Photo: North Cotabato Flood

Scenes from around North Cotabato where torrential rains flooded many areas in North Cotabato province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Kidnap: Facing death By Ces Drilon

KIDNAP: An ABS-CBN Special.

(Last of three parts)

For the first days, my cell phone, with Smart as the service provider, was used by our captors to contact my family, and for their own use as well. By the third or fourth day, the battery of my cell phone was used up.

They transferred my SIM card to one of their phones and continued to use my line. The group would send a messenger from time to time to charge the phone, I assumed, to a nearby village. At some point when communication was urgent, we would wait anxiously for a courier to come back with a charged battery. The group had control of my cell phone but there were times when they would hand it to me to call or text. I sent messages surreptitiously.

I would also look immediately at the call register to see who they contacted, or who called them and I would copy the numbers in my notebook. I could do this because I would pretend not to know the numbers of my family by heart and would always have my notebook handy. I would look at messages in the inbox and outbox and at one point, copied a message in Tausug as swiftly as I could.

All this information, I have shared with the authorities. I also managed to send messages to my family and ABS-CBN about our whereabouts. They were tension-filled moments because I had to look nonchalant even when my heart was pounding so hard. The unit was no longer mine so I had to familiarize myself with the cell phone quickly.

I would carefully erase my messages from the sent box so as not to leave evidence. My heartbeat quickened when once, I realized that I did not clear the text from the phone. It was fortunate that I was given the phone to call again and I had an opportunity to double check. But nothing was so fearful as the time I had reported that ten to 12 men had left camp, including the supposed commander, a day after Angel Valderama was freed.

When I had the cell phone, I told Jimmy Encarnacion to be on the lookout and to alert me in case they would come near. I then rapidly texted the message, with the professor egging me, “Don’t forget, go delta.” My hands were shaking as I sent the text; “Ten men left, only about twelve here. Now is the time to go delta.”

When we realized they could not understand English, I would give clues while talking to my brother, Frank. I remember I said: “We are on a mountain I climbed before, check with my office what mountain that is (referring to Bud Daho). My rest house, referring to our camp, is facing a mountain that sounds like an old man (Mt Matanding) “

In another call I said, “Frank, I have a rest house (referring to our camp) which has 20 caretakers ( referring to our guards). This rest house is 3000 meters from a lone house facing the sunrise. Tell the caretakers they have to clear the area around the rest house. Also there is poison ivy there (referring to the bomb), they have to be careful.”
Negotiations

I was ordered to call ABS-CBN to inform my employers that I was being held hostage.
When I asked who they were, the commander said, “Lost command.”

I asked, whose lost command?

“Just lost command,” came the reply.

I called the head of news and current affairs, Maria Ressa, on my cell phone. I was also instructed to tell her not to tell the military about it. It was a brief conversation, and I was told to tell her to expect another call. They said they would tell me when I should call again. I was instructed to return to our hut and not to tell my companions anything about the conversation or they would be tied.

We were told we had to leave the camp. By then, the kidnappers had demanded a P20-million peso ransom for us.

It was made clear to me, which I conveyed to the kidnappers, that the company had a no- ransom policy. I also told them they cannot expect anything, since I had defied instructions on the eve of the interview not to proceed with it and instead to just hand Prof. Dinampo my list of questions for Sahiron and a mini-camera which we also brought with us.

I tried to bring down the price and bargain with them. The one armed man had told me the ransom could not be brought down.

P2 million only

We were on the move again, passed more homes but they became more and more far apart from each other. One had a radio that I could hear some broadcast from.

The civilians did not look threatened by the armed men, who could be mistaken for soldiers.
They had the same uniform, complete with the army insignia and carried the same M14 and M16 long arms. We stopped on a grassy slope where water was flowing on a well-built pipe made out of bamboo above the ground.

It was on the ridge that I talked to my sister, Grech, for the first time. I also talked to my mother, who was crying on the phone and finally my youngest son, Andre.

Before night fall, the armed men set up camp in a narrow ridge of the mountain covered by trees. They laid out a plastic sheet for us, the material similar to rice sacks. A plastic tent was put above it, tied to the trees. This was where we were to sleep. We were given a plate of rice and a child-size serving of noodles. It was for the four of us. I didn’t eat my share.

Shortly after nine in the evening, the one armed man brought me my phone again and said I must talk about the ransom with my sister. My sister told my captors that all we could afford was P2 million.

I heard one of the armed men remark that they would start digging. Alarmed, I told my sister, “Let’s borrow money, maybe I can borrow from ABS-CBN.”

Patikul

As we got ready to rest, Jimmy, my cameraman, said we must cover our ears for the ground was filled with giant ants. I thought of my panty liners in my bag. I peeled two of them to get the cotton stuffed inside to protect our ears.

But we were ordered to move. As we got up, we saw new faces. We walked for probably an hour, until we reached a lone house overlooking the sea. Before approaching the house, we were made to wait and I assumed they were sending the occupants away. The house like many we saw on the mountain, was on stilts, it was roofed but had no walls. The cold was bitter that night and I shivered all night in my damp jacket.

In my journal I kept throughout our captivity I wrote:

The cold was biting and our feet were damp, my rubber shoes caked with mud. I slept fitfully and was shivering from the cold. I was woken up to start transferring again. The view we left behind was worth it though. The sunrise gave the sky an orange glow. The sun rose over the mountains and gave the sea a soft light. There was an island close to the shore but no one could tell me what its name was.

All throughout our captivity, the group was careful not to reveal where we were or to mislead us by giving wrong information. In the next days, I would pass information through text and through my phone calls, based on the description of the area that Prof. Dinampo would give me.

The area we moved to was where we spent the next six days of our captivity. About four men brought us to the area but before we climbed the slope, they made a great show of planting a bomb, they said in case soldiers were to come.

We were on the eastern slope of Bud Daho, 3000 meters from the lone house where we were first taken, facing the sun RISE. The slope we were on was facing a smaller mountain, called Mt. Matanding.

Bud Daho is a storied mountain, where more than a century ago, thousands of Tausugs, including women and children, were massacred by US soldiers. The professor told me if there was any opportunity to escape, we must head west. West was the more populated area of Patikul, the baranggay of Danag, where Jimmy and I began our climb in 2007.

As it is, we were already in Patikul, the stronghold of Radulan Sahiron. This was what the professor told me. When I had the opportunity to text, I would send the location to my family members and to Charie Villa, my immediate superior in ABS-CBN. I had also sent the same message to Vice Governor Lady Anne Sahidula, who was chosen by my family to represent us in the negotiations for our release.

Threat to behead

We were constantly in fear, but I would try never to betray it to our captors.

It was on June 11 that the first really frightening experience of our captivity came. It was close to sunset, when Vice Governor Lady Anne, who was on speakerphone, told my captors all my family could afford to pay was P2 million.

They grabbed the cell phone from me and went berserk. The one-armed man, whom I later learned to be Commander Harris or Commander Tek, looked at me with blazing eyes and said we were going to die in the jungle.

We held hands and prayed. I never prayed so hard. Then the men took Jimmy and Angel and tied their hands behind their back. They were made to kneel on the mud. We were told that if the money didn’t arrive the next day at two pm, they were going to behead Angel.

The man holding Jimmy turned to me and said I should put on make up so that when they ship my head via LBC to ABS-CBN, I would look pretty.

I tried to be as calm as I could. My calmness in the face of all these threats surprised me. There was no other choice. To be hysterical would have achieved nothing. I could not do anything to comfort Jimmy and Angel and all I could was offer them a drink from the plastic gallon, as they were hogtied. I wanted to cry, but I held myself.

Then Angel and Jimmy were brought to separate hammocks, with one hand tied to a tree. When things settled down, the professor told me we had to undo the group’s “misuara,” or consensus. He said he had to make a counterproposal to the group otherwise, if the P20 million doesn’t come, they would be forced to uphold their ultimatum.

