Ex-mayor killed in ambush, 4 others wounded in Lanao Sur

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Sept. 10) – Police forces mounted a massive search Friday for gunmen who ambushed a former town mayor in the restive province of Lanao del Sur.

Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, chief of the police force in the volatile Muslim autonomous region, said gunmen ambushed Alimatar Guroalim, a former mayor of Tugaya town, and wounded four of his companions.

Guroalim’s group was on their way to a mosque when they were ambushed in the town of Tugaya.

The motive of the attack was unknown and no individual or group claimed responsibility for the ambush.

Police suspect the attack was connected to politics or feud. Special elections are scheduled on November in the Lanao, one of five provinces the autonomous region.

Government troops were also sent to the province to help police forces maintain peace and order in the area. “We have deployed company-sized soldiers in the area to prevent more hostilities. There is an investigation going on right now,” said Brigadier General Rey Ardo, commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade.

Ardo said the governor of Lanao del Sur, Mamintal Adiong Jr. also ordered a parallel investigation into the killing of the politician. He said Adiong also convened the crisis management committee on Friday and met with religious leaders and top security commanders to discuss how to diffuse the growing tension brought about by the killing of the former mayor.

“Tension is very high right now and we don’t want anymore bloodshed in the province,” he said.

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

Police nab 2 wanted men in Lanao Sur

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 17, 2010) – Police arrested two persons wanted on criminal charges in separate operations in Lanao del Sur province in the southern Philippines.

Police identified the suspects as Arnulfo Alison, who was arrested Monday in the town of Wao and Madid Mangacop, who is facing murder and drug charges.

Police Superintendent Cosanie Derogongan, the provincial police chief, said operations against wanted persons in Lanao are going.

“There is no other war for these criminals to escape the long arm of the law, but to surrender peacefully,” he said. (Becky de Asis and Apipa Bagumbaran)

Ambush leaves soldier dead, 5 others wounded in Lanao Sur

ILIGAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 13, 2010) – A government soldier was killed and 5 others were wounded in a firefight Tuesday in the troubled province of Lanao del Sur in the Muslim autonomous region in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said one civilian was also killed in the fighting that lasted more than 15 minutes in the village of Gata in the town of Poona Bayabao.

“Bandits attacked the soldiers who were traveling on a truck owned by Rodjunox Construction Supply and this sparked a 15-minute fire fight. One soldier was killed and five others were wounded in the fighting. A civilian was also killed in the fighting between the two groups,” said Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, the regional police chief.

It was unknown why the soldiers were on the truck or whether they were escorting it or not, but police blamed bandits, led by Dimaporo Masacal, alias Commander Delta, for the attack.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but Latag said the bandits will attack government forces at every opportunity. “These bandits will attack at any opportunity,” he said, adding, he ordered police forces to help troops tracked down Masacal’s group, blamed for banditry and highway robberies in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)

Reelected Lanao Sur vice governor vows to work for peace and development

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 13, 2010) – The reelected vice governor of Lanao del Sur, Arsad Marohombsar, vowed on Sunday to continue peace and development efforts as he appealed for support to citizens help him make the province one of the most progressive in the Muslim autonomous region.

Lanao del Sur is one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Arsad defeated six other candidates in the May 10 national and local polls.

He said he would consult his constituents on all his good programs for the province and also vowed to work hand-in-hand with Mamintal Adiong Jr., the governor of Lanao del Sur. (Becky de Asis)

Peaceful elections in Lanao, is it?

Scenes from special elections held June 3, 2010 in Lanao del Sur, one of five provinces in the Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao. (Photos courtesy of Healing Democracy)

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 6, 2010) – While the Commission on Elections declared that the special elections conducted in Lanao del Sur on June 3 was generally peaceful, a local monitoring watchdog based in Marawi City, the Healing Democracy, said it was not.

“The presence of more than 100 military men and the use of police trainees as board or election inspectors did not deter the rampant vote buying and election-related violence in Lanao del Sur and may have possibly disenfranchised a number of voters,” Pastor Beltran Pacatang, project manager of the Healing Democracy, said in a statement.

Healing Democracy is an interfaith group which monitored elections in Lanao del Sur.

