NDF/NDF-Mindanao: Cancellation of the June 28 NDFP-GRP peace talks shows Duterter’s partiality to militarism and deceit over the pursuit of just and lasting peace

NDF-Mindanao propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front Website (Jun 22): Cancellation of the June 28 NDFP-GRP peace talks shows Duterter’s partiality to militarism and deceit over the pursuit of just and lasting peace

Press Statement | 20 June 2018
Ka Joaquin Jacinto
Spokesperson, NDFP-Mindanao

The NDFP-Mindanao rejects the latest attempt of the the US-Duterte regime to once again sabotage and derail the peace process by arbitrarily cancelling the resumption of the 5th round of the NDFP-GRP formal peace negotiations, which is set to commence on June 28 as agreed upon by both parties after a series backchannel talks.



This is already the fourth time Duterte violated basic protocols of the NDFP-GRP peace talks as stipulated under the The Hague Joint Declaration, which ensures that no party in the negotiations takes upon itself the right to dictate arbitrary terms upon the other. Duterte cannot just dictate and impose his will on the process. This latest infringement only reveals the high degree of contempt with which Duterte’s regime shows in all its blabber of pursuing genuine peace.

Talk of peace from Duterte’s mouth is apparently nothing but a subterfuge to veil its fascism, as manifested in its militarist policies such as the continuing imposition of martial law in Mindanao. Duterte and his military minions have waylaid the peace talks in favor of the all-out military suppression and encirclement campaign of the AFP, which is set to launch Marawi-style large-scale military offensives against the revolutionary movement and the people in the next three months until the end of the year in several hinterland communities all over Mindanao, particularly in Caraga, Davao, Cotabato, Misamis, Lanao and Zamboaga.

With this latest breach in the talks, Duterte once again deprives the masses of workers, peasants and Lumad in Mindanao a sound platform to re-assert their demands for genuine agrarian reform, national industrialization, national sovereignty as well as their basic rights and freedoms, especially since the Comprehensive Agreement on Socio-Economic Reforms (CASER) is the center of the 5th round of talks once it formally resumes. In particular, it deprives peasants, Lumad and Moro of a venue to further defend their land against the aggressive encroachment of imperialist plantations and mining firms.

The US-Duterte regime foists “peace consultations” as its excuse for calling off the talks. It even went as far as “inviting” individuals from the revolutionary movement as “resource persons” to these so-called “consultations.” However, looking back at the lessons gleaned from past peace talks (especially the one in 1986), this “excuse” looks more like a grand ruse to lure revolutionary forces into exposing themselves to arrests and attacks by the AFP and the PNP.

This is also to lay the ground for Duterte’s and the AFP’s insistence to hold the peace talks in the Philippines and conduct “localized peace talks,” which are clearly intended to sow confusion and division among revolutionary forces and the people in general. Apart from the demand for the venue of the talks to be transferred to the Philippines, which a glaring violation of the The Hague Joint Declarations, Duterte has also demanded the return of Prof. Jose Maria Sison to the country as a pre-condition, one which exposes Prof. Sison to mortal danger.

These so-called “peace consultations” are dubious as democratic avenues for the masses to assert their socio-economic demands and aspirations because these are launched alongside the AFP’s military operations and COPD, and, at the same time, Peace and Order Councils (where the AFP hold sway) of local government units will be mobilized to spearhead such activities. Being so, we fear that these “consultations” will only be used to dissuade the public from supporting the peace talks by propagating black propaganda as well as fake and poison news against the national-democratic revolutionary movement. If the GRP is truly serious about consulting the people, it should hold them during and within the terms of the formal peace negotiations.

On the part of the NDFP and the revolutionary forces, its representatives have long conducted thorough consultations among the masses of peasants, workers, Lumad and Moro and, from which, verified the validity of CASER. But even with this, the US-Duterte regime has proven itself as the chief saboteur of the peace process by attacking, arresting, harassing and even killing NDFP consultants, such as in the case of NDFP consultant Lora Manipis and her husband, who remain missing until this time and are feared dead.

Thus, the NDFP-Mindanao calls on the Filipino people to unite under the banner of just peace, expose and oppose efforts by the US-Duterte regime to sabotage and derail the peace talks, and continue to press for the resumption of the formal peace negotiations. We call on the people further to wage all forms of struggle to allow the peace process to continue and prosper.

