From InterAksyon (Apr 10): Sulu Governor: No MNLF rescue mission for Filipinos in Sabah
Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan dismissed the report that fighters of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under founding chairman Nur Misuari were preparing a rescue mission for Filipinos in Sabah.
He also denied that 1,000 MNLF fighters were able to sneak into Sabah.
"Misuari is a revolutionary and propagandist. He knows how to use events for his ends, so you don't always listen to what he says. He can be a monger at times," Tan said in a brief statement coursed through his spokesman, Sonny Abing.
An exclusive report by News5 showed that MNLF recruits were undergoing training in Jolo, Sulu for a rescue mission for abused Filipinos in Sabah.
Misuari was quoted as saying that these MNLF fighters were not members or allied with the Royal Security Force of the Sulu sultanate.
An earlier interview by sultanate spokesman and secretary general Abraham Idjirani said that sultanate fighters led by Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram received additional reinforcements on March 29 and April 5, increasing their forces to over 400.
Idjirani said these additional fighters were relatives of those harassed or killed by Malaysians in Sabah and were out to avenge their loved ones.
Idjirani, however, also could not confirm the reported entry of 1,000 MNLF fighters in Sabah. He said the sultanate maintains its stance of a unilateral ceasefire in Sabah.
He also urged the Philippine government to intervene and stop the alleged abuses by Malaysians to prevent further bloodshed.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59091/sulu-governor-no-mnlf-rescue-mission-for-filipinos-in-sabah
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Military kills 16 kids under PNoy, rights activists say at Camp Aguinaldo rally
From InterAksyon (Apr 10): Military kills 16 kids under PNoy, rights activists say at Camp Aguinaldo rally
Human rights activists hold up signs representing the 16 children they say have been killed during military counterinsurgency operations under the Aquino administration. (photo by Abigail Kwok, InterAksyon.com)
Human rights activists staged a rally at Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday accusing the military of killing 16 children in counterinsurgency operations under the Aquino administration.
Karapatan said the latest death was that of Roque Antivo, 9, of Mabini, Compostela Valley, who was shot dead on April 3 in what the military claims was an encounter with New People’s Army guerrillas and troops of the 71st Infantry Battalion.
Wounded in the incident were Antivo’s brother Earl Jhun, 12, and uncle Jeffrey Hernan, 13.
Witnesses have debunked the military’s claims, saying there was no encounter on the day Roque was killed.
Records also show that officials of Barangay Mascareg in Mabini reported to police that soldiers of the 71st IB shot at four persons.
The police have formed a task group to look into the child’s death while the Army’s 10th Infantry Division said it has restricted to barracks the 14 soldiers involved in the incident.
But even as he assured an impartial investigation, division spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Lyndon Panisa maintained that a clash had taken place, citing spent shells and an unexploded land mine supposedly recovered at the site where Roque was killed.
"The bullet or the shrapnel that hit the victim might have come from either party that's why we requested for an impartial investigation," Paniza said in a text message.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said aside from the death of Antivo, they have also recorded several abductions, allegedly by the military.
Among the latest is that of Gestine Canamaan, 18, who was snatched by unidentified men near her dormitory at St. Scholastica's Academy in Marikina City.
Canamaan is the daughter of organizers of Piston and Kasama-TK.
On April 6, Arnel Rosales, 30, and Ronylin Lcuin, 20, were also abducted, allegedly by troops of the 60th Infantry Battalion, in Laak, Compostela Valley.
"It is hypocritical of the AFP to say that it wants closure on the abduction and enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos, when the same forms of violations during the Arroyo regime -- killings, abductions, illegal arrests based on trumped up charges, among others -- are being perpetuated by Aquino's AFP," Palabay said, referring to the still unresolved disappearance of the son of the late world press freedom icon, Jose Burgos Jr.
Recently, the Court of Appeals categorically accused the Army of Burgos’ abduction and subsequent disappearance.
The military has long denied any involvement, claiming Burgos was the victim of a supposed purge within the communist rebel movement, to which it claimed he belonged.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59092/military-kills-16-kids-under-pnoy-rights-activists-say-at-camp-aguinaldo-rally
Human rights activists hold up signs representing the 16 children they say have been killed during military counterinsurgency operations under the Aquino administration. (photo by Abigail Kwok, InterAksyon.com)
Human rights activists staged a rally at Camp Aguinaldo Wednesday accusing the military of killing 16 children in counterinsurgency operations under the Aquino administration.
Karapatan said the latest death was that of Roque Antivo, 9, of Mabini, Compostela Valley, who was shot dead on April 3 in what the military claims was an encounter with New People’s Army guerrillas and troops of the 71st Infantry Battalion.
Wounded in the incident were Antivo’s brother Earl Jhun, 12, and uncle Jeffrey Hernan, 13.
Witnesses have debunked the military’s claims, saying there was no encounter on the day Roque was killed.
Records also show that officials of Barangay Mascareg in Mabini reported to police that soldiers of the 71st IB shot at four persons.
The police have formed a task group to look into the child’s death while the Army’s 10th Infantry Division said it has restricted to barracks the 14 soldiers involved in the incident.
But even as he assured an impartial investigation, division spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Lyndon Panisa maintained that a clash had taken place, citing spent shells and an unexploded land mine supposedly recovered at the site where Roque was killed.
"The bullet or the shrapnel that hit the victim might have come from either party that's why we requested for an impartial investigation," Paniza said in a text message.
Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said aside from the death of Antivo, they have also recorded several abductions, allegedly by the military.
Among the latest is that of Gestine Canamaan, 18, who was snatched by unidentified men near her dormitory at St. Scholastica's Academy in Marikina City.
Canamaan is the daughter of organizers of Piston and Kasama-TK.
On April 6, Arnel Rosales, 30, and Ronylin Lcuin, 20, were also abducted, allegedly by troops of the 60th Infantry Battalion, in Laak, Compostela Valley.
"It is hypocritical of the AFP to say that it wants closure on the abduction and enforced disappearance of Jonas Burgos, when the same forms of violations during the Arroyo regime -- killings, abductions, illegal arrests based on trumped up charges, among others -- are being perpetuated by Aquino's AFP," Palabay said, referring to the still unresolved disappearance of the son of the late world press freedom icon, Jose Burgos Jr.
Recently, the Court of Appeals categorically accused the Army of Burgos’ abduction and subsequent disappearance.
The military has long denied any involvement, claiming Burgos was the victim of a supposed purge within the communist rebel movement, to which it claimed he belonged.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59092/military-kills-16-kids-under-pnoy-rights-activists-say-at-camp-aguinaldo-rally
EXCLUSIVE | Misuari stakes family's claim to Sabah
From InterAksyon (Apr 10): EXCLUSIVE | Misuari stakes family's claim to Sabah
Nur Misuari is seen in file photo at an impromptu press conference at the Taguig City home of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, where he denied reports he was the one who egged on the sultan to order his followers to sail to Sabah. In the latest twist, Misuari said his clan owns Sabah, not the Kirams. ABIGAIL KWOK, INTERAKSYON.COM
JOLO, Sulu – In a new twist rendering more bizarre the Sabah standoff, Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari said his tribe is the “real owner” of the resource-rich territory and this is why he decided to “rescue” the Filipinos being abused by Malaysian forces and to “reclaim the land.”
In an exclusive interview with a News5 team who entered a training camp for thousands of recruits for an “Operation Rescue,” Misuari described as spurious the claim on Sabah re-asserted recently by Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, over 200 of whose followers sailed to Lahad Datu in Sabah on Feb. 12. Their presence there triggered a standoff that deteriorated into open warfare since March 1 and killed over 60 Filipinos, with thousands more caught in the crossfire.
In the News5 interview, Misuari asserted “we are the true owners of Sabah,” and this is why he named the task force that will “rescue” the abused Filipinos in Sabah after his ancestor Panglima Mahabasser Elidji, whom he claimed was the one who helped the Sultan of Brunei quell a revolt in 1658. Because of that help, the sultan of Brunei gave Sabah over to Panglima’s group, Misuari said.
He said this explains why all around Sabah and Sarawak, another resource-rich territory under the Malaysian federation, many “people there are related to me.”
[Video: Bagong tatag na unit ng MNLF, magliligtas sa mga pinoy na naiipit sa sabah http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BpwY94sKqyY]
Malaysia, he stressed, “is a stranger, a complete stranger” to Sabah, having simply benefited illegally when the British government gave it Sabah when the federation was created, even though it was just under lease by an Austrian merchant and a British trading firm.
In the camp in Sulu, the MNLF showed recruits being trained by veteran combat fighters "to rescue" thousands of Filipinos allegedly being abused by Malaysian security forces in Sabah.
The operation rescue, if true, is laden with irony, as it was Malaysia that in the late sixties and on to the seventies that gave Misuari safe haven while he was fighting the Marcos regime, as MNLF men trained in Sabah. It was said Malaysia supported Misuari then in retaliation for Marcos’s hatching a botched plan to invade Sabah.
Misuari claimed they were ready to "sustain a war for a hundred years" if necessary.
Misuari, founder of the original Moro insurgent force in the 1960s, claimed 1,000 of their men have already snuck into Sabah where a standoff began February 12 between Malaysian forces and followers of the Sulu sultanate out to "reclaim" ancient territory.
Misuari stressed that their troops are not allied with the Royal Sultanate Army but have as their main mission the "rescue" of Filipinos allegedly being "abused" by Malaysia. Over 60 Filipinos have died in the standoff, and thousands others are feared caught in the crackdown.
Separate from Misuari's statements, members of the self-styled "Royal Security Force of the Sulu Sultanate" who remain holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah, claim to have received additional reinforcements from sympathizers in the Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi areas.
Abraham Idjirani, sultanate spokesman and secretary general, claimed in a phone interview that as of Tuesday, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram and his Royal Security Force are 400-strong, after dwindling to just over 160 in the face of heavy Malaysian assault.
