1ID holds photo contest for military and civilian personnel

From the Philippine Information Agency (May 8): 1ID holds photo contest for military and civilian personnel

 

LABANGAN, Zamboanga del Sur -- To hone and improve the photography skills of military and civilian personnel, the 1st Infantry (Tabak) Division, Philippine Army recently conducted a photography competition at its headquarters at Camp Major Cesar Sang-an, Pulacan here.

LtCol. Vladimir Lenos T. Villanueva, commanding officer of the 1st Civil-Military Operations (CMO), said the competition is one of the highlights of the 82nd anniversary celebration of Tabak Division.

Villanueva said the event is designed to show to the public the skills of military and civilian personnel on how to keep abreast with the latest technology.

The photography competition has two categories - the Conventional Category (for images taken using any type of traditional and compact camera) and the Mobile Category (for photos taken using devices like mobile/cellular phones, tablets and the like.)

Villanueva believes that the soldiers are talented and they have something to contribute, and good stories to tell that promote peace for the country.

He said the photos that they have taken are real and are coming from their respective units where they are deployed.

There were at least 15 entries submitted for the conventional photography and nine for the mobile phone category. Most of the entries were taken during the Marawi siege and the medical, dental and civic action program (MEDCAP) activities conducted by the units.

“The photos depict the positive images of soldiers’ lives, sacrifices, accomplishments, and heroism that cannot be seen in the ordinary people,” Villanueva explained.

The photo contest was first conducted last year. This year, the 1ID improved the contest by encouraging more participation from the military and civilian personnel and increased cash prizes for the winners.

“Big cash prizes await contest winners. The grand winners for the conventional and mobile category will receive P5, 000 plus certificate,” Villanueva said.

The winners will be proclaimed during the awarding ceremony on May 31. Judges were composed mostly of professional photographers from Pagadian City Photographers Association and national government agencies.
http://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1007628

Tagalog news: Balikatan Exercises 2018, opisyal ng binuksan sa Fort Magsaysay

From the Philippine Information Agency (May 9): Tagalog news: Balikatan Exercises 2018, opisyal ng binuksan sa Fort Magsaysay

Si 7^th Infantry Division Commander Major General Felimon Santos Jr. habang inilalahad ang kanyang mensahe sa pagbubukas ng Philippines- United States Balikatan Exercises 2018 sa kampo Magsaysay, lungsod ng Palayan, Nueva Ecija. (Larawan kuha ng 7^th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office)

FORT RAMON MAGYSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija -- Opisyal nang pinasimulan sa kampo ang Balikatan Exercises sa pagitan ng mga kasundaluhan ng bansa at Amerika.

Sa kanyang mensahe ay ipinahayag ni Philippine Army- 7th Infantry Division Commander Major General Felimon Santos Jr. ang kahalagahan ng taunang aktibidad sa pagpapalago ng kakayahan at pwersa ng magkabilang hukbo.

Kabilang aniya sa mga tututukang programa ngayong Balikatan ay ang mga kasalukuyang kinahaharap ng dalawang bansa partikular ang may kaugnayan sa pagpapalakas ng depensa, pagtulong sa kapwa, pagresponde sa oras ng kalamidad at paglaban sa terorismo.

Ipinahayag din ni Santos ang benepisyo sa pagkakaroon ng matibay na relasyon sa pagitan ng dalawang bansa upang mapanatili ang kapayapaan, seguridad at katatagan ng bansang nasasakupan.

Labingdalawang araw na matutunghayan ang kabi-kabilang aktibidad sa iba’t ibang dako ng bansa na magtatagal hanggang sa Mayo 18.

Nakapaloob rito ang donasyon at pagpapatayo ng dalawang classroom building sa Cabu Elementary School sa Nueva Ecija na bahagi ng humanitarian civic action activities ng Balikatan Exercises na inilunsad din sa mga lalawigan ng Tarlac, Cagayan at Isabela.

