Video: Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, HM Raja Mohammad Ghamar Hasan Mamay Abdurajak

Posted to the Mindanao Examiner Blog site (Mar 28): Video: Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo, HM Raja Mohammad Ghamar Hasan Mamay Abdurajak

[Video URL:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QezcsTzJPhA]

Today's Guests: HM Raja Mohammad Ghamar Hasan Mamay Abdurajak, King of Islamic South East Asia and Sultan Prof. Sharief Mohammad Abubakar, Deputy Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo and Chairman of the National Liberation Front of Southern Philippines

 

http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/

ANAD: Without doubt, ANAD is proven correct!

Posted to the anti-communist Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) Website (Mar 25): Without doubt, ANAD is proven correct!

The ALLIANCE FOR NATIONALISM AND DEMOCRACY (ANAD) Partylist urged the PNoy administration to put to rest all efforts and call to revive the stalled peace negotiations with the Maoist terrorist CPP-NPA-NDF. The pro-democracy group issued this statement amidst LP senatorial bet Grace Poe’s call on the Maoist CPP leadership to return to the negotiating table with the government ‘to ensure the peaceful conduct of the May 13, 2013 elections.’ (Poe: Revive talks with the communists, 3/24/13, www.mb.com.ph)

ANAD describes Ms. Poe’s action as an empty call in the wilderness and a cheap propaganda stunt! “For the past 23 years, government bended too much for that elusive olive branch of peace. But it is the Maoist terrorist’s unrelenting violence and insincerity that are always at the core of the issue,” said ANAD Rep. Jun Alcover even as he pointed to GPH panel head Atty. Alex Padilla’s admission, in the same news report, that ‘the talks have bogged down as he expressed exasperation over the seeming lack of sincerity of the CPP-NPA to discuss peace at this time’.

Rep. Alcover also noted the GPH panel head’s belief saying, “I don’t think we should waste our time (negotiating with the CPP-NDF). They always find ways and means to look for an issue.”

”Not only was time wasted but the effort and resources of government too,” added the former NPA political and commanding officer in Eastern and Central Visayas turned pro-democracy leader referring to more pressing issues, e.g. Filipinos killed and detained in Sabah, widespread rotating brownouts in Mindanao, among the many that PNoy must give prior attention.

“ANAD’s position, ever since, is now reinforced and proven right! Our many calls to stop the senseless and useless peace negotiations with the Maoist CPP-NPA-NDF were dismissed as a bane effort to derail the government initiative to forge peace with enemies of state,” said Rep. Alcover.

“Any discussion for a truce or ceasefire shall only be exploited and abused by the Maoist terrorists to enhance their extortion and violent activities against our people. Any cessation of hostilities only extend more than enough window for Maoist terrorists to demand PTCs and PTWs from local candidates, extort money from businesses and industries, and to murder civilians that are in their hit list,” he warns.

However, Rep. Alcover stressed that government must now go-all out and apply the full force of the law against the Maoist communist terrorists. “Again, we believe that the late President Magsaysay’s ‘carrot and stick’ policy must be applied against Jose Ma. Sison’s violent wards,” the pro-democracy solon added as he simply cited Magsaysay’s doctrine: “Find them, fight them, and finish them . . . if they surrender, government shall give all out support to them” as the most effective weapon against terrorism.

http://www.anadpartylist.org/20130325/without-doubt-anad-is-proven-correct.html

ANAD: ANAD condemns NPA’s extra-judicial murder of 2 ex-Maoist rebels

Posted to the anti-communist Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD) Website (Mar 27): ANAD condemns NPA’s extra-judicial murder of 2 ex-Maoist rebels

The ALLIANCE FOR NATIONALISM AND DEMOCRACY (ANAD) Partylist condemns, in strongest terms, the forced abduction and treacherous murder of 2 former Maoist communist rebels in Sitio Blocking, Brgy. Wasian, Rosario, Agusan del Sur, last March 24, 2013.

The victims, now among those in the long list of victims ofMaoist terrorism and treachery, were Julieto Peling, aka Dimple, Cocoy; and Rodel Garcia, aka Brital, all residents of Purok Nangka Tunnel 15, Road 17, Brgy. Consuelo, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur.

According to reports from ANAD field chapters in Agusan del Sur, the victims, were having a sort of ‘happy hour’ at the residence of a certain Yuri Eupeña, chairman of Purok 12, Rosario, Agusan del Sur when, at about 9:30pm of March 23, 15 Maoist terrorist NPAs armed with AK-47 and M-16 rifles, led by Renato Sayasat, aka Friday, Dino, of SeCom 14, NEMRC, barged inside the house and forcibly took the victims.

The same report disclosed that the lifeless bodies of Peling and Garcia were found at about 4pm, last March 24, in Sitio Blue Tent, Purok 12, Brgy. Bayugan 3, Rosario Agusan Sur with multiple gunshot wounds, while the head of Peling was cut-off and severed from his body.

