Zamboanga trader abducted at sea

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 17, 2010) – Gunmen seized a local trader Thursday while traveling at sea in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines where security forces are pursuing kidnappers a Filipino-Swiss.

Police said the victim, Vicente Barrios, was abducted by gunmen after he was intercepted at sea. Barrios was with several companions aboard a motorboat when gunmen on a speedboat intercepted them and seized the trader.

“We still don’t know the motive of this incident. We have dispatched forces to locate the victim,” Chief Inspector Ricardo Garcia told reporters.

The abduction occurred a day after police commandos, backed by soldiers killed one of three gunmen tagged as behind the April 4 kidnapping of Charlie Reith, 72, who was rescued early Wednesday in the coastal village of Labuan.

Police said the slain gunman, Habir Ibno Kais, was with two others who managed to escape, but security forces were pursuing them.

Senior Superintendent Edwin de Ocampo, the city police chief, said security forces tracked down the trio in the neighboring village of San Ramon and clashed with them.

“It was part of our operation and Kais was killed in the firefight. There is pursuit operation going on to track down the other kidnappers of Reith,” he said.

De Ocampo did not say whether Moro rebels were involved in the kidnapping, but three photos of Reith’s captors the police previously made public showed one of them was involved in the kidnapping of Irish missioner Michael Sinnott in Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur province in October last year.

Sinnott, 80, was freed two months later in the village of Sangali in Zamboanga City after private negotiators paid huge ransom to the kidnappers, believed to be Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels who originally demanded two million dollars for the priest’s safe release.

Authorities said at least 8 armed men stormed Reith’s beach house in Zamboanga City’s Patalon village and seized him. His friend, German national Karl Reichling, managed to fight off the raiders. The kidnappers later demanded P20 million for Reith’s safe release and at one time threatened to cut off his finger if his family does not pay up.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for Reith’s kidnapping. But the military tagged MILF sub-leader Malista Malanca and Abu Sayyaf commander Khair Mundos as responsible for Reith’s kidnapping. Authorities have linked both groups to previous kidnappings and terrorism in Zamboanga.

Kidnappings-for-ransom in Zamboanga City were not uncommon. Many foreigners and wealthy traders had been kidnapped in the past and released after their family paid ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops, cops rescue 2 kidnapped fishermen in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 16, 2009) – Security forces rescued two abducted fishermen after a firefight Thursday with suspected Moro rebels in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, south of Zamboanga City, the military said.

The two - Ronnie Nabi and Renante Saquien – were rescued in Akbar town after policemen, backed by soldiers stormed the village of Semut and clashed with gunmen, believed to be members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Other reports blamed the abductions to the Abu Sayyaf and pirates.

“The fishermen are okay and they were brought to the Western Mindanao Command (in Zamboanga City) for medical examination and debriefing,” Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman, said.

The fishermen were abducted off Basilan in March after gunmen attacked their trawler and killed three of its crew, said Basilan deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul. “It is good this is over,” he said.

Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the chief of staff of the police in the Muslim autonomous region, said the victims were rescued after security forces tracked down the kidnappers and eventually clashed with them.

“We have finally recovered the fishermen. There were no reports of casualties in the fighting, but the operation is going on to track down the kidnappers,” said.

Attacks on trawlers and fishermen are not uncommon at sea around Basilan because rebel groups such as the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf are actively operating in the province, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City.

In January, Abu Sayyaf gunmen intercepted a small boat carrying state teachers off Zamboanga City and seized the trio and brought them by boat to Basilan and freed in May after private negotiators allegedly paid huge ransoms for their liberty. (Mindanao Examiner)

Melissa Roxas: ‘Talking About What Happened Is Like Going Back to That Dark Place’

Melissa Roxas during the press conference in Los Angeles. (Courtesy: Bulatlat.com and http://www.arkibongbayan.org/2009/2009-06-June02-Melissa/melissaroxas.htm)

MANILA, Philippines — Filipino-American Melissa Roxas finally broke her silence and recounted her ordeal in the hands of the military.

Roxas and her two companions, Juanito Carabeo and John Edward Jandoc, were abducted in the afternoon of May 19 in sitio Bagong Sikat, barangay Kapanikian, La Paz town, in Tarlac, a province just north of Manila.

Roxas was freed after six days, followed by Juanito Carabeo. The family of Jandoc said he had texted them that he was already free but he has not been seen.

Speaking at a press conference in Los Angeles broadcast simultaneously online, Roxas read portions of her affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court. Her counsel filed a petition for writ of amparo before the Supreme Court days after her release. The Court of Appeals is still hearing the petition.

Roxas said her captors repeatedly interrogated and tortured her. She said she was also handcuffed to a bed.

They accused her of being a member of the New People’s Army (NPA) and that they were “instruments of God” whose mission was to bring communist rebels back to the fold of law. “My God does not torture people,” Roxas told them.

