DOJ finds probable cause to charge Tiamzon couple with illegal possession of firearms

From InterAksyon (Mar 27): DOJ finds probable cause to charge Tiamzon couple with illegal possession of firearms

The Department of Justice (DOJ) found probable cause to charge with illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and explosives Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon and six other suspected rebels, who were with the couple when they were arrested last March 22 in Cebu.

In a nine-page inquest resolution, the DOJ said there is enough evidence to charge the respondents with violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act and R.A. 9561 or the Illegal Possession of Explosives Law.

The DOJ gave weight to the statements of the arresting officers that the Tiamzons and their companions had in their possessions a .45-caliber pistol, a revolver, two 9-millimeter pistols, grenade, and ammunition when they were arrested.

“When required to show their authority to possess said confiscated firearms, ammunitions and explosives, the Tiamzons failed to provide the arresting officers with their authority,” the inquest resolution said.

Through the resolution, the DOJ ordered the Philippine National Police through its Custodial Center at Camp Crame in Quezon City "to take custody of the said respondents until there is a lawful order coming from the proper courts in the province of Cebu."

The six other individuals facing charges are Joel Enano, Rex Villaflor, Nona Castillo, Jeosi Nepa, Arlene Panea, and Jose Villaflor. They are also recommended to be charged with obstruction of justice when they allegedly tried to prevent the arrest of the Tiamzons.

Benito and Wilma are also facing multiple murder charges.

A warrant was issued for their arrest in connection to the discovery of a mass grave in Inopacan, Leyte by the military in 2006 containing the remains of 15 civilians, who were killed allegedly upon Benito’s order in 1985 while he was the secretary general of the CPP’s Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/83631/doj-finds-probable-cause-to-charge-tiamzon-couple-with-illegal-possession-of-firearms

CHRONOLOGY | Muslim history in Southern Philippines

From InterAksyon (Mar 27): CHRONOLOGY | Muslim history in Southern Philippines

The Philippine government signed a peace deal Thursday to end a decades-long Muslim rebellion in the country's south that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The following are key moments in the history of the insurgency and peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF):

13th Century: Arab traders introduce Islam to the Sulu island group near the lower tip of a Southeast Asian archipelago, later to be called the Philippines.

1521: Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan, in a voyage to look for alternate routes for the vital spice trade, lands on Homonhon island on the Pacific coast, converts natives to Christianity and claims the archipelago for Spain.

1898: The Philippines is ceded to the United States as part of the settlement of the Spanish-American War, with the victors later mounting a bloody pacification campaign against Muslims in the south that lasts several years.

1930s: US authorities encourage Christians to migrate to the southern region of Mindanao, which was mostly populated by Muslims. The policy of Christianising the region is accelerated in the 1950s and 1960s after the Philippines wins independence. Muslims eventually become a minority in many parts of the southern Philippines, fuelling resentment at rulers in Manila.

1968: Then-Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos recruits Filipino Muslims for a covert force to seize Sabah state from Malaysia. But when the recruits complain, Marcos has at least 23 of them killed in what becomes known as the "Jabidah Massacre". The incident helps radicalise Filipino Muslims.

1969: Muslim scholar Nur Misuari establishes the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which begins an armed campaign to put up a separate Islamic state in the southern third of the country.

1972-1976: Fighting rages between government forces and the MNLF, which is supported by some Muslim countries. Thousands are killed with whole towns being destroyed in the violence.

1976: Under a deal brokered by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the MNLF signs an agreement with the Marcos administration to end hostilities in exchange for the government working to grant greater autonomy in Muslim-populated areas.

1977: Misuari's deputy, Hashim Salamat, leads a group of key commanders in splitting from the MNLF. They were unhappy with Misuari's compromise and vowed to continue fighting for independence. Salamat later officially formed the MILF.

1986: Dictator Ferdinand Marcos is toppled and replaced by Corazon Aquino, who launches peace talks with the MNLF. The MILF declines to take part.

1996: The MNLF signs a peace settlement with then president Fidel Ramos' government and wins limited self-rule over the most impoverished Muslim regions of the south.

1997: The MILF signs a ceasefire and begins peace talks with Ramos' government, a process that is disrupted by outbreaks of major fighting.

2008: The Philippine Supreme Court blocks a peace deal with then-president Gloria Arroyo's administration that would have given the MILF control over a large area of the south, ruling it was unconstitutional. The decision triggers fighting that leaves more than 400 people dead.

August 4, 2011: President Benigno Aquino flies to Japan for a secret meeting with Murad Ebrahim, who had become the new MILF leader after the death of Hashim Salamat in 2003. It is the first direct talks between a Philippine president and MILF rebel leader since peace talks began. The meeting becomes recognised as a key breakthrough in the peace process.

October 15, 2012: The MILF signs a preliminary agreement at the presidential palace outlining a broad roadmap for peace, with the details on power sharing, wealth divisions and disarmament later agreed upon during negotiations in Malaysia.

