Blast mars Sulu village polls

A man carries a wounded girl, Marsalin Sangkula, who was injured after a rifle grenade exploded Monday, October 25, 2010 near the Sultan Mohamad Jamalul Kiram Central School in Maimbung town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu during the village elections. (Mindanao Examiner)

An unidentified man fills out a ballot for a boy who was allowed to cast his vote Monday, October 25, 2010 during village polls in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. (Mindanao Examiner)

An unidentified man allegedly caught bringing unregistered voters during Monday’s village polls in Sulu province in the southern Philippines ran away from this man who confronted him. (Mindanao Examiner)

An unidentified man gives instructions to unregistered voters during Monday’s village polls in Sulu province in the southern Philippines. The man was later confronted and ran away. (Mindanao Examiner)

Teenagers are allowed to cast their votes in Sulu province’s Kulasi village during Monday’s nationwide village polls. Minors are not allowed to vote under Philippine laws, but despite this, many were still able to cast their votes in Kulasi. (Mindanao Examiner)

A follower of a village chieftain in the southern Philippine province of Sulu calls on their supporters to cast their votes in Kulasi using only a piece of paper as their identification cards. Many of those who lined up were unregistered voters. (Mindanao Examiner)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 25, 2010) – An unidentified gunman fired a rifle grenade near a polling area as locals cast their votes Monday to elect new village officials in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, police said.

Police said a 10-year old girl Marsalin Sangkula was wounded in the attack that targeted a school in Maimbung town. Authorities said the attacker fired one round of rifle grenade that exploded near a crowded school room where dozens of people were casting their votes.

“We don’t who was behind this attack, but we have doubled our security to protect the voters from further attacks,” said Inspector Nilo Mata, the town’s chief of police.

But before the day was over fist fights erupted between followers of candidates in the village elections. There were many accusations that incumbent village officials were buying votes or had used people from other villages to vote for them.

One candidate who was challenging the incumbent village chieftain said he caught followers of his political foe allegedly engaged in vote-buying and fraud, an accusation denied by the leader.

Before elections were over, poll officials stopped the voting in midday after more melees broke out between followers of opposing candidates and policemen and soldiers had to be called in to stop the fighting.

Security forces also escorted poll officials to the office of the Commission on Elections in Maimbung to prevent gangs from snatching the ballot boxes. Poll officials said they have to close the voting to prevent further violence between opposing groups.

“It was the decision of the Board of Election Inspectors and we have to respect that decision. There were commotion and fighting among followers of the candidates, but we have secured all the ballots,” said Holma Hassan, of the Commission on Elections.

Elections were generally peaceful in many parts of Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner)

Thousands get free bags, school supplies in Sulu

Thousands of Muslim students receive new bags and school supplies on two-days of humanitarian mission on a coastal town of Maimbung in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. Governor Sakur Tan and his son, Samier Tan, the mayor of Maimbung town, and wife, Nurunisah Tan, led the First Family in the distribution of some 10,000 bags, notebooks and pad papers to throngs of students in different schools from 27 villages. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Jung Francisco).

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 21, 2010) – Thousands of Muslim students received new bags and school supplies on two-days of humanitarian mission on a coastal town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

Governor Sakur Tan and wife Hajja Nurinisah Tan, and son, Samier Tan, the mayor of Maimbung town, led the First Family in the distribution of some 10,000 bags, notebooks and pad papers to throngs of students in different schools.

The young Tan said he would distribute more bags and other school supplies to students in the town and would prioritize livelihood projects and health care to the locals, mostly fishermen; including the minority Badjao natives.

The governor’s wife, herself a professional nurse, and daughter Sheila Hayudini; Dr Farah Omar, of the Integrated Provincial Health Office and the Department of Health, also gave out Vitamin A and deworming medicines to school children in five areas where the humanitarian missions were held.

The two-day event ended on Tuesday, but more bags had been distributed on Wednesday.

“This is just the beginning of more humanitarian missions not only in Maimbung, but in other towns in Sulu as well, just as what we did the last years. This program will continue and we will reach out to more people in far-flung areas,” the governor, a known philanthropist in the southern Philippines, said.

Tan also ordered his engineers to inspect the state of various schools, mostly built from old buildings, in the town and come up with recommendations on how to improve its condition or whether the structure is still safe.

The governor previously built a new school in the town and is now planning to put up a university in Maimbing which will specialize in fisheries and agriculture. “We want this university open to all and everything will be free, from tuition to books, and we shall lead our students to become professional and experts in the fields of fisheries and agriculture because Sulu is rich in natural resources and we have vast marine resources,” he said.

On Saturday, dozens of Islamic students will also graduate from a madrasah that the Tans built in the capital town of Jolo where the governor’s wife also put up a children’s playground and a mosque. And a waiting shed to spare school children from the sweltering heat of the sun or cold rain.

“We are happy that the madrasah is able to graduate many students, who are the pioneer of the Islamic school. We are planning to build more madaris in other areas because education is very important for our people. With good education, we can bring about change and peace and progress in Sulu,” the First Lady said. (With reports from Jung Francisco and Ramon Deles)

Massive cheating, fraud, intimidation cap elections in Sulu province

An elderly Badjao native shows his vote Monday, May 10, 2010 in the village of Kulasi in Maimbung town in Sulu province where thousands of tribesmen who cannot read nor write cast their votes in the Philippines’ first ever automated elections. Many Badjao natives say they were paid up to P1,000 in exchange for their votes and a huge number of those who cast their votes were minors and without election papers. Elections in the town were marred with massive cheating, fraud, vote-buying. Journalists covering the polls in Maimbung were also harassed and prevented by supporters of the local mayor who is seeking re-election from taking video and photos of the exercise inside polling precincts. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 11, 2010) – Accusations of massive cheating, fraud and vote-buying capped Monday’s general elections in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

Journalists covering the country’s first ever automated elections were also harassed in the village of Kulasi in Maimbung town where thousands of Badjao tribesmen who cannot read nor write cast their votes.

