U.S. Gives Old Copters To Philippines To Fight Terrorism

A modern U.S. chopper flies in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.The United States on Saturday, 09 June 2007 hands over phased out UH-1H helicopters to its ally, the Philippines, to help the Filipino military combat terrorism.(Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / 09 Jun) – The United States handed Saturday ten UH-1H helicopters to Manila as part of a commitment to assist the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ modernization program.

The refurbished helicopters will be used by the Philippine Air Force to supplement its modernization program and will increase its capabilities to combat terrorism and provide humanitarian assistance during natural disasters.

President Gloria Arroyo accepted the documents of the nine choppers from U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney.

The aircraft are part of 20 helicopters designated for the Philippines by President George Bush. They were refurbished in the United States through the U.S. Foreign Military Financing program at a cost of $22 million for the 20 aircraft. The U.S. gave nearly $30 million in Foreign Military Financing to the Philippines last year. In April 2006, the U.S. also delivered a C-130 cargo aircraft to the Philippines.

"Today, we have a tangible reminder of the strength that our two leaders show to the world as we see their vision realize in this turnover of helicopters. UH-1H helicopter is the finest helicopter in the world," Kenney said.

The U.S. military also provides training, advice, and security assistance, and shares information with the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Ongoing U.S.-Philippine military cooperative programs include Philippine Defense Reform; counter-terrorism training; annual exercises; education and training; advice and support for logistics, engineering, equipment, and maintenance; civilian assistance programs such as free community medical, dental, and veterinarian clinics; and humanitarian assistance cooperation during natural disasters.

Kenney said the UH-1H helicopter is the "backbone of the US Armed Forces wing fleet" and now the backbone of the Philippine military aviation helicopters.

Kenney said the choppers would also pave the way to improve the PAF air assault capability against dissident terrorists, and also in their search and rescue operations during calamity. The U.S. has phased out the UH-1H helicopters which were used during the Vietnam war.(Mindanao Examiner)

4 Filipino Spies Get $10-M Sayyaf Bounty (Photo Documentary)

U.S. soldiers guard outside the Hall of Justice in Jolo island in the southern Philippines Thursday, 07 June 2007 where U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon rewarded four masked Filipino informants P490 million or $10 million for providing intelligence to the Philippine military that led to the killing of Abu Sayyaf chieftain, Khadaffy Janjalani in October 2006 Sali in January 2007 who were tagged as behind the kidnapping of four U.S. citizens in the Philippines. The bounty is part of the U.S. Rewards for Justice Program and is the largest payment in the Philippines since the program began in 2002. (Mindanao Examiner Photo Service)

JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 07 Jun) – The United States on Thursday handed P490 million or about $10 million to four Filipino civilians who provided intelligence to the Philippine military about two of the country’s most wanted terrorists – Khadaffy Janjalani, the leader of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group and his deputy, Jainal Antel Sali, also known as Abu Soliman.

U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney flew to the restive southern island of Jolt and led Filipino and American military officials in the hand-over of the money to four masked informants.

Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon and Mindanao Army chief General Eugenio Cedo praised the United States for its efforts in helping defeat local terrorism.

The Philippine military tagged both Janjalani and Soliman as behind the kidnapping of four U.S. citizens in the Philippines since 2001.

Troops are still pursuing other leaders of the Abu Sayyaf, including Isnilon Hapilon and Albader Parad, who were said to be sheltering Jemaah Islamiya bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek in Jolo island, about 950 km from the Philippine capital.

The bounty is part of the U.S. Rewards for Justice Program and is the largest payment in the Philippines since the program began in 2002.

The four masked Filipinos were heavily guarded by U.S. and Philippine agents and did not speak to journalists. They were immediately whisked away by agents.

Security in Jolo island was tight during the ambassador’s visit.

Heavily-armed U.S. and Filipino soldiers, backed by armored vehicles, patrolled outside the Hall of Justice building where the ceremony was held.

