Media, human rights groups hail filing of charges vs. Philippine Army officers by kins of massacre victims

Philippine Army Major General Alfredo Cayton and Colonel Medardo Geslani. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 20, 2010) – Various media and human rights groups hailed the filing of criminal and administrative charges against the Philippine Army vice chief and a brigade commander who are accused of negligence and dereliction of duty in connection with the brutal murder of 57 people in the southern Maguindanao province.

At least 31 journalists were among those killed, including the wife and two sisters and supporters of Buluan town vice mayor Esmael Mangudadatu who is running for governor in Maguindanao province.

The victims were traveling with Mangudadatu’s wife on a political caravan when some 100 gunmen allegedly led by Datu Unsay mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., seized them November 23 in Shariff Aguak’s town and herded them to the next town where they were brutally killed. The Ampatuan and Mangudadatu clans are bitter political foe.

Widows and family members of at least 13 journalists accompanied by lawyer Harry Roque filed the charges on Tuesday against Major General Alfredo Cayton and Colonel Medardo Geslani with the Ombudsman in Davao City.

Prior to the killings, journalists who were in the caravan requested Cayton for security escorts for fear that armed supporters of the Ampatuan clan would attack the convoy, but the general did not provide them and instead told them that it was safe to travel to Shariff Aguak.

The Mindanao Times also reported that Myrna Reblando, whose husband, Alejandro Reblando, was among the journalists killed in the massacre, said: “We have only begun. It does not mean that just because Gen. Cayton and Col. Geslani were not accused by the DPJ (Department of Justice) prosecutors of murder that they should no longer be held responsible for the death of our loved ones. We still hold them criminally and administratively liable for their gross negligence and dereliction of duty. Had it not been for their inaction, our loved ones could still be alive today.”

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said it is supporting the filing of the charges against the two army officers.

“The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines-Davao City Chapter expresses solidarity in the continuing fight for justice for the victims of the most horrendous pre-election massacre of hapless civilians in recent history—a senseless waste of life which could have not happened had it not been allowed by the state.”

”We believe that the Ampatuan Massacre of November 23, 2009 allegedly perpetuated by the influential Malacanang-ally Ampatuan family would have not happened had government security agents in the province did not allow it to happen at all. NUJP shares with the grief of the family of all the victims, especially our fellow journalists’ widows, sons, daughters, fathers, mothers,” it said in a statement.

It said the massacre could have been prevented had Cayton provided security to the convoy.

”The testaments of the families of the victims pointed to Cayton as having refused to provide the slain journalists their requested military escorts and for declaring that there was no threat from the ground which prompted the journalists to proceed with the coverage that led to their massacre,” the NUJP said.

The Philippine Army investigated the accusations, but cleared Cayton, then the commander of the 6th Infantry Division, and Geslani, former commander of the 601st Infantry Brigade in Maguindanao province, for any culpability. Both Cayton and Geslani were relieved from their positions shortly after the massacre. Cayton was later promoted as Army deputy chief.

The Ampatuan clan is one of the most feared in Mindanao, but also the wealthiest in the impoverished province of Maguindanao, whose governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., and his sons, Zaldy Ampatuan, the regional governor, and several family members and relatives were linked by authorities to the gruesome killings. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bomb explodes near Basilan mayor's house

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 19, 2010) - An improvised explosive was detonated late Tuesday near the house of a local mayor in Basilan province in the southern Philippines, reports said.

Reports said the bomb went off several meters from the house of Lamitan City mayor Roderick Furigay. No group or individual claimed responsibility for the blast, but Basilan is hotbed of Abu Sayyaf terrorism.

It was unknown if the Abu Sayyaf, tagged by the military and police in previous bombings, was involved in the latest attack. But police said three days before the blast, the Abu Sayyaf headed by Furiji Indama, threatened to detonate bombs and stage kidnappings-for-ransom in Lamitan.

Security officials did not say what kind of explosive was used in the attack or whether the mayor was the target of the bombing. The attack occurred on the eve of the mayor's annual state of the city address.

"Bomb experts are still trying to determine the kind of explosive used in the attack," said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief. "We have stepped security in Lamitan and other parts of the province; there are more checkpoints and roadblocks and added foot patrol, especially at night."

He said villagers saw two men on a motorcycle fleeing the area before the blast. "We have witnesses who saw two young men on a motorcycle fleeing before the explosion," he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Security forces were fighting Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan, whose group authorities said is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terror networks. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen torch houses in Maguindanao province

Security officers cordon an area Tuesday, January 19, 2010 where 17 houses had been torched by gunmen in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 19, 2010) – At least 17 houses were burned by gunmen in what military authorities said was triggered by a clan war in the southern Philippines.

