Troops hail appointment of army general to human rights office

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 12, 2010) – Government soldiers hailed the appointment of a decorated army commander who advocated peace in Mindanao as head of the new Human Rights Office of the Philippine military.

President Benigno Aquino III named Brigadier General Domingo Tutaan, former deputy chief of the Southern Command headquarters in Zamboanga City in Mindanao, as head of the Human Rights Office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“We are glad that General Tutaan, who is a true human rights defender and peace advocate, will head the new Human Rights Office. The soldiers are behind him as we also support his advocacy,” one army sergeant, who had served Tutaan in the past, said.

Tutaan also served as commander of the 1003rd Infantry Brigade in Davao region and was largely credited for his various peace and development programs and respect for human rights in Mindanao.

Tutaan was a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1981, whose father was also a decorated army general. (Mindanao Examiner)

NFA Rice

Antonio Peralta, a Senior Grains Operation Officer of the National Food Authority in Kidapawan shows their current stocks of government-subsidized rice. Manila has increased the price of NFA rice by two pesos and now sells P27 a kilo. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geo Solmerano)

4 killed in Zamboanga village attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 11, 2010) – Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a thatched hut and killing four people in an attack on a village in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, reports said.

Reports said one girl had miraculously survived the Friday night massacre, but was wounded in the attack that occurred in the village of Panubigan that almost wiped out the entire Marahadol family. Other reports said the baby was unscathed.

Among those killed in the murderous rampage were two children.

Policemen had recovered more than 2 dozen empty shells from various automatic weapons and that security forces were sent to track down the raiders. The motive of the attack was unknown, but police suspect family feud or locally known as rido may have triggered the killings.

Family feud is not uncommon in many parts of the southern region where clan war could last for years and even decades. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels raid army post, seize 3 people, in Davao City

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 11, 2010) – Communist rebels disguised as soldiers held two people and used them as shield in raiding a military post in Davao City in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.

Officials said New People’s Army rebels led by Leoncio Pitao carted military weapons and also seized a government soldier before escaping with their hostages. The raid occurred late Friday on a village in Paquibato district in Davao City, host to over a dozen militant and leftist groups with links to the rebels.

“It is lamentable that this deceitful incident happened during the celebration of International Human Rights Day. We, as soldiers, continue to promote peace and development while these illegal armed groups continue to spread violence. This is their way of celebrating the International Humanitarian Day,” said Lieutenant Colonel Edgardo de Leon, operations chief of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

The fate of the hostages were unknown, but the the raid occurred just as Manila and rebel leaders announced a separate yuletide cease-fire and the prospect of resuming stalled peace talks aimed at putting a stop to decades of bloody insurgency in the country.

The New People’s Army is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for the establishment of a separate Maoist state in the largely Catholic country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine farmers' group denounces killings of peasants

Thousands of people joined a rally in Davao City in Mindanao for the commemoration of International Human Rights Day. They also demanded justice for victims of extra-judicial killings and to stop militarization in the countryside. (Photos by Jonald Mahinay and Karlos Manlupig).


DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 10, 2010) - A Filipino Farmer’s group called Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas in Southern Mindanaon has denounced the increasing human rights violations on peasants in the country.

It said at least 22 cases of extra-judicial killings gad been committed in just seven months of President Benigno Aquino's presidency. It said 14 of the 22 victims were farmers; three of whom were from Davao - Julius Tamondes, Reynaldo Labrador and Vicente Felicilda Jr.

“Blood of civilians, of activists longing for genuine democratic change continue to stain the hands of the government. We condemn that the policy of killing members and leaders of progressive peoples’ organizations and civilians which has continued under the Aquino regime. This is enough to prove that President Aquino's policies were patterned after the same atrocious policies of the Arroyo government,” said the group's chairman Pedro Arnado said.

Arnado said the militarization of farmers’ communities has worsened with the deployment of the more than 19 infantry battalions, excluding the elements of the police, militias, the so-called Barangay (village) Defense System and other paramilitary groups in the region.

