News Updates - 1 February 2010 (Monday)

MILF umapela sa CHR
By Al Jacinto
Abante – www.abante.com.ph
Lunes, Pebrero 1, 2010

ZAMBOANGA CITY --- Umapela kahapon ang Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) sa Commission on Human Rights (CHR) na imbestigahan nito ang umano’y pagpatay sa isang Muslim na natagpuan ‘di kalayuan sa isang detachment ng militar sa magulong lalawigan ng Basilan.

Sinabi ng rebeldeng grupo na si Najim Nitih, 28, ay pinatay habang pau­wi sa kanilang lugar noong Sabado ng gabi sa bayan ng Al-Barka. Isang driver ng tricycle si Nitih, ayon sa MILF.

Walang umako sa ata­ke, ngunit humingi naman ng tulong sa MILF ang mga kaanak at pamil­ya ni Nitih dahil may hinala silang mga sundalo ang tumira sa biktima.

“Relatives who buried Najim late last night believed that the Marines who fired upon and killed the innocent victim,” ani pa ng MILF.

Hindi naman nagbi­gay ng pahayag ang militar ukol sa bintang.
Noong nakaraang taon ay tinambangan din ng mga armado si Al-Barka town Mayor Karam Ja­kilan at napatay ito kasama ang dalawang bodyguards habang pauwi rin sa kanyang lugar.

Ang Al-Barka ay kilalang kuta ng MILF na kung saan ay 14 na sundalo ang nasawi, 10 sa mga ito ang pinugutan ng ulo sa isang labanan na naganap noong July 2007.

Kasalukuyang may peace talks ang pamahalaang Arroyo sa MILF na nakikibaka para sa sariling estado sa Mindanao.


Soldiers learn ways of waging peace
By Ryan Rosauro
Philippine Daily Inquirer – www.inquirer.net
Monday, February 01, 2010

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—Raising placards and shouting calls for government action, a handful of people picketed outside a town mayor’s office to oppose the entry of soldiers into a hinterland village where a peasant leader was earlier killed.

Soldiers could be involved in the killing, the victim’s son believes. The military, meanwhile, suspects that his peasant organization is being used by communist rebels to infiltrate the village.

Nothing conclusive was established about these perceptions which factored heavily in how the situation was considered and, hence, got muddled up.

It was a role playing exercise for 20 junior officers of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division and three officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in northern Mindanao who took the Operation Peace Course (OP Kors!) late last year.

Conducted by the nongovernment Balay Mindanaw International Center for Peace, OP Kors! aims to popularize peace-building among different sectors and deepen initiatives for peace in Mindanao.

According to course director Leonardo Bautista, effective peace-building work requires the ability to also see things from the standpoint of other people so as to understand why they act or think the way they do.

“Solving a conflict entails that people should try to look at the issue from different perspectives,” said Saturnina Rodil, professor at Mindanao State University’s Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM).

Rodil emphasized that a peace-builder must imbibe this attitude—which is developed by learning—to view the world beyond the prism of what one has been accustomed to and through many lenses.

Soldiers are trained to respond to conflict in a distinctly different way than peace advocates. But by embarking on peace-building work, they must cast aside several approaches they have been conditioned to take, like fighting and achieving superiority of force, Rodil explained.

Bautista observed that owing to their respective mandates and organizational size, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PNP are “very big reserves of human resource” for managing conflicts in their areas of assignment before things get worse.

‘Winning the people’

The AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) has been training its soldiers to become conflict managers since 2006, targeting 150 brigade and battalion commanders and executive officers, and 300 junior officers to learn the ropes of conflict management and peace-building.

Eastmincom faces the challenge of dealing with the communist insurgency in the Caraga and southern Mindanao, and the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which keeps community strongholds in North Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sarangani.

By empowering soldiers to pursue peace-building initiatives, the command hopes to help the AFP develop more viable strategies for “winning the war by winning the people,” said Col. Julieto Ando, the unit’s chief for civil-military operations.

“Hindi palaging utak pulbura lahat. It is better to build than to destroy,” said Ando, who rose from the ranks and has been in military service for 36 years.

Soldiers, he said, must help build consensus on a shared future for the people in the communities.

Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer, Eastmincom commanding general, stressed that “apart from clearing the villages of insurgents, it is important to gain the trust of the people.”

The best measure of winning the people is reflected in whether “the community celebrates with us when we win,” he said.

Primacy of dialogue

OP Kors! graduates are expected to be knowledgeable about human rights and the international humanitarian law, including how these instruments interact with the duties of the state’s security forces.

They are also familiar with the concept of human security, which is a comparatively broader and inclusive notion than the state-centered idea of national security to which current military and related policies are largely based.

In the course, they are introduced to the various avenues of peace-building work under the National Peace Plan.

For soldiers, playing an active role in pushing multisectoral initiatives for community development defines the new “battlefield.” The core outcome is for OP Kors! cadres to confidently apply the essentials of analyzing and dealing with conflicts, most especially doing dialogue.

They are equipped with a general view of historical underpinnings of Mindanao’s myriad conflicts, principally unresolved land claims.

Conditions persist

Given the “complex character” of the conflicts, Ferrer acknowledged that “there is no clear end to the insurgency in the next five years; it will only subside.”

“The social conditions that make them (insurgents) thrive persist. Many villages still have no roads, no schools—situations that suggest absence or lack of presence of government,” Ferrer noted.

“The military cannot resolve conflict; it will need political solution, [which, in turn, needs] political will,” he added.

Ferrer explained that the conflicts “can only be managed from getting worse and becoming unnecessarily violent.”

As an example, Ando pointed to the flare-up of clan wars in villages in central Mindanao. If left unattended, this may spread to other communities and drag MILF combatants into the scene—which can unduly spur AFP action.

Professional soldiers make credible conflict managers, Ferrer said, and forming their corps would require confronting the lingering negative image associated with men in uniform.

He cited stories of abuses, such as “military checkpoints serving as extortion points.”

Ferrer noted the social animosity created by the counterinsurgency approaches adopted decades ago, such as unleashing anticommunist and anti-Moro cultists and vigilantes. These have altered the meaning of the war and the way it was being waged, distant from the political goals of involved parties.

A hangover of this era could be the reason the presence of soldiers still invites fear among many people. In some areas, especially in MILF-influenced communities, the military is seen as an occupying force.

“You cannot transform an organization by issuing directives every day. It needs reorientation; deliberate efforts, not reactive initiatives,” Ferrer pointed out.

“How the military becomes part of the solution is the leadership challenge,” he added.

Modernizing the mindset

“We don’t appear weak if we undergo the course,” quipped Ando. It was a swipe at the generally macho culture of the defense establishment that is partly fueling militarist thinking in dealing with social conflicts.

“We become a peace-builder and a responsible fighter. If we know that we are on the right track, the more we become skillful in conducting operations,” he added.

Integrating peace-building approaches into the modern mind-set of the soldier will need vital reforms in the policy environment of the defense establishment.

For one, Ando cited redefining victory beyond enemy casualties, weapons captured and surrendered, and villages cleared of insurgent influence.

This will also trigger reform toward a “balanced scorecard” as the basis of giving merit for military service. “Insurgency prevention, human development and nation-building” are also equally rewarded.

The prospect of engaging in a far different arena but for a similar objective is firing up the 15th batch of OP Kors! cadres. By putting primacy on the people’s interest, Supt. Herbert Olavides said the work of a peace-builder “is the true picture of being a public servant.”


Public right to info so near, yet so far
Congress panel OKs measure
By Michael Lim Ubac, Christine Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer – www.inquirer.net
Monday, February 1, 2010

MANILA, Philippines—A bicameral conference has approved the proposed Freedom of Information Act, moving a step closer to an enabling law that gives flesh to the rights of citizens to have easy access to information held by the government.

The public right to information was enshrined in the Constitution 23 years ago.

All bicam members—three senators and eight members of the House of Representatives—signed the reconciled version of the bill late Friday.

Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” R. Tañada III, chair of the House committee on human rights, Sunday said the bicam report should be ready for ratification by both chambers Monday afternoon.

Congress has only three session days left before it takes a three-month break for the election campaign.