“Talking about what happened is like going back to that dark place,” Roxas said. She has been seeking medical treatment for the physical and psychological trauma she suffered.

Roxas, Jandoc and Carabeo were volunteer health workers preparing for a medical mission in Tarlac when they were abducted, according to Bayan in Manila.

Though she has not received threats since she came back to the United States, where she was born, Roxas said she continues to fear for the safety of Carabeo and Jandoc. “I have to live with that fear every day,” she said.

Roxas went back to the US to be reunited with her family there and to seek the treatment for the effects of the abduction and torture.

“I don’t want what happened to me to happen to any one else ever again,” Roxas said.

"Lies"

Reacting to the statement of the government lawyers that the abduction was stage-managed, Roxas said: “No amount of their lies or denials can deny the truth.”

Arnedo Valera, her lawyer in the US, said the Philippine government should be ashamed for their highly irresponsible and immoral remarks about Roxas’s case.

During the first hearing at the Court of Appeals last week, state prosecutors said the abduction was stage-managed by the victim. Earlier, the Philippine Human Rights Commission led by Secretary Eduardo Ermita claimed the incident was a mere fabrication.

“Melissa was tortured. That is a fact,” Valera said, adding that the Philippine government only wants to escape liability for claiming otherwise.

Valera said that instead of lying, the least the Philippine government should have done is to surface the abductors. “They know what they have done to Melissa,” he said.

“Instead of following the rule of law [on the case of Roxas], the rule of the jungle prevails,” the lawyer added.

Valera said they will seek before a US federal court punitive and compensatory damages against Roxas’s identified assailants or the Arroyo government in the absence of named assailants.

They will also file a private complaint before the US Department of State’s Human Rights Desk against the Philippine government for the violation of the fundamental rights of a US citizen. Valera said Melissa will also file complaints before the appropriate United Nations agencies for violations of the International Covenant Against Torture, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Roxas said she will be exercising all of her rights. She said she is willing to pursue the petition she filed in the Philippines even if that means she would have to appear in a Manila court.

Rhoda Ramiro, secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-US chapter said Roxas’s case is not isolated, noting the pattern of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and abductions in the Philippines.

Citing data from human-rights group Karapatan, Ramiro said that from 2001 to March 2009, there have been 1,017 victims of extrajudicial killings, 201 victims of enforced disappearances, 203 victims of abduction and 1,010 victims of torture.

Ramiro said state agents carried out these atrocities as part of the Arroyo administration’s counter-insurgency program Oplan Bantay Laya.

What is more infuriating, Ramiro said, is that the hard-earned taxes they pay to the US government is being used to commit abuses against Melissa and other victims of state-sponsored violence in the Philippines.

The US remains as the top source of military aid for the Philippines, where the US government keeps an undetermined number of troops for so-called military exercises in the south and elsewhere.

Critics have said these exercises have spawned numerous human-rights atrocities. (By Ronalyn V. Olea, Human Rights Watch / Bulatlat.com)


Link: http://www.bulatlat.com/main/2009/06/28/melissa-roxas-talking-about-what-happened-is-like-going-back-to-that-dark-place/

Family Of Abducted Man In South RP Appeals For His Safe Release

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 28, 2008) – Unidentified gunmen abducted a young father in front of his wife and son in the southern Philippine province of Compostela Valley, where communist insurgents are actively operating, police said Sunday.

Police said the armed men seized Jay Larobes at around 11 a.m. Saturday in the village of Mipangi in Nabunturan town. His family said the gunmen dragged the victim and forced him inside a vehicle and sped away.

Larobes was driving his motorcycle with his wife and son when the gunmen blocked their path and snatched him, police said.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction and the victim’s family would not say more about Larobes’ background or whether he is a political activist or not. But his family appealed for his safe release.

Previous disappearances of activists had been largely blamed to the military. (Romy Bwaga)

2 Men Seized In Southern Philippines

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 13, 2007) – Unidentified gunmen seized two people on Thursday in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said.

Officials said the two were driving a jeep in the town of Patikul when gunmen flagged down the vehicle and seized them. The gunmen also took the jeep.

The identities of the two men were not immediately known, but Brig. Gen. Ruperto Pabustan, commander of army Special Forces in Sulu, said the victims are workers of Mayor Munib Estino, of Panglima Estino town.

The motive of the abduction is still unknown, but Estino is an influential politician in Sulu. It was unclear whether the abduction was connected to a feud or not or has anything to do with special elections on Saturday.

“We still do not know the motive of the abduction or who was behind it. Our soldiers are tracking down the perpetrators,” Pabustan told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said a homemade bomb also exploded before dawn Thursday in front of the house of lawyer Vidzfar Julie, regional deputy elections chief, in Indanan town. The attack had killed no one, he said.

