Police orders probe of detained Malaysian trawlers in Tawi-Tawi

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 22, 2010) – Filipino authorities ordered an investigation into reports that police had detained 14 Malaysian trawlers and released the boats in exchange for money in the southern Philippines.

Police allegedly released a dozen Malaysian trawlers after its owners paid thousands of dollars in exchange for the boats. But two other trawlers are still being held in the southern island of Taganak near the Sabah border, Malaysian media reported on Monday.

It said the trawlers were seized by the police after allegedly straying into Philippine waters on February 14 and 15 and its crew of about 50 people had been detained.

Police released the 12 trawlers after its owners paid fines of up to RM40,000, it said.

“Philippines border officials based in Taganak Island under the Tawi-Tawi province released the trawlers after the owners paid “fines” ranging from RM13,000 to RM40,000 for allegedly encroaching into Phi¬lippines waters,” the Star Online reported.

But the Philippine Navy said it did not receive any reports about the apprehension of any Malaysian fishing boats in Taganak, an island town of Tawi-Tawi province. “We have no reports about it,” said Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, who heads the naval forces in the southern Philippines.

Reports said owners of the two remaining Malaysian trawlers were working for the release of the boats. It said Tawi-Tawi Governor Sadikul Sa¬hali assured that he would try to secure an early release for the remaining Malaysian trawlers. He said he would discuss with the Philippine Navy and the police to resolve the problem quickly.

“The owners are in the process of getting the trawlers released in the next few days,” the Star said.

But Senior Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, chief of the regional police force, said he already relieved the police chief of Taganak Island after receiving reports about the trawlers.

“I have relieved the chief of police of Taganak Island after receiving this disturbing report that Malaysian trawlers were apprehended and released in exchange for money. He is being investigated. We will not tolerate this kind of malpractice and even the governor of Tawi-Tawi, Sadikul Sahali, was angry with this incident because it is so embarrassing,” Latag told the Mindanao Examiner.

“We are trying to reform the police forces into a professional organization and we will not allow this kind of incident to ruin the clean image of the Philippine National Police,” he said.

Latag, a decorated officer, assumed last year as the new police chief of the Muslim autonomous region who has jurisdiction over the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao.

Malaysian fishermen previously detained in southern Philippines for poaching had accused authorities of extortion. The southern Philippines is a favorite fishing grounds, but is also considered dangerous because pirates and Abu Sayyaf militants are actively operating in the area. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf leader, 5 others killed in Sulu clash

A photo of Abu Sayyaf leader Albader Parad in this video grab from ABS-CBN television and a wanted government poster of the slain militant. And soldiers put tag on the body of Parad and other militants killed in the fighting. (Nickee Butlangan - Mindanao Examiner).

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 21, 2010) – Philippine soldiers killed at least 6 Abu Sayyaf militants, including their leader, who is wanted by the United States for terrorism, in fierce clashes Sunday in the southern province of Sulu, official told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said three soldiers were also slightly wounded in the fighting that erupted in hinterland village of Karawan near Indanan town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the restive region.

“We have killed at least six militants and recovered their weapons. Three of my soldiers are slightly wounded in the fighting,” said Marine Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces in Sulu, who is leading the offensive against the militant group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.

He said a platoon of marine special unit and reconnaissance soldiers assaulted an Abu Sayyaf camp in Karawan, a mountain complex straddling several towns and a known lair of the militants.

Lieutenant General Benjamin Dolorfino, the regional military commander, said among those killed was Albader Parad, tagged as behind the kidnappings last year of three international Red Cross workers in Sulu province.

“Parad is dead. He was killed in the military operation in Sulu,” he said.
He also identified the other slain militants as Simal Abtong, Abdulhan Jumdail, Omar Umbah, Hamilton Sadjael and Udin Serail.

Dolorfino said troops fought Abu Sayyaf forces under Albader Parad and Abu Jumdail, also known as Doctor Abu because of his alleged ability to cure wounded militants.

Both leaders are wanted by the Philippine and US authorities for their involvements in the kidnappings of American citizens and the killing of two US Special Forces soldiers in Sulu in the past.

Other reports in Sulu province said the fighting began as early as 4:00 a.m. and that Moro National Liberation Front gummen under former rebel chieftain Nur Misuari also fought soldiers side by side with the Abu Sayyaf.

The MNLF signed a peace agreement with Manila in September 1996, but many of the rebels were disgruntled with the accord and accused the government of failing to comply with the provisions of the deal.