It was learned that the victims, after returning back to the folds of the law and government, supported the government’s counter-insurgency campaigns under the People’s Advocacy for Collaboration and Empowerment, Inc. (PEACE Inc.) led by Agnes Reaño-Lopez, also a former rebel then operating in the areas of Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions. Their efforts paid-off with the containment of Maoist terrorist activities and the arrest of known Maoist terrorist NPA and NDF personalities in Caraga and Southern Mindanao regions.

“ANAD feels sad and bitter that after Peling and Garcia had proven themselves to be true to their promise of going back to the folds of government, the latter failed to extend full support and assistance to them and their families forcing them to indulge in small-mining activities to eke out a living,” said ANAD Rep. Jun Alcover even as he expressed serious concern on the plight of many rebel returnees that are facing the predicament due to the inability of the government to support these people in their desire to re-join the mainstream of Philippine society.

Denouncing the government’s continued lack of support towards and exposing the former rebels to abject exploitation, the former NPA commander said, “Government must provide full support to these people who then were blinded by sweet-talking and glib-tongued Maoist terrorist political officers but now are decided to help government. Paltry and trickling support through payments in exchange for firearms and ammunition they surrender to the AFP definitely is not enough to ensure the former rebel’s assimilation into the real and free Philippine society,” said Rep. Alcover.

http://www.anadpartylist.org/20130327/anad-condemn-npas-extra-judicial-murder-of-2-ex-maoist-rebels.html

RPM-M: Revolutionary Salute and Greetings to Revolutionary Peoples’ Army 18th Founding Anniversary

From the Website of the breakaway Rebolusyonayrong Partido ng Manggagawa-Mindanao [RPM-M or Revolutionary Workers Party-Mindanao (RWP-M) (Mar 18): Revolutionary Salute and Greetings to Revolutionary Peoples’ Army 18th Founding Anniversary

Revolutionary Salute and Greetings to comrades and cadres of the Revolutionary Peoples’ Army (RPA) and the whole command and ranks to celebrate its 18^th founding anniversary of revolutionary service and existence on 18^th of March 2013 in time also of the 45th commemoration of the 1968 Jabidah Massacre that triggered importantly the national liberation aspiration among Bangsamoro.

The Revolutionary Workers’ Party – Mindanao (RPW-M/RPM-M) believes that in our context today, there is always a need for an armed component in this revolutionary path that we have (not a separate component but integral in all forms) – to defend the masses and their victories and at the same time to confront the bourgeois and reactionary assaults and policies harmful to our revolutionary socialist project;

RPW-M/RPM-M also believes that at all times revolutionary forces should always be prepared in the time of antagonist confrontations against the bourgeois system to protect the militants, activists and the progressive movements;

In this moment, we would also like to offer tribute and salute to our comrades in the RPA who offered their lives for the masses and the revolution – their revolutionary contributions will not be put in vain and our the victories of the masses shall offer justice for them;

We call on comrades active in the regular guerrilla, partisan and local militia units to hold on with our Politico-Militar revolutionary framework being the army of the people and the oppressed against the neoliberal and capitalist attacks;

We also would like to give thanks to the masses and allies for continuously showing your supports and constructive critics making us more integrated and grounded;

It is also our call to the tripeople masses and working class to be more consolidated and organized and always be ready for a revolutionary flow that is beneficial to the poor and exploited classes among peoples;

Now, we altogether (the Party and the Army) were able to reflect and realized that revolutionary armies cannot just be armies alone but it can perform also political tasks same with all militants and activists around the world that is not seen as additional burden but appreciated as real revolutionary contribution.

Our comrades are capable of being a political and a military cadre. And yes, we have more works to do and we have done a lot so far.

We are in this together!

In Revolution,

Revolutionary Workers’ Party – Mindanao, Philippines
Executive Committee
16 March 2013

http://www.grenzeloos.org/jl/?p=442

NPA insurgents execute 2 comrades

From Tempo (Mar 27): NPA insurgents execute 2 comrades

Philippines – New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents in Agusan Del Sur seized and killed two of their former comrades who have returned to the fold of the law, a military spokesman said.

Lt. Col. Eugenio Julio Osias IV, the 4th Infantry Division (4ID) spokesman, said the abduction occurred around 9:40 p.m. on March 24 when a group NPA insurgents armed with AK47 and M16 armalite rifle led by Renato Sayasat forcibly took Julieto Acebedo Piling alias “Dimple Cocoy” and Rodel Garcia alias “Brital”, both of Purok Nangka Tunnel 15, Road 17, Barangay Consuelo, Bunawan, Agusan Del Sur.

Osias said the victims were having a happy hour at the residence of a certain Yurie Eupenia, a village leader, when the rebels arrived and at gunpoint, took Piling and Garcia with them. That was the last time the two were seen alive.

On the following day, March 24 at around 4:00 p.m., Osias said the two were found lifeless in Sito Blue Tent, Purok 12, Barangay Bayugan 3, Rosario, Agusan del Sur with multiple gunshot wounds.