We had to save Angel. We quietly discussed what to propose. The professor said, what if we offer a cash advance to lift the ultimatum? He talked to the one-armed man in Tausug. The professor came back and said the group would meet again to discuss our proposal.

Cash advance

By nine pm, the one- armed man came to tell me that they had decided on a P5-million cash advance by two p.m., to cancel the ultimatum on Angel.

I called the Vice Governor and pretended I was talking to my sister, because they were so enraged by her. I said,” Sister, they are asking for five million so that Angel will not be beheaded. It has to be with Mayor Isnadji by two o clock p.m. tomorrow.”

It was the day before, the morning of June 10, that our captors had told us that it was Mayor ALVAREZ Isnadji of Indanan who they could trust to receive their money. They said the Mayor’s son, Jun was a friend of theirs, who will not fool them about the money.

I was surprised when they mentioned the Indanan mayor, because one of the very first things they warned me about, aside from not telling the authorities about our kidnapping, was for my family not to deal with any politician, because they said the politicians would only keep the money for themselves.

This was how I convinced them to accept the vice governor as my family’s representative.
‘I would die, too’

It was the longest night of my life. I prayed hard and confronted the possibility that I too may die. I could not live if one of us is beheaded. I would also die myself.

I wrote in my journal:

June 12, 5 a.m. Sunrise, again a beautiful orange glow in the east that somehow eases the brutality that envelopes us. I prayed the rosary again as the sun rose. It eases the soul and calms me. There is an ultimatum issued by the group that if P5M is not received by the mayor of Indanan at 2 pm today, Angel will be beheaded. I could not write that yesterday as it was difficult. I took the news as calmly as I could. And the possibility that I too may die here.”

At 11:00 a.m., I wrote:

I am leaving my fate up to God and only hope there will be an end to this.” Then at 1:40 p.m., another entry: “ We just learned of Angel’s reprieve. Angel was very happy. We are all happy. I just said the rosary and I feel a sense of peace.”

It was past the two p.m. deadline, when the one armed commander approached my hammock and said that the P5 million was already with the mayor and that the ultimatum on Angel had been cancelled—and that he was going to be released.It was good news to us!

Without hesitation, I agreed, but asked that I must explain this to Jimmy. We all agreed and wished Angel well. They warned me that I must instruct Angel not to talk to the authorities or our safety will be jeopardized. Some 12 men prepared to bring Angel out. It was June 12, Independence Day. Second ultimatum

It was on the 7th day of our captivity, on the evening of June 14, that we moved camp. It was also the day that the second ultimatum was issued. Before transferring, Commander Tek told me that the second half of the ransom of P15 million had to be in by Monday, June 16, or one of us would be beheaded. And as if to soothe me, he added that the mayor had asked them to extend the deadline to Tuesday, June 17, and the group agreed.

It was also the day I received a text from Senator Loren Legarda. Commander Tek, the one-armed man had given me my cell phone to show her text. By this time, the “commander” had left with about ten men. He left Friday, the day after Angel was released. Professor Dinampo had told me he saw some of them receive money. “Good for six months,” he overheard them say.

I asked if I could call the senator, because by this time, I could no longer reach any members of my family. It was a big relief and a great comfort to hear a voice from the outside world. She told me, “I am working for your unconditional release.” After our conversation, I sent a text to Loren, “ I have faith in you. Please send my love to my mom and my boys.”

The camp we moved to was a short walk downhill, about 30 minutes away. It looked like a place that the armed men had used before. I was assigned a bamboo cot with low nipa walls but no roof, so they tied a plastic sheet above it. Immediately, below the bed, our captors set up hammocks for Jimmy, the professor, and Commander Tek. Some distance away were other makeshift huts, surrounding my own “hut.” There was even a makeshift kitchen.

The professor told me we were on the west slope of Mt. Matanding. I made a mental note of it just in case I had an opportunity to send a text on our change of location.

Sunday evening, as I was on my bamboo bed, Jimmy and I were roused from sleep, our hands tied. They accused us of trying to escape. It would have made me really scared but I refused to indulge my fear. I just prayed and tried to go back to sleep.

They were getting more and more cruel with us. Jimmy was now always tied with his arms behind his back. My arms were tied in front. They would untie us only when meals were served. My bag which I used as a pillow was taken away from me. I worried more about my notebook and the notes I had written on it.

Very early Tuesday, the day of the ultimatum, the men had already begun to threaten to behead Jimmy. The men gave me the phone to call my family. I called Senator Legarda, gone was the calm in my voice. I told her, please tell me if there is money, otherwise I will prepare my fate.

It was before noon when I called her again saying they were ready to behead Jimmy. A bolo had been taken out. Then I heard a loud slap. I screamed and cried in shock. I slumped on the cot and hugged Jimmy, crying on his shoulder. Then I had seen that a rope had been tied from his arms behind him to his neck, with a piece of cloth tied around it. I had an empty feeling in my stomach.

They made me call my family to ask exactly how much money they raised. I called Senator Legarda instead. In the middle of the phone call, I saw one of the armed men hit me from the corner of my eye. Again, I fell on the cot. In the middle of my sobs, I remember asking Jimmy, where was I slapped? Why don’t I feel pain? But Jimmy was already begging the men for his life. I told the men, “Please behead me instead.”

By then, after all my prayers, I had asked the Lord to prepare me to accept my death calmly. At the same time, I tried to think, could they be bluffing? But I had made up my mind, that I would not beg these men for my life.

As they hit Jimmy with the butt of a rifle and the bamboo bed, I said, “Please, please one last call, one last call to my family!” But the phone rang and the image of the man who answered the call will forever be imprinted on my mind. He was laughing as he spoke to the phone, spat on the ground, ended the call and said to us, “It’s over, you are free.”

Free, at last!

On our long walk to freedom on the 17th of June, I asked one of our guards when the one armed commander lost his right arm. I was told that Commander Tek was with his family in a jeep when they were ambushed by the military. Commander Tek, he said, was only five years old then.

I asked myself in my journal: “What kind of life will I go back to? What about these people? What is life to them? What is their purpose? What is mine?”

I still have to discern the answers to these questions. And as I face the consequences of my actions and for my error in judgment, when I brought my team aboard the jeep that would take us to our abduction, the only certain thing I know is that while my family forgave me unconditionally for the ordeal I had put them through, the institution I belong to will demand accountability.

As journalists, we demand accountability from public officials. For now, the first honorable and decent thing to do is to accept the sanctions that may be meted out to me, that I too am ready to be accountable for my actions.

It will be a long time before I return to Sulu. It would be foolhardy to go anytime soon. I can only hope that even as the ransom paid will sadly go to more arms and resources for the bandits, the focus on the province will galvanize the nation to address its dire situation. While I condemn the actions of the group that took us, I also condemn the system that allows them to thrive.

"During the day, when you gaze at the deep blue sky or at night as you look up to the darkness dotted with stars and a crescent moon, “ I wrote in my journal, “you wonder how the Sulu sky can shelter such cruelty.”

KIDNAP, a documentary on the abduction in Sulu of ABS-CBN broadcast journalist Ces Drilon and her crew by the Abu Sayyaf Group, will be aired on ABS-CBN (Channel 2) Sunday, July 13, 10:05 p.m.

Detained Sulu Mayor Could Win Polls In Autonomous Region In Muslim Mindanao

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 12, 2008) – A detained Sulu mayor implicated in the kidnapping of a Philippine television news crew may probably win in the August 11 elections in the Muslim autonomous region because of sympathy votes.

Indanan town Mayor Alvarez Isnaji and his Haider have been detained after being accused of pocketing P3 million from the five million ransom initially paid to the Abu Sayyaf for the safe release of ABS-CBN television cameraman Angelo Valderama in Sulu.

Three other hostages, reporter Ces Drilon and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and a Muslim university professor Octavio Dinampo, were also freed in exchange for P15 million, police said.

The Abu Sayyaf kidnapped the four on June 8 while on their way to secretly interview an Abu Sayyaf terrorist leader Radulan Sahiron in Sulu’s Maimbung town, a known stronghold of the group tied to al-Qaeda.