The fighting, which began since last week, forced villagers to flee to safer areas after gunmen torched the houses in the Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

At least 2 people were killed in the clashes between the armed protagonists. The military said more troops were sent to the town to prevent the escalation of hostilities. (Mark Navales)

Rebel leader's wife condemns release of soldier accused in daughter's murder in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 19, 2010) – The wife of a top communist rebel leader accused authorities on Tuesday of protecting one of two government soldiers allegedly behind the brutal murder of her daughter in the southern Philippines.

Evangeline Pitao, wife of New People’s Army commander Leoncio Pitao, said the two soldiers – Army Private First Class Edmar Tipait and Army Technical Sergeant Elpidio Canilla – were released by the police after the duo was arrested at a checkpoint for violating the gun ban in Davao City over the weekend.

The two soldiers who were in civilian clothes, she said, had no permits from the Commission on Elections allowing them to carry firearms or exempting them from the gun ban.

The poll body ordered a six-month nationwide gun ban beginning January 10 ahead of the May 10 national and local polls to minimize political violence during the election campaign period.

Only duty policemen and soldiers and members of law enforcement agencies are authorized to bear arms provided they have permits from the Commission on Elections exempting them from the gun ban.

“We condemn this continued cover up and protection by the state for the criminals, hoodlums in uniforms, men who have been responsible for the most heinous crimes in the country,” Pitao said.

Pitao, who is also the spokesperson for the group called Hustisya, an alliance of relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings in the southern Philippines, said Tipait was one of more than a dozen military intelligence agents and security officials allegedly responsible for the murder of her daughter Evelyn Pitao in March last year.

The 20-year old Pitao was abducted in Davao City on March 4. Her naked body was found the next day floating in a shallow creek in the village of San Isidro in Davao del Norte’s Carmen town. Her family said the body bore torture marks and was believed raped before she was stabbed in the chest.

Her father and family blamed the military for the woman’s killing.

Pitao’s group said Tipait was also implicated in the alleged rape and murder of political activist Marjorie Lastimoso. The woman was also abducted and killed in Maco town several years ago.

Both Tipait and Canilla are assigned with the Military Intelligence Group under the Army’s 10th Infantry Division in Davao City, Hustisya said. “They should have been in jail, but the soldiers were released after the arrest,” she said, adding, the duo was freed Sunday. “Criminal charges should have been filed against them for gun ban violation.”

Human rights group Karapatan also condemned the release of the soldiers despite their violation of the gun ban.

Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division, said they have ordered an investigation into the reports that the soldiers violated the gun ban. “We are looking into this report and there is an ongoing investigation and we are fully cooperating with the police,” he said.

He said the police confiscated the firearms of the two soldiers at the checkpoint and released them after an investigation. The soldiers were returning to their barracks from a mission when police stopped them at the checkpoint. “We are not tolerating anything here. There is a due process and we will abide by this due process,” Garcia said.

Garcia said human rights groups should also investigate and condemn the NPA for the recent killing of Dionesio Baslan, a former rebel, in Tagum City. The former NPA fighter was executed by rebels for allegedly aiding the government's anti-insurgency campaign in Mindanao.

Last year, communist rebels gunned down Ruben Bitang, a suspect in the brutal murder of Pitao, in Panabo City in Davao del Norte province.

The NPA said Bitang was the alleged driver of the van used in the abduction of the rebel leader’s daughter. Bitang’s nephew, Army Sergeant Helvin Bitang, who is assigned with the Military Intelligence Group, was also among those accused by the rebels in the killing of Pitao.

Communist rebels vowed to seek to justice for the murder of Pitao, a teacher by profession who led a simple and quiet life with her family in Davao City.

Her father who is also known as Kumander Parago is the chieftain of the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command. Pitao tagged at least 11 military intelligence agents as behind the murder.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division and the Eastern Mindanao Command have repeatedly denied any involvements of soldiers to the murder. Police also put up Task Force Rebelyn which is investigating the killing of Pitao’s daughter.

But the NPA said the police task force is insignificant. “Its sole purpose is to do the bidding of the criminal Arroyo regime. It has only proven the public perception that it was hastily set up to instantly absolve the criminal agents of the 10th Infantry Division-Eastern Mindanao Command-AFP for masterminding and executing Rebelyn's abduction, torture, rape and murder,” Leoncio Pitao said.

“The Zarzuela of the 10th Infantry Division-Eastern Mindanao Command-Armed Forces of the Philippines during the Commission on Human Rights public hearing and the lies it has propagated related to Rebelyn's death are just the tip of the rottenness of the AFP organization. The duplicity and criminal deeds of Arroyo's running dogs has long been exposed here in Southern Mindanao. It comes as no surprise that the rotten state is not on the people's side, but on the executioners, the killers, the minions of the 10th Infantry Division-Eastern Mindanao Command-AFP,” he said.

