‘NPA not ready for peace’

From the Manila Times (Jan 18): ‘NPA not ready for peace’

The New People’s Army (NPA) is not ready to negotiate a peace deal with the government, a Palace official said  on Saturday.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda made the statement as the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) admitted that the NPA is still a threat to national security.

“The government remains open in pursuing peace talks with them, but the conditions that they’ve created, which is the issuance of JASIG pass to their consultants, is something that we cannot comply with because there is no basis for such list [of consultants],” Lacierda told Radyo ng Bayan.

JASIG is the joint agreement on safety and immunity guarantees inked by the two parties dating in 1995.

The National Democratic Front is the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA.

Lacierda said the NDF/CPP-NPA camp was asked for a list of their consultants, but instead of giving a list, the rebel camp gave a defective floppy disk that supposedly contained the list of the consultants.

“Since we can’t operate the floppy disk is not working, we cannot have confirmation on who are the consultants and the basis of that list. The government is ready [to negotiate], but the other camp is not yet coming to the negotiating table. In the mean time, our Armed Forces will be ready to defend our country and our people,” he said.

AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Domingo Tutaan Jr. said the military called a command conference to assess the military’s performance and the threat posed by various armed groups in the country.

“The CPP-NPA is still the most potent challenge to security, to internal security and peace efforts that we have,” Tutaan said.

“I wouldn’t say it’s biggest threat, but it’s the threat that we have to contend with the reality as far as internal security is concerned,” he added.

The AFP believes that the NPA only has around 4,800 armed members scattered across the country.

The other threat groups are the rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf.

http://manilatimes.net/npa-not-ready-for-peace/68883/

CPP/NPA Panay: The Filipino people had long wanted to make Hugo pay for his crimes

Propaganda statement just posted to the CPP Website (Jan 6): The Filipino people had long wanted to make Hugo pay for his crimes

Julian Paisano
Spokesperson
NPA Panay Regional Command (Coronacion "Waling-Waling" Chiva Command)

 

Demetrio Capilastique Jr aka Hugo was gunned down last December 30, 2013 by a team of New People’s Army (NPA) as he resisted the Red fighters who were assigned to arrest him. The arrest of Capilastique was ordered by the duly-constituted people’s court in Panay in order for him to face charges of multiple murder, abduction and mutiny.

The 15 murdered victims or so mentioned in the previous statement were civilians who got in the way of the RPA’s gangster ways. He would have been arrested first but his armed resistance sealed his fate. The arrest would have resulted in getting information from him as to the whereabouts of Luisa Posa and NIlo Arado, two legal activists who were abducted by the AFP intelligence and supported by Hugo’s RPA-ABB in its execution. The military and RPA were both culpable in the said abduction and people in the military are yet to be held accountable for the abduction. Last December 10, 2007, we had issued a statement on the abduction and the entire list of those indicted.

Nevertheless, Hugo was an armed paramilitary commander of the AFP’s special civilian armed auxiliary force. Found in his belt bag were hand grenades and a Taurus pistol. The RPA-ABB is actively engaged in supporting the military operation against the NPA in Janiuay-Lambunao- Leon-Tubungan, Miag-ao-San Joaquin and Ibajay-Pandan. As such, the RPA-ABB is an armed hostile organization against the NPA. And the RPA commander, as such, was a legitimate military target for the NPA.

Rustico Cutanda, aka Rolly, pretended to be the victim as he roll-called Mokong, Arce, Joven—all RPA operatives who were killed in military actions by the NPA before Hugo. What he failed to mention was that they were engaged in armed operations against the NPA together with regular troops of the AFP. They became legitimate military targets therefore—or did Cutanda pretend to fail to notice that there’s an ongoing people’s war wherein the NPA defends itself and the people against recurring attacks by the military including armed attacks from the remnants of the RPA. Cutanda himself insisted that they are still a ”revolutionary” army different from Major Tiongson’s allegations that the RPA has been transformed to a civilian organization of “Kapatiran” of the Tabara faction.

Yet Cutanda claims that the NPA resorted to arms and killed them just because the RPA split from the reaffirmist CPP-NPA due to ideological differences. Definitely, the Party’s ideological and political line is an ocean apart from the RPA gangsterist, surrenderist-collaborator line of march to the side of the enemy. They wave the flag of ‘socialism’ that they learned from CIA literature. The better guage for a correct ideology is manifested by the fact that the Party, the NPA and the revolutionary masses has grown by folds since the rectification. While the RPA has folded up into grouplets that are fighting each other— like the Tabara and dela Cruz factions. We need not have to resort to arms in order for the RPA to self-destruct. Simple differences in share of the loot have resulted in RPA splits and disintegration.

The NPA did not just take action against Hugo because he left the NPA. Membership in the NPA is voluntary. As you could get in, you could get out of the NPA voluntarily and many did so without any retribution on the condition that they keep what they know in secret so as not to compromise the security of those they left behind. What Hugo did was mutiny. He not only left but instigated many more to leave, formed a separate armed group that is actively hostile to the NPA and collaborating with the enemy to attack the NPA. This is why mutiny is punishable by death.

Hugo’s crimes were not arbitrarily compiled. Each murder and abduction were investigated and sufficient evidence by witnesses were gathered from the very start. For instance, the RPA, as instigated by their intelligence handlers, has now began sowing bloody intrigue by identifying their supposed suspects among the legal mass leaders and activists. Such intrigue sets up these people to simple harassment or to justify murder by RPA retaliatory action. This is noted and remembered/recorded through the years when such intrigue will result in fascist attacks on innocent victims. This intrigue was what the military started with in setting up the abduction of Luisa Posa and Nilo Arado; by branding them, legal activists, as ‘communist terrorists’ .

The national democratic movement has a long memory and does not forget. While it cannot protect all the people that the RPA or their military handlers victimize, it can surely exact justice when justice is due. Bde Gen Quiapo would have Hugo’s victims find justice in the regime’s courts. But surely, Gen Quiapo is very much aware of the fact that a basic reason why people join the NPA is for them to exact fair, speedy justice in its people’s court that they could never find in the GRP’s courts. The Janiuay police could not even have the RPA arrested, when the latter ambushed their own policemen. The victims were just pacifying intoxicated RPA men who were abusing the local people in Patongpatong ,Janiuay . And the Butcher Gen Palparan is coddled and hidden by the very military while the supposed arresting agents look the other way. The Maguindanao massacre victims have years more to suffer the impunity of so blatant a crime. Even the Marcoses and Estrada are back in power with their plundered loot protected by Gen Quiapo’s men. So much for ‘Justice’ under the Government of the Republic of the Philippines.

