Comval gidayeg sa NEDA tungod sa nagapadayong tradition of excellence

DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Hulyo 28, 2010) - Laing pagdayeg na usab karon ang naangkon sa Compostela Valley province tungod kay namentenar niini ang iyang tradition of excellence nga, basta iya sa Comval seguradong pulido, malampuson, ug taas ang kalidad.

Di pa dugay gipasidunggan na usab ang kagamhanang lokal sa Comval sa mga dagkong opisyal sa National Economic Development Authority, tungod kay giila sa mga ADB Consultants nga sila si Dr. Art Corpuz ug Dr. Norman Ramos, nga "more exceptionally well-crafted" ang bag-o nahumang Provincial Development Investment Program sa Compostela Valley.

Mismong si NEDA Regional Director Maria Lourdes Lim sa NEDA Regional Office XI, ang mipadangat sa iyang dakong pagdayeg ngadto kang Gov. Arturo Uy ug sa Provincial PDIP Committee nga gipanguluhan ni Romeo Celeste ang OIC Provincial Planning and Development Officer sa lalawigan.

Kini tungod sa nagapadayong excellent performance nga ilang nahimo, labi na diha sa Development Planning kalabot sa pagdumala (Governance) sa Local Government Units.

Matud ni Lim nga sila usab napasidunggan sa mga experto sa Physical Planning tungod sa maayong performance sa pipila ka mga probinsiya dinhi sa rehiyon onse labi na sa Comval. Tungod niini dako gyod ang pasalamat sa NEDA Regional Office XI ngadto sa mga opisyal ug mga staff sa Compostela Valley.

Kahibaloan nga sa nakalabayng tuig 2009, giilang modelo ang Provincial Development Physical Framework Plan sa Comval sa 46 ka mga probinsiya sa nasud nga maoy unang nakahuman paghimo niini.

Matud sa mga experto labi na sa mga ADB Consultants, nga Exceptionally prepared gyod ang PDPFP sa Comval gawas nga kini maoy labing unang nahuman.(PIA)

Groups, Indigenous Tribes Oppose Open-pit Mining, Ranch in Mindanao

Residents of Mount Diwalwal and members of the Panalipdan and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan stage a protest Tuesday, July 13, 2010 in front of the Philippine Mining Development Corporation in Davao City in Mindanao to protest the proposed open-pit mining in gold-rich Monkayo town in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao. (Photo by Karlos Manlupig)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 13, 2010) – Some 200 people, backed by various civil groups, vowed Tuesday to fight off the intrusion in Mount Diwata of foreign mining firms in the gold-rich town of Monkayo in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao.

They gathered at the Holy Cross of Davao College where the Solidarity Action Group for Indigenous Peoples and Panalipdan-Southern Mindanao Region held a forum to forge unities in response to issues related to large-scale mining in Mount Diwalwal.

They said foreign firms often practiced destructive mining and urged Manila to implement a more responsible policy to protect the environment.

The forum was part of the activities that eventually turned into a large-scale anti-mining campaign launched in cooperation with the Nagkahiusang Katawhan sa Diwalwal and the multi-sectoral Bagong Alyansang Makabayan amidst the looming take-over of large scale mining corporations of in Monkayo.

“Aside from our continued advocacy and education campaign, this mining and environment protection forum aims to educate wide audience on the real costs and benefits of large scale and foreign mining and its deadly impact on local communities, their culture and livelihood,” said Francis Morales, Panalipdan Secretary General.

Participants also signed a manifesto of unity leading to the formation of the Panalipdan Mount Diwalwal alliance. They later assembled in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources office from where they marched to the Philippine Mining Development Corporation and held a picket to dramatize their strong opposition against the “sell-out” of Mount Diwalwal to large-scale mining corporations.

Meanwhile, a group of indigenous people in Bukidnon province belonging to the Panalsalan Dagumbaan Tribal Association slammed the issuance of a compliance certificate to a big rancher in Maramag town by the National Commission for Indigenous People Bukidnon, saying the certificate was based on an alleged fake Free and Prior Informed Consent.