The Commission on Human Rights investigated last year in Davao City the murder of Pitao.

The NPA has ordered the arrest of all those involved in the killing of the woman while the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines also held Arroyo and the AFP responsible for the murder.

The CPP said the murder of Pitao’s daughter highlights the Arroyo regime’s innumerable crimes against unarmed civilians who are invariably regarded by the military and its counter-insurgency strategists as combatants in the raging civil war.

Communist rebels broke off peace talks with Manila in 2004 after the United States on government's prodding listed the CPP and the NPA, including the National Democratic Front as foreign terrorist organizations and froze their assets abroad. (Mindanao Examiner)

Car stopped at North Cotabato checkpoint yields pistol

Policemen man a checkpoint in North Cotabato’s Tulunan where they arrested a car owner after his vehicle yielded a gun on Sunday, January 17, 2009. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 18, 2010) – Police arrested a car owner after his vehicle yielded an automatic pistol and ammunition at a government checkpoint in North Cotabato’s Tulunan town.

The car was stopped at the checkpoint Sunday where policemen were enforcing the gun ban. The driver, whose name was not released by the authorities, was immediately arrested after he failed to show permits and other documents for the gun.

Policemen manning the checkpoint were led by Inspector Joan Ressurecion, of the Cotabato Provincial Public Safety Management Company. The confiscated weapon was turned over to Senior Inspector Ramil Hojilla, of the Tulunan police force for ballistic examination and proper filing of charges against the driver for violating the gun ban.

“The gun owner is temporarily detained at the Tulunan police station while waiting for inquest proceeding,” said Chief Inspector Gilberto Tuzon, the company commander of the Cotabato Provincial Public Safety Management Company.

The Commission on Elections imposed a total gun ban in the country this month ahead of local and national polls to prevent election violence. Only duty policemen and soldiers and members of law enforcement agencies are authorized to bear arms.

The gun ban took effect January 10 and will stay until June this year. (Geo Solmerano)

2 cops wounded in Zamboanga City ambush

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 18, 2010) – Gunmen attacked two policemen in a coastal village in the southern Filipino port city of Zamboanga, officials said Monday.

The weekend attack wounded the policemen in Mampang village. The victims were heading home on a motorcycle when gunmen opened fire at them, said Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, chief of the local police force.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack and police said it is still investigating the ambush.

On Saturday, gunmen also opened fire on a bus in Zamboanga City’s Licomo village, wounding 12 passengers. The attack was blamed to Moro rebels.

The bus was enroute to Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province when it was strafed by gunmen. (Mindanao Examiner)

LP candidate, supporter killed in Mindanao

PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 18, 2010) – Gunmen shot dead two people who were a supporter and candidate of the Liberal Party in the southern Philippines.

The two were identified as Motalliden Tapodoc, a Liberal Party candidate for councillor in the May elections, in the town of Labangan in Zamboanga del Sur, and Hamira Agcong, a supporter, in separate attacks in Pagadian City.

Tapodoc, 35, was killed Sunday by two motorcycle gunmen near the Philippine Independent Church in Pagadian City. The victim was shot seven times.

The attack occurred after an unidentified gunman also shot and killed Agcong, 44, in front of her sick son late Saturday. Agcong was buying medicine for her son when she was shot three times in the chest.

It was unknown whether the attacks were related or not, or if they were politically-motivated, but the twin murders raised to four the number of Liberal Party supporters murdered since last year.

Two gunmen also shot and killed Marciliano Dizon, a Liberal party supporter and political coordinator for the Noynoy Aquino (Senator Benigno Aquino) for President Movement (NAPM), in a recent attack in Mexico town in Pampanga province while visiting the funeral of a friend.

Last November, an LP volunteer, lawyer Connie Brizuela, was brutally killed along with 56 people, including 31 journalists, in Maguindanao province in an attack on a political caravan by the gunmen allegedly led by Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. (Mindanao Examiner)

Former rebel-turned-gov't spy is killed in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 18, 2010) – Communist rebels executed a former member for aiding the Philippine military’s anti-insurgency campaign in the restive southern region of Mindanao.

Marcella Valiente, a spokesperson for the New People’s Army, said a special unit carried out the punitive action against Dionesio Baslan Jr., for his many crimes against the rebel group in the village of Pandapan in Tagum City.

“Baslan’s fate should serve as a warning to those who let themselves become armed and brutal instruments of the fascist Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police against the people,” Valiente said.

