Quakes jolt Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 24, 2010) – Four earthquakes shook Mindanao on Saturday morning, but there were no reports of injuries or serious damage to structures in the southern Philippine region, the United States Geological Survey said.

It said the earthquakes hit in quick succession in the Moro Gulf. The magnitudes of the earthquakes were recorded at 7.3 at a depth of a little over 604 kilometers whose epicenter was located 102 kilometers southwest of Cotabato; 5.4 at a depth of 594.8 kilometers and the epicenter was located 95 kilometers west-southwest of Cotabato.

The third earthquake, whose magnitude was 7.6, occurred at a depth of 576.3 kilometers. Its epicenter was traced 115 kilometers southwest of Cotabato and the fourth had a 7.4 magnitude at a depth of 616.7 kilometers and epicenter was located 121 kilometers southwest of Cotabato. It was felt in several areas near Cotabato.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center based in Hawaii said the earthquake did not generate tsunami.

The Philippines sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a 40,000-kilometer area where large number of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. It has more than 400 volcanoes and sometimes called the circum-Pacific seismic belt. (With a report from Mark Navales)

Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims; 8 Months Had Passed!

It is 8 months now since the Maguindanao massacre where at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered. And journalists, Mass Communication students of Notre Dame of Kidapawan College and members of civic groups in Kidapawan City gather Friday, July 23, 2010 to remember and offer prayers for 32 journalists and media workers who were among 57 people brutally killed on November 23, 2009 in Maguindanao province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo and Giovanni Solmerano)

6 wounded in separate attacks in Mindanao

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 23, 2010) – At least six people were wounded in separate attacks in the restive region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, officials said Friday.

A grenade attack in Iligan City had left at least 5 people wounded, but radio reports said as many as 7 were injured in the blast before dawn near a police post. No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack.

Most of the injured were civilians. Police immediately blamed the blast to criminal gangs, although previous attacks had been largely suspected on Moro rebels and extortionists.

One person was also injured after bandits opened fire on a commuter bus on the village of Muti in Zamboanga City. The attack which occurred late Thursday was largely blamed to bandits who were also linked to extortion and highway robberies.

Army Colonel Santiago Baluyot, commander of an anti-terror task force in Zamboanga City, said troops and militias were sent to the area, but did not catch up with the attackers.

“The area is isolated and troops did not catch up with the assailants. These people are bandits who were behind previous attacks on passenger buses. Failed extortion could be the motive behind the attack,” he said.

The latest attack added to the growing concerns of many locals worried about the spate of violence in at least three Zamboanga villages – Mampang, Arena Blanco and Talon-Talon – where bloody clan feuds had already claimed the lives of many people.

A village official on Mampang was killed and his companions injured after gunmen ambushed them July 13 in Zamboanga City.

The ambush came a day after a lone gunman fatally shot a jeep driver who was plying the village route in front of many people. Prior to the daring shooting, gunmen also killed several people and exploded a hand grenade in a house in Mampang.

The attack on village officials occurred just as the local peace and order council was meeting to tackle the spate of killings and gun attacks in Zamboanga. Just this month, villagers also discovered three bodies buried in a pit on a village called Mercedes. The cadavers bore stabbed wounds and its faces were covered in packing tape and one of the bodies was said to belong to a Muslim man.

Villagers were also afraid to come out in the open and tell what they know about the killings in the villages fearing reprisals from the criminals. One of the chief suspects in the murders was arrested by the police recently from his hideout in Mindoro province.

More than 100 people had been attacked by gunmen since early this year in Zamboanga City despite the presence of armed soldiers and policemen patrolling the streets. And police called these incidents isolated and government officials were quick to blame the proliferation of illegal firearms and urged authorities to intensify a campaign aimed at collecting these weapons.

Zamboanga has implemented a total gun ban the past years and despite this, the killings still go unabated, but most of the murders were perpetrated by professional killers who are actively operating in Zamboanga. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 killed in NPA ambush in South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 22, 2010) – Communist rebels ambushed a military patrol and killing two government militias and wounding two others in the southern Philippines.

The attack occurred in the village of El Salvador in Davao del Norte’s New Corella town, a spokesperson for the New People’s Army rebels, Marcella Valiente, said.