Isnaji is one of seven candidates running for governor in the Muslim autonomous region and support for his campaign is steadily growing and he could win the polls if the trend continues in his favor, according to Ibrahim Abdurahman, a leader of the former Muslim rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The MNLF is helping in the campaign of Isnaji, a senior leader of the MNLF and a former lawmaker in the Muslim autonomous region.

“There is a huge support because the sympathy of the Muslims is with good mayor. Many believe Mayor Alvarez Isnaji is innocent of all accusations against him and that these accusations are all part of a grand design to derail his candidacy,” Abdurahman said.

He said there is a huge support for Isnaji in the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Shariff Kabunsuan and Lanao del Sur. “Except for Maguindanao, Mayor Isnaji is enjoying the support of the Bangsamoro people,” he said.

Maguindanao is the home province of the current governor of the Muslim autonomous region, Zaldy Ampatuan, whose father Andal Ampatuan is the incumbent governor. The young Ampatuan, a former mayor of a small town and a staunch ally of President Gloria Arroyo, is seeking reelection.

Isnaji is largely seen as a formidable force against Ampatuan. Isnaji is also being supported by the MNLF.

Elections in the Muslim autonomous region had been tagged in the past as one of the dirtiest in the country where politicians use “guns, gold and goons” to win votes.

Muslims in Sulu province have earlier urged the Philippine Senate to open up investigations into who benefited from the ransom.

Isnaji, who was handpicked by the Abu Sayyaf to negotiate for the safe release of the captives, strongly denied the accusations.

Police said Drilon's brother, Frank, paid P5 million ransom, but Isnaji allegedly gave only P2 million to the kidnappers. And Isnaji's lawyer, Firdausi Abbas, claimed that another P15 million donated by an unnamed Chinese businessman was paid to the captors.

Police and military said the payment of ransom to the Abu Sayyaf will endanger many people in the southern Philippines because the money could be used to purchase illegal weapons and fund terrorism and future kidnappings.

Since the release of the hostages, authorities have not made any arrest, but many in Sulu are waiting for the ABS-CBN special documentary on the kidnapping which will air on Sunday night. One of the cameramen, Encarnacion, was able to secretly film their ordeal and their Abu Sayyaf captors.

Security officials previously said the number of the Abu Sayyaf has dwindled from several hundreds in the last five years to only a few dozens now and the military downgraded the group to plain bandits. Washington listed the Abu Sayyaf as a foreign terrorist organization and has offered as much as $5 million bounty for the capture of its known leaders. (Mindanao Examiner)

Ces Drilon: 'They have a warped sense of Muslim struggle'

KIDNAP: An ABS-CBN Special.

Second of Three Parts

On June 9, the second day of our captivity, I still hoped I could do my work and followed up our interview. I was told not to worry about it and to have coffee and breakfast first. I looked around and saw the group had swelled to about 20 armed men. The men did not seem on alert; some were still sleeping while others busied themselves to cook.

I sat beside the professor who had told me quietly to expect the worse, that there may be no interview and that we may have already been kidnapped. My heart sank but I did not betray my fear. The men in our hut were busy cleaning their handguns, something that would become routine for them at the start of the day for the rest of our captivity.

At about seven in the morning, I was called to see the “commander” alone, some distance from our hut. The commander told me, “ito na lang ang sasabihin ko sa iyo, kidnap for ransom na ito (I am only going to tell you one thing. This is kidnap for ransom.).”

I took the news without batting an eyelash, even if my heart sank and my knees seemed to turn to jelly.

I tried to reason out with him. I told him to call me Ces, recalling somewhere that as a hostage, it was important for him to consider me a person and not just a commodity.

The commander was surrounded by ten to twelve men. I asked if Radulan Sahiron knew about what they were doing. He said he didn’t. He said that he was scared Sahiron may learn about it. Later, his men told me that their commander was hard-headed and didn’t follow orders.
Where is Sahiron, I asked. They said they didn’t know.

“Is he alive?” I asked, remembering what the professor told me that he overheard from the armed men that Sahiron was hurt in a bombing incident.

The commander said he didn’t know the whereabouts of Sahiron.

What cause?

I tried to convince them that granting me an interview would be better, to convey their cause to the people. I told them I was one of the first journalists to cover the massacre of seven civilians and a soldier in Ipil, Maimbung in February, that I was the only one to report on the case of Visma Juhan, a woman injured by a bullet from an M203 rifle grenade used by US forces while training in a military camp in Bud Datu.

The commander remarked that they had given an interview to a former colleague in ABS-CBN but it never was aired.

I asked if they had political demands. “Political demands?” the commander scoffed. He said they had none and that the government doesn’t listen to such demands.

I said the professor has been fighting for peace, to which the commander replied that nothing has ever happened to the professor’s proposals.

‘Just a reporter’

During our days in captivity, our captors would listen to the radio. It was surreal sitting in the middle of the jungle listening to news about us.

One night, the one-armed man said to me, with a pleased smile on his face, that I was an important person. I said no, I was just a reporter.

Some of them didn’t know who I was were it not for the radio broadcasts. It would have been funny if not for the following day, when I was told that they had information that I was related to Senator Frank Drilon. I was afraid they would drive up the ransom demand for us.
In my journal, I wrote: I’ve always had a romanticized view of Sulu. That outlook was shattered today.

What turned these young men into the monsters that they are? What went wrong? They have a deep hatred and a warped sense of the Muslim struggle. My mistake was my being so naïve in hoping that the man I was to interview would present a different view of the Abu Sayyaf. I was wrong. Apparently the message never even got to him. Greed and hatred got in the way. If we are to believe the commander in charge, he just decided to form a team to kidnap us for ransom. The poor professor who arranged this was naïve like me. He said this will be a very big scoop. The irony is we became the story. I want to hang my head in shame.

But there was a principal behind all this, it became clear to us as the days wore on. The professor believes it was none other than Sahiron himself.

Sulu Cops Finish Basic Police Operations Course

A photo released by the US Embassy to the Mindanao Examiner shows members of the Philippine National Police in Sulu province during the Basic Police Operations course.

SULU, Philippines – Philippine policemen on Friday finished a three-week course in Basic Police Operations in the southern province of Sulu.

Designed to be an initial step toward strengthening the basic peace and order maintenance capabilities of policemen throughout Sulu, the Basic Police Operations course included lessons in systematic approaches to policing, police ethics, enforcing the law while respecting human rights and dignity, community policing, communicating and listening, patrol procedures, and custody procedures and prisoner management.

The members of the first graduating class include 14 female officers.

Course instructors include two PNP officers who have gained experience as police instructors in other U.S.-sponsored law enforcement development programs in the Philippines, and one American technical adviser with an extensive police training background.

The U.S. provided logistical and administrative support as well as crime-scene investigation tools and supplies, and facilities to process and store crime-scene evidence.

“The United States is proud to support the efforts of the PNP to improve investigations of serious crimes and build strong cases for prosecution of those responsible,” U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney said in a statement.

“This will help reduce the incidence of unexplained and extrajudicial killings and will increase public trust in the integrity of the Philippine security forces,” she added.

The Basic Police Operations course will be repeated almost continuously through December 2008, providing training opportunities for up to 300 PNP personnel.

In addition, during a three-week course for investigators in November, students will deepen skills in criminal investigation, crime scene investigation, and interview and questioning techniques. The U.S. will also donate some P 3.3 million ($75,000) in police equipment, such as flashlights, handcuffs, and crime scene investigation supplies.

Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan praised the US government for its support to the local police force. “I am sure this course will boost the knowledge of our policemen in law enforcements which will greatly improve our peace and order in the province,” he said.

Tan also appealed to locals to support the police in maintaining peace and order in Sulu.

Kidnap: Days of captivity in the depths of Sulu By Ces Drilon

Kidnap: An ABS-CBN Special.

First of three parts

As I made my way through the wild fern and thick vegetation in the depths of Sulu, little did I know that I was to cross the line from a reporter chasing a story to becoming the story—and make headlines for many days.

