Moro rebels burn construction equipment in South RP

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Troops foil bombing of Iglesia ni Cristo church in Mindanao

"Police blamed for lapses in intelligence and security, and failure to secure church despite past attempts to bomb Iglesia ni Cristo."

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 1, 2008) – For the third time in four days, Philippine soldiers foiled a bomb attack Monday on a church in the southern town of Kabacan in Mindanao.

Officials said soldiers discovered an improvised explosive in front of the Iglesia ni Cristo after civilians alerted the military about the bomb.

No group claimed responsibility for the failed attack, but a regional army spokesman, Lt. Col. Julieto Ando blamed extortionist for the three bombing attempts on the church.

“We have intelligence reports pointing to extortionist as behind the failed attack. The lawless elements were demanding half a million pesos every month from the Iglesia ni Cristo,” Ando told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ando previously blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the foiled attacks and for the bomb explosion Nov. 26 outside the church of the Jehova’s Witness.
On Thursday, soldiers also disarmed an improvised explosive in front of the Iglesia ni Cristo and two other bombs on Saturday.

But it was not immediately known how the bombers were able to plant explosives in front of the church despite previous attempt to blow up the church.

Christian worshipers blamed the police in Kabacan town for for lapses in intelligence and security and its failure to guard the area despite repeated attempts to attack the Iglesia ni Cristo and the bombing of the Jehova’s Witness church.

Ando said Monday’s improvised explosive was assembled from an anti-rocket commonly used by MILF rebels. “There is no doubt rebels were behind this latest attempt to bomb the church,” he said without elaborating further.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting the past decades for self-determination.

Peace talks between the MILF and Manila collapsed in August after rebels launched a series of deadly attacks over in North Cotabato, Sarangani and Lanao del Norte provinces in Mindanao over the failed signing of a Muslim homeland deal between the two sides.

And sporadic fighting continues in some areas in the troubled region. Clashes were also reported since Friday in Basilan island, south of Zamboanga City, where troops mounted fresh offensives to flush out the Abu Sayyaf fighters.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of militants allied with the MILF and is largely blamed for the spate of kidnappings-for-ransom and extortion in Mindanao. It is also believed to have ties with the Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terror networks. (Mindanao Examiner)

8 Killed In New Bombing In Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 1, 2008) – A homemade bomb explosion Monday ripped through a commuter bus, killing at least 8 people in the southern Philippines, where security forces are battling Moro rebels, officials said.

Officials said the bombing targeted the bus owned by Metro Shuttle in Digos City in Davao del Sur province. At least seven people were seriously wounded in the attack.

The bombing occurred at a bus depot shortly before 3 p.m., according to Army Col. Roland Bautista, of the 10th Infantry Division. “We still don’t know the motive of the bombing,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Metro Shuttle bus owner Mayor Rey Uy, of Tagum City, has blamed extortionists as behind the bombing and urged authorities to put an end to the attacks. It was the second Metro Shuttle bus bombed in three months, he said.

He said four people were instantly killed in the blast, but other reports claimed four more others had perished in the bombing and the number of casualties may still increase because more people had been rushed to hospitals. Radio network dzRH also reported that 8 people were killed in the blast.

Army Maj. Armand Rico, a spokesman for the Eastern Mindanao Command, said the blast was so powerful that it decapitated a still unidentified civilian. “It was powerful that the blast decapitated a civilian,” he said.

Witnesses said they saw human body parts scattered inside the bus. The blast tore the roof and sides of the bus.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but a bombing in July of another Metro Shuttle bus in Digos City had been largely blamed to the Al-Khobar gang.

One passenger was killed and 35 others were wounded in the July bombing, which authorities claimed had been carried out by a woman, who left a bag containing the explosive inside the bus.

Three days before the bombing, Uy said unidentified men demanded P500,000 from his firm and P50,000 every month as protection money. Uy said the men threatened to bomb his buses if he will not pay up.

The Al-Khobar gang is composed mostly of Filipino terrorists and some of them were former Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels trained by the Indonesian militant Jemaah Islamiya.

The latest bombing coincided with government offensive against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels who launched a series of attacks last month in the provinces that killed dozens of civilians. It was not immediately known whether the rebels had anything to do with the bombing, officials said. (With a report from Romy Bwaga)

MARINA-ARMM Operatives, Kinasuhan Ng Navy

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / June 4, 2008) – Sinampahan ng kasong kriminal ng Philippine Navy sa Zamboanga City ang 15 arestadong tauhan ng Maritime Industry Authorities (MARINA) ng Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) matapos silang akusahan ng pangingikil at pagdadala ng armas sa karagatan.

Sinabi mismo ni Rear Admiral Emilio Marayag Jr., Naval Forces Western Mindanao chief, na ang 15 ay nadakip matapos silang ireklamo ng diumano'y pangingikil ng ibat-ibang mga operator ng fishing boats sa karagatan ng Sulu.

Nakuspikahan rin diumano ng militar ng ibat-ibangnuri ng armas ang mga tauhan ng MARINA-ARMM. Ngunit ang matindi ay sa Tawi-Tawi pala naka-destino ang grupo, ngunit sinakop na rin ang Sulu upang mangikil, ayon pa sa militar.

