RENEWED MINDANAO FIGHTING WILL NOT AFFECT GPH-MILF PEACE TALKS

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Military on top of Maguindanao security situation - AFP

By Priam F. Nepomuceno

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MANILA, Aug. 6 (PNA) - Despite the series of attacks by renegade elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) headed by commander Umbra Kato on various military detachments in Maguindanao, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) assures it is still on top of the security situation in the area.
Major Emmanuel Garcia, acting AFP spokesperson, said that the harassment antics conducted by Kato's "Bangsamoro Islamic Fighters Movement" (BIFM) had been stopped after quick and decisive action of military units in the area.
"Despite some tensions, the situation is now returning to normal. Our forces are told to undertake 'active defense posture' to secure themselves and their camps from another attack," he said.
Garcia also denied reports that Kato's men held hostage a community near Ampatuan while making their getaway.
"There is no such thing, our security forces have total control of Ampatuan and other Maguindanao towns," he added.
He also declined to comment on whether the AFP's intelligence services were at fault for failing to give word on the attack, adding that such sudden assaults were done to off-balance defending forces.
"But despite that, our troops were able to hold their ground and drive away the attackers," Garcia said.
Attacked in Sunday's 11:30 p.m. assault were the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade headquarters in Shariff Aguak, three battalion headquarters deployed in Shariff Aguak; Datu Unsay, and Datu Ampatuan and their various sub-units scattered also in the above-mentioned localities.

Initial reports said two rebels and a civilian were killed and four militiamen were hurt in the assaults. (PNA)

MILF says PNoy’s SONA sent positive signals for conclusion of peace process

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ARMM officials laud Aquino, Comelec for successful conduct of 10-day voters' re-registration

By Noel Y. Punzalan

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COTABATO CITY, July 20 (PNA) -- A 10-day sacrifice is nothing compared to a lifelong label as “cheating capital” of the country come election time.
Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), who now have high praises for the Aquino government, may well agree to this following the successful conduct of the July 9-18 re-registration of voters in the two-city, five-province region.
The ARMM comprises the cities of Marawi and Lamitan and the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Lanao del Sur.
"The national government has done what is best for the ARMM electorates,” ARMM acting Gov. Mujiv Hataman said in a recent interview.
“Now, we are more confident of credible results to come out in the forthcoming polls following the re-registration activity,” Maguindanao Gov. Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu said as he lauded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for a “job well done.”
Maguindanao Vice Gov. Dustin Mastura, meanwhile, said that the principle of “Isang tao, isang boto” once again reigns in the region.
“This is some thing good for the people of ARMM. We would not be alleged as election cheaters anymore,” he said.
Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes, who visited Maguindanao during his last three days of monitoring the voters’ list-up, said his office managed to register 1.2 million voters in the region, a far cry from its old list of 1.7 million voting registrants.
“Despite some reported irregularities such as the 'hakot' (haul) system, a concerted effort among Comelec, police and military personnel managed to thwart what could have been another case of election cheating in the future,” Mayor Lester Sinsuat of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao, said.
Lawyer Udtog Tago, provincial election supervisor for Maguindanao, said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) also played a vital role during the 10-day activity, as there was no reported registration-related incident involving the rebel group that has an ongoing peace overture with the government.
Since January this year, there were no reported encounters between military and MILF forces in Maguindanao.
“The MILF has responded positively to security coordination initiated by the Army’s 6th Infantry Division and ARMM police command,” Tago said.
Maguindanao First District Rep. Bai Sandra Sema, for her part, proposed that ARMM officials should draft a resolution expressing appreciation to the military, police and MILF for a well-coordinated security disposition during the registration activity.
She noted that members of the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which inked a final peace accord with the government in 1996, also showed up at registration centers during the 10-day period.
The congresswoman’s husband, Cotabato City Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema, concurrently chairs the MNLF's biggest faction based in Central Mindanao.
The Catholic Church-backed Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) also extolled the government on the recent task but recommended that the Comelec make public the number of underage registrants that were removed from the list of applicants per province or barangay and also make public the number of registrants who were discovered to have registered more than once through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System per province or barangay.
“This is to disabuse public perception that underage registrants continue to pollute the new List of Voters in the ARMM; to assure the public that automating registration – the Voter Registration Machine that captures biometrics and the AFIS - indeed deletes flying voters,” Henrietta de Villa, PPCRV national chairperson, said in a communiqué to the Comelec.