The rebel group said Baslan abandoned his unit - the Armando Dumandan Command - on January 7, 2008, taking with him some P20,000 and a pistol and surrendered to the police in Tagum City.

Since his surrender, Baslan worked with the authorities and became active in the counter-revolutionary operations of the police in Tagum City. He also served as guide during the combat operations of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division Reconnaissance Company in Tagum City and Compostela Valley Province in Mindanao.

“From January 20, 2008, he was active in the harassment and intimidation operations of the 3rd Special Forces Battalion of the Army’s 1003rd Infantry Brigade against the poor masses suspected as members of the revolutionary mass organizations.”

“During the combat intelligence operations of the AFP’s Division Reconnaissance Company and Special Forces Battalion, Baslan was armed like any regular fascist forces. In 2009, Baslan joined the notorious death squad of the AFP and PNP in their surveillance operations against peasant leaders in Tagum City and in Compostela Valley Province,” Valiente said.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division on Monday said it is investigating the reports about Baslan. “We have no information about this execution, but we are looking into it,” said Major Romeo Cabanalan, a deputy army spokesman.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front which broke off peace talks with Manila after negotiators accused Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo of reneging on several agreements, among them the release of all political prisoners in the country.

Rebels have been fighting for more than four decades for the establishment of Maoist state in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

19 killed in Zamboanga road accident

ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 18, 2010) – At least 19 people were killed and many injured after the truck they were riding overturned in Zamboanga del Sur province in the southern Philippines, police and military reports said.

The reports said the weekend road accident occurred in the village of Kapatagan in the coastal town of Vincenzo A. Sagun.

The truck was carrying at least four dozen passengers when its driver lost control of the wheel and the truck overturned and rolled several times killing instantly at least a dozen people and the rest did not reach the hospital alive. It was unknown whether the driver was among those killed.

Police said the slippery road could be a factor to the accident. Monsoon rains continue the past days in many parts of the southern Philippines.

Weather experts spotted a low pressure area 300 kilometers off Mindanao.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services said Monday that Mindanao will experience widespread rains over the southern and western part of the region which may also trigger flashfloods and landslides. (Mindanao Examiner)

ARMM port gets new access road

A photo released by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao shows ARMM Social Fund Project Manager Engineer Nasser Sinarimbo as briefs Regional Governor Ansaruddin Adiong on the potentials of Polloc Port in Parang town in Maguindanao to become an international seaport. The Japan International Cooperation Agency funded the rehabilitation of the port access road worth more than P22 million. Also shown in the picture are Maguindanao Governor Bai Nariman Ambolodto, Parang Mayor Talib Abo and JICA representative Tito Oria.

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 18, 2010) - Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao officials recently inaugurated a Japanese government funded access road in Maguindanao province and the new project is expected to further boost economic activities in the southern Philippines.

Ali Macabalang, executive director of the ARMM's Bureau of Public Information, said Ansaruddin Adiong, the regional governor, led officials in inaugurating the P22.8 million access road in Polloc port in Parang town.

Adiong, he said, handed over the project to Polloc Port Manager Moharim Mohammad and Engineer Nasser Sinarimbo, ARMM Social Fund Project manager.

The 6,000-meter access road was rehabilitated with funding from the Japan International Cooperation Agency through the ASFP. "The opening of the access road will signal the start of the ARMM government’s vision to operate fully the Polloc Port as a regional hub of marine transport activities.

“Rehabilitation and improvements of ports in ARMM is one of priority projects,” Macabalang quoted Adiong as saying.

Mohamad said the concreting and rehabilitation of the wharf road network would ensure smooth, efficient and effective movement and delivery of services at the Polloc Port, which has a land area of more than 123 hectares and has the potential to become one of the country's international seaports.

Sinarimbo also said that efficient sea ports operations are imperative in the socioeconomic uplift of the Muslim autonomous region.

ASFP has been implementing vital projects in ARMM that include education, health, infrastructure and other socio-economic concerns. While JICA aims to contribute to the promotion of international cooperation as well as the sound development of Japanese and global economy by supporting the socioeconomic development, recovery or economic stability of developing regions. (With reports from Mark Navales)

Mansion of mass murder suspects searched again for illegal weapons

A womnan points to a hole where security forces searched for weapons but found nothing inside the sprawling compound of the Ampatuan mansion in Shariff Aguak town in Maguidnanao province. Clan members were accused in the November 23 mass murder of 57 innocent people in Maguindanao's Ampatuan town. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 17, 2010) – Security forces searched the sprawling compound of a mansion owned by the powerful Ampatuan clan whose patriarch and sons were implicated in the gruesome murder of at least 57 people in Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said policemen backed by soldiers were searching for illegal weapons believed buried in the compound in Shariff Aguak town on Saturday.

