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Thursday, December 31, 2015

Rebels free captured soldier in Southern Philippines

DAVAO CITY – Communist insurgents have freed a captured government soldier on Thursday in Agusan del Norte province in southern Philippines following appeals from his family and religious leaders.
Corporal Adriano Bingil was handed over to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and representatives from the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform and Iglesia Filipina Independiente in Las Nieves town.
Bingil, who was seized by rebels in September in Agusan del Sur’s San Luis town, thanked the New People’s Army and all those who helped him regain his freedom.  Duterte brought the 34-year old Bingil to an army base in Butuan City where he was turned over to his superior.
The release of Bingil was also covered by journalists who were invited by rebels in the province despite earlier threats by pro-government militias for them not to cover any events of the NPA, especially the 47th anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
Jorge Madlos, a rebel spokesman, has accused Colonel Isidro Purisima, commander of the army’s 402nd Infantry Brigade, as behind the threats against the journalists.
He said Purisima has been using the notorious militia Magahat-Bagani to threaten the lives of journalists.
“By allowing criminal paramilitary groups to issue death threats against members of the press, Colonel Purisima has made the mass media a veritable target of state terrorism. This is not only a grave affront to the integrity of the press but an act in outright contempt of press freedom. It violates media people’s right to life and free expression as well as subverts their duty to inform the public, which is a tenet held inviolable even by the 1987 Constitution,” Madlos said.
“Colonel Purisima’s vile death threats also targeted CPP’s invited guests and the masses in general. But, despite this, the people also refused to cower in fear, that is why the CPP’s 47th anniversary open celebration in North-eastern Mindanao Region was a success, with more than five thousand people in attendance, and a considerable number of guests graced the event. In other guerrilla fronts in the region, party anniversary celebrations were also successful, and so with all the celebrations in other parts of Mindanao,” he added.
The NPA has been fighting for a separate state for many decades now. (Mindanao Examiner)



Abu Sayyaf kills soldier in fresh clashes in Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Abu Sayyaf rebels killed a government soldier and wounded at least 7 more in a clash in the southern Philippine town of Patikul.
The fighting on Wednesday afternoon occurred just as troops were searching for foreign and Filipino hostages of the Abu Sayyaf in the town’s hinterlands. Among the captives were two Canadians and a Norwegian man kidnapped this year on a posh resort in Davao del Norte province.
There was no report on the fate of the hostages, but Abu Sayyaf rebels – who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq – have threatened to execute their captives if their families and governments fail to pay $21 million ransoms.
Government troops clashed with dozens of heavily-armed rebels under Hajan Sawadjaan, one of the notorious leaders of the Abu Sayyaf blamed by the Aquino government for the spate of terrorism and kidnappings in the restive Muslim autonomous region and other parts of Mindanao, including Zamboanga.
Local authorities said there were no reports of enemy casualties, but the military – quoting intelligence reports - insisted it killed several of them although no bodies had been recovered by troops from the scene of the fighting. The slain soldier was identified by the military as Lt.  Ronald Detalla, of the army’s 1st Scout Ranger Battalion.
The gunmen beheaded a kidnapped South Korean man and a Malaysian hostage after their family failed to pay ransom. (Mindanao Examiner)


Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Revenge likely behind killings of 2 soldiers in Marawi