The military condemned this latest extrajudicial killing done by the NPA.

http://www.tempo.com.ph/2013/03/npa-insurgents-execute-2-comrades/

Kirams say Malaysian security forces killed kin in Sabah

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 28): Kirams say Malaysian security forces killed kin in Sabah

The heirs of the Sultan of Sulu: (seated from left) Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram II and (standing from left) Datu Alianapia Kiram, Datu Phugdal Kiram and Datu Baduruddin Kiram. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo said on Wednesday that an uncle of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III was killed in Sabah by Malaysian security forces on Sunday.

Abraham Idjirani, spokesperson for the sultanate, said the slain Jamjam Salih was 71 to 74 years old and was an ustadz, a religious leader, and he had been living in Semporna town with his family since 1990.

“They (Malaysian authorities) did not know that he was a peaceful and religious man,” Idjirani said by phone.

Idjirani did not say how Salih was killed. Jamalul’s daughter, Princess Jacel Kiram, said Salih was arrested on Sunday and killed.

But there were no reports of arrests or killings involving followers of the Sulu sultan in Sabah on Sunday.

The INQUIRER contacted a Sabah reporter to check the sultanate’s claims about Salih’s killing and was told that Sabah police reported no arrests or killings on that day.

Jacel said she had been talking with her uncle Agbimuddin Kiram and he told her that Salih was arrested in Lahad Datu after the authorities had determined that the ustadz was a relative of the Kirams.

Jacel said, however, that the information about Salih’s arrest and death was unclear.

Agbimuddin alive

The princess said Agbimuddin, whom Malaysian authorities said had abandoned his men and slipped back to southern Philippines, was in Sabah and regularly called to assure the family that he remained safe despite intense police military operations against the followers of the Sulu sultan.

The intrusion of Agbimuddin’s armed group into Sabah on Feb. 9 to press the Sulu sultanate’s claim to the territory has led to the three-week-old fighting between his men and Malaysian security forces.

Sixty-five fighters from Agbimuddin’s group have been killed in the fighting that began on March 1.

Eight policemen and two soldiers have been killed on the Malaysian side.

Jacel blamed the violence on the Malaysian government, saying Agbimuddin’s group did not go to Sabah to fight but to spend their last days in their own homeland.

“We do not want war,” Jacel said, adding that Agbimuddin’s men were shooting back only to defend themselves.

The fighting in Sabah has forced thousands of Filipinos illegally living in the eastern Malaysian territory to leave and return to the Philippines.

Fleeing Sabah

Nearly 4,000 undocumented Filipinos have landed in Mindanao after fleeing Sabah in the past three weeks.

Most of them, however, say they want to go back to Sabah when the crisis is over.

On Monday a boat with 100 undocumented Filipinos landed in Tawi-Tawi, bringing to 3,864 the number of returnees since fighting in Sabah began on March 1.

“I think it’s fair to say it’s big in terms of actual lives involved. But given the total number of Filipinos there that we know, it’s still very manageable,” Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said yesterday.

Soliman said the total number of returnees could be larger.

“We don’t have a good handle of the number. They’re coming in trickles. I’m sure there could be arrivals that we’re not able to monitor,” she said.

Most of the returnees came from Lahad Datu, Sandakan and Semporna and landed in Taganak and Sibutu islands in Tawi-Tawi.

The government has provided P13.4 million worth of food and transportation assistance for the returnees, Soliman said.

Legal aid through Tingting

At the Kirams’ home in Taguig City, senatorial candidate Margarita Cojuangco said she would help the Sulu sultanate provide legal assistance to its followers who had been arrested and facing charges in Sabah.

“We would like to raise funds from a donation of P10 to P100 to help the legal team to help Sultan Kiram,” Cojuangco said.

She said the legal team is composed of private lawyers with their own law firms.

“They have to travel to the different islands of the Philippines. They don’t charge legal fees. The concern of the sultan is we should help them at least to bring justice and to work for human beings,” Cojuangco said.

Jamalul said Cojuangco came to help on his invitation.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/70553/kirams-say-malaysian-security-forces-killed-kin-in-sabah

MILF wants peace talks fast-tracked

From the Philippine Star (Mar 28): MILF wants peace talks fast-tracked

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) yesterday urged the international community to call for the fast tracking of the peace process, saying the conclusion of its negotiations with the government is an “urgent business.”

“We call on everyone, including the international community, to urge all parties to expedite the talks in a deliberate and sure manner,” the MILF said in an editorial posted on its website luwaran.com.

“Time is ticking away; once it has passed, we cannot go back anymore. We also call upon them to journey with us until the conclusion of these negotiations,” it added.
President Aquino earlier requested that the 37th round of talks that were originally slated for March 25-27 be reset to next month.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said Aquino deems it necessary to have more time for review and consultations on the draft annexes.
Despite the delay, the two parties made a “firm commitment” to continue the talks in an expeditious manner.

The MILF everyone wants to settle the conflict in Mindanao with honor, justice, and without delay.

“The urgency of concluding the peace talks is in the minds of the MILF leadership. We know that the momentum is there but any dilly-dallying is bringing us closer to the other path,” the group said.

