Two Philippine military generals get Ateneo special awards for peace

Ateneo de Zamboanga University President Fr. Antonio Moreno speaks to participants during a peace forum attended by Lieutenant Generals Raymundo Ferrer and Benjamin Dolorfino in Zamboanga City on Wednesday, February 10, 2010. The two generals are recipients of the Ateneo special awards. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 10, 2010) – Two senior military commanders were given special awards by a Jesuit-run university for their contribution to peace in the southern Philippines.

The Ateneo Peace and Culture Institute cited various accomplishments of Lieutenant Generals Raymundo Ferrer, of the Army; and Benjamin Dolorfino, of the Marines, that largely contributed to peace in the troubled region of Mindanao.

Ferrer, who was a former battalion officer in Basilan province, is the current commander of the Eastern Mindanao Command, who was appointed administrator of martial law in Maguindanao province last year following the brutal killings of 57 people, including at least 31 journalists, by Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., the scion of a powerful political clan in Mindanao.

The Ateneo de Zamboanga University cited Ferrer’s stint in Basilan several years ago and said his tour of duty in the province widened his perspective on the complexities of the Mindanao conflicts.

“His dialogues in the island provided him with a new outlook on how to better address these conflicts. This awareness, strengthened by his realizations in the Mindanao Peace Institute and Center for Bridging Leadership, led him to initiate programs to prepare his command to do peace-building work.”

“He played a critical role in the implementation of the GRP-MILF ceasefire agreement and was instrumental in the restoration and preservation of law and order in the aftermath of the tragedy in Maguindanao,” the Ateneo de Zamboanga University said.

GRP-MILF is the acronym for the Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The MILF is the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting for a separate rule in Mindanao and is currently negotiating peace with Manila.

Ferrer is based in Davao City and commands half of Mindanao region. “I cannot find any word to express my gratitude to Ateneo University. We will continue our peace advocacy and promote peace throughout Mindanao,” he said.

While Dolorfino, a former Marine commandant, is the chief of the Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City and his meritorious military career is tempered by compassion and is guided by the belief that conflicts can be managed through non-violent measures, the Ateneo de Zamboanga University said.

“He has worked with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process as Chairman of the Joint Action Group in the peace process with the MILF and he was also a facilitator in the peace initiatives with the MNLF .”

“Engaging multi-culturally diverse stakeholders using the Bridging Leadership framework, he believes that the root causes of the conflict must be collectively understood, owned, then resolved through peaceful means,” it said.

MNLF stands for the Moro National Liberation Front, a Muslim rebel group which signed a peace agreement with the Filipino government in 2006.

Dolorfino, for his part, also thanked the Ateneo de Zamboanga University and vowed to continue peace-building efforts in the restive region. “We are all for peace. This is a universal advocacy,” he said.

The Ateneo Peace and Culture Institute envisions a united community of tri-people that understand and appreciate diversity and that collaborate for genuine peace and human development.

It also aims to promote the culture of peace amidst the multicultural and multi-religious backdrop of the academe and of society.

The APCI is actively engaged in peace-building through its programs on education, advocacy, and research that seek to transform values, attitudes, and behavior toward the achievement of a culture of peace.

Earlier on Wednesday, both Ferrer and Dolorfino attended a forum at the Ateneo de Zamboanga which was participated by faculty members headed by Father Antonio Moreno, the university president; and students. (Jung Francisco and Bryan Cachon contributed to this report)

Philippine Army orders probe into media complaints against officer in Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 6, 2008) – The Philippine Army has ordered an investigation into a controversial officer accused of berating a journalist covering a fire that razed an ammo dump inside a military base in Mindanao.

Lt. Col. John Oswald Bucu, camp commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division in Maguindanao province, berated Loreto Rosario, of the Catholic radio station dxMS in Cotabato City, while reporting about an ammo dump which exploded October 31.

The officer also seized Rosario’s cellular phones and brought him at the camp’s public information office where Bucu continued to lambaste the journalist in front of soldiers.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, the army division spokesman, who knew Rosario, has already apologized to the journalist, but Bucu remains defiant despite mounting calls from media groups for the military to discipline the officer.

