Philippine military accused of political partisan

A photo released Friday by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan to the regional newspaper the Mindanao Examiner shows a Philippine Army soldier lecturing students in Davao City about leftist party list organization.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 9, 2010) – Political activists opposed to President Gloria Arroyo’s rule accused Friday the Philippine military of campaigning against leftists and progressive groups in Mindanao where security forces are battling communist insurgents.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, a party list group linked by the military to the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army rebels, also accused government soldiers of actively campaigning against progressive party list organizations which fielded candidates for the May 10 nationals elections.

It said government soldiers are conducting vilification campaign in Davao City after political activists on Tuesday chanced upon members of the 69th Infantry Battalion campaigning against progressive party list groups at the Philippine College of Technology.

The military also accused Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and other leftist party list organizations of misusing its congressional funds to the point that it cannot even provide even a piece of door for a school in Davao City.

"Dirty propaganda will not succeed for as long as this corrupt government fails in uplifting people’s lives from dire poverty," said John Birondo, a spokesman for the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan.

"These dirty verbal attacks against us will fail to gain people’s sympathy; we will not tolerate these lies sowed by the military because it is pure deception," he said.

Birondo said soldiers urged students not to join or support progressive groups, particularly Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and GABRIELA, a party list group that advocates for women’s issues.

GABRIELA is the acronym of General Assembly Binding Women for Reforms, Integrity, Equality, Leadership, and Action.

"The military accused progressive party lists of corrupting ‘pork barrel’ funds in Congress, a move in direct violation of the election code which prohibits the Armed Forces of the Philippines from partisan politics and partisan campaigning," Birondo said.

Pork barrel refers to the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF amounting to P200 million pesos for each senator and P70 million for each congressman.

The PDAF makes possible the implementation, in every congressional district, of small-scale but significant projects which can not be part of large-scale projects of national agencies. These projects are generally in the form of infrastructure, health, education and social aid packages.

Ariel Casilao, a regional coordinator of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in Mindanao, said: "The military is desperate in preventing us from pushing reforms in the government; it being the mouthpiece of this corrupt and bankrupt government."

Casilao described the military as "mad dogs," and denied accusations that the progressive party lists have misused pork barrel fund. "The military is so frantic because it failed in their counter-insurgency program, the Oplan Bantay Laya and this is the reason why the military establishment is hell-bent in sowing lies and deception against legitimate people’s organizations and progressive party lists," he said.

The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan strongly denied it was misusing pork barrel funds.

It said President Arroyo stopped approving medical, education and infrastructure projects from progressive party list groups, including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, after it pursued impeachment cases against the President in the past in connection to corruption scandals in the government.

"Everybody knows that Malacanang has stopped approving referrals from progressive party list for medical, education, and infrastructure projects since Bayan Muna and the other groups filed for Gloria’s impeachment. What is even worthy is that despite this fact, progressive party list organizations have continued to expand and consolidate its ranks and provide ample services to the vast majority through sheer hard work and principled alliance with other political groups over the last five years," Birondo said.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division on Friday denied it was campaigning against progressive party list groups, including Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and GABRIELA, but admitted embarking on an information drive exposing alleged links of these organizations to the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army which is actively operating in Davao City and other parts of Mindanao.

"The military is not campaigning against progressive party list organizations or other political groups, but we are just continuing our information drive exposing the links of these militant groups to the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army rebels," said Army Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel. "It is up to the public to decide who to vote for in the coming national elections. We are non-partisan."

She said militant groups are fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army based on documents recovered by security forces from captured rebel camps in Mindanao.

The NPA is fighting the past decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. Government peace talks with the rebels collapsed in 2001 after the communist group accused President Arroyo of reneging on several agreements, among them the release of all political prisoners and to put a stop to political killings in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Civilian injured in Davao City landmine blast

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 8, 2009) – A civilian was injured after a roadside bomb intended for government soldiers exploded Tuesday in Davao City in the southern Philippines, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said the explosive was planted by communist rebel group New People’s Army in the village of Suawan in Marilog District.

No soldiers were wounded or killed in the attack, but their jeep was hit by shrapnel. A motorcycle driver, Ronald Sayan, who overtook the jeep was hit, said Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

She said the soldiers were on their way to a meeting with village officials when the NPA under rebel leader Leoncio Pitao detonated the explosive.

“The driver of a civilian motorcycle who overtook the troops was the one injured by the IED blast. No one was injured on the troops, but the KM450 vehicle was hit by shrapnel,” she said.

Manuel said the injured civilian was rushed by soldiers to hospital. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Army says no soldiers killed in Davao clash

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 1, 2009) – The Philippine Army on Tuesday denied reports by communist rebels that four soldiers were killed in an ambush in Davao City in Mindanao.

