Weapons cache surrendered in Southern Philippines

KIDAPAWAN CITY – About a dozen village leaders in the special geographic area of the Muslim autonomous region in North Cotabato have surrendered a cache of weapons, including anti-tank rocket launchers and sniper rifles ahead of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.

End insurgency, terrorism Marcos tells new Army chief

MANILA - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he expects new Army chief, Lt. General Roy Galido, to guide the organization in ending communist insurgency and terrorism threats, as well as addressing the lingering and emerging threats to national security.

Troops capture wives of terror leaders in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police commandos backed by army soldiers arrested three women with links to the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf in the southern Philippine province of Basilan, officials said Saturday.

Sayyaf captor of mayor’s son captured in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Security forces captured an Abu Sayyaf terrorist linked to the 2018 random kidnapping of a municipal mayor’s town in southern Philippines.

Civilians surrender illegal weapons in Basilan

BASILAN - The Philippine military collected nearly three dozen illegal weapons from civilians in the Muslim province of Basilan, security officials said Tuesday.

Security forces seize P1.4-B contraband in Sulu

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Some P1.4 billion worth of smuggled cigarettes were seized by security forces following a raid at a warehouse in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, the military said.

Malaysia rescues 21 Filipino boat passengers off Sabah

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Malaysia has rescued 21 Filipinos from a motor launch off Sabah after the Philippine Navy sought assistance to help secure the passengers of the distressed boat.

Senior MILF leader arrested on gun charges

COTABATO CITY - Security forces arrested a senior Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader for carrying a pistol in the troubled Muslim province of Lanao del Sur, officials said Sunday.

Scout Ranger killed, another wounded in Basilan ambush

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Gunmen killed a member of the Philippine Army’s Scout Ranger regiment and wounded another in an ambush Tuesday in the restive Muslim province of Basilan.

15 people bound for Sabah rescued

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Philippine authorities rescued over a dozen people, including three toddlers, from two passenger vessels in the southern Muslim province of Tawi-Tawi, officials said Monday.

Number of Sayyafs dwindle in Sulu

SULU – The Philippine military said the number of Abu Sayyaf members continues to dwindle in Sulu as the provincial government strongly pursues peace and development efforts in the province, once a stronghold of the extremist group.

2 Sayyaf terrorists yield in Sulu

SULU - Two Abu Sayyaf terrorists have surrendered to the military authorities in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, once a stronghold of the dreaded pro-ISIS group.

Tight guarding in Philippine border

TAWI-TAWI – The Philippine military ordered a tight guarding of the border with Sabah following the recent apprehension of a Malaysian vessel smuggling 400,000 liters of diesel fuel into the remote Filipino town of Taganak.

Austin visits restive Philippine region

ZAMBOANGA CITY – United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III flew to the southern Philippines, a hotbed of Muslim and communist insurgencies, where a small number of American counterterrorism soldiers are deployed.

Austin in Philippines to discuss larger US military presence

MANILA - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was in the Philippines on Wednesday for talks about deploying U.S. forces and weapons in more Philippine military camps to ramp up deterrence against China’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan and in the disputed South China Sea. 

Philippines seizes Malaysian boat smuggling fuel

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Philippine authorities have seized a Malaysian vessel smuggling 400,000 liters of diesel fuel into the remote Filipino town of Taganak near the Sabah border.