The group, composed of Talaandig and Haigaonon tribes, also called for the resignation of Datu Tomme Labaon, the regional director of the NCIP, saying he was biased in favor of rancher Ernesto Villalon, a former mayor of Kibawe municipality, and was insensitive to the plight of lumads.

Datu Mahawan Alfredo Ganinay, chairman of PADATA, said Labaon refused to face them in a dialogue when they demanded the revocation of Villalon’s FPIC.

He said Labaon also refused to answer questions from members of the media who waited for him outside the NCIP office in Cagayan de Oro City. “The FPIC is a fake. The tribal leaders consulted by Villalon were not even from our place,” Ganinay said.

An FPIC is a document letter issued by a tribal group allowing a rancher to manage and develop a certain piece of land that lies within their ancestral domain.

Ganinay, 60, said that Villalon obtained his FPIC from a lumad group in Kibawe, although the 480-hectare Villalon Ranch covered by the FPIC is located in the boundaries of the villages of Panalsalan and Dagumbaan, both in the town of Maramag.

“The ranch is located in our ancestral domain. Former Mayor Villalon should have consulted us. Instead, he obtained an FPIC from a different group of lumads. This is a violation of the FPIC process under NCIP Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2006,” Ganinay said.

He said the property is covered by their application for Community-Based Forest Management, which they filed at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in November 2007.

Ganinay and two other tribal leaders had their heads shaved Tuesday morning in front of the NCIP office to dramatize their call for the revocation of the FPIC issued to cover Villalon’s ranch. Ganinay’s group had been picketing the NCIP office since Monday and said they would continue with their protest until Labaon faces them in a dialogue. (With reports from Geo Solmerano and Becky de Asis)

NPA rebels seize soldier, militia in Mindanao

Communist rebels release photos of four prisoners - Army Corporals Marcial Bawagan, Ariel Asumo, Eduardo Alcala and Victor Pitogo - shortly before they are freed in Mindanao. The four were taken prisoners in the town of Mawab on May 12, 2010.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 20, 2010) – Communist rebels held a government soldier and a militiaman after stopping public vehicles at a checkpoint in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the two hostages - Staff Sergeant Bienvenido Arguilles, of the 25th Infantry Battalion, and Job Latiban - were seized Saturday in the village of Uper Ulip in Compostela Valley’s Monkayo town.

“The two were just passing by the village when dissident-terrorists collared them,” said Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.

He said some 30 New People’s Army set up the checkpoint and inspected passing vehicles for soldiers. Civilian passengers were also forced to attend a lecture by rebels about their cause and later freed.

Garcia did not give other details about the abduction, but said troops were sent to track down the rebels and rescue the duo.

The latest strike by rebels came days after they freed three soldiers and a government militia after almost a month in captivity in Compostela Valley.

The four - Army Corporals Marcial Bawagan, Ariel Asumo, Eduardo Alcala and Victor Pitogo - were taken prisoners in the town of Mawab on May 12.

Anvil Guinto, a spokesman for the rebel’s Crucifino Uballas command, said the release of the prisoners came after their families appealed to the NPA to free the four men who are being accused of violating human rights of civilians in the province.

“The release is in recognition of the appeals made by the families, religious groups and personalities, well-meaning individuals and progressive groups on their behalf,” he said. ”The NPA accords the released POWs the chance to conduct themselves in a manner respectful of the people's rights and the international laws of war. Their arrest and subsequent detention should also serve as a warning to officers and elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police and their intelligence and paramilitary units.”

On Friday, rebels also attacked a group of policemen and wounding three of them in Davao Oriental’s Cateel town. Security officials said as many as five rebels were either killed or wounded in the fighting after a failed raid on a police station in the town.

The NPA is the military wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which have been fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 killed in fresh NPA attacks in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 8, 2010) – Two army soldiers were killed in separate attacks by communist rebels in the southern Philippines, a spokesman for the New People’s Army said Tuesday.

Daniel Ibarra, of the NPA’s Front 27 Operations Command, said rebel forces mounted the offensives against the members of the 71st Infantry Battalion and 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion in Compostela Valley province.