We call on the various regional commands of the New People’s Army and People’s militias in Mindanao to launch more tactical offensives to counter on-going large-scale offensives of the AFP that endanger the very lives and livelihood of workers, peasants, Lumad and Moro in the island and threaten various efforts, including the NDFP-GRP peace talks, to attain just and lasting peace.###

https://www.ndfp.org/cancellation-of-the-june-28-ndfp-grp-peace-talks-shows-duterters-partiality-to-militarism-and-deceit-over-the-pursuit-of-just-and-lasting-peace/

NDF/NPA-Central Negros: Ginatanyag nga “Peacetalk” ni Duterte sa CPP-NPA-NDF Lunsay Pasalig kag Pagpanginto

NPA-Central Negros Guerrilla Front propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front Website (Jun 22): Ginatanyag nga “Peacetalk” ni Duterte sa CPP-NPA-NDF Lunsay Pasalig kag Pagpanginto

Press release | Hunyo 22, 2018
Ka JB Regalado
Spokesperson, Leonardo Panaligan Command
New People’s Army, Central Negros Guerrilla Front

Ginadayaw sang LPC-NPA ang KAUGMAON-KMP kag bug-os nga pumuluyo sa Central Negros sa ila ginhimo nga serye sang Peace Caravan, diin gintambungan sang masobra 3,000 ka pumuluyo sadtong Mayo 10, 2018 kag Hunyo 12, 2018 nga ginkulminar sa Guihulngan, Negros Oriental. Maisog sila nga nagapanawagan sang gilayon nga pagpauntat sang extra-judicial killings kag human right’s violations nga direkta ginkomiter sang state security forces partikular na sang AFP kag PNP sa ila kampanya kontra-druga, kontra-terorismo kag kontra-insurhensiya idalum sa kampanyang militar Oplan Kapayapaan sang US-Duterte nga rehimen.

Ginasinggitan man nila ang pagpa-untat sang militarisasyon sa mga kaumahan sa Central Negros kag bug-os nga isla. Ginatib-ong man nila ang pagpatuman sang CARHRIHL kag pagpadayon sang Peacetalks sa tunga sang NDFP kag GRP agud gilayon nga mahambalan sang magkatimbang nga bahin ang Comprehensive Agreements on Socio and Economic Reforms.

Kadungan sa ila ginapanawagan ang gilayon man nga pagpauntat sang TRAIN law diin naghatag sang perwisyo sa naga-antus na nga daan nga pumuluyong Pilipino sa kapigaduhon, kawad-on sang duta kag palangabuhian. Suno man sa ila, ginahangkat nila ang rehimeng US-Duterte kag ang AFP sa sinsero sini nga paghilway sang mga political prisoners labi na ang mga NDFP Consultants sa madinalag-on nga paghambalanay sang kalinong sa pungsod kag maugat ang kawsa sang gyera sibil.

Dalayawon ini nga lihok sang mga mangunguma kag pumuluyo nga nakahangup kag nagatib-ong sang demokratikong interes sang malapad nga pumuluyong Pilipino ilabe na ang pagpatuman sang matuod nga reporma sa duta kag pungsodnon nga industrialisasyon.

Samtang ginakondenar man sang NPA ang ginhimo nga “Peace Rally” sang AFP labi na sang 62nd IBPA sa Mabinay, Negros Oriental sadtong Hunyo 12, 2018. Desperado nga gingamit sang militar ang ika-120 ka tuig nga pagsukat sang “adlaw sang paltik nga kahilwayan” sa pagtursi kag pagbaliskad sang kamatuoran batok sa CPP/NPA/NDF. Ang pagdramatisa sang ila “psywar” kag “black-propaganda” kontra sa NPA, isa ka “sarswela sang ila mga kabutigan.” Tanda ini sang ila muklat nga pagsabotahe sa pagpadayon sa Peacetalks sa tunga sang NDFP kag GRP.

Ang liwat kag temporaryo nga pagkansela ni Duterte sa naka-skedyul na nga Peacetalks, isa ka duso-butong nga desisyon kag mga palayag. Indi siya sinsero sa pagsolbar sang ugat kag kawsa sang gyera sibil sa pungsod. Upod sa AFP gusto sini nga ipatuman ang kampanya tudo gyera batok sa CPP-NPA-NDF. Ang kamatuoran, madugay na nga nagahandum sang tunay, makatarunganon kag malawigon nga kalinong ang pumuluyong Pilipino. Gani indi rason nga nagakinahanglan pa nga konsultahon ang “stakeholders” bangud bisan sin-o man, nagaduso nga ipadayon ang Peacetalks luwas lang ni Lorenzana sang DND kag pila pa sa mga spoiled brats sang US-CIA sa pungsod. Ang matuod lunsay pasalig, panginto kag “lipserving” na lang ang ginatanyag nga Peacetalks ni Duterte kag sang AFP sa CPP-NPA-NDF.