Leoncio Pitao, leader of the New People’s Army 1st Pulang Bagani Company, said four government soldiers were killed and six more wounded in the rebel attack on Sunday in the village of Dalagdag in Calinan district.

But the Army’s 10th Infantry Division said the fighting only wounded three soldiers and left a still undetermined number of rebels dead or wounded.

“We have no soldiers killed in the clash, but three are wounded in the fighting. We also inflicted casualties on the group of dissident-terrorist leader Leoncio Pitao,” Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, an army spokeswoman, told the Mindanao Examiner.

“In their haste to disengage with the more superior government troops, the rebels left behind their personal belongings, food items and other supplies as they fled towards northeast direction,” she said.

Pitao said rebel forces also seized a machine gun from the soldiers belonging to the Army’s 69th Infantry Battalion. This was also denied by Manuel.

“This recent NPA military offensive against the newly augmented 69th Infantry Battalion and the 10th Infantry Division fascists is a punitive action for the serious violations to human rights and international humanitarian law perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines against civilians in Davao hinterlands and provinces in Southern Mindanao,” said Pitao, who heads the NPA’s 1st Pulang Bagani Company.

He said the NPA continues to inflict heavy casualties on the military, despite the massive deployment of troops and militarization in the provinces.

“That the 10th Infantry Division-Armed Forces of the Philippines troops suffered heavy blows versus the people's army, despite the increasing number of its soldiers, nakedly shows the failure of the counter-revolutionary Oplan Bantay Laya II. It has utterly failed to stem the tide of the growing revolutionary movement in the face of intensive and extensive NPA tactical offensives in the region and elsewhere in the country,” Pitao said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

Manuel said the locals are supporting the military operations against the NPA. “Sooner or later, Pitao will be captured and he shall pay for all his crimes against the people. They should surrender peacefully,” she said.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which has been waging a secessionist war the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. Peace talks collapsed in 2004 after rebel leaders accused the Arroyo government of reneging on a deal, among others, that will free political detainees and stop extrajudicial killings of activists in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebels raid budget hotel in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 19, 2009) – Philippine communist rebels raided a budget hotel and restaurant and seized weapons allegedly being by its owners to threaten peasants in the southern province of Bukidnon.

Isabel Santiago, a spokeswoman for the New People’s Army Herminio Alfonso Command, said rebel forces also ambushed pursuing soldiers and policemen in the village of Kipolot in Kitaotao town, but there were no reports of government casualties.

She said the rebels raided the Travelers Inn and Restaurant on Monday as a punishment for its owner, the Nietes family, for allegedly threatening peasants in the village.

“The Nietes family was disarmed as punishment for keeping high-powered firearms they used to threaten peasant civilians,” Santiago said.

“Violations of regulations on business operations inside guerrilla territories were the reasons for the punitive action on the Nietes establishment. The action was undertaken mainly to confiscate firearms, of which, one Uzi machine pistol was seized,” she added.

But the Army’s 10th Infantry Division said rebels raided the inn and robbed its owners of more than P20, 000 in cash and a pistol.

Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, an army spokesperson, said the rebels also took a civilian hostage who was later freed. “These people are terrorists who would take advantage of the weak. Troops are tracking down the NPA terrorists,” she said.

The NPA denied Manuel’s accusations and said rebels did not take any money. “As a matter of policy, the NPA do not take cash from punished targets. The allegations of are all lies,” Santiago said.

Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, condemned the raid. “The evil tactics employed by these terrorists show their inhuman and ungodly motives. The use of improvised explosive device as landmine and the use of civilians as human shields are clear violations of International Humanitarian law and against every conceivable moral standard worldwide. More so, robbing a fast food is pure felony.”

“We can clearly see that these local terrorists do not have any ideology at all. They are plain criminals who fester on the weak and take advantage of issues to advance their selfish motives,” he said.

He said the rebels last week also held hostage four civilians, including an 11 year-old girl, and used them as shield against government troops before they ransacked a military detachment in the village of Napungas in Davao Del Norte’s Asuncion town.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which is currently negotiating peace with Manila. The rebels have been fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops recover army, police uniforms used by rebels in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 17, 2009) – Government troops have recovered military and police uniforms believed used by communist rebels in their operations in the southern Philippines, officials said on Monday.

Officials said soldiers recovered two dozen pairs of camouflage and police uniforms, three pair of combat boots and a megaphone in the village of Casoon in Compostela Valley’s Monkayo town over the weekend.

Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the 10th Infantry Division, said villages tipped off the military about the uniforms left by New People’s Army rebels.

She said rebels often use army and police uniform to disguise themselves and raid military and police posts in the southern Philippines.

“They use these military and police uniform to disguise them selves as soldiers and policemen and to be able to conduct terrorist activities,” Manuel told the Mindanao Examiner.

