BIFF death toll climbs to 52 including 13 child warriors, says Army

From InterAksyon (Jan 31): BIFF death toll climbs to 52 including 13 child warriors, says Army

The number of fatalities among Islamic freedom fighters has risen to 52 as a dozen more of them were killed on Friday, the fifth day of military offensives against a Muslim militant organization that broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) five years ago. 

Thirteen of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters' (BIFF) 52 fatalities were child warriors, according to Colonel Dickson Hermoso, spokesperson of the Philippine Army's 6th Infantry Division. 

“They were child fighters...they were in fatigue uniforms with BIFF markings and possessing firearms,” Hermoso said Friday. 

He said 20 of the fatalities had already been identified since the offensive began on January 27. 

The fighting came a day after the government and the MILF signed the final annex of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement, which the BIFF strongly opposed. 

On the government side, one soldier was killed while 13 other infantrymen were wounded. 

The guerillas are now contained in Barangay Ganta and had shown limited resistance during the offensive, according to Hermoso. 

“Hopefully, with this development the fighting will die down and the internally displaced persons may return home,” Hermoso said.

But BIFF spokesperson Abu Misry Mama maintained that his group only had four fatalities.  

He also belied the Army's claim that the BIFF was showing little resistance. “Our stance remains, we will fight to the last drop of our blood in defense of our rights,” Mama said in a phone interview.

The fighting was happening mostly in Maguindanao but residents of three villages in Pikit, North Cotabato had fled to safer grounds as government troops occupied the areas to prevent the spillover of the war.

Hermoso said the Army also alerted local government units in communities and towns outside the Maguindanao marshland.

"Our troops in the cities and provinces around the marshland are already on alert since day 1 because our experiences in the past show that BIFF carry out diversionary tactics to ease the heat in Maguindanao," Hermoso said. 

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/79843/biff-death-toll-climbs-to-52-including-13-child-warriors-says-army

3 ‘child warriors’ among BIFF fatalities in Maguindanao – military

From GMA News (Jan 31): 3 ‘child warriors’ among BIFF fatalities in Maguindanao – military

At least three children were among the 53 people killed in the military operation against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a military official on the ground claimed Friday.

In a phone interview with GMA News Online, regional military spokesman Col. Dickson Hermoso said local authorities were able to confirm that the three, who are believed to be members of the BIFF, were minors aged between 15 to 17 years old.

He said the three were wearing BIFF uniforms when their bodies were recovered.

GMA News Online was still trying to contact local officials in Maguindanao for confirmation as of posting time.

Hermoso said 53 people — 52 rebels and one soldier — were killed in the operations that reached its fifth day on Friday. Meanwhile, 42 BIFF members and 13 soldiers were wounded.

The BIFF is a small breakaway faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that opposes the peace talks.

BIFF camps

In a separate text message to GMA News Online, Armed Forces public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said government soldiers have captured at least five “significant” BIFF camps.

He said these were:

• headquarters in Barangay Dasawao, Shariff Saydona Mustapha;
• training facility in Barangay Ganta, Shariff Saydona Mustapha;
• improvised explosive device factory in Barangay Ganta, Shariff Saydona Mustapha;
• advance post in Barangay Bakat, Shariff Saydona Mustapha; and
• advance post in Barangay Damablas in Datu Piang.

Zagala said the capture of the camps has weakened the rebels' capabilities to attack. “We denied them access to their IEDs [improvise explosive devices]," he said.

For his part, Army 6th Infantry Division's public affairs officer Maj. Dante Gania said they have seized materials used to make IEDs at the factory.

“They are materials for making IED, yung nakuha natin, walang naka-built-in,” he added, noting that the rebels may still have IEDs with them.

However, Dante said the capture of the IED factory has helped decrease the group's threat against the military. “Magandang development kasi... mababawasan yung threat nila through IED.”

Zagala said military operations will end on Saturday, based on the deadline approved by the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG). He added that this has been extended after the first deadline ended on Wednesday.

However, he noted they may ask for another extention if the BIFF continue to resist the serving of the arrest warrants against some of their members.

Evacuated residents

Meanwhile, Gania said they are hoping that an extension would not be needed anymore, and the rebels would not resist the warrant of arrest.

“Kami nga po we wanted it to end as early as possible para hindi na po mahirapan yung mga kababayan natin na nasa safer places, mga evacuation center, para po ma-restore yung normalcy, maituloy nila yung normal life nila,” he said.

He noted that more or less 7,000 displaced residents are still at evacuation centers.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/346387/news/regions/3-child-warriors-among-biff-fatalities-in-maguindanao-military

BIFF commander killed in Maguindanao offensive – Army official

From GMA News (Jan 31): BIFF commander killed in Maguindanao offensive – Army official

A top leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) has been killed in military operations against the splinter group, an Army official on the ground said on Friday.

 

In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Colonel Dickson Hermoso, regional military spokesman, confirmed BIFF commander Hassan Indal was killed in Barangay Dumablas in Datu Piang, Maguindanao on Thursday.

 

Hermoso earlier said 53 people — 52 rebels and one soldier — were killed in the operations that were on their fifth day on Friday. Meanwhile, 42 BIFF members and 13 soldiers have been wounded in the fighting.

 

The BIFF is a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. 

 

It is headed by Ameril Umbra Kato, who led attacks in North Cotabato and Lanao Del Norte in 2008 after the Supreme Court stopped parties from signing the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain over questions on its legality. 

