Arroyo lifts martial rule in Maguindanao province, but state of emergency stays

Anti-Arroyo protesters during a recent rally in Davao City in Mindanao. (Photo by Karlos Manlupig)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 12, 2009) – Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has lifted Saturday martial law in Maguindanao, but the state of emergency stays in the province where security forces are pursuing more than 2,000 armed followers of a powerful political clan linked to the massacre of 57 people last month.

“We will continue with our operations to track down more than 2,000 gunmen who are followers of the Ampatuan clan. Although the President ordered the lifting of the martial law in Maguindanao, the whole province is still in the state of emergency,” said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a regional army spokesman.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the lifting of the martial rule will take effect at 9 p.m. Saturday.

Arroyo placed the province under martial rule after security forces unearthed hundreds of light artillery and heavy infantry weapons in Shariff Aguak town said to belong to the Ampatuan clan.

At least 57 people were killed, including 30 journalists on November 23 by more than a hundred gunmen allegedly led by Datu Unsay town mayor Andal Ampatuan Jnr whose father and namesake is the governor of Maguindanao. Among those brutally murdered were the wife and relatives and supporters of rival politician Esmael Mangudadatu, the vice mayor of Buluan town who is a candidate for governor in Maguindanao in next year’s polls.

The military said the armed followers of the Ampatuan clan are still a serious threat in the peace and order in Maguindanao. “Unless these people surrender peacefully and lay down their arms, they still pose a great threat to the security of the public in Maguindanao,” Ponce said.

Authorities have charged Andal Jnr and several clan members and followers of multiple counts of murder charges, while his father and brothers, including the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Zaldy Ampatuan, were also charged with rebellion. The Ampatuans denied all the accusations against. (Mindanao Examiner)

Police convoy ambushed in Maguindanao province

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 10, 2009) - Suspected armed supporters of a powerful political clan ambushed late Thursday a police convoy in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao where 57 people had been brutally killed last month, officials said.

Officials said the police convoy came under fire in the village of Labu-Labu in Ampatuan town, but there were no reports of casualties. The military said it sent four armored vehicles in the area to rescue the policemen who were on their way to General Santos City.

“There were no casualties in the ambush. We have dispatched four armored vehicles to the area to reinforce the policemen,” Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

Ponce said the attackers could be followers of the Ampatuan clan. “The ambushers could be supporters of the Ampatuan clan,” he said.

The town is a stronghold of the clan linked to the November 23 murders where the bodies of those killed were buried in mass graves.

Last month, 57 people, including 30 journalists, traveling an election convoy were brutally murdered in Ampatuan town, believed to be the result of battling warlords in the region, led to the imposition of martial law in Maguindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine security forces raid ARMM compound; weapons seized

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 8, 2009) – Security forces seized a small cache of weapons after raiding Tuesday afternoon the office of a Philippine governor linked to the grisly murders of 57 people in Maguindanao province, officials said.

The weapons, which included more than a dozen automatic rifles, grenades and a machine gun and more than a thousand rounds of munitions, were recovered hidden inside a newly-constructed septic tank at the office of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in Cotabato City, said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a regional army spokesman.

Police arrested last week the governor of Muslim autonomous region, Zaldy Ampatuan, along with his father, Andal Ampatuan Snr, who is also the governor of Maguindanao and his sons, among them Andal Ampatuan Jnr, the mayor of Datu Unsay town accused of masterminding the November 23 mass murders.

“Military intelligence pinpointed the exact location of the arms cache and soldiers and police forces swooped down the area and recovered the illegal weapons. Civilian intelligence also helped us a lot in locating the weapons,” Ponce said.

He said a militia commander Macapagal Camenden, believed to be the custodian of the weapons, managed to flee and is being hunted by security forces.
Military choppers on Tuesday also dropped thousands of feelers over a vast area in Maguindanao province urging armed followers of the Ampatuan clan – linked to the brutal murders of 57 people - to surrender peacefully.

“We have dropped feelers in the areas and urging armed followers of the Ampatuan clan to surrender peacefully,” Ponce said.

Security officials said thousands of troops and policemen were tracking down some 2,400 gunmen who are followers of the clan leader, Andal Ampatuan Snr, the governor of Maguindanao.