Julie was not in the province at the time of the attack.

The bombing came just two days ahead of special village and youth elections in Sulu and seven other provinces in Mindanao. No group or individual claimed responsibility for the bombing, but authorities suspect the blast had something to do with the polls.

The blast was the second in recent week in the province. A bomb was also detonated December 9 in front of the office of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in Sulu’s Patikul town.

Julie, a former poll supervisor in Sulu, is now the chief of the COMELEC in the Muslim autonomous region.

Elections in May failed in some towns in Sulu because of the presence of gunmen and many teachers tapped as poll officers did not report for work due to threats to their lives.

Others refused to work because of non-payments of their salaries since early this year by the Department of Education in the autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner)

AFP At Navy, Hugas Kamay Sa Torture Sa Dinukot Na Pastor!

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 03 Jun) – Katulad ng inaasahan, mariing itinanggi ng Philippine Navy na pinahirapan at binugbog ng intelligence agents nito ang isang pastor ng United Church of Christ of the Philippines na si Berlin Guerrero na pinagbintangan miyembro ng rebeldeng New People’s Army.

Ang mouthpiece ng Armed Forces na si Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro ang mismong nagsabi na base sa inisyal na resulta ng pagsisiyasat ng Navy sa nasabing alegasyon ay hindi umano ginalaw ng mga sundalo ang pastor makaraang arestuhin ito sa bayan ng Binan sa lalawigan ng Laguna.

Ngunit mismong ang Philippine National Police ang nagsabing walang kinalaman ang ahensya sa alegsasyon ng pagpapahirap sa alagad ng Simbahan.

"The Philippine Navy denied subjecting Pastor Guererro to torture," ani Bacarro. Subalit, tiniyak ng opisyal na handa ang AFP na harapin ang anumang alegasyon ng paglabag sa karapatang pantao.

Inamin rin ng pastor na siya’y pinahirapan at pilit na pinaamin na isang lider ng NPA at isinabit rin ng mga awtoridad ito sa pamamaslang.

"If it is found out that there is torture committed or there is a breach committed by members of the Philippine Navy, this will be subject to sanction, administratively and criminally," dagdag ni Bacarro.

Naunang sinabi ng pamilya ng pastor na ito'y dinukot ng mga sundalo. Agad naman ipinasa ng Navy sa pulisya ang pastor matapos na mag-ingay ang UCCP at mga relihiyosong grupo sa ibang bansa ukol sa pagdukot sa biktima. (Juley Reyes)

Kapabayaan, Inamin Ng Armed Forces!

QUEZON CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 22 May) – Aminado ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) na nagkaroon ng kapabayaan sa mga tauhan ng militar para bantayan ang mga nakukumpiskang sasakyan na nasa kanilang kustodiya.

Ito'y may kaugnayan sa nawawalang plaka ng trak na naka-impound sa kampo ng 56th Infantry Battalion ng Philippine Army ngunit natuntong idinikit sa ibang sasakyan na ginamit sa pagdukot sa anak ng dating Malaya publisher Joe Burgos na si Jonas Burgos.

Sinabi nina AFP Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. at Army Chief Lieutenant General Romeo Tolentino na maituturing na administrative lapses ang pagkawala ng nasabing plaka ng sasakyan.

Ngunit hindi naman ito pinaniwalaan ng pamilyang Burgos. Militar ang itinuturong nasa likod ng pagdukot kay Burgos na isang aktibista.

Inamin rin ni Tolentino na hindi lamang sa 56th IB nangyari ang ganitong kapabayaan kundi maging sa iba pang kampo kung kayat nagkaroon na rin ng imbentaryo at naparusahan ang mga pumalpak sa seguridad.

Hindi naman aniya inaasahan ng militar na maaaring magamit sa anumang ilegal na aktibidad ng ibang tao ang mga sasakyang nasa kanilang kustodiya dahil nakakalimutan na nila ito sa paglipas ng panahon.

"Sa ibang units napabayaan, nawawala rin, napabayaan. Pero pinag-i-inventory na namin para as of this date alam na natin wala meron tayong record, kasi mas mahirap kung me ganun na situation saka sabihin na nawala eh hindi tayo paniniwalaan ng tao yan," ani Tolentino.

Bahagi aniya ng parusa sa mga ganitong kapabayaan ay ang babala sa mga kumander na lilitaw sa rekord nito at makakaapekto sa promosyon. (Juley Reyes)

AFP Walang Kinalaman Sa Burgos Case, Aquino Spying: Esperon

MANILA – Mariin ang pagpalag ngayon ni Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. sa pagtatrato sa militar bilang suspek sa pagkawala ng anak ng publisher na si Jonas Burgos.

Kasabay nito ang depensa ni Esperon sa nabigong pagharap nina Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) Chief Major General Delfin Banguit at AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence Commodore Leonardo Calderon sa pagdinig ng Commission on Human Rights (CHR) kanina.