Valiente said Wednesday ambush was part of a tactical offensive of the New People’s Army, which is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.

“Three high-powered rifles - one M16 Armalite, one M14 rifle and one M1 rifle - were seized. Two paramilitary elements of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit were killed on the spot while two others were wounded, including the commander of the Philippine Army detachment in the same barangay (village). There were no casualties on our side,” Valiente said.

“This tactical offensive against combatants of the regular and paramilitary forces is a legitimate military action by the people’s army. It is an attack against the 72nd Infantry Battalion and CAFGU forces in El Salvador, who have figured in many incidents of violations of human rights in the area. These prevalent acts include, but are not limited to, mauling of civilians, extortion, serious threats and repression of farmers.”

Valiente said those wounded in the attack were given medical treatment by the rebels, but it was unknown whether they had been taken prisoners or not.

The military did not give any statement about the ambush. (Mindanao Examiner)

Thousands get free bags, school supplies in Sulu

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lanao Norte Governor Praises Army Battalion

LANAO DEL NORTE, Philippines – Lanao del Norte Governor Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo praised the Philippine Army’s 35th Infantry Battalion on its active role in promoting peace and reconciliation in the province.

“We are very happy with the performance of our military here in the province. They are not only our trusted peace keepers, but our reliable peace builders as well,” Dimaporo said during the battalion’s 8th anniversary celebration held at Camp Allere in the town of Salvador.

The 35th Infantry Battalion headed by Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Razalan covers 13 towns in Lanao del Norte - Bacolod, Maigo, Kolambugan, Tubod, Baroy, Lala, Kapatagan and Sultan Naga Dimaporo, Tangkal, Magsaysay, Sapad, Nunungan and Salvador. And it has been able to maximize the impact of its civil-military initiatives which have consequently isolated the threat groups in the towns and further improve the security situation of the province.

Razalan has been largely credited for implementing the so-called Community Organizing for Development thru Empowerment (CODE) concept.

Prior to the anniversary culmination program, several activities have been launched with the support of the local government units, line government agencies, civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders. These activities include blood-drive, medical civic action programs in Nunungan and Magsaysay towns; squad challenge, and an inter-company basketball tournament.

“The evolving role of the soldier reflects his dynamic response to the subtle mutations of his adversary. The colorful history of the Makamandag Battalion is testament to this evolution. And the peace and security that our people now enjoy are the sweet fruits of the heroic of the 35th Infantry Battalion,” Dimaporo said.

Present also during the culmination program were the Provincial Legal Officer Jonathan Puno and Major General Romeo Lustestica, commander of the 1st Infantry Division. (With a report from Becky de Asis)

Two captives free at last in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 21, 2010) - A Philippine soldier held by communist rebels and a son of a top election official kidnapped by gunmen were freed separately by their captors in Mindanao, police and military said on Wednesday.

It said New People’s Army rebels on Tuesday released Sergeant Bienvenido Arguelles, who was captured on June 19 in Monkayo town in Compostela Valley province. The rebels earlier freed a government militia Juve Latiban, who was seized together with Arguelles at a checkpoint in the village of Upper Ulip.

The rebels said they freed the prisoner due to humanitarian considerations.

“The decision to release prisoner of war Arguelles is based on humanitarian considerations. It is in compliance with the revolutionary movement’s long-standing policy of lenient treatment of POWs and its serious adherence to the National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ Declaration of Undertaking to Apply the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and Protocol 2 of 1977. By releasing him and other POWs on this ground, the revolutionary movement is giving chance for human rights and the international humanitarian law to be respected at all times,” said Rigoberto Sanchez, a rebel spokesman.

He said the arrest of Arguelles should serve as a warning to all members of the military and the police who commit incursions into guerilla bases especially those who conduct intelligence operations against the NPA and its supporters.

“It should also serve as warning to those who serve as protectors of large-scale, environmentally destructive and exploitative foreign and local firms under the pretext of Investment Defense Force and peace and development projects, especially that the Diwalwal mining area in Monkayo town is up for total sell-out,” Sanchez said, referring to the large-scale mining activities in Mount Diwalwal in Monkayo town.

Police said kidnappers also released unharmed Nuraldin Yusoph, 22, on Monday in Misamis Oriental province after a month in captivity.