Idjirani's claims could not be independently verified, and Philippine military officials have said that naval forces are in place to block any such attempts to reinforce the sultanate's followers in Sabah.
At the MNLF camp, trainees were being instructed on the use of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Sulu Gov. Abdulsakur Tan cautioned Misuari against any rash actions, while a military spokesman warned that the supposed rescue plans, if carried out, would go against Philippine policies on the Sabah standoff.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59100/exclusive--misuari-stakes-familys-claim-to-sabah
Nur Misuari is seen in file photo at an impromptu press conference at the Taguig City home of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, where he denied reports he was the one who egged on the sultan to order his followers to sail to Sabah. In the latest twist, Misuari said his clan owns Sabah, not the Kirams. ABIGAIL KWOK, INTERAKSYON.COM
JOLO, Sulu – In a new twist rendering more bizarre the Sabah standoff, Moro National Liberation Front founding chairman Nur Misuari said his tribe is the “real owner” of the resource-rich territory and this is why he decided to “rescue” the Filipinos being abused by Malaysian forces and to “reclaim the land.”
In an exclusive interview with a News5 team who entered a training camp for thousands of recruits for an “Operation Rescue,” Misuari described as spurious the claim on Sabah re-asserted recently by Sultan of Sulu Jamalul Kiram III, over 200 of whose followers sailed to Lahad Datu in Sabah on Feb. 12. Their presence there triggered a standoff that deteriorated into open warfare since March 1 and killed over 60 Filipinos, with thousands more caught in the crossfire.
In the News5 interview, Misuari asserted “we are the true owners of Sabah,” and this is why he named the task force that will “rescue” the abused Filipinos in Sabah after his ancestor Panglima Mahabasser Elidji, whom he claimed was the one who helped the Sultan of Brunei quell a revolt in 1658. Because of that help, the sultan of Brunei gave Sabah over to Panglima’s group, Misuari said.
He said this explains why all around Sabah and Sarawak, another resource-rich territory under the Malaysian federation, many “people there are related to me.”
[Video: Bagong tatag na unit ng MNLF, magliligtas sa mga pinoy na naiipit sa sabah http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BpwY94sKqyY]
Malaysia, he stressed, “is a stranger, a complete stranger” to Sabah, having simply benefited illegally when the British government gave it Sabah when the federation was created, even though it was just under lease by an Austrian merchant and a British trading firm.
In the camp in Sulu, the MNLF showed recruits being trained by veteran combat fighters "to rescue" thousands of Filipinos allegedly being abused by Malaysian security forces in Sabah.
The operation rescue, if true, is laden with irony, as it was Malaysia that in the late sixties and on to the seventies that gave Misuari safe haven while he was fighting the Marcos regime, as MNLF men trained in Sabah. It was said Malaysia supported Misuari then in retaliation for Marcos’s hatching a botched plan to invade Sabah.
Misuari claimed they were ready to "sustain a war for a hundred years" if necessary.
Misuari, founder of the original Moro insurgent force in the 1960s, claimed 1,000 of their men have already snuck into Sabah where a standoff began February 12 between Malaysian forces and followers of the Sulu sultanate out to "reclaim" ancient territory.
Misuari stressed that their troops are not allied with the Royal Sultanate Army but have as their main mission the "rescue" of Filipinos allegedly being "abused" by Malaysia. Over 60 Filipinos have died in the standoff, and thousands others are feared caught in the crackdown.
Separate from Misuari's statements, members of the self-styled "Royal Security Force of the Sulu Sultanate" who remain holed up in Lahad Datu, Sabah, claim to have received additional reinforcements from sympathizers in the Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi areas.
Abraham Idjirani, sultanate spokesman and secretary general, claimed in a phone interview that as of Tuesday, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram and his Royal Security Force are 400-strong, after dwindling to just over 160 in the face of heavy Malaysian assault.
Idjirani's claims could not be independently verified, and Philippine military officials have said that naval forces are in place to block any such attempts to reinforce the sultanate's followers in Sabah.
At the MNLF camp, trainees were being instructed on the use of machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.
Sulu Gov. Abdulsakur Tan cautioned Misuari against any rash actions, while a military spokesman warned that the supposed rescue plans, if carried out, would go against Philippine policies on the Sabah standoff.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59100/exclusive--misuari-stakes-familys-claim-to-sabah
Why only now? Sultanate asks Nur on claim of Sabah ownership
From InterAksyon (Apr 10): Why only now? Sultanate asks Nur on claim of Sabah ownership
The sultanate of Sulu Wednesday brushed off claims made by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari that his tribe was the "real owner" ofSabah , but said they
have no ill feelings toward their Muslim brother.
Abraham Idjirani, sultanate spokesman and secretary general, also questioned the timing of Misuari’s move to assert his claim onSabah .
"Why did he make this statement only now?" Idjirani said in a phone interview, recalling that Misuari even visited the sultan's residence inTaguig City
Idjirani said that while it was true that Misuari's ancestor, Panglima Mahabasser Elidji, helped the Sultan of Brunei quell a revolt in 1658, it was not true thatSabah was turned over to Elidji
in return.
He said historical records will show that in exchange for quelling the rebellion, Sabah was turned over to the then Sultan of Sulu, who was the uncle of the Sultan of Brunei.
"How can Professor Misuari claim he really ownedSabah
when they (his ancestors) were just warriors? It is the Sultan of Sulu who
makes the decision," Idjirani said.
He said Misuari was "distorting historical facts" and that the MNLF chairman and his family were just constituents of the sultanate.
Idjirani said Sultan Jamalul Kiram III himself laughed off Misuari's claims.
Idjirani said they would only support the planned rescue mission for Filipinos inSabah if there was "no
political objective" on the part of Misuari.
Meanwhile, he said the Royal Security Force has received more reinforcements inSabah and their number now stands at over
500, up from the 160 to which it had declined after skirmishes broke out
between Malaysian forces and the sultanate’s forces since March 1.
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59124/why-only-now-sultanate-asks-nur-on-claim-of-sabah-ownership
The sultanate of Sulu Wednesday brushed off claims made by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari that his tribe was the "real owner" of
Abraham Idjirani, sultanate spokesman and secretary general, also questioned the timing of Misuari’s move to assert his claim on
"Why did he make this statement only now?" Idjirani said in a phone interview, recalling that Misuari even visited the sultan's residence in
Idjirani said that while it was true that Misuari's ancestor, Panglima Mahabasser Elidji, helped the Sultan of Brunei quell a revolt in 1658, it was not true that
He said historical records will show that in exchange for quelling the rebellion, Sabah was turned over to the then Sultan of Sulu, who was the uncle of the Sultan of Brunei.
"How can Professor Misuari claim he really owned
He said Misuari was "distorting historical facts" and that the MNLF chairman and his family were just constituents of the sultanate.
Idjirani said Sultan Jamalul Kiram III himself laughed off Misuari's claims.
Idjirani said they would only support the planned rescue mission for Filipinos in
Meanwhile, he said the Royal Security Force has received more reinforcements in
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59124/why-only-now-sultanate-asks-nur-on-claim-of-sabah-ownership
THE CLAN POLITICS OF ARMM | Ampatuans, web of kin warp Maguindanao polls (Pt. 1)
From InterAksyoon (Apr 10): THE CLAN POLITICS OF ARMM | Ampatuans, web of kin warp Maguindanao polls (Pt. 1)
This story of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism was first published on www.pcij.org.
First of Three Parts
DATU HOFFER, Maguindanao -- This municipality is just a kilometer or so from the capitol, but it barely looks like a town. Bereft of any paved roads, it has a scattering of huts around hillsides. There is no town center, no business and commercial establishments, and the municipal hall sits alone on a hilltop -- gleaming white cement and grey granite, obviously new, yet seemingly unused. There is no activity that one would associate with the governance of any regular municipality.
That’s because as far as the Department of Budget and Management is concerned, Datu Hoffer is one of many newly minted towns of Maguindanao in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that should not even be called a town.
Datu Hoffer was created by the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly in 2009 by virtue of Muslim Mindanao Act 220, with a population of 22,000. But DBM has refused to release any internal revenue allotment for Datu Hoffer and nine more towns in Maguindanao because their populations fall below the 25,000 residents required by the budget department to qualify for IRA. In the 2010 census, the National Statistics Office further trimmed down the population figure for Datu Hoffer to only 16,295.
In other words, the municipal government of Datu Hoffer gets no revenues from the national government, and has to subsist on whatever taxes or revenues it can raise by itself from the smattering of homes on the hillsides surrounding the town hall.
Yet the upcoming elections will see an all-out battle among members of the Ampatuan clan over Datu Hoffer, which also hosts a significant number of “internally displaced persons” or evacuees.
Ampatuan lair
Incumbent Mayor Johaira “Bong-Bong” Midtimbang Ampatuan, is running for a second term under the opposition Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan or PDP-LABAN. Ampatuan is the wife of Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, the former ARMM governor and one of the co-accused in the 2009 Ampatuan Massacre.
Running against Johaira is a distant relative, Liberal Party bet Yamashita Mangacop, who says he is related to both the Ampatuans and their main political rival, the Mangudadatus.
Ampatuans are also running against each other for the position of vice mayor: Johaira’s daughter Nor-Aila Ampatuan is also running under the PDP-Laban, while Mhurphy Ampatuan is running under the LP slate. Mhurphy is a second cousin of Johaira’s husband, Zaldy.
For some, it is a paradox why members of just one clan would fight over a backward municipality that is barely as big as a barangay, with no infrastructure to begin with, and with no IRA to support it. Yet the scene is replicated in many other parts of Maguindanao, the second poorest of the 80 provinces in thePhilippines ,
and one long ruled with an iron fist by a family that has extended its
influence well beyond the boundaries of Central Mindanao .
Invariably, analysts and the candidates themselves say that the clans have always defined, and will continue to define, the politics of Maguindanao on May 13, 2013.