She said troops were sent to the town to track down rebel forces, blamed for the spate of attacks in the province in recent months.

The NPA is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Geo Solmerano)

NPA rebels own up raid in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 11, 2009) – Philippine communist rebels on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a raid at a military post in Davao del Norte province in Mindanao.

The New People’s Army said the raiders seized 15 automatic rifles during the raid at the military post on Sunday in the village of Napundas in Asuncion town. It also denied military reports that rebels held hostage four people, including a girl and a government soldier and used them as shield from pursuing troops.

“Nothing is farther from the truth than the worn-out black propaganda of the Armed Forces of the Philippines on this matter. No civilian was used as a shield before, during, and after the swift NPA raid that all took five minutes to complete.”

“No harm of any sort was done to the enemy personnel because they did not offer any armed resistance; this is an affirmation of the NPA’s commitment in upholding its internal rules of discipline and the international rules of war,” said Marcella Valiente, a spokesperson for the NPA’s Armando Dumandan Command.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division said the rebels used the hostages to shield them from government forces.

“The rebels held two village officials, a child, and a government soldier and used them as shield against pursuing troops,” said Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

She said the rebels later freed all the hostages unharmed.

“As the 10th Infantry Division is mired in confusion and desperation, the People’s Army is right on track in forming new and additional platoons of Red fighters, armed by firearms confiscated from the enemy,” said Valiente.

It was unknown why soldiers deployed in the village failed to prevent the raid, but Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, the army division commander, has ordered an investigation into the attack.

Mapagu said that a board of inquiry to be led by the Division Inspector General has been tasked to conduct the investigation.

“This is to determine the background and the cause of the incident, lapses committed by our troops, probable violations of standard operating procedures and to come up with recommendations in order to avoid future occurrence of this sort, specifically to protect noncombatants in such cases without bowing to the terrorists’ demands.” Mapagu said.

The raid came ahead of the resumption of peace talks between rebels and government negotiators in October in Norway. Peace talks collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign a deal that would put an en to more than four decades of bloody fighting in the country. Despite the talks, Manila and the NPA have no cease-fire agreement.

The rebels are fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Security forces capture bomber in southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 30, 2009) – Security forces captured Thursday a suspected bomber tagged as behind the spate of attacks in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said Mohammad Jaafar Maguid was captured after soldiers and policemen raided his hideout in the village of Daliao in Sarangani’s Maasim town at around 1 p.m.

“The arrested terrorist is a member of the lawless MILF group and is reportedly the mastermind of the blast in Maasim a month ago that killed one civilian and wounded 32 others,” said Captain Rose Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

“Maguid is also being tagged as one of those who carried out the series of bombings in Maasim, Kiamba and Maitum towns that killed several civilians and wounded many others,” she added.

She said Maguid is also facing charges of murder, arson and robbery in the province.

Manuel said troops seized from Maguid one anti-tank rocket launcher, an M79 grenade launcher, a carbine rifle and magazine, a rocket-propelled grenade, a fragmentation grenade and a pair of binoculars, including materials and black powder used for the manufacture of improvised explosive devices.

She said security forces also recovered a cell phone which could be used as detonator to trigger explosion of homemade bombs, two cell phone charges, a radio transceiver and two pieces of 9-volt batteries.

Lieutenant Colonel Edgardo de Leon, who led the raid, said Maguid was a follower of wanted MILF leader Ameril Kato, who was behind a deadly attack in the province last year.

“With his arrest, the province would have relative peace and his victims will finally get justice,” he said.

Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, a regional army commander, praised the capture of Maguid and he appealed to citizens to help authorities fight terrorism by providing intelligence about lawless elements.

“The crusade against terrorism does not end here. We must unite as one nation and fight all threats to our national development. We call on our people, Muslims, Lumads (indigenous peoples) and Christians alike to join hands in making our community a safe place to live.”

“There is no better way to fight terrorism than understanding and communicating peacefully with each other. Together, let us create an atmosphere of mutual respect and sympathy so that we may journey towards lasting peace in our country,” Mapagu said.

There was no immediate statement from the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting the past three decades for self-determination. Manila has reopened peace talks with the MILF in an effort to end the bloody hostilities in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Army says 152 rebels surrender in Mindanao

A photo released by the Philippine Army shows Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the 10th Infantry Division in Mindanao, hands over cheques to New People's Army rebels who surrendered Tuesday, July 28, 2009 to the military after a series of negotiations. The army says a total of 152 NPA rebels have surrendered the past six months in southern Mindanao region. (Mindanao Examiner)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 29, 2009) – Some 152 communist rebels have surrendered to the military in the southern Philippines the past six months after a series of negotiations, officials said Wednesday.

Army Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the 10th Infantry Division, said the rebels, who were members of the New People’s Army, had also surrendered 32 assorted weapons, mostly rifles, and were provided livelihood aid as part of the government’s amnesty program.

