Officials said the attack triggered a 15-minute firefight Thursday night between army soldiers and rebels in the village of Salvo in Maguindanao’s Datu Saudi Ampatuan town and left one infantryman wounded.
“The attack occurred as troops were heading back to camp after attending the signing of a peace covenant among village leaders in the area. A village chieftain and another official who were behind the convoy were killed and one of our soldiers was also wounded in the attack perpetrated by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels,” said Army Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division.
He tagged MILF leader Mohiden Karialan as behind the attack. “At least 15 rebels were involved in the attack,” he said.
Hao identified those killed as Salik Guimba, village chieftain of Liab in Mamasapano town, and Nasser Mapangal, a village councilor.
But the MILF denied its commander was involved in the attack and spokesman Von Al Haq blamed Guimba’s political foes for the ambush. “The MILF has nothing to do with the attack and reports we gathered pointed to Guimba’s political enemies as behind the attack,” he said.
The motive of the attack was unknown, but it occurred ahead of village elections next week in the Philippines.
Elections in Mindanao are traditionally bloody with candidates and their followers attacking each other, especially in areas where politicians maintain private armed goons.
Monday’s elections are expected to be violent and the military have already deployed troops to guard polling areas and protect the voters.
The rebel group, which is fighting for decades for self-determination, has previously warned its members to stay away from elections, saying, it does not recognize the country’s political exercise.
The 12,000-strong MILF is currently negotiating peace with Manila in an effort to end bloody Muslim insurgency in the country’s restive, but mineral-rich southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, October 22, 2010
2 killed in Mindanao rebel attack
Thursday, October 21, 2010
7 killed in Mindanao bus bombing
At least 7 people are dead and many wounded after a bomb explosion ripped through a Philippine bus in the restive region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geo Solmerano).
NORTH COTABATO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 21, 2010) – At least 7 people were killed and more than a dozen injured after a bomb explosion Thursday ripped through a passenger bus in the restive region of Mindanao, south of the Philippines, the military said.
The blast occurred at around 10:30 in the morning as the bus was passing the village of Dalapitan in North Cotabato’s Matalam town. “We have deployed troops in the area to secure public places and assist in the evacuation of the wounded,” Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.
He said initial reports claimed that at least 7 passengers had died and many wounded from the explosion. “We still don’t know who was behind this attack, but we condemned this act of terrorism,” Hao said.
The bomb apparently went off from the baggage compartment of the bus, owned by Rural Transit of Mindanao. The bus was heading to Cagayan del Oro city from Tacurong, a city in Sultan Kudarat province.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but rebel groups are actively operating in North Cotabato and in nearby provinces of Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Maguindanao.
Hao said authorities are investigating the explosion.
In August, armed men disguised as policemen also torched a bus owned by Rural Transit after killing its driver and two of-duty police officers at a road block in Lanao del Norte’s Kapatagan town. Several bomb attacks on provincial buses, blamed to rebels extorting money, also occurred in recent years in Mindanao. (With reports from Mark Navales, Geo Solmerano and Becky de Asis)
Monday, September 06, 2010
Bomb explodes in Southern Philippine town
He said an 81mm mortar bomb was believed used in the attack. It was the second bomb explosion since last week after an improvised explosive also went off at a bus depot in Maguindanao’s Cotabato City on Thursday night, although no casualties had been reported.
The latest bombing came a day after police and military tightened security in the southern Philippines following the killing in Sulu province of an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Gafur Jumdail and two other militants whose group is tied to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists.
Jumdail, brother of a key militant leader, Umbra Abu Jumdail alias Dr Abu, was fatally shot by police commandos. Hao said troops were told to stay alert for possible retaliatory attacks by the Abu Sayyaf in civilian areas in Mindanao.