The group said it received reports that around mid-afternoon on June 3, shots were still fired by a group to scare away voters in the village of Inindigan in the municipality of Sultan Domalondong. Additionally, reports included shots from an M-203 and a sub-machine gun in Bacayawan also in Sultan Domalondong. Gunfire were also heard in Lumba Bayabao and armed men had been spotted near Bayang and Tuburan.

In Masiu, volunteers said that at around 2 p.m. the group of congressional candidate Salic Dumarpa clashed with the group of his closest rival Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman in the polling precinct situated in the unfinished gymnasium inside the municipal hall
compound.

The police and military helped stopped the fight but decided to escort the supporters of Dumarpa outside of the municipal hall.

In May 10, the Comelec declared Masiu as failure of elections because Comelec officials and the BEI’s did not go to the polling precinct. Earlier, Dumarpa filed a complaint against the Comelec’s decision to cluster polling areas in Masiu which concentrated all voting precincts inside the municipal hall compound. In the special elections, Macadaag
Elementary school was added as another polling place.

Pacatang added that the military presence may have influenced the outcome of the votes in each municipality and may tend to favor the incumbent officials of the municipality.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines deployed 100 soldiers in each of the seven municipalities to serve as security for the special election on top of additional helicopters, armored personnel carriers and naval gunboats docked at Lake Lanao.

But the strict management of the military was criticized by the Healing Democracy group as having disenfranchised many voters. In the municipality of Tuburan, some of the precincts closed at already 2 a.m. on June 4. And yet, there was still a long line of voters outside.

“The voters were checked twice – at the gate and again at the precinct. So the process was slowed down further. This was the price we had to pay for a little semblance of order. They were able to confiscate only handguns – a joke compared to the high-caliber weapons private armies of politicians have here,” Pacatang said.

Healing Democracy spokesperson, Adelaida Ditucalan, however was more concerned of the repercussions of the military control of the elections. “They say that the special election here is more peaceful now,” she said. “It could be as the basis for the forthcoming barangay and Muslim autonomous region elections to be handled by the military as well. And they could be used to manipulate election outcomes, as if we don’t have enough of these manipulations.”

Special elections were conducted in the towns of Sultan Dumalondong, Lumba Bayabao, Masiu, Tubaran, Lumbaca Unayan, Marogong and Bayang on June 3. No special elections have been ordered yet in the other 23 villages in the province that declared partial failure of elections.

Brawl mars special polls in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 3, 2010) – Angry villagers mauled four people who were accused of buying votes during a special election Thursday in the southern Filipino province of Basilan, police said.

Police said one man, who claimed to be a member of the election watch dog Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, was also arrested by the police for carrying a knife during the melee. The fighting briefly disrupted the elections.

The man also yielded 20-peso and 50-peso bills with the name of a local candidate in Maluso town. Police quickly pacified angry villagers who mauled the four men after they pretended to be poll observers inside the polling precinct, said Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, the provincial police chief.

“Well, the elections were generally peaceful. Dozens of policemen and soldiers guarded the areas where the elections were held,” he said.
Special elections also held in Lanao del Sur province were generally peaceful.

General elections on May 10 did not push through in some areas in Lanao and Basilan, two of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, due to threats against the lives of election inspectors.

Previous elections in Basilan were marred by violence, fraud and vote-buying by politicians who maintained private armed goons. (Mindanao Examiner)

Lanao villagers get anti-measles shots; outbreak of disease prevented

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 23, 2010) – The Department of Health in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said it has contained a possible measles outbreak on coastal town in Lanao del Sur province, according to a report by the ARMM's Bureau of Public Information.

It said health workers rushed to the town of Balabagan after the reported breakout of measles in villages.

Regional Health Secretary Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr. in a report to acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Adiong said villagers were given immunizations tom protect them from the disease.

Adiong earlier ordered health workers to intensify immunization in the province following the outbreak of measles in Balabagan.

“Please do everything possible to address the reported outbreak,” Adiong told Sinolinding.

Sinolinding said he immediately sent health workers to investigate the report and conduct immunization against measles especially on children to avoid epidemic.

Sinolinding said seven adults and a one-year old child had been infected with measles, but there had been no reported deaths in the town.

Measles is an airborne disease and is contagious, Sinolinding said, prodding the public especially the parents to have their children immunized in health clinics across the region.