Such action on their recommendation, she said, would help the public realize that the Comelec is a credible and competent manager of our elections; and restore the people’s trust in elections and impel participation in good governance. (PNA)

2013 proposed Mindanao infra budget hiked by 26%

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MANILA, July 20 (PNA) -- Mindanao, which currently has the lowest ratio of paved roads to overall road infrastructure among the country’s regions, is now set to get a larger allocation from the national government’s proposed annual budget for infrastructure.
Secretary Rogelio Singson of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) revealed this at a roundtable discussion among business leaders and senior officials on Mindanao infrastructure policy held recently at the Traders Hotel.
The roundtable was organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program, which is implemented under the oversight of MinDA.
“Sixty-nine percent of national roads in Mindanao are unpaved. Mindanao has the lowest paved road ratio,” said Singson. “It is clear that Mindanao should get a bigger share of the budget.”
Under the proposed 2013 budget, Mindanao will receive P27.62 billion, or 26.1 percent of the national infrastructure budget, up from P20.4 billion the previous year.
Infrastructure budget allocations for the other regions are as follows: Northern Luzon - 24.1 percent; Southern Luzon - 20.4 percent; the National Capital Region - 14.6 percent, and Visayas -19.4 percent.
“Our objectives are to improve the country’s attractiveness as an investment destination by enabling seamless connectivity, and to lower the costs of communication and transportation,” said Angelito Colona, PCCI vice president for transportation and logistics.
Singson also noted the bottlenecks in implementing road infrastructure projects in Mindanao, including right of way and security issues, shortage of cement suppliers in parts of the region, the practice of truck overloading which results in faster road deterioration, and the need to integrate ports and airports with road systems.
The meeting included a presentation by the Philippine Inter-Island Shipping Association, on issues affecting freight rates in domestic shipping, focusing on Mindanao.
The roundtable was part of the run-up to the 21st Mindanao Business Conference, or “MinBizCon,” which will be held Aug. 2-4 in Butuan City. The highlight of the annual conference is the presentation of the Mindanao Business Policy Agenda to President Benigno Aquino III.
The formulation of the agenda began with broad-based regional policy consultations held in Mindanao’s major cities to identify and address bottlenecks that hold back trade and investment, and to clarify government rules, regulations and timelines.
Drawing on the outputs of these consultations, a draft policy agenda was compiled by MinDA in collaboration with PCCI. The draft listed the most urgent policy concerns, as well as required government actions and private sector commitments.
The regional consultations were followed by high-level roundtables focusing on specific sectors, including infrastructure, which were held in Manila on July 3-4 with MinDA and Cabinet officials and private sector representatives for a thorough review of the draft policy agenda, and for government to formulate appropriate responses. (PNA)

Former GPH chair optimistic of outcome of talks with MILF rebels

MANILA, July 19 (PNA) – Silvestre Afable, former chair of the government peace panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is optimistic of the outcome of the exploratory peace talks between the government and the Moro rebels.

"Yes, I’m optimistic,” Afable said when reached by phone by the Philippines News Agency shortly before the 29th exploratory talk ended Wednesday night.
The closed door negotiation which started Monday was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia which is the third party facilitator.
Afable was the chairman of the government peace panel during the initial stages of the talks in early 2000.
He expressed the hope that the current negotiations will result in the signing of a peace agreement to end the long-drawn Mindanao conflict that started in 1973 or almost four decades.
The conflict which was initiated by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), forerunner of the MILF, had killed over 150,000, wounded many more and displaced tens of thousands over the years.
In 1996, the Ramos administration signed a peace agreement with the MNLF that ended the fighting in southern Philippines but it was only briefly because the MILF opposed the peace accord.
The MILF continued their struggle for an independent state as fighting broke out again, the biggest of which was in 2000 when then President Joseph Estrada declared an all-out war against the MILF after the latter launched a series of attacks in Central Philippines.
But the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) crushed the MILF uprising, capturing practically all 49 MILF camps.
When Estrada was ousted in the so-called EDSA 2 revolt in 2001, talks between the government and the MILF resumed during the administration of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
However, fighting erupted anew in Central Mindanao in 2008 following the aborted signing of the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which was declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Despite the fighting, the government and the MILF continued their backdoor negotiations as exploratory talks resumed again in the latter part of 2009 and continued by President Benigno S. Aquino III when he assumed the presidency on June 30, 2010.
The President went of his way by meeting with MILF chair Al Haj Murad in Tokyo last year with high hopes to fast track the peace negotiations between the government and the MILF.

The negotiations continued up to the present with both sides expressing confidence to reach a final settlement of the Mindanao conflict. (PNA)

Joint Statement of GPH-MILF on the 29th Formal Exploratory Talks

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MANILA, July 18 (PNA) -- The 29th round of Exploratory Talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) successfully ended Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with both sides expressing confidence in wrapping up discussions on mechanisms towards the realization of a new political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as contained in the April 2012 GPH-MILF Decision Points on Principles.
Both Parties continued discussions on power-sharing and other related matters, and other related matters, and agreed to meet again in August 2012.
They (GPH and MILF) expressed their appreciation to Philippine President Benigno Simeon Aquino III for his commitment to a just and lasting peace in Mindanao, to Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak for his continued support in the facilitation of the GPH-MILF Peace Talks, and to the MILF Central Committee headed by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim for its continued commitment to the peaceful resolution of the Bangsamoro Question.
Both Parties also extend their gratitude to the members of the International Contact Group (ICG), namely: Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, Conciliation Resources, Muhammadiyah, and The Asia Foundation.