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Revenge was likely the motive behind the killings of two army soldiers, who were assisting in the probe on the ambush of a television news crew in Marawi City in southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.
Officials said the soldiers - Sergeant John Saballe and Private First Class Sofronio Grame, Jr - both members of the 65th Infantry Battalion – were shot on Tuesday outside Ranao Broadcasting Corporation near the Masjid Islamic Center in Marawi City. A woman near the scene was also shot and wounded and was rushed to the Amai Pakpak Medical Center
Army Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, said the killings of his soldiers were in retaliation by a local group engaged in illegal activities that was hit hard by the army in its anti-criminality campaign in support to peace efforts in Marawi.
Police were also looking into the possible involvement of radical jihadist group Khilafah Islamiyah Movement, locally known as “Ghuraba” (Stranger) into the attacks and other atrocities in Lanao del Sur and other areas in Northern Mindanao. 
“Not radicals, but this attack on the soldiers is a long standing rido of certain Maranaw group involved in illegal activities na nasagasaan ng 65th Infantry Battalion starting in 2013,” Murillo told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
Murillo said the soldiers were on an official mission in Marawi City in connection to the ongoing investigation into the attack on the news team of ABS-CBN. He said the soldiers were supposed to meet an informant. It was unknown if the attack was caught on security cameras outside the Ranao Broadcasting Corporation.
Police have filed criminal charges against two men - Nasser Masurong and Yusop Sangcad - tagged as among those behind the December 26 attack on ABS-CBN reporter Ronnie Enderes and his team Emilito Balansag and Gary Montecillo.
Both men have been identified by witnesses. The news crew was travelling on a pick-up truck from Ditsa-an Ramain town when four gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire on their vehicle.
It was unknown whether Masurong and Sangcad were involved in the killings of the two soldiers, but they remain at large. The National Bureau of Investigations said they were sympathizers of radical groups in Marawi supporting ISIS.
Heightened alert
Authorities are in heightened alert not only in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province, but also in Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat following the spate of deadly attacks by Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).
The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has strongly denounced the atrocities committed by the BIFF in Maguindanao and nearby Sultan Kudarat, calling the attacks on innocent civilians “barbaric and an act of terrorism”.
ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the recent attacks that killed over a dozen people were “devoid of any sense of revolutionary zeal and principles.”
“It was an act of terrorism. It was an attack against civilians, an attack against peace and development in Mindanao, and a cowardly act that deserves nothing but our collective condemnation. We should reject this as we should not be cowed by this.”
“In the face of this act of terrorism, we rely on each other for strength and courage. We rely on our security forces – the military and the police – as we are confident that the attacks will be contained and a spill over are prevented,” Hataman said.
He said the ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team and the Department of Social Welfare and Development have distributed relief goods to the affected communities in the towns of Datu Abdullah Sangki and Ampatuan, all in Maguindanao.
A total of 818 displaced families were served in Datu Abdullah Sangki town and 335 families more were assisted in Ampatuan town, according to Hataman.
The BIFF, which is fighting for a separate Islamic state in Mindanao, has warned of more attacks in the restive region. (Mindanao Examiner)


Tuesday, December 29, 2015

OFW Joselito Zapanta executed in Saudi Arabia

MANILA – Saudi Arabia has executed Tuesday a Filipino worker, Joselito Zapanta, who was charged of killing his Sudanese landlord during a quarrel in 2009.
The family of the Sudanese victim was demanding about P44 million in blood money from Zapanta in exchange for his life. Saudi had previously granted reprieve to Zapanta, a native of Pampanga province, following appeals by the Philippine government.
Filipino migrants’ rights group Migrante-Middle East repeatedly called on President Benigno Aquino to save the 35-year old Filipino, as well as other compatriots languishing in jails in Saudi Arabia.
It was not immediately known whether Zapanta’s body would be sent back to his family or not, but the Filipino had converted to Islam prior to his execution. And according to Islamic law, the body should be buried as soon as possible from time of death. (Mindanao Examiner)


Police charge 2 Marawi men in slay try of television news team

ILIGAN CITY – Police have filed criminal charges against two men tagged as among those behind the attack on a television news crew in Marawi City in the southern Filipino province of Lanao del Sur.
Both men – Nasser Masurong and Yusop Sangcad – have been identified by witnesses in the December 26 attack on ABS-CBN reporter Ronnie Enderes and his team Emilito Balansag and Gary Montecillo.
The trio was travelling on a pick-up truck from Ditsa-an Ramain town when four gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire on the news team. It was unknown whether Masurong and Sangcad were members or sympathizers of radical groups in Marawi supporting ISIS, but they all remain at large.
Just today, two army soldiers working on the case were killed in Marawi after being shot while outside Ranao Broadcasting Corporation near the Masjid Islamic Center.
The soldiers, Sergeant John Saballe and Private First Class Sofronio Grame, Jr, were both members of the 65th Infantry Battalion. A woman near the scene was also shot and wounded and was rushed to the Amai Pakpak Medical Center.
Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, confirmed the killings of the soldiers and said the duo was on an official mission in Marawi City in connection to the ongoing investigation into the attack on the news team of ABS-CBN.
Murillo said the soldiers were supposed to meet an informant. It was unknown if the attack was caught on security cameras outside the Ranao Broadcasting Corporation.
The military and police are also looking into the possible involvement of radical jihadists Khilafah Islamiyah Movement, locally known as “Ghuraba” (Stranger) into the attacks and other atrocities in Lanao del Sur and other areas in Northern Mindanao. (With a report from Moh Saaduddin)


Nawawalang kelot natagpuang bangkay na!