Washington has deployed hundreds of troops in the southern Philippines to advice and assists the local military in the fighting against terrorism. Both the Abu Sayyaf and the Jemaah Islamiya are in the U.S. terror lists. (With a report from Juley Reyes)

U.S. Officials Open Joint Military Training In South RP

U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat in Tumaga village, 01 June 2007.

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 1 June) – American Ambassador Kristie Kenney on Friday visited the southern Filipino port city of Zamboanga, where U.S. and Philippine troops are holding a joint amphibious training.

Kenney formally opened the 13th “Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training,” known as CARAT 2007.

CARAT 2007 is a combined naval tactical operations exercise involving fleet forces of both the Philippine and United States Navies. The exercise also focuses on relationship building through social and community service events such as providing free medical, dental, and veterinary care in host communities.

Kenney also inspected the USS Harper’s Ferry, one of three American naval ships participating in the exercise, and met with Philippine Army Lieutenant General Eugenio Cedo, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, to discuss on how to further expand joint humanitarian and development programs in the troubled region.

Local mayor Celso Lobregat welcomed the U.S. official who also toured several American-funded projects for development in the Zamboanga area.

While in Zamboanga, the ambassador visited poor Muslim communities and led U.S. and Filipino officials in distributing some 42,000 books to school libraries.

The books were donated under the Education Awareness Support Effort (EASE) program of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and will go to more than 130 schools, allowing students to have access to encyclopedias, dictionaries, literature and short stories.

She visited the island of Pangapuyan Island, a remote community that received electricity through a program supported by the USAID under the AMORE Project, which aims to provide electricity to more than 400 remote and conflict-affected villages in Mindanao. AMORE also announced an additional $2 million to the program.

Kenney also inspected a hanging footbridge in Tumaga village which was built so villagers can safely and easily cross a river and improve their access to needed health, social and economic services in the town center.

The USAID, through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program, built the new 30-meter long pedestrian footbridge to replace a deteriorating wooden bridge.

After a short tour in the village, Kenney also attended a roundtable discussion on tax collection with Lobregat and Zamboanga business leaders. Zamboanga City is one of 16 Mindanao cities participating in USAID’s and The Asia Foundation’s Transparent and Accountable Governance (TAG) Project.

Under TAG, participating city governments have committed themselves to enacting specific governance reforms to improve services and reduce corruption. Zamboanga City chose to reform its processes for collecting business taxes and issuing business permits. (Chris Navarra)

Top U.S. Officials Visit Jolo Island In Southern Philippines

Aerial view of Jolo island in the Sulu Archipelago in southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo/Ely Dumaboc)

JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 27 Mar) – U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney visited the strife-torn island of Jolo in southern Philippines and inaugurated a cooperative store previously bombed by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group.

Kenney, accompanied by senior US and Philippine military officials, also handed various office equipment and livelihood programs to the locals, said Major Eugene Batara, a spokesman for the Philippine military’s Western Mindanao Command.

“The visit of U.S. Ambassador Kenney is successful and there are so many people who welcomed and greeted her. They are happy about the visit. She handed various office equipment and unveiled a livelihood programs for the locals,” Batara told the Mindanao Examiner.

Major General Eugenio Cedo, Western Mindanao Command chief, also accompanied Kenney and her group, which included the Italian philanthropist Armando de Rossi, of the 3P Foundation.

"We have donated some P2.5 million for the building materials and the Philippine Marines and the Seabees helped us renovate the cooperative store building. We are happy to help the Filipino people," said De Rossi.

De Rossi and Kenney are actively involved in many humanitarian programs in Jolo island, where troops, backed by U.S. intelligence, are battling the Abu Sayyaf.

The militant group has been blamed for the bombing last year of the Sulu cooperative store that killed and wounded dozens of mostly Muslims.

Last week, troops also clashed with Abu Sayyaf militants in Jolo’s Mount Mabigtang, but there were no reports of casualties from both sides.

Washington tagged the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and offered as much as five million dollars for its known leaders.