Done this 18th day of July 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (PNA)

The State of Moro Human Rights under President Noynoy Aquino

CONTINUING POVERTY, INJUSTICE AND IMPUNITY

 

When President Aquino assumed into power, he promised a different Mindanao. His Mindanao 2020 boasts of a plan to push for agricultural development in Mindanao by transforming it into a modern agricultural center for self-sufficiency and be competitive.

Three SONA’s (State of the Nation Address) after, Mindanao remains poor. Based on the latest official poverty statistics released by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), 36% of the country’s poorest families live in Mindanao.

The country’s three poorest regions are in Mindanao – CARAGA (39.8%), ARMM (38.1%), and Zamboanga Peninsula (36.6%).  People in the ARMM has highest cost of living (more than P1,287 ) among all regions in the Philippines, but they only get P232 minimum wage(18% of the cost of living).*

This year, Mindanaoans suffered long hours of brownouts, yet compared to other countries, we were paying the highest electricity rates in Asia.  We were blamed for the power crisis yet the national government is not shelling out bigger budget for Mindanao. Instead, they implemented the dole-out Conditional Cash Transfer or Pantawid Pampamilya Program whose budget came from World Bank loans.

In Mindanao, the foreign and local businessmen and landlords are the ones cashing in on the resources of Mindanao.  The government has given permits for mining, exploration of oil and natural gas reserves, operations of coal-fired power plants, and expansion of agricultural plantations – which have further pushed the people into poverty and landlessness due to displacement.

The military and their CAFGU’s and CVO’s are employed to guard these business establishments, militarizing not only the countryside but urban dwellings as well.  The economic interests of the US government are ensured by deploying US troops, setting-up “temporary” bases and conducting successive military exercises in Mindanao.  War mongering against China is but a front to his subservience to US politico-military interests in Asia.

Under the guise of counter-terrorism, the people of Mindanao are held hostage by business interests.  Communities who defy military presence are tagged as terrorist havens, residents as supporters. Communities are bombed and residents displaced purportedly to wipe out terrorists in the area.

Since 2001, more than 200 have been arrested and detained – accused as Abu Sayyaf members. Instead of reviewing security policies that discriminates Moro people, or put a stop to militarization and bombardment in the communities, Aquino called for an “All-Out Justice” which only intensified human rights violations in Moro areas.

In Aquino’s time, the wheels of justice remain slow.  Despite incarceration, the Ampatuan family continue to wield power in Maguindanao.  Adding to the death toll Maguindanao Massacre victims are state witnesses against the Ampatuan family.

There is a continuing reign of impunity as perpetrators of human rights violations remain scot free, while civilians and human rights defenders rot in jail. Aquino is no different with Arroyo in implementing the US counter-insurgency guide.  Under his watch, two foreign NGO workers were killed while several activists are being arrested, detained and killed.

We pin our hopes in the peace negotiations, yet the Aquino administration continue to disregard previous agreements and push new agenda that gloss over the root-cause of the problem and only prolong the talks.

Let us expose the true situation of our communities and oppose state policies that continue to violate and deny our rights.

KHADIDJA BABAYE

DTI, Davao del Norte‏ to developed poor towns in province

TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte, July 12 (PNA) -- The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Davao and provincial government of Davao del Norte are partnering anew using the Local and Regional Economic Development (LRED) program in jump starting various economic activities in the less developed towns of the province.

Trade and Industry Undersecretary for Regional Operations Group Merly M. Cruz said LRED is a process by which stakeholders from both public and private sectors are mobilized to become partners in a joint effort to improve the economy of a defined sub-national territory to increase its competitiveness.
Initially, the collaboration will focus on the development of Braulio E. Dujali, a municipality 57 kilometers north of Davao City. It is one of the nine areas in Davao del Norte identified by the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) as among the 609 priority municipalities/cities for poverty reduction under the Aquino administration.
Cruz said other focus areas are the municipalities of Asuncion, Kapalong, New Corella, San Isidro, Santo Tomas, and Talaingod and the cities of Panabo and Samal Island.
She said that with the right planning and staunch support from government and private partners, Dujali can be developed into a tourism site.
“The area could be utilized for the development of pangasius or tilapia. Therefore, it will be a destination for those people who love fishing. Before you know it, Dujali is already a popular tourist destination,” she said.
To further enhance the town’s tourism potential, she said its products can be improved in order to become more marketable and enticing for tourists.
“Let’s identify products which are unique to Dujali. We can value-add on that and that will be the role of DTI,” she said.
Meanwhile, Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario said the week-long celebration of the 45th Kadagayaan Festival on June 24-30, is the starting point of the plan to develop Dujali.
“Let’s start with Dujali then other municipalities,” he said, adding that pasalubong centers will be established for the value-added products of Dujali.