 

The MILF expelled Kato and his faction in 2011

 

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/346425/news/regions/biff-commander-killed-in-maguindanao-offensive-army-official

Photo: BIFF spokesman meets the press

From GMA News (Jan 30): Photo: BIFF spokesman meets the press



During a break in clashes with the military, Abu Misry Mama (4th right), spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, poses with his men at a press conference at their hideout in Maguindanao on Wednesday, January 29. President Aquino vowed to crush armed groups opposed to a peace deal aimed at ending the decades-long Moro separatist insurgency. AFP/Mark Navales

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/photo/53018/biff-spokesman-meets-the-press

Misuari: Audio: Interview of Kani Abu Misri Mama - BIFF Spokesman [1-29-14]

Posted to the Nur Misuari Facebook page (Jan 29): Audio: Interview of Kani Abu Misri Mama- BIFF Spokesman [1-29-14]



https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=678829898826308&set=vb.100000979110790&type=2&theater

https://www.facebook.com/Nur.P.Misuari

IEP: A review course on the Subject of JiHad

Posted to the Islamic Emirate of the Philippines (IEP) Facebook page (Jan 30): A review course on the Subject of JiHad

A collection of Tagalog translation by Abu AbduLLAH Al-Gharib on the english lecture series on "The Book Of Jihad" by Shaheed Sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki on Ibn-Nuhaas's "Mashari Al-Ashwaq Ila Masari Al-Ushaaq"



May this lecture benefit us in this world and the hereafter.
http://muslimstreasurebox.blogspot.com/p/audio-lectures.html

https://www.facebook.com/IslamicEmirateInThePhilippines

Islamic freedom fighters vow to crush Philippine offensive in Mindanao

From the Mindanao Examiner blog site (Jan 30): Islamic freedom fighters vow to crush Philippine offensive in Mindanao



Islamic freedom fighters in the southern Philippines have vowed to crush a massive government offensive aimed at breaking the core of resistance of a breakaway faction of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front currently negotiating with Manila.

Abu Misry Mama, a spokesman for the group called Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, said the government offensive only brought miseries for thousands of civilians who fled the military assault in the provinces of North Cotabato and Maguindanao.

“The only losers here are the civilians who are affected by the government offensive in North Cotabato and Maguindanao,” Mama told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

The 6th Infantry Division, which is on the forefront of the military offensive, said as many as 40 rebels were killed since the assault began on January 27, a day after Philippine government peace negotiators and the MILF signed the last of the four annexes - Annex on Normalization - to the so-called Bangsamoro Framework Agreement that would pave the way for an expanded Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

Accusations

Col. Dickson Hermoso, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, citing intelligence reports, insisted that at least 40 rebels had been killed and that many more were wounded in the government offensive, an allegation strongly denied by Mama.

“Hermoso is a propagandist and liar, and I tell you that all he said was a lie. We have no casualties, although seven BIFF are slightly wounded in the fighting,” Mama said, adding they also destroyed at least three armored personnel carriers and a battle tank in the clashes despite the superior military firepower – both on land and air.

Hermoso also said that the BIFF is harboring foreign terrorists and had been attacking military and civilian targets in Mindanao, but Mama just laughed off the military report.

“I also heard the news and Hermoso is saying that we have foreign terrorists in our ranks, but the BIFF does not need any foreign fighters, we can fight on our own and defend ourselves and the Muslims in Mindanao. This is all propaganda of the military,” Mama said.

“The military would always launch attacks against the BIFF every time peace talks between Manila and the MILF resumes and then they tell the Philippine media that we started it all. We stay away from the peace talks and whatever they do is their own business and we have our own goal and that is to pursue independence of the Bangsamoro homeland,” he added.

Hermoso said the BIFF has targeted civilians and were behind the spate of bombings, killings and extortion and that the military assault is part of a law enforcement operation.

He said BIFF leaders are facing a string of criminal charges and so were their members. Mama denied Hermoso’s accusations and branded them as propaganda.

Mama also took a swipe at Gov. Mujiv Hataman, of the Muslim autonomous region and branded him as an “anti-BIFF.”

“This Hataman never reach out for peace. He is an anti-BIFF,” he said without elaborating further.

Peace panel

Miriam Ferrer, head of the Philippine peace panel, said over the last 9 months, BIFF rebels repeatedly harassed troops and terrorized local communities. They planted roadside bombs, sniped at soldiers, took school teachers as hostages, and in one instance, even beheaded a civilian captive and recently commandeered a private vehicle and forcibly used it as a roadblock in Maguindanao.

“The ongoing military operations are geared at degrading the BIFF’s capability to continue to cause harm to the government forces, civilians and the peace process,” she said.

Ferrer said the government and the MILF have taken necessary steps to ensure the operations will not spill over to involve MILF rebels or cause unnecessary or prolonged hardship to civilians. She said the MILF is assisting in the operations by helping the government contain the movements of the BIFF.

“We call on the members and the leaders of the BIFF  to put down their arms and be part of the process. We ask them to listen to the plea of their own brothers and sisters to give peace a chance. Local government officials are ready to receive those who would like to silence their guns and participate in the different programs we will be undertaking as part of the implementation of the peace agreements,” she said.

“We know that BIFF members can also contact supporters or local ground commanders of the MILF who could facilitate their return to normal lives. These and other avenues are open for those among the BIFF who are ready to join us in our peace efforts,” Ferrer added.