The MILF warned the government that failure to finish the talks within the term of Aquino could lead to violence.

“The truth is that if we cannot close this negotiation successfully during the administration of President Aquino, we do not know what lies ahead in 2016. And more seriously, it can be a menu for more violence and fighting in Mindanao,” it said.

Civil society groups in Mindanao are dismayed by the postponement of the peace talks, believing this would provide “spoilers” the opportunity to pursue their agenda.
“We are very much disappointed with the decision of the government peace panel to cancel the 37th exploratory talks with the MILF,” said Datuan Magon, deputy secretary-general of the United Youth for Peace and Development.

Magon said the government and MILF should continue the talks since it is the only way to resolve the conflict in Mindanao.

The Mindanao Action for Peace and Development Initiatives is worried that the postponement could lead to violence similar to that triggered by the voiding of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain in 2008.

“We cannot allow any groups to thrive on their personal interests over the gains of the peace talks between the government and the MILF,” said Norodin Midsuyao, vice president of Kaumpiya sa Mindanao Inc.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2013/03/28/924848/milf-wants-peace-talks-fast-tracked

MNLF's mysterious, arrogant leadership (Part 1)

Column  from the New Straits Times (Mar 27): Part 1: MNLF's mysterious, arrogant leadership

FREEDOM FOR MORO PEOPLE: In this first of a two-part series, Dr Paridah Abd Samad traces the emergence of the Moro National Liberation Front

THE emergence of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) saw increased awareness of Muslim youth and student activists and they asserted their demand for better treatment of the Moro people.

Nur Misuari, who became chairman of MNLF, was an officer of the Kabataang Makabayan (Patriotic Youth), a radical student group in Manila which applied a Marxist analysis to the Philippine situation and advocated a revolutionary struggle against feudalism, capitalism and imperialism.

Misuari completed his education with an academic scholarship at the University of the Philippines. He became a lecturer of political science at the university and was also a lecturer at the Mindanao State University.

In the 1960s, the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) was established which aimed to organise an independent state in southern Philippines. In 1969, MIM leaders formed the MNLF, the military component of the secessionist movement headed by Misuari, that sought political reforms from the Philippine government.

As the MNLF was formed by a group of young secular-educated Moros, they, like Misuari, wanted to dissociate the Front from the traditional aristocratic elite whose leadership was viewed as feudal.

They agreed to a resolution that the Moros would strive for "a federal state" by attempting to pursue their struggle through legal channels. The rift between the younger generation of MNLF and traditional aristocratic leadership groups finally came into the open.

Misuari and his group moved to Sabah and then to Tripoli in which time the MNLF was already at war with government forces. At the same time, it exerted its efforts to gain recognition from the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC). In a way, the MNLF was viewed by repressed Muslims, who needed a front as instrument to fight the encroachment of the Filipino Christians, as a vehicle of jihad.

In spite of this, the Tripoli Agreement, signed on Dec 23, 1976, was an agreement between the Philippine government and the MNLF, with the participation of the OIC. In 1975, the OIC facilitated a meeting between the Philippine government and the MNLF in Jeddah to negotiate for autonomy.

According to the agreement, full autonomy shall be given to the thirteen provinces, namely Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, and Palawan. Included in the agreement were nine cities and all the villages situated within the mentioned provinces.

The Tripoli Agreement was signed after the MNLF had given up its demand for independence and after President Ferdinand Marcos had promised to grant full autonomy to the Muslim Filipinos in the southern islands as provided under the agreement. However, Marcos did not fulfil his promise.

The breakdown of the Tripoli Agreement shook the credibility of the MNLF, allowing the cleavage which had always existed within the Front to emerge.

Salamat Hashim's group was first to break away from the mainstream MNLF. He attempted to take over the chairmanship of the MNLF by challenging Misuari at a meeting in Mecca in December 1977.

Misuari refused to recognise the election which resulted in favour of Salamat as chairman. He discredited Salamat as incompetent and insubordinate and accused him of treachery against the MNLF.

In his letter to the secretary-general of the OIC, Dr Amadou Karim Gaye, Salamat gave the following reasons for the takeover: "Mr Misuari, who assumed the MNLF Central Committee chairmanship, plugged the MNLF in a deep leadership crisis, due to multi-various reasons among which are:

"FIRSTLY, the MNLF was being manipulated away from Islamic basis, methodologies and objective and fast evolving towards Marxist-Maoist orientations.

"SECONDLY, instead of evolving towards harmonised, unified and collective leadership, the Central Committee has evolved into a mysterious, exclusive, secretive and monolithic body, whose policies, plans and decisions and disposition, political, financial and/or strategic, became an exclusive preserve of Misuari.

"THIRDLY, this mysterious, exclusive, and arrogant nature of the MNLF leadership resulted into confusion, suspicion and disappointments among the members in the field resulting in the loss to the cause of a great number of fighters."

As the military resistance to the Marcos government did not produce autonomy for the Moro people, Misuari departed to Saudi Arabia in exile. He returned to the Philippines after Marcos was removed from office during the People Power Revolution in 1986.