“The former rebels who availed the government’s Social Integration Program ensures them of livelihood benefits that aims to help them return into the mainstream of the society and live with their families,” Manuel told the Mindanao Examiner.

Under the program, NPA rebels who surrender to the government will receive P20,000 each on top of P50,000 paid for their M16 rifle. Rebels are also given livelihood skills training and aid worth P50,000 for them to start their own business.

Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, aA regional army commander, urged rebels to surrender peacefully and avail of the government offer of amnesty for them to start a new life.

“We are moving forward towards peace and progress. This is the first step to the healing process and I am sure we are getting closer to achieving our goal of getting our brothers back into the folds of the law so that as one nation, we can jointly step forward to development.”

“We call on our brothers still on the mountains to go back into the folds of the law and give peace a chance. Our government is sincere in reaching out to them and we are waiting to give them the care and necessary help they need in order for them to enjoy a peaceful life with their families. We are all Filipinos and the only way for us to gain progress is to have lasting peace,” Mapagu said.

But Fidel Agcaoli, chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, has branded the Social Integration Program as a money-making scheme for corrupt military commanders.

“The so-called Social Integration Program is nothing but a money-making scheme for Armed Forces of the Philippines field commanders to buy their loyalty to the Gloria Arroyo regime and project through press releases the image of making strides in the regime's much vaunted objective of wiping out or rendering irrelevant the New People's Army by 2010,” Agcaoili said.

“These rebel returnees are actually local AFP agents and assets or civilians forcibly conscripted and coerced by the AFP to take part in elaborate surrender ceremonies and SIP graduation rites presided over sometimes by the fake president herself,” he added.

Agcaoili said the government allegedly spent P18.8 million last year for the bogus program. “In truth, the fake surrenderors retain only a little amount of that money while the huge chunk of the bounty goes to the pocket of field commanders and AFP officials," Agcaoili said.

The army spokeswoman denied Agcaoili’s accusation and branded them as propaganda to cover the truth about the surrender of many rebels to the government.

“There are a lot of process and safety measures in the granting of livelihood aid and assistance to the rebels who surrender to the military. We make sure that those who surrender are genuine members of the New People’s Army. All the funding released by the government for the Social Integration Program undergoes strict and regular audit procedures,” Manuel said.

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines is the political wing of the New People’s Army and the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines. The rebels have been fighting the past for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 soldiers killed, 6 others wounded in rebel ambush in Davao City

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 27, 2009) – Communist rebels ambushed a group of government soldiers on Monday and, killing two of them and wounding six more in Davao City in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the rebels detonated a landmine as the soldiers were passing by the village of Lumiad in Paquibato district, a known stronghold of the New People’s Army.

Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, said the soldiers were members of the 5th Scout Ranger Company who exhumed the remains of a rebel executed by the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command under Leoncio Pitao.

“The cadaver was exhumed so we can give it a proper and descent burial on the request of the slain rebel’s family,” she said.

The ambush coincided with the President Gloria Arroyo’s State of the Nation Address and ahead of a schedule peace talks next month. The NPA, the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.

The NPA said it would intensify attacks against government and military targets despite the resumption of the peace talks. Manila has no cease-fire agreement with the rebels. (Mindanao Examiner)

5 killed in rebel attacks in southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 24, 2009) – Five people were killed in separate rebel attacks in the volatile region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, officials said Friday.

Officials said suspected Abu Sayyaf gunmen killed three people, including a baby, in an ambush Thursday at a remote village in the town of Ungkaya Pukan in Basilan province.

The victims, all Muslims, were heading home on a motorcycle when gunmen opened fire.

The motive of the ambush was unknown, but police and military authorities have tagged the Abu Sayyaf in a string of attacks on civilians and soldiers in the troubled province, several nautical miles south of Zamboanga.

Officials said New People’s Army rebels also ambushed a former village chieftain and a pro-government militia on Thursday in the village of Marilog in Davao City. The attack also left another militia wounded.

Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, an army spokeswoman, said the Maoist rebels sprayed the trio with automatic gunfire. “The three men were on their way home when the NPA ambushed them,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

Prior to the ambush, rebels also killed two village leaders and two government soldiers in Compostela Valley’s Monkayo town, Manuel said.

The NPA is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. Manila said it would resume peace talks with the rebels next month. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 soldiers, village chieftain killed in rebel ambush in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 22, 2009) – Communist rebels killed 2 government soldiers and a village chieftain in ambush Wednesday in Compostela Valley province in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the attack occurred at around 10.30 a.m. in the village of Banlag in Monkayo town. The trio was on a motorcycle on their way to a meeting with other village leaders when New People’s Army rebels attacked them, said Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

“The soldiers and the local chieftain were about to meet other village officials in relation to the development projects to be done in the said place when the incident happened,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

She identified the slain soldiers as Sergeant Wendell Salva and Corporal Pancrasio Catubig while the village chieftain as Juan Bacharo.

Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, a regional army commander, branded the attack as treacherous and said the soldiers were on a mission of peace.

“We cannot tolerate these kinds of individuals who victimize the civilians and taking our country hostage by destroying development projects and killing innocent lives who are trying to uplift the living of the people in the countryside.”

“They do not distinguish between armed and unarmed individuals. They repeatedly violated the Principles of Human Rights and the International Humanitarian Law.” Mapagu said.

The attack came after Manila and the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines announced the resumption of the stalled peace talks this year. The rebels have been fighting for the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebels open fire on Philippine military chopper

Philippine Air Force MG520 helicopter. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 20, 2009) – Communist rebels opened fire on a Philippine Air Force chopper transporting combat supplies to troops in Mindanao, officials said on Monday.

Officials said New People’s Army rebels sniped the MG520 chopper on Sunday as it was delivering supplies to soldiers in the village of Sinapulan in Sultan Kudarat’s Colombio town, where security forces earlier overrun an enemy encampment.

“NPA snipers targeted the chopper, but luckily it was not hit and the MG520 returned fire and we still don’t know if there were enemies killed in the counterattack,” said Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

She said troops on Tuesday were pursuing the rebels in the town after capturing the NPA encampment. She said government soldiers recovered high-powered firearms and improvised explosives left by retreating rebels.

One soldier, Private First Class Rolan Salibio, was wounded during the raid on the rebel camp, Manuel said.

Fighting between military and rebel forces still continue despite a recent pronouncement by government and communist leaders about the resumption of the collapsed peace talks next month.

Peace talks collapsed in 2004 after rebel leaders accused Manila of reneging on an agreement that would free all political prisoners and stop extrajudicial killings of political activists in the country, among others.

The NPA is fighting for the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels ambush army truck in South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 12, 2009) – Communist rebels ambushed an army truck ahead of ahead of a scheduled peace talks and killed a soldier and wounded three more in the southern Philippine province of Davao Oriental, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said some 30 New People’s Army rebels opened fire on the government soldiers after a roadside bombing in the village of Pintatagan in the town of Banay-Banay.

The attack occurred on Saturday afternoon hours after rebels also toppled three electrical poles in the village, said Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

“One soldier was killed and three others were wounded in the ambush,” she told the Mindanao Examiner. She said the truck was transporting more than a dozen soldiers.

She said the soldiers, members of the 2nd Light Armor Brigade, were on their way to secure government projects in the town when the rebels ambushed their truck.

“The troops were supposed to replace the personnel tasked to secure the construction of government projects when a pressurized landmine hit their vehicle,” Manuel said.

Troops, who were sent to rescue the soldiers, also clashed with the ambushers and the fighting lasted more than 20 minutes. She said the rebels briefly seized an undetermined number of civilians in the neighboring village of Puntalinao and used them as shield against pursuing soldiers.

Manuel said Colonel Romeo Calizo, commander of Army’s 1001st Infantry Brigade, has ordered troops to track down the rebels. “The rebels cannot face the soldiers squarely. They inhumanely used the civilians as shields for their escape and this is a gross disrespect to Human Rights and a violation of the International Humanitarian Law,” she said, quoting Calizo.

“Likewise, the Philippines is a signatory to the Ottawa Convention banning the use of landmines and under the United Nations’ Law on Armed Conflict, the uses of landmines are banned under article 809,” Calizo added.

Manila said it would resume stalled peace talks with communist rebels next month after negotiations collapsed in 2004. The NPA is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 army officers killed in rebel attacks in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 15, 2009) – Communist rebels killed an army officer and wounded an infantryman in a clash Monday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the soldiers encountered members of the New People’s Army in Davao del Norte’s Talaingod town and a firefight ensued. “One of our officers was killed and a foot soldier wounded in the fighting,” said Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

She said the clash erupted in the village of Dagohoy. It was not immediately known if there were enemies killed in the fighting, but it was the second time that NPA rebels attacked and killed an army officer in a span of 24 hours.

On Sunday, communist rebels set off an improvised explosive, killing an army officer and wounding three other soldiers in the village of Bantwan in Davao Oriental’s Baganga town where troops were tracking down NPA fighters.

“The soldiers stepped on a claymore mine while responding from calls by residents that NPA rebels were in the area. One of our officers was killed and three others were wounded,” Manuel said.

Manuel did not release the ranks and names of the soldiers, but other military sources said the slain officer was deployed with the 67th Infantry Battalion. The wounded soldiers were identified as Private First Class Marvin Parreno, Paul John Fornis and Private Jerry Lagayan.