Wala sang asahan pa ang malapad nga pumuluyo sa US-Duterte nga rehimen kundi ang maisog kag matutom nga paghimakas. Suportahon ang armadong rebolusyon nga ginasulong sang CPP-NPA para sa tunay kag makatarunganon nga kalinong sa pungsod.

https://www.ndfp.org/ginatanyag-nga-peacetalk-ni-duterte-sa-cpp-npa-ndf-lunsay-pasalig-kag-pagpanginto/

NDF/Sison: Observation on Duterte’s 3-month review of process and agreements in GRP-NDFP negotiations

Jose Maria Sison propaganda statement posted to the National Democratic Front (NDF) Website (Jun 22): Observation on Duterte’s 3-month review of process and agreements in GRP-NDFP negotiations

By Prof. Jose Maria Sison
NDFP Chief Political Consultant
June 22, 2018

On the basis of the unrevoked Proclamation Nos. 360 and 374 as well as recent announcements and indications being made by Duterte himself and other GRP officials, many people expect that Duterte will make from his ¨review¨ certain conclusions and demands that he will try to impose on the NDFP and that NDFP will certainly refuse, thus rendering impossible peace negotiations between GRP and NDFP, at least for as long as Duterte is in power.

Palace: Duterte to review all past agreements with Reds

Below are some of the major expectations:

1. He will deny the existence of a state of civil war, a nationwide armed conflict of close to 50 years, between his reactionary government and the revolutionary government and their respective armies. Duterte´s reactionary government is one of big compradors, landlords and bureaucrat capitalists servile to foreign monopoly capitalism. The revolutionary government is that of the workers, peasants and other oppressed people, with organs of political power led by the CPP, defended by the NPA and represented by the NDFP in peace negotiations.
2. He will insult the revolutionary forces and people represented by the NDFP by categorizing them as mere nonstate actors unworthy of being respected as a co-belligerent in a civil war and slandering as mere ¨terrorists”and ¨criminals¨, not even as people or revolutionary movement driven to revolt against foreign domination and social injustice. This possibility is already presaged by the unrevoked Proclamation 374 designating the CPP and NPA as ¨terrorist¨ organizations.
3. Consequent to 1 and 2, he will invalidate all previous previous agreements as having no basis in law, domestic and international, and insult as unlawful and stupid previous administrations of GRP and his own administration for having negotiated at all and having made agreements with the NDFP, instead of simply suppressing the forces and people represented by the NDFP with military and police action.
4. He will avoid expressing the full counterrevolutionary arrogance of 1, 2 and 3 above by trying anyway to obtain the capitulation and political suicide of the NDFP and the people’s democratic government by demanding that they accept being categorized as nonstate actor and that the agreements with the GRP are only between the GRP agency called the OPAPP and the NDFP as a mere private entity subject to GRP criminal law at the whim of the tyrant Duterte.

If Duterte will try to impose any of the above on the NDFP, he will be quickly rendering impossible negotiations with GRP under his regime. He will be shutting out completely the possibility of achieving a just and lasting peace through negotiations and agreements on social, economic and political reforms. My observation here should help quicken his understanding of The Hague Joint Declaration and subsequent agreements between the GRP and NDFP.###

https://www.ndfp.org/observation-on-dutertes-3-month-review-of-process-and-agreements-in-grp-ndfp-negotiations/

Construction equipment burned by NPA in Zambales

From Malaya Business Insight (Jun 25): Construction equipment burned by NPA in Zambales

NEW People’s Army members burned two engineering equipment used in the construction of a road in Botolan town in Zambales on Saturday, the military said yesterday.

“Extortion” is being eyed as motive in the latest atrocity by the communist rebels, said Lt. Col. Isagani Nato, spokesman of the military’s Northern Luzon Command based in Tarlac City.

“NPA rebels usually burn equipment of construction companies that refuse to pay `revolutionary tax,’” he said.

Nato said an NPA group torched the backhoe and a payloader in Sitio Oraan, Barangay Cabatuan at around 1 p.m.

He could not immediately say who owned the burned equipment but said the company was contracted by government to construct the Capas-Botolan road which will link Zambales and Tarlac, without passing through Subic.