Supporters of the local mayor who is seeking re-election prevented one television journalist from taking video and photos of the exercise inside polling precincts for a still unknown reason.

Many natives said they were paid up to P1,000 in exchange for their votes. And a huge number of those who cast their votes were minors and without election papers. Elections in the town were marred with massive cheating, fraud and vote-buying.

Last hour elections were disrupted by clashes between poll watchers of opposing candidates after poll inspectors allowed minors to vote. Police fired warning shots to prevent the escalation of violence.

Many voters in the village just washed off their ink markings on their fingers and voted several times in different polling precincts.

Two teenagers – both 16 years old - told a police officer outside the Lidung Elementary School where the elections were held that they were paid P500 each to vote for candidates whose names were written on a piece of paper. They said the ink markings put by poll inspectors on their fingers were easily washed off.

“We just scrubbed our finger and the ink washed away and we were able to vote twice in separate polling precincts. We were paid P500 each,” one teenager told the police officer.

And policemen and soldiers cannot do anything because they were not allowed near the polling places. All they did was to monitor the elections and keep the people safe from possible attacks of Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.

“This is terrible. This election exercise is comparable to none. There is massive cheating, fraud and intimidation,” one watcher of the government’s Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition said.

One elderly Badjao tribesman, who cannot read or write, also showed a piece of paper where the names of local candidates – from congressman to council members – were written on a white piece of paper.

Speaking through an interpreter, he said he was given money in exchange for his votes. It was unknown how illegal voters, many of them unregistered with the Commission on Elections, were able to cast their votes, but suspicion fell heavily on poll inspectors who were composed mostly of state teachers in cahoots with local politicians.

There were also several reports of fist fights among poll watchers of opposing politicians in some polling areas.

In Sulu’s Tongkil town, one supporter of Lakas-Kampi-CMD was mauled by policemen who were acting as bodyguard of a local politician. The victim, who suffered huge cuts on the face and head, was rushed to hospital in the capital town of Jolo.

In Luuk town, six voting machines were destroyed inside polling precincts by supporters of local candidates who were demanding the Commission of Elections to resort to manual counting of votes and would not release the machines to authorities.

Poll observers fear the results would be padded in favor of the local candidates.

In nearby Tawi-Tawi province, journalists covering the elections in Panglima Sugala town were also harassed by bodyguards of a local politician. They were not allowed to take videos and photos of the elections. Poll fraud and cheating were also reported in the town, said one female journalist.

“We were harassed. They have not respected the non-partisan role of the media in this electoral exercise,” she said.

The media watchdog, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said it is documenting all reports of harassments against journalists. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gawad Kalinga to build community in Sulu; pro-poor housing inaugurated

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan briefs representatives of the Gawad Kalinga Community Foundation - Jerick Limoanco and Rey Balatayo - during a housing project site inspection Sunday, February 28, 2010 in Maimbung town. The Gawad Kalinga says it will build at least 120 housing units in the town in partnership with the Sulu provincial government. Muslim children play on a bridge in Maimbung town and behind them is a housing project which was also inaugurated Sunday by Governor Tan. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 28, 2010) – Over 100 houses which will benefit mostly poor families are to be erected in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the project is part of the Gawad Kalinga program and the Sulu provincial government. Two representatives of the Gawad Kalinga met with Governor Sakur Tan on Sunday and inspected the site where at least 120 houses would be constructed soon.

Tan briefed Jerick Limoanco and Rey Balatayo about the proposed housing site in the town of Maimbung. They were welcome by residents in the area.

“We are going to build houses. We are going to build a Gawad Kalinga community and this will benefit many people here in Sulu,” Balatayo said.

Gawad Kalinga is a Philippine-based poverty reduction and nation-building movement launched by Couples for Christ, a Catholic lay community, to care for worse-off Filipinos and survivors of natural disasters.

Last year, the Gawad Kalinga Global Summit was held in Boston, Massachusetts, where the foundation also launched its Vision 2024 platform - a 21-year timeline aimed to eradicate homelessness, hunger, and poverty for the millions of impoverished Filipino families all over the Philippines", bringing the country into First World status by 2024.

Tan said aside from the housing project, provincial infrastructure projects are also going on in many areas in Sulu.

After the site inspection, Tan also inaugurated a multi-million pro-poor housing project in Maimbung and was attended by village leaders. Dozens of new houses, many of them sitting on stilts, have been constructed in coastal towns.

“We have been doubling our time to finish more projects. The provincial (housing projects) costs millions of pesos and many poor families are now benefiting from these infrastructure and other pro-poor projects,” he said.

Tan also inspected several road and off-shore fisheries and lobster-fattening projects in Sulu. He said many fishermen have organized themselves into cooperatives and are benefiting from the government technical support, including loans and trainings. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen free last hostage in Sulu province

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 13, 2010) – Gunmen released the remaining Filipino construction worker seized in Sulu province in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.

Officials said Raja Halud was freed in the town of Maimbung late Friday. “Halud is freed and reunited with his family,” said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.

Cacho did not give details of the victim’s release, but gunmen freed Halud two days after they had released unharmed Jalal Ali. Both men were working for a US-funded road project in the town when gunmen seized them.

Marine Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces, tagged extortionists as behind the kidnappings. “We have reports that some villagers in the area extorting money from those working on the road project were behind the kidnappings,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Four Sayyaf ambushers killed in Sulu province

Photos released by the Sulu Provincial Information Office show the bodies of four Abu Sayyaf militants who were part of a group that ambushed a police convoy Thursday, May 7, 2009 in Maimbung town in Sulu province in the southern Philippines. The ambush killed the Sulu provincial police chief, Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim and three of his aides and a brother, police says.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 7, 2009) – Policemen killed four Abu Sayyaf militants who were part of a group that ambushed Thursday a police convoy that killed the provincial police chief of Sulu and three of his aides, including his brother.

The four were killed in the ensuing firefight between police forces and the Abu Sayyaf in Maimbung town. Two of the slain attackers were identified as Abul Rahim and Joko.