Humanitarian considerations

The Mindanao Human Rights Action Center, which has been monitoring and assisting those displaced by the war, appealed to the government to “wrap up” the operation due to the growing number of affected civilians.

“Given the need to cause as little disruption to the lives of civilians and to minimize their anxiety, we appeal that this police action be wrapped up immediately or that more proportionate military measures be adopted to undertake this police action to address civilian apprehensions about a police action that involves intense artillery shelling for several days,” it said.

The human rights center has distributed food packs to the displaced families, but relief aid is not enough and also appealed for more help to be able to feed the refugees.

Formidable force

Mama said the BIFF - under Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato - remains a strong force despite government offensives the past years and warned that many MILF members may join them if the peace talks with the Aquino government fail.

“That I can guarantee you, if the peace talks fail many MILF members would surely join the BIFF to fight for self-determination and freedom,” he said.

Mama said even members of the Moro National Liberation Front may also join the BIFF. “That is possibility. The MNLF may also join us in this struggle,” he said.

The MILF, a breakaway faction of the MNLF, previously branded the five-province Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao as a failure. The region has been rocked by corruption scandals and remains as one of the poorest in the country.

The rebel group previously called on the Aquino government to amend the Constitution that would allow the creation of a Muslim sub-state in Mindanao. President Benigno Aquino’s allies in Congress have in the past proposed to amend the Constitution, saying, there is a need to change many provisions in the Charter that would benefit the country’s economy, among others.

MNLF

Nur Misuari, leader of one of two MNLF factions, had previously met with Kato in his stronghold in Maguindanao’s Guindulungan town. And there were speculations that Misuari was trying to lure Kato to join the MNLF.

During the November 2011 meeting, Misuari said Kato’s group was well-armed and far larger than Murad Ebrahim, the MILF chieftain. He said the combined forces of the MNLF and Kato’s group is formidable.

Kato and another senior rebel leader, Abdulla Macapaar, were both accused by Philippine authorities as behind the series of deadly attacks in Mindanao in 2008, and had been disowned by the MILF after they split with the rebel group with Kato forming his own called Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement and later changed it to Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

The military said Kato and Macapaar had led rebel forces in attacking civilian targets after peace negotiators failed to sign a Muslim homeland deal because the Supreme Court declared the accord unconstitutional. Because of the attacks, police and military authorities have launched an operation to capture the two leaders.

Kato has repeatedly criticized Ebrahim for abandoning their struggle for independence and betraying the MILF when he agreed to a secret meeting called by President Aquino in Japan in August 2011, saying Murad corrupted the rights of the Bangsamoro people, adding the MILF chieftain should have consulted his leaders before meeting with Aquino.

Kato suffered a stroke in 2011, but his condition remains unknown, although there were reports that a new commander – Sheik Mohidin Animbang – has taken over the command of the rebel group, whose members were mostly former fighters of the MILF and members of the rival MNLF.

The MILF, in a previous statement, said it is willing to help in the military operation against Kato and could provide forces to block all entry and exit points around his hideout. The MILF forged an agreement with Manila in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces - through the ad hoc joint action group - to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.

Nur Misuari

Like Kato, Misuari is also opposed to the government peace talks with the MILF, saying, Manila should first abide by the peace agreement it signed with the MNLF in September 1996, ending more than 20 years of bloody fighting in the southern Philippines.

After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of autonomous region. But many former rebels were disgruntled with the accord, saying, the government failed to comply with some of its provisions and uplift their standards of living. They accused the government of failing to develop the war-torn areas in the south, which remain in mired in poverty, heavily militarized and dependent financially on Manila.

In November 2001, on the eve of the elections in the Muslim autonomous region, Misuari accused the government of reneging on the peace agreement, and his followers launched a new rebellion in Sulu and Zamboanga City, where more than 100 people were killed.

Misuari escaped by boat to Malaysia, but was arrested there and deported to the Philippines. He was eventually freed in 2008 after Manila dropped all charges against him for lack of sufficient evidence. He was also ousted by Muslimin Sema, the MNLF Secretary-General, but Misuari maintained that he is the true leader of the former rebel group.

Last September, Misuari’s forces also assaulted several villages in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines and the fighting dragged on for three weeks.

More than 400 people were killed and wounded in the fighting that forced over 120,000 villagers to flee their homes.



















Philippine troops fire cannons on BIFF targets in Maguindanao province in southern Philippines. BIFF spokesman Abu Misry Mama speaks to rebels in Maguindanao where thousands of villagers have fled the military assault in the province. And a library pictures of BIFF founder Ustadz Ameril Umra Kato and MNLF chieftain Nur Misuari during a meeting in Maguindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Mark Navales/Central Mindanao Bureau)

http://mindanaoexaminer.blogspot.com/2014/01/islamic-freedom-fighters-vow-to-crush.html

Army overruns BIFF camp, traps 100 rebels

From the Manila Times (Jan 30): Army overruns BIFF camp, traps 100 rebels

MORE than a hundred members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) have been cornered by government forces following clashes in central Mindanao that left at least 41 people dead and dozens wounded.

The military was given by the joint action group of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) until Saturday to complete its mission to hunt down the BIFF, whose members broke into smaller groups to better elude government troops, a military official said on Thursday.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the BIFF members had fled to Reina Regente mountain at the boundary of Maguindanao and Pikit, North Cotabato province.