September, 2013: Misuari's armed followers attack the southern port of Zamboanga in a bid to block the MILF peace deal that they fear would sideline the MNLF leader. The attack sparks three weeks of urban conflict with the military that leaves at least 244 people dead and 116,000 civilians displaced.

January 25, 2014: Government and MILF negotiators conclude talks in Malaysia on the details of the proposed peace agreement.

March 27, 2014: The government and the MILF sign the "Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro", which outlines a plan to create a Muslim southern autonomous region with locally elected leaders by mid-2016. In return, the MILF will give up its weapons and form a political party.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/83640/chronology--muslim-history-in-southern-philippines

Daughter of Gregorio ‘Ka Roger’ Rosal arrested by gov’t agents

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 27): Daughter of Gregorio ‘Ka Roger’ Rosal arrested by gov’t agents



The late New People’s Army spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal in an INQUIRER file photo. His daughter, Andrea, was arrested by the NBI on Thursday
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Thursday said government authorities had arrested the eight-month pregnant daughter of Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) spokesperson Roger Rosal and her bodyguard.

Andrea Rosal, her escort Rafael de Guzman and Barangay Chairman Ruben Gatchalian were arrested by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) and the NBI in Gatchalian’s house in Barangay 169 at Bagong Silang, Caloocan City at 7 am Thursday.

Also known as Naiya or Liam, Andrea is the alleged secretary of the NPA sub-regional military area in Southern Tagalog region. She was arrested by virtue of warrants of arrest for kidnapping and murder issued in Mauban, Quezon.

A surveillance was conducted in Brgy. 169 and there they learned that Andrea was temporarily staying in the house of Gatchalian.

Sought for her comment, Andrea denied the allegations hurled against her.

“That’s not true. I am not involved in any kidnapping or murder,” she said.

They were nabbed a few days following the arrest of CPP-NPA leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/589629/daughter-of-gregorio-ka-roger-rosal-arrested-by-govt-agents

Cordillera rebels, NPA splinter group welcome signing of Moro peace agreement

From InterAksyon (Mar 27): Cordillera rebels, NPA splinter group welcome signing of Moro peace agreement

Two former rebel groups have welcomed today's signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA) and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA/ABB) issued separate statements ahead of the 4 p.m. signing ceremony at the Kalayaan Grounds.

"It is a milestone in our nation’s history that shall be remembered as a day when the whole country stood up for peace in the Southern Philippines, a hopeful attempt to finally resolve the four decades conflict in Mindanao that spelled hundreds if not thousands of Filipino lives," CBA secretary-general Mayor Gabino Ganggangan said.

"The Cordillera Bodong Administration shall stand with the Bangsamoro as they chart this track and shape a region that shall be a model of unity despite diversity of cultures. As peace-loving Cordillerans also granted a chance on autonomy in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, we are one with the Bangsamoro in welcoming this new chapter for sustainable peace and development that shall bring into reality our collective aspiration for real national upliftment and development in the lives of our peoples," Ganggangan added.

He recalled how challenges also mired the implementation of the peace pact between the government and the CBA-CPLA.

"But these were overcome by the perseverance of the parties who saw the agreement as a chance towards meaningful change, a chance towards communities’ engagement in governance reform, and a chance to give due respect to the many lives lost in the Cordilleran struggle for self governance and development," he said.

RPM-P/RPA/ABB said it views the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro "with high hopes for a bright path of reconciliation and collaboration."

"This signing heralds a historic step that will undertake the immense task of healing wounds of a decades-long armed conflict rooted in the centuries-old social injustice wrought by colonization on the early peoples of our country that still resonates and affects Mindanao and the whole Philippines."

"The government-MILF peace agreement deserves all the respect and needs all the support of peace and freedom loving peoples," the former rebel group added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/83611/cordillera-rebels-npa-splinter-group-welcome-signing-of-moro-peace-agreement

RUMBLE SA MENDIOLA | Pro-peace pact Moros clash with pro-NDF activists

From InterAksyon (Mar 27): RUMBLE SA MENDIOLA | Pro-peace pact Moros clash with pro-NDF activists



Moros clash with NDF supporters on Mendiola Bridge, 27 March 2014. BERNARD TESTA/InterAksyon.com

 Muslim groups supporting today’s signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro clashed with some 50 young leftist activists who staged a lightning rally outside Malacanang Palace in time for the 45th anniversary of the New People’s Army.

The Muslims thought the leftists were against their peaceful demonstration, trying to foment trouble.

The Muslim group was midway into a prayer rite at the Mendiola Peace Bridge when a group of young protesters claiming to belong to the "Kabataang Makabayan RTCU-NDFP" arrived at the scene, waving placards and unfurling streamers calling on people to celebrate the NPA’s anniversary.

As the leftist activists, mostly wearing red shirts, started shouting their slogans, a group of Bangsamoro supporters wearing “MORO AKO” yellow shirts shouted invectives at them.