Other journalists covering the fire were also prevented from getting near the ammo dump even after the blaze was over. The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines has already demanded the military to discipline Bucu. His superiors have ignored these calls.

Bucu accused Rosario of intruding inside the camp and said that if not for him, soldiers could have shot the journalist, who has been covering the military the past years, reports said.

Journalists in Cotabato City have already boycotted coverage of the army division headquarters and demanded that relief of Bucu.

”The NUJP is demanding that the AFP impose strong sanctions against Bucu for his clear assault on press freedom,” the media organization said in a statement.

Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, 6th Infantry Division commander, has not responded to the NUJP demand, but journalists vowed to bring this to the attention of Defense Secy. Gilberto Teodoro and Philippine Army Chief Gen. Victor Ibrado.

Ibrado has already ordered an investigation into the NUJP complaints against Bucu, according to Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, the Philippine Army spokesman.

“General Victor Ibrado has already ordered General (Raymundo) Ferrer to conduct an investigation on the matter,” Brawner told the Mindanao Examiner. Brawner said the embattled army officer insisted he was just protecting Rosario who was trying to get near the burning ammo dump.

Both Ferrer and Bucu are currently in Manila because of the ongoing investigations into the fire that destroyed the ammo dump.

The NUJP said Rosario’s case was not the first time that Bucu has targeted journalists. Two years ago, at a gathering of reporters at the headquarters of the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade in North Cotabato, Bucu allegedly branded NUJP Kidapawan chapter president Malu Manar a member of the communist rebel group New People’s Army.

Manar is also the program director of the Catholic radio station dxND in North Cotabato.

“We understand Ando has apologized for the incident, which speaks well of Ando but highlights the utter arrogance of Bucu. The only conclusion we can draw is that Bucu thinks he can get away with what he did, just as many of the brains behind the scores of unsolved media murders do. Even more disturbing, however, he is clear proof of the culture of impunity that has thrived in this country because of official inaction, even apathy, towards continued attacks on media.”

“Indeed, we would not be surprised if Bucu had taken his cue to harass Rosario or, earlier, to publicly slander Manar, from this government’s actual attempts to muzzle the independent Philippine press, as we saw in the short-lived state of emergency of February 2006 and the more recent arrest of journalists covering the Manila Peninsula incident last year. The AFP should impose on Bucu the sanctions he so richly deserves for his clear assault on press freedom. Failure to do so will only reinforce the perception that there is, at best, tacit official approval of attempts to silence the media,” an Asian Press report, quoting the NUJP, said Thursday. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnappers Free Hostages To Muslim Rebels In South RP

NORTH COTABATO (Mindanao Examiner / 31 May) – Kidnappers have freed on Thursday four people they earlier seized in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Gunmen released the four to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels in the village of Balongis in North Cotabato’s Pikit town, said Col. Pedro Soria, commander of the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade in the province.

The release of the hostages previously reported as Caucasians came hours after the rebel group, backed by security forces, mounted a massive rescue operation.

But it turned out that only one hostage is foreigner, Thomas Wallart, a German national. Other reports identified the German as Wallraf, from Cologne. The others are Filipinos – May Sharon, the German’s wife; and Diego Daniel, the van driver; and Consuelo San Juan, a friend of the German couple.

"The victims were released to the MILF and they will be turned over to us," Soria told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

The four were heading to North Cotabato from Davao City onboard a van when gunmen flagged down their vehicle.

Major General Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said the four hostages were not harmed by the gunmen. “They are all alright,” he said.

Ferrer said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country’s largest Muslim rebel group negotiating peace with Manila, offered to help track down the kidnappers.

The MILF has in the past helped the government rescue kidnapped foreigners and Filipinos in Mindanao.

A rebel spokesman, Eid Kabalu, said the four would be handed over to the Philippine authorities and the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team. “We are glad it’s over,” he said in a separate interview.