Yet revolutionary justice is also judicious and It does provide for amnesty to those whose crimes are admitted and atoned for like those of General Jarque. Before his death at an age past 70, Sgt. Porfirio Cataluna who killed so many Tumandoks whom he suspected as suporters of the NPA, was granted amnesty under the same conditions and for humanitarian reasons. On the other hand, Hugo was an incorrigible example of a murderer doing ‘dirty jobs’ for the military and was an armed hostile enemy and had to pay the price for it.

His death, was celebrated not only by the national democratic movement. Tens of thousands more people all over Panay were relieved and overjoyed. Of course, if one asks them over media as to Hugo’s death, they would just keep mum because the RPA stragglers and their military handlers are still around to hound them. But they now offer more support for the NPA, the army who broke the White terror imposed by Hugo, the RPA and the armed forces of the Philippines in their localities and helped them achieve justice.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20140106_the-filipino-people-had-long-wanted-to-make-hugo-pay-for-his-crimes

NPAs kill ex-Ifugao village official

From the Philippine Star (Jan 18): NPAs kill ex-Ifugao village official

New People’s Army (NPA) rebels killed a former village official in Kiangan, Ifugao for his alleged “crimes against the people,” according to a belated police report.

Three hit men of the NPA’s Nona del Rosario Command gunned down 36-year-old Francis Tayaban Habawil, a former councilman of Barangay Amdugtog, Asipulo town, last Jan. 8 and then left a letter with the communist unit owning up to the killing.

Habawil had been cooperative to local military units, said Senior Superintendent Angelito Casimiro, Ifugao police director, prompting probers to believe that he was slain for helping get rid of rebels in his community.

Policemen and two teams from the Charlie Company of the Army’s 54th Infantry Batallion responded to the slay.

Habawil died from seven gunshot wounds in the chest and left armpit. Five spent shells from a .45-caliber pistol were found at the scene.

Chief Superintendent Isagani Nerez, newly installed Cordillera police director, earlier had urged NPA rebels in the region to join the peace efforts of the government, but added that they face the full might of the law if they go against it.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/01/18/1280003/npas-kill-ex-ifugao-village-official

MILF group stopped from setting up office in Zambo City

From the Philippine Star (Jan 18): MILF group stopped from setting up office in Zambo City

The Malaysia-led International Monitoring Team (IMT) and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) yesterday prevented a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) group from setting up a Bangsamoro office in this city ahead of the signing of a comprehensive peace agreement with the government.

The IMT told the MILF group in a dialogue at the gymnasium in Barangay Cawit, a coastal village west of the city proper, that any structure set up before the signing of the accord is not sanctioned and illegal.

Malaysian Army Col. Zol Hashim, head of IMT Team 3, also requested the MILF group to dismantle the structure it had put up in Barangay Cawit.

“To the MILF on the ground, please do not do anything foolish that may hinder, jeopardize the peace process. Don’t do anything please, unless this thing (peace agreement) will be signed, then let us wait for the letter of instruction from them (central committee),” Hashim told the MILF group.

The plan of the MILF group, with 3,000 members, to establish its Bangsamoro political office was learned after the group led by Jursalin Nursalin, acting as mayor, and Alex Baris, sitting as barangay zone chairman, submitted a letter of request to Barangay Cawit chairman Rey Modillas.

Modillas immediately sought clarification with the government’s Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), if the plan of the MILF group has legal basis and sanctioned by the MILF leadership.

Maj. Abe Sirajan, AHJAG team leader who was tasked by the OPAPP to look into the matter, said the MILF Central Committee has not sanctioned the setting up of a Bangsamoro office here.

Sirajan said the MILF leadership also reiterated that it respects the stand of the Zamboanga City government against being part of the Bangsamoro entity.

“Clearly, they have no instruction and the establishment of the Bangsamoro office was not sanctioned,” he said.

Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar reminded the MILF group that the city is not part of the Framework Agreement of the Bangsamoro or other forms of autonomy.

Salazar urged the MILF leadership to inform their members what the peace process is all about to prevent them from making misrepresentations.

Hashim also saw the need for the MILF to inform its members of the current peace negotiations with the government.

“There appears to be misconception on the part of some members on the ground due to lack of information,” Hashim said.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/01/18/1280001/milf-group-stopped-setting-office-zambo-city

MILF leaders tackle peace talks with Maguindanao officials

From the Philippine Star (Jan 17): MILF leaders tackle peace talks with Maguindanao officials



Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief negotiator Muhaquer Iqbal, presiding chairman of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (right), shakes hand with Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu (left) after their two-hour brainstorming session Friday afternoon in Buluan town in Maguindanao. JOHN UNSON

Local officials and members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) on Friday agreed to hold continuing dialogues on the gains of the on-going talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Maguindanao, which has 36 towns, is the main bastion of the MILF, whose central headquarters is located in Darapanan area in Sultan Kudarat town in the first district of the province.

The BTC, chaired by the MILF’s chief negotiator, Muhaquer Iqbal, and Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu had also conceded to cooperate with each other in disseminating the ramifications of putting up a Bangsamoro political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao before the term of incumbent regional officials end in 2016.

Members of the BTC and local executives from across the province talked about the on-going government-MILF talks lengthily during their first ever meeting last Friday in Buluan town in the second district of Maguindanao.

During the meeting, Iqbal briefed Mangudadatu and his constituent-mayors on the objectives of replacing ARMM with a new, more politically and administratively empowered Bangsamoro entity.

Peace talks between the government and the MILF started in January 7, 1997, and is now being supported by Malaysia, the European Union, Japan, Norway, and other international donor outfits, and foreign organizations involved in peace overtures in different countries.

Besides Malaysia, other member-states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of more than 50 Muslim countries, including petroleum-exporting nations in the Middle East and North Africa, have also been helping push the 17-year GPH-MILF talks forward.