Yusoph, son of Commissioner Elias Yusoph, was seized on June 20 outside a mosque in Marawi City. His abductors originally demanded that the Commission on Elections annul the results of the recent polls in at least four towns - Malabang, Taraka, Pikong and Masiu - in Lanao del Sur in exchange for the safe release of the hostage, but later asked P25 million for his freedom.
Police said no ransom was paid for Yusoph’s release.

Last week, security forces killed the leader of Yusoph’s kidnappers, Dimaporo Dimasacal alias Commander Delta. Officials said soldiers were pursuing the gang when they caught up with them in the village of Aleem Rayah Karamian in Lanao del Sur’s Masiu town and killed its leader.

Dimasacal was also tagged as behind the ambush last week of a group of soldiers in Gata village in Poona Bayabao town, also in Lanao del Sur, killing an infantryman and a civilian. (With a report from Becky de Asis and Geo Solmerano)

Kidnapped Japanese in the Philippines makes contact

A police officer shows a passport of kidnapped Japanese citizen Toshio Ito which was recovered on the island of Pangutaran in Sulu archipelago in the southern Philippines. Filipino authorities on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 claimed custody a letter written by the 63-year old Hiroshima-native, but officials declined to make public its contents, saying the Japanese embassy was informed about this. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 21, 2010) –Philippines authorities are holding a letter sent by a kidnapped Japanese man in the country’s restive southern region where security forces have mounted an operation to rescue the 63-year old Hiroshima native.

Police said Amer Katayama Mamaito, whose real name is Toshio Ito, was seized by 10 gunmen July 16 on a fishing village on the remote island of Pangutaran in Sulu archipelago.

His passport, issued January 31, 2000 at the Japanese embassy in Manila, was recovered on the island, but no group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping, although authorities were suspecting Abu Sayyaf militants with links to Jemaah Islamiya could be behind it.

The Abu Sayyaf last year kidnapped three international Red Cross workers – Two European and a Filipino – in Sulu and had been ransomed off. The group was also behind high-profile kidnapping cases, including 21 mostly Westerners in Malaysia’s Sipadan Island in 2000 and three US citizens in 2001 in Dos Palmas resort in Palawan island in the Philippines.

Security sources on Wednesday said a letter written by Ito is now in the custody of the authorities, but its contents were not made public and that the Japanese embassy had been notified about this.

Police and military officials did not give any statement about the progress of the rescue operation, saying, it could jeopardize the mission or put the safety of the Japanese at risk.

“All we can say is that there is an ongoing search and rescue operation,” said Marine Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces in Sulu archipelago.

Police also put up a task force that will handle the investigation of the kidnapping of Ito under supervision of the crisis committee headed by Mayor Amilhamja Taib, of Pangutaran Island.

Authorities said Ito was engaged in gravel and sand business and also a treasure hunter who managed a small pharmacy on the island since 2004. He previously lived in Marawi and Zamboanga cities and had a pending court case in the town of Plaridel in Misamis Occidental province where he is facing charges of trespass to dwelling. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sunrise in Zamboanga Sibugay province

The sun rises in Zamboanga Sibugay whose new governor Rommel Jalosjos pledged to make the province a regional hub in western Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Becky de Asis)

Grade School Kids In Philippines Unite for Good Nutrition

The Department of Education in partnership with Kraft Cheez Whiz has come up with Palamantasan, the first interschool competition among grade school students nationwide in a quest for nutrition education in Buhangin Elementary School in Davao City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Geo Solmerano)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 18, 2010) - A not-so-fit Future? It has often been said that our future lies in the children of our country.

But what kind of future is in store for us when Philippine Statistics show that approximately 8 million Filipino children are malnourished?

Various nutrition education programs during Nutrition Month have been implemented to underscore the importance of proper nutrition among schoolchildren. To teach schoolchildren about nutrition is already something. But to revolutionize it into a nationwide interschool competition for them to learn is something else.

That is why Kraft Cheez Whiz with the Department of Education has come up with Palamantasan–the first interschool competition among grade school students nationwide in a quest for nutrition education.

In line with the Department of Education’s thrust to enhance nutrition education in schools, Kraft Cheez Whiz chose to do a school-based program to further raise public consciousness. “School is second to home where children learn basic lessons and values,” Alex Dan Tacderas, Category Manager for Cheese and Spoonables, Kraft Foods
Philippines said.