Tañada said he “has high expectations that both the Senate and the House will deliver a piece of legislation that has been enshrined in the Constitution but has been wanting of an enabling law—the right of citizens to access to information on matters of public concern.”

Contrary to Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri’s claim, Tañada said all House members of the bicam panel had signed the reconciled version as of Friday.

Zubiri Sunday said he was told by the Senate secretariat that the bicam report still needed the signature of three to four congressmen.

Zubiri, who said that senators were supportive of the measure, appealed to the House members “not to sabotage the bill.”

The House members of the bicam panel are Representatives Bienvenido Abante Jr. of Manila, Tañada, Eduardo Zialcita of Parañaque, Rodolfo Antonino of Nueva Ecija, Emmanuel Joel Villanueva and Cinchona Cruz Gonzales of the party-list group Cibac, Jesus Crispin Remulla of Cavite, and Rodante Marcoleta of the party-list group Alagad.

Their Senate counterparts are Zubiri and Senators Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano.

Tañada said Abante, chair of the House panel, had directed the committee secretariat to transmit the complete copy of the reconciled copy of the proposed law with the signatures of the eight House members to the Senate.

Speaker Prospero Nograles has identified the proposed Freedom of Information Act as among his priority measures when he took over the helm as Speaker, according to Tañada.

“It is incumbent upon him to now ensure its ratification. As a matter of course, both the House and the Senate should act on any bicam report that is already submitted. After that, the ball shifts to Malacañang,” added Tañada, who chaired the technical working group and shepherded the bill’s passage in the House.

House Bill No. 3732 was passed on May 12, 2008, while its counterpart version, Senate Bill No. 3308, was approved only in December last year.

If signed into law, the proposed act will make available to the people all public records in print, sound or visual form.

Corruption

The bill seeks to mandate all government agencies to upload all contracts or transactions on the Web, prompting Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, principal author of SB 3308, to say that this would lessen corruption endemic in the bureaucracy.

“Corruption is one of the country’s biggest problems and challenges. Many lose hope not because corruption remains hidden but because despite knowing the instances of graft few, if any, get prosecuted,” said Cayetano, chair of the Senate committee on public information and mass media.

He said one reason for this was the lack of a paper trail and difficulty of producing evidence enough for conviction.

“Even the more experienced graft investigators and investigative journalists most of the time produce bits and pieces of evidence,” he said.

Game-changer

Cayetano, a lawyer, said the new law could be a game-changer.

“A paradigm shift fought for by the advocates for transparency and accountability, (the new law) will empower all Filipinos to be graft busters, or Sherlock Holmes’ assistants!” he said.

The act provides that the paper trail be easily accessible in all government agencies and criminal prosecution for those who refuse the release of data or information, he said.

Mandatory posting on Web

Cayetano said the new law would further encourage people to be involved in mandatory posting on the Web of items most associated with graft, like the procurement of contracts and the waiver of rights.

“The law will also further strengthen the Philippine media by empowering and boosting research into government dealings,” the senator said.

The Access to Information Network, an alliance of organizations advocating full enjoyment of the people’s right to information, hailed the impending passage of the bill.

“At stake, too, at this crucial juncture is the country’s strategic future, given the critical role of public access to information in combating corruption that has weighed down development, as well as its role in securing meaningful public participation to facilitate effective and responsive government policies,” the group said.

The act mandates government agencies to make available to the public “scrutiny, copying and reproduction, all information pertaining to official acts, transactions as well as government research data used as basis for policy development regardless of their physical form or format in which they are contained and by whom they were made.”

Full public disclosure

Besides upholding the right of the people to information, the proposed law promotes the state policy of “full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest” as enshrined in Article II, Section 28 of the Constitution (Declaration of Principles and State Policies) and Article 3, Section 7 (Bill of Rights).

If the government agency decides to deny any request for information, in whole or in part, it shall within seven days from the receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of such denial in writing or through electronic means.

Denial of access to information shall be appealable to the agency concerned 15 days from the notice of denial, but the Office of the Ombudsman can be asked to resolve the appeal in 60 days.

Penalty, exceptions

A penalty of imprisonment of one to six months, not less than one month but not more than six months awaits those who would violate the proposed legislation.