President Corazon Aquino, who replaced Marcos and the mother of the President Benigno Aquino III, had shown her strong desire to solve the problems of the Muslims as part of the government's effort to unify the nation. A preliminary peace discussion was held in Jolo in September 1986 between Aquino and Misuari as chairman of the MNLF.

A joint statement was issued by the MNLF and the Philippine government for a proposal to be submitted by the MNLF on the mechanism and details of the MNLF demand.

The proposal, known as "MNLF Panel Proposal for the Grant of Full Autonomy to Mindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Palawan and Tawi-Tawi submitted to the Philippine Government Panel in the RP-MNLF Talks Pursuant to the Jeddah Accord of January 3, 1987", was submitted on Feb 20, 1987.

The proposal, which demanded an autonomous region stretching from Tawi-Tawi to Sulu to Basilan, had received opposition from groups as diverse as the Christian populace and the military.

In Part II tomorrow: Further rejection makes MNLF fighters restive

http://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnist/mnlf-s-mysterious-arrogant-leadership-1.242501

Op/Ed: Exorcising the demons

Op/Ed piece in the Manila Standard Today (Mar 27): Exorcising the demons

THE emaciated state of Warren Rodwell, the 54-year-old Australian held hostage for 15 months by the Abu Sayyaf bandits, mirrors the feebleness of the government’s efforts to exorcise the demons of Mindanao.

The bandits have long abandoned any pretense of fighting for some twisted ideology and have turned kidnapping into a lucrative criminal enterprise, preying on helpless civilians whose families can afford to pay a ransom for their safe release.

In the case of Rodwell, his family reportedly paid P4 million that the bandits had the temerity to call “board and lodging.” Adding insult to injury, government officials and the mediator who negotiated Rodwell’s release parroted the kidnappers’ line to skirt the official policy that no ransom should ever be paid to terrorists.

For the record, board and lodging is what travelers freely pay when they are on the road. When the payment is made at gunpoint, that is called a ransom. Calling it anything else insults our intelligence and serves only to legitimize the thriving criminal activities of the Abu Sayyaf.

Nor does the fact that the kidnappers received much less than the $2 million they first demanded alter the nature of the payment. If the P4 million were in fact board and lodging, Rodwell would have lived in comfort at the price of P266,000 for each month of his “forced vacation.” Instead, he was so weak after his release that he could hardly lift a tea cup.

In the face of such brazen lawlessness, President Aquino has said nothing substantive on the matter, choosing instead to campaign for his anointed senatorial candidates for the May elections. Like the President, none of his candidates have a clue or even a suggestion on how these despicable criminals can be finally eradicated.

The military is fond of pointing out that the Abu Sayyaf’s ranks have “dwindled” to only 200, and that the problem will soon be solved. Yet, in the three years since Mr. Aquino came to power, the kidnapping business in Mindanao has clearly not abated.

Sending 3,000 soldiers to hunt down the bandits after they scored another easy P4 million is a public relations exercise that no longer fool anybody. We have seen it all too many times before, in a cycle of crime and fruitless pursuit reminiscent of the Keystone Cops.

If this government cannot even exorcise these demons in Mindanao who make a mockery of the law, what moral right does it have to ask us to elect into office more lawmakers who can contribute nothing to the problem’s ultimate solution?

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/03/27/exorcising-the-demons/

Op/Ed: Who benefits?

Op/Ed piece in the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 26): Who benefits?

Was it P7 million or P4 million? The amount of the ransom paid for the release of Australian Warren Rodwell has become an issue of contention, as local officials in Basilan as well as Rodwell’s wife have denied an earlier report that part of the money went to intermediaries and middlemen who helped negotiate Rodwell’s release from captivity by the bandit group Abu Sayyaf. Miraflor Gutang, Rodwell’s wife, acknowledged that the kidnappers had initially demanded P7 million, “but I told them Warren and I could only raise as much as P4 million.” To raise the amount, she said, she had to sell their house, water refilling station and vehicle, and seek help from relatives abroad.

No one should begrudge the lengths Gutang went to obtain her husband’s release. Anyone would do the same for a loved one whose ordeal in the hands of kidnappers notorious for beheading their captives had stretched on for an appalling 15 months. Rodwell, 54, was snatched on Dec. 5, 2011, from his house in Ipil town by Abu Sayyaf bandits posing as policemen, and for interminable months was moved from one island to another and made to trek through the jungle as negotiations for his release stretched on. When he was released in Pagadian City, the ex-soldier was so weakened that he could hardly walk or even bring a cup of coffee to his lips. But he could still make light of his emaciated condition: “Skeleton,” he quipped as he took off his shirt for the camera.

Is it being cynical to say that, whatever promise of peace and stability in the horizon for Mindanao that was raised by the announcement last year of a “framework agreement” between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, such hope has lately floundered on the rocks of some bafflingly unforeseen—or perhaps glossed over—complications?