Nato said forces from the Army’s 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion have been deployed to pursue the NPA group.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/construction-equipment-burned-npa-zambales

Joint sea exercises for PH, foreign ships before RIMPAC

From Malaya Business Insight (Jun 25): Joint sea exercises for PH, foreign ships before RIMPAC

TWO Philippine Navy ships yesterday participated in maneuvering and communication exercises with American, Japanese, Indian and Singaporean ships in the Pacific Ocean.

Navy spokesman Cdr. Jonathan Zata said frigate BRP Andres Bonifacio and landing dock BRP Davao del Sur linked up with US Navy destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Ise, Indian multi-purpose frigate INS Sahyadri and Singaporean frigate Tenacious at the Johnston Atoll, about 750 nautical miles west of Hawaii.

The six ships were en route to Hawaii to join the Rim of the Pacific or RIMPAC, the largest international maritime drill which will formally open this week.
BRPs Andres Bonifacio and Davao del Sur, with an AW-109 helicopter on board, and 700 officers and men were sent off from Cebu City to Hawaii on June 6 for the country’s first ever actual participation in RIMPAC.

The Philippine Navy has been sending small contingents of sailors as observers over the past three RIMPAC exercises. RIMPAC is held once every two years and involves dozens of navies from around the globe.

The Philippine Navy’s participation in RIMPAC is a milestone “to build and enhance relationship with other participating navies.”

“With the vigorous support from the government and its stakeholders through the modernization program, the PN now has the capability to send a contingent to RIMPAC 2018 thus, further fulfilling its diplomatic role in keeping peace and stability in the region,” Zata said.

Zata said the two PN ships linked up with the four naval ships and conducted formation exercises, including maneuvering.

“They went on different formation - diamond, abreast, line abreast, there is also the formation 1. When you say formation exercise, it’s all encompassing. They also conducted communication exercise. For them to have a successful formation exercise, they need to talk in a good communication line,” Zata said.

The six ships sailed together and are expected to arrive in Hawaii either on Tuesday or Wednesday. US officials said RIMPAC will formally open on Wednesday and conclude on August 2.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/joint-sea-exercises-ph-foreign-ships-rimpac

NPA justifies burning of heavy equipment

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jun 23): NPA justifies burning of heavy equipment

The New People’s Army Mt. Cansermon Command justified the burning of heavy equipment in Mabinay, Negros Oriental, last month, by citing the failure of the construction firm to comply with the policies of the revolutionary movement.

Rebel spokesperson John Malaya, in a statement issued by the Mt. Cansermon Command, said the construction firm was ordered to stop their project, but it did not comply.

The three heavy equipment, that were being used for national road concreting project in Brgys. Luyang and Bagtic in Mabinay town, Negros Oriental, were torched by communist rebels on May 21, the military said.

The damage to the three heavy equipment, that included a steamroller, a backhoe and a bulldozer, has been estimated by the Mabinay police at P5.4 million.

Col. Alberto Desoyo, newly-installed commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, said earlier that they will help secure government projects, especially in the hinterlands of Negros.

Authorities are looking at the possibility that the rebels burned the equipment in retaliation for the private construction firm’s failure to pay “revolutionary tax” to the NPA, after receiving a demand letter.

On the other hand, Malaya debunked military claims that they are recruiting minors to join the revolutionary movement, stressing that what they are recruiting are those 18 years old and above.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2018/June/23/topstory8.htm

Aussies train WV soldiers

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jun 23): Aussies train WV soldiers

The Australian Defense Force trained Army soldiers in Western Visayas in combined urban operations, that took into consideration lessons learned by the Armed Forces of the Philippines during the Battle of Marawi.

Capt. Eduardo Precioso, 3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs Office chief, said yesterday that the month-long training, that was participated in by personnel of the 3ID, 6th Light Armor Company, 3rd Field Artillery Battalion and the 53rd Engineering Brigade, was aimed at enhancing the knowledge, interoperability, tactics, techniques, and procedures of the participants on combined urban operations.

Some of the participants are soldiers of the 15th Infantry Battalion, who had participated in the fight against the ISIS-inspired Maute terrorist group, who occupied Marawi for several months, before being neutralized by the AFP.

While the ADF shared their knowledge in military tactics to be employed in urban operations with the Philippine Army troops, Precioso said they also learned rural fighting warfare from the Philippine Army.

The Battle for Marawi underscores the complexity of urban warfare, that was compounded by the lack of familiarity of the AFP in fighting in cities.

Marawi City was liberated from the Maute Group after five months of intense fighting that left 974 terrorists, 168 soldiers and policemen, and 47 civilians dead.