U.S. troops are deployed in Jolo and helping the Filipino soldiers defeat the Abu Sayyaf, which is coddling as many as two dozen Jemaah Islamiya militants, including Dulmatin and Umar Patek.

Both Dulmatin and Patek have been blamed in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 mostly foreign holiday-makers, including 88 Australians. (With a report from Ely Dumaboc)

U.S. Tennis Ambassadors Bring their Love of Sport to Filipino Children

U.S. Ambassador to Manila Kristie A. Kenney, P.J. Tierro, and young tennis enthusiasts from Ateneo de Manila University.

MANILA - Three American tennis professionals from the U.S. Tennis Association (USTA) visited the Philippines recently to conduct tennis clinics for Filipino children and teenagers.

They held a Manila clinic at Ateneo de Manila University; other clinics were in Naga City, Butuan, Gingoog, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Cebu.

The USTA Goodwill Tennis Ambassadors, which were supported by the U.S. Embassy, also held instructor training workshops for local pros.

Students attending the youth tennis clinic at Ateneo de Manila on February 23 were treated to an exhibition match featuring P.J. Tierro, the top-ranked amateur tennis player in the Philippines, paired with U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney.

The pair challenged two of the USTA professionals to a rousing match cheered on by Ateneo de Manila students.

The USTA Goodwill Tennis program was developed to enhance the skills of local tennis trainers, coaches, and professionals using the newest techniques in coaching, motivating, and high-impact drills.

The USTA professionals take time off from their jobs to teach for free at local tennis clubs.

The Goodwill Tennis Tour first visited the Philippines in 1999. This year’s sponsors were the U.S. Embassy, Chris Sports, Head Philippines, Philta Northern Mindanao Region, and Fiesta Brands, Inc.

Durian Victims Get More US Relief

MANILA (Mindanao Examiner/ 06 Dec) - Some $130,000 worth of American relief donations are expected to arrive in Manila to help families affected by the typhoon Durian (Reming) which ravaged the Bicol region.

The Philippines' National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said more than 500 people were killed and some 700 are still missing and feared dead after the super typhoon swept through 13 provinces last week and wrought destruction.

More than 1.6 million were affected by Durian's fury. Weather experts said the typhoon had winds up to 133 kilometers per hour.

The U.S. Embassy said an emergency relief flight carrying supplies will arrive in Manila on Thursday.

It said U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney and Filipino Senator Richard Gordon, president of the Philippine National Red Cross, will meet the chartered flight at the airport to oversee the unloading of the supplies, it said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner on Wednesday.

"The relief flight carries supplies such as plastic sheeting for shelter, water containers, and family hygiene kits. The supplies were donated by the American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)," it said.

The U.S. earlier provided $250,000 in immediate cash assistance to relief organizations to purchase emergency commodities, such as blankets, plastic mats, mosquito nets and cooking utensils, to assist ongoing relief efforts in the region.

2 Muslim Boys Get U.S. Rewards For Discovery Of Sayyaf Bomb In Jolo Island

Click photo to watch video

Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon, U.S. Ambassador to Manila Kristie Kenney and U.S. Pacific Command Admiral William Fallon in Jolo island in the southern Philippines on Monday 04 Dec 2006. (Mindanao Examiner)

JOLO ISLAND (Mindanao Examiner / 04 Dec) – The United States on Monday rewarded P80,000 to two Muslim families, whose sons had discovered a powerful Abu Sayyaf bomb planted on a road in the southern island of Jolo, where Filipino and American troops returning from a humanitarian mission were to pass.

Philippine military chief General Hermogenes Esperon accompanied American Ambassador Kristie Kenney and U.S. Pacific Command Admiral William Fallon, who led the awarding ceremony in Jolo.

Two boys discovered in March a 2-liter jug filled with TNT, ammonium nitrate and picric acid in the village of Tagbak in Indanan town. The discovery, Esperon said, prevented a possible deadly attack by the Abu Sayyaf.