The soldiers were part of a large security forces sent to fight the rebels who are holding three infantrymen and a militia in Mindanao. Troops arrived last month from Luzon Island to augment thousands of soldiers already deployed in Mindanao to defeat communist insurgency.

“The New People's Army Rhyme Petalcorin-Front 27 Operations Command hit twice the operating units of the 10th Infantry Division with sniper fire. Two successive operations by the NPA's Front 27 sniper teams hit the newly-deployed 71st Infantry Battalion and the 2nd Scout Rangers Battalion in Compostela Valley.”

“The punitive action against the abusive troops inflicted at least two casualties. The Armed Forces of the Philippines retaliated thru indiscriminate aerial bombardment using OV-10 Bronco planes which not only terrorized the civilian populace but also failed to hit its target,” Ibarra said.

He said the rebels are equally determined to fight the military.

Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division, denied the rebel reports, but said a government militia was killed in recent fighting in Compostela Valley province, a known stronghold of the NPA in Mindanao.

“That’s not true; the reports of the terrorists are all lies. But there was one militia killed in the fighting with the NPA in Compostela Valley. The military operation against the dissident-terrorists is going on,” Garcia said.

The NPA is the military wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines which is waging a secessionist war for decades now. (Mindanao Examiner)

Military rescue operation imperils lives of 3 soldiers, militia captured by rebels in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 5, 2010) – Philippine Maoist rebels on Saturday warned security forces to stay away from near their stronghold or risk the lives of three captured government soldiers and militia being held as prisoners in the southern province of Compostela Valley.

The rebels are holding Army Corporals Marcial Bawagan, Ariel Asumo, Eduardo Alcala and Victor Pitogo, a government militia. They were taken prisoners in the town of Mawab in Compostela Valley on May 12 and being investigated on charges of human rights violations and counter-revolutionary campaign in the province.

The families of the prisoners have made several appeals to the rebels who are members of the New People’s Army to free the four men on humanitarian grounds.

But the rebels claimed ongoing military offensives are putting the lives of the prisoners at great risk and demanded troops to pull out in Compostela Valley.

“The New People's Army and the revolutionary forces fully recognize the appeals made by the families and other well-meaning groups and individuals for the release of the four arrested AFP men on humanitarian grounds. The New people’s Army, however, believes that the appeals are better addressed to the Command of the 10th Infantry Division which currently stands as the biggest stumbling block to any possibility of an early release because of its policy of all-out offensive military operations disguised as rescue operations,” said Anvil Guinto, a rebel spokesman for the Crusifino Uballas Command, the group that is holding the four hostages.

Guinto said the prisoners are being treated well by the rebels and their rights fully respected under the protocols of war. “They have slowly adopted to the guerilla conditions of their captivity. As the designated custodial unit, the Crucifino Uballas Command is doing everything within its control to ensure the safety of the prisoners. But the whole security aspect of the situation can only be completely addressed by a cessation of the offensive military operations within the guerilla territories of the Crucifino Uballas Command,” he said.

He said the offensive military operations will only prolong the detention of the four prisoners and can worsen their situation. The military operation, he said, could also result to grave human rights abuses against civilians in the province.

Troops on Friday killed a New People’s Army soldier in a firefight in nearby town of Lupon in Davao Oriental province after security forces caught up with a band of rebels blamed for the string of attacks on government projects in the area.

Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division, said troops also recovered at least 20 blasting caps, two firing devices for improvised explosives, electronics and communications equipment, two hand grenades, three rifle grenades, assorted ammunition and subversive documents.

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

Troops capture rebel camp, bombs in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 18, 2010) – Philippine troops captured a mountain encampment of communist insurgents following a firefight Tuesday in the restive southern region of Mindanao, officials said.

Officials said an undetermined number of insurgents were believed killed or wounded in the fighting that began at around 10 a.m. in the village of Panangan in Compostela Valley’s Maco town.

There were no reports of military casualties, said Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

He said soldiers also recovered improvised explosives, assorted munitions and three automatic rifles left behind by insurgents.

