News Updates - 29 October 2009 (Thursday)

Rebels recruit minors in war vs gov’t – AFP
By Elena L. Aben
Manila Bulletin – www.mb.com.ph
Thursday, October 29, 2009

The New People’s Army (NPA) continues to use minors as combatants in waging war against the government, in sharp contrast with the group’s pronouncement of adherence to the International Humanitarian Law, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) disclosed Wednesday.

Maj. Gen. Reynaldo Mapagu, commander of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (10ID), said the use of minors as combatants by the NPA is evidenced by the recent surrender of several young rebel fighters to authorities in Davao del Sur.

The 10ID chief said among those who yielded to authorities were Rachel Akaw, alias Kimkim and Sonny Boy Akaw, alias Junjun, both 17; and Nero Akaw, alias Ronel, 19, members of the Local Terrorist Front-51 (LTF-51). The three voluntarily surrendered to elements of 39th Infantry Battalion (39IB) led by Lt. Col. Lyndon Paniza in Barangay Binaton, Digos City through the efforts of local officials.

The village of Binaton is the site of the gory massacre of 39 Lumads including elderly, women, and children butchered by the NPA 20 years ago on June 25, 1989 inside a church when local terrorists were at their peak.

In Compostela Valley province, another young combatant has surfaced.

Eighteen-year-old Lumad, Inday Amboy, alias Liza surrendered to government troops in the province. She was 16 when she joined the armed underground movement.

Mapagu said the four child warriors were among the number of surrenderees in the NPA ranks in the region during the month, which now total to 24.

Mapagu lauded local officials of Digos in bringing back the minors into the folds of the law but lashed on the terrorists for using minors in combat.

“LGU-AFP partnership and the cooperation of the people has been a great factor in enlightening many of our brothers to going to the right path towards peace. We are hoping that more will surrender in the interest of reconciliation so that we can move forward towards progress,” said Mapagu.

“We appeal to our brothers still up on the mountains not to exploit our youth. These minors must be given books and pens instead of guns and bullets. Take the right step towards peace and lay down your arms so you can avail of the Social Integration Program of the government and live a normal life with your families,” he added.


Reds kill Army soldier
By Alfred P. Dalizon
People’s Journal – www.journal.com.ph
Thursday, October 29, 2009

SUSPECTED New People’s Army hitmen shot dead an Army intelligence agent and wounded two civilians attending a barangay fiesta in Paquibato District, Davao City Sunday.

Police said the victim, Cpl. Orly Pedregosa, died on the spot. Wounded were Jefrrey Labtic and Jolito Antig who were taken to the Davao Medical Center.

Police Regional Office 11 director Chief Supt. Pedro U. Tango said two gunmen suddenly opened fire at the victims in Sitio Crossing, Barangay Malabog. Probers recovered six .45 casings at the scene.

News Updates - 23 October 2009 (Friday)

NPA behind kidnap of 7 DENR workers — AFP
The Daily Tribune – www.tribune.net
Friday, October 23, 2009


The military yesterday tagged the communist rebel group New People’s Army (NPA) as the one behind the kidnapping of seven employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Agusan del Sur province the other day.


In a press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said efforts were underway to track down the group of armed men that abducted the seven members of the DENR’s anti-illegal logging task force around 1 a.m. Wednesday.


Forester, team leader Gabriel Arlan, Teofredo Pujadas, Rito Espenido, Rudy Clar, Eduardo Abogatal, Emiliano Gatillo Jr. and Efren Sabuero, members of the DENR’s Task Force Watershed, were seized by armed men on board four motorcycles who stormed the Anticala village watershed multi-sectoral checkpoint in Butuan City, which the kidnap victims were manning at the time.


Brawner said the military was able to find out that the kidnap suspects belong to the Guerrilla Front 21-B of the NPA’s Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee, reportedly led by a certain Manuel Anob.


Brawner said the suspects have already made several demands, including the cancellation of the community-based forest management agreement operating in Sibagat area, Agusan del Sur.


The other demands of the group, according to Brawner, are for the awarding by the local government of a “certificate of ancestral domain” to the locals in the area; the approval of the establishment of a customary farm; and the cancellation of the operations of the integrated forest management agreement.


“Basically, their demands have something to do with reforestation, the implementation of laws pertaining to reforestation and ancestral domain. So it appears that they want the agreements canceled and they want to be a beneficiary; that these be given to them and they be awarded certificates of ancestral domain,” the military official said.