“Five years from now, we envision Dujali to be a resort area. It will be a half-way house between Bukidnon and Davao del Norte,” he added. (PNA)
LAM/JGMM/ldp/mec

Abu Sayyaf bandit with P350,000 bounty on the head nabbed in Basilan

ZAMBOANGA CITY, July 13 (PNA) – Combined police and military forces have arrested a barangay official who is an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf involved in the kidnapping of an American priest 17 years ago in Jolo, Sulu, a top police official disclosed Friday. The arrested official was also involved in the killing of 14 soldiers 14 years ago in Basilan province, according to Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-9 (CIDG-9) director Senior Supt. Edgar Danao.
The Philippine government through the Department of National Defense (DND) offered a P350,000 cash reward to any informant who could provide information leading to Manjuri’s arrest.
Danao said the suspect, identified as Jumli Orie Manjuri alias Salam and Orie, was arrested around 12 noon Thursday in Barangay Cabunbata, Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province.
He disclosed that Manjuri is the barangay chairman of Cabunbata.
Danao said Manjuri was arrested on the strength of warrants of arrest for kidnapping with frustrated murder and kidnapping with serious illegal detention issued by a Jolo court and Basilan court, respectively.
Majuri’s arrest came after months of surveillance “we conducted on his activities,” Danao disclosed.
The arrested bandit is one of the most trusted men of Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who is wanted not only by the Philippine government but also by the American government.
Danao said that Manjuri was arrested while on his way to claim the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of Barangay Cabunbata.
He said that Manjuri was involved in the kidnapping of American priest, Fr. Clarence William Bertlesman on July 31, 1994 from the Asturias Chapel in Jolo, Sulu.
Bertlesman was rescued several hours after he was seized by the Abu Sayyaf bandits.
Danao said that Manjuri was also involved in a clash between Abu Sayyaf bandits and Special Forces Operational Course (SFOC) sometime in 1998 in Baungis, Lantawan, Basilan that resulted in the death of 14 soldiers.

Danao said that Manjuri was also involved in the April 6, 2008 ambush of three coconut plantation workers in Tairan, Lantawan, Basilan. (PNA)

NDF-Philippines ON PRESIDENT AQUINO’S MINING POLICY

Press Statement

09 July 2012

 

THE RAPID EXPANSION OF MINING AND PLANTATIONS OWNED BY IMPERIALISTS AND THE RULING CLASS MEANS CALAMITIES AND WAR IN MINDANAO

Military operations in Mindanao have escalated and have become more extensive with the aim to thwart the ever growing and widespread people’s protest against destructive mining operations and plantations owned by imperialists, the big comprador bourgeois and big landlords.  After having ravaged the environment by way of wanton logging, imperialists and the local ruling clique insidiously intend to inflict even greater devastation to the environment; and, to deprive, oppress and exploit further the Lumads, Moro, peasants and workers in order to satiate their greed for superprofit.

In Far Southern Mindanao, the opposition of the B’laan and Moro peoples, the religious, peasants and irrigators’ cooperatives, the local government, and the people in general against Xstrata-SMI — the largest gold mining operation in Southeast Asia, covering 90,000 hectares in the quadri-boundary of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur and Saranggani, corpulent with a capitalization of US$5.9 billion — has gained strength and broadened.  Suffering from blatant and relentless violations by the Xstrata-SMI against their ancestral domain, the B’laan Lumads have been pushed to wage a “Red Pangayaw” (Tribal War) against Xstrata-SMI, as well as against the security guards, Army, CAFGU and PNP protecting the company.  On June 20, their ambush resulted in the demise of Chief Security Ret. Police Supt. Villamindo Hectin and of PO2 Rey Tonzo, and the wounding of SPO1 Wenefredo Sengonnigue and PO1 Glen Beltran.  In the second ambush that took place the same day in Makak, Brgy. Kiblawan, North Cotabato, one official of the 1002nd Brigade and 2 CAFGUs were wounded.

These were followed by an ambush on June 26 launched by the B’laan in Kimlawis, Kiblawan, where PO Yolly Jean Singkolan was killed in the course of combat.   In 1995, the Western Mining Company, the first to bring large-scale mining to Tampakan, was compelled to abandon their operations when the B’laan Lumads waged a “Revolutionary Pangayaw” against the company. In January of 2008, the NPA dismantled the administration office of the Xstrata-SMI in Tampakan, South Cotabato, and in the following year, the NPA raided the Tampakan PNP protecting the company.

In the Southern Mindanao Region, where numerous imperialist mining companies operate such as the Russell Mines and Minerals, Apex Mining Corp. and Philco, the people’s protest against large-scale mining is also strong and wide.  In the past, small-scale miners’ associations launched, in several occasions, protest actions against an imperialist mining company which, together with its local partners, aimed to grab from the small-scale miners the very source of gold in Diwalwal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley.  There were also several instances in the region where the NPA sanctioned highly destructive mining operations as well as militarily targeted units of the AFP, CAFGU, PNP and other security forces actively protecting large-scale mining companies.

In North Central Mindanao, the opposition of Lumad peoples, especially the Manobos and the Matigsalogs, together with the peasants, church, LGU and other sectors against the mining operations of Indophil in Quezon and in San Fernando, Bukidnon is fast gaining ground; that is precisely why the 8th IB continues with its intensified military operations in the said area.   Currently, in the interest of mining companies, the 8th IB has forcibly placed under hamlet more than 100 peasant and Lumad families in Sitio Sikayab, Brgy. Bunacao, San Fernando, Bukidnon.  There is also strong people’s protest against the expansion of the Dolefil, DelMonte and Sumifru plantations, in whose areas the military, every now and then, conducts combat operations in order to secure these companies’ interests.  On the other hand, within two weeks alone, the NPA in the region has launched 5 tactical offensives against operating troops of the AFP, CAFGU and PNP.  One of these was the ambush conducted by the NPA on June 17 against operating 8th IB troops in Sikayab, Bunacao, San Fernando, Bukidnon, where 9 army personnel were killed-in-action (KIA) and 2 others wounded; the NPA sustained no casualty.