“They (BIFF) broke into smaller groups after a running gunbattle yesterday (Wednesday) and the army and police have overrun the villages of Bakat and Ganta at Sharif Saydona Mustapha in Maguindao,” Hermoso said.

Sharif Saydona Mustapha is a known BIFF stronghold. The group’s headquarters, training camp and center for manufacturing improvised explosive devices are all located in the town.

“There were running gunbattles because they splintered into smaller groups. There are still some sporadic fighting in [Brgy.] Bakat and they are still there,” Hermoso said.
The army official said one government soldier was killed while 13 others were wounded since clashes broke out on Monday.

Hermoso said the three Army battalions are more than enough to go after the BIFF.
He added that the Adhoc-Joint Action Group (AHJAG) has extended for 72 hours the military and police’s operation against the BIFF, which had broken from the MILF.

“We have requested for an extension and the AHJAG granted our request and this will last until Saturday if they (BIFF) surrender. If not, we will continue, but (that) depends on the situation on the ground,” Hermoso said.

He said the MNLF and MILF pledged to steer clear of the fighting and not take sides.
“We made close coordination with them and they have promised that their groups will not support or make alliance… but some of their members have relatives with the BIFF,” Hermoso said.

Former MILF commander Ameril Umbrakato formed the BIFF in 2012, and the group has since been involved in terrorist acts, including the sacking of villages and taking of hostages.

Malacañang on Thursday justified the offensive against the BIFF as part of the military’s duty to preserve peace in Mindanao.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said they want the hostilities to end soon through heightened cooperation between government troops and MILF fighters.

“We need to understand the situation. We also need to understand that the primary responsibility of our Armed Forces and the police is to ensure the safety of our people,” Coloma said.

“If there are sectors who would claim that the operations encroach their territory, the important question is whether the forces of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) and the police follow the accepted rules of engagement. Do they follow the important consideration of protection of human rights and against indiscriminate use of force?” he said.

Coloma was reacting to reports that MNLF forces in central Mindanao complained that government troops had entered their turf.

But Coloma said government troops have orders to strictly abide by the rules of engagement and protect civilians.

Coloma refuted the MNLF’s claim that they were left out in the negotiations.

“There was no move that intends to disadvantage or discriminate any particular sector because our objective is to have a peace pact. We do not want violence. But we need to defend the safety of the people with the end in view of having lasting peace,” he pointed out.

Government peace panel chairman Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said the military operations “are geared at degrading the BIFF’s capability to continue to cause harm to the government forces, civilians and the peace process.”

“Over the last nine months, the [BIFF] repeatedly harassed our soldiers and terrorized local communities. They planted roadside bombs, sniped at our soldiers, took school teachers as hostages, and in one instance, even beheaded a civilian captive. A few days ago, in the midst of the fighting, they commandeered a private vehicle and forcibly used it as a roadblock,” she noted.

“Government and the MILF have taken the necessary steps to ensure that the operations will not spill over to involve MILF combatants or cause unnecessary or prolonged hardship to civilians,” she said.

Ferrer appealed the the BIFF to “put down their arms and be part of the process.”
As the fighting entered its third day, the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) vowed to support peace efforts in Mindanao.

In a statement, the PCEC congratulated the members of the government and the Muslim peace panels who demonstrated transparency, determination, and trustworthiness as they struggled with many difficult issues around the negotiating table.

“We pray that the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by the Transition Commission would reflect the just and peaceful aspirations of all the Moro people, all the various tribes among the Indigenous Peoples, as well as the Migrants in Mindanao. We also pray that this BBL would pass the careful, responsible examination and deliberation in the House of Representatives using the lenses of justice, righteousness, and peace for all,” the statement said.

http://manilatimes.net/army-overruns-biff-camp-traps-100-rebels/72010/

MILF fighters refuse to surrender arms

From the Manila Times (Jan 31): MILF fighters refuse to surrender arms

The fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will not turn in their weapons despite the signing of the final annex of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement that calls for the decommissioning of the MILF force.

An MILF ground commander said half of MILF’s forces want to hold on to their firearms on the chance that the peace deal will eventually fail, in the same way that the 1996 agreement between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the government was left unimplemented.

“Of course we don’t want to surrender our firearms because if they [government] fail to implement what the MILF had been fighting for, we will still have our firearms and we can fight again for our cause,” the commander, who wanted to be identified only as Malik, said.

Malik told The Manila Times majority of his comrades will likely defy orders to lay down their arms.

“What happens to us when our arms are taken away?” said Malik, who claims to lead 200 men.

Malik said not all MILF fighters follow orders from their leaders. He said there are three factions in the group—one loyal to Salamat, the second to Murad and the third to Umbrakato.

He said the prevailing suspicion among MILF fighters is that only their leaders and the people close to them will benefit from the peace agreement.

Under the normalization annex signed last week, a decommissioning body of three foreign and four local experts nominated by the two parties will oversee the disarming of MILF.

A foreign expert will head the panel that will make a headcount of MILF fighters and weapons and decide how to collect and stockpile of the surrendered weapons.

The MNLF has denounced the signing of the Bangsamoro agreement, insisting that the government must first guarantee that the peace pact signed by his group in 1996 is implemented.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. explained the decommissioning of MILF troops does not mean that the group has surrendered to the government.