To a lesser degree, it is also a situation replicated elsewhere in thePhilippines
The race for positions is not just a race to capture any potential resources due the local government such as the IRA. Especially in Maguindanao, more than anything, it is to capture the most basic resource of any community, that one resource that gives any datu or sultan his real source of power, prestige before his peers, and legitimacy in politics: his constituency or his following.
Royal right to rule?
The datu system that distinguishes Muslim Mindanao politics from that of the rest of the country continues to serve as a historical and cultural touchstone of the many clans, which claim royal blood and accordingly the right to rule. But Ishak Mastura, former ARMM trade secretary and a member of one of the major royal families of Maguindanao, clarifies, "The datu cannot be a datu without a following. If you say you are a datu, are you just a datu by blood or by lineage? But if you have no following, then you are a very minor datu, you are a footnote datu."
The significance of the following grows exponentially every three years, when local governments hold elections, and every six years, when national leaders cast their nets wide looking for local leaders who can bring in the numbers needed to swing the national vote.
In Maguindanao, this was best shown during 2004 and 2007, when Andal Ampatuan Sr. guaranteed then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her senatorial lineup magnificent electoral margins in the province to offset the popularity of her rival.
In 2004, Arroyo received statistically improbable numbers in Maguindanao. In at least two towns in the province, Arroyo won all the votes cast in the election, while the hugely popular Fernando Poe Jr. got zero votes. Andal Sr. had also promised a 12-0 sweep for Arroyo’s senatorial lineup, and he delivered.
In return, the Arroyo administration endorsed the rule of the clan whenever its interests intersected with that of the government in power. In doing so, Manila allowed clan politics and clan dynamics to become a necessary part of the relationship between the local families and the national government leadership. This in turn led to the erosion of governance institutions that should have empowered constituencies, enriched debate, and leveled the playing field for new ideas and new personalities.
Stats outlier
Indeed, it appears to have reached a point in which clans vie for elected positions, not so much to govern areas but to command both manpower and resources with which to gather the votes for Manila.
The after effects of this cycle can still be felt now: a free-for-all where clan members battle each other or rival clans for both the political and financial spoils in areas where governance and checks and balance have long been compromised or weakened by these same clans.
(Click here top see the number of candidates in Maguindanao and the positions up for grabs)
To partly understand how the Ampatuan patriarch -- now in detention as one of the accused in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre -- may have fulfilled his promise to Arroyo, one can take a look at the town of Shariff Aguak, a third-class municipality that is also the capital of Maguindanao province.
According to the National Statistics Office, Shariff Aguak had 34,376 residents as of 2010, when the NSO last conducted a census. Yet in the 2010 elections, the Commission on Elections reported that the town had 33,684 registered voters. If these official numbers are accurate, this means that of the entire population of Shariff Aguak, only 692 people were not eligible to vote. The other 97.9 percent of the population, apparently all infused with civic duty, are duly registered voters; practically all of them also turn out for elections as evidenced by Maguindanao’s unusually high voter turnout of 97.6 percent.
In December 2012, though, Comelec delisted over 280,000 voters in ARMM or about a fifth of the region’s previous total of 1.82 million voters in 2010. A new general registration in July 2012 required the region’s voters to re-register. Over 33,000 applicants were found to be minors while the other had registered multiple times at various precincts.
In Maguindanao itself, the Comelec removed 103,579 names from province’s original voters list of 543,034 as of January 2013. The Comelec says that of the original number, one of every five voter was either underage or a double registrant.
The list of voters in Shariff Aguak was most probably also trimmed in the process. The same, however, cannot be said of the list of Ampatuans running for public office in the little town in the upcoming polls.
For the May 2013 elections, 21 candidates with the surname Ampatuan are running for public office in Shariff Aguak. Three of the four mayoralty candidates are Ampatuans: Zahara Ampatuan (Partido ng Masang Pilipino, or PMP), Sarip Ampatuan (LP), and Rowella Ampatuan (Independent). Two of the vice mayoralty candidates are also Ampatuans: Marop Ampatuan (PMP), Mohamad Akmad Ampatuan (Ind). Of the 48 candidates running for a seat in the town council of Shariff Aguak, 17 candidates answer to the name Ampatuan.
Voters in excess
In adjacent Datu Unsay town, the situation is even more confounding: There are more registered voters in the town (13,584 voters in 2010, according to the Comelec) than there are people (12,490 residents, according to the 2010 NSO census). An Ampatuan is running for mayor, vice mayor, and councilor there as well.
“The Ampatuan clan is very large,” says Johaira Ampatuan, explaining why it is inevitable that Ampatuans will run against each other in elections. “In 2010, there were a lot of us running, there were nine of us who are incumbent mayors.”
“In fact,” she says, “ in 2010, I did not have an opponent. It is only now that I have one. I would say that maybe he (Mangacop) is here to help me with my problem in Datu Hoffer, and for that I thank him.”
Mangacop himself tells PCIJ, “You know, here in Maguindanao, it’s just not possible for relatives not to end up running against one another.”
He also says there are three requirements for a candidate to win in Maguindanao: “A strong candidate; secondly, an influential candidate; and lastly, he belongs to a family of the people.”
Then he adds, almost as an afterthought, “Perhaps it is the platform that our people should be looking at.”
Connected clans
For sure, though, Maguindanao has other clans of power, aside from the Ampatuans. In fact, Comelec’s official list of candidates for the 2013 elections reads like a who’s who of Maguindanao’s royal families, although the Ampatuans still top the roster, with 80 people carrying Ampatuan as their middle or last name.
They are followed by the Midtimbangs and the Sangkis who are related by marriage to the Ampatuans, with 26 and 25 candidates, respectively; and the Mangudadatus, the foremost rival of the Ampatuans in the 2010 elections, with their own team of 18 candidates.
Also with 22 candidates are the Sinsuats; 15 for the Pendatuns; 14 for the Matalams, and eight for the Masturas.
For sure, though, Maguindanao has other clans of power, aside from the Ampatuans. In fact, Comelec’s official list of candidates for the 2013 elections reads like a who’s who of Maguindanao’s royal families, although the Ampatuans still top the roster, with 73 people carrying Ampatuan as their middle or last name.
They are followed by the Midtimbangs and the Sangkis who are related by marriage to the Ampatuans, with 21 and 19 candidates, respectively; the Sinsuats with 22 candidates; and the Mangudadatus, the foremost rival of the Ampatuans in the 2010 elections, with their own team of 17 candidates. Also with 12 candidates are the Matalams; 11 for the Pendatuns, and eight for the Masturas.
(Click to view the list of candidates in Maguindanao, May 2013 elections)
In some towns, clansmen are running against fellow clansmen, some because of differences in governance styles, others because of differences in personal interests; still others, because of the need to increase the probability that the position still goes to a fellow who shares your last name and your royal heritage. Consider:
Unopposed bets
In other towns across Maguindanao, senior clan members or the newly anointed younger generation already have guaranteed seats, since they are running unopposed for mayor or vice mayor. Many of these candidates even carry the same names of the towns they wish to represent, since the town was either named after their ancestors, or in some cases, after them. They include:
Outsiders, however, are especially surprised over the continuing presence of the Ampatuans in Maguindanao politics, considering the controversy that has surrounded the clan’s most well known members.
In truth, when PCIJ last November released a story identifying the national political parties that have included Ampatuan clan members in their slates, there was a general outcry from both the administration and the opposition parties.
Both the administration Liberal Party and the opposition United Nationalist Alliance bristled at the insinuation that there were any Ampatuans within their ranks. LP chairman Franklin Drilon immediately ordered that all Ampatuans in the LP slate be taken off the list.
UNA secretary general Toby Tiangco, meanwhile, chose to split hairs by saying that the opposition alliance did not endorse any Ampatuans, although the two member-parties may have done so at the local level.
When confronted with data from the Comelec that showed that nine Ampatuans were running under the LP banner, and 34 under UNA’s PMP and PDP-LABAN, both then stressed that not all Ampatuans subscribed to the rule of former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan patriarch who is accused of masterminding the 2009 massacre.
(Click to view the list of candidates in Maguindanao by surname)
‘For new politics’
Governor Esmael Mangudadatu, LP chairman for Maguindanao, says the Ampatuans in his slate subscribed to a new form of politics different from Andal Sr.’s. UNA’s Tiangco for his part said he sees no problem endorsing the wives of the Maguindanao massacre suspects, since they are not the ones facing multiple murder charges.
To be fair, not every clan member is necessarily cast from the same mold, or stays with the same shape he or she is born with. “We have to understand that the Ampatuans are a big family or clan,” says Mussolini Lidasan, director of the Al Qalam Institute, the research arm of the Ateneo de Davao University and an active member of several Moro civil society organizations. “They are not all similar in terms of principles or even support the style of Datu Andal Ampatuan.”
“You can count the number of people who obeyed Andal Sr. like his sons who committed atrocities,” Mangudadatu says, in defense of his provincial line-up. “But there are Ampatuans who are good.”
He even notes that a brother of provincial board member Yasser Ampatuan (a nephew of Andal Sr.) was shot dead by the old man himself because of a political rivalry in the late ’80s. Yasser, who confirms the story, is vying for another term on the board under the LP.
But an interview with Yasser and Sarip Ampatuan, another May 2013 polls candidate, presents a mixed picture of practical politics heavily nuanced with clan culture.
Both reveal that they were close allies of Andal Sr. in the Lakas party when the latter still reigned over Maguindanao; in fact, Yasser says that he would be appointed by Andal Sr. as OIC governor of Maguindanao whenever the patriarch left for another country because “Datu Andal had full trust in me.”
“That is why he knows me well, and I know him,” he says. “Perhaps he saw that I am a good person and that when it comes to work, I really work.”
Just in-laws
(Click to view the list of candidates in Maguindanao by middle name)
“What I saw based on what he was doing was that Datu Andal was a very good leader,” says Sarip, who is Andal Sr.’s half-brother. “ But his sons did not deserve to lead. That is what destroyed him.”