“Only recently, aerial bombardments have ripped Maragusan town leading to the forcible displacement of farmers and lumads (indigenous peoples). Scores of other villages are heavily militarized, with military units living within civilian populations as if martial rule has been the ‘unwritten’ official policy of the Aquino regime,” he said.

Thousands of peasants and human rights advocate also marched in Davao to commemorate the International Human Rights Day. They denounced the unabated killings of innocent people, mostly political activists, in the country.

Dipolog villages underwater

At least 13 of 21 villages in the southern Filipino city of Dipolog is under water. (Photos by Joel Ello)

DIPOLOG CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 9, 2010) – Days of continuous rains have submerged many villages in the southern Filipino city of Dipolog, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties.

Flash floods were reported in several areas and photos made available by journalists on the social networking site facebook.com showed the devastation brought about by the rains.

Villagers were seen using fabricated raft so they can cross flooded areas. Many farm animals were also evacuated to safer areas after flash floods threatened villages in low-lying communities after the Miputak Creek overflowed.

Flood water in some villages was as high as four feet. One Catholic chapel was submerged in water in the village of San Roque. Thousands of people were affected by the flooding which according to authorities has submerged at least a dozen of 21 of the city’s villages since early this week. (Mindanao Examiner)

24 Mindanao Young Leaders Complete Congressional Internship Program

On December 7, twenty-four young leaders from Mindanao graduated from the 2010 Congressional Internship Program for Young Mindanao Leaders (CIPYML) in a ceremony held at the House of Representatives . Shown in the picture with the graduates are (L to R) House Deputy Secretary General Dr. Ramon Roque, USAID Philippines Mission Director Gloria Steele, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, U.S. Ambassador Harry K. Thomas Jr., and House Secretary General Atty. Marilyn Yap. CIPYML is managed by USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao Program and implemented in partnership with the House of Representatives. It aims to enhance the commitment of young people within the ARMM and conflict-affected areas in Mindanao to democratic values and institutions by increasing their knowledge of the process of policy formulation and the development of legislation. (US Embassy)

HIV cases in Northern Mindanao rises

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 7, 2010) — Philippine health officials have raised the alarm over the rising cases of HIV or the human immunodeficiency virus in northern Mindanao.

The Center for Health Development said it recorded 34 new cases of HIV and the region now ranks number one in the number of people with the dreaded disease.

A regional health spokesman attributed the sudden increase of HIV cases to foreign tourists infected with the disease and had sex with local girls.

The National AIDS Registry has recorded at least 5,729 cases of HIV and AIDS (Acquired Deficiency Syndrome) since 1984 up to the present. (Bong Fabe)

Philippine Maoist rebels declare truce

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 7, 2010) Local Maoist rebels have announced Tuesday an 18-day cease-fire as an act of goodwill and to allow its fighters enjoy the yuletide season.

The communist Party of the Philippines said the cease-fire order will take effect on December 16 until January 3 next year. "(The ceasefire order) is issued on humanitarian grounds and as an act of good will in order to allow the commands, units and personnel of the contending armies of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines to observe the traditional holidays and enjoy the spirit of the yuletide season and the New Year.”

But the rebel group said the truce declaration is “effective upon the reciprocal and concurrent ceasefire order from the Government of the Republic of the Philippines to its military, police and paramilitary forces.”

"While the ceasefire is in effect, all commands and units of the New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, and the people’s militia shall be “in a defensive mode at both the strategic and tactical levels but shall remain vigilant against any encroachment on the territory of the people’s democratic government,” the CPP said. (Bong Fabe)

Zamboanga City's Yuletide Scenes

Colorful lights and yuletide decorations adorn the century-old former Spanish military fort which now houses the Zamboanga City Hall in the southern Philippines. Aside from City Hall, the Plaza Pershing, named after American Governor John “Black Jack” Pershing; and the Plaza Rizal, also named after a Filipino hero Dr Jose Rizal, are all decorated with thousands of beautiful color lights and have become favorite places to hang around among locals and visitors. Zamboanga, popularly known as the “City of Flowers,” has been branded as “Asia’s Latin City” because of its unique language called Chavacano, which is a mixture of Spanish and Filipino dialects. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Human Rights Isyu