Mangudadatu, chairman of the provincial peace and order council, said he was elated with the BTC’s effort to reach out to the political community in the province.

“The political leadership of the province and all members of Maguindanao’s league of mayors have been very supportive of the government-MILF talks. No one from us had ever stood against it. We want lasting peace and development in all Moro areas to set in through an honest-to-goodness peace process,” Mangudadatu said.

Friday’s meeting between Iqbal and Mangudadatu was the first ever in recent years. Mangudadatu’s predecessor, the now detained former Gov. Andal Ampatuan, Sr., and his children were known for their deep-seated animosity with the MILF.

It was for the Ampatuan clan’s hostility to the MILF that it established private militias and stockpiled firearms enough to arm two Army brigades apparently in preparation for a showdown with the rebel group in case it gets to the helm of a political entity that would have jurisdiction over towns and provinces in the ARMM.

Mangudadatu said that since his first election to office in 2010 he had been trying to resolve clan wars involving MILF commanders and big Moro families just for the 1997 Agreement on General Cessation of Hostilities between the government and the rebel group to take off in areas troubled by the iron-fisted policy of the Ampatuans in dealing with groups opposing their leadership in the province, from 2001 until they got incarcerated in December 2009 in connection with their having allegedly masterminded the infamous "Maguindanao Massacre," that left 58 people dead, more than 30 of them journalists.

During the past five years, Mangudadatu had brokered for the settlement of over 30 violent disputes involving key members of the MILF, and local Moro political clans.

Iqbal said that they are keen on initiating more multi-sectoral, and inter-faith dialogues to allay fears and misconceptions about an MILF-led Bangsamoro political entity.
He told local officials during the meeting that they will focus on governance and help address the socio-economic woes besetting Moro communities once they achieve a final peace deal with government.

Iqbal, who is also of ethnic Maguindanaon descent, said the MILF will stop to exist as a revolutionary organization once a new Bansgamoro entity is in place. He said the MILF will, by then, will focus on how to create a peaceful Bangsamoro homeland to become at par with more advanced regions in Mindanao.

The BTC is comprised of seven representatives from government and eight from the MILF. The commission’s primary role is to oversee the gradual setting up of a Bangsamoro entity to replace the ARMM, based on the October 15, 2012 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro.

Iqbal was assisted by BTC commissioners representing the MILF in explaining to Mangudadatu and the mayors the dividends and directions of the peace talks, which local sectors believe might culminate positively within the year.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/01/17/1279940/milf-leaders-tackle-peace-talks-maguindanao-officials

NAG response time greatly improved with speedier AW-109s

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 18): NAG response time greatly improved with speedier AW-109s

With the faster AgustaWestland AW-109 "Power" helicopters now in its inventory, the response and deployment time of the Naval Air Group (NAG) for emergencies and calamities have become much quicker.

This was revealed by Navy spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Fabic last Friday.

"It is even faster than our Britten Norman Islander (turboprop) aircraft in level flight. It can respond to emergencies much quicker than any of our existing assets," he said.

The twin-engined Islander aircraft has a top speed of around 170 miles per hour.

On the other hand, the AW-109, which is a rotary-wing aircraft, has a top speed of 177 miles per hour or seven miles faster than the twin-engine plane.

This makes it ideal for patrol, surveillance, resupply and medical evacuation missions, Fabic said.

The PN operates two models of the Britten Norman Islander plane for patrol, surveillance, transport and resupply missions.

Prior to the arrival of the AW-109s, the NAG operates only one Robinson R-22 helicopter, one Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm B0-105 helicopter, two Islander aircraft and four Cessna light utility planes.

All of these air assets have an average top speed of only 150 miles per hours.

Two more AW-109s, the attack version of the helicopter, are expected to join the NAG by the third quarter of this year.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=606647

Signing of armored contract deal with Israeli defense manufacturer to boost PA's firepower capability --DND

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 18): Signing of armored contract deal with Israeli defense manufacturer to boost PA's firepower capability --DND
 
With the impending delivery of 28 brand-new armored fighting vehicles, 14 of which are armed with automatic 76mm cannons, the Philippine Army's capability to provide support to its infantry units will be greatly enhanced.

Contract for these armored units, which is worth P888 million, was awarded to one of Israel's leading defense manufacturer, Elbit Systems Land and C4I, last week.

Aside from "fire support units," six of the Israeli-built armored vehicles are classified as the "armored personnel carrier" models, four as "infantry fighting vehicles and the remaining four as "recovery and repair" units.

Full delivery of these vehicles is expected within a year or around January 2015.

DND Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez earlier noted that these armored vehicles are very capable.

Once in service, 14 armored vehicles armed with 76mm cannon will act as the mobile artillery units of the PA which at the moment is armed with 273 units of heavy guns.

Around 24 of these weapons are the heavy 155mm howitzers with the remaining guns consisting of various models of the 105mm howitzer, an artillery piece capable of being towed or tracked into combat.

These weapons are constantly being maintained and modernized to provide Army units with a relatively heavy punch.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=606645

Palace: Gov't remains open to talks with communist rebels but will protect citizens from NPA attacks

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 18): Palace: Gov't remains open to talks with communist rebels but will protect citizens from NPA attacks

Malacañang on Saturday maintained the government is open to peace talks with communist rebels, but will continue to protect citizens from the rebels' attacks.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the peace talks could not push through since the rebels had been making difficult demands.

"Insofar as pursuing peace negotiations, we've always been open. This has been our statement for so long, pero may hinihingi silang condition na we cannot comply with because these were conditions which they themselves created (We've always been open but they have been seeking conditions we cannot comply with because these are conditions they themselves created)," Lacierda said on state-run dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.

He cited the demand of the rebels to confirm the list of peace consultants covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG).

But he said the supposed list was in a floppy disk whose contents cannot be accessed.

In the meantime, he said that while the talks have yet to resume, the Armed Forces of the Philippines will continue to defend citizens from rebels' attacks.