Sarip, the LP bet, will be running against PDP-Laban’s Zahara Ampatuan, Andal Sr.’s daughter-in-law, in the Shariff Aguak mayoralty race this May. “I thought of running for mayor of Shariff Aguak,” he says, “because I think that in our town, in our area, now that Datu Andal and his sons are no longer there, we cannot accept that someone else is leading our town aside from our family.”
“Zahara is different, she is an in-law,” he says, when it is pointed out that he will be up against a fellow Ampatuan. “She is the wife of (Anwar) and an in-law of Datu Sr., and we cannot accept that Zahara is our mayor.”
Naguib Sinarimbo, a human-rights lawyer and a former ARMM executive secretary, meanwhile says that it was not unexpected that the Ampatuans would seek alliances with national parties, even opposing parties.
“Their hold on power is still there, and it’s still strong,” says Sinarimbo. “They would be a force to reckon with in the 2013 elections. You would see for instance alliances being formed with their group and some other politicians. Maybe they will not venture into directly participating in the provincial or regional elections but they would still be courted by politicians in the province and even by national candidates because they still deliver the votes.”
According to Bobby Taguntong, Maguindanao coordinator for the nongovernment organization Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms, local polls in clan areas have little to do with party politics and platforms. Rather, parties try to woo local candidates who can bring in the needed votes on the national level.
“Political parties are not part of the discussions here,” says Taguntong. “We are talking here of who you are, and who wants to run for election. This was never about parties.” -- With additional research by Karol Ilagan, PCIJ, April 2013
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59075/the-clan-politics-of-armm--ampatuans-web-of-kin-warp-maguindanao-polls
This story of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism was first published on www.pcij.org.
First of Three Parts
DATU HOFFER, Maguindanao -- This municipality is just a kilometer or so from the capitol, but it barely looks like a town. Bereft of any paved roads, it has a scattering of huts around hillsides. There is no town center, no business and commercial establishments, and the municipal hall sits alone on a hilltop -- gleaming white cement and grey granite, obviously new, yet seemingly unused. There is no activity that one would associate with the governance of any regular municipality.
That’s because as far as the Department of Budget and Management is concerned, Datu Hoffer is one of many newly minted towns of Maguindanao in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that should not even be called a town.
Datu Hoffer was created by the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly in 2009 by virtue of Muslim Mindanao Act 220, with a population of 22,000. But DBM has refused to release any internal revenue allotment for Datu Hoffer and nine more towns in Maguindanao because their populations fall below the 25,000 residents required by the budget department to qualify for IRA. In the 2010 census, the National Statistics Office further trimmed down the population figure for Datu Hoffer to only 16,295.
In other words, the municipal government of Datu Hoffer gets no revenues from the national government, and has to subsist on whatever taxes or revenues it can raise by itself from the smattering of homes on the hillsides surrounding the town hall.
Yet the upcoming elections will see an all-out battle among members of the Ampatuan clan over Datu Hoffer, which also hosts a significant number of “internally displaced persons” or evacuees.
Ampatuan lair
Incumbent Mayor Johaira “Bong-Bong” Midtimbang Ampatuan, is running for a second term under the opposition Partido Demokratikong Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan or PDP-LABAN. Ampatuan is the wife of Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, the former ARMM governor and one of the co-accused in the 2009 Ampatuan Massacre.
Running against Johaira is a distant relative, Liberal Party bet Yamashita Mangacop, who says he is related to both the Ampatuans and their main political rival, the Mangudadatus.
Ampatuans are also running against each other for the position of vice mayor: Johaira’s daughter Nor-Aila Ampatuan is also running under the PDP-Laban, while Mhurphy Ampatuan is running under the LP slate. Mhurphy is a second cousin of Johaira’s husband, Zaldy.
For some, it is a paradox why members of just one clan would fight over a backward municipality that is barely as big as a barangay, with no infrastructure to begin with, and with no IRA to support it. Yet the scene is replicated in many other parts of Maguindanao, the second poorest of the 80 provinces in the
Invariably, analysts and the candidates themselves say that the clans have always defined, and will continue to define, the politics of Maguindanao on May 13, 2013.
To a lesser degree, it is also a situation replicated elsewhere in the
The race for positions is not just a race to capture any potential resources due the local government such as the IRA. Especially in Maguindanao, more than anything, it is to capture the most basic resource of any community, that one resource that gives any datu or sultan his real source of power, prestige before his peers, and legitimacy in politics: his constituency or his following.
Royal right to rule?
The datu system that distinguishes Muslim Mindanao politics from that of the rest of the country continues to serve as a historical and cultural touchstone of the many clans, which claim royal blood and accordingly the right to rule. But Ishak Mastura, former ARMM trade secretary and a member of one of the major royal families of Maguindanao, clarifies, "The datu cannot be a datu without a following. If you say you are a datu, are you just a datu by blood or by lineage? But if you have no following, then you are a very minor datu, you are a footnote datu."
The significance of the following grows exponentially every three years, when local governments hold elections, and every six years, when national leaders cast their nets wide looking for local leaders who can bring in the numbers needed to swing the national vote.
In Maguindanao, this was best shown during 2004 and 2007, when Andal Ampatuan Sr. guaranteed then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her senatorial lineup magnificent electoral margins in the province to offset the popularity of her rival.
In 2004, Arroyo received statistically improbable numbers in Maguindanao. In at least two towns in the province, Arroyo won all the votes cast in the election, while the hugely popular Fernando Poe Jr. got zero votes. Andal Sr. had also promised a 12-0 sweep for Arroyo’s senatorial lineup, and he delivered.
In return, the Arroyo administration endorsed the rule of the clan whenever its interests intersected with that of the government in power. In doing so, Manila allowed clan politics and clan dynamics to become a necessary part of the relationship between the local families and the national government leadership. This in turn led to the erosion of governance institutions that should have empowered constituencies, enriched debate, and leveled the playing field for new ideas and new personalities.
Stats outlier
Indeed, it appears to have reached a point in which clans vie for elected positions, not so much to govern areas but to command both manpower and resources with which to gather the votes for Manila.
The after effects of this cycle can still be felt now: a free-for-all where clan members battle each other or rival clans for both the political and financial spoils in areas where governance and checks and balance have long been compromised or weakened by these same clans.
(Click here top see the number of candidates in Maguindanao and the positions up for grabs)
To partly understand how the Ampatuan patriarch -- now in detention as one of the accused in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre -- may have fulfilled his promise to Arroyo, one can take a look at the town of Shariff Aguak, a third-class municipality that is also the capital of Maguindanao province.
According to the National Statistics Office, Shariff Aguak had 34,376 residents as of 2010, when the NSO last conducted a census. Yet in the 2010 elections, the Commission on Elections reported that the town had 33,684 registered voters. If these official numbers are accurate, this means that of the entire population of Shariff Aguak, only 692 people were not eligible to vote. The other 97.9 percent of the population, apparently all infused with civic duty, are duly registered voters; practically all of them also turn out for elections as evidenced by Maguindanao’s unusually high voter turnout of 97.6 percent.
In December 2012, though, Comelec delisted over 280,000 voters in ARMM or about a fifth of the region’s previous total of 1.82 million voters in 2010. A new general registration in July 2012 required the region’s voters to re-register. Over 33,000 applicants were found to be minors while the other had registered multiple times at various precincts.
In Maguindanao itself, the Comelec removed 103,579 names from province’s original voters list of 543,034 as of January 2013. The Comelec says that of the original number, one of every five voter was either underage or a double registrant.
The list of voters in Shariff Aguak was most probably also trimmed in the process. The same, however, cannot be said of the list of Ampatuans running for public office in the little town in the upcoming polls.
For the May 2013 elections, 21 candidates with the surname Ampatuan are running for public office in Shariff Aguak. Three of the four mayoralty candidates are Ampatuans: Zahara Ampatuan (Partido ng Masang Pilipino, or PMP), Sarip Ampatuan (LP), and Rowella Ampatuan (Independent). Two of the vice mayoralty candidates are also Ampatuans: Marop Ampatuan (PMP), Mohamad Akmad Ampatuan (Ind). Of the 48 candidates running for a seat in the town council of Shariff Aguak, 17 candidates answer to the name Ampatuan.
Voters in excess
In adjacent Datu Unsay town, the situation is even more confounding: There are more registered voters in the town (13,584 voters in 2010, according to the Comelec) than there are people (12,490 residents, according to the 2010 NSO census). An Ampatuan is running for mayor, vice mayor, and councilor there as well.
“The Ampatuan clan is very large,” says Johaira Ampatuan, explaining why it is inevitable that Ampatuans will run against each other in elections. “In 2010, there were a lot of us running, there were nine of us who are incumbent mayors.”
“In fact,” she says, “ in 2010, I did not have an opponent. It is only now that I have one. I would say that maybe he (Mangacop) is here to help me with my problem in Datu Hoffer, and for that I thank him.”
Mangacop himself tells PCIJ, “You know, here in Maguindanao, it’s just not possible for relatives not to end up running against one another.”
He also says there are three requirements for a candidate to win in Maguindanao: “A strong candidate; secondly, an influential candidate; and lastly, he belongs to a family of the people.”
Then he adds, almost as an afterthought, “Perhaps it is the platform that our people should be looking at.”
Connected clans
For sure, though, Maguindanao has other clans of power, aside from the Ampatuans. In fact, Comelec’s official list of candidates for the 2013 elections reads like a who’s who of Maguindanao’s royal families, although the Ampatuans still top the roster, with 80 people carrying Ampatuan as their middle or last name.
They are followed by the Midtimbangs and the Sangkis who are related by marriage to the Ampatuans, with 26 and 25 candidates, respectively; and the Mangudadatus, the foremost rival of the Ampatuans in the 2010 elections, with their own team of 18 candidates.