For one, the long-dormant Sabah question has exploded into a full-blown diplomatic crisis for the Aquino administration as the Sultanate of Sulu tried to stake its claim by forcing a showdown with Malaysia. However clumsy the Kiram family’s moves were, it’s surprising to realize how the government has neglected to include such traditionally powerful local stakeholders in the new autonomous map of Mindanao that it is mandated to draw up with the MILF under the framework agreement.

On top of the strife spawned by the Kirams’ adventure, the reemergence of Rodwell from captivity highlights another unresolved Mindanao problem: the kidnap-for-ransom industry that continues to thrive in the region despite the government having declared time and again that the Abu Sayyaf is a spent force, or at least one that is constantly on the run. The reality is that the bandit group remains a formidable scourge, both for the impunity with which it is able to carry out its crimes, and for the vast amounts in ransom money that it has amassed from its string of abductions over the years.

At this time, two Europeans, a Jordanian journalist and a Japanese are still being held by the bandits. Rodwell’s release on the strength of the payment of ransom—P4 million or P7 million?—indicates that the remaining captives will not be tasting freedom anytime soon for anything less. The government may publicly stick to its guns, as it has in Rodwell’s case, that it has a strict no-ransom policy, but in the end, considerations of preserving the lives of kidnap victims will be paramount, so money will change hands, and the violent rigmarole simply reinforces itself.

The Abu Sayyaf has terrorized large swathes of Mindanao and kidnapped dozens of people over the years, at least 15 of them church people who were doing invaluable service to poor and remote communities. The United States appears to have hundreds of soldiers based in the area to augment the firepower and intelligence of the Philippine military, which itself has been allocated millions of pesos of public funds through the years for use in the campaign to rout out this supposedly ragtag bandit group.

And yet the war against the Abu Sayyaf is nowhere near even a stalemate. Its gallery of unfortunate victims grows longer and more international every year, dealing a perpetual black eye to the government’s assurances that lawlessness in Mindanao is being dealt with. Once again, it should be asked: Who is benefiting from keeping the Abu Sayyaf alive, and from the kidnap-for-ransom industry?

http://opinion.inquirer.net/49565/who-benefits

SOTH children turn tables on US volunteers

From the Defense Video and Image Distribution System (DVIDS) (Mar 26): SOTH children turn tables on US volunteers

















Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jose Zamudioguzman, left, and Lance Cpl. Marshal Schmidt from the 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion compete in a two-basketball foot race during a community relations (COMREL) project at Shepherd of the Hills (SOTH) Children's Foundation. The two Marines were among 40 other volunteers participating in the project coordinated by the Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force (JCMOTF) chaplain. The children's home was founded in 1976 after a typhoon displaced the foundation's first 20 children. SOTH is dedicated to providing a caring home for abandoned, neglected, abused or underprivileged children. The COMREL was one of several scheduled by JCMOTF units in support of exercise Balikatan 2013. Balikatan is an annual Republic of the Philippines-U.S. military bilateral training exercise and humanitarian assistance engagement. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chris Fahey/Released)

ZAMBALES, Philippines – Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force (JCMOTF) staff members joined 40 other service members to visit a Philippine orphanage during a community relations (COMREL) event coordinated by the JCMOTF chaplain.

Initially designed as an event during which military members would visit some of Zambales’ displaced youths at the Shepherd of the Hills (SOTH) Children’s Foundation and lighten their spirits, to the surprise of many, it was the children who delighted the volunteers.

“Today was a total shock,” said Marine Corps 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion Lance Cpl. Juliana Gatica. “I thought the purpose of coming here would be for me to make them feel better, but each time they placed my hand on their forehead, wrapped me in a hug or laughed at nearly everything we did, my heart would melt. They cheered me up in so many ways.”

Shepherd of the Hills was founded in 1976 after a typhoon displaced its first 20 children. From there, the foundation grew from a simple act of charity into a 5-acre, globally-funded foundation that provides education and support in a family environment.

According to SOTH President Nathaniel Mejica, success from the school stems from the home-like setup. The 60 children are separated into groups and cared for by an assigned mom and dad. This format inspires a strong family bond, said Mejica, and unlike most group homes, remains in place for life.

“Our children can stay as long as they like,” said Mejica. “As long as they are pursuing education or employment – something every parent wants – then we aren’t required to push them out.”

Mejica says that being part of a family is crucial to the development of the children.

“When you’ve been teaching these kids that family is eternal, only to push them away later, confuses them and is damaging,” added Mejica. “We don’t want that. We are a real family that has built healthy homes.”

During the event, military members played basketball and other games with the children. Some members sat quietly with other children, talking and learning about each other. For JCMOTF Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Ron Kennedy, the only required activity was keeping an open heart, the same way other military members have done in the past at the foundation.

“The ties our U.S. military has with this orphanage date clear back to its beginning,” said Kennedy. “It’s a fantastic foundation that truly, truly cares about the children they take into their arms.”

As the volunteers prepared to depart, each gave their day’s adopted child a hug that for Lance Cpl. Gatica, reminded her of home.