“We learned from them, they learned from us,” Precioso said, apparently referring to the cross-military training that, he added, also strengthened the bilateral relationship between Philippine and Australian armed forces.

The Philippine-Australian Army Combined Urban Operations Training at Camp Macario Peralta in Jamindan, Capiz, ended June 20, with a 20-minute capability demonstration vigorously performed by the personnel of the Operation Control (OPCON) units of the 3ID and ADF Joint Task Group 629 headed by Lt. Col. Judd Finger.

The combined urban operations training was supervised by a Land Advisory Team from Joint Task Group 629, and majority of the pool instructors came from 3ID, who were also trained during the Philippine-Australia Army to Army Exercise 2018-2 in March this year.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2018/June/23/topstory4.htm

Group voices alarm as military turns lumad schools into barracks

From the often pro-Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) online publication the Davao Today (Jun 24): Group voices alarm as military turns lumad schools into barracks

A group has called on the government to recognize the law that prohibits the military and all its instrumentalities of utilizing schools as garrisons.

In a recent statement released to the media, the Save Our School Network in Southern Mindanao cited the case as seen in a video during a skirmish between the army and the New People’s Army in Sitio Tibucag, Barangay Dagahoy in Talaingod town, Davao del Norte where the military used the lumad school as their barracks.

SOS referred to the provisions of Republic Act 7610 or the Act Providing Stronger Deterrence and Special Protection against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination, particularly Article 10, Section 22 (e).

“We must recognize (that) this law is provided to ensure the protection of civilians, most especially children, in this time where the armed conflict must be in places away from populated communities,” the group said.

RA 7610, particularly the quoted section states that “public infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, and rural health units shall not be utilized for military purposes such as command posts, barracks, detachments and supply depots.”

But SOS expressed the belief that what had happened in Tibucag is also taking place in other lumad communities and schools in Mindanao.

“The military encampment in schools and communities endangers the lives of the civilian communities,” SOS emphasized, adding that the state forces in the country have been ignoring the law as they are camping inside the lumad schools and in houses in Talaingod.

The fact is that since the opening of the school this year, SOS was able to record six cases of military encampment in Salugpongan Ta Tunu Igkanugon Community Learning Center schools in the areas of Sitio Km 17, Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod which took place last May 26, 2018; in Sitio Km 30 in Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod; and in Sitio Laslasakan, Barangay Palma Gil, Talaingod last May 29.

The group added that the Salugpongan School in Sitio Tibucag, Barangay Dagohoy, Talaingod was utilized three times by the military as their camp, specifically on May 29, June 6 and June 13, 2018.

Aside from the school, the soldiers had also established a detachment around 10-20 meters away from the school and Tibucag but within the site where the residents stay, the SOS added.

“For several years the residents in Sitio Tibucag have long been used as ‘shield’ during military operations. Residents revealed that soldiers have ordered them to stay inside their homes to avoid rebel attacks,” the group said, adding that three battalions of soldiers are now deployed in Talaingod town.

The militarization in Talaingod has turned lumad residents into prisoners in their own community as the armed soldiers roam and constantly monitor their movements, including that of the teachers and students at lumad schools, the SOS denounced.

As a result of intensified military operations in the area, 13 out of 21 schools of Salugpongan have failed to commence classes, the group claimed.

“We need to ask why the Lumad in Talaingod are the ones being intimidated and being endangered by this state of militarization. We need to challenge Education Secretary Leonor Briones, to go beyond promoting the trivial GMRC courses (Good Manners and Right Conduct), but rather she should enforce RA7610 in protecting Lumad schools,” the SOS continued.

The group also dared President Rodrigo Duterte to retract its call of bombing lumad schools.

“We support the communities’ demand for the military to pull out from their communities and stop the attacks on schools,” the SOS said.

http://davaotoday.com/main/human-rights/group-voices-alarm-as-military-turns-lumad-schools-into-barracks/

Joma depicts scenarios that will render GRP-NDFP talks impossible

From the often pro-Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) online publication the Davao Today (Jun 24): Joma depicts scenarios that will render GRP-NDFP talks impossible

Dark clouds are hovering over the peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP).

NDFP Chief political consultant Jose Maria Sison recently made some observations on President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed “3-month review” that will cover further inquiries and scrutiny of the process and agreements entered into by both panels.

Sison said Duterte, after the review and based on his recent announcements and indications, is expected to issue certain conclusions and demands that will be refused by the NDFP.

Such impositions and demands made by Duterte will further make the current peace negotiations difficult, he emphasized.