Nagsama-sama sa Davao city ang mga human rights advocates upang manawagan sa Pangulong Benigno Aquino na respetuhin ang karapatan-pantao sa bansa na kung saan ay halos dalawang dosenang kaso na ng extrajudicial killings ang naitala mula ng umupo ito bilang pinuno ng bansa. (Kuha ni Karlos Manlupig)

Troops kill 3 NPA rebels, capture female fighter in Mindanao clash

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 7, 2010) – Government troops killed three communist rebels and captured a wounded female fighter following a clash on Tuesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the fighting broke out in the village of Pasian in Compostela Valley’s Monkayo town after troops ran into a group of New People’s Army rebels.

Soldiers also recovered 7 automatic weapons and two improvised explosives left behind by rebels, said Army Lieutenant Colonel Medel Aguilar, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.

“An encounter between soldiers from the 25th Infantry Battalion under and NPAs resulted to the recovery of five M16 rifles, one Garand rifle, one Carbine, two Improvised Explosive Devices and NPA documents,” Aguilar said, adding, the fighting lasted more than 20 minutes.

He said the wounded rebel, Lea Palma Gil alias Ka Tanya, was evacuated to a military hospital in Davao City for medical treatment, but she is likely to be interrogated later about the local activities of the New People’s Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

Other reports said Gil did not reach the hospital alive.

Last week, rebel forces killed 5 soldiers and wounded at least 10 more in fierce fighting in the village of Paloc in Maragusan town also in Compostela Valley province, a known stronghold of communist fighters in Mindanao.

President Benigno Aquino III has reopened collapsed peace talks with the rebels in an effort to end bloody secessionist war in the Philippines.

Negotiations broke down in 2004 after rebel leaders accused then President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on several accords, among them the release of political prisoners. (Mindanao Examiner)

Proposed coal-fired power plant in Davao opposed

Coal-fired power plant.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 6, 2010) - The NETWORK OPPOSED TO COAL-FIRED POWER PLANTS or NO TO COAL in Davao has launched a nationwide signature campaign which support a House resolution calling for a 40–year moratorium on building coal–fired power plants in the Philippines.

The signature campaign coincided with the 1st Regional Power Conference organized by POWER DABAW which is composed of multi-sectoral groups, local government units, schools, and environmental rights groups. The network aims to gather more than one million signatures in support of the resolution.

The conference tackled problems facing power consumers affected by the unabated power rate hikes and the continued control of the power industry by private firms.

“It is wrong and a lie to tell people that the construction of more coal fired power plants will be the solution to the power rate hikes and the looming energy crisis. The fact is, as long as the industry is monopolized by an elite few, there will be no end to the increase in power rates,” said Francis Morales, of the NO to COAL.

“We hope that the people of Davao will not be deceived and oppose the proposed construction of a 200-megawatt coal-fired plant by Aboitiz here in our city. We are pushing for the promotion and development of renewable energy resources that are sustainable and manage by the community,” he added.

Aldrin Dais, Student Affairs coordinator of the Assumption College of Davao, also stressed that allowing a coal-fired power plant in Davao will pose hazards to the health of the villagers and pollute the environment.

“We want a clean and healthy Davao, especially for the younger generation. We register our opposition to the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Davao,” he said.

Junior motocross in Kidapawan City

Young riders race during a motocross competition in the town of Mlang in North Cotabato province on Sunday, December 5, 2010. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo Solmerano)

Philippine Army website hacked!

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2010) – The official website of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division in Mindanao has been hacked.

The website’s Internet address http://www.diamondtroopers.com now displays an animated icon showing two men tying up another man, his mouth taped, sitting on a chair and on the floor lays a chain saw. Below a word that reads: “Are You Happy Or What?"

The icon is emblazoned with the word “Hacked!” It was also marked “Own3d By GiAnT NeTwOrK. $erver d0wn.” A music, which appears to be Arabic, also plays on the background.