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Isang 36-anyos na lalaki na inulat na nawawala ang natagpuang patay – laslas ang lalamunan at inilibing ang bangkay nito sa isang taniman ng mais sa Koronadal City sa South Cotabato sa Mindanao.
Natagpuan ang bangkay ni Jury Gola-e matapos na umamin ang kaibigan nitong si Joseval Jaluna, 35, sa tiyong opisyal ng barangay na pinatay nito ang biktima noon pang bisperas ng Pasko sa Barangay Esperanza.
Agad naman ipinadakip ni Ferdinand Jaluna ang kanyang kaanak matapos na marinig ang lahat ng Salaysay nito.
Nabatid sa suspek na pinagnakawan diumano siya sa pera ng sariling kaibigan kung kaya’t sa sobrang galit nito ay sinapak si Jury at ng mawalan ito ng ulirat ay saka naman hinila sa maisan at doon nilaslas ang leeg at saka inilibing.
Nahaharap sa kasong murder ang si Joseval, ayon sa pulisya. (Mindanao Examiner)


ARMM denounces BIFF atrocities vs civilians

COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has strongly denounced the atrocities committed by rebels in Maguindanao province and nearby Sultan Kudarat, calling the attacks on innocent civilians barbaric and an act of terrorism.
ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the recent attacks that killed over a dozen people were “devoid of any sense of revolutionary zeal and principles.”
“It was an act of terrorism. It was an attack against civilians, an attack against peace and development in Mindanao, and a cowardly act that deserves nothing but our collective condemnation. We should reject this as we should not be cowed by this.”
“In the face of this act of terrorism, we rely on each other for strength and courage. We rely on our security forces - the military and the police - as we are confident that the attacks will be contained and a spill over are prevented,” Hataman said.
He said the ARMM Humanitarian Emergency Action and Response Team and the Department of Social Welfare and Development have distributed relief goods to the affected communities in the towns of Datu Abdullah Sangki and Ampatuan, all in Maguindanao.
A total of 818 displaced families were served in Datu Abdullah Sangki town and 335 families more were assisted in Ampatuan town, according to Hataman.
The BIFF, which is fighting for a separate Islamic state in Mindanao, has warned of more attacks in the restive region. (Mindanao Examiner)