In 2004, the Health department launched the Ligtas Tigdas Campaign which aimed to vaccinate door-to-door some 18 million children between 9 months to 8 years old in the country. It resulted to decreased measles cases in the by 96 percent and death from measles by about 99 percent.

Prior to Ligtas Tigdas campaign, an estimated 6,000 children, mostly from poor families, died from measles.

“DOH-ARMM will continue to deliver the basic health services due our people in the region as concrete manifestation of the seriousness of regional governor Adiong to address the health requirement of his people,” Sinolinding said.

He said the symptoms of measles include fever, general weakness and occasionally red eyes. But these symptoms usually come before skin rash confirming the onset of the disease. It is transmitted through droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected person. (Becky de Asis contributed to this report.)

3 killed in Mindanao highway attacks

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 29, 2009) – Three people were killed in two separate attacks Tuesday by unidentified gunmen in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said gunmen attacked a passenger van killing one person in Malabang town and was followed by another attack on two more vehicles in nearby Balabagan town, all in Lanao del Sur province.

But the military denied the reports and said soldiers foiled an attempted highway robbery.

“There was no ambush. It was preempted by the 37th Infantry Battalion, in fact it was a foiled hold up,” Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Police said an old man was killed when his van was strafed by gunmen. Two other vehicles were also attacked, killing a policeman and another passenger. It was unknown whether the two attacks were related or not.

No group claimed responsibility for the twin attacks, but Moro rebels and bandits are actively operation in Lanao de Sur, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

Last month, at least 57 people, including 31 journalists were brutally murdered by gunmen allegedly led by the scion of the powerful Ampatuan clan, Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay town.

The mayor and his father and namesake and the regional governor and several of his brothers and other followers were later arrested and charged in connection with the gruesome killings. (Mindanao Examiner)

The Asia Foundation donates books to Lanao del Sur

MARAWI CITY, Philippines – Some 35,000 brand new books were distributed Sunday to 740 public elementary and high schools across Lanao Del Sur province in an effort to expand and improve access to educational materials.

Lanao Del Sur Provincial Library benefited from the donation of books which is made possible by The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program and distributed in Mindanao through the Foundation’s Transparent Accountable Governance project, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Governor Mamintal Adiong, Jr., officials of the provincial government, and staff of the Department of Education attended the handover ceremony.

Officials from USAID and from The Asia Foundation, including Ky Johnson, Deputy Country Representative and Efren Balajadia, Director of the Books for Asia program, presented the books to representatives of the 740 elementary and secondary schools at the event.

“We are working in solidarity with local leaders and citizens to distribute books to all communities, but especially in Mindanao, so that all scholars - rich and poor,Muslims and Christians - have access to reading materials and information,” said Johnson. “Through this donation, the people of Lanao Del Sur will have access to educational resources that will enhance their knowledge and skills in order to promote literacy in every community.”

USAID also supported the book distribution in Lanao Del Sur in response to the need for educational materials in Mindanao. Books for Asia provides a full range of books to public school students with different levels of learning.

The provision of books and other educational resources demonstrates commitment in the campaign to improving education in communities in the southern part of the Philippines.

Johnson noted the Foundation’s support to local communities in Mindanao and other parts of the Philippines to improve the quality of education dates back to the 1950s.

“With the cooperation of local governments and private partners, we can help each community bring educational materials to deserving students throughout southern Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines,” he said.

The Asia Foundation acknowledges the important support of public and private partners in this endeavor, especially the Provincial Government of Lanao Del Sur for encouraging activities that promote education and literacy American publishers like The McGraw-Hill Companies, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Pearson Education for their donation of new books, as well as USAID for generously supporting Books for Asia’s efforts to foster education throughout Mindanao.

Philippine security forces rescue 5 abducted logging workers

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 18, 2009) – Security forces rescued Saturday five logging workers abducted by gunmen in the southern Philippine of Lanao del Sur, officials said.

Officials said the victims were seized by eight gunmen on July 15 in the village of Panoruganan in Kapai town. “The rescued hostages are now in the custody of the 103rd Infantry Brigade,” said First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.