“We emphatically explained that this is not surrender. There was no notion or element of surrender that was discussed ever since,” Coloma said.

He defined decommissioning as “a voluntary deactivation of arms.”

“The MILF recognizes the new image and form of their participation in the development of the region…They have acknowledged that they will have to actively, purposively transform themselves into a social movement; and they will take on the added responsibility of law enforcement in the area,” Coloma said.

Under the normalization process, the MILF will organize its own law enforcement and police forces.

“They will assume the bigger responsibility of enforcing the law and keeping peace and order in their area. They will assume the responsibility of taking on, law enforcement and police duties in the area,” Coloma said.

Bigger problem

 Groups of social democrats headed by a non-government organization called the Panaghugpong Mindanao urged President Benigno Aquino 3rd not to sign the final peace agreement with the MILF, saying it will create more serious problems in Mindanao.

The group, a regional movement under the Ang Katipunan ng mga Samahang Maharlika (Ang KaSaMa Inc.), said signing the final agreement may spark a bigger conflict that could engulf Mindanao.

Ang KaSaMa Inc. national coordinator Deo Palma told The Times his group will hold a Peace and Development Summit in University of the Philippines in Diliman where the participants will plan how to convince the President to give priority to the full implementation of the 1996 peace agreement with the MNLF.

Palma warned that disregarding the pact with the MNLF could lead to a full-scale war.
“It’s not President Aquino or the Manila people who will suffer but the people in Mindanao who will bear the consequences if the 70,000 forces of the MNLF wage a wider war against the Aquino government,” Palma said.

On Wednesday, President Aquino vowed to crush “peace spoilers,” particularly the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and the MNLF which continue to oppose to the pact with the MILF.

The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo defended the so-called “spoilers of peace.”
Abraham Idrijani, secretary general and spokesman of the Sultanate, said groups which the President call “spoilers of peace” are not against peace in Mindanao but want only equal protection from the government.

“They wanted peace to reign but it has to embrace and transcend ideological lines and groups affiliations,” Idrijani told The Times. “Both the MNLF and the BIFF are Filipinos who deserve the protection of their ancestral and political rights by the Aquino government.”

Idrijani said the MNLF felt that the Aquino administration violated the three international treaties signed by the MNLF and the government during the time of president Corazon C. Aquino in 1987.

He pointed out that the agreement with the MILF covers the same territories covered by the international treaties already signed and mutually agreed upon.

http://manilatimes.net/milf-fighters-refuse-to-surrender-arms/72016/

NPAs kill barangay chief and ex-comrade in Agusan del Sur

From Malaya (Jan 31): NPAs kill barangay chief and ex-comrade in Agusan del Sur

A BARANGAY chairman who was a former New People’s Army member was shot dead by his former comrades Tuesday in Agusan del Sur.

 

Joselito Rodrigo, of sitio Kidihay, barangay Limot in Veruela town, was shot just after attending a meeting of barangay chiefs in barangay Poblacion, also in Veruela town, at around 5 p.m.

 

Rodrigo was on his way home aboard a motorcycle, with Cherry Lou Noos, barangay secretary, as passenger, when some 20 men blocked the road Purok 1, sitio Mahaba, in barangay Del Monte.

 

The rebels ordered Noos to alight and started to shoot Rodrigo, hitting him in different parts of the body. The rebels fled on foot, leaving Noos unharmed.

 

In Kalinga also Tuesday, government forces seized four high-powered firearms from the NPA.

 

Kalinga is among at least 30 provinces cleared by government forces of the communists. The military declared the province insurgency-free in 2011.

 

Maj. Emmanuel Garcia, chief of the military’s 1st Civil Relations Group, said a province declared as insurgency-free does not necessarily mean there is no rebel presence. He said it just means that the rebels have no capacity to cause serious problems.

 

On the seized firearms, Garcia said the M16 rifle, Garand rifle, Carbine rifle, and a Springfield rifle were unearthed in barangay Magnao in Tabuk town.

 

He said burying of firearms “is a manifestation their strength continues to dwindle.”

 

“They (NPA) are burying their firearms because they lack people to carry them (firearms),” he said.

 

Garcia said troops the 17th Infantry Battalion and militiamen proceeded to the area after persistent reports that NPA rebels buried something in the area a few months ago

 

In Agusan del Sur yesterday, forces from the 29th Infantry Battalion recovered an AK47 rifle, an improvised explosive device, and three backpacks with personal belongings and documents following a firefight with NPA rebels in barangay Tagmamarkay in Tubay town around 8:45 a.m. 

 

1Lt. Joe Patrick Martinez, chief of the 42nd Civil Military Operations Company, said the soldiers were deployed to the barangay after residents reported rebel presence in the area.

 

Martinez said about 20 rebels opened fire at the troops while approaching the rebel position. The troops maneuvered and instructed civilians to leave the area.

 

He said the rebels withdrew after a 20-minute firefight.

 

He said the rebels sustained casualties as evidenced by bloodstains in area where the insurgents positioned themselves.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/npas-kill-barangay-chief-and-ex-comrade-agusan-del-sur

BIFF fight widens; MILF, MNLF friends, kin join; gov’t forces engaged for 5th day

From Malaya (Jan 31): BIFF fight widens; MILF, MNLF friends, kin join; gov’t forces engaged for 5th day

FIGHTING between government forces and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters in Maguindanao continued for the fifth day yesterday, with fighters from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front aiding the BIFF.