Taong 1998 nang magkaroon ng kasunduan ang dalawang bansa sa pagbisita ng mga kasundaluhang banyaga na naging panimula sa taunang pagpapalitan ng kaalama’t kasanayan sa pakikidigma.

http://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1007643

Army troopers seize hot logs in SurSur town

From the Philippine Information Agency (May 9): Army troopers seize hot logs in SurSur town

The army troopers of the 36th Infantry “Valor” Battalion, Philippine Army have seized a total of 179 pieces of sawn lumber in Sitio Cagpangi, Barangay Cabangahan in Tago town, this province around 8:45 am, May 7, 2018.

Based on the report, while the army troopers were conducting a combat security patrol in the area, they recovered a 1,141.99-board feet of abandoned sawn lumber worth P22,839.

Capt. Francisco Garello, 36IB Civil Military Operations Officer, said that the seized lumber were brought to the 36IB Advance Command Post in Brgy Magroyong, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur for temporary custody while coordination was made with the Tago Municipal Police Station and Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) Lianga for proper disposition.

Garello revealed that from January 2018 up to this time, the 36IB troopers have already conducted 10 successful anti-illegal logging operations in close coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). The said operations resulted to the confiscation of 53,754.57-board feet of illegal logs/sawn lumber with an estimated market value worth P1,291,096.80.

To strengthen their campaign against illegal logging, 36IB Commander Lt. Col. Xerxes Trinidad reiterated the call to the local government unit (LGU) officials to address the problem seriously.

"We are sending a message to everyone to stop illegal logging as their livelihood, because the AFP will not hesitate to go after illegal loggers and those who tolerate it through buying it or consented their vehicles to be used for hauling illegal logs. We are reiterating our call to the LGUs to address this problem seriously,” Trinidad said.

The official noted that the troops of 36IB are committed in the government’s campaign against illegal logging in support to the government’s program in the preservation and protection of the environment.

http://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1007673

Sayyaf man involved in plantation raid falls

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): Sayyaf man involved in plantation raid falls

The police released the mugshot photo of Langa Jamil Francisco, an alleged Abu Sayyaf member involved in the Golden Harvest Plantation raid in 2001. (Photo courtesy: Police Regional Office-9 PIO)

Policemen have arrested another suspected Abu Sayyaf bandit involved in the plantation raid in Basilan more than 16 years ago, an official said Wednesday.

Chief Insp. Helen Galvez, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) information officer, identified the arrested suspect as Langa Jamil Francisco alias Teng, a resident of Barangay Tetuan, this city.

Galvez said Francisco, 52, was arrested in an operation around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Sta. Barbara, this city.

She said Francisco has a standing warrant of arrest for seven counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention charges issued by a court in Isabela City, Basilan.

Francisco is allegedly involved in the kidnapping June 11, 2001 of 15 workers from the Golden Harvest Plantation in Barangay Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan province, police said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034664

NPA tagged as threat to village polls in Eastern Visayas

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): NPA tagged as threat to village polls in Eastern Visayas

Activities of the New People’s Army (NPA) remains a security threat to upcoming village and youth council elections in Eastern Visayas, a military official said on Wednesday.

Major Gen. Raul Farnacio, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City said NPAs have been consolidating their forces especially in Northern Samar area a week before the elections.

Farnacio reported that on Tuesday, patrolling soldiers encountered about 60 armed rebels in the upland Imelda village in Silvino Lobos, Northern Samar. One soldier was wounded while there are still unknown casualties on the NPA side.

“I believe their consolidation in the hinterlands has something to do with the upcoming elections especially in remote areas,” Farnacio told reporters during Wednesday’s send-off ceremony of augmentation forces to secure the elections.

The military official said rebels see the elections as an opportunity to raise funds and anoint their chosen local officials. “It has been their plan to support village officials who are supportive to their armed struggle,” Farnacio added.

The military has deployed this week 1,700 soldiers to ensure peaceful elections in conflict-stricken communities.