The accord promised the rebels a massive livelihood aid and housing programs, including a mini-martial plan in areas where there are large Muslim communities to help them uplift their standard of living. But many disgruntled MNLF members have either joined the Abu Sayyaf or engaged in kidnappings-for-ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

6 Sayyaf killed in Sulu clashes

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 21, 2010) – Philippine soldiers killed at least 6 Abu Sayyaf militants in fierce clashes Sunday in the southern province of Sulu, official told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said three soldiers were also slightly wounded in the fighting that erupted in hinterland village of Karawan near Indanan town, a known stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the restive region.

“We have killed at least six militants and recovered their weapons. Three of my soldiers are slightly wounded in the fighting,” said Marine Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces in Sulu, who is leading the offensive against the militant group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.

He said a platoon of marine special unit and reconnaissance soldiers assaulted an Abu Sayyaf camp in Karawan, a mountain complex straddling several towns and a known lair of the militants.

Lieutenant General Benjamin Dolorfino, the regional military commander, said there were reports that a senior Abu Sayyaf leader wanted by the US government was among those killed in the clashes.

“We have reports that Albader Parad or Doctor Abu was among those killed and we are trying to verify this information,” he said.

Dolorfino said troops were fighting Abu Sayyaf forces under Albader Parad and Abu Jumdail, also known as Doctor Abu because of his alleged ability to cure wounded militants.

Both leaders are wanted by the Philippine and US authorities for their involvements in the kidnappings of American citizens and the killing of two US Special Forces soldiers in Sulu in the past.

Other reports in Sulu province said Parad was among those killed in the fighting which began as early as 4:00 a.m. It said Moro National Liberation Front rebels under former rebel chieftain Nur Misuari also fought soldiers side by side with the Abu Sayyaf.

The MNLF signed a peace agreement with Manila in September 1996, but many of the rebels were disgruntled with the accord and accused the government of failing to comply with the provisions of the deal.

The accord promised the rebels a massive livelihood aid and housing programs, including a mini-martial plan in areas where there are large Muslim communities to help them uplift their standard of living. But many disgruntled MNLF members have either joined the Abu Sayyaf or engaged in kidnappings-for-ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

Teachers' group criticized Arroyo son

MANILA, Philippines - The ACT TEACHERS party-list group criticized Pampanga province's 2nd District Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo who announced his intention to run for a party-list seat in Congress in the May 2010 elections.

“Mikey Arroyo's entry into the party-list arena will make a mockery of the spirit and intent of the party-list law of providing representation to the marginalized and underrepresented sectors of society,” said ACT TEACHERS party-list president Antonio Tinio, referring to Arroyo.

“He belongs to the most powerful political clan in the country at the moment and he's one of the leaders of the party in power, KAMPI,” he said.

“There's no place for him in the partylist system and any party-list that takes him onboard as a nominee will thereby reveal itself as a bogus partylist, a mere Malacanang front. The voting public will not be fooled.”

Noting the negative effect that close association with President Gloria Arroyo has had on the campaign of administration presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro, Tinio declared that Arroyo’s eldest son will likely encounter the same problem. “Any party-list that’s considering taking him as a nominee should think twice. They will have to contend with the so-called 'Arroyo kiss of death'.”

Tinio said this is not the first time an Arroyo has used the party-list system as a backdoor to the House of Representatives. “Maria Lourdes Tuason Arroyo currently sits in Congress as the representative of Kasangga. Dato Arroyo is known to have close ties to Ako-Bicol, which is running in the coming elections.”

Tinio added that a number of party-lists vying for seats in the upcoming elections have been identified as having links to Malacanang’s Office of External Affairs.

These include Agbiag Timpuyo Ilokano; Ahon Pinoy; Akbay Pinoy OFW-National; Aangat Ating Kabuhayan Filipinas; Babae para sa Kaunalaran; Bigkis Pinoy Movement; Byaheng Pinoy Labor Association; Kalahi Sectoral Party; and League of Youth for Peace Advancement.

In addition, BANTAY of Representative Jovito Palparan and Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy of Representative Jun Alcover and the Kasangga sa Kaunlaran, inclduding BANAT, and Aangat Tayo are likewise known to be closely associated with the Arroyo administration.

“Given President Arroyo's candidacy for a congressional seat in Pampanga, it seems that the leading members of the Arroyo clan are hell-bent on positioning themselves in Congress, together with various Malacanang-sponsored bogus party-lists, to prolong their hold on power and possibly to play a role in Arroyo's avowed goal of Charter change and the shift to a parliamentary system,” Tinio said.

Kidnapped ex-soldier freed in Zamboanga province

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 20, 2010) – A former soldier kidnapped in Zamboanga City was released by his captors after two weeks in captivity, police and military said on Saturday.

Authorities said Benjamin Almonte was abducted by gunmen February 6 while fishing off the coast of Zamboanga City.