"Habang ayaw nilang lumapit sa negotiating table, may obligasyon ang estado, ang AFP, na ipagtanggol ang ating kababayan. The mandate of the AFP is to protect and defend our countrymen so yan pa rin ang ating gagawin (So long as the rebels don't want to return to the negotiating table, the state, through the AFP, has an obligation to defend our citizens. The mandate of the AFP is to protect and defend our countrymen so it will continue doing that)," he said.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=606768

Despite rundown in NPA strength, AFP not taking rebels lightly

From the Philippine News Agency (Jan 18): Despite rundown in NPA strength, AFP not taking rebels lightly

Despite the reduction in the New People's Army (NPA) threat, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has said it is still not taking the rebels lightly.

"They (NPA) still pose challenges," AFP spokesperson Major Gen. Domingo Tutaan said, adding that steps are being taken to ensure that these challenges are eliminated.

The military earlier disclosed that the NPA miserably failed in achieving its goals bound on its "5-Year Central Plan," which was supposed to end in 2013, as they were unsuccessful in expanding their mass base support since 16 more provinces were normalized last year.

This makes the latest overall success to 43 provinces (to include Pampanga) out of the 64 NPA-affected provinces nationwide (56 percent).

Also, a total of 824 NPA personalities were neutralized and 425 firearms were recovered in 2013.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=606774

PH to China: No halfway meet, 'join us in arbitration' over disputed territories

From InterAksyon (Jan 18): PH to China: No halfway meet, 'join us in arbitration' over disputed territories

The Philippines has rejected China's proposal for the two countries to meet halfway on new Chinese fishing rules in the disputed West Philippine Sea and instead reiterated its challenge to China to “join us in arbitration” on issues related to the latter’s insistence on claiming “undisputed sovereignty" over the South China Sea.

The Philippines said China's new law that covers the jurisdiction of Hainan province and requires foreigners to seek permission to fish in disputed territory is the country's strategy in pushing its "undisputed sovereignty" in practically the whole of South China Sea.

"Hainan fisheries law is only one of the unilateral measures by China to force a change in the regional status quo in order to advance its nine-dashed line position of undisputed sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea," said Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs Raul Hernandez in a text message sent to reporters Saturday afternoon.

[READ RELATED STORY: DFA chief rallies Asean peers on territorial rows amid new fisheries, air curbs by Beiijing]
Nine-dashed line 

Hernandez said China's nine-dashed line claim "is in gross violation of international law," and "is the core issue that must be singularly and fully addressed."

On its Chinese maps, Bejing outlines the scope of its claim with reference to the nine-dashed line that covers 90 percent of the 3.5 million-square kilometer South China Sea
The said boundary was officially published on a map in 1947 by China’s Nationalist government and since then has been included in subsequent maps issued under the communist rule.

However, the territorial boundary using the nine-dashed line appears to be vague. A U.S. diplomatic cable published by WikiLeaks in September 2008 reported that Yin Wenqiang, a senior Chinese government maritime expert, had "admitted" he was unaware of the historical basis for the dashes.

'Join us in arbitration' 

On Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that  while China was bent  on protecting its territorial sovereignty, “we always put forth efforts to resolve the relevant issue through dialogue and consultations.”

But Hernandez said the Philippines would instead push its claim via arbitration. "To this end, we reiterate our invitation to China to join us in arbitration as we intend to proceed with our without China for a final disposition."

Manila had filed in early 2013 a complaint before the United Nations arbitral tribunal against China’s “excessive claims” of sovereignty in the South China Sea, where Manila and five others---including three fellow ASEAN members---have overlapping claims.

[READ RELATED STORY: Philippine report spies more assertive, aggressive China in West Philippine Sea]

Hernandez said that in 2011, the Philippines had proposed to China that "we should proceed with moving forward with our major bilateral agenda while abstracting the contentious issues and dealing with them separately."

"This became the content of a signed declaration between the Philippines and China's presidents then. We are hopeful for adherence to the agreement," he said.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/78942/ph-to-china-no-halfway-meet-join-us-in-arbitration-over-disputed-territories

AFP claims to have upper hand vs. rebels

From the Manila Times (Jan 17): AFP claims to have upper hand vs. rebels

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Friday presented a glowing assessment of their anti-insurgency efforts in 2013 following a command conference by chief of staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista and senior military leaders in Camp Aguinaldo.

It claimed that government forces, through the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP)-Bayanihan, had made the communist New People’s Army (NPA) fail miserably in their efforts to regain their foothold during the 1980s wherein they had an estimated 25,000 fully armed red fighters.

“The NPA miserable failed in achieving its goals bound on its five-year central plan which ended in 2013. They were unsuccessful in expanding their mass because support as 16 more provinces were normalized last year,” it added.

Overall, the AFP said, it was able to neutralize the rebels in 43 out of the 64 NPA-infested provinces nationwide that also led to the capture of 824 NPA personalities and the surrender of 425 firearms.

It added that they were able to neutralize 502 rogue Moro National Liberation Front elements (RMEs) of which 208 were killed, 270 captured and 24 surrenderees, with 324 firearms being recovered.

On the government side, the AFP suffered 197 casualties during the three-week siege of Zamboanga by the RMEs; 20 were killed in action and 177 were wounded while 195 hostages were safely rescued.

The AFP reported that it was also able to effectively limit the Bansamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters’ capability to sabotage or derail the ongoing peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Last year, the AFP further said, the government also gained from the closure agreement with the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA), adding that it led to the integration of 168 CPLA members in the military service.

In the process also led to the turnover of 403 firearms. The CPLA, which used to operate in the Cordilleras, was founded by the late rebel priest Fr. Conrado Balweg.

http://manilatimes.net/afp-claims-to-have-upper-hand-vs-rebels/68597/

Draft Bangsamoro basic law to be completed in April

From the Manila Times (Jan 17): Draft Bangsamoro basic law to be completed in April

The Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) said it is working double-time to complete a draft Basic Law for the new juridical entity within three months.

“The crafting of the Bang–samoro Basic Law (BBL) will be completed and it will be submitted to President Benigno Aquino 3rd hopefully this coming April, and we hope also that he would certify it as an urgent bill if it reached the Congress,” BTC chair Mohagher Iqbal, who also chairs of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace talks with the government, said.