“This heroic deed shows that civilians are now aware about the atrocities of the Abu Sayyaf and their allies and we commend the children and all those who are for peace,” Esperon told the Mindanao Examiner.

Security was tight during the visit, but Filipino troops had been scrambled after the US military alerted them of an unidentified man with a binocular on a building near where the ceremony was held.

Troops rushed to the building, but did not find the man. Jolo island is a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group, blamed for a string of bombings in the troubled region.

Fallon praised the locals, saying, they were friendly and are helping the Philippine military fight terrorism. “They are wonderful people, friendly and warm. The people really want peace and we are happy that we have people helping the Armed Forces of the Philippines combat terrorism,” Fallon told the Mindanao Examiner in a separate interview.

Fallon, Kenney and Esperon later visited American and Filipino troops on the island. (Mindanao Examiner)

U.S Embassy Plays Santa To Charity Children

U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney helps children decorate holiday trees at the American Embassy in Manila.

MANILA – American officials welcomed Filipino children from four local charity centers for an afternoon of holiday tree decorating, snacks, and fun at the U.S. Embassy in the Philippine capital.

The Consular Section, whose staff processes nonimmigrant and immigrant visas to the United States and assists American citizens in need, sponsored last week the holiday tree decorating contest to benefit the charities, an Embassy statement said.

It said each charity received a tree decorated with traditional ornaments and garlands, as well as school supplies, toiletries, and toys for the children.

The event was the first of its kind at the American Embassy, and U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney helped the children decorate the holiday trees. The Embassy’s nearly 200 Consular staff members split into four groups, each taking charge of decorating a tree for and with children from the four local charities.

The charities also benefit from regular visits and donations by U.S. Embassy staff through the Embassy Club, a volunteer group composed of U.S. Embassy employees and family members that work with area charities and volunteer organizations, it said.

During the event, the U.S. Embassy Consular Section staff was treated to a performance of gymnastics, holiday songs, and dancing by the attending children.

Consular officers and staff then delivered the trees and supplies to each charity for their enjoyment during the holiday season. Members of the Embassy’s Consular section donated money and supplies to help in decorating the trees.

he St. Luke’s Hospital in Manila also donated several boxes of vitamins to the four charities. The Pan Pacific, Hyatt, and Traders hotels donated food for the event.

The four children’s charities attending the special event were: The Friendship Home, a center for underprivileged children in Malate district that offers wholesome meals; a safe environment to study and play; academic encouragement; and learning programs for more than 80 children; The Little Children’s Home in Rizal province for newborns and babies waiting to be adopted. The home’s Birthing Center trains midwives and cares for indigent, expectant mothers, providing classes on prenatal care, parenting, and family planning.

The Little Sisters of the Assumption run three projects in Pasay City focusing on livelihood, healthcare, and education for preschoolers and the Trichet Learning Center offers schooling and mainstreaming skills to children with autism and Down’s syndrome from the poorer families of Metro Manila. More than 200 students attend classes daily.

U.S. Ambassador Kenney Celebrates Thanks Giving Day With American Troops, Orphans In Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 23 Nov) – U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney on Thursday arrived in Zamboanga City where she celebrated Thanks Giving Day with American troops.

Kenney also visited an orphanage in the village of Talon-Talon and carried children and spoke to caretakers. She also signed an agreement with the local government to help fund the protection of a watershed area in Zamboanga.

Security was tight during Kenney’s visit. U.S. and Filipino troops were spotted guarding her throughout the visit.It was the first time that a U.S. ambassador celebrated Thanks Giving Day in Zamboanga City, a former American colony.

An undetermined number of U.S. troops are stationed in Zamboanga City and Jolo island where they train Filipino soldiers and conduct humanitarian mission in remote villages.

The fourth Thursday of November is observed as a legal holiday in the United States to commemorate the feast held at Plymouth in 1621 by the Pilgrim colonists and members of the Wampanoag people and marked by the giving of thanks to God for harvest and health. (Mindanao Examiner)