Officials said militants opened fire with automatic weapons on the convoy in the town of Maimbung, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf; killing Sulu police chief, Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim.

“This is a sad day for all of us. Our chief was killed in the ambush staged by the Abu Sayyaf,” said Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, police chief of Jolo town.

Pingay said they tightened security in the capital town after the ambush.

“We are now in high alert, we don’t know what will happen next,” he said.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but Kasim had been in the front line in battling the Abu Sayyaf group which is holding a kidnapped Italian aid worker Eugenio Vagni.

Before he died, Kasim said they were pursuing Vagni’s captors in the towns of Indanan, Parang and Maimbung. Kasim in the past also led the crackdown on suspected Abu Sayyaf supporters and the campaign against illegal weapons in Sulu.

Last December, Abu Sayyaf militants led by Gafur Jumdail attacked a police station in Maibung town, although there were no casualties.
The Abu Sayyaf, which means “Bearer of the sword,” has been linked by authorities to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya and blamed on the spate of bombings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf ambushed police convoy in Sulu; police chief, 4 others killed

A photo of Sulu provincial police chief, Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, taken in Jolo town two years ago. Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed a police convoy Thursday, May 7, 2009 killing Kasim along with three other aides and his brother in Sulu's Maimbung town. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 7, 2009) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants ambushed Thursday a police convoy in Sulu in southern Philippines and killing 5 people, including the provincial police chief, officials said.

Officials said militants opened fire with automatic weapons on the convoy in the town of Maimbung, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf; killing Sulu police chief, Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, three of his aides and a brother.

“This is a sad day for all of us. Our chief was killed in the ambush staged by the Abu Sayyaf,” said Chief Inspector Usman Pingay, police chief of Jolo town.

Pingay said they tightened security in the capital town after the ambush. “We are now in high alert, we don’t know what will happen next,” he said.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but Kasim had been in the front line in battling the Abu Sayyaf group which is holding a kidnapped Italian aid worker Eugenio Vagni.

Before he died, Kasim said they were pursuing Vagni’s captors in the towns of Indanan, Parang and Maimbung.

Kasim in the past also led the crackdown on suspected Abu Sayyaf supporters and the campaign against illegal weapons in Sulu.

Last December, Abu Sayyaf militants led by Gafur Jumdail attacked a police station in Maibung town, although there were no casualties.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “Bearer of the sword,” has been linked by authorities to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya and blamed on the spate of bombings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Militants attack police station in South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2008) – Abu Sayyaf militants fired at a police station in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, but there were no reports of casualties or injuries, officials said Friday.

Senior Supt. Julasirim Kasim, Sulu provincial police chief, said police forces pursued the attackers, but did not catch up with them. The attack, he said, occurred at around 7 p.m. Wednesday in Maimbung town while policemen were having dinner.

“We have stepped up operation against the Abu Sayyaf and deployed more forces in the area to hunt down the attackers led by Abu Sayyaf commander Gafur Jumdail,” he said.

Kasim said the militants fired a rifle grenade, but it fell shortly and exploded in front of the police station. “We still don’t know the motive of the attack. It could be in retaliation to our continued operation against lawlessness,” he said.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command headquarters said at least 7 Abu Sayyaf members attacked the police station. “”There was no report of casualties,” said military spokesperson, Lieutenant Steffani Cacho.

It was unknown if the attack was connected to last month’s raid by anti-narcotics agents and soldiers on a huge marijuana plantation allegedly maintained by the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “Bearer of the sword,” has been linked by authorities to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya and blamed on the spate of bombings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

US, RP Troops Finish School Buildings In Sulu

Photos released by the Philippine Marines shows Gov. Sakur Tan and Vice Gov. Lady Ann Sahidulla with Marines Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban and US military commander Maj. Joseph Mouer during the hand-over ceremony of the school buildings in Maimbung town.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 13, 2008) – Filipino and US soldiers have formally handed over to Sulu provincial officials three new school buildings they jointly constructed as part of humanitarian and development projects aimed at helping the local Muslim communities.

The projects were inaugurated over the weekend in Maimbung town by Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and his deputy Lady Ann Sahidulla with Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, commander of the Philippine Marines and Maj. Joseph Mouer, the chief of US forces deployed in Sulu.

The buildings were handed over to representatives of the Department of Education and Bato Ugis Elementary School under Abdulmoin Lakibul and local town officials headed by Mayor Najib Maldisa.

“We may only be able to fully achieve our peace objective if we complement it with development. By doing so, we must do it together. Progress comes easily for a community where people are educated and well-informed,” Sabban said.

Tan, on the other hand, stressed the importance of education in Sulu and praised the soldiers for their efforts in building the schools. More than 50 schools have been built by Philippine and US troops since 2006 in Sulu.

“We will continue to support these humanitarian efforts to sustain the achievements of Sulu in promoting peace and development. My administration will always be behind these benevolent projects of the Armed Forces and the US military. We appreciate the efforts of the soldiers in bringing peace to this beautiful province we call home,” Tan said.

US troops have been training Philippine soldiers in Sulu and are active in humanitarian missions. The US has spent more than $10 million in various development projects in Sulu, according to Sabban. (With a report from Erico Rosco)

Sayyafs Seize Journalist, 3 Others In Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 9, 2008) – Abu Sayyaf militants have seized a Filipino television journalist and two cameramen, including a Muslim university professor in the southern Philippine island of Sulu, police said Monday.

Police said Ces Drilon and her cameramen and their companion Octavio Dinampo were abducted in the village of Kulasi in the town of Maimbung. Drilon’s team arrived in Sulu on Saturday from Zamboanga City, said Supt. Julasirim Kasim, the provincial police chief.

“We received reports that the four were abducted by the Abu Sayyaf led by Albader Parad,” Kasim told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said Drilon’s group, from the television giant ABS-CBN, was believed taken to the hinterlands of Indanan town. Dinampo teaches at the Mindanao State University and is said to be helping Drilon in her coverage. The identities of the two cameramen were not immediately known.