Among those killed in Maguindanao were 30 journalists, and the wife and sisters, including supporters of a rival politician, Esmael Mangudadatu, the deputy mayor of Buluan town, who is a candidate for governor in Maguindanao.

President Gloria Arroyo placed Maguindanao under martial rule on December 4 and ordered the arrest of all those involved in the murders.

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said multiple counts of murder charges were filed against the massacre suspects, on top of rebellion cases being readied against them.

Since martial law was declared, hundreds of high-powered weapons and close to a half million pieces of munitions were unearthed in shallow graves near the mansions of the Ampatuans, bolstering suspicions they belong to clan. (Mindanao Examiner)

Moro rebel linked to bombings is captured in Mindanao

A Philippine Army soldier mans his post in Cotabato City. Troops and policemen captured a Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel allegedly behind the spate of bombings in Kidapawan City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 24, 2009) – Philippine authorities arrested a senior leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front implicated by the military to the spate of bombings in Kidapawan City in Mindanao, officials said on Thursday.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said Badrudin Dalungan was held at a checkpoint on Wednesday in Cotabato City near Maguindanao province.

He said Dalungan is a member of the MILF’s special operations group tagged as behind the 2007 bombings in Kidapawan that killed and wounded several civilians.

“MILF-SOG Badrudin Dalungan was arrested on Wednesday afternoon at a checkpoint in Cotabato City. (He has) warrants of arrest for multiple frustrated murder in connection to the series of blasts in Kidapawan City in 2007,” Ponce said.

He said Dalungan’s arrest came a day after security forces also captured Camarudin Hadji Ali alias Commander Mudi at the house of one his wives in Cotabato City after a long intelligence and surveillance operations.

Ali is a leader of the MILF’s 105th Base Command under Ameril Umbra Kato and they are both wanted for the series of deadly attacks last year in Mindanao, according to Ponce.

He said the rebel leader has a bounty of more than a million pesos for his capture.

The MILF said authorities arrested the wrong men. “They got the wrong guys,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

Early this month, troops captured Benjamin Esmail Satol, an alleged member of the MILF’s special operations group linked to the July 5 bombing outside a Catholic church in Cotabato City. At least five people were killed in the attack.

Satol was held at an army checkpoint in the village of Makir in Datu Odin Sinsuat town after soldiers seized a hand grenade from his bag.

The MILF, which is fighting the past three decades for self-determination, is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

Peace talks collapsed in August last year after rebel and government negotiators failed to sign a homeland deal which the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional.

President Gloria Arroyo resumed the peace talks this year in an effort to put an end to bloody fighting in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

MILF leader captured in South RP

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 22, 2009) – Philippines security forces captured Tuesday a senior leader of the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in the troubled region of Mindanao, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Army spokesman Colonel Jonathan Ponce said a joint team of soldiers and policemen captured Camarudin Hadji Ali alias Commander Mudi at the house of one his wives in Cotabato City after a long intelligence and surveillance operations.

“Ali is a leader of the MILF’s 105th Base Command under Ameril Umbra Kato, who are both wanted for a series of deadly attacks last year in Mindanao,” said Ponce.

The rebel leader has a bounty of more than a million pesos for his capture.

There was no immediate statement from the MILF which is currently negotiating peace with Manila. The MILF is fighting the past three decades for self-determination.

Peace talks collapsed in August last year after rebel and government negotiators failed to sign a homeland deal which the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional.

President Gloria Arroyo resumed the peace talks this year in an effort to put an end to bloody fighting in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Army man who killed 2 soldiers is captured in Mindanao

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 15, 2009) – Government troops have captured an infantryman who killed two soldiers and wounded another in a shooting spree near an army base in the southern Philippines, officials said Tuesday.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the soldier - Private First Class Jefferson Brillo – was captured late Monday after he was tracked down on a remote village in Barira town in Maguindanao province.

“He will face charges for killing the two soldiers and the wounding of another army trooper,” Ponce said told the Mindanao Examiner.

Brillo shot his commander Sergeant Alex Guimata and Corporal Ernesto Dumaboc in a fit of rage after he was reprimanded for drinking.

Another soldier, Corporal Randy Lainera, is recuperating at a military hospital after being shot also. Brillo escaped after the shooting. Ponce said the soldier broke several bones after he jumped from a cliff to evade pursuing troops. He was brought to hospital, he said.