She said the hostages were moved from one place to another until soldiers and policemen tracked them down and rescued the victims - Eudillo Padilla, Rene Morteza, Felipe Lanuza, Vicky Lanuza and Jerald Cabanig - all workers of the Vicmar logging concession. Cacho did not say if there was a firefight between security forces and gunmen.

Cacho said the armed band was led by Basit Kauyag. She did not say if Kauyug is a member of any rebel group. But bandits and Moro rebels are actively operating in the area. (Mindanao Examiner)

Vendettas and violence on Mindanao

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines (IRIN / June 24, 2009) - The murder of Helen Accoon, a college principal, on the southern conflict-ridden island of Mindanao in 2008, shocked many people as it seemed to mark an escalation in clan feuding, known as 'rido', according to the United Nations' Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN).

The 'rido' code of honour does not normally allow attacks on women.

Accoon was gunned down by an unidentified assailant while walking in Marawi City, the provincial capital of Lanao del Sur. The victim was the wife of Macadadaya Accon, the son of the mayor of Buadi Puso Buntong Municipality.

Wilfredo Torres, editor of a book entitled Rido: Clan Feuding and Conflict Management in Mindanao, defines 'rido' as “armed hostilities between families and kinship groups”.

The Mindanao provinces of Lanao de Sur, Maguindanao, Lanao del Norte and Sulu have been identified as having the highest number of 'rido' cases.

Deeply rooted in the Muslim culture of honour, “'rido' is characterized by a series of retaliatory acts of violence to avenge an affront or injustice - whether real or perceived”, said Torres.

Such acts could be sparked by petty theft or insults, political rivalries, land disputes or more serious matters like homicide. Improper overtures to, or advances on, a woman could also lead to 'rido', he said.

Armed conflict less of a threat?

Many in Mindanao view 'rido' as more of a threat than the decades-long conflict, which has left thousands dead and many more displaced.

A 2005 study by the Social Weather Station, a public opinion body which tracks economic, political and social indicators, indicated that people in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) were more concerned about 'rido' than armed conflict.

According to the survey, 'rido' has been experienced by 28 percent of ARMM families, compared to only 16 percent of families nationwide.

The Philippine National Police in ARMM estimate that 5,500 people have died in 'rido'-related cases over the past three decades - equivalent to about 183 deaths per year.

Police Superintendent Gani Paramata Asira in Marawi City, said there were 218 cases of 'rido' in 2006, but that the numbers are an underestimation.

“It is rare that anyone will press charges or stand as a witness for fear of incriminating other members of their family,” he said, adding that data for more recent years were incomplete.

Rough justice
Poverty and poor go
vernance contribute to 'rido'. However, certain elements unique to the island such as the proliferation of firearms, lack of law enforcers and an inefficient justice system exacerbate the situation.

Abdul Hamidullah Atar is the executive director of Reconciliatory Initiatives for Development Opportunities (R.I.D.O, Inc.), an NGO which aims to resolve and reduce clan wars.

“The Philippine judicial system is based on the American one. It is not adapted to the sensitivities of Muslim culture. Every clan wants to collect guns to purvey its own brand of justice because we cannot get justice elsewhere,” Atar said.

“Much attention is given to the ongoing conflict between the Philippine government and the MILF [Mindanao Islamic Liberation Front], when there are probably more casualties resulting from 'rido',” he added.

R.I.D.O, Inc. tries to resolve clan wars by examining genealogy: neutral relatives of conflicting parties are identified as possible mediators.

Code of honour

But the 'rido' code of honour normally bars the killing of women or children.

“Women, like children and the elderly, are traditionally seen as defenceless and therefore untouchable in 'rido'. They may be collateral damage, but not the target,” Samira Gutoc, a Muslim rights activist and former secretary-general of the Philippine Muslim Women’s Council, told IRIN.

Gutoc said that in the Amai Pakpak hospital in Marawi City, there were 50 'rido'-related incidents between December 2008 and February 2009.

“What is fearsome is that women like Helen Accoon have become recent targets of this vendetta phenomenon. Killing women is a more powerful way of creating fear,” Gutoc said.

Asnawi Abdullah, a surgeon at the Amai Pakpak hospital, said no official records of 'rido' cases were kept at the hospital.