Iqbal appealed to the public, most specially to those who are in the government to “unite and cooperate” in realizing what they are pursuing now, saying that “after 40 years in struggle, we are now looking up to our future, that would benefit the next generations of the Bangsamoro.”

“This is not for [the MILF], we are now in the twilight of our life, we want to dedicate our last part for our life to our people,” he said.

“Even if we did not get full independence, at least we will be having two important things, which are the powers and resources vested in our homeland,” Iqbal added.

Maguindanao officials led by Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu and their constituents welcomed the BTC’s visit to Buluan town and expressed their “full support” for the aspirations of the Bangsamoro entity.

In his speech, Mangudadatu said “even during the campaigning of FAB, Maguindanao has been very supportive, and we have shown it and let our constituents feel it.”

The governor highlighted eight-point agenda of the province, including its ongoing projects and programs on education, health services, infrastructure, agriculture, trade and industry, peace-building and good governance that were anchored to the FAB.

“Our province is also helping realizing the intents of the FAB including settling of feuds that would help normalize the province,” he said, referring to the work of the Maguindanao Task Force on Reconciliation and Unification (MTFRU).

It was learned that the MTFRU has now settled 22 rido or clan feuds, including that between the families of Sheikh Kaliffa Nando and SPO3 Meng Kadalim in Datu Paglas that ended on Wednesday.

Maguindanao Rep. Sajid Ma–ngudadatu, after receiving clarifications from the delegation, vowed to campaign in the Lower House for the smooth passage of the BBL.

The BBL draft would incorporate the FAB and its four annexes on transition, wealth-sharing, power-sharing and normalization. The first three annexes have been signed while the fourth is being discussed for signing in two-month time or so, sources said.

The BTC delegation was also warmly received by majority Christian leaders in North Cotabato including Gov. Lala Taliño-Mendoza, Vice Gov. Gregorio Ipong and Rep. Jose Tejada.

In North Cotabato province, at least 39 villages comprising mostly Muslim residents have been eyed for inclusion in the areas of the proposed juridical entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). ARMM comprises Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan.

http://manilatimes.net/draft-bangsamoro-basic-law-to-be-completed-in-april/68604/

Farmer shot dead by rebels in Isabela

From the Visayan Daily Star (Jan 18): Farmer shot dead by rebels in Isabela

Four armed men suspected to be members of the New People’s Army shot and killed a farmer in Sitio Aguntilang, Brgy. Riverside, Isabela, Negros Occidental, Thursday.

The victim was identified by the Isabela police as Rolan Dadlis, 28, of Sitio Aguntilang.

Initial police investigations showed that Dadlis succumbed to two fatal gunshot wounds in the back of his head, after he was shot by one of the four suspects with high-powered firearms.

Four empty shells of an M-16 rifle were recovered at the scene of incident.

1Lt. Von Ryan Gomez, 11th Infantry Battalion Civil Military Operations Officer, said yesterday that Dadlis, a member the National Commission on Indigenous People in Isabela, was mistaken by the NPA to be a military target in the barangay.

Gomez said the four suspects are reportedly under the command of Magno Flores, who is facing a string of murder cases in central Negros.

The summary execution of Dadlis came almost a week after CAFGU member Ricky Camacho was also gunned down by suspected NPA assassins in Brgy. Magballo, Kabankalan City, military said.

http://www.visayandailystar.com/2014/January/18/topstory8.htm

Arkibong Bayan: KARAPATAN Urgent Appeal -- Release NDFP Consultant Eduardo Sarmiento and other Political Prisoners Now!

Posted to Arkibong Bayan (People's Archive) (Jan 15): KARAPATAN Urgent Appeal: Release NDFP Consultant Eduardo Sarmiento and other Political Prisoners Now!





KARAPATAN URGENT APPEAL:
RELEASE EDUARDO SARMIENTO NOW!
13 January 2014

Dear friends and colleagues,

Greetings of peace!

On 11 December 2013, Eduardo Sarmiento, a consultant of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) in the peace process with the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH), was sentenced to 20 to 40 years imprisonment by Judge Myra Bayot Quiambao of the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 203, on the basis of trumped up criminal charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives. Lawyers of Sarmiento are challenging the conviction, through a motion for reconsideration filed before the local court, and have also sought, for the second time, for the judge to inhibit herself from the case. These pleas are expected to be heard on Friday, 17 January 2014.

His arrest and detention is based on allegations of fabricated charges of arson, multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder filed against him in the courts of Samar and of illegal possession of firearms and explosives in Muntinlupa. All the charges in Samar have been dismissed due to lack of evidence.

Sarmiento was serving as the NDF consultant representing the Eastern Visayas Region in the peace negotiations with the GPH since 1986. Prior to the imposition of Martial Law, he was an active member of the KM (Kabataang Makabayan or Patriotic Youth) while studying at the University of Eastern Philippines in Northern Samar. He was imprisoned twice by the Martial Law regime because of his political beliefs. In his third year in college as an AB Political Science major, he decided to work full-time with the national democratic movement. Despite the perils of state repression that continued under the Corazon Aquino administration, when killings of activists and revolutionary leaders commenced, he represented the NDFP in various public fora and negotiations in Eastern Visayas as spokesperson and representative of the NDFP in the local peacetalks with the GPH. Sarmiento hails from Catarman, Northern Samar, a province located in the poorest region in the Philippines.

In February 2009, Sarmiento went to Metro Manila to participate in peace negotiations, when he was arrested by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP). Sarmiento was blindfolded, forced to go inside a van, and was taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation and torture for 24 hours before being taken to the Southern Police District Jail. It was only then when he knew of the charges against him. The arresting police officers claimed to have found a grenade in his bag, a claim being disputed by Sarmiento and his lawyer. The grenade, they allege, was planted evidence, as the police did not follow required chain of custody of evidence procedure and did not document the grenade in the presence of Sarmiento or his counsel. Police testimonies during the court hearings indicate several irregularities regarding documentation of the supposed evidence. Sarmiento said that he was not carrying a grenade and that the first time that he saw the grenade was during his court trial.

Lawyers of Sarmiento are set to argue for the motion for reconsideration on his conviction on the basis that the court committed serious errors in its December 2013 judgement particularly on insufficient proof of his guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and several gross irregularities in the chain of custody of the evidence presented and the highly questionable performance of duties of the arresting officers.