The sergeant confronted Brillo, a sentinel at a detachment of 38th Infantry Battalion in Tugaig village in Barira town, after he was caught drinking at a store near the battalion headquarters.

Brillo, who was supposed to man the detachment, went to his bunker and returned armed with automatic rifle and then without warning opened fire on the soldiers before escaping on foot, Ponce said.

Early this month, an infantryman, Technical Sergeant Policarpio dela Cruz, also shot and killed two army soldiers and injured five others after he opened fire on them at an army base also in the town.

The shooter was also shot and wounded by other soldiers. Those killed in the shooting were identified as Sergeant Bernard de Guzman and Private First Class Christopher Pagatpatan. While the wounded were Lieutenant Colonel Aniceto Vicente, Major Fe Ea, Second Lieutenant Grace Sumalbag, Sergeant Ronaldo Saraza and Corporal Dennis Bergante.

The motive of the shooting is still unknown, but the army spokesman said Dela Cruz was observed to be acting abnormally before the attack. (Mindanao Examiner)

Another soldier runs amuck, kills 2 infantrymen at army post in Mindanao

Army soldiers guard a bridge in the Maguindanao town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in the southern Philippines as an old man bikes his way through. Two soldiers were killed in Maguindanao after an infantryman went on a murderous rampage. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 14, 2009) – The Philippine Army mounted a massive search on Monday for a foot soldier who killed two infantry men and wounded one more in a shooting spree in Mindanao.

The soldier, Private First Class Jefferson Brillo, shot his commander Sergeant Alex Guimata and Corporal Ernesto Dumaboc in a fit of rage after he was reprimanded for drinking.

Another soldier, Corporal Randy Lainera, is recuperating at a military hospital after being shot also. Brillo escaped after the shooting, said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao province.

“The perpetrator is still at-large,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ponce said the sergeant confronted Brillo, a sentinel at a detachment of 38th Infantry Battalion in Tugaid village in Barira town, after he was caught drinking at a store near the battalion headquarters.

Brillo, who was supposed to man the detachment, went to his bunker and returned armed with automatic rifle and then without warning opened fire on the soldiers before escaping on foot, the official said.

Early this month, an infantry man also shot and killed two army soldiers and injured five others after he opened fire on them at an army base in Maguindanao’s Tugaig town.

The shooter, Technical Sergeant Policarpio dela Cruz, was also shot and wounded by other soldiers.

Those killed in the shooting were identified as Sergeant Bernard de Guzman and Private First Class Christopher Pagatpatan. While the wounded were Lieutenant Colonel Aniceto Vicente, Major Fe Ea, Second Lieutenant Grace Sumalbag, Sergeant Ronaldo Saraza and Corporal Dennis Bergante.

The motive of the shooting is still unknown, but the army spokesman said Dela Cruz was observed to be acting abnormally before the attack. (Mindanao Examiner)

Army man runs amuck, kills 2 soldiers; 6 more wounded in Southern Philippines

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 4, 2009) – Two army soldiers were killed and five others wounded after an infantryman opened fire on them Friday in the southern Philippines, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said the shooter, Technical Sergeant Policarpio dela Cruz, was also shot and wounded by other soldiers. “He was rushed to hospital along with the other wounded soldiers,” said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Those killed in the shooting were identified as Sergeant Bernard de Guzman and Private First Class Christopher Pagatpatan. While the wounded were Lieutenant Colonel Aniceto Vicente, Major Fe Ea, Second Lieutenant Grace Sumalbag, Sergeant Ronaldo Saraza and Corporal Dennis Bergante.

The attack occurred at around 4.30 p.m. in the village of Tugaig in Maguindanao’s Barira town shortly after the soldiers arrived for a meeting at an army headquarters.

“Dela Cruz suddenly fired his M16 rifle indiscriminately and hitting the soldiers,” Ponce said.

The motive of the shooting is still unknown, but the spokesman said Dela Cruz was observed to be acting abnormally before the attack. “Initial investigation disclosed that Dela Cruz is observed to be mentally imbalance. A thorough investigation is ongoing,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen attack police post in North Cotabato, 3 wounded

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2 killed in foiled kidnap of Koreans in southern Philippines

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 21, 2009)–Policemen killed two gunmen in a firefight early Friday after they stormed a small hotel in a failed attempt to kidnap two South Korean holidaymakers in the southern Philippines.