“There is no demand yet for ransom,” Kasim said, adding, Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan convened the Crisis Management Committee to address the situation.

“Governor Sakur Tan is very worried over the safety of the victims and we are doing everything to locate them,” Kasim said.

Drilon’s group is billeted at the Sulu State College hostel in Jolo town where they took two rooms and left on Saturday afternoon after ordering foods good for 20 people, the local police chief Insp. Usman Pingay.

“We don’t know what really happened and why Drilon went without security to Maimbung,” he said in a separate interview.

A hotel staff said he saw Drilon hurriedly left and even asked her where she was going. “She was really in a hurry and I even asked her where they were going and Ces Drilon only replied that they would just be nearby. They never came back since Saturday.”

ABS-CBN television did not give any statement about the abduction. But Drilon’s group was the second from the television network to be kidnapped in Sulu in the past eight years – reporter Maan Macapagal and her cameraman Val Cuenca were also kidnapped on the island while working on exclusive news on the Abu Sayyaf.

Independent journalist Arlyn dela Cruz was also kidnapped in Sulu while covering the Abu Sayyaf. Another photojournalist Gene Boyd Lumawag was shot in the head by an Abu Sayyaf militant while shooting the sunset in Sulu several years ago.

The Abu Sayyaf had also seized foreign journalists covering the group’s kidnapping of 21 Asian and Western holidaymakers from Sabah. Most of those kidnapped were freed in exchange for ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

Abu Sayyaf Frees 6 Kidnapped Muslims In South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 10, 2008) – Abu Sayyaf militants freed six people they kidnapped in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, police said on Thursday.

Sulu police chief Julasirim Kasim said the six men were freed Wednesday after the victims’ families paid an unspecified amount of money to the kidnappers headed by Gafur Jumdail.

“All the victims have been released by the Abu Sayyaf. Money was paid to secure their safe release,” Kasim told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from the province.

The six were kidnapped after Abu Sayyaf gunmen hijacked their jeep while transporting six drums of gasoline near the village of Kulasi on Tuesday.

Police said the kidnapping occurred in the same village where Abu Sayyaf militants also snatched a Muslim school principal, Lullong Marrack, on April 1.Kasim said the four of the victims were ordered kidnapped by their enemies over an old debt. The two other men were the jeep’s driver and his helper, both were also freed, he said.

It was unknown how much was paid to the Abu Sayyaf, but Kasim said the families of the victims refused to file criminal charges against the masterminds or the kidnappers out of fear.

“We are studying this case seriously and about how the police can file charges against the kidnappers,” Kasim said.

He said Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan ordered more police forces in the area to track down the kidnappers. “We have already sent at least 50 cops in the area to secure the road and travelers from bad elements and that is what the governor wants,” Kasim said.

Abu Sayyaf gunmen have freed Marrack hours after he was seized in Kulasi village. The 60-year old Marrack was released unharmed. It was unknown whether Marrack's family paid ransom or not in exchange for the safe release of the victim. But other sources in the town said the victim's family negotiated for the freedom of the teacher.

Police also implicated Jumdail in the kidnapping. Maimbung is a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf group with ties to the al-Qaeda of Usama bin Laden and Indonesia's terror group, Jemaah Islamiya.

Last week, government troops killed an Abu Sayyaf militant, Sam Andal, in a clash on Pandami Island off Sulu province. The Abu Sayyaf is still holding a kidnapped trader, Rosalie Lao, since January. It was unknown whether Andal was involved in the kidnapping of the 45-year old Lao, a local Muslim with Chinese ancestry.

Last month, the Abu Sayyaf freed a kidnapped Muslim teacher, Omar Taup, of Notre Dame University in Tawi-Tawi province. Taup was kidnapped January 16 after militants raided the school and killed its Catholic priest, Reynaldo Roda, after he resisted the kidnappers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf Kidnapped 6 Muslims In South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 08, 2008) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen hijacked a jeep transporting fuel and seized all its six passengers and driver at a village in Maimbung town in Sulu province in southern Philippines, police said on Tuesday.

Police said the kidnapping occurred in the village of Kulasi where Abu Sayyaf militants also snatched a Muslim teacher last week.

“There is an ongoing investigation and police reports said six people were seized in Kulasi village by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits headed by Gafur Jumdail,” the provincial police chief, Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the victims, all local Muslims, were on a jeep transporting six drums of gasoline when gunmen flagged down their jeep.

“We still don’t know the motive of the kidnapping. It could grudge or anything,” Kasim said.

Last week, suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen have freed a kidnapped Muslim teacher, Lullong Marrack, hours after he was seized in Kulasi village also. The same gang, Kasim said, was responsible in the latest kidnapping.

The 60-year old Marrack was released unharmed. It was unknown whether Marrack's family paid ransom or not in exchange for the safe release of the victim. But other sources in the town said the victim's family negotiated for the freedom of the teacher.

Maimbung is a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf group with ties to the al-Qaeda of Usama bin Laden and Indonesia's terror group, Jemaah Islamiya.

On Saturday, security forces killed an Abu Sayyaf man, Sam Andal, in a clash on Pandami island off Sulu province. The Abu Sayyaf is still holding a kidnapped trader, Rosalie Lao, since January. It was unknown whether Andal was involved in the kidnapping of the 45-year old Lao, a local Muslim with a Chinese ancestry.

Last month, the Abu Sayyaf freed a kidnapped Muslim teacher, Omar Taup, of Notre Dame University in Tawi-Tawi province. Taup was kidnapped January 16 after militants raided the school and killed its Catholic priest, Reynaldo Roda, after he resisted the kidnappers.

Police did not say if ransom was paid for the safe release of Taup, but the Abu Sayyaf had earlier demanded P1 million for his freedom. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf Frees Kidnapped Teacher, Still Holds Another Trader in South RP

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 02, 2008) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen have freed a kidnapped Muslim teacher hours after he was seized in the southern Filipino province of Sulu, police said.