Sison has presented four major expectations on Duterte’s handling of the peace process, the first one is the President’s denial on the existence of a state of civil war that has been waged nationwide for the last 50 years.

Not only Duterte but also his reactionary government is assumed to deny the state of civil war, especially the Armed Forces of the Philippines, he added.

“Duterte´s reactionary government is one of big compradors, landlords and bureaucrat capitalists servile to foreign monopoly capitalism. The revolutionary government is that of the workers, peasants and other oppressed people, with organs of political power led by the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines), defended by the NPA (New People’s Army) and represented by the NDFP in peace negotiations,” Sison said.

Secondly, Sison said Duterte will insult the revolutionary forces and people represented by the NDFP by categorizing them as mere nonstate actors unworthy of being respected as a co-belligerent in a civil war and slandering as mere ¨terrorists” and ¨criminals¨.

Such verbal attack, he added, is already presaged as the President refused to revoke Proclamation 374 designating the CPP and NPA as ¨terrorist¨ organizations.

And consequent to first and second observations, Sison said Duterte will invalidate all previous agreements as having no basis in law, domestic and international.

He added that Duterte will “insult as unlawful and stupid previous administrations of GRP and his own administration for having negotiated at all and having made agreements with the NDFP, instead of simply suppressing the forces and people represented by the NDFP with military and police action.”

Fourthly, Sison said the President will avoid expressing the full counterrevolutionary arrogance of the first three observations by trying anyway to obtain the capitulation and political suicide of the NDFP and the people’s democratic government by demanding that they accept being categorized as nonstate actor and that the agreements with the GRP are only between the GRP agency called the OPAPP and the NDFP as a mere private entity subject to GRP criminal law at the whim of the tyrant Duterte.

The NDFP chief political consultant warned that if Duterte will try to impose any of the above observations on the NDFP, he will be quickly rendering impossible negotiations with GRP under his regime.

“He will be shutting out completely the possibility of achieving a just and lasting peace through negotiations and agreements on social, economic and political reforms. My observation here should help quicken his understanding of The Hague Joint Declaration and subsequent agreements between the GRP and NDFP,” Sison pointed out.

http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/joma-depicts-scenarios-that-will-render-grp-ndfp-talks-impossible/

US gives additional PhP 296.2 M to assist women and households in Marawi

From MindaNews (Jun 24): US gives additional PhP 296.2 M to assist women and households in Marawi  

TheU.S. Embassy in the Philippines is giving additional USD 5.5 million (PhP 296.2-M) additional assistance for Marawi City, bringing to 31,95 million dollars or 1.7 billion pesos the total US government contribution to humanitarian and recovery work in and around Marawi, Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Michael Klecheski said.

A press release from the US Embassy quoted Klecheski as saying the additional assistance, delivered through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will promote the role and inclusion of women in the recovery and rehabilitation of Marawi as well as support ongoing humanitarian assistance work in and around the country’s lone Islamic city.



Residents search for items they could salvage from what remains of their house in Marawi’s Ground Zero or Most Affected Area (MAA) on April 5, 2018, under the Kambisita sa MAA project of the city government of Marawi and Task Force Bangon Marawi. Kambisita allows Ground Zero residents to visit their homes – or what remains of them – for three days from April 1 to May 10.
But they will be able to return and rebuild their homes only on the first quarter of 2020. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

At least 90 per cent of the city’s estimated 210,000 population fled their villages in May last year when members of the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group and its allies laid siege on the city after a failed attempt by authorities to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the Abu Sayyaf and proclaimed Emir of the IS in Southeast Asia.

President Rodrigo Duterte declared Marawi “liberated from the terrorist influence” on October 17, a day after Hapilon and Maute Group leader Omarkhayam Maute were killed. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana terminated all combat operations in Marawi City on October 23, 2017, exactly five months to the day the fighting began.

In partnership with local governments and organizations, USAID will work with diverse groups of women to promote community dialogue and encourage civic engagement. It will also work to counter gender-based violence and trafficking in persons, and to help displaced girls return to school.

Klecheski underscored the important role women pay in building peace and security.

The press release noted that women have been “disproportionately impacted by the conflict in Marawi, including by psychological trauma, reduced mobility, and diminished participation in civic activities.”

From the additional assistance, Php136.1-M ($2.55 million) will respond to the needs of displaced persons, particularly women and girls, promote the leadership of women and girls in fostering peacebuilding and alternatives to violent extremism, as well as integrate gender into recovery and rehabilitation work.