These troopers are from the 801st brigade based in Hinabangan, Samar; 802nd brigade based in Ormoc City in Leyte; and 803rd brigade based in Catarman, Northern Samar. Each brigade has 500 to 600 soldiers.

The Samar provinces have been the stronghold of armed rebels due to their densely-forested mountainous areas, high poverty incidence, and issue of widespread landlessness, according to a 2013 study of William Norman Holden of the University of Calgary in Canada.

The NPA launched its first tactical operation in the country in Calbiga, Samar in 1974, when its members ambushed an Army scout patrol and seized a number of weapons.

In 1976, the NPA gained popular support among the inhabitants of Samar following its actions against cattle rustling gangs.

In the Eastern Visayas region, three cities and 24 towns have confirmed NPA activities. There are 404 active NPA members in Eastern Visayas equipped with 576 firearms in four provinces as of first quarter of 2018, the military reported.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034700

Communist rebels torch equipment for dam project in southern Negros

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): Communist rebels torch equipment for dam project in southern Negros

The New People’s Army (NPA) in Central Negros admitted burning the heavy equipment and bunkhouse being used for the dam project of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on May 7.

The confirmation by the rebel group’s Mount Cansermon Command (MCC) was included in a statement written in Hiligaynon and released to the media here on Wednesday night.

The group said one of its squads under the MCC successfully carried out the torching of a backhoe and a generator set, and the bunkhouse at the NIA construction site in Sitio Tagbak, Barangay Tan-awan around 7:45 p.m.

The act signified the strong opposition of the people to the government’s anti-people project under the Ilog-Hilabangan River Basin Project, it added.

The rebel group also said the project puts the lives of the residents at risk, particularly those who are crossing the Hilabangan River, and also dislocates the livelihood of those living in the dam site.

Brig. Gen. Eliezer Losañes, commander of Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade based in Negros Occidental, condemned the act of the communist rebels.

“The project’s purpose was to give development to the area so that the people will benefit from its use,” he said, adding that the NPA is not only anti-development, but even justifies being terrorist with its threats and intimidation to the people of Negros.

Losañes appealed to Negrenses to closely coordinate with the army and the police to stop the NPA from creating terror.

Last February 27, a group of NPA rebels also burned a farm tractor owned by Jorge Vargas at Hacienda Conchita in Barangay Sag-ang, La Castellana town.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034800

Military steps up drive vs. private armies this poll season

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): Military steps up drive vs. private armies this poll season

The Philippine Army is stepping up its watch against the reactivation of private armies in Samar province days before the May 14th elections.

Major Gen. Raul Farnacio, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said the military have intensified intelligence gathering to prevent the regrouping of private armed group and dismantle existing ones.

“Every election, wanted persons are hired by politicians to advance their interest. Remember that barangay election is in preparation for the 2019 elections and some officials will make sure that their anointed candidates will win,” Farnacio said in a press briefing Wednesday.

In fighting private armed group, the Philippine Army will apply the “Alunan doctrine” introduced by former Interior secretary Rafael Alunan III, who served during the presidency of Fidel Ramos.

“Under Alunan doctrine, any official with more than two armed men can be considered as an organizer of private armed group and must be disarmed,” Farnacio said.

On Tuesday, the Philippine Army started the deployment of 1,700 soldiers to patrol in remote communities vulnerable to threats of New People’s Army and private armed groups.

Deployed soldiers are from the 801st brigade based in Hinabangan, Samar; 802nd brigade based in Ormoc City in Leyte; and 803rd brigade based in Catarman, Northern Samar. Each brigade has 500 to 600 troopers.

“We have to prevent rebels and private armies to launch violent activities affecting the security and result of the barangay (village) and Sangguniang Kabataan elections,” Farnacio added.

Last week, the Philippine National Police released photos and announced cash rewards of most wanted persons in Samar province. Topping the list is Jimmy Managaysay from Calbayog City with PHP700,000 cash reward awaits his capture. He was charged with four counts of murder.