Superintendent Julasirim Kasim Sulu police chief said Lullong Marrack, 60, was released late Tuesday near Maimbung town. “He is already freed last night and we are still to investigate the motive of his kidnapping,” Kasim told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said Marrack, who was in a passenger jeep, was seized at around 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday while on his way to a high school graduation in the village of Kulasi. “The gunmen flagged down the jeep and abducted Marrack,” Kasim said.

It was unknown whether Marrack’s family paid ransom or not in exchange for the safe release of the victim. But other sources in the town said the victim’s family negotiated for the freedom of the teacher.

Another group of Abu Sayyaf is also holding Rosalie Lao, a Filipino trader with Chinese descent, kidnapped January 28 in Sulu’s Jolo town.

Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan has ordered security forces to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf and step up patrol in the province. “We are campaigning hard to maintain peace and order in Sulu and we do not want any incident of kidnappings or terrorism in the province,” Tan said in a separate interview.

Last month, Abu Sayyaf militants have freed a kidnapped Muslim university principal, Omar Taup, after more than two months in captivity in the southern Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi.

Taup was kidnapped January 16 after militants raided the Notre Dame University in the province and killed its Catholic priest, Reynaldo Roda, after he resisted the kidnappers.

Police did not say if ransom was paid for the safe release of Taup, but the Abu Sayyaf had earlier demanded P1 million for his freedom. (Nickee Butlangan)

RP Justice Ministry Investigates Sulu Killings

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 26, 2008) – The Philippines' Department of Justice has sent a team of prosecutors to investigate the killing of seven civilians and an off-duty soldier during a military operation in the southern province of Sulu.

The team, headed by Regional State Prosecutor Jaime Umpa, was sent Wednesday by Justice Secy. Raul Gonzales. Umpa said they briefed Tan about their task.

"We will investigate the killings in Maimbung town. There will be a thorough investigation and we will file criminal charges against those who will be found guilty," Umpa told the Mindanao Examiner.

The raid February 4, the military insisted, was a legitimate operation that targeted the Abu Sayyaf, which is holding a kidnapped trader, Rosalie Lao, in the town.

Seven of those killed by soldiers were two children, two teenagers and a pregnant woman, including a seaweed farmer and a village councilor.

CHR Regional Director Jose Manuel Mamauag said there was no Abu Sayyaf in the village and that seven of those slain in the military attack were innocent civilians. "None of them was an Abu Sayyaf member. Seven civilians and a government soldiers were killed in that attack," he said.

Mamauag's reports detailed how troops attacked and plundered the houses of villagers. Mamauag recommended the filing of criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the raid.

The military restrained the more than 50 soldiers who took part in the operation and most of them are members of the so-called elite and US-trained Army Light Reaction Company and the Navy's Special Warfare Group.

The military has ordered a separate probe of the killings after Tan vowed to file charges against the soldiers. The killings also sparked massive protests from international and local human rights organizations and civil society groups.

"Secretary Gonzales is concerned about the incident and allegations of a whitewash (in the military investigation)," he said. "Secretary Gonzales' marching order to this panel is to conduct an impartial investigation and to identify the perpetrators (of the killings)," Umpa said.

The country's largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, also praised Mamauag for his unbiased report into the killings. Survivors of the carnage testified in investigations that soldiers opened fired on villagers as they pleaded for their life.

Four of those killed were shot at sea as they fled for safety on boat. One of the survivors Rawina Wahid, wife of the slain soldier, Pfc. Ibnul Wahid, said her husband was hogtied and tortured by soldiers before being shot at the back of his head.

"My husband told the soldiers that he is a member of the Philippine Army, but they never listened and dragged him out of the house, bound his hands behind his back and then shot him. They did not listen to our pleading and they killed my husband," she said.

She said she saw four US soldiers on a navy boat where the body of her husband was brought. "I saw four American soldiers on the boat before Filipino troops blinded folded me," she told reporters. Wahid said she boarded the boat that took her husband's remains to a military base in Jolo town.

Tan said there were no reports that US soldiers took part in the actual operations. "US soldiers are all over Sulu, training Filipino troops and engaged in humanitarian missions," he said.

He said US troops deployed in Sulu are not allowed to participate in actual combat operations. "They are not allowed to join Filipino troops in actual combat operations. Their role is strictly to assist and advice the Armed Forces (of the Philippines) in anti-terror operations," he said.

Philippine and US military authorities have repeatedly denied American troops were involved in the raid in the village of Ipil.

The slain civilians were identified as Marisa Payian, 4; Wedme Lahim, 9; Alnalyn Lahim, 15; Sulayman Hakob, 17; Kirah Lahim, 45; Eldisim Lahim, 43; Narcia Abon, 24. Two of the raiders were also killed and four others wounded after armed villagers retaliated.

One of the victims had been shot at close range in the forehead, his right eye was gorged out and right ear missing. One had a missing finger while another had burns on his body and legs. Tan branded the killings as “barbaric and dastardly.”

Reps. Yusop Jikiri, of Sulu province and Mujiv Hataman, of Basilan have separately called for a congressional investigation into the killings in Maimbung town. Jikiri, a former rebel leader of the Moro National Liberation Front, said the off-duty soldier killed along with seven civilians was shot in front of his wife.

"Wahid was reportedly hogtied first before he was shot in front of her. The wife, in fact, showed the military uniform of her husband, but the soldiers merely ignored the plea of Mrs. Wahid. Later, Mrs. Wahid was taken by the soldiers to the rubber boat allegedly driven by an American soldier," Jikiri said in a privilege speech.

Hataman also filed a resolution seeking for an urgent investigation of the killings, which he described as "despicable, loathsome and ruthless."