The remaining Php160.1-M ($3 million) will be used to restore livelihoods through training and recovery grants to help more than 7,800 displaced families as well as provide water and sanitation for more than 10,000 displaced households inside and around Marawi City. 

http://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2018/06/us-gives-additional-php-296-2-m-to-assist-women-and-households-in-marawi/

Civilians guard communities vs. Sayyafs

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 23): Civilians guard communities vs. Sayyafs

SULU – Armed villagers continue to guard their communities against the Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippine province of Sulu following the successful recovery of 2 hostages from the hands of militants.

Civilians, who are fed up with the atrocities of the notorious group, vowed to protect their communities and help police and military in securing lives and properties in the Muslim province.

Just this week, Abu Sayyaf militants freed the daughter of a former Sulu mayor and his ex-wife they kidnapped in Talipao town after a group of armed vigilantes seized the wives of their leader and threatened to execute them.

The militant group tied to the Islamic State quickly released Eddilyn Tulawie, 27; and her 57-year old mother, Addang, on the evening of June 20 near Talipao town where the Abu Sayyaf abducted them in their house before dawn of the same day.

Eddilyn‘s father, Tambrin Tulawie, was the town’s former mayor, whose son Nezar is the incumbent mayor.

The vigilantes, mostly villagers, armed themselves and hunted down 3 wives of Abu Sayyaf leader Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, who was behind the abductions, and took them captive to force the militants to free their hostages.

The Abu Sayyaf released the victims safely after vigilantes - fed up with Abu Sayyaf atrocities in Sulu – threatened to behead one by one Sawadjaan’s wives. The militant group is still holding nearly a dozen hostages, mostly foreign sailors it kidnapped at sea off Tawi-Tawi and Basilan provinces in recent years.

There was no immediate statement from the mayor or other officials on the recovery of the hostages by the vigilantes. But the military’s Western Mindanao Command claimed the duo was rescued following an “intensified operation” by soldiers, policemen and civilians.

“The intensified operations launched by combined troops of the Joint Task Force Sulu, BPATS (Barangay Police Action Team), and the Talipao Police led to the immediate release of the two kidnap victims,” it said.

It said the hostages were abandoned and “rescued” at a forested area near Kagay village in Talipao. “While scouring the area, the operating troops were able to rescue the two hostages in the forested area and were immediately brought to the residence of former Talipao Mayor Tambrin Tulawie,” the military said. “It is the peoples' participation and their resolve against the kidnappers that forced the bandits to abandon the victims in the area where they kept them for several hours.”

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2018/06/civilians-guard-communities-vs-sayyafs.html

Explosion injures 6 in Mindanao

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 24): Explosion injures 6 in Mindanao

Police said a powerful explosion wounded at least 6 people in southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, a known stronghold of communist rebels in the troubled region.

Police said the blast occurred in Bukal village in Nabunturan and that three children were among the injured. The explosion occurred before midnight Saturday, but it was unclear whether the blast was an act of terrorism.

 Two adult women, and a teenager were also injured in the explosion and police said it is still investigating the blast. It said police investigators recovered pieces of mangles aluminium containing traces of gun powder.

Police have tightened security patrol in the town.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2018/06/explosion-injures-6-in-mindanao.html

8 soldiers wounded in Sulu blast

From the Mindanao Examiner (Jun 24): 8 soldiers wounded in Sulu blast

Eight government soldiers were wounded in an explosion after an Abu Sayyaf explosive they had recovered accidentally went off in Patikul town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said Sunday.

Lt. Col. Gerry Besana, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command, said the soldiers were rushed to a military hospital in the capital town of Jolo. He said the soldiers were gathering war materiel left behind by the Abu Sayyaf following heavy clashes in Patikul town on Saturday when the blast occurred.

“Numerous firearms and war materiel were also recovered including an improvised explosive device which accidentally exploded and resulted to the wounding of eight soldiers,” Besana said.

He said members of the 1st Scout Ranger Battalion led by Lt. Col. Samuel Yunque clashed with about 40 militants under Abu Sayyaf sub-leaders Almujer Yaddah, Sonny Boy Sajirin Ellam Hasirin in Bangkal village.

The fighting, Besana said, lasted 30 minutes. “Troops were able to maneuver and take advantage and pushing the bandits to scamper to different directions after 30 minutes of firefight,” he said, adding, the clashes may have incurred casualties on the enemy side.

He said the soldiers, whose unit is part of the Joint Task Force-Sulu, have intensified their operations against the Abu Sayyaf. Besana, reading a report by task force commander, Brig. Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo, quoted him as saying: “We have intensified our operations to pursue the fleeing bandits to prevent them from committing atrocities against the people.”