It was unknown whether the Abu Sayyaf, which means “bearer of the sword,” has anything to do with the attack. The Abu Sayyaf has been blamed by authorities to the spate of terrorism in the volatile region, where security forces are battling Muslim and communist insurgencies the past four decades. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Kidnapped Chinese-Filipino trader freed in Mindanao
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Troops search for kidnapped Chinese trader in Southern Philippines
Villagers ride motorized boats in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province. Gunmen seized a Chinese-Filipino trader, Nestor Tay, in Cotabato City on Monday, August 16, 2010. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)Officials said gunmen abducted Nestor Tay, owner of the New Asian Marketing in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province late Monday afternoon. Tay was inside his store when armed men barged and seized Tay.
Tay was dragged to a waiting van outside his store and sped off towards, leaving behind a security guard who was disarmed by the gunmen.
“There is an ongoing operation, but we cannot disclose details of this operation, but troops and police forces are searching for the victim,” said Army Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the abduction and authorities would not say whether Moro rebels were behind this. But previous kidnappings had been blamed to the rebels, who use ransom to purchase weapons to fight the government or finance terror attacks.
Kidnappings-for-ransom is not uncommon in Cotabato and dozens of wealthy traders had been kidnapped in the past and freed after their family paid ransoms to their captors.
Besides from Tay, gunmen are also holding a Japanese citizen, Toshio Ito, 63, who was seized July 16 from his home in Pangutaran Island in the Sulu archipelago. (With a report from Mark Navales)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Moro rebels accuse Philippine military of violating fragile truce in troubled South
“Military planes bombed our areas, although there were no reports of casualties, but the attacks violated the cease-fire agreement between the MILF and the Philippine government. We have filed a protest in connection with the airstrikes which occurred in Datu Piang (town in Maguindanao province) this week,” a rebel spokesman, Von Al-Haq, said on Wednesday.
The attack he said, as two MILF groups clashed over control of a rice field in the farming village of Alunganan. “The military took advantage of the fighting between two groups of MILF commanders – Adzmie and Abunawas – and bombed the village and it was only by luck that no civilian was killed in the airstrike,” Al-Haq said.
But the Army’s 6th Infantry Division denied the MILF accusations and said the planes fired only white phosphorous as a warning for the protagonists to stop fighting.
“Our military planes fired white phosphorous rounds in between the warring factions to mark their positions and show that we are serious in our efforts in stopping their conflicts. However, those rounds were smokes and not bombs. After we fired the white phosphorous rounds, the sporadic firefight stopped,” said Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division.
He said sporadic fighting between the two rebel groups forced more than 1,200 families to flee their homes for fear they would be trapped in the villages or held as shield by MILF forces. “The operation conducted was a preventive move by the military to protect civilians and families displaced by the conflict between the warring MILF groups in the field,” Hao said.
He said at least 4 rebels from were reported killed in the sporadic fighting between the two rebel commanders. Hao said the military also filed a protest against the MILF for violating the truce with the government cease-fire committees.
The MILF said it suspended the two commanders involved in the fighting and ordered rebel forces to stay inside their camps while it investigates the clashes.
Peace talks between the Manila and the MILF which is fighting for decades for self-determination, was temporarily suspended in June after President Gloria Arroyo, who ended her term, stepped down without new agreements that would put an end to decades of bloody fighting in the restive region of Mindanao.
But new Filipino leader Benigno Aquino III said he would resume the negotiations after the holy month of Ramadan.
The MILF chieftain, Murad Ebrahim, said the rebel group is ready to resume the peace negotiations, but stressed that Manila should honor all previous agreements signed by both sides. “The two parties have to continue from where we stopped, and following the stipulations agreed by both parties as provided for in the Declaration of Continuity for Peace Negotiation between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front signed in Malaysia on June 3, 2010,” Ebrahim said.
He said if the Philippine leader is sincere in pursuing the peace talks with the MILF, Aquino can resolve the Moro problem in Mindanao within his 6 years in office.