“That is why we wanted to direct our cause and execute our program in schools–in both an enjoyable and educational way,” Tacderas added.

Spearheaded to spread the significance of eating well, Palamantasan will not only last for the whole month of July. This nationwide nutrition advocacy will be conducted until the month of September. “In fighting malnutrition, we vie for sustainability and deep impact on schoolchildren,” Tacderas said.

Students can be Teachers Apart from Palamantasan being an enduring learning experience; it is a transformative way of teaching those in the elementary levels. “These
schoolchildren are at the stage of developing a sense of responsibility,” Paolo Serrano, Senior Brand Manager of Cheez Whiz, Kraft Foods Philippines, said. “This is why we want them to realize the significance of proper nutrition themselves–through a series of
fun, creative and learning activities.”

With the desire to make this competition-based campaign both feasible and fit for the participating schools, different forms of contests were prepared by the well-loved cheese brand. “These are children and we all know they prefer learning in a fun yet challenging way,” Serrano said. “We wanted to relay our cause to the schoolchildren through competitions.”

With contests such as “Jarchitecture” or Jar Art, Speech Choir, Sandwich Making, Essay-writing and more, the overall wit and skill of the participating children will be challenged. “This is not only to find out how much they know about the importance of good nutrition – it’s about them having the opportunity to learn more, apply it and share it with others,” Serrano said.

Over the years, educating children about proper nutrition has been one of the primary advocacies of many institutions. Palamantasan revolutionizes the learning experience of school children in corporate-sponsored nutrition education.

With Palamantasan as a promising project to help children become healthier in more ways than one, the country is continuously given the hope of a better and brighter future. (With a report from Geo Solmerano)

Philippine security forces search for kidnapped Japanese man

Muslim children dive from a boat anchored off Pangutaran Island in the Sulu archipelago in the southern Philippines. Police and military say a Japanese citizen was abducted by 10 armed men on the island Friday, July 16, 2010. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 17, 2010) – Security forces continue to search for a Japanese national who was abducted by gunmen on a remote island in the Sulu archipelago in the southern Philippines, officials said Saturday.

The foreigner, who officials identified as Amer Katayama Mamaito, was taken by at least 10 armed men on Friday on a fishing village called Bangkilay on Pangutaran Island. “We have no reports yet about the Japanese, or where he was taken or who were behind the abduction, but the military is gathering more information about the incident," said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command.

Police forces were also gathering intelligence about the abduction.
“Our forces are still out and searching for the foreigner. We still have no reports about his whereabouts,” said Chief Inspector Amil Baanan, the deputy chief for operations of the Sulu police force.

He said little was known about the background of the Japanese, but other reports said Mamaito has been searching for treasure on the island, north of Sulu province.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction, but Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, the regional police chief, said they would form a task force to handle latest abduction. “We will activate the crisis management committee and form a task force to give the background of the victim and also to monitor the incident,” he said.

Last year, Abu Sayyaf militants abducted three international aid workers in Sulu and freed them one after the other in exchange for ransoms. It was unknown whether the Abu Sayyaf was involved in the latest abduction, but authorities have linked the group tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya to previous kidnappings for ransom in the restive southern region.

In 1998, militants also abducted two Hong Kong and a Malaysian fishery workers on an island in the Sulu archipelago and freed them months later after their employers paid huge ransoms. Two years later, the Abu Sayyaf also raided a Malaysian resort island off Sabah and kidnapped 10 European holidaymakers and 10 resort workers and released them in batches months later in exchange for millions of dollars in ransoms. (Mindanao Examiner)

Japanese national abducted in southern Philippines

Pangutaran group of islands in the Sulu archipelago in southern Philippines. (Wikipedia locator)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 16, 2010) – Philippine authorities said a Japanese man was abducted Friday by gunmen on a remote island in the Sulu archipelago.

Police and military said at least 10 armed men seized Amer Katayama Mamaito in the village of Bangkilay in Pangutaran Island. “No other details are yet available,” said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command.

Police forces were also sent to the island to gather more information about the foreigner.