The hacker left an e-mail address - vp.ip@hotmail.com – and the same can be found on dozens of other hacked commercial and church-based websites, including various international organizations.

An officer from the 4th Infantry Division said they were unaware of the hacking of their official website. “It was okay last week,” the officer told the Mindanao Examiner.

Out of the Philippine Army’s ten infantry divisions across the country, only the 4th Infantry Division was hacked. All the other army division official websites can be accessed on this Internet address http://www.army.mil.ph. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels kill 10 soldiers in Mindanao clash

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2010) – Communist rebels have announced Sunday the killing of at least 5 government soldiers in fierce clashes in the southern Philippines.

The New People’s Army said at least 10 more soldiers were wounded in recent fighting in the village of Paloc in Compostela Valley’s Maragusan town. It also accused the 10th Infantry Division of covering up for the government’s casualties and for saying that 6 rebels had died from the clashes.

Daniel Ibarra, a spokesman for the NPA’s Rhyme Petalcorin Command, said only one rebel was killed in the fighting.

“There is no truth to these reports. The truth is that the 50-man column of the 5th Scout Ranger Company of the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion suffered heavy casualties resulting from the ambush by a platoon of Red fighters under the Rhyme Petalcorin Command Front 27 Operations Command-NPA.”

“At least five enemies were killed-in-action and another ten wounded-in-action. Three command-detonated claymore mines were switched, directly hitting the enemy,” Ibarra said.

He said the government troops have intensified their combat operations against rebel forces in Compostela Valley province and other areas in Mindanao, but he also warned the New People’s Army would also launch more offensives against military targets in the southern region.

“The incursions of 10th Infantry Division (forces) of the (Armed Forces of the Philippines) Eastern Mindanao Command in the guerilla bases and zones and their attacks against the toiling masses shall be punished accordingly,” Ibarra said.

The New People’s Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate state in the country.

President Benigno Aquino III has reopened collapsed peace talks with the rebels in an effort to end bloody secessionist war in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Media staff workers under surveillance in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2010) A group of suspicious-looking men have been spotted near the office of the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines and were believed conducting surveillance on staff workers.

The unidentified men, whose spoke in Tausug, a dialect widely used in the Muslim province of Sulu, were reported tailing staff members. Civilians claimed the men were using motorcycles and old cars to observe the media workers.

One witness said he saw three suspicious men on two different cars randomly observing staff members shortly after the village elections in October where its reporters covered the polls in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Last week, one of its reporters in Cotabato was also threatened along with other journalists based in the city for a still unknown reason. But the threats were unlikely connected to the activities of the men conducting surveillance of the firm’s staff workers in Zamboanga City.

Last year, an unidentified assailant fired one shot from a pistol at the editorial office of the newspaper in Zamboanga City, but the bullet hit its steel door. Reports have been made to authorities about the matter and possible suspects.

The Mindanao Examiner was founded in 2005, then called the Zamboanga Journal, and has also ventured into online news, cable television broadcast, video productions and offered photography services.

The Philippines is considered as one of the most deadliest places for journalists in the world. Also last year, at least 32 journalists, who were among over two dozen people accompanying a political caravan in Maguindanao province, had been brutally killed by gunmen who were allegedly followers of a powerful Muslim clan in the country's worst political killings. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidapawan Lechon

A man cuts a roasted pig, popularly known as lechon, in Kidapawan City in the southern Philippines. Lechon is usually prepared for special occasions and gatherings. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo Solmerano)

Basilan gunmen swap 2 hostages for abducted kin

A photo released by Basilan provincial deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul shows the official meeting with two hostages - Umma Tahil and Hamja Tahil – freed by gunmen headed by Pawi Hambali after the victims’ relatives seized three of the gang leader’s kin on Sunday, December 5, 2010 in Basilan province in Mindanao to force the kidnappers to swap hostages. (Best available photo / Mindanao Examiner).

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2010) – Gunmen have freed Sunday 2 of the remaining hostages they seized in the strife-torn province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the two, who were part of a dozen people seized last month, had been released after relatives of their victims also abducted three of the gang leader’s kin and swapped them for the duo.