He said: "There is no valid reason, especially for the soldiers who are supposed to be the protector of the people, to kill innocent civilians, particularly children." (Mindanao Examiner)

Hustisya Sa "Sulu Massacre" Wala Pa Rin

SULU (Mindanao / Mar. 16, 2008) – Nanawagann kahapon sa pamunuan ng Armed Forces of the Philippines at Department of National Defense ang mga ulama at ibat-ibang grupo sa lalawigan ng Sulu upang mabigyan ng hustisya ang pagpaslang sa 7 sibilyan at isang off-duty soldier na mga sundalo.

Nuong Pebrero 4 naganap ang pagpatay sa 8 katao at nangangamba ngayon ang amraming grupo sa Sulu, kabilang na ang mga kaanak ng biktima, na pinagtatakpan ng Western Mindanao Command at Philippine Navy ang mga sundalong sabit sa krimen.

Pawang mga miyembro ng Army’s Light Reaction Company at Navy’s Special Wwarfare Group ang diumano’y responsible sa pamamaslang. Napatay umano ang 8 ng lusubin ng mga sundalo ang Barangay Ipil sa bayan ng Maimbung at nakipagsagupaan sa Abu Sayyaf.

Dalawang sundalo rin ang nasawi at limang iba pa ang sugatan sa panig ng LRC at SWAG, ngunit sa imbestigasyong inilabas ni Regional Director Manuel Mamauag ng Commission on Human Rights sa Western Mindanao ay lumalabas na walang Abu Sayyaf sa nasabing Barangay at pinatay ang walong katao ng walang kalaban-laban.

Ayon naman sa mga saksi ay nagkaroon ng “mis-encounter” ang mga LRC at SWAG at sila-sila mismo ang nagbarilan. Napagkamalan umano ng dalawang grupo ng mga sundalo na Abu Sayyaf ang isat-isa.

Nagsagawa ng imbestigasyon ang Western Mindanao Command sa nasabing labanan at inabswelto nito ang mga sundalo at iginiit na Abu Sayyaf ang kanilang napatay. Ngunit nag utos agad si AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon ng sariling imbestigasyon matapos na bansagan ni Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan na isang masaker ang naganap.

Nagpatawag rin ng imbestigasyon si DND Secy. Gilbreto Teorodo upang mabatid ang katotohanan. Kabilang sa mga napatay ay dalawang bata, dalawang teenager, isang Barangay konsehal, isang seaweed farmer at isang babaeng buntis. Ang pagpatay sa kanila ay binansagan ng mga taga-rito an "Sulu Masscare". (Mindanao Examiner)

Sundalong Sabit Sa Sulu "Masscare", Kakasuhan Na!

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 02, 2008) – Sasampahan na ng kasong kriminal ang mga sundalong inakusahang pumatay sa 8 katao sa lalawigan ng Sulu sa kabila ng pagtatakip ng militar sa mga akusado.

Sinabi mismo ni Jainab Abdulmajid, executive director ng Sulu Area Coordinating Center (ACC), na nakahanda na ang lahat ng mga affidavits ng mga naulila upang makasuhan ang mga sundalong miyembro ng Army’s Light Reaction Company at Navy’s Special Warfare Group at kanilang mga commanders na sabit sa pagpatay.

“Magsasampa na ngayon Lunes ng kaso upang mabigyan ng hustisya ang pagapatay sa mga inosenteng sibilyan,” ani Abdulmajid sa panayam ng Mindanao Examiner.

Katulad ng inaasahan, inabswelto ng militar ang mga sundalong sabit sa binansagang "Sulu Massacre" na kung saan ay pitong sibilyan at isang off-duty army soldier ang napatay sa diumano'y sagupaan sa Abu Sayyaf.

Sa imbestigasyon na isinagawa ng Judge Advocate General's Office at Inspector General ng Western Mindanao Command ay pinawalang sala nito ang mga sundalong miyembro ng Army Light Reaction Company at Navy Special Warfare Group na siyang nasa likod ng atake sa Barangay Ipil sa bayan ng Mainbung nuong Pebrero 4.

Iginiit ng militar na lehitimong operasyon laban sa Abu Sayyaf ang naganap. Ngunit kabilang sa mga nasawi ay dalawang bata, dalawang teenager, isang buntis, isang seaweed farmer at isang konsehal ng naturang barangay.

"It was a legitimate encounter with the Abu Sayyaf and that is according to the report and findings of the JAGO," ani Army Major Eugene Batara, spokesman ng Western Mindanao Command.

Sinabi nitong si Colonel Fred Lleosa ang namuno sa JAGO team na nagsagawa ng imbestigasyon.

Ngunit pinanindigan naman ng Commission on Human Rights ang resulta ng sarili nitong imbestigasyon at sinabing walang Abu Sayyaf sa nasabing barangay at pawing mga inosenteng sibilyan ang pinatay ng mga sundalo.

"None of them was an Abu Sayyaf member. Seven civilians and a government soldiers were killed in that attack," wika ni CHR Regional Director Jose Manuel Mamauag.

Bago pa man magsimula ang imbestigasyon o isang araw matapos na mapatay ang 8 ay sinabi na ng Western Mindanao Command na kung hindi mga Abu Sayyaf ang napatay ay mga coddlers naman ito ng teroristang grupo na may kinalaman sa Jemaah Islamiya.

Mariing binatikos naman kahapon ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front ang resulta ng imbestigasyon ng militar at sinabing pinagtakpan nito ang mga sundalo."The findings are sanitized aimed at lessening the burden of responsibility to members of the elite troops under the Light Reaction Company and the navy's Special Warfare Group. Acting as judge for itself will lead to nowhere and no justice is expected forthcoming," ani pa ng MILF.

Pinuri rin nito ang ulat ng CHR at patas umano ang pahayag ni Mamauag ukol sa massacre. "Conscience-guided men, like Mamauag, deserved to be commended by everyone, despite differences of loyalties and orientations," wika ni Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF Secretariat.

Idinetalye ng CHR kung paanong inatake ng mga sundalo ang Barangay Ipil at ang pagnanakaw na ginawa ng mga ito sa mga kabahayan doon. Tatlong bahay rin ang sinunog ng mga sundalo at maging mga kambing at manok ay inilagay sa sako at tinangay.