Leaders of the Muslim groups tried to pacify the yellow shirts but when traffic stopped, they ran up to the red shirts and gave chase.

The CPP-NPA-NDFP supporters were caught by surprise and scampered for safety, but the Bangsamoro group caught up with some of them and roughed them up.

One red shirt was hit by the pole he was carrying, and as he fell down the pavement, he was punched and kicked.

The timely intervention of police and Moro elders and women stopped the melee.

Later, Col. Marcelino Pedroso told a radio reporter at least one from the leftists’ side was beaten up. He said that based on the placards seized by police, the youth group was enticing people to “join the CPP-NPA.”

The leftist activists shouted slogans seeking the release of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon, high-ranking officers of the CPP who were recently arrested.

Police arrested some of the pro-NDF demonstrators.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/83582/rumble-sa-mendiola--pro-peace-pact-moros-clash-with-pro-ndf-activists

Security forces foil kidnapping in Sulu

From the Mindanao Examiner (Mar 26): Security forces foil kidnapping in Sulu

Police and military forces have captured a suspected kidnapper following a brief chase Tuesday in Jolo town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said.

Officials said Jaavier Julma Kabir was arrested at the village of San Raymundo after his victim, a 17-year old student, screamed for help upon seeing the security forces. Kabir was driving a tricycle with her victim when pursued by soldiers and policemen, said Senior Superintendent Abraham Orbita, the provincial police chief.

Orbita said a fragmentation grenade was also recovered from Kabir. “We are currently interrogating the suspect to determine if he is a member of the Abu Sayyaf or other group behind the series of kidnappings here,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

Locals and provincial government officials have condemned the series of kidnappings perpetrated by the Abu Sayyaf and drug addicts and criminal gangs in Sulu and called on the citizens to stay vigilant and report to authorities suspicious persons and provide information about criminals.

Just recently, suspected Abu Sayyaf kidnappers freed Claire Salinas after more than a month in captivity, but the rebel group is still holding her husband, Bonifacio Salinas, in Sulu. The couple was seized outside their house in Kasalamatan village in Patikul town on February 16. Both husband and wife work at the Jolo Mainland Water District.

The Abu Sayyaf is still holding several hostages, among them two European wildlife photographers Ewold Horn, 52, from Holland; and Lorenzo Vinciguerre, 47, from Switzerland who were kidnapped in Tawi-Tawi province on February 2012.

The two foreigners, along with their Filipino guide Ivan Sarenas, 35, were seized at gunpoint by five men in the coastal village of Parangan in Panglima Sugala town while taking photographs of wild birds, and handed them over to the Abu Sayyaf. Sarenas managed to escape, but the fate of the two foreigners and other hostages are still unknown.

http://www.mindanaoexaminer.com/news.php?news_id=20140326021718

Neighbor describes NPA couple quiet and reclusive

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 25): Neighbor describes NPA couple quiet and reclusive



TOP REDS Communist Party of the Philippines and New People’s Army chief Benito Tiamzon (left) and his wife, Wilma (right), shout slogans after an inquest conducted by the Department of Justice at Camp Crame. PHOTOS BY MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

A bungalow residential house in sitio Bolok-Bolok, Barangay (village) Sangat, had been the safe house of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army leaders Benito Tiamzon and Wilma Austria for over a year now.

A neighbor of the Tiamzons who refused to be named told  Philippine Daily Inquirer that the couple and six others transferred and started occupying the place last January 2013.

She said they were quiet neighbors who rarely mingled with them. “Dili kaayo tiggawas. Dili makihalobilo,” she said. (They are reclusive and don’t mingle with others.)

The house’s gardener who only identified herself as “Nang Ester” told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that she had only seen the Tiamzon couple, Benito and Wilma, a few times.

“Papaniudtohon ko nila sa sulod pero daklit ra nako makit-an nga mogawas na silang duha (They let me eat lunch but I seldom see them go out),” Nang Ester said.

The bungalow residential house, according to Nang Ester, is owned by the Sabellano family now residing in Talisay City.

They had the house rented for a monthly fee of P15,000 (although another information received by Inquirer Visayas showed that the couple was renting it for P20,000 a month) .

Nang Ester emphasized that the first occupants of the house were six people—three women and three men.

The Inquirer showed Nang Ester a photo of the Tiamzon couple and she confirmed that they were the two old couple he rarely saw at the house.

She said that the Tiamzons had two companions known by the names of “John-John” and “Nona.”

According to Nang Ester, Nona described herself as a doctor and John-John as an office employee.

The bungalow house, according to a military source, is subject to a search warrant. (In an Inquirer Visayas breaking news, the same house was raided and searched by 15 cops on Tuesday afternoon [Mar. 25]).

The source said another person had been with the group but had not been included.

According to another neighbor, he saw a grey Toyota Revo went inside the house on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. It also left at past 10:30 a.m.