One of the hostage, May Sharon Wallart, said they were not harmed by the kidnappers, but shaken by the ordeal. "We are really thankful that they did not harm any of us. We are so tired and probably fly back to Manila to get some rest," she told reporters in Pikit town.

She said the gunmen, clad in military uniform, flagged down their vehicle at a checkpoint and seized them. "We did not think it was a kidnap because they were all wearing uniform like those of the soldiers. They took our belongings and tied our hands and took us away," she said.

The woman said she and her husband were in Pikit on a business trip. "We are into metal trading," she said.

Other reports said the German national is a treasure hunter.

The abductions coincided with the start of the ten-day joint amphibious war games between the Philippines and the United States.
Marine Major General Mohammad Dolorfino, chairman of the government Ad hoc Joint Action Group, said the abductors were bandits operating in North Cotabato.

“The MILF is able to react immediately and rebel forces sealed off the area where the abductors are holding the four victims and recovered them safely,” he said.

It was unknown whether the MILF arrested any of the gunmen. (With reports from Juley Reyes, Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)

RP Police Foils Bomb Attack In Troubled South

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 29 Apr) – Philippine soldiers detonated a homemade bomb Sunday in the restive North Cotabato province, south of Manila, officials said.

Officials said the bomb was left near a police post in Tacurong City, but had been discovered before it was to explode. “Soldiers detonated the bomb after police manning the post discovered the explosive,” Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the independent regional newspaper, the Mindanao Examiner.

No group claimed responsibility for the foiled attack, said Col. Danny Garcia, the local army commander.

“We are still investigating who is behind this failed bombing attempt,” Garcia said in a separate interview. “At this point, we cannot pinpoint to any group, but we have tightened security around Tacurong.”

He said the bomb was made from C4 explosive and rigged to a timer. “It had steel pellets and some components taken from a mortar rocket that would trigger detonation,” Garcia said.

The discovery of the bomb came just a day after the United States warned its citizens against traveling to Mindanao island and the Sulu Archipelago in the southern Philippines because of heightened terror activities.

Aside from the United States, Canada an Australia also told their citizens not to travel to the troubled region, where security forces are battling members of the al-Qaeda affiliate Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya and Moro National Liberation Front rebels.

A grenade attack last week in North Cotabato’s Pikit town injured three people working for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Unidentified men tossed two grenades on the USAID field office and fled. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

Another bomb attack last week in Midsayap town also in North Cotabato also injured one civilian. A man was also killed after a bomb he was transporting exploded in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province near North Cotabto.

Abu Sayyaf militants also beheaded six construction workers and a fisherman they kidnapped in Parang town in Jolo island in the Sulu Archipelago two weeks ago. (With a report from Mark Navales and Juan Magtanggol)

Puspusang Paghahanap Sa Malaysian Bomber Inilunsad!

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner/ 29 Mar) – Ipinagutos ngayon ng Armed Forces ang puspusang paghahanap sa isang Malaysian bomber na umano’y nagtatago sa Mindanao matapos na ibunyag ng Estados Unidos ang kinalalagyan nito.

Halos apat na taon na umanong nagtatago sa Mindanao si Zulkfili bin Hir alias Marwan at kamakalawa lamang ay inilagay ng ito ng EU sa kanilang talaan ng most wanted terrorist.

Pinatungan pa ng EU ng $5 milyon bounty ang ulo ni Zulkifli upang mapadali ang pagdakip sa dayuhan na sinasabing kasama ng Abu Sayyaf sa kasalukuyan at isa sa mga nagtuturo kung paanong gumawa ng pampasabog.

“We are now intensifying our intelligence operation to get Marwan. Aside from Marwan, we are also tracking down other terrorists and that include the Jemaah Islamiya and Abu Sayyaf,” ani kanina sa pahayagang Mindanao Examiner ni Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander ng 6th Infantry Division sa Central Mindanao, na kung saan inulat na nagtatago si Zulkifli bin Hir.