Also with 22 candidates are the Sinsuats; 15 for the Pendatuns; 14 for the Matalams, and eight for the Masturas.
For sure, though, Maguindanao has other clans of power, aside from the Ampatuans. In fact, Comelec’s official list of candidates for the 2013 elections reads like a who’s who of Maguindanao’s royal families, although the Ampatuans still top the roster, with 73 people carrying Ampatuan as their middle or last name.
They are followed by the Midtimbangs and the Sangkis who are related by marriage to the Ampatuans, with 21 and 19 candidates, respectively; the Sinsuats with 22 candidates; and the Mangudadatus, the foremost rival of the Ampatuans in the 2010 elections, with their own team of 17 candidates. Also with 12 candidates are the Matalams; 11 for the Pendatuns, and eight for the Masturas.
(Click to view the list of candidates in Maguindanao, May 2013 elections)
In some towns, clansmen are running against fellow clansmen, some because of differences in governance styles, others because of differences in personal interests; still others, because of the need to increase the probability that the position still goes to a fellow who shares your last name and your royal heritage. Consider:
- In Ampatuan town, eight
Sangkis and three Ampatuans are running for elective positions, from mayor
to town councilor: Johaira Sangki Biruar (Ind), Datu Rasul Sangki (LP),
Suraida Ampatuan Mamaluba (PMP) for mayor; Racma Sangki Druz (Ind), Samnon
Mamasabang Sangki (LP) for vice mayor; five more Sangkis and two Ampatuans
are running for seats in the town council.
- In Datu Abdullah Sangki, six
Sangkis are running for the town council, aside from the three Sangkis who
are running for mayor and vice mayor.
- Buluan town, the bailiwick of
the Mangudadatus, has eight Mangudadatus running, including Ibrahim Gaguil
Mangudadatu (Ind), Lorena Dingcong Mangudadatu (LP) for mayor; and King
Jhazzer Tiamson Mangudadatu (LP) for vice mayor. Five other Mangudadatus
are running for a seat in the town council.
- In Datu Blah Sinsuat town,
three Sinsuats are running for mayor: Datu Ibrahim Sinsuat (PDP-LABAN),
Datu Marshall Sinsuat (LP), and Haakon Sinsuat (KBL). Four other Sinsuats
are running for the town council.
- In Mamasapano town, also a
bailiwick of the Ampatuan clan, four of the six mayoralty candidates are
Ampatuans: Norodin Ampatuan (LP), Rebecca Ampatuan (Ind), Tahirodin Benzar
Ampatuan (PDP-LABAN), and Saddan Hussein Ampatuan (Ind).
- In the same town, three of
the four vice mayoral candidates are also Ampatuans: Alonto Ampatuan
(Ind), Mahir Ampatuan (PDP-LABAN), and Nuali Ampatuan (Ind). Seven
Ampatuans are also running for the town council.
Unopposed bets
In other towns across Maguindanao, senior clan members or the newly anointed younger generation already have guaranteed seats, since they are running unopposed for mayor or vice mayor. Many of these candidates even carry the same names of the towns they wish to represent, since the town was either named after their ancestors, or in some cases, after them. They include:
- Nathaniel Sangacala
Midtimbang and Ebrahim Musa Midtimbang are running unopposed for mayor and
vice mayor respectively of Datu Anggal Midtimbang town, also under the
PDP-LABAN.
- In Talayan town, the
bailiwick of the Midtimbang clan, Tungkang Anggal Midtimbang and Sukarno
Musa Midtimbang are running unopposed for mayor and vice mayor
respectively under the banner of the PDP-LABAN.
- In Datu Odin Sinsuat, Datu
Ombra Quesada Sinsuat and Sajid Seismundo Sinsuat are running unopposed
for mayor and vice mayor under the Liberal Party.
- In Datu Paglas town, Mohamad
Pendatun Paglas and Mohammed Yusseef Powers Paglas are also running
without opponents under the LP banner.
- And in Upi, Ramon Piang is
running unopposed for mayor under the Liberal Party.
Outsiders, however, are especially surprised over the continuing presence of the Ampatuans in Maguindanao politics, considering the controversy that has surrounded the clan’s most well known members.
In truth, when PCIJ last November released a story identifying the national political parties that have included Ampatuan clan members in their slates, there was a general outcry from both the administration and the opposition parties.
Both the administration Liberal Party and the opposition United Nationalist Alliance bristled at the insinuation that there were any Ampatuans within their ranks. LP chairman Franklin Drilon immediately ordered that all Ampatuans in the LP slate be taken off the list.
UNA secretary general Toby Tiangco, meanwhile, chose to split hairs by saying that the opposition alliance did not endorse any Ampatuans, although the two member-parties may have done so at the local level.
When confronted with data from the Comelec that showed that nine Ampatuans were running under the LP banner, and 34 under UNA’s PMP and PDP-LABAN, both then stressed that not all Ampatuans subscribed to the rule of former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan patriarch who is accused of masterminding the 2009 massacre.
(Click to view the list of candidates in Maguindanao by surname)
‘For new politics’
Governor Esmael Mangudadatu, LP chairman for Maguindanao, says the Ampatuans in his slate subscribed to a new form of politics different from Andal Sr.’s. UNA’s Tiangco for his part said he sees no problem endorsing the wives of the Maguindanao massacre suspects, since they are not the ones facing multiple murder charges.
To be fair, not every clan member is necessarily cast from the same mold, or stays with the same shape he or she is born with. “We have to understand that the Ampatuans are a big family or clan,” says Mussolini Lidasan, director of the Al Qalam Institute, the research arm of the Ateneo de Davao University and an active member of several Moro civil society organizations. “They are not all similar in terms of principles or even support the style of Datu Andal Ampatuan.”
“You can count the number of people who obeyed Andal Sr. like his sons who committed atrocities,” Mangudadatu says, in defense of his provincial line-up. “But there are Ampatuans who are good.”
He even notes that a brother of provincial board member Yasser Ampatuan (a nephew of Andal Sr.) was shot dead by the old man himself because of a political rivalry in the late ’80s. Yasser, who confirms the story, is vying for another term on the board under the LP.
But an interview with Yasser and Sarip Ampatuan, another May 2013 polls candidate, presents a mixed picture of practical politics heavily nuanced with clan culture.
Both reveal that they were close allies of Andal Sr. in the Lakas party when the latter still reigned over Maguindanao; in fact, Yasser says that he would be appointed by Andal Sr. as OIC governor of Maguindanao whenever the patriarch left for another country because “Datu Andal had full trust in me.”
“That is why he knows me well, and I know him,” he says. “Perhaps he saw that I am a good person and that when it comes to work, I really work.”
Just in-laws
(Click to view the list of candidates in Maguindanao by middle name)
“What I saw based on what he was doing was that Datu Andal was a very good leader,” says Sarip, who is Andal Sr.’s half-brother. “ But his sons did not deserve to lead. That is what destroyed him.”
Sarip, the LP bet, will be running against PDP-Laban’s Zahara Ampatuan, Andal Sr.’s daughter-in-law, in the Shariff Aguak mayoralty race this May. “I thought of running for mayor of Shariff Aguak,” he says, “because I think that in our town, in our area, now that Datu Andal and his sons are no longer there, we cannot accept that someone else is leading our town aside from our family.”
“Zahara is different, she is an in-law,” he says, when it is pointed out that he will be up against a fellow Ampatuan. “She is the wife of (Anwar) and an in-law of Datu Sr., and we cannot accept that Zahara is our mayor.”
Naguib Sinarimbo, a human-rights lawyer and a former ARMM executive secretary, meanwhile says that it was not unexpected that the Ampatuans would seek alliances with national parties, even opposing parties.
“Their hold on power is still there, and it’s still strong,” says Sinarimbo. “They would be a force to reckon with in the 2013 elections. You would see for instance alliances being formed with their group and some other politicians. Maybe they will not venture into directly participating in the provincial or regional elections but they would still be courted by politicians in the province and even by national candidates because they still deliver the votes.”
According to Bobby Taguntong, Maguindanao coordinator for the nongovernment organization Citizens Coalition for ARMM Electoral Reforms, local polls in clan areas have little to do with party politics and platforms. Rather, parties try to woo local candidates who can bring in the needed votes on the national level.
“Political parties are not part of the discussions here,” says Taguntong. “We are talking here of who you are, and who wants to run for election. This was never about parties.” -- With additional research by Karol Ilagan, PCIJ, April 2013
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/59075/the-clan-politics-of-armm--ampatuans-web-of-kin-warp-maguindanao-polls
Coast Guard and DOTC to lead Tubbataha salvage ops
From Rappler (Apr 10): Coast Guard and DOTC to lead Tubbataha salvage ops
A team composed of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will lead the salvage operations of the Chinese vessel that ran aground on the Tubbataha reef, Coast Guard chief Rodolfo Isorena said Wednesday, April 10.
A team composed of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will lead the salvage operations of the Chinese vessel that ran aground on the Tubbataha reef, Coast Guard chief Rodolfo Isorena said Wednesday, April 10.
PCG and DOTC will try to refloat the boat since the vessel is still intact and its hull and propeller were not damaged in the incident.
Isorena said the team plans to "lighten" the boat so it can be brought to Puerto Princesa, where the 12 fishermen on board are facing charges for poaching, illegal entry and attempted bribery.
"If that is not possible then we will try other options. If our men can't make it operate, then we will tow her to Puerto Princesa. But there is no damage to the engine. Maybe it will run," he said in a press conference.
The team is working on siphoning off 80,000 liters of fuel oil from the vessel. They are also looking at removing other equipment on board to make the boat lighter.
Isorena said the damage caused by the 48-meter Chinese vessel is not expected to be as large as that damage caused by the USS Guardian, which had to be cut into pieces to be removed.
The cost of the salvage operations have not been determined.
In cases when a fishing vessel gets stuck in a Philippine territory, Isorena said the owner of the boat usually pays for the cost of the salvage operations. However, authorities have not yet determined who in fact owns the vessel.