The gunmen, led by Pawi Hambali, originally demanded weapons and money in exchange for the freedom of the two men who were kidnapped on November 27 in the town of Ungkaya Pukan.

Officials said a family feud stemming from a land dispute triggered the kidnapping.

“The two remaining hostages had been freed by Hambali in exchange for three of his kin also abducted by his victims’ relatives and family. There was a swap of hostages and all ends well,” the provincial deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul told the Mindanao Examiner.

Pawali’s group released 10 of his hostages on November 30 after a series of negotiations by village elders, but held on to the two others. Sakalahul said Hambali seized the victims, mostly fishermen, thinking they were relatives of his foes and to force the other family to settle their feud. But it turned out that 10 of those abducted had nothing to do with the conflict.

Family feud or clan war is not uncommon in Basilan or in many parts of Mindanao, especially in Muslim areas where random attacks stemming from the conflicts occur. The feud could sometimes last for decades and would often target innocent clan members. (Mindanao Examiner)

Henna Tattoo

A man gets a mehndi using henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in Kidapawan City in Mindanao. Henna tattoo, usually reddish or indigo in color, is popular among many holidaymakers and beach goers in the Philippines. But “black henna” which contains synthetic hair dye or para-phenylendiamine should never be put straight on the skin, plain, or mixed with other material because it can seriously injure people.

Para-phenylenediamine is a strong sensitizer, transdermal toxin and potential carcinogen. It can cause itching and blistering of the skin.

However, there are safe and effective traditional techniques of making natural henna go dark red or dark brown, even nearly black. Heat and the addition of essential oils such as Tea Tree oil are the safest and most effective darkeners of henna. These may make nearly black stains on hands, but on the rest of the body, the stains will be brown. Henna never leaves “black” stains on the skin. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo Solmerano)

Cotabato journalists get death threats anew

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 4, 2010) – A group of Filipino journalists based in Cotabato City have received apparent death threats — the second in a month — raising new security concerns and putting their lives at risk.

Mindanao journalists receive threatening texts: “Mga gongong kayo mga media. Mamamatay tao. Baket takot kayo. Mga gago kayo media (Stupid media. Killers. Why are you afraid. You in the media are stupid), were sent through cell phone number 0949-4563979.

They were also sent to the same group of journalists and workers at the Bureau of Public Information of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

It was the second time that the workers and journalists were threatened.

They also received this text message: “Humanda kayo mga medya, lentek kayo, bakho kayo (Be warned, you in the media).”

The motive of the text sender was still unknown but the journalists who received the threats have reported the matter to the authorities.

Last year, at least 57 people were killed—among them 31 journalists—in Maguindanao province in southern Mindanao by gunmen who were allegedly followers of the feared and powerful Ampatuan clan.

Many members of the clan themselves are facing multiple-murder charges in connection with the Maguindanao massacre of November 23, 2009.

The Philippines is listed by international press watchdogs, such as Reporters Without Borders, as one of the most dangerous areas for journalists, along with Iraq and Afghanistan. (With a report from Mark Navales)

Sayyaf hijacks Malaysian freight boat off Sabah

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 3, 2010) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf rebels hijacked a Malaysian freight boat and stole fuel and navigation equipment before escaping off Sabah near the Philippine border, reports said on Friday.

Reports said at least 6 rebels on a speedboat fired automatic weapons before boarding the vessel transporting fuel and lumber off Lahad Datu town. There were no reports of casualties on the boat’s six crew members, mostly Indonesian, but the weekend attack sparked renewed fears of Abu Sayyaf activity in the oil-rich Malaysian state which is also being claimed by the Philippines.

The Free Malaysia Today also reported that the police are investigating the attack and that the crew quoted the rebels as saying they were members of the Abu Sayyaf. The vessel, owned by Syarikat One Up Sdn Bhd, was heading to Sandakan when the attack occurred.