Hindi naman mabatid kung may kinalaman ang Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), ang pinakamalaking Muslim rebel group sa bansa, kay Zulkifli bin Hir. May peace talks ang MILF sa pamahalaang Arroyo at sa kasalukuyan ay tumutulong sa pagtugis sa mga terorista sa Mindanao dahil sa isang kasunduang nilagdaan ng dalawang grupo ilang taon na ang nakalipas.

Subali’t may mga lider ang MILF na ayon sa military ay mga “hard core” na siyang nagkukubli sa Jemaah Islamiya at Abu Sayyaf bombers na responsable sa maraming atake sa Mindanao.

Sinabi rin ng U.S. State Department na mismong si Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice ang siyang nag-authorized ng naturang bounty sa ulo ni Zulkifli.

Idinagdag na ng US si Zulkifli sa most-wanted list ng Rewards for Justice program.

"Zulkifli bin Hir is a Malaysian citizen born in 1966 in Muar, Johor. An engineer trained in the United States, he allegedly heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) terrorist organization and is a member of Jemaah Islamiyah's central command. He has been present in the Philippines since August 2003, where he is believed to have conducted bomb-making training for the Abu Sayyaf Group."

"His younger brother, Taufik bin Abdul Halim, a.k.a. Dany, was involved in the 2001 Jakarta Atrium Mall bombing, and currently is in detention in Indonesia,” ayon sa U.S. State Department. (May ulat si Mark Navales)

MILF Wins, Decorated Army Chief Is Out!

FACE OFF. Philippine Army Major General Nehemias Pajarito, left, and Moro Islamic Liberation Front deputy chief Mohagher Iqbal. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Mar) – The Philippine military pulled out its commander of army in central Mindanao and assigned him to head security forces in the Zamboanga Peninsula on the western part of the troubled region.

Major General Nehemias Pajarito, chief of the 6th Infantry Division, has been ordered to head the First Infantry Division in Pulacan town in Zamboanga del Sur province, his spokesman Lt. Col. Julieto Ando said.

“The change in command is a normal routine in the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” he told the Mindanao Examiner by phone from the army headquarters in Awang town in Maguindanao province.

Major General Raymundo Ferrer, the current commander of the First Infantry Division, would take over as new chief of the 6th Infantry Division.

The sudden change in army leaderships in Mindanao came barely a week after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which is currently negotiating peace with Manila, accused Pajarito of attacking rebel forces despite a six-year old cease-fire agreement.

Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief peace negotiator, on Monday told the Mindanao Examiner that he was informed by the government peace panel that Pajarito would be replaced by Ferrer.

“I was told that General Pajarito would be replaced. Pajarito is the cause of all these troubles and fighting in Mindanao the past months,” he said.

Pajarito could not be reached for comment, but he is one of the most decorated commanders in the southern Philippines and has been largely credited by civilians for keeping the peace in the troubled region.

Ferrer confirmed the report and said he would assume as new commander of the 6th Infantry Division on Friday. “We swapped positions and I am the new 6th Division commander,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

Fighting the past months in Maguindanao and North Cotabato provinces have killed and wounded dozens of people.

The MILF blamed Pajarito for the skirmishes and warned the continued fighting threatens the peace talks.

Iqbal accused government soldiers of attacking rebel forces the past months, breaking a 2001 truce agreement. The attacks killed and wounded scores of rebels and drove thousands of Muslim villagers fleeing their homes, he said.

“The fighting and the continued attack of government forces are now threatening the cease-fire agreement. It is now under threat and in danger of collapsing unless the government acts swiftly to save the peace process,” Iqbal said.

But Ando blamed the rebels, saying, they were attacking government troops and detachments without provocation.

“We are not the problem. The rebels are attacking us and the MILF violated the cease-fire agreement many times in the past,” he said.

Iqbal accused the 6th Infantry Division of derailing the peace talks.

“Troops are encroaching in our areas and government planes were bombing our positions and we cannot do anything, but defend ourselves and our people,” Iqbal said.

He said clashes were also reported in the provinces of Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan.

Government troops, backed by helicopters and war planes, were attacking MILF forces, in the guise of pursuing Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants.