In Western Mindanao,  there is widespread opposition among the Subanen and Moro peoples, peasants and workers, church and the middle forces against  military operations conducted by the Tabak Division of the Army aimed at crushing people’s dissent against the ever-rising number of mining sites and operations of the Toronto Venture Inc. (TVI) in the entire region.  If one recalls, more than 400 families were forced to evacuate their ancestral lands because of TVI and the ruthless military operations that ensued to protect it in Buug, Zamboanga del Sur.  In order to defend the people’s human rights and general wellbeing, the NPA launched tactical offensives against TVI as well as against units of the AFP-PNP-CAFGU protecting it, such as the ambush on February 2012 that hit elements of the army intelligence group operating on the behest of TVI. The imposition of the local government to allow TVI mining operations on Subanen ancestral lands is one of the bases the NPA raided on April 9 the PNP station in Tigbao, Zamboanga del Sur.

In Caraga, where the number of mining companies is most concentrated, a stronger and more far-reaching opposition led by the Lumads, church and local government groups and a broad range of people’s aggrupation against large-scale mining’s destructive effects, as well as against the ever-expanding Dolefil, Del Monte and Sumifru plantations, is at present gaining unprecedented groundswell.  Because of this, the military operations of various troop units from the 4th ID PA continue almost unabated, which has already resulted in massive evacuations and in the perpetration of brutal human rights violations against the people.  On the other hand, the NPA has already simultaneously sanctioned three giant mining companies in Claver, Surigao del Norte on October 3, 2011.  In the last two weeks alone, the NPA was able to launch 10 military actions against enemy troops protecting these mining companies and plantations.  One of these was the NPA attack on June 27 in Puog, Tandag City, against 29th IB troops, where 2Lt. Martinez was killed, and 2Lt. Gomez and Cpl. Cabahis were wounded.  The NPA was able to seize one M16 rifle.

And recently on July 6, the NPA in NEMR successfully sanctioned the VPO Mines, Inc. for maintaining a disproportionately large number of armed goons (with more than 60 high-powered rifles and other weapons) while wantonly operating in Brgy. Bayugan III, Rosario, Agusan del Sur. The NPA was able to confiscate 30 firearms from the company, which include the following: 13 HPRs (7 M16s, 2 M4 Carbine arm-a-lite rifles, 1 M203, 2 M14, 1 AK-47), 9 shotguns, 6 .45 Cal pistols, 2 .9mm-KG, and several ammunition.

In view of these events, the NDFP in Mindanao calls upon the Lumad and Moro peoples, peasants and workers, religious and other sectors to further strengthen their unity and their courage to oppose the interests of imperialist mines and plantations, which are exceedingly damaging to Mindanao, to its people and to the environment.  We call upon the units of the NPA in Mindanao to be ever more daring in their defense of people’s interests against the greed and rapacity of the local ruling classes and their imperialist master.

 

Ka Oris
Spokesperson
NDFP-Mindanao

MILF general consultations to boost ongoing peace process, says Palace

MANILA, July 6 (PNA) -- Malacanang said it hopes that the Bangsamoro general assembly to be conducted by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) this weekend will eventually pave the way for the signing of a peace agreement with the Aquino government.

The MILF is holding its general assembly starting July 7 to 9 in Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao. The MILF said that at least 500,000 to one million people will be attending the general assembly.
Representatives from the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and other international organizations are expected to participate.
“We view this as a positive development for the MILF to consolidate its support for the peace agreement. And so it’s something that we welcome. Secretary Ging Deles and the negotiating panel will be there in Camp Darapanan to attend,” Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a media briefing in Malacanang on Friday.
Asked by reporters if the Aquino administration expects the meeting to fast-track the signing of a peace agreement with the MILF, Lacierda said: “We certainly would hope so and as we have always stated, we are cautiously optimistic that a peace agreement will be signed within this administration.”
During the last general assembly held in 2005, some 900,000 MILF followers went to Camp Darapanan to know the progress of the peace talks then.
The goals of the MILF consultative assembly is to rally supporters behind its negotiating positions, to keep restive rebel commanders in line and check their loyalties, and to show its force and influence in Mindanao to the general public.
The MILF has been battling the government for over 30 years to achieve self-rule in Mindanao. Upon assuming office, the President initiated renewed peace efforts with the MILF hoping that under his term a peace deal would be signed.

Analysts have estimated that the conflict has resulted in some 50,000 to 60,000 deaths for the past 30 years. (PNA)

Deles, Leonen to grace MILF assembly in Maguindanao

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao, July 6 (PNA) -- Presidential peace adviser Secretary Teresita Deles and chief government negotiator Atty. Marvic Leonen will be joining the biggest Bangsamoro gathering in Mindanao beginning Saturday.