“We don’t ask questions. Our priority is to stabilize the patient… We want to avoid a situation where a patient is finished off on hospital premises. It hasn’t happened yet, but there is always the fear it could.”

IRIN is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, but its services are editorially independent.


Link: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84979

MILF rebels ambush military patrol in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 1, 2009) – Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels ambushed a military patrol Thursday in the restive region of the Southern Philippines.

The ambush sparked fierce fighting in the town of Piagapo in Lanao del Sur province, where MILF rebels are actively operating.

Peace talks between the MILF and Manila failed in August last year after the aborted signing of the Muslim homeland deal that the Supreme Court ruled said was unconstitutional.

“Fighting erupted between MILF freedom fighters and government occupation forces today at around 5:20 this morning in the villages of Odalo and Bansayan, both in Piagapo, Lanao del Sur.”

“There are no concrete details of the fighting as it is still raging as of press time.But initial but sketchy report said government soldiers were on patrol when they were ambushed by undetermined number of MILF mujahideen, using machineguns and rocket propelled grenade launchers,” the rebels said on a report they posted on the MILF website which can be accessed on this URL http://www.luwaran.com.

Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, has confirmed the skirmishes and said fighting were reported in several villages. “We are also awaiting reports from our commanders, but there are fighting between rebel and military forces and several villages were affected by the skirmishes,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Fighting also erupted last month in the town that killed two government soldiers and three rebels. Five more MILF gunmen and an infantryman were wounded in the clash Dec. 17 in Piagapo’s Bansayan village.

Troops in the province were pursuing MILF rebels blamed for a series of deadly attacks in August in Lanao del Sur and other areas in the autonomous region.

Because of the attacks, President Gloria Arroyo disbanded the government peace panel negotiating with rebels and demanded the MILF to surrender three commanders she blamed for the raids - Abdullah Macapaar, Sulayman Pangalian and Ameril Kato.

Manila has put up a P10 million bounties each for the capture of the three rebel commanders. Arroyo said the government would only return to the peace talks if the MILF surrenders the three rebel commanders. But the MILF rejected the demand and said it would resume talks if Arroyo honors the ancestral domain deal.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which has been fighting for more than three decades for the establishment of a separate homeland in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine authorities tighten security after attack on UN truck in Mindanao

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 23, 2008) – Philippine authorities tightened security in Mindanao following an attack on one of two trucks contracted by the UN to deliver food aid to thousands of war refugees in the troubled region, officials said.

One worker was killed in the attack late Sunday after gunmen opened fire on the truck as it passed the town of Calanogas in Lanao del Sur province. Authorities have blamed bandits for the ambush.

“We have tightened security in the highway and deployed more troops to help the local police patrol the area. Bandits were behind the attack that killed one worker,” Col. Rey Ardo, commander of the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade, said Tuesday.

Ardo said the second truck did not proceed to the town after the attack. He said troops and policemen were searching for the gunmen.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, warned the bandits to stop their nefarious activities or face arrest. “They better stop or else we will give them a dose of their own medicine,” said Eid kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

Kabalu branded as “Mogadishu in Mindanao,” the 70-kilometer stretch of the highway in the province linking the towns of Calanogas and Ganassi, because of rampant attacks and robberies in the area.

He was referring to the capital of Somalia notorious for its armed militias and street violence and high levels of crimes.

The UN World Food Programme has condemned the attack. Thousands of families of were displaced by sporadic fighting between MILF rebels and government troops after the peace talks collapsed in August.

The MILF is seeking to establish a separate homeland for more than four million Muslims in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

5 killed in clashes between rebels and troops in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 17, 2008) – Two government soldiers and three MILF rebels were killed in fierce fighting in the southern Philippines, officials said on Wednesday.

Officials said five rebels and a soldier were also wounded in the fighting Tuesday in the village of Bansayan in the town of Piagapo in Lanao del Sur, one of six provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

But troops recovered no bodies of the slain rebels, although an army spokeswoman Lt. Steffani Cacho, quoting intelligence reports, insisted that three MILF fighters were killed and five more wounded in the clash.

“Our troops continue the hunt for the lawless MILF group responsible for the crimes committed against the people of Lanao, especially Bravo and Pangalian,” Cacho told the Mindanao Examiner.