As we walked for about three hours in the oppressive heat that fateful June 8, I did not feel threatened. But as it turned to dusk and after our “ safe conduct pass,” as Professor Octavio Dinampo referred to our guide, Juamil “Maming” Biyaw, disappeared, I began to feel a heavy sense of foreboding. Juamil was called by two armed men and was brought away.

When I asked the professor why this had happened, he told me Juamil was just being brought to “our man,” referring to Radulan Sahiron before our audience with him. Juamil was a relative of Sahiron and accompanied Prof. Dinampo in an interview he had with Sahiron in February 2008.

The professor had told me no harm would come to us as long as Juamil was with us. Prof. Dinampo had told me he had known Juamil, who was with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) for more than eight years, and was aiding him in his peace advocacy work.

I began to worry about the diminishing light for our interview, but as things turned out, it was the least of my worries. By this time, the armed men, around eight of them, who were to escort us to the interview, took all our things, except for the camera and camera equipment. We were told that we were nearing our destination. We walked as it was getting dark, even when it was raining. I thought to myself, “Is this story worth it?”

New amir

It was almost a year and a half since Dinampo, professor at the Mindanao State University in Sulu, and I had explored the idea of an interview with the new amir of the Abu Sayyaf. This was shortly after the death of Khadaffi Janjalani was confirmed in early 2007.

I was in Sulu in January of that year after the Army’s Special Forces killed Abu Solaiman, a top leader of the group and believed to be the mastermind of the Dos Palmas kidnappings in 2002.
The AFP said the Abu Sayyaf was nearly finished and it was only a matter of time before they wipe out the notorious group responsible for a series of kidnappings and bombings in the country.

Who would be the new leader of the Abu Sayyaf was the question on everybody’s minds. I had asked the professor to explore the possibility of an interview with Radulan Sahiron. That began our quest for Sahiron, whom Dinampo believed would be the amir of the Abu Sayyaf.

Sahiron is said to have been wounded in an encounter with the Philippine Marines in September 2006 where Khadaffi Janjalani was mortally wounded. He is also believed to have lost his son Ismin, in that battle.

There is a lot of legend that surrounds Sahiron, also known as Commander Putol. He is said to have lost his right arm during the height of the MNLF fighting in the 70s. He is looked up to as a brave warrior and a skilled horseman despite being having only one arm.

A top military commander based in Sulu believed him to be sick and ageing, and that he was almost 70. However a US Treasury report in 2005 puts his age at 53. In 2005, the Arroyo government suffered a major embarrassment in its anti-terror drive when it crowed about his arrest, only to retract it. The man they had captured lost not his right, but his left arm.
Surrender?

But while Sahiron’s exploits in battle are legendary, the warrior was also quietly making overtures for surrender to the government. Shortly before our scheduled interview, a Mindanao legislator informed me that Sahiron had written a top security official with ties to the MNLF, exploring the possibility of surrender.

The legislator told me Sahiron’s overtures had been discussed in a meeting between President Arroyo and a handful of legislators from the area. One legislator from Sulu asked the President to pursue the matter and was given the go-ahead by the chief executive.

Prof. Dinampo told me our interview would just be in the town of Indanan, the town next to Jolo, the capital. Privately, he said it was his hope our interview would signal the possibility of peace talks between the government and the Abu Sayyaf. It seemed an incredible idea, but he had said even a military general had already been communicating with Sahiron, whose ascension as amir of the group is believed to have moderated the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf ready to put down their arms?

All these factors convinced me that the time was ripe for the interview. But we were never to see Sahiron.

My crew, Jimmy Encarnacion and Angel Valderama, and I, together with Prof. Dinampo, ended up captives for nine days, held by armed men with no ideology, only cruel force and the lust for money.

Long nights

While in captivity, the nights seemed endless. By 6:30 or 7 in the evening, we would be in our hammocks, ready to go to bed. There would be no light of any kind, save for the tiny light at the end of the lighter, just in case one wanted to go to the comfort room, which was any spot in the vast jungle, but near enough to the camp to assure our captors we would not attempt an escape.

We feared another group would take us. The professor had warned me the group could get bigger, wanting to get a piece of the action. He said that would complicate matters for us.

While trying to sleep, I could hear all sorts of strange sounds from the jungle—bird calls and insects. Ordinarily, the sounds would send a chill through my spine, but I got used to them.
At night I would constantly wake up and look to the horizon for signs of a new day. One night, I woke up at midnight thinking it was already daybreak.

The armed men would begin the day in prayer, just before the break of dawn. I would be awake before then, impatient to begin the day. As they prayed, I would pray silently with them, counting the Hail Marys on the rosary with my fingers. After the prayer, I would get my coffee, often from an old man with a limp, who I later learned was only in his forties.

Prof. Dinampo told me he had seen the man before with the MNLF. The old man was tasked to prepare our meals and keep house, later on assisted by a boy who told me he was 17.

The old man seemed pleased that I liked my native coffee strong without any sugar. He said it was the best way to have it. And it was the best thing I had in our captivity where meals were limited to noodles and rice, or rice and soy sauce.

On some days we had dried fish or sardines. The fish was salted and tiny, smaller than the thumb. Each one among us had two or three pieces each. The sardines were an occasional treat, one can which the four of us shared.

One day, a one-armed man, who seemed to be in charge, would tell me that the people of Sulu could not afford to eat the fish from their seas. I told him they should fight for their right to fish in their municipal waters and not the huge fishing boats. It was an attempt to educate them, that there were many local causes worth advocating.

On our eighth day of captivity, Sunday, we were served beef! This sent the men in the camp into fits of excitement, hollering about the prized meat.

Biscuits and crackers

While those tasked to cook breakfast would be busy gathering firewood and cooking rice or noodles, our guards would busy themselves cleaning their handguns. They carefully wiped them to a sheen and would handle their weapons for hours. I would look away and carefully position myself away from the barrel, lest an accident happen.

In between lunch and dinner, there would be crackers and biscuits of all kinds. The armed men loved to munch on these and the jungle floor would be littered with wrappers. Jimmy, Angel and I would always try to keep the place clean, putting the litter in one pile or in a plastic bag, but the men just throw their trash anywhere.

Every time I was given my share of crackers, I would hide them away in my bag, just in case food ran out, or just in case there would be a chance to escape so I would have supplies.

Water was kept in plastic water gallons, fetched from a spring below the camp. This was where we got our drinking water or water to clean ourselves. I would transfer water from the plastic gallons to two empty plastic bottles I kept in my bag.

Our guards who were not tasked with any housekeeping work would stay in their hammocks all day, chatting or taking naps. The commander would lie in his hammock, playing with Prof. Dinampo’s cell phone.

One time I remarked I wish I had a book and asked them if they were interested in reading and if they had a library. One guard remarked that he was slightly interested. The only book I saw some read was the Koran.

I thought they seemed content to stay idle, lounging in their hammocks. They did not perform military drills or exercises. The more menial tasks like fetching water or gathering firewood were assigned to the younger ones.

One boy, who kept guard when I took my first bath in a pool of water with a spring and a mini waterfall, told me he was only 12 years old. Another was only 15. And another, who was skilled in cooking was 17. They all told me they never went to school. One time I asked the 17-year old why he never went to school. His reply broke my heart. He said he didn’t want to because he “may end up an engineer.”

Philippine Rebels Free 4 Hostages

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 10, 2008) – Muslim gunmen have freed late Thursday four kidnapped workers of a rural electric company in Basilan island in the southern Philippines, police said.

Police said the four hostages were released at around 8 p.m. in Al-Barka town, a known stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels. Police and military linked the MILF and the smaller Abu Sayyaf group in the June 26 kidnapping of the workers, all employees of the Basilan Electric Cooperative Inc.

The freed hostages - brothers Alberto and Emilberto Singson; Paul Herowig and his brother Birin – were released to emissaries of Basilan deputy governor Alrashid Sakalahul in the village of Magcawa, said Senior Superintendent Salik Macapantar, the island’s police chief.