 

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the involvement of some MILF and MNLF men in the fighting is not sanctioned by the leaders of the two groups.

 

He said these MILF and MNLF members are fighting government troops merely “reinforced” their relatives in the BIFF.

 

“They’re (BIFF men) only about 100 but they are reinforced by their relatives from other armed groups when you engage them,” he said.

 

“This is an independent action by these people. It’s not an institutional action; (they joined) because they have relatives in the BIFF,” he added.

 

The MILF is engaged in peace talks with government. The MNLF signed a peace pact with government in 1996 but some of the members later left the group and formed the MILF. The 300-strong BIFF is headed a former MILF commander who is opposed to the peace negotiations between government and the MILF.

 

Hermoso, asked how many MILF and MNLF fighters have aided the BIFF, said they are a few because most of them “do not want to subscribe with the BIFF.”

 

Hermoso also said fighting is dragging because troops are unfamiliar with the terrain and because of the presence of civilians in the area.

 

He said the target is to finish the operation by Saturday.

 

As of yesterday, there were sporadic firefights in barangays Bakat and Ganta, both in Shariff Saidona Mustapha town, and barangay Damablas in Datu Piang town.

 

“We’re pursuing them and they splintered into smaller groups. As of now, there is sporadic fighting. They (BIFF men) are still there,” he said.

 

The fighting broke out last Sunday in Sultan sa Barongis town in Maguindanao when government forces launched law enforcement operations against BIFF members for atrocities.

 

The military cleared the operations with MILF because the areas of operations are near MILF communities.

 

Hermoso said the military would continue with the operations “because the MILF itself requested to finish off the BIFF so that they would have no problem later on.”

 

He also said there is no need to deploy additional forces in Maguindanao because there are enough operating troops. Three Army battalions are directly involved in the campaign and other units are playing a support role, he said.

 

Around 40 BIFF men, including child warriors, have been killed since Sunday while 12 others were wounded. On the government side, a soldier has died and 13 others were wounded.

 

Miriam Cornel-Ferrer, chair of the government panel in the peace talks with the MILF, urged BIFF members to lay down their arms and be part of the peace process.

 

“We ask them (BIFF) to listen to the plea of their own brothers and sisters to give peace a chance,” she said.

 

She said local government officials are ready to receive BIFF men who would want to participate in programs under the peace agreement. She said the BIFF could also contact supporters or local ground commanders of the MILF.

 

She also said relief provisions have been on standby for those temporarily displaced. 

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/biff-fight-widens-milf-mnlf-friends-kin-join-gov%E2%80%99t-forces-engaged-5th-day

UK backs rules-based solution to West Philippine Sea disputes

From InterAksyon (Jan 31): UK backs rules-based solution to West Philippine Sea disputes

The United Kingdom on Thursday backed a growing international clamor for the territorial row in the South China Sea to be resolved based on rule of law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

British Foreign Minister William Hague, who is in the country for a one-day visit, also urged all parties to the disputes to “seek peaceful and cooperative solutions” in resource-rich waters being claimed by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

“In the international system and within states themselves, a principled and rules-based approach will be critical to stability and growth in the long term,” Hague told diplomats and government officials during a foreign policy speech in Makati City.

“I assure you we will always encourage not only here but all over the world, we encourage a rules-based rather than power-based solution to the disputes,” Hague said in a statement that reflects the increasing international concern over the long-running territorial row, the need to prevent the conflict into turning violent and an assurance of unimpeded access in the busy sealanes.

Tensions spiked anew in waters after China imposed a fishing restriction against foreign vessels over nearly the entire South China Sea.

Parts of the waters that fall under the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone have been renamed West Philippine Sea by Manila. China has declared undisputed claim over nearly the entire South China Sea, saying it has ancient maps and documents to prove its assertion.

The maritime row was among the several issues taken up by Hague and his Philippine counterpart, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario during their meeting.

Del Rosario said he and Hague agreed that countries “should desist from taking actions that affect peace, security and stability in the region.”

“We further agreed on the importance of maritime security, freedom of navigation, non-use of force and the threat of the use of force, and the peaceful settlement of disputes to peace and prosperity in the region,” Del Rosario told an earlier press conference with Hague in Manila.

Del Rosario thanked the U.K. for its support in the Philippines’ pursuit of a rules-based solution to the maritime disputes in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, specifically the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

UNCLOS is a 1982 accord by 163 countries that governs the use of offshore areas and sets territorial limits of coastal states. The Philippines and China are both signatories to the treaty.

The U.K., Hague said, does not take sides on the territorial rifts, but noted that his country would “want to see peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance to international law.”

Manila last year posed a legal challenge against China’s massive claim before a Netherlands-based tribunal.

Beijing refused to participate in the proceedings, saying the Philippine claims are groundless and lack legal merit.

Hague said the Philippines is entitled to pursue legal remedy against China and that the U.K. is following the progress of the case closely.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/79810/uk-backs-rules-based-solution-to-west-philippine-sea-disputes

MILF to AFP: Kill all the BIFF rebels

From the Daily Tribune (Jan 31): MILF to AFP: Kill all the BIFF rebels

Fearing a future threat to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front  with the establishment of a Bangsamoro substate, the MILF wants the Philippine military to kill the Muslim rebels, telling the Philippine Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)  to finish off the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), which armed group is now the subject of deliberate operations in Maguindanao, apparently to avert its breakaway group from posing an armed threat in the future.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID), said that government security forces continue to pursue BIFF elements in the towns of Shariff Saydona Mustapha and Datu Piang yesterday.