Their search warrant, however, were limited at a grave yard, where earlier reports said that a huge cache of weapons were buried. No weapons were found.

Security forces have recovered more than 1,000 assorted light artillery and heavy infantry weapons and hundreds of thousands of munitions allegedly owned by the Ampatuan in various areas in Shariff Aguak town since after the murders.

Journalists who were embedded with the security forces during the search noticed that many areas near the graveyard were freshly dug and then covered, raising suspicions that the weapons may had been transferred to other places inside the mansion owned by Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., whose son and namesake, was accused of masterminding the November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town.

Among those killed were at least 31 journalists who joined a political caravan by Ampatuan’s foe, Buluan town vice mayor Esmael Mangudadatu. His wife and two sisters were also among those brutally murdered.

Police and military implicated both father and son and another Andal’s elder brother, Zaldy Ampatuan, the governor of the Muslim autonomous region to which Maguindanao belongs. Several family members were also linked to the killings, but the Ampatuan clan strongly denied the massacre and pointed to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels as behind the murderous rampage.

Authorities rejected the allegations and filed multiple criminal charges against the Ampatuans and hundreds of supporters. (With reports from Nickee Butlangan and Mark Navales)

Taiwanese man shot dead in Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 17, 2010) – Unidentified gunmen barged into a house of a Taiwanese man in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines and shot him dead in what police said was a burglary.

Police said at least three gunmen barged in the house of Tai Guan Te, 54, in the village of Talabaan late Friday after overpowering a security guard. They ransacked the house and shot the foreigner inside his room before fleeing.

Local media report said the foreigner, who was married to a Filipino woman, was shot in the head and did not reach the hospital alive.

The guard and the women were unhurt in the attack and police launched a manhunt to arrest the suspects. The Taiwanese man and his wife managed a small poultry farm in the village, police said.

Police did not release any details about the foreigner or how long had he been living in Zamboanga City. Foreign embassies have previously warned their citizens not to travel to Zamboanga City and in some parts in the southern Philippines because of threats of kidnappings and terrorism.

Zamboanga City has been attacked in the past by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which bombed civilian targets and in several occasions kidnapped foreigners among them a German canning executive, a Belgian agrarian expert, a Taiwanese matriarch and Chinese traders. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippines Defense chief enjoys durian in Sulu province

Philippine Defense chief Norberto Gonzales enjoys eating durian besides Sulu Governor Sakur Tan during a visit in Sulu province in the southern Philippines. Tan says Sulu is rich in many varieties of fruits such as durian and mangosteen and is ready to supply various markets in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Bus ambushed in Zamboanga City, 12 injured

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 17, 2010) – Gunmen ambushed a passenger bus in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines and wounded at least a dozen people, officials said Sunday.

The attack occurred at around 9 p.m. on Saturday in the village of Licomo, 85 kilometers east of Zamboanga City, said Marine Lieutenant General Benjamin Dolorfino, the regional military chief.

He said the bus, owned by Rural Transit, was enroute to Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province, when it was strafed by gunmen believed to be extortionists.

“Police and military are investigating the attack. We have reports the attackers were extortionists,” Dolorfino said.

He said the wounded passengers were rushed to hospital in the town of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay province.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the ambush, but troops were tracking down Sunday those behind the attack, said Army Colonel Santiago Baluyot, commander of a local anti-terror task force.

He said 12 passengers, including a doctor, Maita Blanco, was injured in the attack. Baluyot’s group rushed to the village of Licomo, but did not catch up with the ambushers.

“We have troops working closely with the police and there is an operation to track down the ambushers,” Baluyot said.

Military intelligence reports said the attack was carried out by Moro rebels led by Yacub Ilong, whose group was also behind the spate of attacks and highway robberies and extortion activities in Zamboanga Sibugay province.

In May 2000, dozens of Moro rebels also raided the village of Licomo killing at least four civilians. They also held up several buses and abducted passengers in the past in Licomo.

A large portion of Zamboanga City’s Maria Clara Lobregat highway is without any street lights making it extremely dangerous for motorists to travel at night to Zamboanga Sibugay. (Mindanao Examiner)

Freed Irish missioner returns to the Philippines

Irish Catholic priest Michael Sinnott is escorted by soldiers on his way to a waiting plane that will take him to Manila after his release in Zamboanga City in Mindanao in November 12, 2009. Sinnott returned Friday, January 15, 2010 to the Philippines to resume his missionary work. (Mindanao Examiner)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 16, 2010) – An elderly Irish Catholic priest kidnapped by Moro rebels in the Philippines has returned to the country to continue his missionary work.