“We don’t know if there was ransom paid for their release, but the kidnappers freed all the hostages unharmed to government emissaries,” he told the Mindanao Examiner. The gunmen freed one hostage, Ronnie Tansiung, in Tuburan town last month where the five had been kidnapped while reading electric meters.

The kidnappers originally demanded one million pesos, but raised their demand to two million pesos after private negotiators sought the release of the hostages.

The kidnappers have threatened to execute the four workers remaining hostages unless ransom is paid. Police tagged MILF leader Usih Muslim and Abu Sayyaf commanders Nurhasan Jamiri and Furuji Indama as among those who seized the workers.

Basilan island Governor Jum Akbar, head of the local crisis management committee, designated her deputy to negotiate for the safe release of the hostages, said Macapantar.

Macapantar said he ordered police commandos to prepare to hunt the kidnappers by day break on Friday. “We will launch a pursuit operation by day break to neutralize the Abu Sayyaf and MILF rebels involved in the kidnappings,” he said.

A faction of the Abu Sayyaf last month kidnapped an ABS-CBN television presenter Ces Drilon and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, including a Muslim university professor Octavio Dinampo, in nearby Sulu province.

They were freed a week later in exchange for a huge ransom. Philippine military chief Alexander Yano said the Abu Sayyaf, which was originally fighting for the establishment of a strict Islamic state in Mindanao, had been reduced to being a bandit group. But the United States tagged the Abu Sayyaf group as a foreign terrorist organization with links to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebels Attack Philippine Farmers

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 10, 2008) – Suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front soldiers attacked Thursday a group of farmers in the southern Philippines, sparking a brief fire fight between rebels and pro-government militias, officials said.

Officials said about 20 MILF fighters opened fire on the farmers as they were harvesting rice in the village called Malamuti in Matalam town in North Cotabato province.

Patrolling militias who heard the gunfire clashed with the rebels, engaging them in a running gun battle that lasted more than 10 minutes, said Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

“There were no reports of casualties in the MILF attack or in the clashes, but this attack on civilians is a clear violation of the cease-fire agreement,” Ando told Mindanao Examiner.

Ando said the motive of the attack is still unknown. “But rebels had been harassing farmers in the area, especially during harvest time,” he said.

The MILF did not give any statement about the military’s claim.

The rebel attack came a day after unidentified men exploded a grenade at a police station in the town of Maasin in Sarangani province.

No group or individual claimed responsibility for the grenade attack, but the province is a known lair of the New People’s Army rebels who are allied with the MILF.

Both groups are fighting for the establishments of their own state – a Maoist for the NPA and an Islamic government for the MILF - in the Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

NGOs Aid Flood Victims In Mindanao

Cotabato City floodings. (Mindanao Tulong Bakwet)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (July 10, 2008) - The Mindanao Emergency Response Network in Central Mindanao through its lead convener Mindanao Tulong Bakwet (MTB) Inc. conducted feeding and relief operation to flood victims and evacuees in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato.

The flood victims were forced to evacuate their homes after torrential rains flooded rivers and submerged many villages in Cotabato.

More than 200 families in Poblacions 2 and 3 benefited from the feeding program.The Department of Social Welfare and Development said close to 3,000 families were affected by flooding and most of them are in temporary shelters across Cotabato.(Sittie Rajabia S. Monato)

Dapitan City Holds 1st National Media Summit On Ecotourism

DAPITAN CITY, Philippines (July 9, 2008) - The Peninsula Media Network, in collaboration with the local government of Dapitan City under Mayor Dominador Jalosjos, will hold the “1st National Media Summit on Ecotourism” at the posh Dakak Beach Resort in Dapitan, the Shrine City of the Philippines. The summit is scheduled on July 24 and 25.

Journalist Cheng Ordoñez, lead convener of the Summit and head of the Peninsula Media Network, said the two-day media gathering of national and provincial journalists will serve as a large-scale campaign to promote ecotourism in the countryside.

The Summit adopts the theme “Responsible, Sustainable and Conservatory Travel Through Ecotourism,” and aims to promote ecotourism with support from media industry, academe, research communities, and tourism-related agencies. “The summit's goal is to initiate awareness among media practitioners all over the country on the potentials of ecotourism in the countryside.

Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of tourism that appeals to the ecologically and socially conscious individuals.”

“Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet; typically involving travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions,” Ordoñez said in a statement.

He said responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. “Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is in the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, and water,” he said.

A research conducted by PMN shows that for many countries, ecotourism is not simply a marginal activity to finance protection of the environment but as a major industry of the national economy. Ecotourism represents a significant portion of their gross domestic product and economic activity, it said.

The same study shows that, although academics disagree about who can be classified as an “ecotourist” and there is precious little statistical data, some estimate that more than five million ecotourists - the majority of the ecotourist population - come from the United States, with others from Western Europe, Canada, and Australia.

With its great potential for environmental protection, the United Nations celebrated the "International Year of Ecotourism" in 2002.

“In the continuum of tourism activities that stretch from conventional tourism to ecotourism proper, there has been a lot of contention to the limit at which biodiversity preservation, local socio-economic benefits, and environmental impact can be considered ‘ecotourism’. For this reason, not only environmentalists but the media, as a special interest group, must know the real definition and concept of ecotourism,” Ordoñez stressed.

Ecotourism experts that will speak during the summit include head of a national ecotourism organizations and top officials of line agencies promoting tourism.

Councilor Apple Marie Agolong, chairperson of Dapitan City Council’s Committee on Tourism, said aside from media practitioners, key players in the ecotourism summit from the private and public sectors are also invited to the event, where participants have the chance to visit tourist spots within Zamboanga del Norte, including the famous Rizal Shrine in Dapitan City and the internationally renown Dakak Beach Resort.

Councilor Agolong said the participants will be doubly treated because the media event coincides with Dapitan’s Kinabayo Festival, an annual festivities visited by local and foreign tourists for its unique communal and religious week-long celebration.

“A big surprise awaits participants who are particularly interested with historical developments appertaining vintage travel,” she said.

Ordoñez said those interested to join can call the Peninsula Media Network Secretariat at telephone number (062) 922-2120.

NPA Rebels Raid Mining Firm In South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 9, 2008) - Communist insurgents raided a mining firm in Compostela Valley province and warned of more attacks in the southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.

About 20 insurgents, who were members of the New People’s Army, attacked a field office of the Philco Mining Corporation in the village of Camanlangan in New Bataan town on Tuesday.

The gunmen torched a generator and then escaped. No one was killed or hurt in the raid, said Lt. Col. Kurt Decapia, a spokesman of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Decapia said soldiers were pursuing the insurgents. “There is an operation going on. Troops from the 28th Infantry Battalion are tracking down the raiders,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The raid came barely a day after suspected insurgents gunned down a policeman at a crowded market in the town of Cateel in Davao Oriental province, also in the southern Philippines.

Police blamed the NPA in the killing of Ireneo Poblete, who was shot at close range while buying food late Monday afternoon. The insurgents warned it would target abusive policemen and soldiers and government officials who violate human rights and oppress the poor.

Last week, insurgents also raided a police base in the town of Banaybanay also in Davao Oriental and seized 18 mostly automatic weapons.

The NPA’s Merardo Arce Command said it seized so many weapons from soldiers and policemen the past three months that it was able to armed two new rebel platoons, Rigoberto Sanchez, the group’s spokesman, said.

“The NPA will inflict mounting casualties, seize more arms and accelerate the building of more NPA platoons,” he said.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which is fighting for a separate Maoist state in the country. (With reports from Romy Bwaga)

Photo: Sulu Working Hard To Achieve Peace Again

Thousands of Muslims are expected to participate in the three-day peace caravan in Sulu province in the southern Philippines beginning July 18, says Governor Sakur Tan. The peace caravan, he says, will be held in coordination with different national government agencies on orders from President Gloria Arroyo in an effort to promote peace and development in Sulu. And below, two 105mm Howitzer cannons at a military battery base in Mount Datu in Suluare covered with vinyl. Governor Tan says the peace and order situation in the province is improving; a month after a Filipino television news crew was kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf while on its way to secretly interview one of its known leader Radulan Sahiron. Governor Tan appeals to journalists not to interview or glorify the Abu Sayyaf group. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

NPA Kills Cop In Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 8, 2008) – A suspected New People’s Army assassin gunned down a policeman in an attack at a crowded market in the southern Philippine town of Cateel.