“He was freed near the town of Ipil in the neighboring province of Zamboanga Sibugay,” said Rear Admiral Alexander Pama, head of the anti-terror Task Force Trillium, and commander of the naval forces in Western Mindanao.
Officials did not give details of the release of Almonte or whether ransom was paid to his captors.

No group claimed responsibility for Almonte’s kidnapping or the motive behind this and police said it still investigating the case. But other sources said members of the so-called Moro Islamic Liberation Front special operation group under Waning Abdusalam was behind the kidnapping.

Abdusalam was also linked to the kidnapping last year of Irish Catholic priest Michael Sinnott last year in Zamboanga del Sur province.

Sinnott, 80, was taken by six gunmen on October 11 from his missionary house in Pagadian City and brought to Lanao province and freed in Zamboanga City after a month in captivity. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf terror man linked to kidnap-slay of 2 Americans falls

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 19, 2010) – Philippine authorities arrested a wanted Abu Sayyaf militant accused of kidnapping three US citizens and 17 Filipino tourists at a posh resort nine years ago.

Security officials said Jumadali Arad was arrested late Thursday afternoon while trying to board a passenger ship bound for Zamboanga City.

Arad was among those who raided the Dos Palmas resort in Palawan province near central Philippines in 2001 and kidnapped US missionary couple, Martin and Gracia Burnham, and California man Guillermo Sobero and the Filipinos, and brought them to Basilan province, south of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

Guillermo Sobero was beheaded in 2001 in Basilan while Martin Burnham was shot and killed in 2002 during a US-led military rescue operation in Mindanao. Gracia Burnham was also shot and wounded during the rescue operation.

“The arrest of Arad is part of the military’s continuing operation against terrorism,” said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “bearer of the sword, has been linked to many kidnappings of foreigners and terrorism in the southern Philippines and was linked by authorities to the al-Qaeda terror network of Osama bin Laden and the Indonesian Jemaah Islamiya. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 soldiers killed in Basilan blast

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 19, 2010) – Two government soldiers were killed in a landmine explosion Friday in the troubled province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said one soldier was also wounded in the blast. The soldiers were searching for two kidnapped Chinese nationals in the village of Pamatsaken in Sumisip town when they tripped on the mine.

It was the second attack on soldiers this week after Abu Sayyaf militants also opened fire on a military post in Sumisip town on Monday.

“Two of our soldiers were killed and another is wounded in the blast. It is believed the landmine was planted by the Abu Sayyaf,” said First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the military’s Western Mindanao Command.

Abu Sayyaf militants, whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, are holding Zi Shun Lu, 51; alias Oscar Lu; and Bo Shung Tan alias Michael Tan, 27, both from Guangzhou, China. The foreigners were kidnapped November 10 from a plywood factory in Basilan’s Maluso town along with a Filipino worker, Mark Singson, who was later beheaded after his employer Hi-Tech Wood Craft Corporation and family failed to pay ransom.

It was unknown whether the Abu Sayyaf was behind the latest attack on soldiers, but the militants are actively operating in the province. The Abu Sayyaf is demanding fifteen million pesos for the release of the two Chinese men, who are both illegally staying in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

The two foreigners were previously reported to be Filipino citizens, but later investigations revealed they are Chinese nationals and probably illegal workers hired by George Tan, owner of the plywood factory. The fate of the hostages is unknown.

Police said about 20 gunmen disguised as soldiers raided the factory and seized the trio.

Last year, Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan freed six kidnapped government teachers after private negotiators paid millions of pesos in ransom. The teachers Noemi Mandi, Jocelyn Enriquez and Jocelyn Inion were released in separate places in the towns of Tipo-Tipo and Ungkaya Pukan.

The trio was kidnapped in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Naga town and brought to Basilan where they had been held captive.

Three other state teachers Janette de los Reyes, Freires Quizon and Rafael Mayonado, all kidnapped in Zamboanga City, were also brought to Basilan and freed four months later after private negotiators ransom to the Abu Sayyaf.

But a faction of the Abu Sayyaf last year also beheaded a school principal, Gabriel Canizares, in nearby Sulu province after his family failed to raise two million pesos ransom. His head was found at a petrol station in the capital town of Jolo. (Mindanao Examiner)

Zamboanga plans to put up fossil-fuel power station

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 18, 2010) – The local electric cooperative said Thursday there is a plan to put up a coal-fired power plant to augment the increasing power requirement in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

Betty Marquez, a spokeswoman for the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, said there are proposals to put up a fossil-fuel power station here because of the increased demand for electricity.

“There is a need to have an alternative source of electric power,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

Coal-fired units produce electricity by burning coal in a boiler to heat water to produce steam. The steam, at tremendous pressure, flows into a turbine, which spins a generator to produce electricity. The steam is cooled, condensed back into water, and returned to the boiler to start the process over. But environmentalists say the coal-fueled plants will pollute the air and contribute to global warming.