The 80-year Michael Sinnot arrived late Friday in Manila after a two-month vacation in Ireland following his release in November in Zamboanga City, said the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

“It’s very nice to be back and am looking forward to going back to my work in Pagadian,” Sinnot said.

Sinnott was taken by six gunmen on October 11 from his Columban missionary house in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province and brought to Lanao province. The kidnappers originally demanded $2 million for the release of the missionary, but Manila said no ransom was paid and that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front helped secure Sinnott’s freedom.

“I was amazed when I came out of here there were a lot of people who prayed for me and I would like to thank them very, very sincerely from the bottom of my heart,” he said, adding, he would “like to do the little bit I can for as long as I can.”

Shortly after he was freed, Sinnott, who belongs to the Missionary Society of St. Columban, spoke with reporters at a Philippine Air Force base in Zamboanga City and told them his ordeal during his captivity. He said he was treated well by his captors, whom he identified as members of a “lost command” headed by Kikay. The priest said his captors told him that he was kidnapped because of ransom.

Sinnott was the third Irish missioner to be kidnapped in Mindanao since 1997. Father Des Hartford was held by Moro rebels for 12 days, and in 2001, Father Rufus Hally, a missioner from Waterford, was shot dead during an attempted abduction in the volatile region.

In June 2007, gunmen also kidnapped an Italian missioner Giancarlo Bossi, of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, in Payao town in Zamboanga del Sur province. Bossi, then 57, was freed more than a month later after private negotiators paid a huge ransom. Bossi’s kidnappers had demanded P50 million for his safe release.

Philippine authorities said Bossi was kidnapped while celebrating mass in the village of Bulawan by brothers Akiddin and Wanning Abdusallam, both rogue members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Abu Sayyaf. Bossi was the third Italian priest kidnapped in southern Philippines decade.

Moro rebels kidnapped Fr Luciano Benedetti, 62, in Zamboanga del Norte province in 1998 and held for nearly 10 weeks until he was freed in exchange for a huge government ransom.

In 2001, renegade MILF rebels and members of the bandit group called Pentagon Gang also snatched Fr Giuseppe Pierantoni as the 51-year-old from Bologna said mass in the parish church of Dimataling town in Zamboanga del Sur.

The priest was freed after six months in captivity in exchange for an unspecified ransom, but he claimed to have escaped from his kidnappers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bomb scare hits Zamboanga City Hall

Zamboanga City Hall. (Mindanao Examiner)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 16, 2010) – Police and military authorities have evacuated the Zamboanga City hall after receiving threats that a bomb had been planted and would explode at any time.

More than 1,000 civil employees were forced to abandon their posts Friday because of the threats, but soldiers and policemen who searched the building in downtown Zamboanga found no explosives.

Security and local officials blamed pranksters for the undue alarm. Zamboanga City had been previously bombed many times by the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf group.

"There was no bomb. It was a hoax. This is the handiwork of pranksters, but nonetheless we have seen how ready our security forces and paramedics in handling this kind of situation. The whole evacuation of civil workers was orderly and the area was immediately secured and the city hall searched thoroughly," said Army Colonel Santiago Baluyot, commander of an anti-terror task force.

He said police and military authorities have stepped security in Zamboanga City.

The Abu Sayyaf group was also implicated in many kidnappings-for-ransom in Zamboanga City and other parts of Mindanao, including a cross-border raid in 2001 in Malaysia’s state of Sabah near the Filipino province of Tawi-Tawi.

The US Embassy has warned its citizens not to travel to Sabah because of threats of attacks by the Abu Sayyaf and in the past also told Americans not to travel to Zamboanga City and in many parts of Mindanao, including Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi provinces. (Mindanao Examiner)

Konsehal nanapak ng brodkaster sa Mindanao

Si Alberto Loyola, sa loob ng kanyang booth sa radio station dxRJ sa lungsod ng Iligan na biktima ng pananakit ng isang lokal na konsehal. (Mindanao Examiner / Merlyn Manos)

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 15, 2010) – Nahaharap sa malaking problema ang isang konsehal ng lungsod ng Iligan matapos itong akusahan ng pananakit ng isang radio brodkaster.

Isinumbong sa Mindanao Examiner ni Alberto Loyola, ng radio station dxRJ at may hawak sa programang “Radyo Patrol,” na nilusob diumano ni Konsehal Chonilo Ruiz ang himpilan at doon ay sinapak ang kanyang muka at pinilipit pa ang leeg dahil sa kanyang balita at komento ukol sa pondo ng pamahalaang.

Nuong Enero 13 naganap ang pananakit, ayon kay Loyola at isinalaysay nito na nagalit umano si Ruiz sa kanya dahil sa pagbibintang nito sa konsehal na “botboton,” na ang ibig sabihin sa diyalektong Bisaya ay “sinungaling.”