"The owner of the vessel is the one supposed to be paying for all the expenses that will be incurred. If there is no owner, then the Coast Guard will lead the salvage ops. Sometimes, we hire a team who will conduct the salvage ops then whatever can still be salvaged will serve as the payment, if there is no claimant to the boat," Isorena said in a mix of English and Filipino.
"This one, it's a different case. First of all, we don't know who owns the boat. [But we have inquired] if it would be possible to locate the owner," he added.
No threat to security
Authorities are investigating why the fishing vessel entered the protected area and why it ran aground on the reef.
On Wednesday, the Coast Guard also dispatched an additional boat from Corregidor Island in case of "any eventuality." But he added: "So far, there is no threat. That's why dispatched the boat from Corregidor - just for any eventuality, so immediately, we can react."
Exactly a year ago, the Philippine Navy apprehended Chinese fishing vessels anchored at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, which were found to be carrying illegally collected marine life, such as corals, giant clams and live sharks. The incident sparked a standoff between the Philippines and China and re-ignited the territorial dispute over the shoal that has remained unresolved up to this day.
Court upholds Garcia plea bargain deal
From Rappler (Apr 10): Court upholds Garcia plea bargain deal
Voting 4-1, justices of the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division on Wednesday, April 10, affirmed the validity of the plea bargain agreement signed in February 2010 by former military comptroller retired Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia and the Office of the Ombudsman.
The case against Garcia, whose sons were arrested in 2003 at aUS
The bargain deal allowed Garcia, his wife Clarita, and sons Ian Carl, Juan Paulo and Timothy Mark to walk away from plunder charges in exchange for his pleading guilty to lesser offenses of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering.
It triggered ouster calls against then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, an appointee of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She was impeached by the House of Representatives for hammering out an agreement that various sectors said betrayed public interest.
She quit in May 2011, a few days before the Senate was to start her impeachment trial.
President Benigno Aquino III also called for the nullification of the plea bargain deal, thus the move of the Office of the Solicitor Genera (OSG) to intervene in the case. Vice President Jejomar Binay, however, asked him to reconsider his position. (Read: Binay lobbied for general charged with plunder)
In its its 73-page Joint Resolution on Wednesday, the graft court junked with finality the petition of the OSG.
The resolution had to be submitted to a special division of five justices after the 3 regular members of the Second Division failed to reach unanimity as Associate Justice Oscar C. Herrera Jr. dissented from the majority opinion penned by Associate Justice Samuel R. Martires, which was concurred in by Associate Justice Teresita V. Diaz-Baldos.
As required under the Sandiganbayan rules, Associate Justices Roland B. Jurado and Alex L. Quiroz were appointed to sit with the regular members and both agreed with the majority opinion.
The court has not yet set a date for Garcia’s sentencing on the lesser charges.
The decision came 7 days after the Supreme Court gave Garcia's predecessor - former military comptroller Jacinto Ligot - a reprieve as it lifted a 2005 freeze order on his assets amounting to P54-M. (Read: SC lifts freeze order on general's P54-M assets)
Weak evidence
In its ruling on the Garcia case, the Sandiganbayan said: “…(T)he evidence of the prosecution did not translate into proof beyond reasonable doubt that inescapably compelled the Court to ultimately give its imprimatur to the Plea Bargaining Agreement entered into between the Office of the Ombudsman and the accused Maj. Gen. Garcia."
Protesting “deprecatory remarks and malicious imputations” hurled against it after approving the plea bargain on May 9, 2011, the Second Division appealed to its critics to “open their minds” and understand that its decision was based solely on evidence submitted to it by the prosecution.
“…Emphasis should be repeatedly made that even before the Court ordered the accused to convey his properties to the Government, it had already made the collective conclusion that the evidence offered by the prosecution was inefficient or inadequate to render a judgment of conviction for Plunder,” it added.
Based on the Feb 25, 2010 plea bargaining agreement, the Sandiganbayan ordered various banks, the Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loans Association Inc., municipal and city Registry of Deeds, and the Land Transportation Office to turn over all assets listed by Garcia amounting to P135.43 million.
The list included P52.51 million cash from various bank deposits; P21.27 million worth of real estate properties located in the country and the P43.15 million Trump condominium inNew York ,
USA ; 7
motor vehicles with a total assessed value of P4.42 million; and proceeds of
two bank accounts in the US
Garcia then withdrew his Not Guilty to the plunder charge and pleaded guilty to lesser offenses of bribery and facilitating money laundering on Dec 16, 2010.
On May 9, 2011, the graft court approved the plea bargain deal, saying it was satisfied with Garcia’s compliance by the turnover of assets he has listed and overruled for lack of merit the request of OSG to intervene in the case and challenge the legality and propriety of Garcia’s deal with the Ombudsman.
The court said it could have upheld the Garcia deal when it was first submitted in February 2010 but decided to withhold approval to protect the interest of the State by first ensuring full compliance by the accused as to his commitments to surrender assets.
“…(T)he Court first saw to it that the conveyance of real and personal property be first made or completed before the plea bargaining agreement will be approved or before the accused will be allowed to change his plea,” it pointed out.
Explanation
Likewise, it clarified that the court thought it best to defer making pronouncements as to the strength or weakness of the prosecution evidence when it ordered Garcia’s assets returned to the government. This was to ensure that the details of the plea bargain would be observed to the letter.
The Sandiganbayan explained that had it made a determination on the insufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence at the time, Garcia could have withdrawn from the deal or his wife and children could have revoked the special powers of attorneys they earlier executed to allow him to enter into such deal.
The court noted that the bulk of the properties surrendered to the government were not in Garcia’s name but in the names of his wife and sons.
It stressed that Garcia could have opted to see the trial to its conclusion in which case he would have been acquitted and “walk(ed) free without the government recovering a piece of property from him.”
The deal set Garcia free - albeit temporarily.
It took Garcia's own organization, the Armed Forces of thePhilippines US
Garcia is now serving time in the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa; it's a two-year jail term.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/25943-court-upholds-garcia-bargain-deal
STILL IN JAIL.
Despite the court's ruling, retired Maj Gen Carlos Garcia is still in jail due
to a case filed against him by the military. File photo by Newsbreak
Voting 4-1, justices of the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division on Wednesday, April 10, affirmed the validity of the plea bargain agreement signed in February 2010 by former military comptroller retired Maj. Gen. Carlos F. Garcia and the Office of the Ombudsman.
The case against Garcia, whose sons were arrested in 2003 at a
The bargain deal allowed Garcia, his wife Clarita, and sons Ian Carl, Juan Paulo and Timothy Mark to walk away from plunder charges in exchange for his pleading guilty to lesser offenses of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering.
It triggered ouster calls against then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, an appointee of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. She was impeached by the House of Representatives for hammering out an agreement that various sectors said betrayed public interest.
She quit in May 2011, a few days before the Senate was to start her impeachment trial.
President Benigno Aquino III also called for the nullification of the plea bargain deal, thus the move of the Office of the Solicitor Genera (OSG) to intervene in the case. Vice President Jejomar Binay, however, asked him to reconsider his position. (Read: Binay lobbied for general charged with plunder)
In its its 73-page Joint Resolution on Wednesday, the graft court junked with finality the petition of the OSG.
The resolution had to be submitted to a special division of five justices after the 3 regular members of the Second Division failed to reach unanimity as Associate Justice Oscar C. Herrera Jr. dissented from the majority opinion penned by Associate Justice Samuel R. Martires, which was concurred in by Associate Justice Teresita V. Diaz-Baldos.
As required under the Sandiganbayan rules, Associate Justices Roland B. Jurado and Alex L. Quiroz were appointed to sit with the regular members and both agreed with the majority opinion.
The court has not yet set a date for Garcia’s sentencing on the lesser charges.
The decision came 7 days after the Supreme Court gave Garcia's predecessor - former military comptroller Jacinto Ligot - a reprieve as it lifted a 2005 freeze order on his assets amounting to P54-M. (Read: SC lifts freeze order on general's P54-M assets)
Weak evidence
In its ruling on the Garcia case, the Sandiganbayan said: “…(T)he evidence of the prosecution did not translate into proof beyond reasonable doubt that inescapably compelled the Court to ultimately give its imprimatur to the Plea Bargaining Agreement entered into between the Office of the Ombudsman and the accused Maj. Gen. Garcia."
Protesting “deprecatory remarks and malicious imputations” hurled against it after approving the plea bargain on May 9, 2011, the Second Division appealed to its critics to “open their minds” and understand that its decision was based solely on evidence submitted to it by the prosecution.
“…Emphasis should be repeatedly made that even before the Court ordered the accused to convey his properties to the Government, it had already made the collective conclusion that the evidence offered by the prosecution was inefficient or inadequate to render a judgment of conviction for Plunder,” it added.
Based on the Feb 25, 2010 plea bargaining agreement, the Sandiganbayan ordered various banks, the Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loans Association Inc., municipal and city Registry of Deeds, and the Land Transportation Office to turn over all assets listed by Garcia amounting to P135.43 million.
The list included P52.51 million cash from various bank deposits; P21.27 million worth of real estate properties located in the country and the P43.15 million Trump condominium in
Garcia then withdrew his Not Guilty to the plunder charge and pleaded guilty to lesser offenses of bribery and facilitating money laundering on Dec 16, 2010.
On May 9, 2011, the graft court approved the plea bargain deal, saying it was satisfied with Garcia’s compliance by the turnover of assets he has listed and overruled for lack of merit the request of OSG to intervene in the case and challenge the legality and propriety of Garcia’s deal with the Ombudsman.
The court said it could have upheld the Garcia deal when it was first submitted in February 2010 but decided to withhold approval to protect the interest of the State by first ensuring full compliance by the accused as to his commitments to surrender assets.