“Boasting that they are members of the notorious Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, the group armed with two M16 rifles and four semi automatic hand guns fired a warning shot into the air before letting loose a fusillade of shots at the tug boat when it did not stop. The skipper of the tug boat finally stopped when bullets started whizzing by the crew and hit the tug boat's engines and propellers,” it said, adding, the gunmen carted cash and cell phones of crew members and also took a global positioning system, seven thousand liters of diesel, six batteries and several cooking gas cylinders.

Just early this year, gunmen with alleged connections to the Abu Sayyaf group kidnapped two Malaysian seaweed farmers and have demanded two million ringgits in exchange for their safe release.

The duo - Tsen Vui Chung, 42, and his cousin Lai Wing Chau, 33, - were seized in February from their farm in the island of Pulau Sebangkit in Sabah and were taken to Tawi-Tawi province in the southern Philippines.

The Abu Sayyaf also had kidnapped 21 mostly Western holidaymakers in Sabah’s resort island of Sipadan in 2001. The hostages were then ransomed off to Libya, which negotiated for their release, for millions of dollars. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mindanao army brass now a peace advocate

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 2, 2010) - Peace cannot be attained through war and this was stressed by Major General Victor Felix, the new commander of the 4th Infantry Division in Cagayan de Oro City in Mindanao during the closing ceremonies of the Mindanao Week of Peace.

Instead of war, Felix advocated for peaceful means to attain the long dreamed-of peace in Mindanao. He said that Filipinos, especially Mindanawons, should exert effort in understanding each other, especially those of other religious and cultural affiliations.

“The Philippine Army, specifically the 4th Infantry Division, emphasized that peace is not won through more bloodshed but through peaceful means and efforts in understanding and unifying each Filipino citizen, especially the people here in Mindanao,” he said.

Felix said that government soldiers are also trained to be peace advocates and peace builders and that right now, soldiers are doing development works in the countryside to let the people know that they also want peace and not war.

Through development work, soldiers can help build peaceful communities all over the country, he stressed. But Felix admitted that there is still a lot of work to do to attain lasting peace and this can be done if the church and socio-civic organizations unite and join hands in “fighting” for peace in Mindanao and in the whole country.

“The struggle for peace has never been an easy one. There has never been a proven short cut formula recorded all throughout history that will be able to guide us. For each situation, especially in our case, will rely purely in our understanding what is needed to be done. Because peace starts when people would learn to listen, respect and understand each and everyone's opinion,” he said. (Bong D. Fabe)

Basilan schools closed due to threats of kidnappings, terrorism

Army soldiers patrol the street of Basilan province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 2, 2010) - Several government schools in the restive province of Basilan in the southern Philippines have closed because of threats of kidnappings.

Kidnappers are holding a school principal and a trader in Basilan and have threatened to seize more teachers. The gang holding Cecilia Sosas, principal of Baas Elementary School, has demanded one million pesos for her safe release, but her family said they could not afford to pay ransom.

“The teachers are sympathizing with the family of Sosas and they have closed schools until their safety has been assured by authorities,” said Basilan deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul.

He said the military has put up detachments in villages to protect civilians from harm, but there is a need for local leaders to help secure the community from threats of kidnappings and terrorism.

“We need the support of the village leaders and the civilians themselves for protection against these kinds of threats. Even if we put a battalion of soldiers in every village and no matter how many troops the military deploy if there is no support from each and every one the problem will always be there,” Sakalahul said.

Sosas was kidnapped on November 15 and the trader, Rose Baranda, on November 2. Baranda’s Abu Sayyaf captors led by Nur Hassan Jamiri demanded three million ransom for her freedom.

The group was also tied to terrorism in the southern Philippines and is on the top list of the country’s law enforcement agencies. Kidnappings and terrorism are not uncommon in Basilan where dozens had been seized and freed in exchange for ransoms and those who cannot afford to pay are killed. (Mindanao Examiner)

Marines head to South RP

Hundreds of marines have been deployed Thursday, December 2, 2010 to the southern Philippine province of Sulu where security forces are hunting down Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants blamed for the spate of terrorism in the restive region. The soldiers, mostly members of the Marine Battalion Landing Team 9, came from Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Jung Francisco)

After 13 years, kidnap victim reunites with rescuer in Seoul

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Embassy in South Korea reported that a kidnap victim of the known terrorist group Abu Sayyaf was unexpectedly reunited with his rescuer at a dinner for Filipino professors and students held in the Philippine Embassy in Seoul on November 27.