PNP Regional Director Chief Supt. Gilberto Cruz said they have posted photos of these most wanted persons for the communities to alert the police of their presence. Authorities believe that wanted persons will likely be hired by politicians as private armies.

At least 284 villages in the Eastern Visayas region have been identified as election hotspots, citing intense political rivalries, threats of armed rebels, and violence committed by private armed groups.

Northern Samar has the most number of areas on the watch list with 114, followed by Samar (82), Eastern Samar (60), and Leyte (28).

In October 2016, the police and army formed a task force to disband private armies in Calbayog City and nearby towns of Sta. Margarita, San Jorge, Gandara, and Matuginao in Samar.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034817

Alert residents foil bomb attempt in Cotabato City

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): Alert residents foil bomb attempt in Cotabato City

Police and Army bomb experts deactivated Wednesday night an improvised bomb along a busy alley in Barangay Bagua here.

The discovery of the improvised bomb fashioned from 81 mm mortar with mobile phone as triggering device briefly interrupted the campaign period for barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) here.

Quoting witnesses, reelectionist village chair Bimbo Diolonen said two men were seen entering the densely populated village at past 7 p.m. and left what appeared like a bag beside the narrow alleyway.

Residents noticed the suspicious item and alerted authorities who quickly sealed off the area.

“At past 8 p.m., the IED was deactivated after several attempts of disrupting it,” Senior Supt. Rolly Octavio, city police director, said.

An Army disposal bomb expert who responded at the scene said that after the IED was deactivated using a water disruptor, he noticed traces of suspected shabu substance in the site where the bomb was found.

Police said intense rivalry has been observed in the village.

Diolonen, the village chairman, said it was the first time an IED was planted in the village since he was elected village chief.

Cotabato City Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi lauded the civilians for quickly alerting the police, preventing a potentially bloody Wednesday evening.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034771

Abu Sayyaf sub-leader, 5 followers surrender in Basilan

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): Abu Sayyaf sub-leader, 5 followers surrender in Basilan

An Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) sub-leader along with his five followers surrendered to government authorities in the province of Basilan, an official said Thursday.

The group surrendered through the concerted efforts initiated by the Joint Task Force Basilan (JTFB) in coordination and with the support of Basilan Gov. Hadjiman Hataman-Saliman and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Mujiv Hataman, said Brig. Gen. Juvymax Uy.

Uy, who heads JTFB, identified the ASG sub-leader as Apan Apino alias Abu Mudzrin, whose group is based in the hinterlands of Basilan.

He said the group surrendered on Wednesday in Barangay Sinulatan, Tuburan town. They turned over six high-powered firearms consisting of three M-16 rifles, two .30 caliber M1 Garand rifles and one M-79 grenade launcher and ammunition.
Apino told authorities they decided to surrender as they had already grown tired of running from the advancing government troops.

“We have won several communities that use to support the Abu Sayyaf bandits. The Abus are now confined in the hinterlands where they intimidate communities for support,” Uy said.

“The Abu Sayyafs are not safe in Basilan. We are giving the option for them reconsider peace through surrender while the door is still open,” the military official added.

Saliman and Hataman reiterated their earlier call for the remaining Abu Sayyaf Group members to surrender and return to the fold of the law.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034818

BIFF commander, 10 followers yield in Maguindanao

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): BIFF commander, 10 followers yield in Maguindanao

SURRENDER. BIFF member shakes hands with Lt. Colonel Harold Cabunoc, Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion commander, during simple surrender ceremonies after he turned in his rifle to Mayor Abdulkarim Langkuno of Paglat town in Maguindanao on Thursday (May 10). (Photo by 33rd IB)
 

DATU PAGLAT, Maguindanao -- Eleven members of IS-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) surrendered and handed over their rifles to the military on Thursday.

Lt. Colonel Harold Cabunoc, the commander of the Army’s 33rd Infantry Battalion, along with local government officials of this town,  received BIFF commander Sindatuk Dilna and 10 of his men at the Liguasan marshland here around 8:30 a.m.