Iqbal said soldiers also killed two Muslim civilians – a grandmother Taute Taha and teenager Rasul Balat – in Maguindanao’s Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.

President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and signed a cease-fire agreement, but despite the truce fighting still continues with the two sides accusing each other of breaking the accord.

Last week, MILF and military forces seized more than two dozens soldiers and rebels from both sides after a near firefight in Lumba Bayabao town in Lanao del Sur province.

All the hostages were freed three hours later after a tense negotiation between senior rebel and military commanders.

Arroyo on Monday met with top officials of the Cabinet Cluster on National Security in Manila to discuss the worsening situation in Mindanao.

Arroyo she decided to step up all measures to enforce the law, preserve the atmosphere of peace and stability, and advance the ongoing peace talks.

She ordered the Department of National Defense and the AFP to review and amend the current guidelines on the “Primacy of the Peace Process” and strictly adhere to the cease-fire accord without impairing the operational flexibility and quick response of the AFP in countering threats of terrorism, insurgency and criminality.

“All commanders in the field are enjoined to be constantly aware of the strategic implications of tactical actions in the proximity of MILF areas. I have also ordered restraint in the use of artillery and aerial bombing in the conduct of military operations,” Arroyo said.

MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim on Wednesday praised Arroyo for her assurance to pursue the peace process. "The MILF remains optimistic on the peace negotiations," Murad said and pledged to reciprocate the government's peace gesture.

The MILF is the Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-rule in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA Leader, 16 Others Yield In Southern Philippines

PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 15 Mar) – At least 17 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, including their leader, surrendered to the Philippine military after a series of negotiations in the southern province of Zamboanga del Sur, officials said on Thursday.

Officials said the rebels headed by Erwin Moli, of the Front Kara Command of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, handed over four automatic rifles two shot guns, an automatic pistol and two fragmentation grenades to the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade.

Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the First Infantry Division, said the rebels surrendered late Wednesday in the village of Tininghalang in Lapuyan town in Zamboanga del Sur province.

“The surrender is the result of our series of negotiations with the NPA. We have received many surrender feelers and more rebels wanted to surrender and start a new life with their families. There is really no reason to continue with their unnecessary struggle because we are living in a democratic government,” Ferrer told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the rebels are currently undergoing debriefing. Those who surrendered told interrogators that they wanted to avail of the government amnesty and Balik-Baril program.

Under the Balik-Baril, which means "Bring a Rifle Improve your Livelihood," the government pays as much as P25,000 for weapons surrendered by rebels, aside from at least P18,000 in initial aid.

Those who surrender also undergo livelihood training of their choice. The amnesty program aims to convince the rebels to abandon their armed struggle and return to the fold of the law.

The NPA, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF), is fighting the past three decades to topple the government and install a Marxist state in the country.

The United States and the European Union blacklisted the CPP and NPA, including its political wing, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, on Manila's prodding and froze their assets abroad.

Peace talks between rebels and the government collapsed in 2004 after the CPP-NPA-NDF pulled out from the negotiations because of their inclusion on the terror lists of the United States and the European Union.

The rebels demanded that President Gloria Arroyo asks the US and EU to strike them off from the terror lists before they resume peace talks. Manila rejected the demand and suspended safety and immunity guarantee for rebel peace negotiators.

Mrs. Arroyo has ordered the military to crush the communist insurgency in two years and set aside an additional budget of P1 billion for the Armed Forces of the Philippines for this purpose. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebels Want Head Of Decorated General

MAGUINDANAO (Mindanao Examiner / 12 Mar) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said sporadic clashes in the strife-torn island of Mindanao may soon subside after Manila vowed to remove a decorated commander of military forces they blamed for the fighting.

Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, which is fighting for self-determination in Mindanao.

Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief peace negotiator, said he was told by the government peace panel that the Philippine Army would replace Major General Nehemias Pajarito, commander of the 6th Infantry Division in central Mindanao.

“I was told that General Pajarito would be replaced. Pajarito is the cause of all these troubles and fighting in Mindanao the past months,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said Pajarito would be replaced by Major General Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the 1st Infantry Division, based in Pulacan town in Zamboanga del Sur province, west of Mindanao.