Nangako naman si Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan na tutulungan nito ang mga naulila upang makakuha ng hustisya. Unang bumuo si Tan ng fact-finding board na sisiyasat sa “massacre.”

Isang malaking indignation rally naman ang isasagawa ng mga Muslim sa bawat bayan sa Sulu bilang protesta sa pagtatakip ng militar sa mga sundalo.

Kung mamamatunayang nagkasala ang mga sundalo ay tiyak na matatanggal ang mga ito sa serbisyo at mabubulok sa bilangguan. (Mindanao Examiner)

NGO Slams Philippines Judge Advocate General’s Office

Shot in the forehead and an eye missing, one of eight victims killed by soldiers in Sulu province. Below, Muslims protest the killings in Sulu. (Photo by Area Coordinating Center, Sulu Provincial Government)

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 29, 2008) - The Children’s Rehabilitation Center criticized the Armed Forces of the Philippines Judge Advocate General’s Office (JAGO) for exonerating the soldiers involved in the massacre of civilians, including 2 children and a pregnant woman, in Sulu province early this month.

“The AFP has done it again. It has used its usual excuse of “legitimate encounter” to escape accountability over the loss of civilian lives during military operations,” Ma. Esmeralda Macaspac, Executive Director of the Children’s Rehabilitation Center, said in a statement.

Macaspac also said that operations against the Abu Sayyaf Group have become a convenient excuse whenever human rights violations are committed against civilians in Mindanao, particularly in Muslim areas. “They disregard the damage to lives, limbs and property. They even disregard the findings of investigations by human rights groups and even the Commission on Human Rights.”

She said the exoneration of the soldiers was a move to prevent further antagonizing the soldiers in the midst of rumours of military unrest.

“The last thing that the Arroyo government needs right now, especially with a fragmented military, is to further rock the boat. This further shows that at whatever cost, they will trudge any path just to appease the military men and keep themselves in power. And this they do at the expense of the human rights of the people.”

Macaspac lauded the CHR for endorsing the filing of criminal charges against the soldiers in civilian court. She however cautioned the relatives of the victims not to pin much hope on winning the case because of the current state of the Philippine justice system.

“Seeking justice is part of the healing process of victims and their relatives. While we encourage the victims and the relatives to go through the process, we don’t encourage them to consider the court as the “end all and be all” of getting justice. They should also seek other means to attain justice,” she said.

“In the end, the success of their coping would depend on their own strength, enhanced by their social support network, and how they use this strength to change the crisis situation they are in."
The Children's Rehabilitation Center is a non-government organization providing direct psycho-social help to children victims of human rights violations.

Moro Human Rights Group Assails AFP Probe Of Sulu Massacre

Muslims hold rally to demand justice for eight people killed by government soldiers in Sulu province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 28, 2008) – A Muslim human rights group on Wednesday accused the Philippine military of covering up soldiers accused of killing 8 people in Sulu province.

The Philippine military absolved dozens of members of the Army Light Reaction Company and Navy Special Warfare Group in the murder of seven civilians and an off-duty soldier during a raid on the village of Ipil in Maimbung town on February 4.

The Western Mindanao Command's Judge Advocate General's Office absolved all the soldiers involved in the killings and said the attack in the village was a legitimate operation. "It was a legitimate encounter with the Abu Sayyaf and that is according to the report and findings of the JAGO," Army Major Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said.

Colonel Fred Lleosa headed the JAGO team which investigated the killings, he said.

Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said among those killed in the raid were two children, two teenagers and a pregnant woman, including a seaweed farmer and a village councilor. He also accused soldiers or murdering innocent villagers.

He said a fact-finding board was created Wednesday to study and file appropriate criminal charges against the soldiers and their commanders implicated in the killings.

“There should be no cover-up to the killings. We want justice and justice we will get. We will file criminal charges against those involved in the killing of innocent people,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) which held separate investigations into the raid also accused the soldiers of killings innocent civilians.

But the Philippine Commission on Human Rights said was no Abu Sayyaf in the village and that seven of those slain in the military attack were innocent civilians.

“None of them was an Abu Sayyaf member. Seven civilians and a government soldiers were killed in that attack,” CHR Regional Director Jose Manuel Mamauag said in a separate interview.

The Suara Bangsamoro, an umbrella organization of Muslim human rights groups, urged the Philippines Congress and the Senate to investigate the killings and reports that four US soldiers were spotted on a navy boat just off the village of Ipil as local troops were firing on civilians they mistook as Abu Sayyaf militants.

Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro, her group has long expected that the military will absolved the soldiers. “We believe the CHR’s findings because they were based on testimonies of survivors and the whole seaweeds-farming community of Ipil. We have long feared that the Western Mindanao Command investigation will want to whitewash the investigation and absolve their soldiers for the crimes,” Lidasan said in a statement.

“The Philippine should be concerned in giving the Moro people the long-awaited justice that the military deployed in our communities have time and again have been absolved. This cycle of injustice is only one of the many reasons why the Moro people cannot stomach the Arroyo administration and her anti-terror and militaristic policies,” she said.

The Western Mindanao Command had previously said, even before the start of investigations, that those killed in the raid were either members of the Abu Sayyaf members or coddlers of the group and in several occasions claimed the victims were killed by the Abu Sayyaf or hit in the cross-fire.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country's largest Muslim rebel group, also criticized the findings of the military investigation.

"The findings are sanitized aimed at lessening the burden of responsibility to members of the elite troops under the Light Reaction Company and the navy's Special Warfare Group. Acting as judge for itself will lead to nowhere and no justice is expected forthcoming," the MILF said.

The MILF also praised Mamauag for his unbiased report of the CHR investigations into the killings. "Conscience-guided men, like Mamauag, deserved to be commended by everyone, despite differences of loyalties and orientations," Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF Secretariat, said.

The CHR findings detailed how troops attacked the village and plundered houses owned by civilians.

Mamauag has recommended the filing of criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the raid.