Cabunoc said the armed men showed sincerity in returning to the fold of the law, and that their surrender was the result of the army's combined community engagement and military operations.

“Through unity of effort in our combat operations, various AFP and PNP units have pooled resources together in the conduct of intelligence-driven operations inside the lairs of the known rebel groups,” Cabunoc said.

“We also engaged the people to change perceptions and lure the insurgents back to the folds of the law,” he added.

Among the surrendered weapons were two M16 rifles, two M14 rifles, four Garand rifles, one Carbine rifle and one .50-caliber Barrett sniper rifle. Cabunoc said the surrenderers would be presented to Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu on May 12.

Mangudadatu said his office will provide livelihood assistance to the BIFF rebels equivalent to the cost of the firearms they have turned in, as prescribed under the Comprehensive Local Integration Program of the government.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034877

SC junks soldier's habeas corpus plea in kidnap of 2 UP students

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): SC junks soldier's habeas corpus plea in kidnap of 2 UP students

The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the dismissal of a petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus filed by one of the accused soldiers in the abduction and disappearance of University of the Philippines students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006.

In a 17-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC's third division affirmed the Court of Appeals (CA) rulings dated July 27, 2015 and February 22, 2016 denying the plea of Army SSgt. Edgar Osorio for the issuance of the writ for lack of merit.

“All told, the arrest warrants issued against Staff Sgt.Osorio were issued by the court that has jurisdiction over the offense charged. SSgt. Osorio’s restraint has become legal hence, the remedy of habeas corpus is already moot and academic,” read the resolution dated April 23.

“Republic Act 7055 (An Act Strengthening Civilian Supremacy Over the Military) provides that if the accused is a member of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the crime involved is one punished under the Revised Penal Code, civil courts shall have authority to hear, try and decide, the case,’ stated the ruling concurred by Associate Justices Lucas Bersamin, Alexander Gesmundo, Samuel Martirez and Presbitero Velasco.

The decision affirmed that the Malolos Regional Trial Court (RTC) properly took cognizance of the kidnapping case against him.

It explained that the only time a court martial may assume jurisdiction is, if before arraignment, the civil court determines that the offense is “service-oriented”.

Furthermore, the high court said since Osorio is charged with a crime committed in a private capacity, the Sandiganbayan cannot take cognizance of the case.

It will be recalled that in his plea, Osorio said the Malolos RTC which issued the warrant against him has no jurisdiction to take cognizance of the case against him and that court martial, not civil courts, have jurisdiction to try and decide a case against a soldier on active duty.

In the alternative, Osorio stressed that the Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan should have conducted the preliminary investigation and decided the kidnapping case against him since his co-accused, then Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, had a rank higher than colonel and had a salary grade 28 at the time of the commission of the alleged offense.

Aside from Osorio and Palparan, also charged over the disappearance of Empeno and Cadapan are Lt. Colonel Felipe Anotado and Master Sergeant Rizal Hilario.

Hilario remains at large.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034836

What is the Philippine Rise?

What is the Philippine Rise?What is the Philippine Rise?



It has been nine years since April 8, 2009 when the Philippines formally asked a United Nations (UN) body to recognize the 13-million-hectare Benham Rise as part of the country's territory.

With a little more than a year left in the term of then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, it would take the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea's (UNCLOS) Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf three years (until April 12, 2012) to adopt its sub-commission's findings on the Philippines' claim.

May 16 next week marks one year since President Rodrigo R. Duterte signed Executive Order (EO) No. 25 renaming Benham Rise to Philippine Rise, consolidating on the UN ruling in favor of the Philippines' claim.

Malacañang on Wednesday announced plans for the Chief Executive to personally lead an expedition consisting of experts and officials to visit the area off Aurora province.

Natural submarine prolongation
The area has been termed a "natural submarine prolongation" of the Luzon island. It is 3,000 meters to 3,500 meters below sea level, except for the Benham Bank -- its shallowest point -- which is 48 meters to 70 meters below sea level.