“Wala gyud mi kahibaw nga NPA sila,” he told the Inquirer. (We really didn’t know they are NPA.)

The 1,600-square meter property has four nipa huts inside.

According to the military source, three of the nipa huts are used by the six other companions of the Tiamzons while the latter are the ones who occupy the rooms in the house.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/588939/neighbor-describes-npa-couple-quiet-and-reclusive

Celebrating the Bangsamoro: “They’ve run out of green cloth,” says Iqbal

From MindaNews (Mar 26): Celebrating the Bangsamoro: “They’ve run out of green cloth,” says Iqbal

On Saturday, five days before the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), green flaglets welcoming the “Bangsamoro government” were selling for thirty pesos each in a shop along the national highway in Cotabato City.

By Sunday, pandala (pennants) made of MILF-green cloth attached to bamboo poles were seen along portions of Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao, along the highway to Davao City.

On Monday,  green pandala as well as green streamers hailing the coming of the “Bangsamoro government” were visible along portions of the Cotabato-GenSan highway and even in portions of Midsayap, North Cotabato, along the highway linking it with Datu Piang in Maguindanao.

A portion of the Cotabato-General Santos City highway at Barangay Bugawas in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao province is adorned with green pandala in preparation for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro on March 27, 2014. MindaNews photo by Toto Lozano

 

In Barangay Liong, Datu Piang also on Monday, MindaNews saw a farmer carrying a spool of green sewing thread and two meters of green cloth for the pandala they would put on the side of the road to celebrate the signing.

 

“Naubusan na daw ng green cloth dito,”  (stores have run out of green cloth here),  a grinning Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel told MindaNews in his office at the Bangsamoro Transition Commission in Cotabato City on Sunday evening.

Iqbal says the MILF has a delegation of “about 600” to the signing in Malacanang of the CAB.

The CAB, a culmination of the 17-year peace negotiations,  was initialed in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, March 22 and its signing on March 27 comes 17 months and 12 days after the signing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB).

“Unacceptable status quo”

Under the FAB, both parties agreed that “the status quo is unacceptable” and that they would work for the creation of a new autonomous political entity called the “Bangsamoro” which will have a ministerial form of government.

A 15-member Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC0 was also created to draft the Bangsamoro Basic Law. The BTC, headed by MILF peace panel chair Iqbal, has committed to submit to President Aquino on March 31 the draft Basic Law. Once submitted to Congress, the President will certify the bill as urgent and when passed by Congress, will be subject for ratification by voters in the proposed Bangsamoro territory.



A green streamer welcoming the Bangsamoro government hangs outside a shop in Datu Piang, Maguindanao on Monday, in preparation for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in Malacanang on March 27, 2014. MindaNews photo by Toto Lozano

The proposed core territory of the Bangsamoro consists of the ARMM (Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan); the six Lanao del Norte towns that voted yes to inclusion in the ARMM in the 2001 plebiscite (Balo-I, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal), 39 out of 208 barangays in the six towns in North Cotabato that also voted yes to inclusion in 2001; the cities of Cotabato and Isabela; and “all other contiguous areas where there is a resolution of the local government unit or a petition of at least 10% of the qualified voters in the area asking for their inclusion at least two months prior to the conduct of the ratification of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.”

When ratified, the ARMM will be deemed abolished and the Bangsamoro Transition Authority takes over in preparation for the election in May 2016. The first set of elected set of officials is expected to be installed on June 30, 2016, the same day President Benigno Simeon Aquino bows out of office.

Special flights

Iqbal recalled on Sunday that during the FAB signing at the jampacked Rizal Hall in Malacanang on October 15, 2012, the MILF delegation was around 250.

At the CAB signing at the Kalayaan Grounds at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Iqbal estimates the MILF delegation to be around 600. The delegation includes panel members, members of the MILF’s Central Committee, and field commanders.



A vendor staples a Moro Islamic Liberation Front flaglet to its pole made out of barbecue sticks in a shop in Cotabato City on March 22, 2014. He sells the flaglets for 30 pesos in preparation for the signing of Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in Malacanang on March 27. MindaNews photo by Toto Lozano

Special flights on a supposed no-flight day on Wednesday, March 26 (Tuesdays to Thursdays, the Cotabato airport in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao is closed due to the widening of the runway project) have been arranged to ferry the MILF delegation from Maguindanao and Lanao through the Cotabato airport.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process last week said at least a thousand guests have been invited to attend the signing, including Prime Minister Dato Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Hj Abdul Razak of Malaysia, whose country has been facilitating and hosting the peace talks since 2001.
Members of the Cabinet and the diplomatic corps are also expected there.

Will the “bakwits” be at the signing?
But will the “bakwits” (internally displaced persons or IDPs) – the residents who have had to evacuate several times because of the armed conflict – and indigenous peoples in the proposed Bangsamoro be represented at the signing?

Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of the Mindanao Peoples Caucus  (MPC) told MindaNews they requested Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles last Friday to give “10 slots for bakwits and ten slots for 10 ritual leaders” and was told by Deles that she will “look into it.”