“Our forces are still in the area and gathering more information about Amer Katayama Mamaito. We don’t if he is fisherman or what, but reports stated that he was abducted by ten armed men at around 1.30 in the morning on an island off Pangutaran,” said Chief Inspector Amil Baanan, the deputy chief for operations of the Sulu police force.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction, but Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, the regional police chief, said they would form a task force to handle the latest abduction. “We will activate the crisis management committee and form a task force to give the background of the victim and also to monitor the incident,” he said.

Last year, Abu Sayyaf militants abducted three international aid workers in Sulu and freed them one after the other in exchange for ransoms.

It was unknown whether the Abu Sayyaf was involved in the latest abduction, but authorities have linked the group, tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya, to previous kidnappings for ransom in the restive southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)

PNoy suggests compromise on South Cotabato environment code issue

SOUTH COTABATO, Philippines - The Philippine government has started consultations aimed at settling an issue brought about by a newly enacted ordinance that bans open pit mining in South Cotabato province in Mindanao and threatening a $6-billion gold-copper project in that province.

The project run by Sagittarius Mines Inc. is expected to start production in 2015 and hopes to generate 10,000 jobs during construction and 2,000 jobs during operations.

Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje on Tuesday said “they have received instructions from the President to negotiate and attain a compromise”.

"The instruction from Noynoy is that we should attain a compromise," Paje said, referring to the President. "The president has already given us that mandate. It is very important for us." he added.

On Monday, President Benigno Aquino III told reporters he would work out a compromise among concerned parties and that there are consultations going on as in the case of Sagittarius Mines Inc., whose multi-million dollar mining investment is threatened by a provincial ordinance due to environmental concerns.

SMI's investment is touted as the Philippines' largest single investment ever. The Tampakan Gold Copper Project is estimated to contain 13.5 million tonnes of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold at a 0.3 percent cut-off grade.

The outgoing provincial governor of South Cotabato last month signed and approved the province's Environment Code, which contains a provision that bans open pit mining. The local ordinance triggered uproar from residents and upland tribes within the proposed project area, claiming that local legislators are robbing them of their future.

The President, however, said that the provincial government believes open-pit mining is detrimental to the environment and there is no new technology that will make it safer, while the mining industry players say there can be a healthy compromise that affords us the jobs, the investment and the multiplier effect of that investment on the economy.

“I will work toward that getting them to meet on a common ground that will allay the fears and also afford us the benefits of this investment”, he said.

He expressed “confidence that there can be a meeting of the minds in an atmosphere of trust provided by his administration.”

Aquino said, however, “that at the end of the day it will be the local community whose voice will be loudest as far as I’m concerned, because they will...be the ones to suffer if a disaster happens.”

Paje said “the government wanted to resolve the issue through negotiations, but it could not stop mine operators challenging the legality of the local law in court. (Nikki Gomez)

NPA rebels free arrested militia, but held on to captured army soldier in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 16, 2010) – Philippine Maoist rebels freed Friday a government militia they captured last month in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao.

The militia, Juve Latiban, was arrested at a rebel checkpoint on June 19 along with an army soldier, Sergeant Bienvenido Arguelles, in the village of Upper Ulip in Monkayo town. The fate of the soldier is still unknown.

The rebels, who belong to the New People’s Army, said Latiban was only 17 years old when recruited by the military to fight insurgents.

“Juve Latiban, the minor recruited as combatant by the 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, was turned over by the Conrado Heredia Command of the New People’s Army to his family. In line with the international rules of war, specifically because of his age of minority, the New People’s Army did not consider him a prisoner of war,” said Rigoberto Sanchez, a rebel spokesman.

Sanchez accused the 10th Infantry Division of recruiting and arming minors as “combat pawns” in its war against the New People’s Army. He said Latiban was one of 18 minors recruited by the military in 2008 as members of the Civilian Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit.

“By facilitating his return to his family, the New People’s Army corrects the serious and long running misconduct and violation of international humanitarian law committed by the 10th Infantry Division pertaining to the recruitment of minors for AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) combat duties. While the AFP, by deliberate and deceitful design, made a combatant out of Juve Latiban and 18 other minors from a single batch of CAFGU in 2008 alone, the NPA made concrete steps to allow him to revert to civilian status,” Sanchez said.

He said Latiban, identified by the military as Job, was recruited in October 2008 by Private First Class Alvin Latiban in Monkayo town in Compostela Valley.