Brawner said the AFP had sent out troops to go after the kidnap group and secure the freedom of the seven DENR workers.


“We are conducting the operations. Our intelligence units are working to gather more information. That is why we were able to identify the leader of the kidnapping of the seven DENR employees and now they are communicating their intentions or demands,” he said.


Brawner said the military, at the moment, has its hands full as it is currently conducting operations to free the DENR workers and two other kidnapping victims in the South – Irish priest Michael Sinnot, who was abducted by a local pirate group in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Norte last Oct. 11, and a school principal in Patikul town, Sulu, who was snatched by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants last Monday.


With PNA




Ex-NPA rebels seeking land free 2 forest rangers
By Franklin A. Caliguid, Jocelyn Uy
Philippine Daily Inquirer – www.inquirer.net
Friday, October 22, 2009


MANILA, Philippines — Former communist guerrillas on Thursday freed two of seven forest guards kidnapped to press demands for land for tribal communities at a mineral- and timber-rich watershed in Butuan City, the military reported.


Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said Emiliano Gatillo Jr. and Efren Sabuero were released at the Sibagat area in Butuan and were now with the Philippine National Police.


The other abducted forest rangers of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR)—Gabriel Arlan, Rito Espinido, Jovito Perater, Eufredo Pohadas and Eduardo Abugatal—remained under custody.


The leader of the kidnappers who identified himself as Andot Behing had earlier called a DENR task force just hours after the group seized the forest rangers who were on a monitoring mission at Barangay Anticalo in Butuan on Wednesday.


Behing demanded the cancellation of the community-based forest agreements in the Sibagat area, the awarding of ancestral domain titles to Manobos and other indigenous groups in the area and the approval of customary farming in exchange for the freedom of the foresters.


Edilberto Buiser, Caraga environment chief, said Behing had pledged to begin releasing some of the captives as a sign of goodwill.


“Negotiations are on so we are hoping this crisis will end in a peaceful way and without bloodshed,” Buiser told the Inquirer.


Police asked to withdraw


But he said that the resolution of Behing’s demands depended on Environment Secretary Lito Atienza. “The DENR would observe due process and the rule of law,” Buiser said.


He also said that to avert possible bloodshed, he had asked the police and the military-led Task Force Anticala to withdraw its forces from the area where guerrillas of the communist New People’s Army operate.


“The police would give room for the negotiations and the operation for the rescue of the captives had already been called off,” said Chief Supt. Lino Calingasan, Caraga police director.


“We have a time frame for the negotiation and the government cannot be held hostage with any ploy. The unconditional and safe release of the captives is paramount,” he said.


Calingasan said the talks with the kidnappers were being carried out by church leaders, DENR officials and the police through the indigenous people leaders and chieftains.


The seven forest rangers were seized while manning a DENR station inside the Anticala-Taguibo area in Barangay Anticala.


Illegal mining, logging


They were deployed to stop illegal mining and timber poaching blamed for the shortage of water in the city.


The 4,300-hectare watershed has huge deposits of manganese, copper, gold and nickel and extends up to Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte.


Troops have launched pursuit operations against the abductors reportedly under Manuel Anob, secretary general of the Guerrilla Front 21-B of the Northeastern Mindanao Regional Committee, Brawner told reporters earlier.


“All of their demands have something to do with reforestation ... they want to void certain agreements and to be awarded land titles,” he said at Camp Aguinaldo.

News Updates - 22 October 2009 (Thursday)

Landmine kills Marine officer

By James Mananghaya, Roel Pareño

The Philippine Star – www.philstar.com

Thursday, October 22, 2009

MANILA, Philippines - A Marine officer was killed, while his subordinate was wounded along with a civilian after being hit by a landmine planted by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Barangay Tugas in Patikul, Sulu yesterday, a military spokesman said.

Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, Navy spokesman, said in a report that the officer and his men in the 5th Marine Battalion were conducting combat patrol when the explosion happened at around 9 a.m.

The improvised explosive, he said, was planted in a cut-off water pipe.

The two Marines were rushed to Camp Teodolfo Bautista in Jolo but the officer was pronounced dead on arrival. Their identities were temporarily withheld pending notification of their families.

The enlisted man was reported to be in stable condition and was to be airlifted to Zamboanga City.

It was in Barangay Tugas where the Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani was killed two years ago during a Marine offensive.

This week, Abu Sayyaf bandits blew up a bridge and a cell site in Sulu.