2 soldiers killed in Marawi City

ILIGAN CITY – Unidentified assailants on Tuesday shot dead two army soldiers assisting in the investigation into the ambush of a television news crew in the volatile city of Marawi in Lanao del Sur province in the Muslim autonomous region.
The duo – Sergeant John Saballe and Private First Class Sofronio Grame, Jr – from the 65th Infantry Battalion were killed outside the Ranao Broadcasting Corporation near the Masjid Islamic Center.
The soldiers were supposed to meet a civilian informant when they were attacked in the busy market area of Pangarungan village. A woman near the scene was also shot and wounded and was rushed to the Amai Pakpak Medical Center.
Colonel Roseller Murillo, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade, confirmed the murder of the soldiers and said the duo was on an official mission in Marawi City in connection to the ongoing investigation into the attack on the news team of ABS-CBN just recently.
Murillo said the soldiers were supposed to meet an informant. It was unknown if the attack was caught on security cameras outside the Ranao Broadcasting Corporation.
Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr said he was saddened by the latest attack and urged authorities to speed up investigation into the spate of violence in Marawi.
“We are deeply saddened by yet another brutal murder committed in Marawi City by unidentified men. We sympathize with the families of two victims, who were just performing their duties as public servants by ensuring peace and order in a place far away from their homes during this holiday season.”
 “We also heard that an innocent female bystander was hit by a bullet during the incident and is now fighting for her life. Whatever reason there is behind these senseless killings happening in our province, it can never be acceptable,” Adiong said.
Adiong appealed to the Aquino government to look into the series of killings in Marawi and his province and also urged for the reactivation of the special anti-crime task force to solve the atrocities in Lanao del Sur.
“We are also appealing to the national government to really look into all these hostilities happening in our province for the sake and the safety of each and every one living here. We specifically ask Department of the Interior and Local Government, Philippine National Police and the Department of National Defense to immediately revive Joint Task Force Ranao, a special anti-crime task force that was formed to resolve all sorts of crimes committed in Lanao del Sur. We condemn these brutal acts and we need to put an end to all this madness as soon as possible,” Adiong said.
The killings of the soldiers succeeded the slay try on the news team led by Ronnie Enderes, Emilito Balansag and Gary Montecillo who just came from the town of Ditsa Ramain where they pursued a story on the spate of bombings of power lines in the province.
They were travelling back to Marawi City when gunmen attacked them on Bangolo Street. The trio survived the ambush after escaping their attackers who were on three motorcycles and then drove themselves to an army base where they sought refuge.
Troops from the 65th Infantry Battalion escorted the news team to Iligan City after they sought refuge to the army base following the attack. The motive and the perpetrators of the attack are still being investigated, although there were reports that a radicalized group sympathetic to ISIS were behind the assault on the news crew.
The military and police are also looking into the possible involvement of radical jihadists Khilafah Islamiyah Movement, locally known as “Ghuraba” (Stranger) into the attacks and other atrocities in Lanao del Sur and other areas in Northern Mindanao. (Moh Saaduddin)


Monday, December 28, 2015

Security forces raid Zamboanga village, clash with gunmen

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Security forces raided a remote village early Monday in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines and clashed briefly with gunmen who eluded capture, officials said.
Officials said the raid, involving more than 200 policemen and soldiers backed by armoured vehicles, targeted a gang hiding out in the village called Muti. The raiders, led by the local police chief, Angelito Casimiro, recovered munitions for automatic rifles and illegal drugs.
At least 3 men engaged security forces in the clash, but managed to elude arrest after they fled deeper into the wooded area of the village.
Authorities have been cracking down on the proliferation of illegal weapons and drugs in Zamboanga and had in the past operations captured dozens of people here as part of an intensified security campaign against lawless elements and terrorism.
Mayor Beng Climaco has ordered security forces to remain on alert due to persistent Abu Sayyaf threats to bomb various civilian targets, including malls and market places, in Zamboanga. (Mindanao Examiner) 


Abu Sayyaf attacks marine post in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Two government soldiers were killed and another injured in an attack by Abu Sayyaf rebels before dawn Monday on a marine post in the southern Philippines, officials said.
Officials said the rebels assaulted the post manned by 22nd Marine Company in Talipao town in Sulu, one of five provinces under the restive Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Marines fought the rebels for about 15 minutes until the gunmen fled.
There was no report of Abu Sayyaf casualties and officials would not say how and why the rebels managed to get so close to the marine post undetected and launched the assault.
It was the second time in two weeks that rebels assaulted the military in their own turf. Dozens of Abu Sayyaf gunmen under Radulan Sahiron also attacked the base of the army’s 32nd Infantry Battalion in Patikul town on December 15 that left at least 5 soldiers wounded.
The latest assault came barely a week after the military claimed to have killed 5 Abu Sayyaf rebels under Commander Ninok Sapari in a clash in Patikul’s Liang village.
But village officials denied the military report and accused marines of killing an innocent civilian, Datu Kimar Amirul, who was allegedly taken by the soldiers to guide them in Liang and was eventually killed in cold blood.
There was no immediate statement from the military about the extrajudicial killing of Amirul, but troops deployed in the province have been accused of human rights violations and extrajudicial killings of civilians suspected as rebels or sympathizers of the Abu Sayyaf in the past.
The military previously said that the operations against the Abu Sayyaf are continuing in the Muslim region. (Mindanao Examiner)