“Together with his batch mates that included 18 other minors, they underwent 45-day training at the 1001st Infantry Brigade headquarters in Tuburan (village) in Mawab town in Compostela Valley,” Sanchez said, quoting from information provided by the arrested militia.

Sanchez said the militia also told the NPA that they were provided fake birth certificates which stated they were already 18 years old when recruited by the military as militias.

Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division, denied the accusations of the New People’s Army which is fighting for decades now for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

USAID, The Asia Foundation Launch Assistance Program For Local Governments In Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines - With support from the United States Agency for International Development, The Asia Foundation will help local governments in Mindanao improve fiscal performance, service delivery, transparency and accountability.

The Foundation will conduct a series of regional orientations in Mindanao to announce the availability of technical assistance for local governance improvement, which will be implemented under the fourth phase of the USAID-supported Transparent Accountable Governance Program.

Many local governments in Mindanao are challenged by limited resources and inadequate governance capacity, which impede the delivery of even the most basic services to citizens.

In some areas of the region, instability hinders economic development. The TAG Program will assist local governments in increasing revenues and managing expenditures, enhancing frontline services, and improving administrative processes to enable them to better serve citizens.

The Foundation will conduct three regional orientations to provide information on program enrolment, the competitive selection process, and the expected results of TAG assistance. The first orientation will be held on July 20 and 21 in Davao City for municipalities in Regions 11 and 12.

The second orientation, in Cagayan de Oro City on July 22 and 23, will cover Regions 9, 10, and CARAGA. A separate orientation for ARMM municipalities will follow in September. Provincial directors of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and representatives of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines will participate as TAG partners.

“We welcome Mindanao mayors to the orientation sessions on our local governance assistance program. The U.S. Government proudly supports local governance and decentralization that brings development closer to the citizens,” said Roger Carlson, Acting Mission Director of USAID.

Dr. Steven Rood, Philippine Country Representative of The Asia Foundation said, “The Foundation is pleased to be able to reach out to local governments throughout Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. We are at the very beginning of a new administration, both at the national and the local levels, so this effort is perfectly timed to maximize the benefits which can be produced in the upcoming term of office of local officials.”

Marine killed in duel with cop in Zamboanga club

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 15, 2010) – A member of the Philippine Marines was killed and a policeman seriously wounded after the two engaged in a duel before dawn Thursday in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.

The policeman had responded to emergency calls that the soldier, Rex Pamittan, was creating trouble inside a night club in the village of Putik.

The soldier was briefly pacified, but later engaged the officer in a heated argument. The soldier then pulled out a pistol tucked in his pants and shot the policeman who managed to return fire.

“It was the Marine who first drew his gun,” a police investigator said.

The soldier was already dead when police forces arrived in the club. They rushed the wounded officer to the hospital. The investigator said they recovered at least a dozen empty shells fired from pistols.

It was unknown how the soldier, clad in a pair of denim pants and shirt, was able to sneak his weapon inside the club which is strictly illegal. (Mindanao Examiner)

Manila to resume peace talks with MILF; names UP dean as chief negotiator

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 15, 2010) – Manila announced Thursday that it would pursue peace talks with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and named a university dean to head the government peace panel.

President Benigno Aquino III has appointed lawyer Marvic Leonen, of the state-run University of the Philippines, to head the peace talks with the MILF. Leonen - who had previously opposed the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain that Manila and the MILF had initially signed in the past - said the negotiations would anchor on the provisions of the Constitution.

Presidential peace adviser Teresita Deles said the talks may resume in the coming months.

But the MILF, which is fighting for self-determination, said it would only resume negotiation if the new Aquino government honors all previous agreements Manila had signed with the rebel group.

“Our stand is clear. The peace talks should continue from where we stopped,” said MILF deputy chief Mohagher Iqbal, who previously headed the Front’s peace panel.

Previous peace talks between the Arroyo government and the MILF ended abruptly in Malaysia – which facilitated the peace talks - early this year without new agreement that would put an end to decades of bloody fighting in the restive region of Mindanao.

Peace negotiators exchanged drafts on the comprehensive compact agreement, but the MILF said Manila had offer nothing new that would lead to a political settlement of the fighting in Mindanao.