Sporadic clashes are still erupting in the said areas between military troops and BIFF.
So far, 40 BIFF rebels and one soldier have been killed in the ongoing conflict in Maguindanao, according to the military, even when there are no cadavers to buttress its claim of the number of dead BIFF rebels.

BIFF’s Umbra Kato debunked the military claim, saying that only two of its fighters have been killed.

Ironically, the MILF rebels then, along with the BIFF, before the BIFF cut off from the MILF, and before the MILF cut off its ties with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNL), also took the very same position as the BIFF today, killing soldiers and even beheading them.

“There will be no let up, we will not stop because that is the request of the MILF – to stop BIFF, so that they (MILF) will have no problem later on,” said Hermoso.

Hermoso said that there were reports that many BIFF members were also wounded and urged them to coordinate with barangay officials to seek proper medical attention.

“There are many wounded and we encourage the BIFF to coordinate with local officials, barangay officials to have proper medical attention…as humanitarian consideration because they are fellow Filipinos,” said Hermoso.

There have been “sporadic (clashes) because they (BIFF rebels)  splintered into smaller groups,” said Hermoso.

According to Hermoso, the military is not deploying fresh troops to Maguindanao to augment the Army’s 601st Brigade which is leading the deliberate law enforcement operations against the BIFF.

Hermoso said that three Army battalions are involved in the operations.

Prior to the signing of the 1996 Final Peace Agreement (FPA) between the administration of then President Ramos and MNLF chaired by Nur Misuari, the MILF was formed by Hashim Salamat, who clamored for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao instead of autonomy.

This was the reason for the break with Misuari, which breakaway group formed itself into the MILF.

The MILF, now headed by Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, had just signed the normalization annex, the last contentious issue under the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB) which will pave the way for the comprehensive compact agreement between the MILF and the government of the Philippines.

In 2011, Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato broke away from the MILF due to differences with the MILF leadership in handling the peace negotiations. Kato is known as a hardliner clamoring for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.

The MNLF) yesterday scored the military’s deliberate operations against the BIFF  which came immediately after the government of the Philippines and the MILF agreed on the last contentious annex of the FAB.

Lawyer Emmanuel Fontanilla, spokesman of MNLF, noted that while the government and the MILF urged the entire country to celebrate with the signing of the normalization annex of the FAB last Saturday, it was followed by massive military operations in Maguindanao.

“We were surprised that immediately after the signing, the government resorted again to violence. This is very saddening,” Fontanilla told The Tribune.

“I thought the government is for peace, why launch such operations? Is this the government’s message to the MNLF if we do not support the peace talks, are we going to be subjected to  similar action?” he asked.

The government and MILF peace panels signed the normalization annex of FAB last Saturday in Kuala Lumpur.

Immediately on Monday, the military launched its so-called deliberate law enforcement operations against BIFF personalities who have standing warrants of arrest.

The military, however, could not identify specifically the targets of the ongoing operations.

Fontanilla warned that such government move will only bring about conflict in Mindanao instead of peace and development.

“That (ongoing fighting) will only expand. It could escalate into government versus Muslim because our Muslim brothers, when attacked just like what is happening, will rally behind relatives regardless of group affiliation,” said Fontanilla.

“There will be no MNLF, MILF or BIFF, our Muslim brothers will fight for our brothers,” he added.

Fontanilla stressed that the MNLF, which signed a Final Peace Agreement with the government in 1996, has no official relations with the BIFF, a breakaway faction of the MILF founded by Ustadz Ameril Umbra Kato in 2011.

However, Fontanilla said that there are MNLF members related with BIFF fighters.
The MNLF spokesman likened the present government moves in Maguindanao to what happened in Zamboanga City last September when government security forces engaged MNLF fighters in a 21-day conflict,

Meanwhile, the success of the peace agreement between the government and the MILF could either end in war or peace including the eradication of the Abu Sayyaf.

This was the position of former Armed Forces Chief of Staff, now Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon even as he called on the government to expedite the required measures that would implement the accord.

“If everything fails, there is only one alternative, wage war,” warned Biazon.

War will be the inevitable result of a failure by government to execute the provisions of the peace pact with the MILF while the annihilation of Abu Sayyaf and other terror groups in Mindanao will be part of the prize if the peace effort succeeds.

Biazon, a member of the administration Liberal Party, posited that an ad hoc legislative committee is needed to expedite measures needed in the implementation of the  accord.

Biazon, chairman of the House committee on national defense, admitted that there will be constitutional issues that might be brought before the Supreme Court which may rule for or against any enacted measures that will seal the peace treaty.

The Aquino government is expected to ask Congress to approve a bill that will amend existing laws or repeal Republic Act No. 6734 or the organic act that created ARMM.
“There are annexes to the treaty that might touch on constitutional provisions but we can avoid amending the Constitution.  There are ways to avoid it,” he said.

Biazon, however, underscored the importance of the peace agreement that is anchored on the Constitution.

Aside from the Abu Sayyaf, the problem of the BIFF could also be solved with a peace agreement.

