Zamboanga City, Mistulang Garrison Na!

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 16, 2008) – Nagmistula ng garrison ang Zamboanga City sa dami ng mga armadong sundalo na makikita sa downtown area sanhi ng sunod-sunod na krimen at banta ng terorismo.

Ngunit sa kabila nito ay pilit pa rin pinalalabas ng mga awtoridad na tahimik ang Zamboanga City, ngunit panay naman ang kahol ng City Hall sa media ukol sa mga lumalabas na negatibong balita.

Kaliwa’t-kanan ang patayan sa Zamboanga at nuong nakaraang linggo lamang ay isang nurse na si Preciosa Feliciano ang dinukot dito. Kalat ang mga tropa ng army, marines at air force, bukod pa rito ang puwersa ng pulisya, sa downtown area at mistulang martial law ang dating ng mga ito.

Nakapagbibigay rin ito ng masamang impresyon sa mga bisitang naliligaw sa Zamboanga dahil sa dami ng mga armadong sundalo. Taliwas ito sa pilit na ipinapakita ng pamahalaang lokal na maayos ang sitwasyon dito.

Kamakailan lamang ay binomba ang isang building sa harapan lamang ng Edwin Andrews Air Base na ikinamatay ng tatlong katao. Ilang mga bomba na rin ang natagpuan sa ibat-ibang lugar sa Zamboanga City. Ibinintang naman agad ng militar at pulisya at ng City Hall sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front at Abu Sayyaf ang lahat ng mga pambobomba at kidnapping dito. (Mindanao Examiner)

Cops Search For Missing Briton In South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 09, 2008) – Police mounted a search Friday for a British national who was reported missing while visiting the southern port city of Zamboanga, reports said.

Local radio reports said James David Rowe was missing since Thursday after he failed to return to his hotel in downtown Zamboanga. Rowe checked in at the Amil Hotel and left with a Filipino man, the Radio Agong reported.

“The foreigner left with a Filipino man and never returned. We reported the matter to the police. We don’t know what happened to him. His things are all inside the room,” a woman at the hotel’s front desk told the Mindanao Examiner.

She said Rowe was alone when he checked in at the hotel, but refused to elaborate further, saying, she is not authorized to talk about it.

Mayor Celso Lobregat has ordered the police to search for the missing foreigner, his spokesperson, Sheila Covarrubias, said. “Police is doing all it can to locate the foreigner,” she said in a separate interview.

Initial police reports, she said, showed that Rowe is engage in buying and selling of automotive spare parts and authorities are investigating whether his business has anything to do with his disappearance.

“At this time, we still do not know what really happened. We can only speculate,” Covarrubias said.

The United States Embassy last month said it received information that extremists may be planning to kidnap Americans or other foreigners at hotels or other public places in Zamboanga City.

It warned Americans not to travel to Zamboanga which had been targeted in the past by Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda terror network.

Australia also issued a similar warning last month and told its citizens not to travel to Zamboanga and other areas in the southern region. Two homemade bombs exploded in Zamboanga City a week after the US and Australian warnings. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: Sunset In Zamboanga City

Sun sets March 01, 2008 in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. Zamboanga is now branded as Asia's Latin City because of its Chavacano dialect, a mixture of Spanish and several Filipino dialects which is distinct in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)