“The greatest challenge to the peace process is whether this time the President has the political will to surmount all obstacles and oppositions including well-entrenched spoilers once the peace talks start or when an agreement will be signed. Running parallel is whether the peace process is truly a problem-solving endeavor or just an exercise to manage the conflict, as what previous presidents, deliberately or otherwise, did. We wish to tell you that whether in negotiation or in the normal course of our Islamic revolutionary struggle, the political aspirations of our people remain the same and constant – we want genuine governance for our people. We want our people to decide for themselves.”
“It is our hope that the Moro question and armed conflict in Mindanao will be settled in our lifetime, otherwise, this struggle of our people for freedom and right to self-determination will drag on for generation after generation. To ensure this, we are preparing the young generations to carry on the great task of liberating our people from the yoke of oppression and thralldom,” Ebrahim said.
MILF chief peace negotiator, Mohagher Iqbal said Manila previously offered the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao instead of what was previously agreed upon in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.
Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and the negotiations nearly collapsed seven years later after both sides failed to sign any agreement on the most contentious issue — ancestral domain – which refers to the rebel demand for territory that will constitute a Muslim homeland.
The failed agreement triggered deadly rebel attacks in 2007 in Mindanao after the Supreme Court stopped the formal signing of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.
Politicians and lawmakers, many of them wealthy landowners in Mindanao, opposed the ancestral domain deal and filed their petitions to the High Court and asked Manila to make public the rest of the agreement. They claimed the accord was made without public consultations.
The MILF said it will not renegotiate the ancestral domain agreement. "It is already a done deal; we have already initialed the memorandum of agreement on the ancestral domain. We will not revisit or renegotiate the agreement," Iqbal said.
But despite the ancestral domain deal, there is still a need to amend the Constitution to allow plebiscite on areas under the ancestral domain that would make up the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity and give Muslims their own homeland.
Ancestral domain is the single most important issue in the peace negotiations before the rebel group can reach a political settlement with the Philippine government.
It covers the whole of the Muslim autonomous region – Sulu, Tawi-Tawi-, Basilan, Maguindanao and Lanao, including Marawi City. And some areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Mindanao where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes. And also Palawan Island, off Mindanao.
Last year, Tawi-Tawi Representative Nur Jaafar filed House Bill 4963 and Arroyo, now a member of the Philippine Congress, also filed a similar bill, proposing to divide the Muslim autonomous region into two – the South Western Autonomous Region and the Central Mindanao Autonomous Region – and that a plebiscite will be held in every village in the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and the cities of Isabela, Pagadian, Dipolog, Dapitan and Zamboanga.
And also in the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Sultan Kudarat, North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and the cities of Cotabato, Marawi, Iligan, Kidapawan, General Santos, Koronadal and Tacurong. (With a report from Mark Navales)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Child dead, 3 others wounded in Maguindanao bombing
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 13, 2010) – An improvised bomb exploded in the restive southern region of the Philippines and killing a child and wounding three more, an army spokesman said on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, of the 6th Infantry Division, said the blast tore through a police outpost in Maguindanao’s Datu Piang town late Monday. Two men riding tandem on a motorcycle were suspected of carrying out the attack, he said.
“A child was killed in the blast and three others are wounded – two of them adults and the other is a college student,” Hao told the Mindanao Examiner.
He said the attackers fled even before the explosion and were being hunted by security forces. “Police and military are still investigating the motive of the attack,” Hao said.
No individual or group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the town has been in the past a target of attacks by Moro rebels and followers of the powerful Ampatuan clan – linked by authorities to last year’s massacre of 57 people - whose patriarch Andal Ampatuan, former governor of Maguindanao; and his sons, including the governor of the Muslim autonomous region, Zaldy Ampatuan, were implicated in the brutal slayings.
Close to 200 people were accused of participating in the killings and among the victims were at least 32 journalists who accompanied the political caravan of Esmael Mangudadatu, then the vice mayor of Buluan town.
The Ampatuans have been arrested and are currently locked up in prison in Manila, but they still enjoy special treatment because of their influence and immense wealth. (Mindanao Examiner)
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Blast kills boy, 2 others wounded as President Arroyo visits Mindanao
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 17, 2010) – An improvised bomb exploded Wednesday as President Gloria Arroyo inspected troops in the volatile region of the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the blast killed a nine-year old Tata Palao and wounded two children in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat in Maguindanao province where Arroyo visited.
