Philippine Navy steps up anti-terror ops in Mindanao

Members of the Philippine Navy’s Special Warfare Assault Group inspect a trawler for explosives or illegal weapons Tuesday, July 22, 2009 near Pilas group of islands in the Sulu Sea off Zamboanga City. Admiral Alexander Pama, a regional navy chief, has ordered an intensified patrol in the troubled region following the recent bombings of the Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Indonesia and the spate of bombings in Mindanao and Sulu in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 22, 2009) – The Philippine Navy has stepped up its patrol in the southern region of Mindanao following the spate of bombings and attacks blamed on terrorists.

Authorities blamed the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya and the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels for the series of bombings in Sulu and Mindanao in recent weeks that left scores of civilians dead and wounded.

Indonesia also tagged the Jemaah Islamiya for the recent suicide bombings of the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Jakarta which killed nine people and wounded at least 53 others.

“We have stepped up our security patrol. We are fighting terrorism here,” Admiral Alexander Pama, the navy’s regional commander in Mindanao, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said navy gunboats regularly patrol the Moro Gulf, the Mindanao, Sulu and Celebes seas, an area where pirates are actively operating.

Last week, authorities seized some 350 kilos of banned ammonium nitrate and 1,800 pieces of blasting caps and detonating cords from a cargo vessel in the central Philippine province of Cebu that was heading for Iligan City in Mindanao.

The spikes in bomb attacks in Mindanao and Sulu also coincided with the release of three kidnapped Red Cross workers held by the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya.

The trio – Swiss national Andreas Notter, Filipino Mary Jean Lacaba and Italian Eugenio Vagni – was kidnapped in January in Sulu after inspecting a humanitarian project at a prison in Patikul town.

Lacaba and Notter were freed separately in April, while Vagni was released this month and there were persistent reports that ransoms had been paid to the Abu Sayyaf for their liberty.

It was, however, unknown whether the ransoms had been used to finance the bombings in the Philippines and Indonesia. The Red Cross denied that it paid ransoms to the kidnappers.

The military has last week deployed hundreds of soldiers in Basilan and Sulu provinces to crush the Abu Sayyaf. (Mindanao Examiner)

Hustisya Sa "Sulu Massacre" Wala Pa Rin

SULU (Mindanao / Mar. 16, 2008) – Nanawagann kahapon sa pamunuan ng Armed Forces of the Philippines at Department of National Defense ang mga ulama at ibat-ibang grupo sa lalawigan ng Sulu upang mabigyan ng hustisya ang pagpaslang sa 7 sibilyan at isang off-duty soldier na mga sundalo.

Nuong Pebrero 4 naganap ang pagpatay sa 8 katao at nangangamba ngayon ang amraming grupo sa Sulu, kabilang na ang mga kaanak ng biktima, na pinagtatakpan ng Western Mindanao Command at Philippine Navy ang mga sundalong sabit sa krimen.

Pawang mga miyembro ng Army’s Light Reaction Company at Navy’s Special Wwarfare Group ang diumano’y responsible sa pamamaslang. Napatay umano ang 8 ng lusubin ng mga sundalo ang Barangay Ipil sa bayan ng Maimbung at nakipagsagupaan sa Abu Sayyaf.

Dalawang sundalo rin ang nasawi at limang iba pa ang sugatan sa panig ng LRC at SWAG, ngunit sa imbestigasyong inilabas ni Regional Director Manuel Mamauag ng Commission on Human Rights sa Western Mindanao ay lumalabas na walang Abu Sayyaf sa nasabing Barangay at pinatay ang walong katao ng walang kalaban-laban.

Ayon naman sa mga saksi ay nagkaroon ng “mis-encounter” ang mga LRC at SWAG at sila-sila mismo ang nagbarilan. Napagkamalan umano ng dalawang grupo ng mga sundalo na Abu Sayyaf ang isat-isa.

Nagsagawa ng imbestigasyon ang Western Mindanao Command sa nasabing labanan at inabswelto nito ang mga sundalo at iginiit na Abu Sayyaf ang kanilang napatay. Ngunit nag utos agad si AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon ng sariling imbestigasyon matapos na bansagan ni Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan na isang masaker ang naganap.

Nagpatawag rin ng imbestigasyon si DND Secy. Gilbreto Teorodo upang mabatid ang katotohanan. Kabilang sa mga napatay ay dalawang bata, dalawang teenager, isang Barangay konsehal, isang seaweed farmer at isang babaeng buntis. Ang pagpatay sa kanila ay binansagan ng mga taga-rito an "Sulu Masscare". (Mindanao Examiner)

Sundalong Sabit Sa Sulu "Masscare", Kakasuhan Na!

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 02, 2008) – Sasampahan na ng kasong kriminal ang mga sundalong inakusahang pumatay sa 8 katao sa lalawigan ng Sulu sa kabila ng pagtatakip ng militar sa mga akusado.

Sinabi mismo ni Jainab Abdulmajid, executive director ng Sulu Area Coordinating Center (ACC), na nakahanda na ang lahat ng mga affidavits ng mga naulila upang makasuhan ang mga sundalong miyembro ng Army’s Light Reaction Company at Navy’s Special Warfare Group at kanilang mga commanders na sabit sa pagpatay.

“Magsasampa na ngayon Lunes ng kaso upang mabigyan ng hustisya ang pagapatay sa mga inosenteng sibilyan,” ani Abdulmajid sa panayam ng Mindanao Examiner.

Katulad ng inaasahan, inabswelto ng militar ang mga sundalong sabit sa binansagang "Sulu Massacre" na kung saan ay pitong sibilyan at isang off-duty army soldier ang napatay sa diumano'y sagupaan sa Abu Sayyaf.