“The recovery of the bombs is a welcome development as our people will be a lot safer,” he said, citing previous roadside bombings by insurgents who were fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country.

Garcia said troops clashed with about 40 New People’s Army members after troops attacked the insurgents’ hideout.

“Ground operation is going on in the area and security forces are tracking down NPA insurgents who fled the fighting,” he said.

The NPA is the military wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which has been waging a secessionist war for many decades now. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels raid Philippine village; seize 3 soldiers

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 13, 2010) - Communist rebels seized three government soldiers and a militia attending a birthday celebration in the southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, a military spokesman said on Thursday.

Captain Emmanuel Garcia, of the 10th Infantry Division, said New People’s Army rebels swooped down on the village of Sawangan in the town of Mawab and seized the soldiers on Wednesday.

He said the soldiers were attending the birthday party of another infantryman’s child when the rebels swooped down. The prisoners were identified as Corporals Marcial Bawagan, Ariel Asumo, Eduardo Alcala and Victor Pitogo, a government militia.

“Witnesses said the victims were forcefully taken to a waiting black van and sped away,” Garcia said.

He said the local community is seeking the help of the Catholic Church to intervene in behalf of the victims after one of the soldier’s wife, Jenny Bawagan, consulted with Father Christopher Segura, the village parish priest, who appealed to the rebels to free the prisoners.

The New People’s Army is the military wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which is waging a secessionist war for decades now. (Mindanao Examiner)

Poll official, 5 others killed; 17 wounded in rebel ambush in Compostela Valley

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 11, 2010) - Communist rebels ambushed on Tuesday ambushed a group of poll inspectors and civilians, including soldiers guarding election papers in the southern Philippines and killing at least 6 people, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said New People’s Army rebels opened fire on the convoy as it was heading to Maragusan town in Compostela Valley province where the votes in Monday’s general elections would be counted.

Among the dead was a member of the Board of Election Inspectors and a civilian poll watcher and two government militias and soldiers.

At least 17 people, including three civilians who were poll watchers, and 9 soldiers were also wounded in the attack, said Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.

“We condemn this attack on innocent people,” Garcia said, as he called on the Commission of Human Rights and other human rights organizations to investigate the attack which occurred at around 8.30 a.m. on a village near Maragusan town.

Garcia said rebels also attacked Friday and wounded two government troops guarding polling machines in the village of Taguibo in Davao Oriental’s Mati town. Security forces were guarding the machines when rebels opened fire at them.

Insurgents also bombed Thursday troops escorting a convoy delivering similar machines called precinct count optical scanner in Palanas town in Masbate province in the Bicol region, although no was injured or killed in the roadside attack.

The New People’s Army denied the military’s claim and said the attack targeted troops as punishment for their human rights abuses.

“The NPA, as a matter of policy and as track record shows, fully respects the people’s will in the guerilla base areas especially during this most chaotic election period,” said Simon Santiago, of the New People’s Army.

The NPA is the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines while the National Democratic Front is the organization’s political arm. The Communist Party of the Philippines is fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA owns up killing of army intelligence man in Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 14, 2010) – Communist rebels on Wednesday owned up the killing of a government soldier after he resisted arrest in the southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, a spokesman for the New People’s Army said.

Marcella Valiente, of the NPA’s Armando Dumandan Command, said rebels killed Army Sergeant Marlon Salva over the weekend after trying to evade arrest in the village of Kamantangan in Montevista town.

“Army Sergeant Marlon Salva, a Military Intelligence operative and also a detachment commander of the 72nd Infantry Battalion was killed after he tried to evade arrest and gave battle to a New People's Army team tasked to apprehend him,” Valiente said.

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division condemned the killing and insisted Salva was unarmed and on his way to meet with village leaders.

Valiente denied the military report. “As Sergeant Salva approached the checkpoint, the NPA team manning the roadblock flagged him down. But instead of heeding the order to stop, he sped away and drew his firearm in an attempt to shoot it out with the NPA team. Sergeant Salva's hostile action forced the NPA blocking force to fire on him leading to his death,” the rebel spokesman said.

