DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Jun) – A total of 193 soldiers have Friday graduated from a rigorous 10th Division Training Unit in Davao City in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the troops are the new breed of the Candidate Soldiers Class 150-06 that came from the different parts of Mindanao.
“They underwent a strict selection process which considers both mental and physical stability and capability of each soldier. The soldiers learned military skills marksmanship, immediate action drills, soldiers’ discipline and respect for human rights. Physical fitness was also integrated in the training to ensure stamina for the tedious endurance run with complete battle gear,” said Maj. Rodolfo Pesante, the Army’s 10th Infantry Division Public Affairs’ acting head.
He said Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac, the division commander, presented awards to the class academic and non-academic awardees -- Private Randy U. Hilay, for graduating on top of the class with 86.19% on his grades; Private Neil Anderson M. Espinosa, for being second with 86.14%; Private Exor R. Corpuz, for graduating number 3 with 85.44% and Private Loreign B. Guillermo, for the Physical Proficiency Award with a general average of 91.60%.
Boac stressed the important role of the newly enlisted Privates in the regular force in the commands’ continuous internal security operation campaign.
“General Boac declared an immediate dispatch of these soldiers in their respective field of assignment to augment with the units confronting with the armed insurgents and further reminded them to maintain discipline as justice will be served for those who violates’ it.”
“He emphasized to the candidate soldiers to internalize the Army Core Philosophy for this focuses on values that are the basis of the soldier’s existence and the foundation of all his acts and deeds. The said philosophy includes the Love of Country, Valor, Honor, Loyalty and Duty,” Pesante said. (Merlyn Manos)
Showing posts with label Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac. Show all posts
Friday, June 15, 2007
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Swiss Organization Is Alarmed By Case Of 2 Arrested NGO Workers In South RP
NORTH COTABATO (D. Mondelo / 12 Nov) - A prestigious Swiss organization that has been extending assistance to several development organizations in the Philippines has written a strong letter to the Philippine embassy in Switzerland to protest the recent arrest of two Filipino relief workers, the independent online publication Bulatlat reported on Sunday.
It said the Bern-based Theresa-Ladeli Jegenstorf, a rare recipient in 2001 of a Presidential Award from then President Joseph Estrada for its outstanding development work in the Philippines, asked the Filipino ambassador in Switzerland to intervene in the arrest of the two relief workers belonging to its partner agency.
Aside from this, the group has further asked the intervention of the Swiss embassy in Manila, the Swiss Foreign Affairs Department and the Swiss Department of Justice on the case of the two relief workers.
The two women, Lourilie Naiz, 22, and Mary Bernadette Solitario, 21, staff workers of the Davao City-based Disaster Response Center, Inc. (DIRECT), were allegedly abducted last Nov. 4 while on field work in Tulunan town in North Cotabato by the 27th and 39th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
They were taken to a military safehouse where they were interrogated, ordered to take off their clothes, and forced to admit to being members of the Communist Party of the Philippines' New People's Army (CPP-NPA). The two, who suffered shock during their interrogation, are detained at the Tulunan Police Station, the report said.
Theresa Ladeli spokesperson, Monika Baumann, said DIRECT is a disaster relief NGO (non-governmental organization) that they have been supporting for more than 10 years. She said DIRECT's work involves helping victims of landslides, typhoons, floods or bombings by the Philippine military in the mountains of Mindanao island.
"I know all those people and they are highly committed to help all those suffering people. They work day and night to give relief, food and shelter," Baumann stressed in their letter.
"I count on your help, on your intervention, that justice will be given to those women, that your military will stop (harassing) their own people, that your President Gloria Arroyo will stop this crazy all out war!," Bulatlat quoted Baumannn's letter as saying.
Earlier reports by the state-owned Philippine News Agency said masked gunmen clad in camouflage uniform seized the two women in Batang village in the town of Tulunan.
It said no group claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, but the two were on their way to investigate recent clashes between troops and communist insurgents.