“I come from a big family,” said Gatica. “Today was the only day I didn’t miss them and that last hug I got from Cherrie made me feel as though I was right there with them again.”

The SOTH COMREL is one of several being coordinated by Kennedy in support of exercise Balikatan 2013.

Balikatan is an annual Republic of the Philippines–U.S. military bilateral training exercise and humanitarian assistance engagement.

http://www.dvidshub.net/news/104091/soth-children-turn-tables-us-volunteers

Defense chief describes Abu Sayyaf as a ‘marginalized’ group

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 26): Defense chief describes Abu Sayyaf as a ‘marginalized’ group

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. FILE PHOTO

Despite their demonstrated ability to continue kidnapping people, including foreigners, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Tuesday that the bandit group was now a “marginalized” organization.

“The Abu Sayyaf [members are] very few. They have been marginalized. We are able to isolate them especially so with the recent encounter of the MNLF and the Abu Sayyaf,” Gazmin told reporters.

Gazmin said the Moro National Liberation Front has been giving the military information about the Abu Sayyaf, which “makes our job a little easier.”

Gazmin said that the government continued to work for the release of the Abu Sayyaf’s remaining after Australian national Warren Rodwell was freed by his captors after his family paid a ransom of P4 million.

The kidnap victims have been under the Abu Sayyaf’s hold for more than a year. But Gazmin said security forces are ensuring a safe rescue of the hostages to prevent a repetition of the deaths of American Martin Burnham and Filipino nurse Deborah Yap who were caught in the crossfire.

“We would want to prevent that from happening again, that is why we are studying the [rescue plan] carefully and we are coming up with a good plan so that the victims will not be hurt,” Gazmin said.

The defense chief also echoed a statement of President Aquino that while the government maintains a no-ransom policy, the government cannot stop the families of kidnap victims from paying off the Abu Sayyaf just to get their loved ones back. Nonetheless, Gazmin said, the government discourages the payment of ransom.

The government has a no-ransom policy because giving in to the demands of the Abu Sayyaf would only “give rise to more problems,” Gazmin said.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/70381/defense-chief-describes-abu-sayyaf-as-a-marginalized-group

It’s now or never for MILF

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 28): It’s now or never for MILF

It’s now or never.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) wants the peace deal with the government sealed before the term of President Benigno Aquino III ends in 2016, saying that beyond that would jeopardize the chances of having lasting peace in Mindanao.

The MILF also warned that any delay in the peace talks could lead to a resumption of fighting in Mindanao.

“The urgency of concluding the peace talks is in the minds of the MILF leadership. We know that the momentum is there but any dilly-dallying is bringing us closer to the other path,” the MILF said on its official website, luwaran.com.

“The truth is that if we cannot close this negotiation successfully during the administration of President Benigno Aquino III, we do not know what lies ahead in 2016. And more seriously, it can be a menu for more violence and fighting in Mindanao,” it added.

The MILF statement came in the form of an editorial, as luwaran.com is also the group’s official news site.

It was uploaded on March 24, after the postponement of the 37th exploratory talks in Kuala Lumpur was announced.

President Aquino called for the postponement of the talks to give him more time to review the annexes of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

The MILF said the “devastation” wrought by the war in Mindanao was the reason the MILF peace panel “refused to agree to postpone the peace negotiation in Kuala Lumpur, as set by the parties, or much more to change the venue.”

Sense of justice

“Without a doubt, President Aquino possesses this feeling of urgency too. Perhaps he, more than anyone else, we believe, because of many reasons: First, his sense of justice—as with his father and mother—that the Moros are a “wronged people” which requires not only cosmetic rectification but also an honest, fair, humane deal; second, solving the problem in Mindanao is certainly the best legacy that any Philippine president can impart and dedicate to the whole nation; third, he knows that without putting to rest the bloody mess in Mindanao, the Philippines can never take off as a developing states; and fourth, the war in Mindanao… is unwinnable by both sides of the equation. The MILF cannot win the war by conventional means nor can the government crush the MILF, which can always resort to full guerrilla warfare,” the group said.

The MILF said this rendered the conclusion of the GPH-MILF peace negotiation as urgent business.

“Any reason to delay it, even if it is predicated by a seemingly honest reason, cannot be given much weight. Like a professional boxer, once inside the ring, he cannot make any pretext; either he boxes or calls it quits—and loses,” it added.

So much more to do

The MILF also stressed that the talks were urgent because the Bangsamoro Transition Committee (BTC) only has a year and nine months “remaining in its 2-year life span, within which it has to write the basic law, among other functions, and to secure its undiluted passage by Congress, as well as its ratification by majority of the voters in the proposed Bangsamoro territory.”

The MILF called on “everyone including the international community” to help in accelerating the talks, but in a “deliberate and sure manner.”

Journey to conclusion

“Time is ticking away; once it has passed, we cannot go back anymore. We also call upon them to journey with us until the conclusion of these negotiations,” the MILF said.

Nonetheless, the MILF on Monday issued a joint statement with the government peace panel where they both said they remained committed “to continue the talks in an expeditious manner.”