Manuel has tagged rebel commanders Dominiciano Moya, Floro Mamaumbong and Samay as behind the attack.

Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, a regional army commander, said security forces were pursuing the NPA forces responsible in the two attacks. “The incidents did not affect the morale of the operating troops, but more they became aggressive and committed to punish the perpetrators,” he said.

The NPA broke off peace talks with Manila in 2004 after both sides failed to sign a deal that would put an end to more than four decades of insurgency in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops occupy NPA camp in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 2, 2009) – Government forces have occupied a mountain encampment of the communist New People’s Army rebels after a firefight Tuesday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said civilians provided intelligence that led to the capture of the rebel camp in the village of Napnapan in Compostela Valley’s Pantukan town.

Army rangers swooped down on the base and engaged the rebels in a running gun battle, said Captain Rose Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

She said a still undetermined number of rebels were either killed or wounded in the fighting and none of the military side.

“We have recovered one M14 and three more M16 rifles in the camp,” she told the Mindanao Examiner. “The combat operation was in response to the presence of NPA rebels in the area who were extorting money from poor and hapless villagers, including business industries. The operation is still going on.”

The capture of the camp came three days after the NPA raided a mining firm in the village of Masara on Maco town. The rebels seized five automatic rifles from policemen guarding the Apex Mining Corporation.

Prior to the raid, rebels also ambushed a police patrol and killed seven people, said Rigoberto Sanchez, an NPA spokesman.

Last week, NPA fighters also executed a government soldier - Staff Sergeant Rolen Maglangit, of the 36th Infantry Battalion - they captured in Compostela Valley. They also killed a former army soldier, Dante Villa, in Davao del Sur province.

Officials also accused the NPA of killing innocent civilians on mere suspicion of aiding the military in its anti-insurgency campaign. The NPA has recently executed a sister of a top rebel commander after she was discovered working as a spy for the military in Mindanao. It said Evelyn Pitao was killed after she was found guilty by its own court.

The woman was the sister of NPA leader Leoncio Pitao. She and her husband, Roberto Dadula, were killed last week inside their house in Santo Tomas town in Davao del Norte province.

Sanchez said Pitao’s sister was behind the Killing of her brother Danilo Pitao in Tagum City on June 2008 and the arrest of her own husband, Ka Emong, an NPA rebel, in Panabo City on January this year. She was also implicated in the arrest of Leoncio Pitao, alias Kumander Parago, on November 1999.

Pitao was eventually released from jail and returned to fight the government.

Colonel Daniel Lucero, commander of the Army’s Civil-Military Group, said the recent admission of the NPA in the killing of Pitao’s sister is reminiscent of the “Operasyon Kampanyang Ahos” undertaken by the rebels in Mindanao to cleanse its ranks of alleged military infiltrators.

”Evelyn used to be a party member of Guerilla Front 3 of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee. Paranoia over suspected infiltrators and military spies in their ranks led to the purging operation in the 1980’s early part of 1990's. Until now, those CPP-NPA-NDF perpetrators of these killings remain unpunished. The families, friends and relatives of the victims of these purging operations up to the moment are still seeking for justice,” he said.

“With this admission of the CPP-NPA-NDF on the killing of Evelyn Pitao, we are calling the attention of the KARAPATAN to denounce such unjust and ruthless act of the CPP-NPA-NDF. Indeed, it is indisputable that Evelyn Pitao’s case is in the realm of KARAPATAN’s advocacy. Evelyn Pitao, though a member of the CPP-NPA-NDF, had basic right to life, humane treatment, and due process.”

Lucero was referring to the human rights group KARAPATAN which has accused the military of violating the rights of civilians in Mindanao.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a secessionist war in the country. Peace talks between Manila and the CPP-NPA collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign an agreement to end more than four decades of bloody fighting. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels attack army post in Davao City

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 1, 2009) – A government soldier was killed and another injured after communist rebels attacked before dawn Monday a military post in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said at least 8 New People’s Army rebels were involved in the attack that occurred at around 1 a.m. in the village of Catigan in Davao City’s Toril District.

“Two soldiers were wounded, but one of them died before reaching the hospital. We still don’t know if there enemies killed, but there is a pursuit operation going on to track down the NPA attackers,” Captain Rose Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

She said the soldiers were deployed in Toril following reports from villagers that NPA rebels were frequently spotted in the area.

“Field reports revealed that the NPA rebels are consistently seen in Toril area and exerting efforts to redeem their lost mass base. The organization of Barangay Defense System is pioneer in Toril District and it has been effective in solving peace and order problems,” Manuel said.

The Barangay Defense System is part of the military’s counter-insurgency program and is dubbed as the Integrated Area Community Public Safety Plan to monitor the movements of rebel groups. Many members of the Barangay Defense System are former rebels themselves.