Philippine marine scientists say it is home to at least 200 fish species, among them surgeonfish, hawk fish, and damselfish, and large predators such as the tiger shark, along with soft and hard corals, algae, and sponges.

The Philippine Rise can potentially yield the highest catch rate of tuna species, including big-eye, yellowfin tuna and albacore.

Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) also indicate large deposits of methane in solid form, making it a potential rich source of natural gas.

What's in a name?

Online articles say the area has been known since the ancient times to inhabitants of Catanduanes Island in the Bicol region, southwest of the Philippine Rise, who called it Kalipung-awan, the Bicolano term for “loneliness in an isolated place”.

A briefing paper on the Philippine Rise by the Department of Foreign Affairs' (DFA) Foreign Service Institute - Center for International Relations and Strategic Studies (FSI-CIRSS) notes that it was named Benham after American geologist Andrew Benham, who led the mapping of the area in the 1930s. Some sources say though that geologists named it after Admiral Andrew E.K. Benham who died in 1905 and who had led American presence in China, the Pacific and South America.

In any case, Sec. 1 of Duterte's EO 25 ordered that "the undersea feature presently known as Benham Rise in local and international maps and charts, shall henceforth be referred to as the Philippine Rise."

Strategic importance

In an article on The Diplomat, writer Steven Stashwick pointed out that control of the area could be of potential importance in international geopolitics, as it is near the Luzon Strait, between Taiwan and the Philippines, which in turn is of strategic importance to any navy moving towards the South China Sea from the Western Pacific Ocean, as well as for navies going the opposite direction.

Sovereign rights

According to the DFA's FSI-CIRSS, under international law, the Philippines has sovereign rights to explore and exploit living and non-living resources in the area of the Philippine Rise within the country’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

It remains an important fishing ground for tuna fishermen from Infanta and Real in Quezon; Baler, Aurora; Catanduanes; and other adjacent provinces along the northern tip of the Philippines.

The extended continental shelf, which is what most of the Philippine Rise is, extends 320 nautical miles from the territorial baseline. For the part of this continental shelf beyond the 200-nautical-mile EEZ, the country has sovereign rights only over resources in the seabed.

Much of the Philippine Rise is beyond 320 nautical miles, but it was granted to the Philippines because it was scientifically determined that the undersea formation is a natural extension of the country’s continental shelf.

In the extended continental shelf, no one may undertake activities for exploring and exploiting mineral and other non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil without the express consent of the Philippines, which also has the exclusive right to authorize and regulate drilling on the continental shelf for all purposes.

The Philippines may also establish and use artificial islands, installations and structures, conduct marine scientific research, and protect and preserve the marine environment.

Under the UNCLOS, however, all states have the right of freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as the right to lay submarine cables and pipelines and other lawful uses.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034670

Amphibious exercise to improve troops' land-to-sea operating ability

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): Amphibious exercise to improve troops' land-to-sea operating ability

Amphibious landing exercises aim to improve the capability of American and Filipino forces to conduct operations from the sea-to-the-land.

This was emphasized by Philippine "Balikatan" exercise director Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Salamat during Wednesday's amphibious landing exercises in San Antonio, Zambales participated in by 180 Filipino and 160 American troops.

Also present in the event were landing dock BRP Davao Del Sur (LD-602) and the two landing craft units assigned to her along with the frigate BRP Ramon Alcaraz (FF-16) and three American amphibious assault vehicles.

"Balikatan" 2018 started Monday and will end on May 18.

"Amphibious training is an important part of 'Balikatan' exercise as it enhances the capabilities of both the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and US Armed Forces during operations from sea to land. One of the goals of this exercise is to improve rapid deployment and inter-operability of forces during military operations in a hostile shore," Salamat pointed out.

Amphibious landing exercises are conducted to allow military forces to practice transporting troops from ship to shore under hazardous circumstances – dangerous weather or even an aggressive enemy.