She said the rebels belonged to a rogue faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, blamed for a series of deadly attacks in August in Lanao del Sur and other areas in the autonomous region, a known stronghold of the MILF.

Cacho was referring to MILF leaders Abdullah Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, and Sulayman Pangalian who, along with Ameril Kato, another rebel commander, launched attacks in Lanao, Maguindanao and Sarangani provinces after the failed signing of the Muslim homeland deal, which would have created the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

Because of the attacks, President Gloria Arroyo disbanded the government peace panel negotiating with rebels and demanded the MILF to surrender the three commanders.

Manila has put up a P10 million bounties each for the capture of Macapaar, Kato and Pangalian. Arroyo said the government would only return to the peace talks if the MILF surrenders the three rebel commanders. But the MILF rejected the demand and said it would resume talks if Arroyo honors the ancestral domain deal. (Mindanao Examiner)

MILF, AFP trade accusations of truce violations, propaganda in Mindanao

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 11, 2008) – Moro rebels and military officials on Tuesday traded accusations of cease-fire violations and propaganda with both sides claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers and mujahideen in fierce fighting in Mindanao.

The Philippine Army said at least 10 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) were slain and 15 more wounded in Monday clashes in the town of Wao in Lanao del Sur town province.

And the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, claimed that at least 26 government soldiers perished in the fierce firefight that lasted several hours.

“We have intelligence reports that at least ten rebels were killed and that 15 more are wounded in the fighting,” said Col. Nicanor Dolojan, commander of 403rd Infantry Brigade in the province.

Dolojan said the bodies of slain rebels were taken away by MILF forces under Sulayman Pangalian.

He said more than 100 rebels clashed with security forces in the town’s hinterland village called Park after the military launched a preemptive strike to prevent the gunmen from getting near civilian areas. “We have recovered one B40 anti-tank rocket left behind by fleeing rebels,” Dolojan said.

But Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, denied the military report and said rebel forces killed many soldiers in the fighting. “Every time there is fighting; the military would say that many rebels were killed. It is our forces that had killed many soldiers and Monday’s fighting left at least 26 dead,” he said.

Pangalian is one of three MILF leaders wanted by authorities for killing innocent civilians in deadly attacks in August in provinces in Mindanao. The two other rebel commanders, Ameril Kato and Abdullah Macapaar, are also being hunted by thousands of army soldiers.

Security officials on Friday also said at least 19 MILF rebels were killed and three army soldiers wounded in sporadic, but fierce clashes in the towns of Mamasapano and Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao, one of six provinces under the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

The military previously said that Pangalian, Kato and Macapaar were on the run and without munitions because of the continued government offensives and in several occasions claimed the rebel leaders had been killed in separate fighting.

But both Kato and Macapaar later surfaced separately and held their own clandestine media interview and vowed to launch more attacks and at the same time dared the military to get them.

The media have virtually become a battle ground of lies and deceit and propaganda tool for rebels and the military with the public getting confused over what is being reported as the truth.

More than half a million people have been displaced by the hostilities in Mindanao since August despite a cease-fire agreement signed in 2001 after President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF, which is fighting for self-determination in the troubled, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao.

Manila suspended peace talks with the MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination in Mindanao, after the rebel attacks in August.

The attacks were triggered by the failed signing of the Muslim territorial deal between the MILF and the government. The deal would have granted more than four million Muslims their own homeland across 700 villages in the troubled region, but the accord also sparked massive protests from residents and politicians opposed to the accord. The Supreme Court declared the government ancestral domain deal with the MILF as unconstitutional. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops clashed with MILF rebels in South RP

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Gunmen seized couple in Southern Philippines

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 7, 2008) – Unidentified gunmen abducted a Filipino couple Friday in Iligan City in the southern Philippines, authorities said.

It said gunmen seized Rosaleho Herbito and his wife Soling in the village of Abuno before noontime and fled onboard the couple’s truck towards Tagoloan town in Lanao del Sur province.

No group claimed responsibility for the latest abduction and authorities are still investigating the motive of the attack. Authorities gave no details about the couple, but the area where they had been seized was previously attacked by Moro rebels. (Mindanao Examiner)

Flash Floods Hit Southern RP Town

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 9, 2008) – Flash floods triggered by heavy rains the past days submerged several villages in the town of Wao in Lanao del Sur province in the southern Philippines, officials said Thursday.