The bill sets out clearly defined and reasonable exceptions, including matters dealing with national defense and security, ongoing foreign affairs negotiations, trade secrets, drafts of executive orders and personal information.

Access to information may be denied on the following grounds:

• When the information is specifically authorized to be kept secret under guidelines established by an executive order.

• The information requested pertains to internal and external defense and law enforcement, when the revelation thereof would render a legitimate military or police station ineffective, unduly compromise the prevention, detection or suppression of a criminal activity, or endanger the life or physical safety of confidential or protected sources or witnesses, law enforcement and military personnel or their immediate families.

• The information requested pertains to the personal information of a natural person other than the requesting party and its disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of his or her personal privacy.

• The information requested pertains to trade, industrial, financial or commercial secrets of a natural or juridical person other than the requesting party.

• The information is privileged from production in legal proceedings by law or by the rules of court unless the person entitled to the privilege has waived it.

• The information requested is exempted by law or the Constitution.

• The information requested is obtained by any committee of either the Senate or the House in executive session.

• The information requested consists of drafts of decisions by any executive, administrative, judicial or quasi-judicial body in the exercise of their adjudicatory functions whenever their revelation would reasonably tend to impair the impartiality of verdicts or obstruct the administration of justice.

Safeguards

To safeguard against government abuse of these exceptions, the proposed law said an agency should specify the public interest sought to be protected by the nondisclosure of information.

Second, there is a legal presumption in favor of access to information.

Third, requesters have the opportunity to show that the public interest in the disclosure outweighs the harm to the public interest sought to be prevented by the exceptions.

Fourth, any public officer or employee claiming an exception under the act faces criminal liability if it is shown that the claim is manifestly devoid of factual basis. With a report from Juan V. Sarmiento Jr.

News Updates - 28 January 2010 (Thursday)

7 soldiers hurt in blast

By John Unson

The Philippine Star – www.philstar.com

Thursday, January 28, 2010

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao , Philippines – Seven soldiers were badly wounded when a bomb exploded just as their truck was passing by a secluded stretch of a farm-to-market road in Makilala, North Cotabato Tuesday night.

Lt. Col. Benjamin Lao, newly installed spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, identified the wounded soldiers as Cpl. Jeruel Hipe and Pfcs. Levie Paranal, Jose Miravilles, Jester Pancho, Ramon Piala Jr., Ariel Tambangon, and John Edward Tangub, all belonging to the 62nd Reconnaissance Company, a special rapid deployment unit of the 6th ID.

Lao said the soldiers were on their way back to their headquarters from an invitational basketball game. – John Unson

News Updates - 26 January 2010 (Tuesday)

Army, Comelec, PNP vow to respect human rights
By Armand M. Galang
Manila Times – www.manilatimes.net
Tuesday, 26 January 2010

CABANATUAN CITY: Police military and election officials have to respect human rights in conducting checkpoints in connection with the rule against carrying ban during election period.

“We will be conducting another round of our COP’s [chiefs of police] to make sure guidelines are properly followed and human rights are respected,” said Senior Supt. Ricardo Marquez, director of the Nueva Ecija police provincial office during a conference among the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Philippine Army (PA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here over the weekend.

Lawyer Fernando Cot-om, provincial election supervisor, stressed the need for a strong cooperation among the agencies at every point of election-related activities.

But Marquez said that based on previous feedbacks reaching his office, most Novo Ecijanos were all-praises to policemen conducting checkpoints.

The police have arrested at least 10 people, including law enforcers and businessmen, for alleged violations of gun ban since its imposition on January 10.

Appropriate charges, according to Marquez, have been filed before the provincial or city prosecutors’ office.

Cot-om said that under the rule, any apprehension should lead to provision of appropriate documents and evidence and should be filed before the prosecutor’s office. “What we need is strong coordination,” he stressed.

Col. Felicito Trinidad, commanding officer of the Army’s 702nd Infantry Brigade who was assigned to sit with his counterparts at the security council for Nueva Ecija this election, said they would abide by the Comelec resolution, which provides that the military shall keep distance from politicians.

Marquez also noted that except for some provinces in Mindanao, “only in Nueva Ecija a police checkpoint yield AK-47,” and other high-powered guns.