Iqbal said Manila was offering the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao instead of what was previously agreed upon in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Former President Gloria Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and the negotiations nearly collapsed seven years later after both sides failed to sign any agreement on the most contentious issue — ancestral domain – which refers to the rebel demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland.

The failed agreement triggered deadly rebel attacks in 2007 in Mindanao after the Supreme Court stopped the formal signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Politicians and lawmakers, many of them wealthy landowners in Mindanao, opposed the ancestral domain deal and filed their petitions to the High Court and asked Manila to make public the rest of the agreement. They claimed the accord was made without public consultations.

The MILF said it will not renegotiate the ancestral domain agreement. "It is already a done deal; we have already initialed the memorandum of agreement on the ancestral domain. We will not revisit or renegotiate the agreement," Iqbal said.

But despite the ancestral domain deal, there is still a need to amend the Constitution to allow plebiscite on areas under the ancestral domain that would make up the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity and give Muslims their own homeland.

Ancestral domain is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement with the Philippine government.

It covers the whole of the Muslim autonomous region – Sulu, Tawi-Tawi-, Basilan, Maguindanao and Lanao, including Marawi City. And some areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Mindanao where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes. And also Palawan Island, off Mindanao.

Last year, Tawi-Tawi Representative Nur Jaafar filed House Bill 4963 proposing to divide the Muslim autonomous region into two – the South Western Autonomous Region and the Central Mindanao Autonomous Region – and that a plebiscite will be held in every village in the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and the cities of Isabela, Pagadian, Dipolog, Dapitan and Zamboanga.

And also in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, Iligan, Kidapawan, General Santos, Koronadal and Tacurong.

Despite the abrupt ending of the peace talks, Malaysia deployed a group of international cease-fire observers in the Mindanao – home to about 4 million Muslims - to monitor the implementation of the truce between the Philippines and the MILF. (Mindanao Examiner)

Nograles’ Defeat Dampens Endorsement of Scholarship Program

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — After former House Speaker Prospero Nograles lost in the last elections, barangay captains supporting him have stopped recruiting scholars for Nograles’ Oplan Kaalam program.

At the University of the Philippines (UP) Mindanao campus alone, the number of Oplan Kaalam scholars went down from 174 in the previous semester to only 123 this year.

Jess Baswuil, barangay (village) captain of 11-A, said he was ashamed to endorse students from his barangay to the Oplan Kaalam scholarship program after Nograles’ defeat.

“Mahiya ako na natalo ang manok ko (I am embarrassed, my candidate lost),” Baswuil said, referring to former House Speaker Nograles who lost to Mayor-elect Sara Duterte in the last elections.

At the UP-Mindanao campus, where the scholarship has been running in the last two years, only 106 old Oplan Kaalam scholars were renewed while five of them already graduated in April this year.

Liza Fulbadora, head of the university’s scholarship affairs, said that 220 students had applied for the scholarship at the start of this semester.

Fulbadora also told Davao Today that former scholars were taken out of the program because they weren’t from the first district, which Nograles represents. Students had told her the program accepted scholars from all three congressional districts in the city in the semester leading to the elections, when the older Nograles ran for mayor.

Bawuil said barangay 11-A used to be considered a “Nograles’ bulwark” but the area did not deliver the votes in the last elections. Of the 2000 voters in his barangay, 900 voted for Duterte and only around 500 voted for Nograles.

Oplan Kaalam, which was funded largely by Nograles’ pork barrel, required prospective scholars to present a barangay official’s endorsement before they were admitted to the program “to confirm the student’s residency.”

Bawuil said he already passed on to the barangay councilors the task of endorsing scholars for Oplan Kaalam in his area. He said Nograles’ office might no longer accept the scholars coming from him.

At UP Mindanao, Oplan Kaalam scholars outnumbered all other scholars in the previous semester.

Oplan Kaalam scholars made up 35 percent of the 500 students with full or partial scholarships in the university. After the tuition fee increase two school years back, each unit at UP Mindanao costs 600 pesos and Oplan Kaalam pays for its scholars’ tuition in full.

At the University of South Eastern Philippines (Usep), where the most number of Oplan Kaalam scholars were enrolled, Susan Villarente, director of the Usep’s Office of Student Services, refused to reveal the number of Nograles scholars. She said the university had to seek clearance from Nograles’ office before giving out this information.