Sa imbestigasyon na isinagawa ng Judge Advocate General's Office at Inspector General ng Western Mindanao Command ay pinawalang sala nito ang mga sundalong miyembro ng Army Light Reaction Company at Navy Special Warfare Group na siyang nasa likod ng atake sa Barangay Ipil sa bayan ng Mainbung nuong Pebrero 4.

Iginiit ng militar na lehitimong operasyon laban sa Abu Sayyaf ang naganap. Ngunit kabilang sa mga nasawi ay dalawang bata, dalawang teenager, isang buntis, isang seaweed farmer at isang konsehal ng naturang barangay.

"It was a legitimate encounter with the Abu Sayyaf and that is according to the report and findings of the JAGO," ani Army Major Eugene Batara, spokesman ng Western Mindanao Command.

Sinabi nitong si Colonel Fred Lleosa ang namuno sa JAGO team na nagsagawa ng imbestigasyon.

Ngunit pinanindigan naman ng Commission on Human Rights ang resulta ng sarili nitong imbestigasyon at sinabing walang Abu Sayyaf sa nasabing barangay at pawing mga inosenteng sibilyan ang pinatay ng mga sundalo.

"None of them was an Abu Sayyaf member. Seven civilians and a government soldiers were killed in that attack," wika ni CHR Regional Director Jose Manuel Mamauag.

Bago pa man magsimula ang imbestigasyon o isang araw matapos na mapatay ang 8 ay sinabi na ng Western Mindanao Command na kung hindi mga Abu Sayyaf ang napatay ay mga coddlers naman ito ng teroristang grupo na may kinalaman sa Jemaah Islamiya.

Mariing binatikos naman kahapon ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front ang resulta ng imbestigasyon ng militar at sinabing pinagtakpan nito ang mga sundalo."The findings are sanitized aimed at lessening the burden of responsibility to members of the elite troops under the Light Reaction Company and the navy's Special Warfare Group. Acting as judge for itself will lead to nowhere and no justice is expected forthcoming," ani pa ng MILF.

Pinuri rin nito ang ulat ng CHR at patas umano ang pahayag ni Mamauag ukol sa massacre. "Conscience-guided men, like Mamauag, deserved to be commended by everyone, despite differences of loyalties and orientations," wika ni Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF Secretariat.

Idinetalye ng CHR kung paanong inatake ng mga sundalo ang Barangay Ipil at ang pagnanakaw na ginawa ng mga ito sa mga kabahayan doon. Tatlong bahay rin ang sinunog ng mga sundalo at maging mga kambing at manok ay inilagay sa sako at tinangay.

Nangako naman si Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan na tutulungan nito ang mga naulila upang makakuha ng hustisya. Unang bumuo si Tan ng fact-finding board na sisiyasat sa “massacre.”

Isang malaking indignation rally naman ang isasagawa ng mga Muslim sa bawat bayan sa Sulu bilang protesta sa pagtatakip ng militar sa mga sundalo.

Kung mamamatunayang nagkasala ang mga sundalo ay tiyak na matatanggal ang mga ito sa serbisyo at mabubulok sa bilangguan. (Mindanao Examiner)

RP Flags Fly At Half-Mast In Sulu To Mourn Killings Of Civilians

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 05, 2008) – Philippine flags in the southern province of Sulu were flown at half-mast on Tuesday to mourn the death of innocent civilians killed during a military operation against the Abu Sayyaf group tied to Jemaah Islamiya.

Provincial government officials, led by Gov. Sakur Tan, condemned the killings and said they will file criminal charges against those involved in the raid. The Provincial Legislative Council also passed a resolution condemning the killings.

"Innocent civilians were killed. The children were shot in the head. We condemned the killings and those soldiers involved in the murder of innocent people must be charged in court and pay for their crimes," Tan said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

The Philippine military on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the killing of 8 people in fierce clashes between security forces and Abu Sayyaf militants in Sulu province.

Seven of those killed in the town of Maimbung were civilians -- three adults, two children and two teenagers -- and an off duty army soldier.

“The Philippine flags were flown at half-mast in Sulu to mourn the death of the civilians,” Tan said.

Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of an anti-terror task force in Sulu province, said two soldiers and three militants, including an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Abu Muktadil, were killed in the fighting.

"It was a legitimate encounter. As far as we are concerned, troops clashed with the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya. We have recovered the bodies of Muktadil," he said, adding, they were also investigating whether the slain civilians were killed in the cross-fire or not.

Security officials said troops were tracking down a kidnapped trader Rosalie Lao in Maimbung town at dawn Monday when they clashed with alleged Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya militants in the village of Ipil where the eight bodies had been found later in the day.

It was not immediately known whether the 45-year old trader is being held in Maimbung town. Lao, who buys and sells Malaysian goods, was kidnapped Jan. 28 outside her home in Jolo town.

But a village leader, Rahsi Agas, has accused troops of killing the civilians. "They were just seaweed farmers and not members of the Abu Sayyaf," he told reporters in Sulu.

He said some of those killed were shot at sea while trying to escape the fighting on boat. The soldiers who raided the village were members of the Army's Light Reaction Company, trained by US forces, and Navy's Special Warfare Group.

Those killed were identified as Marisa Payian, 4; Wedme Lahim, 9; Alnalyn Lahim, 15; Sulayman Hakob, 17; Kirah Lahim, 45; Eldisim Lahim, 43; Narcia Abon, 24; all civilians and Pfc. Ibnul Wahid, of the Army's 6th Infantry Division. (With a report from Nickee Butlangan)