Ngunit itinanggi naman ng MARINA-ARMM ang lahat ng akusasyon ni Marayag at sinabing lehitimo ang operasyon ng nadakip na grupo. Pinangatawanan naman ni Donny Villar, hepe ng MARINA-ARMM, na hindi sangkot sa illegal na Gawain ang mga tauhan.

Kasalukuyang nakapiit sa Zamboanga City ang 15 nadakip at ayaw magbigay ng pahayag sa media ukol sa bintang. Matagal na umanong inirereklamo ng mga fishing boat operators ang mga armadong grupo na nangingil sa kanila sa kagaratan ng Tawi-Tawi at Sulu.

May mga ulat rin umanong nagsasabing may mga nadakip ang ilang armadong grupo na mga Chinese at Indonesian poachers sa Tawi-Tawi ngunit napapalaya rin kapalit ang malaking suhol. (Mindanao Examiner)

Taiwan Police Links Philippine Navy To Extortion Racket

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 29 Jul) – The Taiwanese police have uncovered an extortion racket involving Filipino navy patrol boats victimizing Taiwanese trawlers caught in Philippine waters, reports said.

Strategy Page, a research and military analysis website, said Filipino naval officers were extorting money from Taiwanese fishermen in exchange for the release of their boats.

“Taiwanese police have uncovered an extortion racket involving Filipino naval officers. At least two Filipino patrol boats have caught Taiwanese fishing boats illegally operating in Filipino waters.”

“The Filipino offer to let the fishing boat captains pay a lower fine, directly to the officers, rather than pay a larger fine and have their boats detained in a Filipino port,” it said in a report that can be accessed on this web page http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/phillip/articles/20070728.aspx.

The report did not say where or how many Taiwanese fishermen were arrested or give details of the extortion activities.

But Filipino patrol boats have previously detained Taiwanese and Chinese fishermen for poaching off the Sulu Archipelago near the Sabah border the southern Philippines and also off Palawan island in central Philippines and in northern Luzon near Taiwan.

It was unknown if the Philippine Navy was aware of the report, but officials could not be immediately contacted to make a statement about the allegations.

The Philippine Navy has been involved in several anomalies in the past – from overpriced Kevlar helmets to smuggling activities in the south. (Mindanao Examiner)

9 Dead In New Bombings In Philippines

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Jun) At least 9 people were killed in one of two commuter bus bombings on Friday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said a bomb exploded inside a bus in the town of Bansalan in Davao del Sur province at around 6 p.m., killing as many as 9 passengers. At least seven more were injured in the blast, said Lt. Col. Rolando Bautista, of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

“We are still awaiting reports,” he said.

Another bomb exploded at a bus depot in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province, but there were no reports of casualties, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

“The bombing in Cotabato left no casualties, unlike in Davao where nine people are reported dead. The authorities are on high alert now because of the bombings,” Ando told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the twin blasts, but Ando said the explosion in Cotabato City could be the handiwork of extortionists, saying, the bus firm, Weena Bus Lines, received a letter on Thursday demanding two million pesos as “protection money.”

“The extortion letter was signed by one Commander Barum Bado. We never heard of the name, not even on the military’s order of battle. It could be an alias to cover the real identity of the bomber,” Ando said.

On Tuesday, Police foiled a possible car bombing after a car, laden with explosives, was discovered abandoned near the municipal hall of Surallah in South Cotabato province.

An informant tipped off authorities about the car bomb. Provincial police chief Robert Kiunisala said the car contained mortar bombs rigged to electronic timers and other explosives that would trigger detonation.

Last week, at least eleven people were wounded in separate bus bombings in South Cotabato.

Eleven people were killed and more than 100 others wounded in separate bomb attacks last month in Mindanao, where security forces are battling members of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and Jemaah Islamiya.

The United States, Canada and Britain have issued travel warnings and strongly advised their citizens not to travel to the southern part of the Philippines because of threats of terrorism and kidnappings of foreigners. (Mark Navales and Romy Bwaga)

Rebels Hostage Arroyo Candidates In Southern RP

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 02 May) – Communist insurgents briefly held a town mayor and his group who were campaigning in the southern Philippines, a military report said.

The insurgents held the group of Mayor Reinario Rosales, of Las Nieves town in Agusan del Norte province late Tuesday while campaigning at a public square in the village of Mat-i.

About 60 gunmen surrounded the square and held the politicians, allied with President Gloria Arroyo, for almost two hours before releasing them unharmed.

The Philippine News Agency reported Wednesday that aside from the town mayor, the insurgents also held a congressional candidate Angelo Jimenez.

It also quoted a report by Army Major General Jose Barbieto that the insurgents encircled the square and ordered the politicians to stop campaigning.

“Panic gripped the political rally of local candidates under the umbrella of the administration Kampi party when some 60 heavily armed New People's Army rebels told them to stop their rally.”

“The (military) report also alleged the armed men fired warning shots and forced the 'rallyists' to stop their political activities while holding also their vehicles. After more than an hour in captivity, the Kampi candidates were released unharmed. The rebels then fled to the nearby forested and mountainous area of Mat-i,” it said.

Kampi stands for Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino, Arroyo's own political party.

The military said the NPA has been demanding money to politicians so they can campaign in areas where the rebels are actively operating. It was unknown why the local police failed to protect the politicians. (With a report from Romy Bwaga)