Ito’y matapos na ipahayag ng konsehal na may pondong P14 milyon para sa services committee na gagamitin ng naturang committee at para sa pagpapakain sa mga opisyal at iba sa tuwing may mga public hearing ukol sa ibat-ibang isyu sa Iligan. Sinabi ni Loyola na wala itong nakitang pagpapakain dahil ilang beses rin umano siyang umatend ng mga public hearing at ni- isang toothpick ay wala itong nakita o natanggap kung kaya’t tinawag nitong sinungaling si Ruiz.

Sinabi rin diumano ni Racel Babutin, budget officer, na naubos ang pondo ng services committee sa mga pasahod diumano ng mga casual employees na taliwas naman sa sinabi ni Ruiz na sa pakain sa mga public hearing ito gagastusin.

Kung kaya’t nabigla na lamang si Loyola ng biglang sumugod sa kanyang booth si Ruiz. Ang akala umano ni Loyola ay nagtungo sa radio station si Ruiz upang ibigay ang kanyang side, ngunit iba pala ang motibo nito.

Ipinagtanggol naman ni Ruiz ang sarili sa mga akusasyon ni Loyola at sinabing matagal na umano itong nagtitimpi sa mga batikos ng broadcaster kung kaya’t nagawa nito ang pananakit.

Sinabi ni Ruiz na hindi umano siya nilulubayan o tinatantanan ni Loyola sa pag sira sa kanyang dangal. “Lahat ng tao, mapa-pulitiko man o hindi o kaya ay ordinaryong tao ay may karapatan rin na respituhin,” ani Ruiz. “Sana ang media ay marunong din mag balanse kung ang taong tinitira nila ay kayang tiisin ang lahat ng mga batikos sa kanila.”

Inamin naman ni Ruiz na nadala lamang siya ng kanyang emosyon dahil sa matinding batikos na nakukuha mula kay Loyola. Nagsisi umano ito sa nagawa, ngunit magsasampa diumano ito ng kasong oral defamation laban kay Loyola na Maghahain rin ng kaso laban sa konsehal.

Ayon kay Maricris Badlon, kasamahan ni Loyola na nakasaksi sa naganap, ay nagulantang rin umano ito sa bilis ng mga pangyayari, ngunit narining umano sa ere ng publiko ang lahat ng ingay at naganap sa loob ng announcer’s booth.

Naawat lamang ang pananakit ni Ruiz kay Loyola ng dumating si Sabas Rejas Jr., ang tagapamahala ng RJ Clubhouse na pag aari ni Ramon Jacinto. Mabilis naman na lumisan si Ruiz matapos na makaalpas si Loyola, ani Rejas.

Sinabi ni Loyola na hindi nito lulubayan ng batikos si Ruiz dahil may karapatan umano ang publiko na malaman kung saan napupunta ang pondo ng pamahalaang.

Mariing binatikos naman ng National Union of Journalists of the Philippines sa Iligan ang pananakit ni Ruiz kay Loyola at naglabas ito ng pahayag.

“We, the officers and members of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines Iligan City - Lanao chapter strongly condemned the barbaric act, harassment , unbecoming and unprofessional attitude of Iligan City Councilor Chonilo Ruiz who physically manhandled and mauled broadcast journalist Albert Loyola inside the announcer’s booth of dxRJ in Santa Felomina in Iligan City on January 13, 2010 at about 7:50 a.m,” ani ng NUJP na nilagdaan nina Richel Umel, ang lokal na chairman ng grupo at Ronnie Enderes, ang vice chairman. (Merlyn Manos)

New Lanao Sur hospital inaugurated

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 15, 2010) – The acting governor of the Muslim autonomous region Ansaruddin Adiong inaugurated the newly renovated training center at the Tamparan District Hospital in Lanao del Sur province.

Villagers now have access to better health and recreational facilities following Thursday's inauguration of the hospital's training center, said Ali Macabalang, Executive Director of the Bureau of Public Information in the Muslim autonomous region.

He said Adiong led the inauguration of the training center in ceremonies attended by his elder brother, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. alongside all mayors in the province.

In his brief speech, Adiong aired his administration’s commitment to advance health initiatives to help make the region’s over four million residents mentally and physically healthy.

Adiong assured to support the refurbished hospital by providing other necessary medical equipment. He also released funding for a new set of uniform to each of the hospital's personnel and 22 boxes of assorted medicines.

He said his one month-old administration will strive to let his constituents “feel the services of the government.”