The above-mentioned exercise represents the operational training in the exercise that allow the operational forces to see the results of strategic military planning, while allowing them to hone their skills at the tactical level.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034774

AFP sponsors educational tour of 50 Muslim youth leaders in Malaysia

From the Philippine News Agency (May 10): AFP sponsors educational tour of 50 Muslim youth leaders in Malaysia

In line with ongoing efforts to create a peaceful, orderly and harmonious environment in Lanao Del Sur and Lanao Del Norte, some 50 Muslim youth leaders residing there were given the chance to tour Malaysia from May 7 to 10.

The tour was sponsored by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), military public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Emmanuel Garcia said Thursday.

He added the above-mentioned activity is expected to hone the Muslim youth’s participation in resolving the peace and security issues in their home provinces.

Thirty of the participants were from Lanao Del Sur while the remaining 20 were from Lanao Del Norte.

Garcia said the educational tour included on the first day a visit to the Department of Islamic Development and Global Movement of Moderates, an initiative that rejects all forms of extremism.

This was followed on the second day by a lecture on Malaysian History and Culture by the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, a tour of the Halal Industrial Development Corporation, and interaction opportunity with the Indian community in Batu Malai Sri Murugan Temple.

To help inculcate the importance of peaceful and harmonious coexistence, the participants were also exposed to different cultures through interactions and visits to the Malay, Chinese, and Indian communities and students of the International Islamic University Malaysia.

Other activities in line include calls to the Ministry of Youth and Sports and a visit to the Putra Mosque in Putrajaya, and capped by exit ceremonies at the PH Embassy-Malaysia highlighted by a dinner with Ambassador Charles Jose.

Garcia said the AFP conducted the first Muslim Youth Educational Tour from Nov. 23 to 26, 2016 participated in by youth leaders from Sulu.

The second tour was held from Nov. 20 to 23, 2017 with participants from Maguindanao.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034778

Navy men honored for seized P67-M smuggled rice shipment

From the Philippine News Agency (May 9): Navy men honored for seized P67-M smuggled rice shipment

Rear Adm. Rene Medina, Naval Forces Western Mindanao commander, led the awarding ceremony on Monday to gallant sailors who apprehended a Mongolian-registered bulk carrier loaded with P67-M worth of smuggled rice on April 14 near Olutanga Island, Zamboanga Sibugay. (Photo courtesy of Navforwem PIO)

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Naval Forces Western Mindanao (Navforwem) has honored the sailors who foiled the smuggling of PHP67-million worth of rice in the region last month.

The awardee-sailors, who are assigned with the BRP General Mariano Alvarez (PS-38), Multi-Purpose Attack Craft (BA485), and Naval Special Operations Unit-6 (NAVSOU6), apprehended 15 foreign crew and 51 illegally employed Filipinos, including three minors, when they intercepted the M/V Diamond 8, a Mongolian-registered bulk carrier, near Olutanga Island in Zamboanga Sibugay province on April 14.

Rear Adm. Rene Medina, Navforwem commander, and Capt. Joe Anthony Orbe, Naval Task Force 61 acting commander, led the awarding ceremony held at the Romulo Espaldon Naval Station that houses the Navforwem headquarters here last Monday.

Medina said the award was received by each unit’s representatives, namely Lt. Commander Ted Cerezo Jr., BRP General Mariano Alvarez; Lt. Commander Cesar Pangan Jr., Boat Attack Division; Lt. Junior Grade Jaymar Jayson, Philippine Navy; and Seaman 1st Class Underwater Operator Rey Tano of NAVSOU6.

The award recognized the sailors’ efficiency, loyalty and selfless devotion to duty in connection with the seizure of the smuggled rice.

“We witness the awarding of our deserving units in the recent successful anti-smuggling operation. Having heard the contents of the citations of the award for Bronze Cross medal, I hope that it will convey to all of us, the inspiration of fulfilling our duty and mandate with bravery, dignity, and honor,” Medina said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1034654