There are at least 9 coal-fired power plants in the country – six in Luzon Island, two in the Visayas in central Philippines and one in Mindanao in the southern Philippines.

Marquez said the daily power consumption of Zamboanga City is about 78 megawatts and at present the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has been supplying only half of the total requirements of the local electric cooperative because of the El Nino weather phenomenon which is affecting the whole country.

“The El Nino is really affecting us all, not only the local electric cooperative, but many power providers, and even the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines which is supplying at least eight others electric cooperatives in Mindanao,” Marquez said.

The abnormal weather pattern also called El Nino-Southern Oscillation occurs across the tropical Pacific Ocean on average every five years, but over a period which varies from three to seven years. El Nino is associated with floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world, which vary with each event.

The Philippines like any other developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected.

Marquez said the low water level at Lake Lanao is also aggravating the supply of electricity in Mindanao because it affects the hydropower plant in Iligan City.

“Right now, all we can say to everybody is to conserve electricity and wait for the rains to come,” she said, adding, the dry spell is expected to last until June.

Of Zamboanga City’s 98 villages, at least 90 percent have rotational blackout lasting from one hour to as long as two hours every day, she said.

“The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines simply cannot cope up with the power demands,” Marquez said.

Incorporated in 2008, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines won in the bidding for the franchise to operate and maintain the country’s transmission network - the National Transmission Corporation – the biggest government auction conducted in efforts to reform the local power sector.

The fifty-year franchise provides National Grid Corporation of the Philippines with the right to operate, maintain, expand and further develop the country’s power transmission system which as of end-2008 involved 19,778 circuit kilometers of transmission lines and 24,214 MVA of substation capacity.

As the system operator of the power grid, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines balances the demand and supply of electricity to efficiently serve all of its customers which include generators, private distribution utilities, electric cooperatives, government-owned utilities, economic zones, industries, and directly connected companies. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidapawan Catholics line up for Ash Wednesday

Catholics lined up in Kidapawan City in the southern Philippines during Ash Wednesday. In the Western Church, the first day of Lent, being the seventh Wednesday before Easter. On this day ashes are placed on the foreheads of the faithful to remind them of death, of the sorrow they should feel for their sins, and of the necessity of changing their lives. The practice, which dates from the early Middle Ages, is common among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Episcopalians, and many Lutherans; it was also adopted by some Methodists and Presbyterians in the 1990s. (Geo Solmerano - Mindanao Examiner)

Blast kills boy, 2 others wounded as President Arroyo visits Mindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 17, 2010) – An improvised bomb exploded Wednesday as President Gloria Arroyo inspected troops in the volatile region of the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the blast killed a nine-year old Tata Palao and wounded two children in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao province where Arroyo visited.

The children were getting firewood in the village of Kabingi at around 11: 45 a.m. when Palao stepped on the mine, said Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Hao said the boy did not reach the hospital alive. He said the bomb was believed planted by Moro rebels a long time ago. “The IED was believed planted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels a long time ago,” Hao told the Mindanao Examiner.

Arroyo inspected soldiers at an army base in the province as part of her visitation in Mindanao. The President is to step down in June after her term ends, but is also seeking a congressional seat in her hometown in Pampanga province in Luzon Island.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is currently negotiating peace with Manila. The explosion also occurred just as a team of international truce observers arrived in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)

Police search for escaped Ampatuan ally in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 17, 2010) – Police launched a manhunt Wednesday to track down a former cop who an ally of a powerful political clan implicated in the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province after he escaped from jail in the southern Philippines.

Police forces were hunting down Piang Adam who escaped from the Sultan Kudarat provincial jail.

Adam, who was the former chief of police of Maguindanao province, was arrested in December after security forces seized from his house about a dozen automatic rifles in Sultan Kudarat after President Gloria Arroyo declared martial law in the province as well as in Maguindanao, after the brutal murders in November 23 of 57 people, including at least 31 journalists.

It was unknown how Adam was able to escaped, but police said it is investigating four prison guards.

“We are planning to detail a team of PNP personnel in the jail to prevent escape of prisoners,” said regional police chief Josefino Cataluna.

PNP is the acronym of the Philippine National Police.

Adam was last seen inside his prison cell on Tuesday afternoon and was reported missing the next morning. Several policemen also linked to the murders are also detained in the jail.

Datu unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. was arrested after the massacre. He was accused of leading more than 100 gunmen in the gruesome murders of the 57 people in Maguindanao’s Ampatuan town.

Among those killed in the attack was the wife of Buluan town vice mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, Ampatuan’s rival.