Pajarito is one of the most decorated commanders in the southern Philippines and has been largely credited by civilians for keeping the peace in the troubled region.

Both Pajarito and Ferrer could not be reached for comment.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, a regional army spokesman, said he was not aware of the report. “We have not received anything about General Pajarito and as a matter of fact, we have just come from a conference today and nothing was discussed about that,” he said in a separate interview.

Fighting the past months in Maguindanao and North Cotabato provinces in central Mindanao have killed and wounded dozens of people.

The MILF blamed Pajarito for the skirmishes and warned the continued fighting is threatening a fragile six-year old cease-fire in Mindanao.

Iqbal accused government soldiers of attacking rebel forces in Mindanao the past months, breaking a 2001 truce agreement. The attacks killed and wounded scores of rebels and drove thousands of Muslim villagers fleeing their homes.

“The fighting and the continued attack of government forces are now threatening the cease-fire agreement. It is now under threat and in danger of collapsing unless the government acts swiftly to save the peace process,” Iqbal said.

But Ando blamed the rebels, saying, they were attacking government troops and detachments without provocation.

“We are not the problem. The rebels are attacking us and the MILF violated the cease-fire agreement many times in the past,” he said.

Iqbal accused the 6th Infantry Division of derailing the peace talks.

“Troops are encroaching in our areas and government planes were bombing our positions and we cannot do anything, but defend ourselves and our people,” Iqbal said.

He said clashes were also reported in the provinces of Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan. Government troops, backed by helicopters and war planes, were attacking MILF forces, in the guise of pursuing Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants.

Iqbal said soldiers also killed two Muslim civilians – a grandmother Taute Taha and teenager Rasul Balat – in Maguindanao’s Datu Saudi Ampatuan town.

President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and signed a cease-fire agreement, but despite the truce fighting still continues with the two sides accusing each other of breaking the accord.

On Sunday, MILF and military seized more than two dozens soldiers and rebels from both sides after a near firefight in Lumba Bayabao town in Lanao del Sur province.

All the hostages were freed after a tense negotiation between senior rebel and military commanders.

Arroyo on Monday met with top officials of the Cabinet Cluster on National Security in Manila to discuss the worsening situation in Mindanao.

“The best course of action to ensure that the hostilities do not escalate andare exploited by lawless elements is for the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) to work closely with the established mechanisms of the peace process—the joint ceasefire committees, the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group and the International Monitoring Team—to keep combatants in place; and increase vigilance against those intent at breaking the peace, at agitating the people, at pitting the Government against theMILF and communities against each other,” she said.

Arroyo she decided to step up all measures to enforce the law, preserve the atmosphere of peace and stability, and advance the ongoing peace talks.

She ordered the Department of National Defense and the AFP to review and amend the current guidelines on the “Primacy of the Peace Process” and strictly adhere to the cease-fire accord without impairing the operational flexibility and quick response of the AFP in countering threats of terrorism, insurgency and criminality.

“All commanders in the field are enjoined to be constantly aware of the strategicimplications of tactical actions in the proximity of MILF areas. I have alsoordered restraint in the use of artillery and aerial bombing in the conductof military operations,” Arroyo said. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA Humihina Sa Western Mindanao

PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 04 Mar) – Tila bumabagsak na umano ang puwersa ng New People’s Army (NPA) sa Zamboanga del Sur matapos ng sunod-sunod na kampanya ng militar sa lalawigan.

Ngunit inamin ni First Infantry Division commander, Major General Raymundo Ferrer, na malaking tulong ang sibilyan at ang suporta ng publiko sa mga sundalo at pamahalaan kung kaya’t unti-unting humina ang puwersa ng mga rebelde hindi lamang sa Zamboanga del Sur, kundi maging sa Western Mindanao.

Kilalang kuta ng NPA ang Zamboanga del Sur at ibang bahagi ng rehiyon, kabilang ang Margo sa Tubig, Dinas, Zamboanga del Norte at Misamis.