Valiente said rebels recovered the soldier’s two .45-caliber pistols and several identification cards and mission orders signed by Captain Glenn Loreto Caballero, of the Army’s 103rd Military Intelligence Company.

“The document from the intelligence units of the 10th Infantry Division seized on Sergeant Salva's person confirms that he is not simply an ordinary detachment commander, but also an active intelligence operative. He was actively involved in combat and intelligence operations with the 3rd Special Forces Battalion-Eastern Mindanao Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. It was due to his active involvement in armed counter-revolutionary acts that revolutionary authorities have ordered his arrest,” Valiente said.

The NPA is the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is waging a secessionist war the past decades. (Mindanao Examiner)

Soldier killed in NPA ambush in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / April 10, 2010) – Communist rebels killed a government soldier in an ambush Saturday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said Sergeant Marlon Salva, a member of the Philippine Army’s 72nd Infantry Battalion, was on his to meet with village leaders when rebels ambushed him in Camantangan village in Compostela Valley’s Montevista town.

Major General Carlos Holganza, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, condemned the killing, saying, the soldier was unarmed when New People’s Army rebels attacked him.

“It is with deep sympathy that we condole with the family of Sergeant Salva. The repeated murders being perpetrated by this terrorist group show their heartlessness and utter disregard to human life,” Holganza said.

Holganza branded the killing as “horrible and brutal,” saying the soldier died from multiple gunshot wounds. He said six rebels opened fire at the soldier who was on his motorcycle. “He was defenseless, he had no chance.” he said.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but the NPA which is fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country, had been blamed for past killings of soldiers and policemen in the restive region. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA rebels kill miner; abduct 2 villagers in Mindanao

Government soldiers who are wounded in a clash with communist insurgents rest Sunday, March 14, 2010 at a military hospital in Davao City in the southern Philippines. An army soldier was also killed in the clash which occurred in Davao City's Paquibato district. (Mindanao Examiner Photo).

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 14, 2010) – Communist insurgents killed a gold mine worker and abducted his two brothers in a raid on a village in the southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, security officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the New People’s Army insurgents shot and killed Felix Valiente Jr after he resisted the gunmen late Friday in the village of Calbcab in Maco town. The gunmen also seized his brothers, one of them a former insurgent, who surrendered to the military several years ago.

“In a show of ruthlessness, New People’s Army terrorists shot dead a mine worker while two more of the victim’s brothers were abducted in the village. Felix shot dead when he resisted to go with the terrorists while his two brothers identified as Jamil Valiente and Jimboy Valiente were taken at gunpoint,” said Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.

“Local residents believe that the crime was done in light of the continued refusal of the victims’ other brother to rejoin the NPA. Felix they say have repeatedly rebuked the NPAs in trying to convince his other brother, a rebel returnee known with his nom de guerre as Aying, to rejoin the local terrorists,” Garcia said.

He said the NPA also killed four other people, including a 13-year old girl, in separate attacks in Davao since earlier this year.

“The NPA publicly admitted carrying out several killings - targeting civilians, soldiers - conducting peace and development projects, unwary policemen and unarmed government militias to include village officials and elders of indigenous communities who oppose the communist influence in Mindanao,” Garcia said.

There was no immediate statement from the NPA about the allegations. The NPA is the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which has been waging a secessionist war for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops rescue 20 injured passengers after road mishap in Mindanao

Photos released by the Philippine Army show soldiers attending to road mishap victims in Montevista District Hospital in Compostela Valley province after rescuing them Friday, January 1, 2009.

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / January 2, 2009) – Philippine soldiers rescued at least 20 people who were injured in a freak road accident in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao, officials said Saturday.

Officials said troops rushed the victims to hospital after rescuing them in the village of Andap in New Bataan town on Friday afternoon. Lieutenant Jose Reyes, of the 66th Infantry Battalion, said a hand-tractor converted into a passenger vehicle collided with a motorcycle and then slammed into a car.

The car then hit a parked motorcycle taxi and injuring several people.

Reyes said the tractor was transporting 7 passengers when it collided with the motorcycle which had also 5 passengers. The rest of the injured were by-standers.