Ampatuan’s father and namesake, and brothers and other clan members were also arrested and are facing multiple murder charges in connection with the killings. The Ampatuans all denied involvement in the murders.

Authorities recovered more than a thousand assorted light artillery and heavy infantry weapons and hundreds of thousands of munitions in the town after President Gloria Arroyo declared martial law in Maguindanao after the massacre. (Mindanao Examiner)

Radyo ng Bayan in Sulu province gets new facelift

The facade of the state-owned Radyo ng Bayan in Sulu province which was recently inaugurated in the capital town of Jolo.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 17, 2010) – The state-run Radyo ng Bayan inaugurated its newly renovated broadcast station in the capital town of Jolo in Sulu province.

Zenaida Masong, station manager of the dxSM, expressed her gratitude to Sulu Governor Sakur Tan who funded the renovation of the radio station. She said it was also during the time of Tan, then the congressman of Sulu, that the Radyo ng Bayan acquired a 10-kilowatt Harris transmitter.

Masong said the total cost of the renovation reached more than half a
million pesos which Tan funded. The radio station also added some P300,000 more for other improvements. She said the improvements included the building housing the radio station, among others.

“This is the first time that a government official has given Radyo Ng Bayan assistance in this scale and Governor Sakur Tan made us feel the importance and value of media in public service,” she said.

Engineer Mike Pangilinan, of the government’s Bureau of Broadcast Services, who represented Director John Manalili, expressed his gratitude to the support of Governor Tan to the Radyo Ng Bayan.

The Radyo ng Bayan and the Sulu Provincial Government’s constructive
collaboration in providing information to the people and the community is a noble duty. Radyo Ng Bayan is an ally of the provincial government for progress and development, Thank you to Governor Sakur Tan,” Pangilinan said during the inauguration of the dxSM.

He said in addition to the improvement of the Radyo Ng Bayan, dxSM will soon have its own digital audio and video capabilities, including teleconferencing facilities.

The inauguration was attended by many town and provincial officials.

“The renovated Radyo ng Bayan, constructed with the support and assistance of the Provincial Government, is a testament of how we value friends from media,” the governor said.

He also appealed to media to give due space and attention to the better things that are happening in Sulu instead of sensationalizing news which is affecting the good image of the province.

“Despite the portrayal of the province as violence-prone as we usually
see in the news and hear over the broadcast medium, we always treat media as friends and allies of the government, to the extent of almost pampering them. The power of media in shaping public opinion is well acknowledged,” he said. (The Sulu Provincial Information Office contributed to this report.)

ARMM holds investment consultation in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 16, 2010) - As an offshoot of the Strategic Planning Conference of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao held last month in Cagayan de Oro City, the Regional Board of Investments in ARMM held Tuesday a public consultation and hearing on the Investments Priorities Plan in Cotabato City.

With a theme “Maximizing Opportunities of a Stronger ARMM Economy” and a set goal ‘More Investments, More Jobs,” Board Chairman and Managing Head lawyer Ishak Mastura cited the ARMM's investment advantage because it is the only region in the country where a board has been devolved by virtue of Executive Order 458 by then President Corazon Aquino.

“RBOI-ARMM is empowered to determine its investment priorities, supervise enterprises duly registered with the ARMM Regional Government, cancel certificate of registration to include those registered by the national board, evaluate incentives uniquely found in ARMM, determine income tax holiday and to supervise registered projects,” Mastura said in a statement.

Executive Secretary lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo praised the management of RBOI-ARMM for its timely and prompt conduct of the one-day public hearing and for the involvement of various public and private sectors in determining the Investments Priorities Plan for the autonomous region.

Sinarimbo said that it is not only the political aspect of governance that should be considered, but more importantly, the investment climate for investors which E.O.458 has accorded ARMM in contrast with other administrative regions.

“The competitive advantage of ARMM as investment destination is one good reason to attract investors to come,” Sinarimbo said.

As to the peace and security aspect, Sinarimbo pledge to decisively address the same as it would need sometime to seriously tackle security concerns in the region.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Department of Trade and Industry are presently pushing for the necessary infrastructure support for the Polloc Port as a "free port," to complement RBOI’s effort to further attract local and foreign investors.

“With 26 new registered firms, P8.6-billion investments and 15,300 generated employments last year, the new IPP, is hoped to usher more investments in the region for this year,” Mastura said.

Militants attack Basilan army post

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 16, 2010) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya attacked a military post in the troubled province of Basilan, south of Zamboanga City.

Police said the attack occurred Monday in Sumisip town, but troops repulsed the militants headed by Puruji Indama, who is on the list of the government’s most wanted terrorists in the southern Philippines.

“We have doubled our security in the province to protect the civilians from possible attacks by terrorists,” said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, commander of police forces in Basilan.