Marine officer killed

By Mario J. Mallari

The Daily Tribune – www.tribune.net

Thursday, October 22, 2009

The military yesterday suffered another blow from Muslim extremists, losing a junior officer when an improvised bomb believed to have been planted by the Abu Sayyaf bandits went off within the vicinity of a military detachment in Sulu province.

During the explosion which erupted around 9 a.m. while the Marine personnel were reportedly fixing the water line within the vicinity of the detachment.

Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo confirmed the explosion but refused to identify the victims, apparently pending notification of their respective families.

“Elements of the 35th Marine Company, Marine Battalion Landing Team-5, while conducting patrol along the vicinities of Barangay Upper Tugas in Patikul, Sulu, were hit by a landmine. Accordingly, the IED (improvised explosive device) was planted along the cut off water pipe and when the said personnel passed near the vicinity to check the water pipe, it suddenly exploded,” Arevalo said.

He added two Marine personnel were initially wounded but one of them subsequently died.

“An officer and an enlisted Marine were wounded. The officer, however, was pronounced dead on arrival at the trauma center in Busbus, Jolo, while the enlisted Marine survived and now in stable condition,” Arevalo said.

Arevalo blamed the attack on the Abu Sayyaf group, saying “the ASG continued with its terrorist and illegal activities with such treacherous attacks.”

Only on Monday, Abu Sayyaf bandits snatched Gabriel Canizares, acting principal of Sanda Elementary School, in Patikul town and then blasting a cellular site in the municipality of Parang.

And then on Tuesday, two boxes of IEDs were recovered by government forces under a bridge in Indanan town.

At least two bridges in Sulu province were also blasted with IED explosions during the past weeks by the Abu Sayyaf.

Late last month, the Abu Sayyaf was also blamed for the roadside bombing along the boundaries of barangays Luansing and Kagay in Indanan town that killed two United States servicemen and a Marine soldier.

The resurgence of Abu Sayyaf atrocities in Sulu province recently was branded by the military, particularly Western Mindanao Command chief Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, as an attempt to cover up for the dwindling ammunition of the bandit group.

Dolorfino has said the Abu Sayyaf bandits are resorting to bombings and other treacherous attacks to make up for its dwindling ranks and firepower.

College students warned against NPA recruitment

By Phoebe Jen Indino

Manila Bulletin – www.mb.com.ph

Thursday, October 22, 2009

CEBU CITY –The Central Command (Centcom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines is asking college students to be critical in joining legal fronts of the New Peoples Army (NPA), as it can ruin their future or may even be the cause of their untimely death.

Col. Oscar Lasangue of the Centcom’s Civil Relations Group made this statemnet after another batch of graduates of Cebu universities were arrested in Negros Oriental following an alleged shootout with members of the 79th Infantry Battalion Sunday night.

Arrested were Maria Carla Alvarico, 22, alias “Janet Macarasig,” a licensed nurse working with Velez hospital and a resident of Plaridel St., Barangay Umapad Mandaue City; Carlo Cabahug, 22, an Associate Computer Technician student of the University of San Carlos and resident of Maguikay, Mandaue City; and Absin Glen Felamer, 22, alias “Bryan,” a political science student of the University of Cebu and resident of Plaridel, Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.

After said encounter, a bloodstained backpack, a .38 revolver, documents and notes on communist teachings, a first aid kit and a nylon rope were found in the possession of the three graduates.

The three are believed to be members of such NPA legal organizations like the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) and the League of the Filipino Students (LFS).

To recall, late last year, a CEGP member named Rachel Mae Palang, who was reported to have joined the NPA movement died during an encounter with the military. A former member of the CEGP said Palang was a close friend of Alvarico. Both of them came from the same school and were active officials of the CEGP-Visayas chapter.

Other former Cebu students allegedly killed during past military encounters were Marvin Marquez of Southwestern University, Jerry Badayos of University of San Jose Recolletos and Guillermo Alburo of the University of the Visayas.

Meanwhile, Senior Supt. Augusto Marquez Jr., Chief of the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office, said they had already filed rebellion charges against the three last Monday afternoon before the Negros Oriental Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.

Currently, the three are detained at the Zamboanguita Police Station.

Lasangue said that depsite their agressive campaign and school visits to conduct orientation on the possible ill-effects of joining identified legal fronts of the NPA they can not just stop students from doing so as “it’s a choice they make and this is a democratic country; but we just want to emphazise that we have warned them already.”