Police said three gunmen managed to escape and that security forces were tracking down the trio in the town of Santo Nino in South Cotabato province.

The gunmen stormed the Signature Place where the foreigners and local guests were staying, but policemen who were notified about the siege foiled the possible kidnappings of the Koreans.

“There is a pursuit operation and soldiers and policemen are tracking down the gunmen,” Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ponce said the security forces pursuing the gunmen are members of the newly formed anti-terror and anti-kidnapping group called Task Force 12-Alpha.

“We still do not know what group these armed men belong, but we are sure they are planning to kidnap the two Koreans,” Ponce said without further elaborating. (With a report from Geo Solmerano)

1 killed, 20 wounded in North Cotabato grenade blast

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 20, 2009) – One person was killed and at least 20 others wounded in a grenade explosion Thursday in North Cotabato province in the southern Philippines, an army spokesman said.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, of the 6th Infantry Division, said the blast occurred at around 2.10 a.m. in the village of General Luna in Carmen town.

He said a 26-year old man, Kairekay Minanga, was killed in the explosion and that at least 20 more people were wounded in the attack.

“A grenade throwing transpired in the village of General Luna resulting to the death of Kairekay Minanga, a farmer, and wounding of at least 20 people. The incident is still being investigated,” Ponce said.

But police reports said Minanga was carrying the fragmentation grenade when it exploded. (Geo Solmerano)

8 wounded in Mindanao mortar explosion

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 7, 2009) – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Philippines largest Muslim rebel group, accused government troops of firing a mortar round that wounded at least 8 people in North Cotabato province in Mindanao.

Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, said the mortar exploded Thursday afternoon near a government school in the village of Macasendeg in Pikit town where children were playing.

He said soldiers deployed in the town fired the mortar to break up fighting between two groups of warring families; one of them has links with the MILF and the other with the army.

“The soldiers sided with one group and that worsened the situation. Instead of initiating peace talks to stop the fighting, the military - as it always did in the past - preferred war over peace and the result - eight people were injured in the mortar fired by soldiers,” Kabalu told the Mindanao Examiner.

The Army’s 6th Infantry Division said the police are already investigating the blast.

“There is a police investigation going on and we cannot say anything more,” said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, the army spokesman.

Manila has resumed peace talks with the MILF after a yearlong fighting killed more than 1,500 soldiers and rebels and displaced more than 600,000 civilians in Mindanao.

The MILF is fighting the past three decades for self-determination. Peace talks collapsed in August last year after the failed signing of the Muslim homeland deal which the Supreme Court ruled was unconstitutional. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine Army hunt vs. MILF rebels continue

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MILF begins own probe into deadly bombing in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 6, 2009) – Philippine Moro rebels have began a parallel probe into a deadly bomb attack outside a Catholic church that killed 5 people and wounded over 50 others in the troubled South.

Military authorities blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the weekend bombing in Cotabato City. But the MILF denied the accusation and has started its own investigation into the attack.

“We have began our own investigation and we also wanted to know who was behind the bombing or whether the military or other group opposed to the peace process was involved in the attack,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Kabalu said they suspected that government soldiers were behind the spate of bombings in the restive Muslim autonomous region where security and rebel forces are fighting.

“There were persistent reports from Muslim villagers that soldiers were behind the bombings to discredit the MILF,” he said.

He said civilians reported on Saturday that they saw a man clad in MILF uniform planted a bomb in Maguindanao’s Datu Piang town and then retreated at an army detachment in Buayan village. The bomb exploded minutes later and injured three people.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the spate of bombings in Mindanao were the handiwork of the MILF.

“The MILF was behind all these attacks. This is terrorism and the MILF is targeting innocent civilians because of our campaign against rogue rebels, against terrorism,” he said, adding the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya provided bomb-making training to MILF rebels.

President Gloria Arroyo opened peace talks in 2001 with the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence, but negotiations collapsed in August last year after both sides failed to sign a Muslim homeland deal.