The attack coincided with reports that some 100 militants from the province of Sulu landed in Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “bearer of the sword,” was blamed for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the southern Philippines. Two Chinese nationals were kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan last year. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sayyaf, lumusob sa Basilan!

BASILAN – Isang sundalo ang sugatan diumano matapos na lusubin diumano ng mga hinihinalang Abu Sayyaf ang detachment ng militar sa bayan ng Sumisip.

Ayon sa mga ulat ay pinangunahan umano ni Puruji Indama ang naturang atake nuong Lunes sa Barangay Pamatsaken na kung saan ay naroon ang isang detachment ng 32nd Infantry Battalion ng Philippine Army.

Hindi naman mabatid kung may nasawi o sugatan sa panig ng Abu Sayyaf na siyang itinuturong sabit sa ibat-ibang karahasan sa magulong lalawigan na kabila sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Wala naman pahayag ang pamunuan ng provincial government ukol sa mga kaguluhan sa Basilan na kungn saan ay bihag pa ng teroristang grupo ang dalawang Chinese nationals na dinukot sa isang plywood factory nuong nakaraang taon pa. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sulu unveils new museum

Sulu artifacts from the Yuchengco Museum in Makati City and photos released by the Sulu provincial government show scenes during the recent inauguration of the renovated museum in Patikul town. Sulu Governor Sakur Tan and First Lady Nurunisah Tan speaheaded the rehabilitation of the old museum.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 16, 2010) – After long years of neglect, Sulu’s lone museum was finally renovated and now is attracting throng of people who wanted to learn more about the Tausug culture and its rich history.

And behind all these developments are the couple Dr. Sakur Tan, the provincial governor of Sulu, and his wife, Nurunisah Tan, who spearheaded the rehabilitation of the two-storey museum building located within the capitol ground in Patikul town.

“People are distinguished and identified by their respective culture, traditions and civilization. We don’t like to see the repository of our heritage - the museum - to be lost by neglect and effects of time. Like a vault, the museum must also be in a condition where our valued heritage is kept and stored,” the First Lady, a known philanthropist, said.

For his part, Dr. Tan said: “It is only thru our past that we can know our future. I always believed in our glorious past, and that Sulu is the cradle of civilization in the Philippines, Sulu has a very rich history.”

“We must give our children good memories and impart all the good things about our heritage and culture and for them to have better character, confidence and proud of the past,” he added.
The recent inauguration was attended by many important guests and among them were Director Eufemia Catolin, who represented Corazon Alvina, the Director of the National Museum of the Philippines.
The local curator of the National Museum in Sulu, Langca Tapsirul Dahum, was all praised to the efforts and support of the first couple to rehabilitate and maintain the museum.

Dr. Tan said there is a need to preserve the historical and cultural heritage of the people of Sulu.

Director Catolin also praised the initiative of Dr. Tan and the First Lady for their support and rehabilitation of the dilapidated museum building, which has been transformed into one of the most beautiful site in Sulu.

“This is a start of a fruitful collaboration” she said.

In September 2008, the Yuchengco Museum in RCBC Plaza in Makati City featured “Beyond the Currents: The Culture and Power of Sulu” where it put on public display rare Tausug suits of body armor and weapons of power and defense that highlighted the strength and might of the Sulu Sultanate during the 18th and19th centuries.

This was the period when the Sulu archipelago was a major trading zone, as it bridged two worlds and lay at a most strategic point for maritime trade. The exhibit told the story of power wielded over European expansion and commerce - the Spanish, Dutch, and British - in relation to the Chinese trading zone during an era when the China trade was strong and profitable.

In order to have goods to barter for Chinese tea, the British traded firearms to Sulu in exchange for its sea and forest products. The Chinese meanwhile bartered their goods for native products such as mats, yellow wax, lake wood, tortoise shell, and the famous Sulu pearls. To Sulu went textiles and other imported manufactures and, of crucial importance, guns and gunpowder which contributed to Sulu's physical power. The exhibit presents the independent Sulu Sultanate's culture and geographical reach through kinship and intermarriages, and as the heart of a trade zone, market center, and regional power.

Through the Sultanate's alliance with other nations and successful engagements in both war and diplomacy with the colonizers Sulu survived attempts at colonization by the Spaniards for more than three centuries.

"Beyond the Currents" was curated by a team led by Abraham Sakili and Ramon Villegas, who also presented the culture of the various indigenous inhabitants of Sulu. Also shown in the exhibit were archival photos, prints, trade ware ceramics, maps, jewelry, textiles, and ritual objects defense gathered from private collections and museum partners like the National Museum, Lopez Museum, and Ayala Museum. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA's Valentines’ gift to a 13-year old girl

DAVAO CITY - Memilyn was a typical 13 year-old girl who on her spare time helps her mother in house chores and just like any other girl of her age, weekend is a welcome respite from school and a time to play. Her Sunday should have been wonderful just like the previous week as she is about to play after her family took their breakfast but the succeeding events proved the contrary.