Samira Usman of Suara Kalilintad, an organization of IDPs that led the “Bakwit Power” in 2003, said she hopes the IDPs of Buliok  will also be able to witness the signing.

“We have been dreaming of this day to come. It would be fitting to allow us to witness this historic event,” Usman said.

Pastor Reu Montecillo of  Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, where the “all-out war” was declared by then President Joseph Estrada on March 21, 2000, told MindaNews, “we are still waiting for Malacanang to extend invitation to the bakwits of Lanao who are the direct victims of the armed conflict between the military and the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.”
Fr. Roberto Layson, parish priest of Pikit, North Cotabato during the 1997, 2000 and 2003 wars, also said the “bakwits” should be represented in the signing. “Para sa kanila ito” (This is for them), said Layson, now parish priest of Datu Piang, Maguindanao.

Deles told MindaNews at 8 a.m. Wednesday that “yes, may bakwit reps and IPs invited.”

As of  9 a.m. Arnado said they have yet to receive the invitation for the bakwits and IP leaders.

Peace train on track

“There is no turning back,” Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chair of the government peace panel, said in a statement on March 25.

“On March 27 we will, we shall, sign the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. There is no turning back. Only moving decisively forward. The peace train is on track. Its design is complete. Most of its elements are in place,” she said.

Ferrer will make history in the world of peace negotiations as the first woman chief negotiator to sign a peace accord.

The CAB consists of what Ferrer describes as a “short five-page, 12 point text that will formalize the completion of the negotiations.”

Ferrer said the CAB “puts together all signed agreements: the  FAB, the four Annexes and Addendum, also the very first, very important document, the Ceasefire Agreement of 1997; the  Agreement on Peace signed in 2001 in Tripoli which laid down the agenda for the talks; the Declaration of Continuity of Negotiations in June 2010 which picked up the pieces from the failed MOA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain) of 2008, etc…”

The MOA-AD was initialed but its supposed signing on August 5, 2008 in Kuala Lumpur was aborted when the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the government negotiators from signing the agreement.

MindaNews sources from both panels said the CAB has a listing of 12 agreements signed over the last 17 years and supplemental agreements that the parties committed to honor, respect and implement.

http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2014/03/26/celebrating-the-bangsamoro-theyve-run-out-of-green-cloth-says-iqbal/

MNLF leader supports Mindanao peace accord

From the Gulf Today (Mar 25): MNLF leader supports Mindanao peace accord

The new head of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on Monday expressed full support for the peace treaty which he described as the key to the progress and development of strife-torn but resource-rich Mindanao.

“We are supporting the creation of a new Bangsamoro entity,” Datu HJ Abul Khayr Alonto told a media conference in Manila, referring to the entity that is to be created by the signing of the treaty.

“We are supporting this initiative,” Alonto added, “by working for approval of the basic law. It will be the people who will decide at the end of the day through a plebiscite.”

The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are to sign on March 27 at Malacanang Palace the comprehensive agreement aimed at bringing just and lasting peace in Mindanao.

Alonto explained: “If there is no war, there is no corruption. The budget (allocated for the new Bangsamoro entity) will go to education, health care and shelter.”

Alonto also disclosed he replaced Nur Misuari, the MNLF founding chairman, who was ousted by 35 of the 39 “pioneers” of the front’s central committee during their meeting on Feb.10.

He pointed out Misuari was ousted for abandoning the MNLF objectives particularly when he allegedly ordered the launching of the bloody and violent siege of Zamboanga City in Mindanao in September and make it part of his independence movement.

“We cannot tolerate this and our people can’t forgive him (Misuari) for this,” Alonto pointed out.

Misuari has disappeared since a regional court in Zamboanga City issued warrants for his arrest and about 38 of his leaders when the government filed charges of rebellion and violation of international humanitarian laws against them for the two-week siege.

The standoff killed more than 200 people and displaced from their homes 120,000 others, most of them still living in makeshift tents and shelters which exposed them to the elements and deadly diseases like tuberculosis, diarrhea and pneumonia.

Under the historic framework agreement signed by the government and the MILF in October 2012, the government was to set up a new Bangsamoro political entity to be carved out initially from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) composed of the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi as well as Marawi City.

In line with the agreement, President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino also formed a 15-member Transition Commission, headed by the MILF, mandated mainly to craft a proposed law setting up the new Bangsamoro entity for submission to the Senate and the House of Representatives.

http://gulftoday.ae/portal/dd942cc2-0251-45de-949d-859a5bc49d20.aspx

Commentary: The gov’t-MILF peace pact: a Moro perspective

Commentary posted to the Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mar 26): The gov’t-MILF peace pact: a Moro perspective (By Macabangkit B. Lanto)

Morolandia, particularly the province of Maguindanao, is agog as March 27 nears, when the peace agreement between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government will be signed, insa Allah (God willing). Following cherished tradition, there will be banging of the agong (gongs), playing of the kulintang (xylophone), and a display of resplendent multicolored flags and buntings to celebrate the historic day.