The rebels accused Arroyo of reneging on the deal that peace negotiators initially signed in Malaysia in July 2008 in Malaysia, which brokered the talks. The Philippine Supreme Court said the agreement was unconstitutional.Since then fighting broke out in many areas in Mindanao.

MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim called on rebels to be steadfast and patient in the face of the “brutalities” of the military. He also accused government troops of burning some 3,000 houses owned by Muslims and indiscriminate bombing, shelling, and arrests of civilians in Mindanao.

Murad said the military also imposed a food blockade from reaching tens of thousands of hungry refugees and prevented humanitarian groups and journalists from inspecting refugee shelters in Maguindanao.

Murad assailed the military for saying that the MILF infiltrated refugee shelters and rebels were using evacuation centers as base for reserved forces.

The military claimed more than a thousand rebels were killed in the fighting since last year. But Murad denied the report and said MILF forces killed about 500 soldiers and captured their weapons, including two unmanned aerial vehicles shot down in Maguindanao. One of them was a US military spy plane and the other was believed to be owned by the Philippine Army. US troops are deployed in Maguindanao and helping the local military fight terrorism. (Mindanao Examiner)

4 killed in bombing outside Catholic church in Mindanao

Philippine National Police - Scenes of Crime Officers investigate the explosion Sunday, July 5, 2009 outside a Catholic church in Cotabato City. Four people are killed and over three dozens injured in the attack blamed by the military to Moro rebels. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano).

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 5, 2009) – At least 4 people were killed and about three dozens wounded in a bomb attack Sunday near a Catholic church in Cotabato City in the southern Philippines.

The Catholic Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation said the bomb exploded at around 8.20 a.m. near restaurants and stalls selling roasted pigs outside the church in downtown Cotabato, also home to minority Muslims.

An army vehicle passing near the church was also hit by shrapnel from the explosion largely blamed by the military to Muslim separatist rebels.

“The Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s special operations group is behind this attack and this is terrorism,” Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ponce said the casualties in the bombing were civilians. “The bomb was detonated just as the people are coming out of the church,” he said.

Ponce said the MILF was also behind a roadside bombing late Saturday in Maguindanao’s Datu Piang town that wounded 3 people.

The MILF has denied it was behind the latest blast and condemned the attack, saying, it was against Islamic principle.

“We condemned this attack against innocent civilians, against the Church. This is against Islamic principle and against humanity,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

Kabalu also assailed the 6th Infantry Division for quickly linking the MILF to the attack.

“This (accusation) is clearly aimed at maligning the MILF and portraying the MILF as a terrorist organization. The army has already blamed the MILF even if the police is yet to investigate the bombing. This could also be the handiwork of the military to create fear and chaos in Mindanao,” he said in a separate interview.

The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group fighting the past three decades for self-determination.

The blast occurred after the MILF ordered its forces to further improve combat skills as fighting continues in the troubled region.

The secluded Murad Ebrahim, chieftain of the 12,000-strong MILF rebels, gave the order during a meeting with his commanders on a mountain hideout in central Mindanao where fighting since last year had forced tens of thousands of Muslims to flee their homes.

”It is only by sincere evaluation of these encounters that the MILF would be able to improve its fighting skills and capabilities and hope to lick the enemy in the next confrontation,” Murad said.

The MILF peace talks with Manila collapsed last year after rebels accused President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on a homeland deal that would have granted territories to about four million Muslims across 700 villages in Mindanao.

Murad said he always preferred peace negotiation over war in the resolution of the conflict in Mindanao, but continued government offensive forced the rebels to defend themselves. He called on rebel commanders to be steadfast and patient in the face of the “brutalities” of the military.

Murad also accused government troops of burning some 3,000 houses owned by Muslims and indiscriminate bombing, shelling, and arrests of civilians.

He said the military also imposed a food blockade from reaching tens of thousands of hungry refugees and prevented humanitarian groups and journalists from inspecting refugee shelters in Maguindanao.

Murad assailed the military for saying that the MILF infiltrated refugee shelters and rebels were using evacuation centers as base for reserved forces.

“The prevention of media to visit the war-torn areas by the AFP contributed to their bad image and the declaration of the military that the internally-displaced persons are reserved forces of the MILF is a blunder in the war for propaganda,” Murad said.