While the rest of the neighborhood and perhaps the whole world are enjoying Valentines’ day with their better half, Memilyn’s foresight is the delight the whole day would bring but her joy was short-lived when violent burst of bullets from automatic rifles suddenly rang and came.

When the smoke of gunfire subsided, Memilyn Moreno lay dead. Her lifeless body sprawled on her own blood. A blood-red Valentines gift coated in full metal jacket from the New People’s Army (NPA).

Memilyn lives in the Village of Sibajay in Boston town in Davao Oriental province. A place which local terrorists frequently harass, often with civilian casualties.

The Valentines attack in this small town is no different in the level of violence with previous ones; only that this time it is supposed to be a day of the hearts and a day of love.

Government peace and development projects under siege

Several peace and development infrastructures are ongoing in Davao Oriental; and in Boston town, a huge road project is taking shape and it happened to be the target of terrorists that fateful day of February 14, 2010 at 8:45 in the morning.

Sebastian Construction Company is at the forefront of the road project that would connect Davao Oriental to Surigao Del Sur which would hasten travel time and provide ease of access and relative comfort to the predominantly Mandaya residents. Sebastian Construction Company has been receiving extortion demands from local terrorists but its management stood its ground and refused to give in.

Troops from the Armed Forces were compelled to secure different construction projects in the countryside due to prevalent threats of local Maoist terrorists and the Sibajay Construction site is no exception. In December of 2009 the same band of local terrorists attacked the same construction site and attempted to burn construction equipment in Boston town killing 55 year old Rosalinda Clata and two government troops while two others who defended the road project were wounded.

Middle of last year, local terrorists were also figured out in a bomb attack against soldiers securing another peace and development project in the village of Puntalinao in Banaybanay town also in Davao Oriental. This is after they burned three powerline towers which brought widespread brownout in the said province.

Government troops pursued but terrorists held hostage two busloads of passengers which made their escape easy. Members of Local Terrorist Front-18 (LTF-18) of the NPA were responsible in the said attack.

More innocent civilians fall prey to terrorists

The case of Memilyn is not new in Boston not even in Davao Oriental and not even in the Philippines. Innocent people fall prey to local terrorists almost every day in Davao region and Socsargen Area; and everywhere, communist terrorists continue to terrorize people.

In November of 2009, 55 year old Silvano delas Alas was about to tend to his farm when he was peppered with bullets as local terrorists attacked his home. The same band of men from Local Terrorists Front-20 (LTF-20) of the NPA who killed Memilyn, were responsible. They said their real target is a government agent but apparently they made a terrible mistake.

Again, in December last year, a spokesperson of the NPA hiding in the name of a certain Simon Santiago bragged about killing a soldier as he sent text message to every media outfit in Davao. Leading reporters of competing media companies rushed to the scene only to be shocked in finding out that Fernando Timbal, a 48 year old bank driver was murdered and not even a shadow of a purported slain soldier is in sight.

Justice for Memilyn and countless others

Memilyn like many others who lost their lives in the lost cause of local terrorists cry in the afterlife as justice proved elusive in putting the murderers face the court.

The year of 2009 proved fatal to innocent civilians in southern Mindanao as 83 people were killed by NPA death squads. 52 of these are plain civilians, unarmed, no means to defend themselves and were murdered in violent ways.

Now, 2010 is a year where we have to brace ourselves as Jorge Madlos, a high ranking communist leader in Mindanao declared that a they will step-up their operation by increasing their death squads in every municipality into a platoon.

The more than 3,000 people who died in the hands of the NPA in their purging operations in the late 80’s and early 90’s are crying for justice. The 39 Tagabawa tribe members massacred by the NPA in Digos, Davao del Sur inside a church in 1989 are crying for justice. The 357 Lumads murdered by the NPA in their ten year plague of terror in Davao region from 1998 to 2008 are crying for justice. The 83 victims of the NPA in southern Mindanao in 2009 are crying for justice.

All of them are crying for justice; and this year, Memilyn is one of them. (Captain Emmanuel Garcia. The author is the spokesman for the Army's 10th Infantry Division based in Davao City.)

Reduced voting precincts eyed for Sulu province

MANILA - Philippine authorities are eyeing a clustered voting scheme in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, in which the number of voting precincts will be reduced as a security measure to ensure peaceful and honest elections in May, reports said.