The children were getting firewood in the village of Kabingi at around 11: 45 a.m. when Palao stepped on the mine, said Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.
Hao said the boy did not reach the hospital alive. He said the bomb was believed planted by Moro rebels a long time ago. “The IED was believed planted by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels a long time ago,” Hao told the Mindanao Examiner.
Arroyo inspected soldiers at an army base in the province as part of her visitation in Mindanao. The President is to step down in June after her term ends, but is also seeking a congressional seat in her hometown in Pampanga province in Luzon Island.
The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is currently negotiating peace with Manila. The explosion also occurred just as a team of international truce observers arrived in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)
Monday, February 01, 2010
10 soldiers, two militias awarded medals for defending Maguindanao town from attacks
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 1, 2010) – Ten government soldiers were awarded medals Monday for their roles in helping improve the peace and order in the restive province of Maguindanao, where 57 people had been brutally killed last year.
Two pro-government militias were also awarded medals for their contribution in maintaining peace in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.
Acting governor of Maguindanao Bai Nariman Ambolodto gave the awards during the flag ceremony attended by senior military commanders headed by Major General Anthony Alcantara and government officials at the provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak town. She said the awards were given as a show of gratitude in maintaining peace and security in the province.
Maguindanao is still under a state of emergency following the gruesome murders of 57 people, including at least 31 journalists on November 23 by the scion of a powerful political clan, Andal Ampatuan Jr., the mayor of Datu Unsay town.
Among those murdered were the wife and two sisters and supporters of Esmael Mangudadatu, the vice mayor of Buluan town who is running for governor of Maguindanao – a position being held by the mayor’s father and namesake, Andal Ampatuan Sr. - in the May elections.
The Ampatuan and the Mangudadatu clans are bitter political foe in Maguindanao, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, whose governor, Zaldy Ampatuan, is a brother of Andal Ampatuan Jr. All three politicians, including other clan members and supporters, had been arrested in connection with the killings. They denied involvement in the murders.
Army Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, of the 6th Infantry Division, said those who were awarded also fought some 180 gunmen in three separate attacks in Maguindanao.
“The acting governor personally thanked the men and women in uniform based in her province and bowed to support the peace and security measures that are being undertaken to ensure normalcy and economic activity in Maguindanao,” he said.
Those who received awards were Army First Lieutenant Alvin Cardenas, Second Lieutenant Rene Gatugan Jr., Sergeants Eduardo Bautista and Pinion Lim; Corporals Mamerto Abarcar and Joseph Soriano – all from the 9th Scout Ranger Company - who fought against some 30 gunmen in Shariff Aguak town of January 24.
And Army Corporal Adonis Lagmay, militia members Ronel Dagadas and Bobby Tagiled, of the 25th Maguindanao Civilian Armed Auxiliary Company under the 38th Infantry Battalion who fought and defended their post in Datu Hofer town against 100 gunmen on January 10.
And also Army Captain Abdila Mangoramas, Staff Sergeants Alex Brosas and Ranilo Aguilar, of the 46th Infantry Battalion based in Shariff Aguak. They also fought and defended their patrol base in Shariff Aguak town from attacks by 50 gunmen on December 14.
Meanwhile, the military also said Monday that security preparations in Maguindanao are on track in connection with the May 10 national elections.
Colonel Ernesto Aradanas, commander of the 603rd Infantry Brigade, said the operations against illegal weapons are going on in the province and have so far recovered at least 271firearms issued to the government militias after authorities enforced a total gun ban in the country.
Most of the weapons came from militias based in the towns of Parang, North Upi, South Upi, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Guindulungan, Talitay, and Talayan.
“The main goal of all these security measures is to achieve an atmosphere of peace conducive to development in the province of Maguindanao,” Aradanas said. (Mindanao Examiner)