Sadly, however, the event is not free of controversy. It has elicited strong adverse reactions and commentaries mostly from armchair analysts and pundits, including jurists and sociologists, who express concern about its legality and pessimism over the future of the Moro people. In fact, a retired justice, in an article titled “A prelude to secession?” (Opinion, 2/4/14), raised the bugaboo of the agreement being incapable of hurdling the constitutional test and a veiled inroad to the possible dismemberment of the republic. The naysayers and Cassandras paint a gloomy picture, citing the attacks and depredations mounted by renegade commander Umra Kato and his band (the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters) and the bloody siege of Zamboanga City by the faction of the Moro National Liberation Front led by Nur Misuari as dark signals for the days to come even after, or despite, the signing of the agreement.

It is easy for people who have not been exposed to the agony and cruelty of the conflict to question the efficacy of the agreement as an instrument of peace. But to many Moros who have been ensnared for decades in the morass of terror and uncertainty, the agreement casts a glimmer of hope for peace.  And they are profusely grateful to President Aquino, his peace adviser Teresita Deles, and the leadership of the MILF for assiduously pursuing peace despite the odds strewn along the path.

But the historic event on March 27 flashes back shards of memory of the lonely, arduous and bloody struggle of the Moro people for a proper place in the Philippine political setting. The Moro war is the sum total of the colonization campaign of foreign invaders, the abuse, inequity, injustice, exploitation and despoliation of their natural resources by the government and the so-called “carpetbaggers,” or capitalist vultures. Let me cite a few snippets of history that served as the fuse to the Moro war in the hope of assuaging the negativism of those against the peace agreement.

During the American colonial period, the grabbing of Moro lands was institutionalized through legislation. Public Act No. 718 issued on April 4, 1903, in effect voided the property rights and feudal titles of the Moro sultans. Public Act No. 926 issued on Oct. 7, 1903, declared all unregistered lands, including the ancestral domain of the Moros, as public domain and open for homestead. And the Public Land Act of 1919 granted Filipino Muslims land ownership of a maximum of only 10 hectares of land, while the Christians or non-Muslims were allowed a maximum of 24 hectares.

At one point, the government lured communist rebels to surrender with the promise that they would be given lands in Mindanao and provided with farm equipment. This resulted in the establishment of settlements like the Magsaysay Edcor Settlement in the Lanao and Cotabato provinces and the displacement of the Moros.

Tales of the gory killing of innocent Moros cannot be forgotten. There was the infamous “Jabidah Massacre” of young Muslim military trainees on March 18, 1968, who were recruited by the government to infiltrate Sabah in Malaysia (this was the event that led to the establishment of the MNLF). And there were the massacres in 1971, the year that Moros refer to as annus horribilis: at Manalili, Carmen, North Cotabato, where men and women and even children were herded into a mosque on the pretext of a peace meeting, and killed by government troops collaborating with the Ilaga (members of a state-sponsored private armed group); in Tacub, Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, where 36 Maranaw, including the newly-elected mayor of the town of Munai, were killed at a military checkpoint; in Wao, Lanao del Sur, where 30 Muslims were killed; and in Lebak, South Cotabato (now Sultan Kudarat), where 46 Muslims were mowed down on Nov. 27, 1971.

These and countless unreported killings of innocent civilians have contributed largely to the deep-seated animosity and distrust of the Moro people toward the government.

Given these tales of mayhem, pillage and injustice, is it asking too much for critics of the peace pact to give peace a chance?

Many Moros like myself will accept any piece of paper, short of compromising our honor and dignity, that will keep the ember of hope for peace burning in our hearts and heal the wounds inflicted by the injustice of the past.

[Lawyer Macabangkit B. Lanto acquired his masteral and doctoral degrees from New York University under a Fulbright fellowship. He is a former assemblyman and speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Autonomous Region 12, and also a former congressman, ambassador, undersecretary of tourism, and undersecretary of justice.]
http://opinion.inquirer.net/72957/the-govt-milf-peace-pact-a-moro-perspective

Philippine’s nationalist rebel leader wants 1996 deal honored

From the World Bulletin (Mar 25): Philippine’s nationalist rebel leader wants 1996 deal honored



Agreements signed in 1996 can’t be betrayed by anyone, Muslimin Sema, the chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front told AA.

The head of the second largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines insists that a 1996 peace deal should be honored, saying that a new deal between the Philippine government and a rival group is a betrayal of everything it stands for.

Muslimin Sema told Anadolu Agency that his Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has continued to comply with commitments it agreed with the Philippine government in 1996, but the government has failed to do the same.

“The government is now holding another state of negotiations with our brothers in the Moro Islamist Liberation Front (MILF), giving smaller territory than committed in 1996. This is not acceptable,” he told AA at his group’s headquarters in Camp Ebrahim which is near Cotobato city, in the country’s south.