Police blamed the rebel group in the killing of Ireneo Poblete who was shot at close range late Monday afternoon.

The policeman was buying food when attacked by a lone gunman, who fled on foot after the shooting. The NPA earlier warned it would target abusive policemen and soldiers and government officials who violate human rights and oppress the poor.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines, which is fighting for a separate Maoist state in the country. (Romy Bwaga)

12,000 Troops, Cops To Guard Polls In Muslim Autonomous Region

Sulu provincial employees led by Gov. Sakur Tan attend a flag raising ceremony in Patikul town. Tan leads Tuesday, July 8, 2008 the inauguration of the newly-renovated Commission on Elections (COMELEC) just besides the Capitol Building. COMELEC Commissioners Rene Sarmiento, Lucenito Tagle, Nicodemo Ferrer were in Sulu to inaugurate the elections office whose P5-million funding came from the Sulu provincial gpvernment, says lawyer Vidzfar Julie, the deputy regional elections chief. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 8, 2008) – More than 12,000 policemen and soldiers will be deployed in the Muslim autonomous region to guard next month’s elections.

Police and military assured the August 11 polls in the autonomous region will be clean and peaceful. “We see peaceful elections ahead. We have enough security forces to guard the polls,” Elections Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ferrer, together with Commissioners Rene Sarmiento and Lucenito Tagle, held a command conference with police and military in Sulu province.

Before the conference, the trio, accompanied by lawyer Vidzfar Julie, the deputy regional elections chief, met with Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and inaugurated the COMELEC provincial office in Patikul town.

Tan also brought the COMELEC officials and their assistants to different beaches and led a tour of the Mount Datu, which overlooks several towns of Sulu.

Julie said the more than P5 million was spent for the renovation of the elections office.

Sarmiento said the renovated COMELEC office is the most beautiful in the Philippines and praised the support of the provincial government. “Our COMELEC office is like a little Malakanyang,” he said, referring to the Presidential Palace.

The old COMELEC office, just besides the Provincial Capitol Building, was dark and small, but now boasts of glass and marble designs and several huge rooms and new furniture and air conditioning system.

Tagle, who is assigned to supervise the elections in Sulu, one of six provinces that comprise the Muslim autonomous region, said the COMELEC is ready with its computerized polls.

“We are ready with the computerizations of the elections in the autonomous region. Everything is now in place and we hope these elections will be clean, honest and peaceful,” he said.

The other provinces under the autonomous region are Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Shariff Kabunsuan.

Two technologies will be implemented in the automated elections in the autonomous region -- the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) system and the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) system.

COMELEC educators and representatives from technology suppliers, Smartmatic-SAHI and Avante International, have conducted actual trainings on the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and automated counting machines (ACMs) in the provinces.

The DRE system uses touch-screen or touch-pad technology and is fully automated from voting to counting and final transmission of results to the canvassing centers at the provincial and regional levels. OMR technology, on the other hand, requires voters to fill out a paper ballot which is scanned by specially designed machines.

Smartmatic-SAHI will implement the DRE system in Maguindanao while Avante International will provide OMR technology for the other provinces. (Mindanao Examiner)

President strengthens Task Force on Education, expands C.H.E.D. board

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Arroyo has designated the director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as a member of the Teacher Education (TEC) in a move to strengthen the existing mechanisms and role of the Presidential Task Force on Education (PTFE) in synchronizing and harmonizing the country’s education system.

In Executive Orders (EOs) 729 and 730, the President cited the “need to include the technical-vocational sector of education to the TEC and to educate and train the technical-vocational teachers of unquestionable integrity and competence.”

The two EOs were signed by the President on June 4, 2008.The TEC was created by Republic Act 7784, while the TESDA was created by RA 7796.The PTFE, on the other hand, was created by EO 652, which the President signed on Aug. 21, 2007 “to assess, plan and monitor the entire educational system.”

Meanwhile, EO 730 added two private representatives to the Board of advisers of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) which was earlier created by RA 7722.

The two EOs shall take effect 15 days after their publication in a national newspaper of general circulation

RP Troops Accused Of Human Rights Violations Anew

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 6, 2008) – Police accused government soldiers of arresting a Muslim man on suspicion he was a member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group in Sulu province.

Soldiers arrested the Lincoln Ahmad last week at a budget hotel inside a police base in Jolo town and freed him two days later. The man, the son of a village chieftain Norma Ahmad of Talipao town, accused soldiers of torturing him into admitting that he was an Abu Sayyaf militant.

Police said Ahmad’s family would file criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the illegal arrest. The Commission on Human Rights said it will investigate the report.

Human rights groups in the past have accused the military of violating the rights of civilians, especially during operations in Sulu province. They claimed human rights abuses are rampant in the province.

Early this year, navy and army soldiers also killed seven civilians and an off-duty infantryman in a raid on an alleged Abu Sayyaf hideout in the village of Ipil in Maimbung town.

Several soldiers were also killed and wounded in an ensuing gun battle with armed villagers and human rights investigators said there was no Abu Sayyaf militants in Ipil and that the raiders pillaged houses of civilians.

The military denied all the allegations of human rights violations and blamed leftist organizations for the false reports. (Mindanao Examiner)

Commuter Bus Attacked In Southern Philippines

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 6, 2008) – Unidentified gunmen opened fire Sunday on a commuter bus in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Norte, killing its driver and wounding several passengers, police and military said.

Policemen, backed by soldiers, were pursuing the gunmen in the town of Kauswagan where the attacked occurred. “At least ten gunmen were involved in the attack and there is a pursuit operation going on,” Senior Superintendent Linog Bagul, the provincial police chief, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the bus driver was killed and several more were injured in the attack on a village called Kawit Oriental.

Bagul said the armed men opened fire on the bus after it ignored warnings to stop. “The driver must have sensed the armed men were bandits and ignored warnings to stop,” he said.

He said policemen, who responded to the shootings, chased and briefly battled with the gunmen while another group secured the passengers. There were no reports of casualties either from the police or the attackers.

Bagul said the bus was on its way to Zamboanga City when attacked. It was unknown as to what group was responsible for the shootings, but bandits and rebels are actively operating in the province.

Army Brig. Gen. Hilario Atendido, commander of the military’s Task Force Lanao, said three passengers were wounded in the attack. “Our troops are pursuing the bandits,” he said in a separate interview. (Mindanao Examiner)

Former Sayyaf Hostage Ces Drilon Suspended By ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.

ABS CBN has suspended news anchor Ces Drilon for disobeying orders not to go to Indanan, Sulu where she and her cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama were kidnapped by an armed group.

Ces is suspended for three months as news anchor of late night newscast Bandila and as Senior Correspondent.

Ces had earlier apologized to her supervisors for disobeying their orders and to her cameramen for unwittingly endangering their lives. During the administrative process, she wrote: "I respectfully accept the sanctions you deem proper in my disregard of your order. I cannot put into words how deeply I regret having put my team in danger ... and having caused anxiety and stress to the whole organization."

In an internal announcement, ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs Head Maria Ressa commended the courage Ces exhibited throughout her ordeal, her presence of mind in sending out coded messages, and her willingness to sacrifice her own life in order to save her news team.

Ressa wrote, "Ces, Jimmy and Angelo exhibited the type of teamwork and deep trust that true journalists develop under life and death situations." Despite that, Ressa also stressed the need to hold Ces accountable for the "grave consequences of her error in judgment."

ABS CBN News & Current Affairs strictly adheres to its Standards & Ethics Manual, which states: "While all reporting of conflict and other hazardous environments involves an element of risk, you must avoid obvious danger and not take unreasonable risks… You may move into a dangerous environment only with the authorization of your supervisor."