But human rights groups accused the military of using the Barangay Defense System to harass civilians and forced them to give information about the rebels. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels execute captured army soldier in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 23, 2009) – Communist rebels fighting for a separate Maoist state in the Philippines have executed a government soldier they captured in the restive region of Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said the body of Staff Sergeant Rolen Maglangit, of the 36th Infantry Battalion, was recovered at around 6.30 p.m. on Saturday, a day after he was seized by New People’s Army rebels in Compostela Valley province.

Two policemen who were also reported taken by the rebels in the town of Monkayo town had been accounted for, said Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the 10th Infantry Division.

“The abducted soldier is dead,” she told the Mindanao Examiner.

Maglangit was seized by the NPA after he tried to aid villagers being harassed by rebels in the village of Pasian.

“The commotion reached the attention of Maglangit, who was in the area procuring supplies. Maglangit, on civilian attire and unarmed, rushed to the scene to verify the disturbance.”

“He was able to relay the report to his unit when he confirmed the presence of undetermined number of NPAs harassing the civilians. While leaving the area, another group of NPAs suddenly held Maglangit and eventually kidnapped him,” the army spokeswoman said.

Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the army division, the soldier was brutally killed. His body bore torture marks and several gunshot wounds.

“The brutal murder of Staff Sergeant Rolen Maglangit perpetuated by the NPA last May 22 is enough wake up call for the Mindanaoans to unite and a put to stop their killing spree.”

“They have switched to a mode wherein they are willing to violate human rights and put justice into their own hands,” Mapagu said in a statement.

“We believe that he was murdered immediately after his kidnapping. I am sure that Sergeant Maglangit was not even sentenced by their kangaroo court. He was a brave soldier. He was going around his area of work, checking on the reported harassment of civilians by the NPA, when he was kidnapped,” Mapagu said.

The NPA said the soldier was killed during his attempted escape.

“Consistent with the Standard Operating Procedures pertaining to enemy combatants arrested or captured by NPA units, Sgt. Maglangit was to be subjected to an investigation for possible violations of human rights, other violations of international humanitarian law and crimes against the people particularly owing to the notorious record of the 36th Infantry Battalion versus the masses in the tri-boundaries of Agusan del Sur, Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley provinces.”

“But after being informed of the investigation he needed to undergo and despite repeated warnings from his captors not to run in the course of their trek, Sgt. Maglangit showed clear signs of resistance and eventually tried to escape. He was able to run a distance, but was hit by a burst of gunfire from the pursuing NPA troops. His corpse was left behind so as to be easily discovered by residents for proper disposition,” said Rigoberto Sanchez, a rebel spokesman.

The abduction of Maglangit came barely two weeks after rebels freed a captured government soldier – Private First Class Ronnie Trinidad - in Compostela Valley. The NPA said it freed the soldier on humanitarian grounds.

Rebels captured Trinidad, who belongs to the 66th Infantry Battalion, on April 28 at a checkpoint in the village of Pagsabangan in New Bataan town. Trinidad was seized while on his way to barracks with another soldier, Corporal Japhet Lavid, who had escaped from rebels.

Last week, communist rebels also executed a former army soldier, Dante Villa, they seized May 9 in Davao del Sur province, also in Mindanao. His body was recovered in the village of Dongan Pekong in Matanao town.

Early this month, NPA rebels admitted killing four civilians - Ruben Bitang, Macky Estremos, Marcelino Payot and Bobong Gambuta - they accused of aiding the military in its anti-insurgency campaign. The rebels also tagged the four men as behind the brutal murder of Rebelyn Bitang, a daughter of a senior NPA leader Leoncio Pitao.

Pitao’s daughter 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 woman’s body bore torture marks and was believed raped.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a secessionist war in the country. Peace talks between Manila and the CPP-NPA collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign an agreement to end more than four decades of bloody fighting. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels seize 2 cops, soldier in southern Philippines; army commander wounded in clash

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 22, 2009) – An army commander was injured after his unit clashed Friday with communist rebels who seized two police officers and soldier in Compostela Valley province in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said Colonel Roberto Ancan, commander of 25th Infantry Battalion, was shot by New People’s Army rebels as his unit tried to rescue the police officers in Monkayo town.

“Colonel Ancan is wounded in the fighting and was rushed to the hospital. He was shot in the shoulder. He is okay. Pursuit operation is going on,” Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

She said the rebels seized the police officers and soldier on a village called Pasian.

“There two police officers were abducted at a rebel checkpoint in Pasian and we are still awaiting more details about the abduction of our soldier, but he is now being held by the NPA,” Manuel said.
Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, the division commander, has ordered troops to pursue the rebels.

“The NPAs are certainly demoralized and defeated that is why they have to resort to kidnapping and eventually use their victims as shield and project the image of a Good Samaritan,” he said.