The town's mayor, Nestor Taasan, has confirmed the kidnappings and said the duo had been taken by motorcycle gunmen, the report said.
"The workers were scheduled to monitor and evaluate last November 4 a DIRECT project in remote Barangay Batang where clashes between government troops and New People's Army rebels were going on when they were abducted," the PNA said.
No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The Interfaith Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights (IFAAPR), a local human rights group, has condemned the incident. "Such matter is a clear manifestation of human rights violation," IFAAPR senior officer Pastor Ernesto Estrella said.
Solitario is a native of General Santos City while Naiz is from Kidapawan City, all in Mindanao. The town was scene of clashes this month between government soldiers and insurgents, who raided a military detachment and carted 21 assorted weapons.
But Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac, commander of the Army's 10th Infantry Division, strongly denied the reports and said the two were not kidnapped or arrested, but had been briefly interviewed by soldiers about their background after villagers informed authorities about their presence.
"The villagers are aware of the threats of terrorism and the authorities were informed about the presence of new faces in the area. The women were briefly interviewed for purposes of verifying their identities and soldiers let go off them afterwards," Boac said. "There is no truth to all these allegations about our soldiers. We are here to protect the citizens and their safety and the public in general."
The province was also bombed twice last month by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants where six people had been killed and more than 40 others wounded. (With a report from Juan Magtanggol/Mindanao Examiner)
It said the Bern-based Theresa-Ladeli Jegenstorf, a rare recipient in 2001 of a Presidential Award from then President Joseph Estrada for its outstanding development work in the Philippines, asked the Filipino ambassador in Switzerland to intervene in the arrest of the two relief workers belonging to its partner agency.
Aside from this, the group has further asked the intervention of the Swiss embassy in Manila, the Swiss Foreign Affairs Department and the Swiss Department of Justice on the case of the two relief workers.
The two women, Lourilie Naiz, 22, and Mary Bernadette Solitario, 21, staff workers of the Davao City-based Disaster Response Center, Inc. (DIRECT), were allegedly abducted last Nov. 4 while on field work in Tulunan town in North Cotabato by the 27th and 39th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.
They were taken to a military safehouse where they were interrogated, ordered to take off their clothes, and forced to admit to being members of the Communist Party of the Philippines' New People's Army (CPP-NPA). The two, who suffered shock during their interrogation, are detained at the Tulunan Police Station, the report said.
Theresa Ladeli spokesperson, Monika Baumann, said DIRECT is a disaster relief NGO (non-governmental organization) that they have been supporting for more than 10 years. She said DIRECT's work involves helping victims of landslides, typhoons, floods or bombings by the Philippine military in the mountains of Mindanao island.
"I know all those people and they are highly committed to help all those suffering people. They work day and night to give relief, food and shelter," Baumann stressed in their letter.
"I count on your help, on your intervention, that justice will be given to those women, that your military will stop (harassing) their own people, that your President Gloria Arroyo will stop this crazy all out war!," Bulatlat quoted Baumannn's letter as saying.
Earlier reports by the state-owned Philippine News Agency said masked gunmen clad in camouflage uniform seized the two women in Batang village in the town of Tulunan.
It said no group claimed responsibility for the kidnappings, but the two were on their way to investigate recent clashes between troops and communist insurgents.
The town's mayor, Nestor Taasan, has confirmed the kidnappings and said the duo had been taken by motorcycle gunmen, the report said.
"The workers were scheduled to monitor and evaluate last November 4 a DIRECT project in remote Barangay Batang where clashes between government troops and New People's Army rebels were going on when they were abducted," the PNA said.
No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. The Interfaith Alliance for the Advancement of People's Rights (IFAAPR), a local human rights group, has condemned the incident. "Such matter is a clear manifestation of human rights violation," IFAAPR senior officer Pastor Ernesto Estrella said.
Solitario is a native of General Santos City while Naiz is from Kidapawan City, all in Mindanao. The town was scene of clashes this month between government soldiers and insurgents, who raided a military detachment and carted 21 assorted weapons.
But Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac, commander of the Army's 10th Infantry Division, strongly denied the reports and said the two were not kidnapped or arrested, but had been briefly interviewed by soldiers about their background after villagers informed authorities about their presence.
"The villagers are aware of the threats of terrorism and the authorities were informed about the presence of new faces in the area. The women were briefly interviewed for purposes of verifying their identities and soldiers let go off them afterwards," Boac said. "There is no truth to all these allegations about our soldiers. We are here to protect the citizens and their safety and the public in general."
The province was also bombed twice last month by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants where six people had been killed and more than 40 others wounded. (With a report from Juan Magtanggol/Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Gunmen Kill Southern Philippine Mayor
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (Juan Magtanggol / 11 Nov) - Motorcycle gunmen killed a town mayor in a daring broad daylight attack Saturday on the restive southern Philippine region, police and military said.
Mayor George Yabes, of Maitum town in Sarangani province, was shot at around 12.45 p.m. just in front of the family store, said a regional army commander Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac.
"He was shot three times in the body with .45-caliber pistols. Initial military reports suggested the attack could be politically motivated," he told the Mindanao Examiner without elaborating.
Boac said troops were helping the local police force track down the assailants. "There is an ongoing manhunt. Police and military forces are tracking down the killers," he said.
Police said the gunmen escaped on board motorcycles after the shooting. The politician, police said, had escaped an assassination attempt by gunmen in May.
No group or individual claimed responsibility for the killing, but the province is also a known lair of Abu Sayyaf militants and communist insurgents blamed by authorities in previous attacks on government and military targets. (Mindanao Examiner)
Mayor George Yabes, of Maitum town in Sarangani province, was shot at around 12.45 p.m. just in front of the family store, said a regional army commander Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac.
"He was shot three times in the body with .45-caliber pistols. Initial military reports suggested the attack could be politically motivated," he told the Mindanao Examiner without elaborating.
Boac said troops were helping the local police force track down the assailants. "There is an ongoing manhunt. Police and military forces are tracking down the killers," he said.
Police said the gunmen escaped on board motorcycles after the shooting. The politician, police said, had escaped an assassination attempt by gunmen in May.
No group or individual claimed responsibility for the killing, but the province is also a known lair of Abu Sayyaf militants and communist insurgents blamed by authorities in previous attacks on government and military targets. (Mindanao Examiner)
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Commies Raid Army Detachment In North Cotabato
COTABATO CITY (Mark Navales / 02 Nov) - Communist insurgents raided Thursday a military detachment after taking hostage dozens of civilians and used them as shield in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato, a regional army commander said.
Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, said about 30 members of the New People's Army held dozens of civilians near the farming village of Bituin in Tulunan town and used them as cover to raid the detachment at around 8 a.m.
"Initial reports we gathered said the insurgents took innocent civilians hostage and used them as cover to raid the detachment manned by government militias," the general said by phone from the area.
Boac said the attackers took 21 assorted weapons after overpowering ten militias without firefight. "The NPAs tied the hands of the militias, including the detachment commander and ransack the armory and escaped on foot. They also freed all their hostages," he said.
He said pursuing troops clashed with the raiders later in the day, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
"We are awaiting reports. Our troops clashed with the attackers, but we still don't know if there are any enemy casualties," he said.
The NPA is fighting the government the past three decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, said about 30 members of the New People's Army held dozens of civilians near the farming village of Bituin in Tulunan town and used them as cover to raid the detachment at around 8 a.m.
"Initial reports we gathered said the insurgents took innocent civilians hostage and used them as cover to raid the detachment manned by government militias," the general said by phone from the area.
Boac said the attackers took 21 assorted weapons after overpowering ten militias without firefight. "The NPAs tied the hands of the militias, including the detachment commander and ransack the armory and escaped on foot. They also freed all their hostages," he said.
He said pursuing troops clashed with the raiders later in the day, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
"We are awaiting reports. Our troops clashed with the attackers, but we still don't know if there are any enemy casualties," he said.
The NPA is fighting the government the past three decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)
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