The government and the MILF agreed to reset the 37th Round of Formal Peace Talks to the second week of April.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/381087/its-now-or-never-for-milf

New WesCom chief named

From Malaya (Mar 27): New WesCom chief named

PRESIDENT Aquino has designated Marines commandant Maj. Gen. Rustico Guerrero as new commander of the Western Command which supervises all military operations in Palawan and in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Guerrero, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1981, is replacing fellow Marine Lt. Gen. Juancho Sabban (PMA 1978) who reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56 on April 1.

With his designation, Guerrero can now be promoted to the next higher rank of lieutenant general. He has to be promoted before November this year or he will have to go on compulsory retirement.

The military’s attrition law states that a general should be promoted to the next rank before the third year of his assumption of his current rank. Guerrero got his second star in November 2010.

Before assuming as Marines commandant more than two years ago, Guerrero was commander of the military’s Joint Task Force Comet, an anti-terrorism unit based in Sulu which is a bailiwick of the Abu Sayyaf. He also served as commander of the 1st Marine Brigade based in Basilan, another bailiwick area of the Abu Sayyaf; as superintendent of the Marine Corps Training Center; chief of staff of the Marine Corps; and chief of plans and policy division at the office of the AFP deputy chief of staff for education and training.

He is reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 in November 2015.

The new Marines commandant is Brig. Gen. Romeo Tanalgo (PMA Class 1983) who is currently chief of the AFP Command Center. Tanalgo’s successor will be Col. Oscar Lactao (Class 1984), commander of the 303rd Brigade.

Lactao will be replaced by his deputy, Col. John Aying (Class 1984).

Brig. Gen. Cesar Dionisio Sedillo (Class 81) will be taking over as chairman of the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, a peace mechanism in the talks between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Sedillo, current commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, replaces retiring Brig. Gen. Gilberto Roa (non-PMAer).

Sedillo’s post will go to Brig. Gen. Ricardo Visaya (Class 1983), commander of the 901st Brigade. Visaya will be succeeded by Col. Raul Farnacio (Class 1985), the chief of staff of the AFP Central Command.

The other officers who got new assignments are Navy Capt. Virgillo Garcia (Class 1983), now the new Naval Internal Auditor; Capt. Joel dela Cruz (Class 1983), new commander of the Navy’s Service Force; Capt. Jorge Amba (Class 1985), new assistant commandant and Dean of Academics of the AFP Command and General Staff College; Brig. Gen. Glorioso Miranda (Class 1983), new commander of the General Headquarters and Headquarters Service Command; and Capt. Marcial Constante (Class 1984), the new AFP provost marshal general.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/news/nation/27553-new-wescom-chief-named

Military: NPA rebels collect permit to campaign

From the Sun Star-Cagayan de Oro (Mar 27): Military: NPA rebels collect permit to campaign

AN ARMY official admitted Wednesday that the military received reports that the New People’s Army (NPA) rebels are demanding permit to campaign (PTC) fees from local candidates campaigning in areas believed to be controlled by the communist rebels.

Lieutenant Colonel Eugenio Julio Osias IV, the Philippine Army’s 4t Infantry Division (4ID) spokesman, said that soon after the filing of the certificate of candidacy in 2012, the NPA has been demanding PTC fees from some local political bets especially in Misamis Oriental.

Lieutenant Colonel George Banzon, commander of the 58th Infantry battalion based in Claveria in Misamis Oriental, said the local candidates pay the PTC fees to get protection to campaign in the areas where the rebels allegedly have strong influence.

Banzon said the insurgents have been sending letters to the candidates demanding for campaign fees, or they (politicians) would have difficulty in entering the “NPA territories.”

“Ambot kon nakadawat naba sila ug sulat for permit to campaign apan wala pa may mi-angkon nga kandidato,” Banzon earlier told a local radio, adding the rebels have new scheme on collecting the fees. But, he did not elaborate.

“Ang ilang pamaagi pa gyud magpabuto sila aron mahadlok ang mga kandidato, mohatag na lang dayon,” he added.

Osias said the NPA rebels do not have ownership over the lands they considered as “liberated” for to be obligated to pay protection during campaign sorties.

“They (NPAs) don’t own the land and they are not mandated to do so. If you are the mayor (in certain locality) would you dare ask for campaign fees from senatorial candidates? You don’t have the authority,” he told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro over the phone.

He said the 4ID would be compelled to deploy army troops in the area where candidates are reportedly afraid to enter due to security reasons.

“What we do is tinataboy namin sila sa area so the candidates would have harmony in presenting their platforms,” Osias added.

Banzon, for his part, said it is the army’s obligation to provide security in security-risk areas, but its mandate is limited only to candidates for governors up to congressmen.

Osias said the Commission on Elections already released advisories and directives to the division and its various army units have already been deployed in rebel-infested communities.

Claveria Mayor Redentor Salvaleon, in radio interviews, admitted receiving a letter from the communist group demanding for PTC fees, but denied paying the said fees.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2013/03/27/military-npa-rebels-collect-permit-campaign-275096