Sarmiento’s lawyers are also asking for the judge to voluntarily withdraw from the case. In 2009, the judge was a Senior State Solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor General and she was part of “Task Force Rebellion,”a team of the GPH to review the cases of NDF consultants in the peace process. Given her previous involvement on the part of the GPH, there are serious questions regarding her objectivity and impartiality to the case. Sarmiento’s lawyers are asking that the judge voluntarily withdraw from the case so that another judge can review the judgement.

Sarmiento is on his fifth year of detention in Camp Crame, where he continues to conduct education work among fellow prisoners on their rights to fair and humane treatment inside jail as well on the various issues being confronted by the Filipino people, including the latest developments on the issue of pork barrel and corrupt practices of government officials, as well as the incompetence of the Aquino administration on the relief and rehabilitation for typhoon victims in the region where he hailed from.

Sarmiento is also a cultural worker, who uses various art forms to express the views of the people’s movement on various issues. Since his elementary days, it has been his passion to draw, but it was only in prison where he first attempted to write poems and paint. Except for his regular contribution of poems drawings to LARAB (Flame), the underground revolutionary news magazine in Eastern Visayas, he has not pursued painting or other art work outside of prison, due to other work priorities in the movement. Before his current detention, his last painting was in 1975—in a Lapu-lapu, Cebu prison camp. Since his arrest in 2007, he has written poems, children’s stories, and song lyrics. He has also made several paintings, the latest batch of his paintings were exhibited together with fellow political prisoner Alan Jazmines’ work.

Karapatan views the case of Eduardo Sarmiento as a case that illustrates the injustices being suffered by all political prisoners in the country -- rights violations which are being perpetuated by the Benigno S. Aquino administration through the counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan (Operational Plan Shoulder-to-Shoulder). At present, 449 political prisoners – 154 of them illegally arrested and detained under the current administration – remain imprisoned.

Aside from the injustices he suffered during his illegal arrest and detention, Sarmiento, as an NDF consultant in the peace negotiations, is covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) signed on 24 February 1995 by the GPH and the NDFP. The JASIG provides that consultants and negotiators in the peace process are guaranteed free passage in the country and should have immunity from surveillance, harassment, search, arrest, detention, prosecution and interrogation due to their involvement or participation in the peace negotiations. Sarmiento was listed as a peace consultant in the 2001 JASIG list and should not have been arrested nor convicted under this agreement.

Sarmiento’s case is another clear indication that the Aquino administration is blocking all roads towards peace and is in fact exacerbating poverty, repression, plunder of the country’s resources and violations on our sovereignty, miserably failing to fully resolve the root causes of the armed conflict. It has failed to demonstrate good faith and sincerity in respecting and implementing agreements and commitments to the NDFP-GPH peace negotiations, including its commitment to release most, if not all, detained peace consultants. It has continued the malicious practice of prosecuting NDF consultants in the peace negotiations for trumped up charges, and have denied justice for the peace consultants arrested, detained, killed and disappeared during the past regime. Through Oplan Bayanihan, it has spawned killings and other human rights violations.

We appeal to our fellow human rights advocates all over the world to issue public statements and communicate with Philippine authorities to press for the immediate release of Sarmiento and all political prisoners. We enjoin you to demand that the Philippine government stop its repressive policy of filing trumped up charges against political activists and peace workers, and its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan. We call on you to appeal for the resumption of the peace negotiations between the GPH and NDFP. Attached is a template letter for Philippine authorities, which can be used for communicating your support for this appeal, and a picture of Sarmiento. You can also view his artworks through the following links:

https://www.facebook.com/GUOAmnesty

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Eduardo-Sarmiento-Free-All-Political-Prisoners/177680612252968.

Thank you very much.

In solidarity,
(SGD) Cristina Palabay
Secretary General, Karapatan

Press Statement
January 17, 2014

Reference: Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-3162831
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580

Counsels to contest detained NDFP consultant's conviction

Today, recently convicted peace consultant Eduardo Sarmiento and his lawyers are set to argue on their Second Urgent Motion for Inhibition and Motion for Reconsideration at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 203.

Sarmiento is a National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) consultant who represented the Eastern Visayas Region in the peace negotiations with the Government of Philippines (GPH). Being a Joint Agreement on Security and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) holder, he is supposedly protected from arrest and detention or persecution to be able to perform his duties in the peace process.

"Yet, the BS Aquino government violated this agreement several times when it pressed Sarmiento and other NDFP consultants with trumped up charges," Cristina Palabay, secretary general of Karapatan said.

Sarmiento was found by Judge Myra Bayot-Quiambao guilty of the charge of illegal possession of firearms and explosives despite having a planted evidence.

Sarmiento's counsels from the Public Interest Law Center and the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers moved to inhibit Bayot-Quiambao. According to the Motion, "the presiding judge made such ruling despite the fact that no evidence was presented that could to establish the gravity of the offense... The prosecution miserably failed to establish the identity of the corpus delicti, i.e. fragmentation grenade."

The counsels raised serious questions regarding the presiding judge's objectivity and impartiality to the case. Bayot-Quiambao served as Senior State Prosecutor from 2002 to 2009, and was included in the GPH team created by then Justice secretary Agnes Devanadera to look into the cases of the consultants to the peace process and work for their release.

Thus, "having participated in some discussions on the consultants' cases in the peace process and having taken the position of the government, the presiding judge should have inhibited herself when she was asked for the first time to recuse herself in hearing the case," the counsels argued.

The motion further stated, "The manifest bias of the presiding judge in favor of the prosecution during hearing for the case left the accused in serious doubt as to her impartiality on rendering a just ruling," the motion stated.

Sarmiento's Motion for Reconsideration, on the other hand, stated that "the honorable court committed serious errors of facts and law in finding the accused (Sarmiento) guilty of violating PD 1866, as amended by RA 9516 despite the (1.) failure of the prosecution to prove the offense charged beyond reasonable doubt, (2.) failure of the prosecution to establish the chain of custody of the fragmented grenade, and (3.) blindly relying on the presumption of regularity in the performance of official duties over the constitutional right of the accused to be presumed innocent."
 