Lt. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said Joint Task Force Sulu continues to exhaust all efforts and means to contain the Abu Sayyaf and constrict its movement. “We are continuously intensifying the conduct of focused military operations, in coordination with the local governments and the people of Sulu, to neutralize the terrorist group,” he said.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2018/06/8-soldiers-wounded-in-sulu-blast.html

Internal security ops slowing down AFP modernization

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 23): Internal security ops slowing down AFP modernization

The government’s ongoing campaign against various threat groups are definitely slowing down efforts to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said Saturday.

"Of course, because money that could have been used for modernizing our troops are used to fight terror. For instance, (in) the five-month Marawi siege, the AFP spent almost PHP4 billion (to fight and defeat the Maute Group terrorists), excluding the amount to care for the IDPs (internally displaced persons) by other agencies that ran into billions as well," Lorenzana said in response to queries on whether ongoing internal security operations have an effect on the AFP’s modernization.

Fighting in Marawi City began on May 23, 2017 when elements of the Islamic State-inspired Maute Group attacked the city, triggering a battle that ended five months later in October when military units neutralized Abu Sayyaf leader and IS Southeast Asia “emir”, Isnilon Hapilon, along with 1,000 militants.

The same was said by defense department spokesperson Arsenio Andolong during an interview last Wednesday.

"Horizon Three (still) has to be studied and discussed kasi nagbago na 'yung mix natin (because we have a new mix). May movement na kasi (There has been movement), so that will allow us to now plan for what (equipment and platforms) we need,” Andolong said when asked what the public could expect for Horizon Three of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, which is expected to run from 2023 to 2028.

“(It) pre-supposes that we have already reached the level of credible defense posture, so we will now be concentrating on territorial defense already. But of course, we still have our internal security operations that are ongoing. Isa yan sa mga humahadlang sa ating (That is one of the hindrances to our) modernization because our attention is being divided," he said.

Horizon Two, which is slated for 2018 to 2022, is the AFP's transition period from internal security operations to territorial defense.

However, due to the conflicts, the progress of the AFP in this acquisition phase is "somewhere in between" as the defense department is acquiring equipment for internal and external defense usage, Andolong said.

Horizon One lasted from 2013 to 2017 and resulted in the acquisition of the three Del Pilar-class frigates, 12 FA-50PH light-lift interim fighters, and two strategic sealift vessels, to name a few.

The pieces of equipment slated for acquisition during Horizon Two are towed and self-propelled howitzers, multiple launch rocket systems, armored recovery vehicles, five support vehicles, tactical radios, ground mobility equipment (light, medium, heavy), individual weapons, crew-served weapons, and night-fighting equipment for the Army; multi-role fighters, radar systems, light and medium lift aircraft, heavy lift helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, attack and combat utilityhelicopters, special mission and long-range patrol aircraft for the Air Force; frigates, corvettes, submarines, amphibious assault vehicles, anti-submarine helicopters, attack craft, medium lift helicopters, and multi-role vessels for the Navy.

Also being eyed are combat engineer, force protection, explosive ordnance disposal, as well as humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief and medical equipment.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039229

Modern AFP able to conduct more precise ops vs. threat groups

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 24): Modern AFP able to conduct more precise ops vs. threat groups

A fully-modernized Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will have the capability to conduct more precise, agile and responsive operations against rebels and other threat groups with little or no collateral damage.

This is the main reason why Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison is very much against the ongoing modernization of the military, AFP public affairs office chief Col. Noel Detoyato said Saturday.

"Operations will be more precise, responsive, agile, and (there will be) application of calculated force to address, engage and neutralize armed threats," he added.

Detoyato also stressed that a fully-modernized AFP will prevent, if not minimize, collateral damage and reduce human rights violations.

Sison earlier called the AFP modernization a waste of time and of taxpayers' money.

He made the statement in response to reports that President Rodrigo Duterte has already signed Horizon Two of the Revised Armed Forces of the Philippines Modernization Program, which will run from 2018 to 2022.

The project is worth PHP300 billion and is designed to acquire high-tech weapons and platforms for the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

"Ang pag-oppose ni Mr. Sison sa AFP modernization ay hayagang pag-amin na ang counter-insurgency efforts ng AFP ang tinik sa kanilang mga balak (Mr. Sison's opposition to AFP modernization is a direct admission that the counter-insurgency efforts of the AFP is a hindrance to their plans)," Detoyato pointed out.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039272