed by 2018

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana expects the beaching ramp in Pag-asa Island to be completed by early 2018.

He added that completion of the project was delayed by monsoon rains.

“The monsoon rains have hampered the construction of the beaching ramp, which is a vital structure that would allow our navy LST (landing ship, tank) ships to dock, and bring in heavy equipment and construction materials. No construction can proceed without a good beaching ramp," Lorenzana said.

Only when the beaching ramp is finished could the Philippines start repairing, paving and extending the Rancudo Airfield, the DND chief stressed.

Construction of the above-mentioned facility is intermittent due to the inclement weather in the area.

"Then and only then will we be able to start repairing, paving and extending our runway, and build additional facilities for our troops.

Also, once the beaching ramp is done, the Department of Agriculture will build a fishing port for our fishermen," Lorenzana added.

During his visit to Pag-asa Island last April 21, the DND chief said the government would allocate PHP1.3 billion for the improvement of Rancudo Airfield in Pagasa Island and construction of ports and beaching ramps in the locality.

Runway improvements include the concreting of the entire Rancudo Airfield thus making it accessible in all types of weather.

Other improvements for slated for Pag-asa Island include the construction of desalination plant, more solar panels and generator sets for power purposes and establishment of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources marine research and shelter center.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1015057

Palace relies on ‘good faith’ China won’t use dredging vessel in WPS

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 7): Palace relies on ‘good faith’ China won’t use dredging vessel in WPS

Malacañang on Tuesday said the Philippines would have to rely on good faith that China would not use its largest dredging vessel to build on disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea.

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte recognizes the principle of good faith in international relations.

“China has told the President, they do not intend to reclaim Scarborough and we leave it at that. We need to rely on good faith because otherwise there would be no predictability in international relations,” he said.

His comments were issued amid concerns that China may use its newly-launched Tian Kun Hao, dubbed by its designer as a “magic island-maker,” to create artificial islands in the South China Sea.

The giant dredger, which measures 140 meters long and 28 meters wide, is reported to be capable of dredging up to 6,000 cubic meters an hour and can dig as deep as 35 meters under the sea floor.

It is the most powerful vessel of its type in Asia.

Last March, Duterte announced that China gave its word not to build on the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal) in the West Philippine Sea.

The President said the assurance was made out of deference to the warming relationship between the Philippines and China.

Meanwhile, Roque said that the Philippines is not only relying on China’s assurance, but also on the fact that the Philippines had secured a decision from a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

“We’re not just trusting. We have a decision. And the last time I checked, that decision remains unchanged,” Roque said.

The Hague Tribunal found out that China’s claims of historic rights within the nine-dash line, which Beijing uses to demarcate its claims in the South China Sea, were without legal foundation.

The panel also concluded that Beijing’s activities within the Philippines’ two-hundred-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), such as illegal fishing and environmentally ruinous artificial island construction, infringed on Manila’s sovereign rights.

China has disputed the tribunal’s findings.

But while supporters of the Hague decision were urging Duterte to enforce the decision, the President chose to pursue peaceful means to resolve the issue in order to avoid confrontation with China, vowing however to raise it at the right time.

Duterte had also taken steps to mend ties with China, resulting in deeper and expanding relations with the superpower.

Roque pointed out that “it has been beneficial to our national interest to pursue cordial and very friendly relations with China” without relinquishing our claims to the disputed islands.

“I think, we are seeing new heights in terms of Philippine-Chinese relations and it has resulted in very tangible results particularly economic investments,” Roque said.

 http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1015106

Duterte releases P500-M for treatment, rehab of wounded soldiers

From the Philippine News Agency (Nov 7): Duterte releases P500-M for treatment, rehab of wounded soldiers

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he had ordered the release of PHP500 million for the treatment and rehabilitation of soldiers injured or disabled in the war to liberate Marawi City.

The President made the announcement at the Bonifacio Naval Station Officers’ Clubhouse Social Hall, at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City during the launching of the Department of Agriculture’s Karne, Isda Supply Suporta sa Masa at Ekonomiya (Kiss Me) project.

Soldiers wounded during the five-month conflict were in attendance along with military top brass and other members of the Armed Forces.

“Alam mo, sinabi ko na sa inyo, mahal ko ang sundalo ko, mahal ko ang pulis ko. And for you guys, kagaya ninyo na medyo matindi ang tama, I have released PHP500 million,” Duterte said.

He said the fund would be sourced from the settlement of unpaid obligations of big companies to the government.

Just recently, flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) settled almost PHP6 billion in unpaid navigational fees to the government.

Duterte said the fund would be used exclusively for the therapy, rehabilitation and medicines needed by personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) who were wounded not just in the five-month conflict, but also those who are wounded or rendered disabled in the other theaters of war throughout the country.

“I just released PHP500 million, para lang ‘yan sa tinamaan. Exclusively para lang ‘yan sa sugatan, requirements ninyo sa prosthetics or whatever. ‘Yan ang asahan ninyo,” he said.

“I’m sure you’ll be all right. Okay ang buhay ninyo, wala kayong problema. Edukasyon ng anak ninyo, ‘yung medisina. But one thing is sure, hindi kayo pababayaan ng gobyerno,” Duterte said.

The President also vowed to provide a housing project near camps or urban cities for wounded soldiers undergoing therapy to give them better access to medical facilities.

“Ang sinabi ko, at this time when you are supposed to go into a therapy or treatment, I would like you to have a housing project or village nearby. Lahat ‘yung mga sundalo na ganun ang sitwasyon ninyo, pati ‘yung wounded recuperating, ‘yung parang convalescence I have ordered a village somewhere near Metro Manila para easy access lang,” he said.

“I want to build a village near here so that you’ll have the best therapy, training and access to the hospital and medyo mas malapit. It will be maybe, just give me until March, matatapos 'yang village ninyo including the site,” Duterte said.

Meanwhile, the Commander-in-Chief said the government would provide disabled military personnel necessary competencies, like computer training, for them to be able to remain in the service or build new lives.

“But for those who are really, pardon the word, tutal tanggapin na lang niyo, it’s reality, disabled, mayroon kayong buhay na sarili. Wala kayong problema sa edukasyon. I said, aming problema na ‘yan. Ang iyo, there’s another struggle. Struggle first to overcome what you are experiencing now at nandiyan kami,” he said.

“You might want to go to a computer training or whatever. And if you can be accommodated in the AFP again for a job that does not require moving around, I’d be glad to fund the program,” Duterte said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1015148