Two other criminal charges -- for the use of fictitious name and arson -- that were filed against Sarmiento are already dismissed.

Karapatan, Samahan ng mga Ex-Detainees Laban sa Detensyon at Aresto (SELDA) and other human rights and peace advocates gathered in front of the RTC during the hearing to call for the release of Sarmiento and the other 12 detained NDFP peace consultants.

The human rights alliance KARAPATAN stormed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) as Eduardo Sarmiento, National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant and illegally detained by the government in violation of prior peace agreements, was convicted with life imprisonment by a municipal court. This impedes the resumption of peace talks between the NDFP and the Manila government. Protesters scored President Aquino's peace office as a war tool and pressed for the release of all political prisoners.
 
Click link below to play video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CspuxUIqEWE

Press Statement
January 15, 2014

Reference: Cristina “Tinay” Palabay, Secretary General, 0917-3162831
Angge Santos, Media Liaison, 0918-9790580

Karapatan scores OPAPP, conviction of NDFP consultant impedes peace talks

Karapatan Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights and other people’s organizations stormed the office of Secretary Teresita "Ging" Deles of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) in protest of the continuing detention and conviction of National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultant Eduardo Sarmiento.

The group expressed its outrage and concern through a strongly worded letter saying, "... the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)... promotes discord and contempt with the peace talks, through the continuous arrest and conviction of NDFP consultants, rather than fulfill its mandate to foster just and lasting peace in the country."

The letter, signed by Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay stated, "We view the recent conviction of Sarmiento... as another blow impeding the peace process between the two parties and a clear indication of the Aquino government’s insincerity to resume the peace talks."

Sarmiento was arrested on February 2009 in Metro Manila by elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police. Without any warrant, Sarmiento was blindfolded, forced into a van, interrogated and tortured for 24 hours. Later, Sarmiento found out he was facing a charge of illegal possession of explosives for a grenade that the arresting officers claimed to have found in his possession. The grenade was planted evidence.

Nearing five years of imprisonment at the Custodial Center of the Camp Crame PNP Headquarters in Quezon City, Sarmiento was convicted with life imprisonment in December 2013 in promulgation issued by the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 203. Other trumped up charges against Sarmiento in the Eastern Visayas were dismissed for lack of evidence.

"For Karapatan, the case of Eduardo Sarmiento illustrates the injustices being suffered by all political prisoners in the country—rights violations which are being perpetuated by the Benigno S. Aquino administration through its counter-insurgency program OplanBayanihan," the letter said. "At present, 449 political prisoners—154 of them illegally arrested and detained under the current administration—remain imprisoned," Karapatan stated.

"The Aquino administration through the OPAPP ...is mocking the peace negotiations by not respecting and rendering inoperative the agreements such as The Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL)—agreements painstakingly forged throughout the years," Karapatan said. The JASIG provides protection for NDFP peace consultants and staffs from arrest and detention in order to perform their duties and push through the program for just and lasting peace.

"We challenge the Aquino administration and the OPAPP be true to its words in “forging peace” and not turning the negotiating tables around. It should respect The Hague Declaration, JASIG and the CARHRIHL. We also call on the GPH and the OPAPP to stop attacking the previous bilateral agreements, resume the peace talks and release all political prisoners now," Karapatan called on the OPAPP.

Meanwhile, Karapatan condemned the latest arrest and detention of DionisioAlmonte, 56 years old and wife Gloria PritargueAlmonte on the night of January 9, the first documented political arrest in 2014.

Dionisio is an organizer in Pagsanjan, Laguna, while Gloria is a sari-sari store owner. He is currently in Metro Manila to seek treatment for his severe diabetes, slip disc and other ailments.

"We are now on the second phase of BS Aquino's OplanBayanihan where human rights violations are disguised as legitimate police operations, such as this case yet, the motive for political repression and persecution still exist," said Palabay.

"We fear that the year 2014 will be haunted by more arrests and more numbers of political prisoners in the country," Palabay said. "The Filipino people have more reasons to fight against a corrupt, negligent and war mongering regime," she ended. ###

LETTER TO SEC. DELES/OPAPP

15 January 2014

Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP)
Dear Secretary Deles:

Greetings of peace!

We are concerned over the developments on the cases of political prisoners, especially that of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) peace consultants who have been arbitrarily arrested, are detained, and, in the case of Eduardo Sarmiento, convicted, despite the existence of agreements between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), granting them protection and immunity from arrests.

We view the recent conviction of Sarmiento, a consultant in the peace negotiations between the GPH and the NDFP as another blow impeding the peace process between the two parties and a clear indication of the Aquino government’s insincerity to resume the peace talks.

In February 2009, Sarmiento went to Metro Manila to participate in peace negotiations, when he was arrested by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP). Sarmiento was blindfolded, forced to go inside a van, and was taken to an undisclosed location for interrogation and torture for 24 hours before he was taken to the Southern Police District Jail. It was only then he knew of the charges against him. The arresting police officers claimed to have found a grenade in his bag, a claim being disputed by Sarmiento and his lawyer. The grenade, according to them, was planted evidence, as the police did not follow required chain of custody of evidence procedure and did not document the grenade in the presence of Sarmiento or his counsel. Police testimonies during the court hearings indicate several irregularities regarding documentation of the supposed evidence. Sarmiento said he was not carrying a grenade, and that the first time he saw the grenade was
during his court trial.

Lawyers of Sarmiento are set to argue for a motion for reconsideration on his conviction on the basis that the court committed serious errors in its December 2013 judgement, particularly on insufficient proof of his guilt beyond reasonable doubt; and several gross irregularities in the chain of custody of the evidence presented; and, the highly questionable performance of duties of the arresting officers.

Sarmiento’s lawyers are also asking for the judge to voluntarily withdraw from the case. In 2009, the judge was a Senior State Solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor General and she was part of “Task Force Rebellion,” a team of the GPH that reviews the cases of NDF consultants in the peace process. Given her previous involvement, there are serious questions regarding her objectivity and impartiality to the case. Sarmiento’s lawyers are asking that the judge voluntarily withdraws from the case so that another judge may review the judgement.