Ghadzali Jaafar, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vice chair for political affairs, said Deles and Leonen have confirmed their participation in the two-day gathering of Moro community leaders who will be consulted on the progress of the GPh-MILF peace process.
"Both peace advocates have confirmed their participation and we are very glad," Jaafar said.
MILF, the gathering organizer, said the Bangsamoro Leaders' Assembly to be held at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, is expecting more than 500,000 individuals from all over the country.
Major General Rey Ardo, chief of the 6th Infantry Division, said he will personally attend the assembly on two reasons.
"I will attend because I was invited and I would like to show that the military is supportive of the government's peace initiatives, the gathering being part of the peace process," Ardo told reporters.
Soldiers were deployed around the vicinity of Camp Darapanan, the MILF stronghold, to secure participants coming in to the venue from as far as Metro Manila, Baguio, Visayas and Mindanao.
Also invited are officials and diplomats of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari.
On the second day of the assembly, a close-door plenary will be held while MILF chair Ebrahim Mohammad Al Haj will hold a news conference.
About 100 local, national and foreign journalists have signified their intention to attend, Jaafar said.
Mohaqher Iqbal, MILF chief negotiator, said non-Muslims were also invited and many have confirmed their attendance.

After the opening program, Deles and Leonen will hold a news conference Saturday at the 6th ID headquarters here before proceeding to Manila. (PNA)

Development and Distress in Mindanao: A Political Economy ...

Development and Distress in Mindanao: A Political Economy ...

Aquino government welcomes 15-member contingent from Indonesia

MANILA, July 2 (PNA) -- The Aquino administration welcomed the decision of Indonesia to send a 15-member contingent to the country as part of its contribution to a multinational team monitoring the ceasefire between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). "We needed 60 peacekeepers. We only have around 40 right now. And so it is good that Indonesia has offered to provide peacekeepers to us. They sent around 15, so kulang na lang siguro ng lima.... So that’s why we welcome the offer of Indonesia to come in and be observers," said Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda during the regular press briefing in Malacanang on Monday.
Last June 30, Indonesia deployed the contingent to Central Mindanao where the International Monitoring Team (IMT) is presently based, according to news reports.
The ceasefire-monitoring team from Indonesia will join the delegates from Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, Libya and Norway.
The inclusion of Indonesia in the IMT contingent was also a result of the request made in 2009 by Foreign Affairs official Rafael Seguis and MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal for Jakarta to send a contingent to the truce monitoring team.
Lacierda said the government is still hopeful towards arriving at a peace agreement with the MILF during the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III.
Last August, President Aquino met with MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo, Japan as a show of government’s sincerity to move the peace process forward.m

The President and Murad agreed to fast track the negotiations to achieve a just and lasting peace in Mindanao. (PNA)

US, PHL start joint naval exercises in Sarangani Bay

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, July 2 (PNA) – About a thousand joint American and Filipino troops are taking part in the nine-day United States (US)-Philippines naval maneuver exercises along Sarangani Bay that formally opened Monday. Capt. Robert Empedrad, deputy commander of the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, said the troops, which comprise 400 American as well as 550 Filipino naval and coast guard personnel, will undergo joint training exercises as part of the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2012 program.
He said two US vessels — the missile-guiding frigate USS Vandergrift and cutter-ship US Coast Guard (USCG) Waesche —are taking part in the naval exercises.
USS Vandergrift arrived around 1:05 p.m. Sunday near the mouth of Sarangani Bay and was met by Philippine Navy (PN) ship Salvador Abcede. USCG Waesche arrived about an hour later.
Vandergrift arrived at the Makar Wharf here around 3 p.m.
Empedrad, who acts as CARAT 2012 exercise director, said another US ship also arrived in the country — the USNS Safeguard, a rescue and salvage ship — and docked in Manila for training exercises at the Manila Bay.
He said naval exercises, which is the first time that US naval units were holding in the area, would be conducted in the seas off Maitum and Maasim towns in Sarangani and in Balut Island of Sarangani town in Davao del Sur.
The naval exercise, which would not be visible from the shores, is within the area of responsibility of the Naval Forces Eastern Mindanao Command, he said.
The official said inland activities include medical and dental civic action program and concerts by the US Navy’s 7th Fleet Band in this city and Glan town in Sarangani.
At-sea activities include in-port training, subject matter exercise exchanges, riverine operations training, and diving and salvage exercises.
Empedrad said four PN ships - corvettes BRP Magat Salamat and BRP Miguel Malvar, Salvador Abcede, and coastal patrol craft BRP Teotimo Figuracion — as well as Philippine Coast Guard’s (PCG) BRP Pampanga are taking part in CARAT 2012.
Commander Joseph Coyme, spokesperson of the PCG Contingent in CARAT P012, said the Coast Guard exercises will cover search and rescue and emergency medical situation.
He said the Coast Watch Stations, which are operated by the PN and being worked out to be handled by the PCG, will have a communications exercise with the American’s P3C Orion aircraft.
CARAT 2012 aims to enhance combined inter-operability and capability between the Philippine Navy and United States Navy as well as to test its personnel and naval assets’ operational readiness and ultimately, improve the defense capability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The specific objectives of CARAT 2012 are: to enhance current PN and USN and USGC and PCG capabilities in naval operations; increase the level of interoperability between the navies and coast guards of both countries in the conduct of combined naval operations focused in night time operations; test and develop the combined communications interoperability between the PN and USN; and promote situational awareness and information sharing between PN and USN forces.(PNA)