Survivors of the carnage testified in investigations that soldiers opened fired on villagers as they pleaded for their life. Four of those killed were shot at sea as they fled for safety on boat.

One of the survivors Rawina Wahid, wife of the slain soldier, Pfc. Ibnul Wahid, said her husband was hogtied and tortured by soldiers before being shot at the back of his head.

"My husband told the soldiers that he is a member of the Philippine Army, but they never listened and dragged him out of the house, bound his hands behind his back and then shot him. They did not listen to our pleading and they killed my husband," she said.

She said she also saw four US soldiers on a navy boat where the body of her husband was brought. "I saw four American soldiers on the boat before Filipino troops blinded folded me," she told reporters. Wahid said she boarded the boat that took her husband's remains to a military base in Jolo town.

One of the victims had been shot at close range in the forehead, his right eye was gorged out and right ear missing. One had a missing finger while another had burns on his body and legs.

The slain civilians were identified as Marisa Payian, 4; Wedme Lahim, 9; Alnalyn Lahim, 15; Sulayman Hakob, 17; Kirah Lahim, 45; Eldisim Lahim, 43; Narcia Abon, 24. Two of the raiders were also killed and five others wounded when they mistook each others as enemies and traded gun fires, according to the CHR report.

Reps. Yusop Jikiri, of Sulu province and Mujiv Hataman, of Basilan have separately called for a congressional investigation into the killings in Maimbung town.

Muslim religious groups and human rights advocates are reportedly planning to hold a series of street rallies to demand justice for the victims. But many are worried that Muslims, angered by the cover-up of the military into killings, may mount sympathy attacks targeting government soldiers in Sulu.

Dozens of Christian soldiers had been killed in Sulu in random machete and gun attacks the past years by angry villagers because of atrocities and human rights abuses of the military on the island of over half a million Muslims. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Military Absolves Troops In Sulu Massacre

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MILF Hails Human Rights Report On Sulu Massacre

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 17, 20080 – The Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front, hailed the findings of an independent probe in the killings of eight people by government soldiers in Sulu province.

Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF Secretariat, said the findings of the Commission on Human Rights detailed how troops attacked the village of Ipil in Maimbung town and plundered the houses of villagers, among them an off-duty army soldier and seven civilians. The MILF previously condemned the killings.

The raid February 4, the military insisted, was a legitimate operation that targeted the Abu Sayyaf, which is holding a kidnapped trader, Rosalie Lao, in the town. Seven of those killed by soldiers were two children, two teenagers and a pregnant woman, including a seaweed farmer and a village councilor.

CHR Regional Director Jose Manuel Mamauag said there was no Abu Sayyaf in the village and that seven of those slain in the military attack were innocent civilians. "None of them was an Abu Sayyaf member. Seven civilians and a government soldiers were killed in that attack," he said.

The MILF also praised Mamauag for his unbiased report of the CHR investigations into the killings. "Conscience-guided men, like Mamauag, deserved to be commended by everyone, despite differences of loyalties and orientations," he said, adding, only men of conscience and commitment to the rule of law could decide on the side of truth and justice, especially if the victims were only lowly seaweed workers.

Mamauag has recommended the filing of criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the raid. The military restrained the more than 50 soldiers who took part in the operation and most of them are members of the so-called elite and US-trained Army Light Reaction Company and the Navy's Special Warfare Group.

The military has ordered a separate probe of the killings after Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan vowed to file criminal charges against the soldiers. The killings also sparked massive protests from international and local human rights organizations and civil society groups.

"We will respect the outcome of the investigations," said Army Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of the military forces in Sulu.Survivors of the carnage testified in investigations that soldiers opened fired on villagers as they pleaded for their life. Four of those killed were shot at sea as they fled for safety on boat.

One of the survivors Rawina Wahid, wife of the slain soldier, Pfc. Ibnul Wahid, said her husband was hogtied and tortured by soldiers before being shot at the back of his head.

"My husband told the soldiers that he is a member of the Philippine Army, but they never listened and dragged him out of the house, bound his hands behind his back and then shot him. They did not listen to our pleading and they killed my husband," she said.

She said she saw four US soldiers on a navy boat where the body of her husband was brought. "I saw four American soldiers on the boat before Filipino troops blinded folded me," she told reporters. Wahid said she boarded the boat that took her husband's remains to a military base in Jolo town.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro assured the governor that there will be no cover up in the ongoing investigation into the killing of the civilians. He said President Gloria Arroyo ordered a probe into the incident. "The instruction of President Arroyo is to have a credible investigation," he said.

Teodoro met last week with families of those killed in the raid and heard the testimony of Wahid. Tan branded the killings as "barbaric and dastardly".

One of the victims had been shot at close range in the forehead, his right eye was gorged out and right ear missing. One had a missing finger while another had burns on his body and legs.

The slain civilians were identified as Marisa Payian, 4; Wedme Lahim, 9; Alnalyn Lahim, 15; Sulayman Hakob, 17; Kirah Lahim, 45; Eldisim Lahim, 43; Narcia Abon, 24. Two of the raiders were also killed and four others wounded after armed villagers retaliated.

Reps. Yusop Jikiri, of Sulu province and Mujiv Hataman, of Basilan have separately called for a congressional investigation into the killings in Maimbung town.

Jikiri, a former rebel leader of the Moro National Liberation Front, said the off-duty soldier killed along with seven civilians was shot in front of his wife.

"Wahid was reportedly hogtied first before he was shot in front of her. The wife, in fact, showed the military uniform of her husband, but the soldiers merely ignored the plea of Mrs. Wahid. Later, Mrs. Wahid was taken by the soldiers to the rubber boat allegedly driven by an American soldier," Jikiri said in a privilege speech.

Hataman also filed a resolution seeking for an urgent investigation of the killings, which he described as "despicable, loathsome and ruthless." He said: "There is no valid reason, especially for the soldiers who are supposed to be the protector of the people, to kill innocent civilians, particularly children." (Mindanao Examiner)