Representative-elect Karlo Nograles, son of the outgoing speaker, said Oplan Kaalam has 1,800 new scholars enrolled at Usep for the first semester of schoolyear 2009-20101. He said the scholarship program was set to spend 25 million for the school year. UP’s Fulbadora added that Oplan Kaalam is the only scholarship program in the university that did not have grade requirements. (CJ Kuizon - Davao Today / Bulatlat.com)


Link: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2010/07/15/nograles%E2%80%99-defeat-dampens-endorsement-of-scholarship-program/

Troops kill leader of gang holding kidnapped son of Philippine poll commissioner

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 14, 2010) – Troops killed the leader of a kidnap gang holding the son of a Philippine elections commissioner in a clash Wednesday in Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said soldiers pursuing the gang caught up with them in the village of Aleem Rayah Karamian in Lanao del Sur’s Masiu town and killed its leader, Dimaporo Dimasacal alias Commander Delta.

Dimasacal’s group is believed holding Nuraldin Yusoph, 22, who was seized outside a mosque on June 20 in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. But there was no report about Yusoph, whose father, Elias Yusoph, is one of seven commissioners of the Commission on Elections.

Troops also recovered Dimasacal’s automatic weapon and there were no reports of military casualties. And details of the operation were not made public because it may jeopardize efforts to rescue Yusoph. It was not immediately known whether Dimasacal’s killing could put the victim’s life in danger.

Dimasacal was also tagged as behind the ambush Tuesday of a group of soldiers in Gata village in Poona Bayabao town, also in Lanao del Sur, killing an infantryman and a civilian.

“The operation is part of the pursuit we launched against Commander Delta after the ambush of troops in Lanao (del Sur) the other day. There is no report about the kidnap victim Nuraldin (Yusoph),” Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Yusoph’s kidnappers had demanded the annulment of recent elections in at least four towns - Malabang, Taraka, Pikong and Masiu - in Lanao del Sur in exchange for the safe release of the hostage, but later asked P25 million for his freedom.

General elections were held in the country on May 10, but some areas in Lanao province had been marred with violence and vote-buying that polls had been postponed and continued only last month. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 mediamen get threats

Two mediamen claimed yesterday that they are receiving death threats through text messages from unknown sources.

Larry Trinidad, reporter of the Radio Mindanao Network, said he received a text message Monday that reads “Tumba ka na sa Sabado. Ikaw Himuon Esample sg media killing (You will be dead by Saturday, you will be an example of the media killing)”.

Trinidad said that, before he received the threat, several text messages were sent to his friend asking him to stop implicating the army in the death of Bayan Muna member Benjamin Bayles, who was gunned down by two assassins in Himamaylan town, Negros Occidental last month.

Trinidad said he believes those who sent text messages to his friends asking him to stop implicating the army in the death of Bayles and those who sent him the death threat are the same persons.

He said he was advised by their program director to report the incident to the police for recording.

Jaime Lim, 41, and the Negros Bureau chief of a regional newspaper, also reported to Police Station 1 yesterday that he got a death threat also through a text message from an unknown sender.

Lim said that he was at their office at Rosario-Jasmin streets at about 4:29 p.m. Monday when he received the text message that reads “Tumba ka na, ikaw himuin sample sa media killing (You will be dead, you will be an example of the media killing)”.

Alarmed over the death threat reports to mediamen in Bacolod, Negros Press Club president Julius Mariveles said he will meet with other officers of the club to discuss the matter.

These mediamen should not take the threats they received for granted and be extra careful, he said. The officers of NPC will have a dialog with the Philippine National Police Saturday on the reported death threats to the two mediamen

Bacolod City Police officer-in-charge Senior Supt. Celestino Guara yesterday emphasized that there is nothing to worry about as mediamen in Bacolod are assured of their safety.

But Guara advised those who have death threats not to be complacent and go home directly after work in order not to give opportunities to those who have bad intentions against them.

Guara last week recommended the arming of mediamen because of the successive killings of their colleagues, especially those who are under threat. He added that although he wants to form a group that would secure mediamen in Bacolod, they lack policemen. (Adrian Nemes III - Daily Star)


Link:http://www.visayandailystar.com/2010/July/14/topstory2.htm