The news of abduction came barely two weeks after rebels freed a captured government soldier in Compostela Valley, where security forces are battling the NPA.

The NPA said it freed the soldier, Private First Class Ronnie Trinidad, on humanitarian grounds. Rebels captured Trinidad, who belongs to the 66th Infantry Battalion, on April 28 at a checkpoint in the village of Pagsabangan in New Bataan town.

Trinidad was seized while on his way to barracks with another soldier, Corporal Japhet Lavid, who had escaped from rebels.

The NPA said it released after the soldier’s family and other groups appealed for his liberty.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging a secessionist war in the country. Peace talks between Manila and the CPP-NPA collapsed in 2004 after both sides failed to sign an agreement to end more than four decades of bloody fighting. (Mindanao Examiner)

Search continues for missing landslide victims in southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 19, 2009) – At least 45 people were dead and missing following a landslide at a gold rush site in the southern Philippine province of Compostela Valley, security officials said on Tuesday.

Officials said army soldiers and government militias were sent to help in the search for more than a dozen people reported missing since Monday’s landslide in the village of Napnapan in Pantukan town.

“Heavy rains loosened mud and boulders and the landslide killed at least 26 people and 19 others are still missing. We are searching for them,” Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Manuel said at least 16 more were injured in the landslide. More than two dozen houses were either buried or destroyed by the landslide, she said.

She said Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, ordered more troops in the area to help in the search and rescue operation.

“Soldiers from the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion are helping rescuers in the area. Government militias are also helping search for those missing,” she said.

Philippine troops were deployed on a remote mountain town in Mindanao to help in search and rescue operation after a landslide buried small houses, officials said Saturday.

Late last year, at least a dozen people, among them children, were also killed in landslides in Monkayo and Maco towns, both gold rush areas in Compostela Valley.

Army soldiers were also sent in the province in the past to help rescuers search for landslide survivors. Many small scale miners put up thatched houses from near where they are digging for gold.

Authorities have previously banned miners from putting up houses and structures on mountain slopes because of the dangers posed by mudslides. Squatters have mushroomed in the area over the years despite similar incidents in the past. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops try to stop solidarity mission in Mindanao, says human rights group

Photo released by the Exodus for Justice and Peace show army soldiers and policemen speak to representatives of the International Solidarity Mission and Exodus of Justice and Peace on Saturday, May 16, 2009 in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao where they held a dialogue on human rights and medical mission for poor villagers. The ISM and EJP say the soldiers tried, but failed to stop them from their solidarity mission, an accusation denied by the military. (Mindanao Examiner)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 16, 2009) – Government troops battling communist rebels in the southern Philippines have tried, but failed to stop a human rights and medical mission in Compostela Valley province.

Soldiers allegedly told the International Solidarity Mission and the Exodus for Justice and Peace to leave the province after they failed to coordinate their activity with the military.

The two groups also held a medical mission Friday and Saturday in the town of Monkayo where they held a dialogue on human rights. The International Solidarity Mission (ISM) was composed of foreign and national delegates led by Rep. Rafael Mariano.

“At around 5 p.m. Friday, eight members of the 28th Infantry Battalion arrived and asked the group to leave and insisting that we failed to coordinate with the military. Rep. Mariano and the EJP talked with the soldiers and an hour later they left. The same group of soldiers again arrived 12 noon today,” the organizers said in a statement.

The ISM has been conducting a dialogue in Mindanao as part of its mission dubbed as “A Journey of Solidarity in Defense of the People Resisting Oppression in Southern Mindanao.”

The group has been visiting areas of armed conflict to probe the effects of the government's counter-insurgency campaign among the locals and the rampant violations by the military of their human rights, especially in Compostela Valley, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato and North Cotabato provinces.

But an army commander, Col. Robert Ancan, denied the allegations and said soldiers and policemen were only guarding the area from lawless elements. “The soldiers were members of the 25th Infantry Battalion deployed to protect the civilians and the solidarity mission from possible attacks or harassment by rebels,” Ancan told the Mindanao Examiner.

A village chief, Franco Tito, said he was unaware of the report and the ISM and EJP have not told him anything about the soldiers. He said the soldiers were deployed to secure the area.

“The dialogue and the medical mission were successful. Soldiers and those from the ISM and EJP even posed for posterity pictures with us. I did not notice anything unusual and the outcome of the solidarity mission was successful.”

“We thanked the military for securing the area and we thanked also the ISM and EJP for the medical mission – five hundred people were given free medical attention and medicines,” Tito said in a separate interview.

Capt. Rosa Maria Crsitina Manuel, a regional army spokeswoman, said they did not interfere with the activity of the ISM and EJP. “We are not interfering with the activities of the ISM and EJP,” she said.

Compostela Valley is a known stronghold of the New People’s Army which has been fighting four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)