Officials said the attack triggered a 15-minute firefight Thursday night between army soldiers and rebels in the village of Salvo in Maguindanao’s Datu Saudi Ampatuan town and left one infantryman wounded.
“The attack occurred as troops were heading back to camp after attending the signing of a peace covenant among village leaders in the area. A village chieftain and another official who were behind the convoy were killed and one of our soldiers was also wounded in the attack perpetrated by Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels,” said Army Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Hao, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division.
He tagged MILF leader Mohiden Karialan as behind the attack. “At least 15 rebels were involved in the attack,” he said.
Hao identified those killed as Salik Guimba, village chieftain of Liab in Mamasapano town, and Nasser Mapangal, a village councilor.
But the MILF denied its commander was involved in the attack and spokesman Von Al Haq blamed Guimba’s political foes for the ambush. “The MILF has nothing to do with the attack and reports we gathered pointed to Guimba’s political enemies as behind the attack,” he said.
The motive of the attack was unknown, but it occurred ahead of village elections next week in the Philippines.
Elections in Mindanao are traditionally bloody with candidates and their followers attacking each other, especially in areas where politicians maintain private armed goons.
Monday’s elections are expected to be violent and the military have already deployed troops to guard polling areas and protect the voters.
The rebel group, which is fighting for decades for self-determination, has previously warned its members to stay away from elections, saying, it does not recognize the country’s political exercise.
The 12,000-strong MILF is currently negotiating peace with Manila in an effort to end bloody Muslim insurgency in the country’s restive, but mineral-rich southern region. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, October 22, 2010
2 killed in Mindanao rebel attack
Friday, October 15, 2010
Kidnappers free Filipino-Chinese matriarch in South RP
Monday, October 11, 2010
Philippines arrests senior MILF leader ahead of peace talks
MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 11, 2010) – Philippine authorities are holding a senior leader of Moro Islamic Liberation Front and accused him of terrorism ahead of peace talks between Manila and the Muslim rebel group fighting for separatism in the troubled region on Mindanao.
The MILF said it was protesting the arrest of Eduard Guerra and it also wrote Malaysia, which is brokering the peace talks, to say that the man had been tortured into admitting false charges of terrorism.
“We have filed a protest with the Philippine government and informed Malaysia about the arrest of Brother Eduard Guerra. He is a senior official of the MILF Central Committee and all the charges against him were false,” said Von Al Haq, a spokesman for the rebel group.
He said Guerra was arrested late last month at the Davao International Airport on his way to Switzerland to attend the United Nations Human Rights Council Meeting upon the invitation of an international nongovernment organization.
The MILF demanded the immediate release of Guerra who is being held at a military base in Manila. “Brother Eduard is has been tortured and is not allowed to see his lawyers or family members,” Al Haq said.
He said the MILF also passed a resolution condemning Guerra’s arrest. It was signed by Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF Central Committee, and Ghazali Jaafar, MILF Vice Chairman for Political Affairs.
The resolution considers the arrest as a “direct blow to the early resumption of the negotiation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia” and described it as a blatant violation of the truce accord between Manila and the MILF.
Murad Ebrahim, the MILF chieftain, sent a letter to the Malaysian peace talks facilitator, Datuk Othman bin Abdulrazak, and raised the issue of the arrest and its serious implications to the early resumption of the peace negotiations.
Authorities accused Guerra as behind the series of bombings in Sarangani province and General Santos City in Mindanao.
There was no immediate statement from the police or military about the MILF accusations. Manila has opened peace talks with the MILF in an effort to end bloody fighting in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
MILF deploys forces to rescue kidnapped Chinese matriarch in Mindanao
A Moro Islamic Liberation Front soldier stands guards at a village checkpoint in Maguindanao province in Mindanao. The MILF has ordered its forces to rescue kidnapped Filipino-Chinese matriarch Conchita Tan, seized October 8, 2010 in Cotabato City in Maguindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)The order came from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s Central Committee.Rebel forces were also told to coordinate with Filipino authorities to avoid clashes with state soldiers also tracking down the 73-year old Conchita Tan.
Sammy Al Mansoor, who heads the military wing of the MILF, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, ordered rebel forces to exert all efforts to rescue Tan, who was kidnapped October 8 in Cotabato City in Maguindanao province after gunmen shot and killed two of her escorts.
Tan owns a hardware store in Cotabato and was heading home with her husband when gunmen attacked them. Tan’s husband was not hurt in the attack.
Von Al Haq, a spokesman for the MILF, said the rescue mission is a unilateral effort of the MILF because of an existing accord with the government.
The MILF forged an agreement with Manila in 2004 that paved the way for rebel forces through the ad-hoc joint action group to help government hunt down terrorists and criminal elements in areas where the rebel group is actively operating.
“The Chief of Staff of Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces directed all commanders on the ground to rescue the kidnap victim and block all possible entries and exits (in Maguindanao), and shoot-to-kill the kidnappers if they fight back,” Al Haq said.
He said Tan is being held by a kidnapping syndicate headed by Mayangkang Saguile, a notorious bandit operating in Maguindanao province. “We have information that Mayangkang Saguile is holding the victim and we have pinpointed their hideout in Maguindanao,” he said.
The MILF in August also helped in the release of a kidnapped Chinese-Filipino trader Nestor Tay after three days in captivity in North Cotabato province. Tay, owner of the New Asian Marketing, was freed in Midsayap town.
The release of Tay came a day after Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels joined the search for the kidnapped trader. “Tay was freed because of the pressure exerted by the MILF to the kidnappers,” Al Haq said, adding, rebel forces had been mobilized in coordination with the ad-hoc joint action group to search and pressure the kidnappers to free Tay without ransom.