Photo: Cotabato City Is Under Water

An aerial view from a Philippine Air Force helicopter of TOG 12 under Colonel Dionisio Robles as it conducts a search and rescue operation Saturday, July 5, 2008 in Cotabato City on the southern island of Mindanao where 17 villages are underwater. More than a thousand people have been displaced by flash floods and are now staying in public schools used as temporary shelters. The floods also destroyed farmlands and fish cages. At least 5 people died from flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains the past days. Rivers, clogged with water lilies, also overflowed. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

Security Forces Hunt Down Assassin Of Mindanao Politician

PAGADIAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 5, 2008) – Police and military mounted a manhunt against a man who killed the deputy mayor of the southern Philippine town of Pantar.

The gunman shot Abdul Rashid Unos while tending to his convenience store in Lanao del Norte’s Pantar town late Thursday afternoon.

“We have sent troops to ensure the peace and order in the town is not affected by the killing. We are helping the police maintain peace in the area,’ Army Brigadier General Hilario Atendido, commander of the military’s Task Force Lanao, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Senior Superintendent Lino Bagol, the provincial police chief, said they are still investigating the killing. “We are still investigating the killing, but security forces are hunting down the man who killed the politician,” he said in a separate interview.

Bagol said the victim’s family wanted the National Bureau of Investigation to help in solving the case. “We still do not know who was behind or the motive of the killing and we will help the NBI in the investigation of this case,” he said.

He said the politician was shot twice in the body with a .45-caliber pistol and died on the way to hospital. The still unidentified gunman escaped after the shooting.

It was not immediately known whether the murder was connected to politics, feud or clan war, but vendetta killings are not uncommon in Lanao del Norte. Political feud and clan war are the two biggest problems after Muslim insurgency in the province, home to about a million Malay-Arabic Maranaos. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mindanao Bishops, Clergy Reiterate Opposition To Mining: CBCP

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines - The Mindanao-Bishops and Priests Congress reiterated their opposition to mining in the Philippines as they reaffirmed their previous stand for the repeal of the Mining Act of 1995.

In a phone interview with CBCPNews, Iligan Chancery Secretary Sr. Marilyn Montalla, MSOLTC said the Mindanao Bishops and Clergy has come up with their statement on the issue of Mining in the latest 35th Diocesan Clergy of Mindanao Congress (DCM) held in Iligan City last February.

More 400 delegates representing various archdioceses, dioceses and prelatures of Mindanao signed the statement.

The joint statement disclosed: “We, the Bishops and Clergy of Mindanao collectively challenge the Philippine Government’s aggressive promotion of large scale mining as a flagship program to boost the country’s economy.”

DCM delegates added in 1998, the CBCP issued a statement of concern on the Mining Act of 1995. On January 29, 2006, the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued another statement on Mining Issues and Concerns. There have been other statements and position papers issued by regional groupings of bishops in between those two major statements of the CBCP.

The Mindanao bishops and priests insisted that they do not subscribe to the DENR’s reference to sustainable mining.

“We believe that mining can never be sustainable. It is a highly extractive industry and remnants of past mining projects and abandoned mines which can be found in many parts of the country can speak for itself,” the delegates stressed.

The Mindanao prelates and clerics added there have been a number of mine-related tragedies and disasters since the passage of the Mining Act of 1995. The collapse of the tailings dam of Marcopper Mining Ltd spilling millions of tons of toxic waste into the island’s river and sea haunts residents to this day.

DCM delegates further said the series of human rights abuses and displacement of Indigenous peoples in Canatuan. Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, the site of a gold mine operation of TVI Resource Development and the mine spills by Lafayette Philippines, Inc. in Rapu-Rapu, Albay and its two subsidiaries Rapu-Rapu Processing, are just few examples of how the mining industry destroy God’s creation.

The prelates and priests clarified that they understand the government’s desire to reduce poverty but never at the expense of lives and properties of ordinary Filipinos. The delegates were unanimous in saying there are other sources of livelihood that are less destructive and far more productive than mining that the government can resort to in its effort to alleviate poverty.

They said the Philippines is basically agricultural country and have fertile lands and seas that are abundant in marine resources. Yet in spite of all these, the Philippines remains poor and the people remain deprived of food and other basic necessities.

The Mindanao bishops and priests called on the government to redirect its agenda to food security and development an agri-aqua based economy instead of the highly extractive industry like mining.

They also encouraged the church, business and other sectors to be more conscious of their respective “social responsibility” and together direct their activities towards the common good and the attainment of sustainable development.

The Mindanao prelates and clerics urged the people to support and to understand in the struggle against large-scale mining and the blatant exploitation of indigenous peoples.

“We manifest through this statement that we in Mindanao consider it our duty and responsibility to protect God’s creation as a sign of our faith and love for our creator, the Supreme being, ‘from whom all good things come from,’” the Mindanao bishop and priests concluded their statement. (Wendell Talibong)

Gunmen Kill Ship Owner In Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 4, 2008) – Two motorcycle gunmen killed a ship owner in an attack in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga, police said.

Police said the Faustino Saavedra and his wife Floria, were on a car when gunmen attacked them near downtown Zamboanga late Thursday. The woman was unhurt in the attack. Saavedra’s family owns the Ever Lines Shipping Company in Zamboanga City.

“We are still investigating the killing,” said Police Insp. Ibrahim Jambiran.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but it was not the first time that a businessman had been killed in Zamboanga City by gunmen. Previous attacks blamed on assassins included journalists, doctors, lawyers and traders.

Zamboanga is one of the most dangerous cities in the southern Philippines because of the presence of gun-for-hire and the proliferation of illegal weapons, mostly in the hands of criminals and rebels. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA Rebels Accuse Soldiers As Behind Blast In Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 4, 2008) – Philippine communist rebels on Friday accused government soldiers as behind a recent grenade attack that killed three people in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao.

Rigoberto Sanchez, a spokesman for the New People’s Army, said government intelligence agents were behind the attack Thursday that also wounded at least a dozen civilians.

The Philippine Army said rebels were behind the attack that targeted motorcycle taxi drivers who were suspected by the NPA as government spies.

"It was the handiwork of the New People's Army rebels,” said Captain Michael Aquino, of the 10th Infantry Division. “We have reports saying that the attack targeted the 'habal-habal' drivers in the area because the NPA suspected them as government spies."

Sanchez denied the allegations. “There is no tinge of truth to this. The enemy is just manufacturing stories to divert attention from the successive and successful tactical offensives by the NPA. The revolutionary forces condemn this criminal attack against civilians,” he said.

The NPA also tagged military agents as behind the murder of a Bagobo tribal chieftain Dominador Diarog, in Davao City, in April this year. Sanchez said the NPA has stepped up attacks on police and military targets in retaliation to widespread human rights violations among other crimes and repression of civilians in Mindanao.

"The series of tactical offensives are meant to punish the Arroyo regime for its despicable crimes of large-scale corruption, imperialist plunder and fascist atrocities on the people," he said.

On Thursday, dozens of insurgents on raided a police base in Banaybanay town in Davao Oriental province and carted away over a dozen weapons, mostly automatic rifles and ammunition. Last week, insurgents also raided a police station in Surigao del Norte's Dapa town.

The NPA is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. Rebel leaders broke off peace talk with the Arroyo government in 2004 after accusing Manila of reneging on its commitment to free all political prisoners and to put a stop to political killings, among others. (Mindanao Examiner)

Youth Holds Peace Symposium In Sulu: CBCP

SULU, Philippines - The first league of the youth symposium on the “Voice of the Youth for Dialogue and Peace: An Urgent Concern of the Times” was held at the Bishop Ben’s Hall of Notre Dame of Jolo College, June 29.

The Silsilah Dialogue Movement, Zamboanga City, through its Peace Youth Program in the joint effort with the Silsilah Forum-Jolo, organized it.