The Manila Times quoted Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces in Sulu, as saying the 'cluster system' would allow voters in the province to cast their votes on designated polling precincts - around 70 of the 410 precincts - so as to ensure the safety of the electorate and maximize the number of deployed soldiers and policemen who are tasked to secure the elections.

Guerrero said that there are some 3,000 soldiers and policemen in Sulu while over 300,000 are expected to cast their votes for the local and national polls.

“We have asked the Commission on Elections to allow us to implement this clustering system because it will help us better secure the safety of the voters and the teachers despite our limited number,” Guerrero told reporters during the forum on Leadership Innovations in Public Service: Bridging Leadership Presentations organized by the Asian Institute of Management and Australian Embassy in Manila.

Guerrero said that clustering the precincts will make authorities perform their tasks more effectively.

“It will be hard if we all use the 410 precincts and we still have to be on alert for other continuing threats such as the Abu Sayyaf, lawless elements and other players that affect the elections, which are the politicians,” he said.

“We are also doing this [appeal for clustering] to avoid instances in the past wherein some voters cannot go to certain precincts because of security concerns brought by the rivalry among politicians. As such, we hope that the Comelec can approve our request a month before the elections,” he added.

The Abu Sayyaf is actively operating in Sulu province and had been blamed for the kidnapping last year of three workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross - Italian Eugenio Vagni, Swiss Andreas Notter and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba - and the capture of broadcast journalist Ces Drilon in June 2008.

The ICRC workers were kidnapped after inspecting a water system project in Sulu. While Drilon and her cameramen and a guide were all abducted while on their way to interview Abu Sayyaf leaders. They were all freed after negotiators paid huge ransom to the kidnappers. (Llanesca Panti. The Mindanao Examiner contributed to this report.)

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Maguindanao governor throws support for ex-Defense chief presidential bid

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 15, 2010) – Acting Maguindanao governor Nariman Ambolodto has vowed Monday to support the administration’s presidential bet Gilberto Teodoro.

Ambolodto, who belongs to the ruling political coalition Lakas-Kampi-CMD, said her loyalty to the party will not change.

The acting governor said she is supporting the presidential bid of the former defense chief even if civil society groups backed by the Catholic Church are throwing their support to opposition senator Benigno Aquino III, who is also running for the presidency in the May national polls.

“I am a member of the ruling political coalition and I am supporting the presidential candidacy of Gilberto Teodoro,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

Civil groups are also supporting Ambolodto who was named acting governor of Maguindanao in December by Ansaruddin Adiong, the acting governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Ambolodto said she is not running anymore in the coming elections, but would continue her term as acting provincial governor or until a new governor is elected in May. “I am not running anymore in the coming elections. What I am doing now is for the sake of Maguindanao and my people,” she said.

Ambolodto is the first Muslim woman appointed as acting governor in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. She was elected in 2007 as provincial board member and named as acting vice governor in Maguindanao and later on as acting governor.

Adiong earlier created a committee headed by ARMM Interior Secretary Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman to screen all the aspirants to Maguindanao’s vacancies spawned by the indictment and arrest of elected provincial officials in connection to the massacre.

Authorities arrested the governor of Maguindanao, Andal Ampatuan Sr and his sons led by ARMM governor Zaldy Ampatuan, after they were implicated in the brutal murders of 57 people, including at least 31 journalists in November 23 in Maguindanao. The Ampatuans denied all the accusations against them.

Despite the charges against the Ampatuans and over a hundred others implicated in the carnage, many of their relatives and family members are also seeking elective posts in the May polls.

There are 10 vacancies in the Maguindanao provincial legislative council. More than 100 people have applied or nominated for the various vacancies from the acting governor to the legislative council in Maguindanao.

Sources in the province said the problem in the selection process in Maguindanao even grew more complicated after conservative Muslim leaders joined the tug-of-war against the perceived “church interference” in the local affairs of the largely Muslim province.

Supporters of former congressman, Guimid Matalam, are also endorsing him to be the acting governor or officer-in-charge of Maguindanao province. At least 20 others are also interested in the same position, but some of them are known influential politicians in Maguindanao - Asnawi Sinsuat Limbona, Bongarsa Tomawis, Harris Mastura, Bai Mompong Mentang and Armando Lidasan.

Sources did not identify the church leaders backing Ambolodto and Aquino, but Cotabato Bishop Orlando Quevedo is a known supporter of the senator. Followers of Adiong also doubted Ambolodto’s loyalty, saying, she allegedly snubbed him in several occasions in the province for still unknown reasons.

Adiong could not be reached to comment on the reports. Sources also said that because of the growing indifference of Ambolodto towards the ARMM leadership and the perceived meddling of the Catholic Church in the affairs of the Maguindanao, supporters of Adiong are now pushing for the immediate appointments of new acting governor and provincial board members. (Mindanao Examiner)