“With the victims sprawled all over the area bloodied from major abrasions and lacerated wounds, onlookers were left in a state of shock. Troopers who, by divine intervention, happened to be at the area to celebrate family day quickly responded by giving first aid to the victims with minor injuries while other troops immediately rushed the victims who suffered major injuries to the nearest hospital on board the Isuzu military vehicle for immediate medical attention,” Reyes said.

“The troops also made necessary coordination with hospital personnel to ensure that every victim was properly attended and taken care of accompanying them while they were being treated,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebel, soldier killed in clashes in South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / November 11, 2009) – A communist rebel and soldier were killed in separate clashes in the volatile region of the southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.

The fighting erupted in the town of Maragusan in Compostela Valley after patrolling soldiers encountered a group of New People’s Army rebels in the village of Bahi on Wednesday.

A rebel who was wounded in the clash died before soldiers could bring him to a military hospital. A government soldier was also wounded in the fighting and three other insurgents captured, said an army brigade commander, Colonel Romeo Calizo.

“We commiserate with the family of our brother who was lured into believing a lost cause. It is unfortunate that we have to face such misery when we can live together peacefully if these armed groups will just realize the damage they are doing to our country and lay down their arms in the spirit of reconciliation,” he said.

The military said a government soldier was also killed in a failed rescue late Tuesday of an infantryman being held by rebels in Monkayo town also in Compostela Valley.

It said Private Joel Quijano was killed while troops were trying to rescue Corporal Dominador Alegre. The soldier was captured last week after rebels raided an army post in Monkayo town.

Alegre is a detachment commander of the 72nd Infantry Battalion deployed in the province to fight the rebels.

A rebel spokesman, Simon Santiago, said Alegre is facing an investigation by an NPA court for possible human rights violations. He said the rescue operation could endanger the soldier’s life.

“The 10th Infantry Division is actively opposing and closing the door to the possibility of an early, safe and orderly release of the prisoner of war and instead insist on endangering the security of Corporal Alegre by launching military operations,” Santiago said.

The military the rebels are also holding another soldier, Sergeant Frederick Gayla who was captured in 2007 in Davao province.

Rebels have previously released captured soldiers and policemen in Mindanao after their families appealed for their freedom.

In April, communist rebels also abducted Private First Class Ronnie Trinidad, who belongs to the 66th Infantry Battalion, in the village of Pagsabangan in Compostela Valley’s New Bataan town.

NPA rebels freed early this year a captured Special Forces commander, First Lieutenant Vicente Cammayo, after holding him as prisoner of war for two months also in Compostela Valley.

Last year, the rebels also released a policeman Eduardo Tumol, who was seized November 5 at a checkpoint in the village of Baogo in Davao Oriental's Caraga town.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which broke off peace talks with Manila in 2004 after both sides failed to sign an agreement to end more than four decades of bloody fighting. (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)

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)

Troops kill rebel in Mindanao fighting

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 11, 2009) – Government soldiers killed a communist rebel and wounded at least 10 more in a clash Thursday in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the fighting broke out in the village called Napnapan in Compostela Valley’s Pantukan town where a rebel encampment was overrun by troops shortly before 3 p.m. Troops also recovered weapons and improvised explosives left behind by New People’s Army rebels.

“The troops were able to overrun the harbor site of the NPA which was laid with anti-personnel mines. The encounter was the result of the continuous pursuit operations conducted by the unit after the troops overrun an NPA encampment also in the village of Napnapan on June 2,” said Army Captain Rosa Maria Cristina Manuel, a spokeswoman for the 10th Infantry Division.

“Local residents reported to the troops that they saw more than ten wounded NPA members being carried along by their comrades using three commuter motorcycles,” she said.

Manuel said the rebels were also behind the May 29 raid on Apex Mining in Maco town in Compostela Valley after soldiers found the company’s security tags in the encampment.

Meanwhile, Major General Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the army division, said civilians played a key role in the success of the government operations against the NPA. “The support of the civilians in the area was the key to our success. This simply means that the general public wants peace and progress, not an armed struggle,” he said. (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)