Officials were also verifying reports that several people drowned in the village of Kabigis, where at least 50 houses had been affected by rampaging floodwaters.

Col. Rey Ardo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, said troops have been deployed in the area to rescue villagers trapped in the flood.

Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. has requested helicopters and rubber boats from the military to hasten the rescue of those trapped in the villages. Mayor Elvino Balitao Jr. said civilian volunteers were helping in the rescue of the villagers. (Merlyn Manos)

US Troops Deployed In Southern Philippines Where Fighting Is Raging

Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo and Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro and Military chief Alexander Yano inspect MILF weapons recovered by Philippine troops during a visit in Iligan City in Lanao del Norte province on September 18, 2008. (Photo by Rolando Mailo / OPS-NIB)

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 18, 2008) – US troops have been deployed in the southern Philippines, where Filipino soldiers are battling Moro rebels, government media reported Thursday.

It said US forces are operating in Lanao provinces and involved in humanitarian assistance and development, but were also helping the local military in fighting terrorism, the Philippine News Agency said, quoting Filipino army commanders.

It quoted Army Colonel Benito de Leon, commander of the 104th Infantry Brigade, as saying the US forces are also into intelligence purposes which is in keeping with an earlier agreement with the Philippines' supporting the global war on terrorism.

“American troops are based mainly in Zamboanga and just come and go in the Lanao areas for technical purposes in intelligence swapping with domestic counterparts,” he said.

Philippine troops are battling Moro Islamic Liberation Front forces in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces after rebels launched a series of deadly attacks since last month.

The local military said US troops were already deployed in the province constructing water system and irrigation projects even before rebels, led by Abdurahman Macapaar, mounted attacks that killed dozens of civilians.

Another Filipino army commander, Colonel Rey Ardo, said US military engineers are set to begin water system projects in the towns of Lumbayanague and Masiu, scenes of previous clashes between soldiers and rebels.

“Tapping the vast Lake Lanao, the Americans saw the rich agricultural potential of several towns which are actually considered rice basin of the province,” he said.

The Philippine military said US troops are not allowed to join combat operations, but can engage rebels if they are attacked.

Fierce fighting on Wednesday in Lanao del Sur’s Calanugas town left seven soldiers and one MILF rebel dead and at least 7 more infantrymen wounded in separate MILF attacks.

Peace negotiations between Manila and the MILF collapsed after the aborted signing of a Muslim homeland deal last month.

President Gloria Arroyo also disbanded the government panel negotiating with the MILF and scrapped the territorial deal which would have granted a separate homeland for about four million Muslims in Mindanao.

Arroyo demanded the MILF to surrender three rogue MILF commanders Ameril Kato, Sulayman Panglian and Macapaar, who were tagged as behind the series of attacks before peace could resume.

The MILF rejected the demands and warned that a bigger war could erupt in the restive region if Manila continues its offensive. More than half a million people have been affected by the fighting since last month.

Peace talks last year were also stalled after Manila reneged on the same territorial deal. Malaysia, which is brokering the negotiations, blamed the Arroyo government for stalling the seven-year old peace talks. (Mindanao Examiner)

Ambush Kills 7 Soldiers, Militias In Southern Philippines

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 17, 2008) – Unidentified gunmen ambushed a military convoy on Sunday and killing 7 people, including four soldiers in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Sur, officials said.

Officials said at least eight more soldiers and three government militias were wounded in the attack at around 8 a.m. in the town of Malundo. The attack ambush sparked a firefight between the attacks and soldiers, said Army Brig. Gen. Hilario Atendido, commander of a military task force.

“Four of our soldiers and three militias were killed and eleven others wounded in the ambush. We still do not know who was behind the attack,” he told the Mindanao Examiner, adding, armed rebels are active in the area.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and New People’s Army are known to operate in the area.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but the general said the soldiers were just distributing salaries of members of the paramilitary Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Units.

Last week, fierce fighting between MILF rebels and security forces broke out in North Cotabato province leaving dozens of people dead and wounded from both sides and more than 160,000 villagers displaced by clashes. (Mindanao Examiner)