Biazon admitted that there is a need to amend the law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as a requisite move for the creation of the Bangsamoro entity.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/milf-to-afp-kill-all-the-biff-rebels

CPP/NDF: The conclusion of the MILF-GPH talks does not spell the end of the Moro revolutionary struggle

Propaganda statement posted to the CPP Website (Jan 29): The conclusion of the MILF-GPH talks does not spell the end of the Moro revolutionary struggle

Jorge Madlos (Ka Oris)
Spokesperson
NDFP Mindanao Chapter

 

Amid the euphoria on the recent signing of the so-called Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the NDFP-Mindanao cautions all stakeholders in the Moro struggle not to lose sight on the fundamental causes of the problems that saddle the Moro people. This is crucial because, no matter what agreement is forged, if feudal and semi-feudal bondage imposed upon the Moro people by the local ruling classes and their imperialist masters remain, no significant change is forthcoming. Without revolutionary change, their aspirations for a real autonomy remain elusive, including the problem of chauvinism against the Moro people.

Majority of the Moro continue to be victims of landlessness. The natural wealth of their ancestral lands and waters, such as the Liguasan Marsh, including their vast plains, will surely be target for plunder both by the domestic and multinational corporations. The local ruling classes continue to threaten the Moro people as second class Filipinos, peddling the utterly chauvinist line of their imperialist master that Moros are “terrorists” and the communities as “terrorist havens”, giving their fascist AFP the license to brutally attack genuine Moro resistance movements as they did against the MNLF in Zamboanga City last November 2013.

Clearly, the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) does not address these more basic issues and instead settle on the pacifist power and palliative economic sharing that shall only benefit a few traditional elite Moro and their imperialist boss, which include new elite Moro as what history has witnessed with the result of the MNLF-GRP agreement.

The intent of the reactionary government to pacify the MILF may have partly succeeded but not the Moro struggle as a whole; in fact, while the negotiations are going on, skirmishes on the field have intensified. This will only lead to the galvanization of all Moro armed resistance outside of the MILF into one potent force that shall continue the Moro struggle for genuine self-determination and will wedge a substantial AFP force into fierce combat. The warmongering US-Aquino regime will not extricate their forces from Moro areas, thus, if this continues to be the case, we cannot expect strategic or long-term peace in the Mindanao.

When the euphoria on the “success” of the GPH-MILF talks settles down, the fighting between government and Moro resistance forces is expected to escalate, because conditions remain unchanged and even worsening, as can be gleaned from lessons learned both in the MNLF and MILF peace agreement with reactionary governments. The Moro resistance movement must clearly adhere to the more basic demands of the Moro peasants for the defense of their ancestral lands and they must closely coordinate their struggle with the Filipino struggle as a whole. It must understand the true reactionary nature of US puppet regimes so that it can avoid the trap that caught MNLF before and, most recently, the MILF.

On the other hand, the settlement of the root cause of civil war in our country through peace negotiation appears to be more elusive now under the US-Aquino regime because of its duplicity. In December of last year, it brazenly flaunted peace even as it escalated its armed brutalities by attacking NPA forces during the period of the Malacanang-declared ceasefire and recently announcing the deployment of an additional 7 battalions of its elite troops to Caraga Region and Region 10 within the first two months of this year to intensify its offensive military operations against the NPA. Their wrong belief that it had pacified the Moro resistance has emboldened the US-Aquino regime to defeat the revolutionary movement led by the CPP not in the negotiating table but through its brutal military offensive campaigns. But as the revolutionary movement grows stronger, Aquino III and his fascist forces may end up, as again, frustrated.

http://www.philippinerevolution.net/statements/20140129_the-conclusion-of-the-milf-gph-talks-does-not-spell-the-end-of-the-moro-revolutionary-struggle

NPA weapons seized in 'insurgency-free' Kalinga

From the Philippine Star (Jan 30): NPA weapons seized in 'insurgency-free' Kalinga

Soldiers have recovered an arms cache of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Kalinga, one of the provinces declared “insurgency-free” by the government.

Maj. Emmanuel Garcia, chief of the Armed Forces 1st Civil Relations Group, said the arms cache was discovered in Barangay Magnao in Tabuk town Tuesday evening.

Recovered from the site were one M16 rifle, one garand rifle, one  carbine rifle and one springfield rifle.

“The successful recovery of the arms cache stemmed from persistent information coming from several local residents,” Garcia said.

“Authorities believe this is a manifestation of the dwindling number of NPA remnants who were forced to hide their firearms to avoid arrest,” he added.

Garcia  said the “insurgency-free” declaration does not necessarily mean zero presence of rebels. He said such declaration means that the rebellion in an area has weakened and could no longer overthrow the local leadership.

Meanwhile, members of the Army’s 29th battalion encountered around 20 NPA members in Tubay, Agusan del Norte  Thursday morning.

Lt. Col. Adonis Ariel Orio, commander of the battalion, said the clash ensued around 8:45 a.m. at Sitio Camarin, Barangay Tagmamarkay.

He said the rebels withdrew after 20 minutes of gun battle. Soldiers recovered one AK 47, one improvised explosive device and three backpacks with personal belongings and subversive documents from the encounter site.

“Tracks of bloods have been found (in the area) where the NPA (rebels) positioned themselves,” said 1Lt. Joe Martinez, chief of the 42nd Civil-Military Operations Company.

Security forces are now conducting pursuit operations against the rebels.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/01/30/1284777/npa-weapons-seized-insurgency-free-kalinga