Gunmen abducted Tay in Cotabato City after barging inside his store and disarmed a security guard before dragging him away to a waiting van outside.
Kidnappings-for-ransom is not uncommon in Cotabato and dozens of wealthy traders had been kidnapped in the past and freed after their family paid ransoms to their captors.
The MILF, which is fighting for decades for self-determination, is currently negotiating peace with the Aquino government in an effort to put an end to bloody clashes in Mindanao, which had been ruled in the past by sultans. (Mindanao Examiner)
Friday, September 17, 2010
Robin Padilla, itinakwil ng mga Muslim!
Si Robin ay isang Balik-Islam at isinuko na nito noon ang buong buhay sa pagpapalaganap ng kanyang relihiyon matapos na makulong ng mahabang panahon sa kasong illegal possession of firearms.
Ngunit nabigla ang maraming Muslim sa Mindanao matapos na mabalitaanang tinalikuran nito ang Islam matapos na ikasal kamakailan kay Mariel ng isang “mambunong” o katutubong pari ng mga Ibaloi o Nabaloi, isang indigenous tribe sa hilagang Luzon at sa Cordillera region at kabilang sa mga hanay ng Igorot.
Kasama ni Robin ang ilang kaanak nito, gayun rin si Ali, ang kanyang bunsong anak sa unang asawa na si Liezel Sicangco.
Sa pangalan pa lang ng anak ni Robin ay Muslim rin ang dinala nito at gayun rin si Queenie na ilang ulit nagtungo sa Mindanao para sa ibat-ibang humanitarian mission na pinakinabangan ng maraming mga Muslim.
Nabatid pang gumamit sina Robin at Mariel ng mga bahag na tradisyon naman ng mga Igorot. Mistulang ibinasura na rin ng action star ang lagging gamit nitong skull cap at shawl na tradisyonal naman sa mga Muslim. May lahing Igorot ang angkan ni Robin dahil ang ina nitong si Eva Cariño ay isang Igorot.
Ayon naman sa ulat ng ABS-CBN ay benindisyunan ng Ibaloi priest sina Robin at Mariel. “Pinainom ng tapuy o rice wine bilang simbolo ng kanilang pagmamahalan. At sumayaw pa raw ng tayao, isang katutubong sayaw para ipaalam sa publiko na sila'y kasal na.”
“Nagkatay din daw ng baboy. Ipinahid sa pisngi ang dugo para ipakita na sila'y legal na kasal sa kulturang Igorot,” ani sa ulat.
Nagtagal umano ng isa't kalahating oras ang kasalan at matapos nito ay muling ikinasal ang dalawa sa isang pastor sa loob ng bahay sa Baguio.
Binatikos naman ng isang religious leader na nagpakilalang si Imam Abdul Malik ang biglaang pagtalikod ni Robin sa kanyang paniniwala kay Allah at sa relihiyong Islam at mas matindi umano ang pagkatay ng baboy at pagpahid ng dugo nito sa mukha ng action star na isa umanong “haram” o mahigpit na ipinagbabawal sa mga Muslim.
Bawal kasi sa Islam ang anumang may kinalaman sa baboy dahil marumi ang tingin ng mga Muslim sa nasabing hayup base na rin sa turo ng Quoran, ang holy book ng mga ito.
“That is blasphemy. Robin has indirectly relinquished his Islamic faith when he accepted the fact that the animal was sacrificed and its blood wiped on his face as part of the Ibaloi ritual. That is haram, that is forbidden,” ani ng Imam sa panayam ng Mindanao Examiner.
Idinagdag pa nitong: “He shall be punished (by Allah) in the afterlife. Robin is deemed incommunicado.”
Maging ang rebeldeng Moro Islamic Liberation Front ay nagulat at nadismaya rin sa balita at sinabing mahina ang pananalig ni Robin sa kanyang relihiyon at paniniwala.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Kidnapped Chinese-Filipino trader freed in Mindanao
Friday, July 09, 2010
MILF, Army trade accusations as fighting flares up in Mindanao
COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 9, 2010) – Philippine Muslim rebels on Friday accused the military of attacking them near Maguindanao province where a three-year old boy was killed in mortar fires.
Von Al-Haq, a spokesman for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said troops fired mortars on MILF targets in Datu Piang town, but one of the missiles hit a civilian area and killed the boy and wounded six others.
“Government troops fired mortars on MILF targets, but it landed on a civilian area and killed a three-year old boy. Six other children were wounded in that attack,” he said.
Al-Haq said military attack on Thursday was triggered by fighting between two Muslim clans after troops sided with one of the clan leaders. “It was a clan war, but the military sided with one leader and that started it all. The other clan leader had relatives in the MILF and fighting flared up,” he said.
But the military’s Eastern Mindanao Command on Friday blamed rebel forces for the killing of the boy. It said some 50 gunmen attacked members of the 29th Infantry Battalion, sparking a firefight.
Major Randolph Cabangbang, a regional army spokesman, said gunmen fired two rounds of mortar bombs hitting a village that killed the boy. He said six others were wounded in the attack. There were no reports of military or rebel casualties in the latest fighting.
Last week, the MILF also accused the military of launching mortar attacks in the villages of Lagitan and Meti in Maguindanao’s Datu Blah Sinsuat town.
Peace talks between the MILF and Manila was suspended after President Gloria Aquino ended her term last month, but new Filipino leader Benigno Simeon Aquino III said he would soon resume the negotiations with Muslim rebels in an effort to end bloody fighting in Mindanao.
The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, is fighting for decades for self-determination. (Mindanao Examiner)