“Talagang hindi tumitigil yun ating operasyon laban sa NPA, pero malaki ang tulong ng ating mga mamamayan at alam naman kasi ng mga sibilyan ang ginagawa ng mga rebelde kung kaya’t marami tayong impormasyon na natatanggap ukol sa NPA,” ani Ferrer sa pahayagang Mindanao Examiner.

Isinabit ni Ferrer ang NPA sa ibat-ibang atrosidad at nasa likod umano ng maraming pangongotong sa lalawigan at pananakot sa mga magsasakang ayaw magbigay ng bigas. Hindi naman agad makunan ng pahayag ang NPA ukol sa ibinunyag ng militar. (Mindanao Examiner)

Dozens Fear Dead, Wounded In Gas Explosion In Southern Philippines

PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 02 Feb) – At least 30 people were feared dead after a gas explosion Friday in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, officials said.

The fiery blast also injured dozens of people in the village of Lacupayan in Tigbao town where a delivery truck carrying tanks of liquefied petroleum gas had earlier overturned.

Officials said an electrical spark from the engine or exhaust of a passing bus may have triggered a fire from leaked gas tanks that caused the explosion. The bus, which came from nearby town of Buug, was on its way to Pagadian City.

“Initial reports said as many as 30 people had been killed and that there are many people injured from the blast, mostly bus passengers,” Major General Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said troops were sent to the area to help bring the victims to hospitals in Pagadian City, several miles from Tigbao.

“Military trucks and ambulances are now being used to transport the victims to hospitals. This is a terrible day and we really cannot tell when accidents would occur,” Ferrer said.

He said the explosion occurred at around 10.40 a.m. and that soldiers from a detachment near the village rushed to the area after they heard the powerful blast.

The area had been cordoned off, he said, to allow investigation by authorities. (Mindanao Examiner)

Couple Killed In Ambush In Zamboanga Town

PAGADIAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 16 Jan) – Unidentified gunmen killed a couple in an ambush in Buug town in the southern Philippine province of Zamboanga del Sur, officials said Tuesday.

Officials said Titing Bongoton and his wife were killed instantly when gunmen opened fire on them with automatic rifles in the village of Pamintayan at around 5 p.m. “They were killed in the ambush,” said Army Maj. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, commander the 1st Infantry Division.

The motive of the attack was unknown, but the man was a known goon in the province and had been used by politicians in the past to harass their opponents, according to military intelligence reports.

It was unknown if the attack was connected to politics.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack. The province is a stronghold of communist insurgents blamed for the killings of criminals and civilians suspected as government spy. (Mindanao Examiner)

Two Rebels Yield To Military In South RP

ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR (Mindanao Examiner / 17 Nov) – A farming couple who are members of the communist New People’s Army have surrendered Friday to the military in the southern Philippines, officials said on Friday.

Officials said Arselito Corpuz also known as Jojo Gumutong, and his wife Lenelyn Corpuz voluntarily surrendered to the Army’s 12th Division Reconnaissance Company in Leon Postigo town in Zamboanga del Norte province.

The two were members of the Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee, said Major General Raymundo Ferrer, commander of the 1st Infantry Division.

He said the duo told interrogators that they broke away from the NPA because of the harsh life in the mountain. "They said more rebels wanted to surrender and begin a new life with their families, but many of them have been threatened with death by their commanders should they surrender to the government," Ferrer told the Mindanao Examiner.

“The military will continue to negotiate for possible surrender of communist terrorists in the area; armed confrontation is not the only solution to counter-insurgency. Cooperation and lateral coordination among local government units are also needed,” he said.

The NPA, armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF), is fighting the past three decades to topple the government and install a Maoist state in the country.

Peace negotiations between the government and communist rebels collapsed last year following the pullout of the National Democratic Front (NDF) from the talks due to its inclusion in the terror lists of the United States and the European Union.

Rebel leaders demanded that Manila asks the United States and the European Union to strike them off from the terror lists before they resume peace talks. (Mindanao Examiner)