Iginiit ng heneral na maling idiin ang AFP sa naturang insidente gayung kahit na gisahin pa sila ay hindi rin ito makakatulong para mapalutang ang batang Burgos.

"I do not think that is the correct way of putting things, we can certainly help by looking into the matter and probably gather more information, but it would be off tangent to be alleging that the military is the suspect," ani Esperon sa pahayagang Mindanao Examiner.

"I don't think we can contribute to the solution of the problem by being called and grilled and appear, and look like suspects," dagdag nito.

Bukod dito, ikinatwiran ni Esperon na wala ring ipinadalang pormal na imbitasyon ang CHR sa AFP at hindi rin nakipag-ugnayan sa CHR office sa militar.

Naninindigan ang AFP Chief na walang kinalaman ang militar sa nangyari kay Burgos dahil hindi ito ang uri ng operasyon na kanilang isinasakatuparan.

Ibinintang rin sa AFP ang umano’y pange-espiya sa dating Pangulong Corazon Aquino matapos na matagpuan ang isang bugging device sa linya ng telepono nito sa labas lamang ng kanilang bahay sa Quezon City.

Bagamat inamin ni AFP Public Information Office (PIO) Chief Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro na may kapabilidad ang militar na magsagawa ng surveillance operations, hindi nito pag-aaksayahan ng panahon na ilegal na tiktikan ang dating Presidente.

Maaaring kagagawan aniya ng ibang grupo na may sariling interes ang naturang hakbang.

Sinabi ni Bacarro na may basbas o kautusan ng hukuman sakaling magsagawa man ng paniniktik ang AFP.

"Definitely there are court orders allowing us to do that then we will do that, but of course ma-satisfy 'yung requirements, justified kung ano purpose ng paggamit nang ganung capability," ani Bacarro.

Naniniwala si Bacarro na sa kasalukuyang makabagong teknolohiya, simple na lang at madaling isakatuparan ang wiretapping.

"If you get another telephone, attach it to the line, anybody can do it, you can use another telephone as a listening device, it's just parang extension, ganun ang concept nun," ani Bacarro.

Gayunman, walang balak ang AFP na magsagawa ng imbestigasyon hinggil sa nadiskubreng wiretapping device sa mga Aquino.

Inaasahan na rin ng militar na palagiang mapagbintangan ang AFP bilang suspek sa paniniktik.
"Some groups will take advantage of hitting the Armed Forces of the Philippines again, we would be the easiest excuse or the way out definitely merong mga pointing fingers na naman dyan," dagdag ng opisyal. (Juley Reyes)

Rebels Seize Army Soldier In Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Apr) – New People’s Army fighters have seized a government soldier at a rebel checkpoint in the southern Philippines, police said on Tuesday.

Police said the rebels are holding Army Sgt. Albert Balodoya, a detachment commander, in the town of Cateel in Davao Oriental province. The soldier was on his way to the town when seized at the checkpoint in the village of Aliwagwag on Monday.

There was no immediate statement from the Philippine Army about the abduction of the soldier. Police said Balodoya is a member of the 67th Infantry Battalion based in Cateel town.

Balodoya may have mistaken the rebels for government soldiers because they were clad in military uniform, police said.

Security forces were sent to the town to pursue the rebels and rescue the soldier. The fate of the soldier remains unknown.

The NPA, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, is fighting the government for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.

The rebels have previously seized government soldiers and policemen in the country and put them on trial on the so-called people’s court.

Those found guilty are executed, but most of the victims are freed after months of captivity to neutral groups, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross. (Romy Bwaga)

Babae, Tinangay Ng NPA Sa Davao!

DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 03 Mar) - DUMULOG sa pulisya ang isang ina upang humingi ng saklolo matapos umanong tangayin ng mga pinaghihinalaang miyembro ng New People's Army (NPA) ang kanyang 19-anyos na babaeng anak sa distrito ng Toril sa Davao City.

Ayon sa pulisya ay dinukot umano ng mga armado si Maryrose Degamon noong Miyerkoles sa kasagsagan ng operasyon ng militar sa Barangay Tagurano.

Ginamit umanong pananggalang ang babae habang tumatakas ang mga rebelde, salaysay ng inang si Rosalinda Degamon. Tinutukan umano ng baril ng ang rebelde ang mag-ina at saka sapilitang tinangay ang babae, dagdag pa ng pulisya.

Umapela naman ang nagmamaka-awang ina sa mga rebelde na palayain na ang kanyang anak. Hindi naman makunan agad ng pahayag ang NPA o ang tagapagsalita ng rebeldeng grupo sa Davao ukol sa alegasyon.

Kilalang baluarte ng NPA ang ilang liblib na barangay sa Davao City. (Romy Bwaga)