The rehabilitation of the Tamparan District Hospital Training Center has been funded cost more than five million pesos and funded by the Muslim autonomous region's Social Fund Program through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Macabalang said.

Dr. Potri Disomimba-Ali, the hospital's chief administrator, lauded Adiong for the improvement of the medical facility after seeing it in a poor condition during a free cataract operation he sponsored few months ago.

“The realization of this project has been through the efforts made by Governor Adiong,” Ali said.

The two-storey, 10 x 30 square meter training center, Ali said, will provide quality medical and health services to the locals and will serve as “ideal venue for our integrated health programs such as future medical missions.”

Engineer Nasser Sinarimbo, Project Manager for the Social Fund Program, said the project formed part of the commitment of the regional government to provide constituents access to decent health service.

Tito Oria Sr., a JICA expert, urged hospital administrators to take care of the facility, even as he expressed optimism for its long sustained operations. He also pledged to continue supporting projects on the pipeline intended for the development of stakeholders and communities in the region.

Tamparan District Hospital was created thru Republic Act passed in Congress in 1963 through the efforts of then Mayor Datu Palawan Disomimba under President Diosdado Macapagal. In 1987, the hospital was upgraded to serve all its ten neighboring municipalities in the province.

The province now has five district hospitals and the Amai Pakpak Provincial hospital in Marawi City.

Adiong, vice governor of the Muslim autonomous region, took over as acting regional governor after the governor Zaldy Ampatuan, and his father and brothers were implicated in the brutal slayings of 57 people, including 31 journalists, in Maguindanao province on November 23.

Aside from Lanao del Sur, four other provinces - Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao, are part of the Muslim autonomous region.(With reports from Merlyn Manos and Mark Navales)

(With reports from Merlyn Manos and Mark Navales)

Tremor hits Mindanao

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippine (Mindanao Examiner / January 15, 2010) - A 5.3-magnitude earthquake rocked some parts of Mindanao on Friday, but no one was reported injured nor killed, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.

Engineer Hermes Daquipa, of the local office of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said the tremor occurred at around 8:07 a.m. in many parts of Mindanao, particularly in Tagum City.

He said the epicenter of the quake was traced about 32 kilometers east of Tagum, a city in Davao Oriental province.

The tremor was also felt in North Cotabato province, Davao del Norte and General Santos City. Police and military authorities in Mindanao said there were no reports of damage to properties or injury.

On Tuesday, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti and the scale of the disaster remained unclear, although other reports said as many as half a million people are feared dead from collapsed buildings.

President Gloria Arroyo ordered the Philippines Ambassador to Cuba, MacArthur Corsino, to assist the rescue operations in Haiti, where some 172 Filipino are serving as members of the United Nations peace keeping force.

Three Filipino peace keepers – Army Sergeant Estacio Bermudez, Navy man Perly Tanagui and Air Force Sergeant

Jermis Arcena - are still trapped in the rubble of the collapsed Christopher Hotel, the military said. (Geo Solmerano)

Irate bet attacks anchorman on air

Philippine Star Cartoon.

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines – A city councilor who was irked by the negative commentaries of an anchorman of a local radio station here allegedly barged into the broadcaster’s booth at the station Wednesday morning and punched his tormentor.

Listeners of radio dxRJ heard the incident live at about 8 a.m. while Iligan City Councilor Chonilo Ruiz attacked anchorman Albert Loyola inside the announcer’s booth.

Loyola was heard shouting repeatedly over the microphone in the Cebuano dialect: “I am being punched by councilor Ruiz!”

In the background, Ruiz was also overheard saying in Cebuano: “Salbahe ka, salbahe ka (you are bad, you are bad).”

Ruiz is seeking a third term in the city council in the May elections under the Liberal Party.

In an interview yesterday with another local radio station here, Ruiz explained that in at least three airings of Loyola’s radio program RJ Patrol, the broadcaster repeatedly called him botboton (“liar” in Cebuano).

Ruiz said he tried to call and talk to Loyola over the radio station’s telephone but he was ignored.

Loyola explained that he was just asking the councilor how the Sangguniang Panglungsod (SP) is spending the budget on committee hearings.

Ruiz, in an earlier interview, replied that part of the expenses included snacks for those who attend the public hearings.

But Loyola said: “How come I was not served those snacks?” Then in the succeeding editions of his program, Loyola repeatedly played the tape and called Ruiz a botboton.

“My patience ran out, I am also a human being,” Ruiz said.

Loyola said he would file appropriate charges against Ruiz.

Ruiz said he will face the consequences of his actions and appealed to media men to practice professionalism. He said that although a city councilor is a public servant, he is still human and could also get hurt. (Lino dela Cruz)


Link: http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=540915&publicationSubCategoryId=68