This was participated by young Muslim and Christian active leader’s ages 15 to 25 who belong to different youth organizations, groups and institutions of the province.

The symposium was intended to help the youth to voice out their concerns, issues, and experiences and to share their ideas on dialogue and peace as experienced in their respective faith teaching experiences in dreaming a peaceful Mindanao with a specific focus in their own native land, Jolo, said Fr. Sebastiano D'Ambra, PIME, Silsilah founder, Zamboanga City.

Attorney Eidilwasif T. Baddiri and Dr. Reynaldo Q. Pescadera III presented the Muslim and Christian perspective on the importance of dialogue and peace respectively, while Kamala Sangkula-Elam and Abdelnazir Tagayan were the panel of reactors.

“I salute Silsilah for its efforts in fostering to maintain peace and harmony between people of different faiths. The youth has the indefatigable passion to work for change and achieve the ideal. We are the nucleus of what the society is to become. The ‘becoming’ of civilization depends on our present efforts and actions. It is therefore necessary that we assume the responsibility of purpose,” said Baddiri.

On the other hand, according to Pescadera, “A symposium like this is important in addressing youth of today to be concerned with what is happening now in our community. This is an urgent call for the youth to be aware of what is our part in today’s problem. Let us act now and be a part of it.”

Brian Alawi from the Mayor’s Office Municipality of Jolo; Ahmaden Nass Mina from the Office of Muslim Affairs and Ustadz Sauqani Kimpa representative from the government lent support to the symposium.

“It is in partnership that has helped make our homeland more secure. I look forward to your cooperation and support to bring positive change to our municipality."

"I do know that if we continue to rely on each other as partners; friends; then we will be safer. Indeed, a dialogue movement such as Silsilah, truly plays as an important element in peace building in this community by promoting deeper understanding and better relation between Muslims and Christians and among religious sector,” said a solidarity message from the Mayor of Municipality of Jolo, Hussin U. Amin.

The participants had their chance to be heard during the open forum; and address their hopes and common aspirations in attaining a peaceful Jolo and their contribution as young Tausugs on the workshop and plenum. Department of Education province of Jolo, Sulu also attended in the said symposium.

At the end of the symposium, 20 young Muslim and Christian men and women who participated were chosen to attend the 1st Regional Youth Peace Summit which will be held on August 22-24, this year at the Harmony Village, Sinunuc, Zamboanga City. (Santosh Digal)

Stay Away From ARMM Polls, MILF Orders Rebels, Supporters

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 4, 2008) – The Philippines’ largest Islamic separatist rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), ordered its forces to stay out of Filipino elections as campaign begins for the next month’s polls in the Muslim autonomous region.

Elections in the six-province autonomous region have been set in August 11 where more than one million Muslims are to elect their new set of officials. The MILF said it does not recognize the Philippine Constitution and in the past did not participate in any elections.

The MILF last month ordered rebels to refrain from participating in the polls, but renewed its calls after a purported press statement from rebel chieftain Murad Ebrahim urged Manila to postpone the ARMM elections.

“ARMM did not and cannot cater to the basic needs of the Bangsamoro people and instead has worsened their already depressed condition and added confusion to the populace,” Murad said.

The statement, allegedly signed by Ebrahim and the leader of the former rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Muslimin Sema, urged President Gloria Arroyo to postpone or scrap the polls because it pose “grave obstacle” to the ongoing peace negotiations between Manila and the MILF, including the MNLF tripartite talks.

Eid Kabalu, a rebel spokesman, branded the press statement as fake and warned journalists to verify the authenticity of its source.

“We have not issued any statement urging the Philippine government to scrap or postpone the ARMM elections. The MILF has ordered all its members and supporters to refrain from participating in the ARMM polls and other Philippine elections,” Kabalu told the Mindanao Examiner.

Peace talks between the government and the MILF were stalled since last year over the rebel demands for ancestral lands, which is the single most contentious issue before both sides could a deal ending more than three decades of Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Hundreds Flee As Landslide Hit Zamboanga Village

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 3, 2008) – Hundreds of villagers were evacuated Thursday after a landslide hit a remote mountain village in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Torrential rains the past days loosened mud and boulders in the village of Muti, east of Zamboanga. There were no reports of casualties or injuries in the landslide, but many houses were either destroyed or damaged and more than 80 families have fled from the area and sought safe refuge in government schools, a village leader, Kalid Yausin, said.

Last month, a pregnant mother and her child were killed after a landslide buried their house in the hillside village of Maasin. Heavy rains triggered by typhoon Fengshen had loosened soil that buried the house of the Candado family.

The typhoon, whose local codename Frank, had left a trail of deaths and destruction in the Philippines. The death toll across the country could reach to hundreds after a 24,000-ton ferry, the Princess of the Star, with nearly 750 aboard capsized off Sibuyan Island in Romblon province as the typhoon battered central and northern Philippines before heading towards Taiwan. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA Attacks Kill 3 In Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 3, 2008) – Three people were killed and over a dozen others injured in separate attacks on Thursday by communist insurgents in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said three people died and 13 more injured in a grenade attack in front of a bakery in the town of Nabunturan in Compostela Valley. “It was the handiwork of the New People’s Army rebels,” said Captain Michael Aquino, of the 10th Infantry Division.

The attack, he said, apparently targeted a group of motorcycle taxi drivers suspected as military spy. “We have reports saying that the attack targeted the ‘habal-habal’ drivers in the area because the NPA suspected them as government spies,” Aquino said.

Policemen briefly clashed with two of the attackers who escaped on a motorcycle.

Dozens of insurgents on board two trucks and a van also raided a police base in Banaybanay town in Davao Oriental province, Aquino said. “One policeman was injured in the raid,” he said.

Aquino said about 70 NPA gunmen strafed the base and engaged policemen in a firefight. “There are operations in the two provinces to neutralize the NPA responsible for the attacks. Military and police forces are pursuing the attackers,” he said.

Last week, insurgents also raided a police station in Surigao del Norte’s Dapa town.

The NPA is fighting the past four decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. Rebel leaders broke off peace talk with the Arroyo government in 2004 after accusing Manila of reneging on its commitment to free all political prisoners and to put a stop to political killings, among others. (Romy Bwaga)

Philippine Rebels Execute Christian Minister In Troubled South

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 2, 2008) – Communist insurgents executed a Christian minister they accused of aiding soldiers in anti-insurgency campaign in the southern Philippines, a regional army spokesman said on Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Kurt Decapia said soldiers recovered the body of Josefino Estaniel, a pastor of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, from a shallow grave on a village called Dalagdag in Calinan district in Davao City, a known stronghold of the New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

Decapia said civilian informants led security forces Tuesday at the grave of the 45-year old minister. He said Estaniel was abducted by insurgents in May on orders from NPA leader Leoncio Pitao, also known as Commander Parago.

“The decomposing body of Estaniel was exhumed two kilometers away from the house of a certain Edwin Tangud, where the group of Parago executed the victim. According to initial field report, the victim was tortured before he was executed and buried,” Decapia, quoting army reports, said.

Maj. Gen. Fogy Leo Fojas, commander of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, has condemned the NPA atrocities and the killing of the Christian minister. (Romy Bwaga)

Photo: Zamboanga City Hall Vehicle...For Family Use Also!

A Zamboanga City Hall vehicle with markings "For Official Use Only" picks up civilians at the back exit of the Ateneo De Zamboanga University late Wednesday, July 2, 2008. The same vehicle and people were also spotted June 27 fetching students. The still unidentified driver of the vehicle and another woman both wear IDs and the same uniform that City Hall employees use. The presence of the government vehicle has caught the attention of many passers-by. Government vehicles are strictly for "official use only". (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Photo: The Ampatuans Of Mindanao

Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and his father, Gov. Andal Ampatuan, of Maguindanao province, speak to mayors July 2, 2008 in their mansion in Shariff Aguak town in the southern Philippines. The young Ampatuan, largely credited for introducing reforms in the ARMM, is seeking reelection in the August 11 polls in the autonomous region. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)