Indonesia peace monitors on GPH-MILF talks arrive in Philippines

• 
  Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels

Indonesian peace monitors on Sunday joined an international mission tasked to ensure that a ceasefire between the Philippines and Muslim insurgents held as both sides aim to sign a peace deal this year.

The Indonesian team consisted of 10 military officials and five civilian experts on conflict prevention, and were deployed upon the request of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government.

The group is the newest foreign contingent to join the mission, which consists of about 40 others from Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, Libya and the European Union.

“Their arrival is an assurance that the ceasefire is seriously in place,” the government’s chief peace adviser Teresita Deles told reporters.

Deles said the 12,000-strong MILF and the government were aiming to sign a peace deal by the end of the year, following a breakthrough agreement in April in which both sides committed to create a new autonomous political region in the troubled south.

“We are expanding common grounds and we are both looking for ways on how to close distances on the most contentious issues,” she said.

“There are certainly signs that the two sides are moving towards addressing each other’s concerns.”

“We are officially cautiously optimistic,” Deles said when asked whether a final peace deal would be signed this year.

The MILF has waged a rebellion for more than three decades, originally for the establishment of an independent state in Mindanao, the southern third of the mainly Catholic Philippines.

It has however in recent years dropped its bid for full independence in favour of autonomous control over large areas in Mindanao, which it claims as Muslims’ ‘ancestral domain’.

The insurgency has claimed more than 150,000 lives since the Muslim rebellion began in the early 1970s.

The peace effort nearly collapsed in October 2011 after MILF rebels killed 19 soldiers who they claimed entered their area in violation of the truce.

The killings touched off fierce battles on several fronts in Mindanao, during which as many as 40 soldiers, police and civilians were killed and thousands displaced.

Both sides later agreed to forge ahead, and there had not been any fighting since January.

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• COMMENTARY: Remembering Al-Barka

• EDITORIAL: Global terror: Victory consolidated

• Guv insists MILF tried to set up camp in South Cotabato

Bukidnon LMP to patch up Zubiri-Calingasan rift

Members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Bukidnon Chapter are gunning for political peace, a year ahead of the 2013 elections.
During its meeting here on May 18, municipal mayors intensively discussed the internal political conflict between Vice Governor Jose Ma. Zubiri and Gov. Alex Calingasan and offered help in mediating in the rift.

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  Bukidnon LMP to patch up Zubiri-Calingasan rift ...

 

BUKIDNON MAYORS – (sitting): Godofredo I. Balansag (Lantapan), Nenita M. Suyao (Kalilangan), Alice P. Resus (Maramag). Standing-right: Manolito G. Garces (Pangantucan), Rogelio C. Castillanes (Cabanglasan), Rodito B. Rafisura (Kitaotao), Aida dela Rosa (Malitbog), Laurencia S. Edma (San Fernando), Rey B. Baula (Sumilao), Joelito J. Talaid (Kadingilan), Nestor B. Macapayag (Talakag), Romeo P. Tiongco (Damulog), Edilberto F. Ayuban (Dangcagan). Photo by MELVELEZ

 

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte apologizes to punched sheriff

DAVAO CITY Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has apologized to Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 16 sheriff Abe Andres who got at least four punches from her last year.
The lady... 

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Davao mayor apologizes to punched sheriff

 

UPHOLD AND PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF FILIPINO CHILDREN