The military claimed more than a thousand rebels were killed in the fighting since last year. But Murad denied the report and said MILF forces killed about 500 soldiers and captured their weapons, including two unmanned aerial vehicles shot down in Maguindanao.

One of them was a US military spy plane and the other was believed to be owned by the Philippine Army. US troops are deployed in Maguindanao and helping the local military fight terrorism. (With a report from Geo Solmerano)

Mindanao refugee shelters infiltrated by rebels: Military

Muslim refugees lined up for food ration. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 2, 2009) – After displacing tens of thousands of civilians, the Philippine Army now said that Moro rebels have infiltrated refugee shelters in Mindanao.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, said rebels have posed as refugees and they are the MILF’s reserved force.

He also said that food ration intended by the World Food Programme to refugees were being diverted to the MILF after troops recovered some of the aid from captured rebel bases in Maguindanao province, scene of bloody battle between security forces and guerrillas in recent months.

“Based on the proofs, indications, and observations presented, there seems to be a diversion of relief goods from the supposed ‘IDP’ beneficiaries to the MILF,” he said.

Ponce said there had been increased attacks and bombings near refugee camps, bolstering suspicion that the MILF have been using the evacuation centers as a springboard for military offensive against government forces.

“Terrorist actions are executed within the immediate environs of the IDP (internally displaced people) centers,” he said.

But the MILF denied Ponce’s allegations and branded them as propaganda.

“It is a black propaganda, but nobody believes Ponce’s lies anymore. We have been calling for an independent probe into the killings of many civilians by soldiers and the burning of houses by the military.”

“The military’s campaign to crush the MILF has resulted in a humanitarian tragedy with tens of thousands of Muslims being forced out of their villages by indiscriminate army shelling and human rights violations. The United Nations and the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) and the World Muslim League should look into these carnage,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

The MILF said more than 600,000 have been displaced by the fighting in Mindanao since last year after peace talks collapsed in August. The rebels accused Manila of reneging on a Muslim homeland deal, which the Supreme Court said was unconstitutional.

After the talks collapsed, rebel forces raided several towns and killed and wounded dozens of people in Lanao and North Cotabato provinces. The MILF is the Philippines largest Muslim rebel group fighting for independence in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

2 killed Maguindanao bombing

Soldiers inspect a site in the village of Kitanggo in Maguindanao's Datu Saudi Ampatuan town where an improvised explosive went off Monday, June 29, 2009 killing two persons and wounding eight others. The Army's 6th Infantry Division has blamed the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the bombing, an accusation strongly denied by the rebel group. (Mindanao Examiner Photo by Mark Navales).

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 29, 2009) – Two people were killed on Monday and at least 8 others wounded in a bomb attack blamed by the military to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the restive Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a regional army spokesman, said the powerful explosion occurred at around 6 a.m. near a market in Kitanggo village in town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan in Maguindanao province.

He said the explosion killed Malimpunok Nunokan, 65, and Tong Hadji Omal, 25.

“One of the dead was the courier of the bomb and a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s special operations group,” Ponce said without identifying the bomber.

It was unknown if the bombing was a suicide attack. Other reports said the improvised explosive was planted near a café.

Ponce the bomb was assembled from an 81mm mortar. “The series of IED bombings in central Mindanao are the handiwork of the special operations group of the MILF,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast, but the MILF denied it was behind the bombing and said soldiers planted the explosive as part of its campaign to discredit the rebel group.

“Villagers saw soldiers arrived in the area at dawn and there was an explosion several hours later,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, told reporters.

The MILF, which is fighting the last three decades for self-determination in Mindanao, previously accused government soldiers as behind the spate of bombings and burning of houses in the province to discredit the rebel group. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mindanao bombing leaves 9 wounded

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao / June 27, 2009) – At least 9 people were injured Saturday in a fresh attack blamed by the Philippine military to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels in the restive region of Mindanao.

Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said rebels detonated an improvised explosive planted at a commuter bus depot in Tacurong City.

“Nine people were injured in the blast and two of them are in critical condition,” he said.

Ponce quickly blamed the MILF and tagged a rebel leader Abdul Basit Usman as behind the attack, even as police is still investigating the blast. “The special operations group of the MILF under Basit Usman is behind this bombing,” he said.