“…(T)he Court first saw to it that the conveyance of real and personal property be first made or completed before the plea bargaining agreement will be approved or before the accused will be allowed to change his plea,” it pointed out.
Explanation
Likewise, it clarified that the court thought it best to defer making pronouncements as to the strength or weakness of the prosecution evidence when it ordered Garcia’s assets returned to the government. This was to ensure that the details of the plea bargain would be observed to the letter.
The Sandiganbayan explained that had it made a determination on the insufficiency of the prosecution’s evidence at the time, Garcia could have withdrawn from the deal or his wife and children could have revoked the special powers of attorneys they earlier executed to allow him to enter into such deal.
The court noted that the bulk of the properties surrendered to the government were not in Garcia’s name but in the names of his wife and sons.
It stressed that Garcia could have opted to see the trial to its conclusion in which case he would have been acquitted and “walk(ed) free without the government recovering a piece of property from him.”
The deal set Garcia free - albeit temporarily.
It took Garcia's own organization, the Armed Forces of the
Garcia is now serving time in the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa; it's a two-year jail term.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/25943-court-upholds-garcia-bargain-deal
Village chief killed in Surigao del Norte
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): Village chief killed in Surigao del
Norte
Two unidentified armed assailants shot dead at close range a barangay official while visiting his copra drying shed Tuesday morning at Barangay Macopa,San Francisco
The Surigaodel
Jeniel Amparo, presumed to be a relative of the victim, and the shed caretaker Michael C. Labago, who were both at the said place witnessed the shooting but accordingly failed to help the victim nor to avert the shooting because of fear for their own lives.
They described the perpetrators as 5'2" to 5'6" in height and were 22-25 years old. They said they did not have any knowledge as to the identity of both suspects.
They claimed that the suspects approached Amparo and then shot him three times, hitting him in different parts of his body, then immediately fled from the area. Amparo was then rushed to a local hospital near the area but was pronounced dead upon his arrival by the attending physician.
The San Francisco Municipal Police Station is yet to determine the weapon used and the other facts surrounding the incident which may lead to its early resolution.
The authorities are also not discounting the possibility and were considering as among the angles of their investigation, that the shooting was perpetrated by the New Poeple's Army. The place is considered to be a communist-influenced area.
The San Francisco Police is conducting a deeper probe to determine the motive behind and other circumstances surrounding the barangay official's shooting.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=514920
Two unidentified armed assailants shot dead at close range a barangay official while visiting his copra drying shed Tuesday morning at Barangay Macopa,
The Surigao
Jeniel Amparo, presumed to be a relative of the victim, and the shed caretaker Michael C. Labago, who were both at the said place witnessed the shooting but accordingly failed to help the victim nor to avert the shooting because of fear for their own lives.
They described the perpetrators as 5'2" to 5'6" in height and were 22-25 years old. They said they did not have any knowledge as to the identity of both suspects.
They claimed that the suspects approached Amparo and then shot him three times, hitting him in different parts of his body, then immediately fled from the area. Amparo was then rushed to a local hospital near the area but was pronounced dead upon his arrival by the attending physician.
The San Francisco Municipal Police Station is yet to determine the weapon used and the other facts surrounding the incident which may lead to its early resolution.
The authorities are also not discounting the possibility and were considering as among the angles of their investigation, that the shooting was perpetrated by the New Poeple's Army. The place is considered to be a communist-influenced area.
The San Francisco Police is conducting a deeper probe to determine the motive behind and other circumstances surrounding the barangay official's shooting.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=514920
186 soldiers in Davao undergo random drug testing
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): 186 soldiers in Davao undergo random
drug testing
A total of 186 troops from the 10th Infantry Division underwent random drug testing at their headquarters in Camp General Manuel T. Yan Sr. at Barangay Tuboran, Mawab,Compostela
Valley
Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, 10th ID spokesperson, said that out of the 186, 37 of them are officials.
"In relation to our President's Security Sector Reform, the armed forces conducted a check on the soldiers. Our chief-of-staff then created the Task Force Moses where part of the programs is conducting random drug testing," Paniza said.
The results, however, are yet to be released but the Army are bent on prosecuting any soldier who will test positive for illegal drugs use.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=514998
A total of 186 troops from the 10th Infantry Division underwent random drug testing at their headquarters in Camp General Manuel T. Yan Sr. at Barangay Tuboran, Mawab,
Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, 10th ID spokesperson, said that out of the 186, 37 of them are officials.
"In relation to our President's Security Sector Reform, the armed forces conducted a check on the soldiers. Our chief-of-staff then created the Task Force Moses where part of the programs is conducting random drug testing," Paniza said.
The results, however, are yet to be released but the Army are bent on prosecuting any soldier who will test positive for illegal drugs use.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=514998
Western Command orders increased monitoring activities in Tubbataha
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): Western Command orders increased
monitoring activities in Tubbataha
The Western Command (Wescom) Headquarters here has ordered the increase of monitoring and patrolling activities in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) following the grounding of a Sino fishing vessel on the North Atoll.
Major Gen. Rustico Guerrero, commanding general of the Wescom, said intensifying security in the area is in support of the Armed Forces of thePhilippines ' (AFP) recent move against foreign
encroachment in the Sulu Sea , which is well
within the territorial waters of the country.
He said it is also in support of the TRNP and the request of the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) after the grounding of the USS Guardian, and now the Chinese fishing vessel with bow number 63168.
Guerrero said despite scanty assets, the military in Palawan can defend the sovereignty of thePhilippines
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Palawan District has moved the 12 crewmen of the Sino fishing vessel in Puerto Princesa via BRP Romblon, which is expected to arrive here anytime today.
Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista said the foreign fishers will be submitted to a medical check-up and further documentation proceedings before they are placed under the custody of the Provincial Committee on Illegal Entrants (PICE) headed by the Wescom.
He confirmed that due to lack of documents and official reasons for being inside thePhilippines
territorial waters in the Sulu Sea , they will
be assisting authorities in filing charges for violation of the Fisheries Law
and illegal entry.
The grounding of the Chinese fishing vessel in the Tubbataha is the second this year following the USS Guardian on January 17.
More than a week ago, the last part of the former minesweeper was successfully uprooted by the Task Force Tubbataha (TFT) off the South Atoll of the TRNP.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=514968
The Western Command (Wescom) Headquarters here has ordered the increase of monitoring and patrolling activities in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) following the grounding of a Sino fishing vessel on the North Atoll.
Major Gen. Rustico Guerrero, commanding general of the Wescom, said intensifying security in the area is in support of the Armed Forces of the
He said it is also in support of the TRNP and the request of the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) after the grounding of the USS Guardian, and now the Chinese fishing vessel with bow number 63168.
Guerrero said despite scanty assets, the military in Palawan can defend the sovereignty of the
Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)-Palawan District has moved the 12 crewmen of the Sino fishing vessel in Puerto Princesa via BRP Romblon, which is expected to arrive here anytime today.
Commodore Enrico Efren Evangelista said the foreign fishers will be submitted to a medical check-up and further documentation proceedings before they are placed under the custody of the Provincial Committee on Illegal Entrants (PICE) headed by the Wescom.
He confirmed that due to lack of documents and official reasons for being inside the
The grounding of the Chinese fishing vessel in the Tubbataha is the second this year following the USS Guardian on January 17.
More than a week ago, the last part of the former minesweeper was successfully uprooted by the Task Force Tubbataha (TFT) off the South Atoll of the TRNP.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=514968
Malaysian authorities arrest Tawi-Tawi mayor, gubernatorial candidate and supporters
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): Malaysian authorities arrest Tawi-Tawi
mayor, gubernatorial candidate and supporters
Twenty-four people, including a town mayor, a candidate for governor and a policeman, were arrested by Malaysian authorities for illegal entry in Lahad Datu,Sabah , a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)
official disclosed Wednesday.
Among those arrested on Tuesday were Mayor Rommel Matba of Languyan, Tawi-Tawi, gubernatorial candidate Rashidin Matba and Police Officer 2 (PO2) Hassan Abdillah, the mayor’s security escort, according to PCG Southwestern Mindanao spokesman Lieutenant Junior Grade Jomark Angue.
The identities of the 21 others, who were supporters of the gubernatorial candidate, were not immediately known, Angue said.
Angue said the group was aboard a wooden-hulled ferry en route to a political campaign in Taganak,Turtle
Islands Municipality
They were intercepted and arrested by Malaysian Marine police for illegal in the vicinity of 12 nautical miles, Tambis point, Lahad Datu,Sabah ,
around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Angue disclosed.
The Malaysian authorities towed the ferry toSandakan ,
Sabah , for custody and investigation, he added.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=515045
Twenty-four people, including a town mayor, a candidate for governor and a policeman, were arrested by Malaysian authorities for illegal entry in Lahad Datu,
Among those arrested on Tuesday were Mayor Rommel Matba of Languyan, Tawi-Tawi, gubernatorial candidate Rashidin Matba and Police Officer 2 (PO2) Hassan Abdillah, the mayor’s security escort, according to PCG Southwestern Mindanao spokesman Lieutenant Junior Grade Jomark Angue.
The identities of the 21 others, who were supporters of the gubernatorial candidate, were not immediately known, Angue said.
Angue said the group was aboard a wooden-hulled ferry en route to a political campaign in Taganak,
They were intercepted and arrested by Malaysian Marine police for illegal in the vicinity of 12 nautical miles, Tambis point, Lahad Datu,
The Malaysian authorities towed the ferry to
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=515045
Eastmincom commander to retire on April 13
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): Eastmincom commander to retire on April
13
Lt. Gen. Jorge Segovia, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) based inCamp
Panacan
ButSegovia
Both Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division, and Major Jake Obligado, commander of the 10th Civil-Military Operation Batallion, refused to confirm the report thatSegovia will
be replaced by his “mistah” (Class '80) Major Gen. Ricardo Rainer Cruz, who is
the current 1st Infantry Division Commander based in Zamboanga City
Segovia
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=515057
Lt. Gen. Jorge Segovia, commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) based in
But
Both Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the 10th Infantry Division, and Major Jake Obligado, commander of the 10th Civil-Military Operation Batallion, refused to confirm the report that
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=515057
Army to build houses for the Atis in Boracay
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): Army to build houses for the Atis in
Boracay
BORACAYISLAND , Malay, Aklan - The Engineering Batallion of the 3rd Infantry Division, Philippine Army
is preparing to build houses for the Atis in this resort island.