“Implementation of the 1996 peace deal has never been realized,” he added.

Since the 1970s, the MNLF and several other armed groups have supported a rebellion aimed at achieving independence for the country’s predominantly Muslim south, determined to earn what the leader terms "a better life" for the predominantly Catholic country's Muslim population.

A new peace deal – to be signed March 27 - has now been agreed between the government and the MILF - now the largest Muslim rebel group in Mindanao - but hundreds of other rebel fighters continue the armed struggle, accusing the government of reneging on a promise to develop an autonomous region for Muslims in Mindanao.

The agreement represents the culmination of diplomatic efforts aimed at ending conflict in Mindanao, the home of the Muslim minority. It aims to end an insurgency that began in the 1970s and killed at least 120,000 people, mostly civilians. The violence has also left large parts of the country’s fertile southern region mired in poverty.

Sema says that the new deal allows the formation of six provinces into an autonomous region, while the 1996 deal consisted of 13 provinces.

MILF leaders have said that if the region extended to the 13 provinces, Muslims would be outnumbered by Christians, but Sema says that the ratio is unimportant – “it shows the willingness of the Muslims to live with Christians.”

“There are millions of Moro people left out of the present agreement,“ he said.

"We are worried about breakup of MILF"

Stressing that thousands of MNLF fighters joined the Philippines armed forces on the back of the 1996 deal, Sema told AA that those fighters were now nowhere to be found.

“According to the 1996 agreement, the Philippine army would form a special brigade for our fighters who joined them. Instead of that, the army dispersed the “5,000 fighters all over the country,” he said

“We don’t have any contact with them now.”

He said that he had no idea what happened to the fighters and was now worried that the MILF – ”one of the strongest forces that the Moro (The Bangsamoro) people have“ – might experience the same problem.

He said that the MNLF doubts that the new deal will be implemented properly.

“The agreement we had in 1996 is very similar to that documented in the present agreement. If the government failed to implement the 1996 agreement, than we doubt it can implement the present,” he added.

Sema explained that attempts to revive the 1996 deal are currently taking place between the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the Philippines government and the MNLF, and said that they will demand the implementation of the agreement through peaceful ways.

“If this is concluded to the satisfaction of all parties, then we have nothing to do with the present talks,” he said.

Asked if the MNLF might join the current peace deal, he said: “We are not part of the current deal, unless there is a proper, legitimate mechanism to discuss how we can have some kind of give and take to integrate the past agreement with the new one. That’s the only thing we can accept.”

"Anything can happen"

Sema stated that the MNLF doesn’t want any more armed struggle, and thus signed the 1996 agreement.

“However, if the agreement that we signed is abrogated, thrown into the dustbin of the history, then we don’t know what our people will decide.”

He said that the Moro have undergone so many difficulties in the last 40 years that it is difficult to know what is in their minds.

“In that sense, anything can happen,” he added.

Sema recognized that even though they are a smaller group than the MILF, they have been fighting for a long time.

“It’s the determination that counts, not the numbers,” he said.

http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/131950/philippines-nationalist-rebel-leader-wants-1996-deal-honored

MNLF group eyes SC TRO vs peace deal

From the Philippine Star (Mar 26): MNLF group eyes SC TRO vs peace deal

The Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are all set to sign the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) with MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim leading a large delegation in Malacañang.

Meanwhile, several leaders of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) are hoping the Supreme Court will  act on their bid to halt the peace deal.

MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar said Wednesday the government allotted 400 slots for their members to witness the signing ceremony which will be also attended by representatives of the international community and local stakeholders.

“We’re given a quota of 400 people. We know that the Palace grounds could only accommodate a limited number of people,” he said.

According more would want to personally witness the event but could no longer be included owing to the limited slots.

He said their delegation will be composed of senior members of the central and provincial committees and ground commanders.

It was not, however, clear whether the government has given safe conduct passes to the leaders and members that have pending cases, but want to witness the signing.

Government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said on Tuesday that all is set for the CAB signing ceremony on Thursday.

“There is no turning back. Only moving decisively forward. The peace train is on track. Its design is complete. Most of its elements are in place,” she said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles said they are expecting at least 1,000 people to grace the  CAB signing, including foreign dignitaries.

“The eyes of the world are looking at us,” Deles said earlier about the successful conclusion of the peace negotiations as she noted the many challenges and difficult work ahead especially in the implementation of the provisions of the agreements.

Jaafar said during the signing of CAB Thursday, the MILF’s main Camp Darapanan will hold activities with thousands of members and supporters in attendance.

Similar celebratory activities related to the CAB signing will also be held in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the core areas of the proposed Bangsamoro region, he added.

Meanwhile, some MNLF leaders and members hope the Supreme court will act on their petition filed last year seeking to nullify the comprehensive agreement that will be forged between the government and the MILF.