STATEMENT

29 June 2012

The NDFP-Mindanao fully affirms the NDFP Declaration and Program of Action for the Rights, Protection and Welfare of Children. We reiterate our commitment to defend and promote the rights, interests and welfare of Filipino children, which are fully integrated into the social program of the people’s democratic revolution with a socialist perspective.  Ensuring the future of our children is one fundamental reason why we are waging a people’s war.  We want to create a society where all children can be provided the basic necessities like education, food, clothing, a home, and all the opportunities needed to make a happy, balanced childhood.
But in Mindanao, being part of the Philippine semi-feudal, semi-colonial system, children’s rights are systematically violated, and they carry the heaviest burden of social exploitation and oppression. Millions of them are unschooled and found in dreadful working conditions in both rural and urban areas in the island. They can be seen in the vast rice and cornfields, in large-scale plantations, such as in Dolefil, Del Monte and the sugar-cane fields of Bukidnon, in hundreds of tunnels, panning and other mining areas, and in logging concessions as low-waged or unpaid laborers. School-aged children are also heavily exploited in the landing areas and piers as porters, small vendors, and scavengers in the urban centers.  In 2009, the GPH conservatively estimated the number of working children in Mindanao, ages 5 to 17, at 543,000 individuals.
Prevalent in Mindanao and the entire country, children suffer from the most exploitative and degrading conditions, pushed to become thugs, drug peddlers and users, and mendicants. Hired or trafficked by criminal syndicates, they are helplessly forced into prostitution and in many cases, slaughtered for their organs to be traded abroad.  Minors are not even spared from the numerous extra-judicial killings committed with impunity by state-sponsored motor-riding death squads such as in the cities of Davao, Digos, Tagum, Cagayan de Oro, Butuan, Bayugan and in other urban areas in Mindanao. Calamity-related tragedies also victimize children, such as the hundreds killed during the typhoon Sendong.
Noynoy Aquinos’ Oplan Bayanihan and all preceding anti-insurgency campaigns of the GPH have created a more horrendous and more miserable life for the children. During the first half of 2012, military operations have caused massive evacuations in areas where multinational mining and plantations operate in the five regions of Mindanao as well as in several Moro communities, displacing thousands of families, close to half of them are children. In the AFP’s vicious and systematic attack on schools, especially those in remote areas, teachers and pupils are harassed, intimidated and vilified; school buildings and school premises are occupied or used for military purposes as barracks or detachments.
Children’s rights violations are repeatedly committed by the AFP, PNP and by private goons.  Most affected are Lumad and peasant children who are often traumatized by the AFP’s indiscriminate bombing and Howitzer shelling, strafing, direct threats and intimidation, such as in the provinces of Caraga, Bukidnon, Davao, North Cotabato, the Zamboanga peninsula, and in the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.  Consequently, they experience the most difficult and unhealthy situations; many of them get sick, some even die.  During AFP civic and combat operations, minors have become easy target for corruption, seduction and rape, drug addiction, illegal arrest, torture and even extra-judicial killing.
There are also cases of children conscripted into the AFP’s war machine as CAFGUs, CVOs, BDS guards, guides and advance guards during military operations.  A fresh case of AFP recruitment of four minors was unmasked during the NPA raid in Brgy. Binicalan, San Luis, Agusan del Sur on May 30, 2012, where one 15-year-old CAFGU was wounded.   Cases of minors being tortured by the AFP and presented as “NPA child soldiers” were documented in Davao del Sur, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro, San Fernando, Bukidnon and other parts of Mindanao. There is the case of the Villa girl from Davao City who was courted by a military man, taken to the military camp and presented to the media as a child soldier. Where there is a prolonged AFP civic-military operation, girls are duped, seduced and later abandoned into pregnancy, as was the case in 2011 of four female minors in Marihatag, Surigao del Sur.
Moro children are also subjected to a host of other oppressions and injustices, such as chauvinism and other forms of discrimination. Millions of Moro children together with their families were forced to evacuate their homes and ancestral lands during Estrada’s brutal counter-insurgency campaign in 2000-01 in Central Mindanao. During the Arroyo regime in 2008, half a million Moro people, mostly women and children, were displaced due to the state’s counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency campaigns. Moro children also suffer as their families become internal refugees as a result of inter-clan wars.
Continuing US intervention in the country, especially with the ever increasing presence of US troops, has greatly contributed to the further oppression and exploitation of children in the Philippines.  Between 2008-2009, there was the case of girls who were brought to the Tropicana Beach Resort in General Santos City as prostituted women to cater to US soldiers. US armed personnel are also directly involved in combat operations in Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Zamboanga del Sur, which have displaced, and even killed, Moro civilians, including children.
Thus, the NDFP’s national and democratic program and its socialist perspective for Filipino children are at the forefront of our revolutionary struggle. The rights of children to free education, food, health care, clothing and shelter and many others must be protected and upheld. They must be provided with nationalist, scientific and mass-based cultural programs. Socialized child-rearing and nursery and a support system for child-rearing mothers and single parents must also be promoted.
Currently and concretely in our base areas, violations against children’s rights are gradually eliminated.  The people’s democratic government has successfully reduced the number of illiterate adults and children, especially in many Lumad areas in Mindanao. Children have been organized, and cultural campaigns have been launched for them to combat anti-social activities. Collective production farms have been put up to help eradicate malnutrition in their communities.  Their health committees have coordinated with the health staff of the New People’s Army (NPA) to provide basic health services to the barrio-folk, especially to children. Units of the NPA and the organs of political power strictly adhere to the international laws of war regarding the non-recruitment of minors into the People’s Militia or the NPA.
In line with our long term program for children, it is our immediate task to the protect children’s rights and welfare.  Children must be kept safe from atrocities of the fascist armed forces of the GPH as well as from hostilities and anti-social groups.  They must be organized and educated on the history and current situation to know their place in Philippine society and the world.
More than ever, the NDFP-Mindanao is duty-bound to mobilize all its resources in order to defend, uphold and promote the rights and welfare of children, including the NDFP’s Program of Action which stipulates the creation of a special office for the continuing protection of children’s rights and welfare.

Ka Oris
Spokesperson

NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT-Philippines
NDFP-Mindanao