Building these houses is supported by the Asisi Foundation. Among its executives is Viel Aquino, the presidential sister.
In an information, the Asisi Foundation said it continues to solicit funds from sponsors because of their limited funding.
The foundation needs at least P80,000 to build one housing units for the Atis.
The houses will be built in the lot promised to them by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
The lot is still being contested by several private land claimants in court.
For potential sponsors, they could inquire at the Holy Rosary Parish in Barangay Balabag, Boracay or at the office of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent De Paul in Bolabog, Boracay.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=515147
BORACAY
Building these houses is supported by the Asisi Foundation. Among its executives is Viel Aquino, the presidential sister.
In an information, the Asisi Foundation said it continues to solicit funds from sponsors because of their limited funding.
The foundation needs at least P80,000 to build one housing units for the Atis.
The houses will be built in the lot promised to them by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).
The lot is still being contested by several private land claimants in court.
For potential sponsors, they could inquire at the Holy Rosary Parish in Barangay Balabag, Boracay or at the office of the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent De Paul in Bolabog, Boracay.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=515147
ASEAN plans to issue statement on South China Sea
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): ASEAN plans to issue statement on South
China Sea
Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association Southeast Asian Nations are discussing the possibility of issuing a statement specifically on resolving territorial disputes in theSouth China Sea
during their meeting this week, ASEAN officials said Wednesday.
If the idea pushes through, it would mark the first time for the grouping to issue a joint statement on the contentious issue involvingChina
Senior officials of ASEAN have crafted the statement but they were unable to determine if it should be issued at the ministerial level or at a higher level since ASEAN leaders are scheduled to gather later this month in theBrunei
ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to discuss the issue at their working dinner here on Wednesday and also at their meeting on Thursday to prepare for an upcoming annual ASEAN summit slated for April 24-25.
Sihasak Phuangketkeow , Thailand 's permanent secretary of the Foreign
Ministry, said ASEAN had agreed at the senior officials level on the content of
the South China Sea statement and that it is
most likely to be issued by the ASEAN leaders later this month.
According to the latest draft seen by Kyodo News, it is prepared as a joint statement of ASEAN foreign ministers on the "way forward" on a code of conduct in theSouth China Sea .
Sihasak stressed the need to maintain "positive momentum" by exploring the possibility of getting the process toward a binding code of conduct in theSouth China Sea started at an
early stage.
Sihasak admitted there is still a difference between ASEAN andChina China
The top Thai bureaucrat was optimistic that a compromise could be eventually reached.
Thailand is currently a
country coordinator for ASEAN in conducting relations with China
While ASEAN is eager to commence formal talks withChina on a code of conduct as early as possible,
Beijing
It favors a looser set of guidelines for the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea, which was agreed to by ASEAN andChina
The latest draft statement also states ASEAN's solidarity, unity and centrality are keys to maintaining peace, stability, to enhancing maritime security and to ensuring peaceful resolution of disputes in theSouth China Sea .
Last July, ASEAN foreign ministers failed to issue a joint communique at the end of their annual meeting inCambodia
To resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea,Beijing
All or parts of the South China Sea, which contains some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and is believed to be rich in oil and gas, are claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
ASEAN comprisesBrunei , Cambodia , Indonesia ,
Laos , Malaysia , Myanmar ,
Philippines , Singapore , Thailand
and Vietnam
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=515120
Foreign ministers from the 10-member Association Southeast Asian Nations are discussing the possibility of issuing a statement specifically on resolving territorial disputes in the
If the idea pushes through, it would mark the first time for the grouping to issue a joint statement on the contentious issue involving
Senior officials of ASEAN have crafted the statement but they were unable to determine if it should be issued at the ministerial level or at a higher level since ASEAN leaders are scheduled to gather later this month in the
ASEAN foreign ministers are expected to discuss the issue at their working dinner here on Wednesday and also at their meeting on Thursday to prepare for an upcoming annual ASEAN summit slated for April 24-25.
According to the latest draft seen by Kyodo News, it is prepared as a joint statement of ASEAN foreign ministers on the "way forward" on a code of conduct in the
Sihasak stressed the need to maintain "positive momentum" by exploring the possibility of getting the process toward a binding code of conduct in the
Sihasak admitted there is still a difference between ASEAN and
The top Thai bureaucrat was optimistic that a compromise could be eventually reached.
While ASEAN is eager to commence formal talks with
It favors a looser set of guidelines for the implementation of the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea, which was agreed to by ASEAN and
The latest draft statement also states ASEAN's solidarity, unity and centrality are keys to maintaining peace, stability, to enhancing maritime security and to ensuring peaceful resolution of disputes in the
Last July, ASEAN foreign ministers failed to issue a joint communique at the end of their annual meeting in
To resolve territorial disputes in the South China Sea,
All or parts of the South China Sea, which contains some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and is believed to be rich in oil and gas, are claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
ASEAN comprises
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=515120
Aquino wants charges filed vs owner of Chinese fishing vessel grounded in Tubbataha Reef
From the Philippine News Agency (Apr 10): Aquino wants charges filed vs owner of Chinese fishing vessel grounded in
Tubbataha Reef
President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday said the owner of the Chinese fishing vessel grounded in Tubbataha Reef will be charged in accordance with Philippine laws.
"Nung ni-report sa akin ni (Transportation and Communications) Secretary (Joseph Emilio) Abaya 'yung sagot ko yata sa kanya e, 'Grabe naman, katatapos lang ng (USS) Guardian, meron na naman (When DOTC Secretary Abaya told me about the grounding of a Chinese fishing vessel, I told him the USS Guardian had just been removed, another incident...),’" the President said in an interview after leading the groundbreaking of the Capiz Airport development project.
"Ang bottom line d'yan, meron tayong batas (The bottom line is we have a law) -- Republic Act 10067, that states everything that needs to be known. 'Pag pumasok ka within this zone, may presumption na agad na poaching 'yung pakay mo. May kaukulang penalties, may imprisonment, may fine (If a vessel enters within this zone, the immediate presumption is it is poaching. There's penalty, imprisonment and fine for that)," he stressed.
The President said the job of the Executive department is to execute the law.
When asked if the government will press the Chinese government to take responsibility, President Aquino said, "I think 'yung batas nagsasaad na 'yung mismong nahuli ang dapat managot dito (the law states that those apprehended will be held liable). It's a fishing vessel so it will be the owners of the fishing vessel amongst others who will be charged."
The President said that an investigation will also look into the possible liability of those tasked to watch over the reef or whether there is a need to put additional rangers.
"Pagkaitindi ko normally, (may) warning 'pag may lumalapit, tatawagan doon sa guard channel...There's a radio, there's a specific channel that's monitored by everybody," he said.
"Check natin ang resulta ng imbestigasyon… para malaman kung kulang ba ang ginawa ng rangers, or kulang ba ang kagamitan ng mga rangers, para malaman nga kung bakit hindi na-forestall ito (Let's wait for the result of the investigation to determine if there's a need to augment rangers manning the reef or if there's a need for additional equipment)," he said.
President Aquino noted that it is the national interest to preserve the reef "to the fullest extent possible" because of its rich ecosystem, considered as "one of the natural wonders of the world."
He said there is also contemplation to add more lighted buoys and to expand the so-called buffer zone to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=515158
President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday said the owner of the Chinese fishing vessel grounded in Tubbataha Reef will be charged in accordance with Philippine laws.
"Nung ni-report sa akin ni (Transportation and Communications) Secretary (Joseph Emilio) Abaya 'yung sagot ko yata sa kanya e, 'Grabe naman, katatapos lang ng (USS) Guardian, meron na naman (When DOTC Secretary Abaya told me about the grounding of a Chinese fishing vessel, I told him the USS Guardian had just been removed, another incident...),’" the President said in an interview after leading the groundbreaking of the Capiz Airport development project.
"Ang bottom line d'yan, meron tayong batas (The bottom line is we have a law) -- Republic Act 10067, that states everything that needs to be known. 'Pag pumasok ka within this zone, may presumption na agad na poaching 'yung pakay mo. May kaukulang penalties, may imprisonment, may fine (If a vessel enters within this zone, the immediate presumption is it is poaching. There's penalty, imprisonment and fine for that)," he stressed.
The President said the job of the Executive department is to execute the law.
When asked if the government will press the Chinese government to take responsibility, President Aquino said, "I think 'yung batas nagsasaad na 'yung mismong nahuli ang dapat managot dito (the law states that those apprehended will be held liable). It's a fishing vessel so it will be the owners of the fishing vessel amongst others who will be charged."
The President said that an investigation will also look into the possible liability of those tasked to watch over the reef or whether there is a need to put additional rangers.
"Pagkaitindi ko normally, (may) warning 'pag may lumalapit, tatawagan doon sa guard channel...There's a radio, there's a specific channel that's monitored by everybody," he said.
"Check natin ang resulta ng imbestigasyon… para malaman kung kulang ba ang ginawa ng rangers, or kulang ba ang kagamitan ng mga rangers, para malaman nga kung bakit hindi na-forestall ito (Let's wait for the result of the investigation to determine if there's a need to augment rangers manning the reef or if there's a need for additional equipment)," he said.
President Aquino noted that it is the national interest to preserve the reef "to the fullest extent possible" because of its rich ecosystem, considered as "one of the natural wonders of the world."
He said there is also contemplation to add more lighted buoys and to expand the so-called buffer zone to prevent similar incidents from happening again.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=515158
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