Habib Mujahab Hashim, chair of the MNLF’s Islamic Command Council (ICC), said they have also forwarded their manifestation in support of the petition that was filed before the High Court since December last year which has yet to be acted upon.

“The petition has been there but no action. However, it has not been turned down also. It’s part of our last ditch effort and hopefully the Supreme Court will act in our favor,” Hashim said.

However, Hashim said if they could not get favorable action from the high court they will pursue the case before the United Nations (UN).

“This is just a legal option. Aside from this we have another avenue which is the UN,” Hashim added.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2014/03/26/1305380/mnlf-group-eyes-sc-tro-vs-peace-deal

MNLF faction won't attend peace deal signing

From ABS-CBN (Mar 26): MNLF faction won't attend peace deal signing

The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) - Sema faction has rejected the invitation of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) to witness the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) at the Malacañang Palace on Thursday.

MNLF-Sema faction spokesman Romeo Sema said they are not ready to join the gathering since the government has not done its obligation to implement the 1996 Final Peace Agreement.

"The Central Committee has decided not to attend the signing of the CAB because the obligation of the government of the Republic of the Philippines to implement the 1996 Final Peace Agreement is not yet complied," he said.

But he clarified that they have nothing against the CAB. He said they even welcome and support the initiative of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to link the CAB to the 1976 Tripoli Agreement.

"Kung ano ang desisyon ng OIC para sa mga Bangsamoro people, sinusuportahan po yan ng MNLF basta mayroong tamang mekanismo."

"We are just waiting for the schedule of the tripartite meeting, kasi merong tayong impasse na tripartite review on the implementation of the 1996 peace agreement," Sema said.

However, he said it will be a challenge to link the CAB and the 1996 Final Peace Agreement in terms of territory.

The CAB only covers 5 provinces and 3 cities while the 1976 Tripoli Agreement includes 13 provinces and 9 cities.

The provinces covered by the 1976 Tripoli Agreement include the entire North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat Province, South Cotabato, Sarangani, Davao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and Palawan.

Its covered cities, meanwhile, include Puerto Prinsesa, Zamboanga, Dipolog, Iligan and General Santos.

"Hindi naman gaanong kahirap i-link yung dalawa... Ang issue dito is the territory kasi magkaiba. In the 1976 Tripoli Agreement, the Philippine government offered the autonomy to the Bangsamoro in southern Philippines and the territories were specified," Sema said.

"Yan po ang mahirap bitawan ng MNLF because that territory was offered by the government to the Bangsamoro people, nakasaad yan sa kasunduan noong 1976, yun ang ipinaglalaban natin," he added.

But he said whatever happens, they will stick to whatever order or decision the OIC makes.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/03/26/14/mnlf-faction-wont-attend-peace-deal-signing

IEP: Mujahideen in Philippines Support AL-QAIDAH

Posted to the Islamic Emirate of the Philippines (IEP) Facebook page (Mar 23): Mujahideen in Philippines Support AL-QAIDAH



https://www.facebook.com/IslamicEmirateInThePhilippines/photos/a.272752586135184.64480.268897169854059/623244451085994/?type=1&theater

MILF: Editorial -- Real partnership begins

Editorial posted to the MILF Website (Mar 26): Real partnership begins

Marsch 16-22, 2014 :: All systems go for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) on March 27, 2014. God willing, it is only a matter of five days from now before this historic moment takes place.
  

This achievement is one for a lifetime. Imagine this agreement was only signed after more than 16 long years of off-and-on battles in the negotiating table.

By any stretch of imagination, this hard, complex, and almost futile exercise cannot be repeated in a generation. In fact, many of the negotiators from both the MILF and the government have died already. They were not lucky enough to see and witness this history in the making in this country. 

If the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had started their negotiations from two opposing hard positions and continued it through thick and thin, the signing of the CAB is truly a defining moment that they can be proud of with heads high. For one, this signals the dawning of the real partnership between the two parties that they must nurture through to the end.

Thus, this partnership has to be real and genuine. Gone are the days when mistrust and reservation are the rule between negotiators whose motive is to outwit the opponent in order to win.  Both sides especially their negotiators have to open up with each other and must continue to undertake problem-solving approaches.

Moreover, both sides have to help one another.  Needless to say, the MILF has to be helped to stand on its feet so that it is fully capacitated to stave-off the challenges ahead.  Only two capable partners can ensure the success of their peace endeavor.

Without saying, a weak partner will pave the way for anarchy to rule the day and chances that a more dangerous place is not farfetched in Mindanao.  This fear is compounded after the exit of President Benigno Aquino in 2016. If the new president does not follow through with the achievements of the peace process and genuinely adopts a policy of empowering the MILF and henceforth the Bangsamoro Government, then the future is truly bleak. This is the reason why the 2016 presidential election is truly material to the future of the Bangsamoro. We can only hope that those who run for president will adopt a policy of fully supporting the Bangsamoro and not to undermine it in any manner or form.

http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/editorial/item/893-real-partnership-begins