Special Envoy Roy Cimatu, a former army general, and Mario Rebosura, Jr. were reunited that evening, during the dinner for Filipino professors and students hosted by Senator Edgardo Angara, who was also in South Korea as a keynote speaker for the Philippines-Korea Economic Forum on Multi-Industry Clusters held on November 25.

Rebosura is a Filipino scholar studying in South Korea, while Cimatu is in South Korea with a team from the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council to evaluate the security situation in South Korea and assess the level of awareness and preparedness of the 50,000-strong Filipino community there.

The Filipino scholar was only 10 years old when a Father’s Day celebration in Mindanao turned into a tragedy.

In recounting his tragic story, Rebosura narrated that the incident happened at a beach resort in Glan town in Sarangani province in 1997. Four people, including him and a Japanese national, were abducted by six suspected Abu Sayyaf militants.

Rebosura’s father was killed by the kidnappers when he tried to resist them while the four kidnap victims were forced onto a boat as hostages and used as shield against a rescue operation launched by Philippine troops.

“I was kidnapped, taken as one of the hostages,” he said.

The getaway boat’s engine fortunately failed after a kilometer’s travel towards an Abu Sayyaf lair and the boat eventually washed ashore.

Rescuers clashed with militants resulting in the deaths of two of the kidnappers, including the Abu Sayyaf leader. The surviving hostage-takers ran away with their captives and later abandoned them.

“We heard voices of people passing by. Noong wala na ang mga hostage-takers, sinundan namin ang direksyon ng boses,” Rebosura narrated.

“We found a road, then some people and a house,” he recounted, adding that they were eventually able to meet the persons responsible for their safe rescue, in particular an army colonel who he met for the first and last time in Mindanao on 16 June 1997.

The army colonel was none other than Cimatu.

Rebosura immediately recognized Cimatu when he was introduced to the crowd of about 100. “I know his face,” he stated.

He approached Cimatu, who also remembered the then 10-year old boy from the 1997 rescue mission, and an unexpected reunion between the kidnap victim and rescuer took place with a curious crowd bursting into applause.

A Chemical Engineering graduate from UP Los Banos in 2009, Rebosura is now a graduate scholar on his third month at the Catholic University of Korea.

Journalists call for more protection in the Philippines

Journalists sign a declaration calling for more protection in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Jung Francisco)

CEBU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 1, 2010) – Dozens of Filipino journalists signed a unified declaration calling for the protection of journalists and media workers in the just concluded two-day conference in the central Philippine province of Cebu.

The November conference held at the Marcelo Fernan Press Center coincided with the commemoration of the first anniversary of the so-called Maguindanao massacre in the southern Philippines where 57 people, including at least 32 journalists, were brutally murdered in the country’s worst political killings.

Dubbed as “Journalists Under Fire,” the conference, organized by the International News Safety Institute, Peace and Conflict Journalism Network and the Center for Community Journalism and Development, was the first on protection of journalists.

Journalists from around the country were invited to the event. The Cebu Declaration will be sent to United Nations for the yearly review of safety for journalists under the UN Resolution 1738 adopted by the Security Council in 2006.

The resolution calls for the protection of journalists.

Speakers invited to the conference also spoke about safety of journalists and showed videos and tributes to those who were massacre in Maguindanao province on November 23, 2009. (Jung Francisco)

NPA rebels kill cop in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 1, 2010) – Communist rebels have owned up to the killing of a police officer in restive region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, a spokesman said Wednesday.

Roel Agustin II, of the New People’s Army Conrado Heredia Command, said they carried out the assassination of Romie Cabuñas, who was gunned down this week in the town of Boston in Davao Oriental province.

Agustin tagged the officer as allegedly behind the spate of killings of innocent civilians and extortion in the province.