The military official also urged parents to be critical in checking the activity of their children in college as the NPA also recruits tertiary students. Recruitment by the NPA is done through their legal front organizations which has access inside the different universities here.

“We are warning parents to check on the activities of their children or might as well check on the invitation for possible immersion or camping activities, as this might endanger their lives,” he said.

Lasangue explained that to save their children from recruitment by the NPA and save them from endangering themselves because of their joining the NPA’s countryside struggle, parents should be assiduous in monitoring the activities of their children, particularly those who are very idealistic.

Ex-NPA rebs abduct 7 forest guards

By Marlon Ramos

Philippine Daily Inquirer – www.inquirer.net

Thursday, October 22, 2009

MANILA, Philippines—Former guerrillas of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) allegedly involved in illegal logging Wednesday abducted seven forest rangers protecting a vital watershed in Butuan City, police said.

The rebel returnees led by a certain Andot Behing seized the foresters of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at gunpoint while on field survey in Barangay Anticala around 1 a.m., said Chief Supt. Lino Calingasan, the region’s police director.

Citing a DENR report, Calingasan said that the forest guards did not inform local police that they were on their way to Anticala, said to be an NPA stronghold, to check on reports of illegal logging.

“They failed to coordinate with us as what other DENR personnel usually do,” he said in a mobile phone interview.

Behing identified himself as the leader of the kidnappers when he contacted community environment officer Jaime Acebu on his mobile phone, Calingasan said.

“The kidnappers have yet to make any demands,” he said. “We expect it’s something about logging. That group is known to be engaged in illegal cutting of trees in Agusan province.”

Calingasan said Behing allowed Acebu to talk with one of the kidnapped foresters, Emiliano Gatillo Jr.

He said Behing assured Acebu of the victims’ safety and agreed to release Gatillo on Thursday “apparently to use him as their courier.”

Calingasan said Behing’s group was also involved in a similar abduction several years ago.

Gunmen wearing bonnets

He said Task Force Anticala, composed of local authorities, had been formed to secure the safe release of the victims.

The abduction was carried out by seven motorcycle-riding gunmen wearing bonnets, police in Butuan said.

A day before, the forest rangers had rejected a demand from an armed man who approached their checkpoint to allow a cargo of logs to pass through, the DENR said.

The gunmen then appeared before dawn Wednesday and took the forest rangers and their vehicle away at gunpoint, the DENR said.

“The team leader of the kidnapped personnel was able to call this morning that they are currently in the mountains and the kidnappers will be sending their demand letter,” the department said.

Police and military units have been dispatched to find the missing men.

Ore, timber poaching

Supt. Joseph Plaza, city police chief, said the gunmen on motorcycles arrived at the DENR monitoring station at Anticala before dawn, seized the men who were investigating rampant mineral ore smuggling and timber poaching in the Anticala-Taguibo area and hustled them to a waiting vehicle.

“We could not see any motive other than our drive to curb the smuggling of mineral ores and timbers from the watershed area,” Acebu said.

Aside from Gatillo, Acebu identified the other abducted foresters as Gabriel Arlan, Rito Espinido, Jovito Perater, Eufredo Pohadas, Efren Sabuero and Eduardo Abugatal.

Abduction denounced

Environment Secretary Lito Atienza condemned the abduction “in strongest terms possible.”

“The government will not tolerate this intimidation, and it will not deter us from pursuing our environmental protection programs,” Atienza said.

Atienza ordered DENR Regional Executive Director Edilberto Buiser “to coordinate with proper authorities and to look after the safety of the abducted employees.”

Butuan residents have been suffering perennial shortage of drinking water blamed by local water officials on the unabated small-scale mining, timber poaching and road construction activities inside the watershed.

Source of potable water

The 4,300-hectare watershed is a primary source of potable water for Butuan’s nearly 500,000 residents and has huge deposits of manganese, copper, gold and nickel. The watershed area straddles Butuan and the towns of Remedios T. Romualdez and Cabadbaran in Agusan del Norte.

Abner Caga, spokesperson of the multi-sectoral Task Force Watershed formed to look into the destruction at the watershed, also condemned the abduction and called for the immediate release of the captives.

“The abduction undermines our resolve to save the Anticala-Taguibo watershed from further denudation and destruction,” he said. With reports from Nikko Dizon, Franklin A. Caliguid, Inquirer Mindanao, and Agence France-Presse