The MILF strongly denied the accusations and urged police authorities to investigate the latest bombing.

“We have nothing to do with the bombing of the bus terminal. Police should investigate whether this (attack) was connected to extortion or business rivalry,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the explosion, but previous attacks on bus terminals had been largely blamed by the police to extortion syndicate called the Al-Khobar gang.

In April, a powerful bomb explosion also ripped through a commuter bus in Koronadal City and wounding at least 6 people. Scores of people were also killed and wounded in bus depot bombings in Mindanao in recent years. (With a report from Geo Solmerano)

Military links MILF to mortar attacks in Mindanao province; ties NGO to rebel group

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 26, 2009) – The Philippine Army on Friday has linked Moro rebels on a mortar attack that killed a civilian in Maguindanao province the troubled Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao.

One woman was also injured in the attack late Wednesday in the village of Binangga, said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division.

A report by television network ABS-CBN said the mortar shell landed in a house near the town of Guindulungan where security forces are battling Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels.

The victim, Guiarria Enoc, was killed and her sister Vanessa blamed the military for the attack.

Ponce insisted the attack was launched by rebels to discredit the military ahead of a scheduled fact-finding mission by a group of journalists from June 29-July 2. The mission was organized by various nongovernmental and media organizations for journalists to see the situation and plight of war refugees in Mindanao.

“The mortar round came from the rogue MILF (members) as preparation for the upcoming fact-finding mission of the invited Manila-based journalists to put the blame on the military in order to destroy its image and credibility,” Ponce told the Mindanao Examiner.

The victim’s sister said another mortar shell exploded about four meters away from their house. She said civilians were often victims of human rights violations by government soldiers.

ABS-CBN also said troops prevented their news team from going to other villages where military shelling had been reported.

Ponce said the rebels also launched mortar attacks on the headquarters of the 64th Infantry Battalion in the village of Kabingi in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town, also in Maguindanao, but there were no military casualties.

“At the same night, at about 242230, the battalion headquarters of 64 IB …was subjected by enemy mortar fires and 8 rounds coming from 81mm mortar exploded in the camp perimeter with negative casualty and damage of property on the government side,” he said.

Ponce also linked the organizer of the media fact-finding mission to the MILF

“The mortar round that exploded in the village of Binangga was deliberately done by the rogue MILF. An NGO identified with the MILF invited media from Manila paying all expenses and pocket money,” Ponce said.

Ponce did not identify the NGO, but the mission was organized by independent and credible groups - the Mindanao ComStrat and Policy Alternatives, MindaNews, Center for Community Journalism and Development, National Union of Journalists in the Philippines, Peace and Conflict Journalism Network, the Institute of War and Peace Reporting and the Oblate Media’s I –Watch.

The MILF has previously accused the military of shelling civilian targets on suspicion rebels were hiding in the area. It also charged army of widespread human rights violations in the Muslim autonomous region where soldiers looted and torched civilian houses.

Some 31,000 people are in different refugee shelters in Maguindanao’s Datu Piang town alone and that at least 95 civilians, many of them children, had been killed since fighting between military and rebel forces began last year.

“The world's largest new displacement last year happened when 600,000 people fled fighting between the Army and rebel groups in the southern region of Maguindanao,” reported the Oslo-based Norwegian Refugee Council.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines also reported that representatives of nongovernmental and humanitarian organizations were being prohibited by the military from going to evacuation centers in the guise of protecting humanitarian workers from being caught in the crossfire.

Ponce denied all the accusations against the army and branded them as propaganda. (Mindanao Examiner)

Boy abducted in Cotabato City

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 26, 2009) – Unidentified gunmen men seized a four-year old boy in Cotabato City in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the boy, John Kyle Chiongson, was snatched at around 4.30 p.m. near his house. No group claimed responsibility for the abduction.

“He was abducted by four armed men who fled on a black get-away car towards Sultan Kudarat town. We have ordered check points and police and military are tracking down the abductors,” said Colonel Jonathan Ponce, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

Ponce said the gunmen could be members of a kidnap-for-ransom gang. “The abductors are believed members of a kidnap-for-ransom group,” he said.
Two previous kidnappings in Cotabato City this year had been largely blamed to the Pentagon Gang. (Mindanao Examiner)