“The masses are secretly celebrating this latest triumph of justice against a rabidly fascist and corrupt officer of the regime's Philippine National Police. During his fascist stint as chief intelligence officer of Boston-PNP, Senior Police Officer 1 Cabuñas was a fanatical counterrevolutionary operative engaged in vicious suppression campaigns under Operation Plan Bantay Laya I and II that have victimized hundreds of peasants and indigenous people in Boston, Davao Oriental,” he said, referring to the codename of the government’s anti-insurgency campaign in the country.

“In his 30 years in service, Cabuñas had the distinction of being a hard-core fascist thug equally despised and feared by the people. He has a notorious record of victimizing people. He ran an extortion racket that collected daily from poor farmers and fishermen, small businesses and logging concessions in Boston town. He has the penchant of mauling civilians, especially the young people, when they are unfortunate to cross him.”

The New People’s Army, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, said the killing should serve as a stern warning against corrupt and abusive policemen.

“Men in uniform like SPO1 Cabuñas are proof of the dyed-in-the-wool rottenness of the reactionary armed forces. Fascist mercenaries to the core, they are at the beck-and-call of the big landlords, compradors and warlord bureaucrats of the equally rotten reactionary regime. They have no compassion for hapless civilians and no respect at all for even the most basic of human rights,” Agustin said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Attempt on life of Filipino broadcaster false

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 1, 2010) – A Filipino media watch dog corrected reports that broadcaster had been shot and wounded by gunmen in the southern Philippine province city of Valencia.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines earlier issued a bulletin saying that Randy Makiputin, 39, who works for the Radyo Abante, was shot in the head.

Media groups also denounced the attack.

“Based on police reports, Makiputin sustained a lone gunshot wound on the back of his head. Attending physicians at the Sanitarium Hospital in Valencia City has already declared him out of danger, police said,” the bulletin said.

It said four gunmen were involved in the attack and that police forces were sent to track down the assailants.

“The supposed ambush attempt on (the life of) 39-year old Bukidnon radio commentator Randy T. Makiputin in Valencia City last Friday, November 26, has turned out to be false,” it said.

It said 4 individuals - two of them minors - have surfaced and claimed that Makiputin’s head wound was sustained when he crashed his motorcycle after hitting one of them.

“Both are residents of Maramag town in Bukidnon and have executed sworn statements before police authorities accusing Makiputin of pointing a gun at them after the crash. Makiputin was also said to be intoxicated at the time of the incident,” it added. “Makiputin has checked himself out of the hospital and can no longer be reached for comment as of Sunday, November 28.”

Dozens of journalists had been killed in gun attacks in the Philippines which have become one of the world’s most dangerous places for reporters. Last year, at least 57 people had been brutally murdered, among them 32 journalists, in Maguindanao province in the country’s worst political killings blamed to the powerful and influential Muslim clan in the troubled region. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen free 10 hostages in South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 1, 2010) – Gunmen have freed 10 people they seized on a remote village in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, but held on to two others as negotiations continue Wednesday to free the remaining hostages, officials said.

Officials said the captives were released safely late Tuesday afternoon in the town of Ungkaya Pukan where the gunmen abducted 12 people, mostly fishermen, on November 27.

“We are glad that 10 hostages had been freed and we are trying to win the freedom of the remaining captives,” said Basilan deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul.

He said local village leaders and the council of elders are negotiating for the release of the remaining hostages being held by a gang led by Pawi Hambali.

“This is an offshoot of a long time family feud and we are doing everything to peacefully resolve the problem,” Sakalahul said, adding the abduction was triggered by a land conflict.

Sakalahul said: “Hambali seized the fishermen thinking they were relatives of his foes and to force the other family to settle their feud. But it turned out that 10 of those abducted had nothing to do with the conflict.”

Hambali’s group is demanding blood money in exchange for the freedom of the remaining hostages, he said.

Family feud or clan war is not uncommon in Basilan or in many parts of Mindanao, especially in Muslim areas where random attacks stemming from the conflicts occur. The feud could sometimes last for decades and would often target innocent clan members. (Mindanao Examiner)