For Karapatan, the case of Eduardo Sarmiento illustrates the injustices being suffered by all political prisoners in the country–rights violations which are being perpetuated by the Benigno S. Aquino administration through its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan (Operational Plan Shoulder-to-Shoulder). At present, 449 political prisoners – 154 of them illegally arrested and detained under the current administration – remain imprisoned.

Aside from the injustices he suffered during his illegal arrest and detention, Sarmiento, as an NDF consultant in the peace negotiations, is covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG) signed on 24 February 1995 by the GPH and the NDFP. The JASIG provides that consultants and negotiators in the peace process are guaranteed free passage in the country and should have immunity from surveillance, harassment, search, arrest, detention, prosecution and interrogation. Sarmiento was listed as a peace consultant in the 2001 JASIG list and should not have been arrested or convicted under this agreement.

We lament that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), a government body mandated by law to facilitate and undertake efforts to oversee and coordinate the promotion of the comprehensive peace process, appears to be a party that promotes discord in, and contempt of, the peace talks through continuous arrest and conviction of NDFP consultants, rather than fulfill its mandate to foster just and lasting peace in the country.

The Aquino administration through the OPAPP has expressed its commitment in “forging peace” yet, mocking the peace negotiations by not respecting and rendering inoperative the agreements such as the Hague Joint Declaration, the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG), and the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) – agreements painstakingly forged throughout the years.

May we also remind the OPAPP that the government earlier committed itself in the January and February 2011 Oslo GPH-NDFP Joint Statements to release “most, if not all, political prisoners,” an obligation, not a precondition, it has to fulfil under the said agreements and commitments. Instead of honouring and complying with these agreements, the OPAPP has particularly undertaken steps to undermine them, by harping on the non-existence of the JASIG list of protected persons and by making preposterous and malicious preconditions for the release of the detained peace consultants.

By these actions, we view the GPH’s refusal to release NDFP consultants as a violation of the CARHRIHL. It was stated in the CARHRIHL that political prisoners charged, detained or convicted for common crimes in violation of the Hernandez political offense doctrine should be released while the JASIG stipulates that NDFP consultants are immune from arrest, surveillance and detention. The conviction of Eduardo Sarmiento and the continuing arrests and detention of peace consultants, political activists and ordinary Filipinos are blatant violations of this agreement.

During the talks in Amsterdam last February 2013, the Aquino administration demanded for indefinite, unilateral and simultaneous ceasefires and rejected the NDFP offer of truce and cooperation achieved through a declaration of common intent to uphold national independence and carry out land reform and national industrialization. It must also be noted that in October 2011 in Oslo, the Aquino government attacked the Hague Joint Declaration as “a document of perpetual division.” It later declared JASIG “inoperative” in 2012.

We challenge the Aquino administration and the OPAPP be true to its words in “forging peace” and not turning the negotiating tables around. It should respect The Hague Declaration, JASIG and the CARHRIHL. We also call on the GPH and the OPAPP to stop attacking the previous bilateral agreements, resume the peace talks and release all political prisoners now.

For just and lasting peace,

Cristina Palabay
Secretary General
Karapatan





http://www.arkibongbayan.org/2014/2014-01Jan15-4EdSarmiento/ReleaseEdSarmiento.htm

IMT warns vs putting up of Bangsamoro office

From the Sun Star- Zamboanga (Jan 17): IMT warns vs putting up of Bangsamoro office

INTERNATIONAL Monitoring Team (IMT) head Colonel Zolkipli Hashim on Friday strongly warned that pending the comprehensive peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), any movement on the ground let alone in Zamboanga City is illegal and therefore should not be pursued.

Hashim’s stern warning was addressed to an MILF group that wanted to put up an MILF Bangsamoro Political Office in the village of Cawit, west of this city.

He ordered the group to dismantle whatever structure they had erected on a piece of land in the village of Cawit “so as not to affect, preempt or derail the ongoing GPH-MILF peace process.”

Hashim issued the warning and order during a dialogue Friday in the village of Cawit between the MILF group headed by a certain Jusali Musali, mayor of the Bangsamoro, and the official of Cawit headed by Chairman Rey Modillas.

The IMT mediated the dialogue in the presence of Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, Vice Mayor Cesar Iturralde and some city councilors together with City Legal Officer Jesus Carbon.

ZAMBOANGA. International Monitoring Team head Zolkipli Hashim warns MILF group against putting up of Bangasamoro Political Office in Cawit, Zamboanga City while Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar and Vice Mayor Cesar Iturralde listen intently. (Bong Garcia)

Musali’s group had constructed a structure on a piece of land in the village of Cawit, owned by Alex Doris, purposely for the establishment of so-called MILF Bangsamoro Political Office and a cooperative upon instruction by a certain Bob of the MILF Central Committee.

Modillas protested and brought the issue to the IMT based at the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), claiming that Musali’s group did not coordinate with his office prior to the construction of the structure, thus causing apprehension among residents in the area.

During the dialogue, it was found out that Musali’s move was not authorized by the MILF Central Committee as he admitted to the IMT that there was no written instruction from the MILF for him to put up the so-called Bangsamoro Political Office.

Musali claimed that what was constructed though was a small hut but with the same intention, citing a provision in the framework agreement that a Muslim-dominated area in Minadanao may opt to join the Bangsamoro.

Major Abdurasad Sirai, head of the Mindanao Secretariat for the GPH panel, cautioned Musali and his group that the framework agreement cannot be made as basis for any movement on the ground by the MILF since there has yet to be a final agreement.

Sirai warned that Musali’s move may even cause a problem if he pursues it.
“Just wait for the final agreement. It’s almost there. Don’t do anything that might affect the ongoing peace talks,” Sirai stressed adding, “Zamboanga City is not part of the Bangsamoro and it is non-negotiable.”

Salazar meanwhile has strongly denied having been consulted on the matter by the MILF group.

Salazar said she learned about the putting of the political it after Modeillas reported to her about it.

Salazar, during the dialogue, reiterated the residents of Zamboanga City have voted in past two plebiscites against the city’s inclusion to Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

She said the residents are also against the inclusion of Zamboanga City to any Bangsamoro homeland or any territory that will be claimed by the MILF or Moro National Liberation Front.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2014/01/17/imt-warns-vs-putting-bangsamoro-office-323788