But condition in several areas, including San Jose City, he noted have greatly improved from the previous elections.




Group to probe human rights violations in Maguindanao massacre
By Ellalyn B. De Vera
Manila Bulletin – www.mb.com.ph
Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Two months after 57 individuals were killed in Maguindanao in one of the most gruesome election-related violence in the country, human rights group Karapatan launched a fact-finding mission to document cases of alleged human rights violations in the aftermath of the massacre.

Human rights workers and advocates belonging to Karapatan headed to Cotabato City last weekend for the National Interfaith Mission for Peace and Justice in Maguindanao.

Karapatan secretary-general Lovella de Castro said one of the objectives of the mission would be to pursue justice for the victims and families of 57 individuals, mostly women and journalists, who were brutally killed on their way to the municipality of Shariff Aguak.

The mission also aims to document incidents of human right violations in the aftermath of the massacre.

According to the initial reports received by Karapatan through its local chapter in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), more than a thousand families from several barangays in Ampatuan, Rajah Buayan and Sharrif Aguak were forced to flee their homes due to fear of being caught in the crossfire between government troops and the Ampatuan’s private armies.

About 100 armed men allegedly belonging to the Ampatuan political clan killed 57 persons last November 23.

Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., tagged as the mastermind in the massacre, is currently being held at the National Bureau of Investigation on multiple murder charges filed by the Department of Justice.

De Castro, one of the head conveners of Kalinaw Mindanao, a coalition of human rights and service-oriented institutions, organizations, and concerned individuals, led the contingent to Maguindanao.

Kalinaw Mindanao is led by groups such as Alliance Against Impunity in Mindanao, Pagbabago! Movement for Change, Karapatan, Kawagib Moro Human Rights Alliance, and Barug Katungod Mindanao.

News Updates - 25 January 2010 (Monday)

NPA extorting money from Smartmatic?

By Jaime Laude

The Philippine Star – www.philstar.com

Monday, January 25, 2010

MANILA, Philippines - The New People’s Army is extorting money from Smartmatic to allow the telecommunications firm to operate in areas under rebel control, the military said yesterday.

However, Brig. Gen. Francisco Cruz, Armed Forces Civil Relations Service chief, did not say how much money the communist rebels were demanding from Smartmatic.

“But the harassment on Smartmatic is viewed not only as part of the NPA’s money making scheme but also their total disregard for the people’s chance of an advanced voting system,” he said.

Cruz said the NPA is also collecting “permit-to-campaign” and “permit-to-win” fees from politicians running for office in areas under their control.

“We urge the candidates not to yield in to such NPA fund-raising schemes,” he said. “To pay is analogous to paying ransom.”

Cruz said military intelligence reports showed that the fees range from P20,000 to P500,000, depending on the position the candidate is seeking to win.

“From 1996 to 2007, the NPA earned a staggering P1.15 billion or annual income of P101 million from its extortion activities on construction firms, mining, telecommunications, concessionaires, politicians and private individuals, including poor farmers, fisherfolk and sari-sari store owners,” he said.

National Security Adviser Milo Ibrado said a number of national and local politicians were monitored to have employed the NPA for their own political interests.

“At this stage, a number of them (politicians) have been monitored to be going around escorted by the NPA bodyguards,” he said.

The military and the police are under orders to go all out against these politicians and their NPA bodyguards, Ibrado said.

NPAs serve as pols’ goons: BertGon

By Victor Reyes

Malaya – www.malaya.com.ph

Monday, January 25, 2010

NEW People’s Army rebels are serving as armed goons to some politicians who are running in the May elections, according to Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales.

He did not identify the politicians but hinted they are from Southern Luzon, where the NPA still has strong presence. Gonzales visited the headquarters of the Southern Luzon Command (Solcom) in Lucena City last Friday.

He directed the Armed Forces to identify the rebels "moonlighting as goons of politicians."

"Next time I come here, I want you to have a list of all private armed groups in your area," he said.

Southern Tagalog and the Bicol region are under the area of operations the Solcom headed by Lt. Gen. Roland Detabali.

Gonzales also told the military to protect the candidates from extortion activities of the NPA.

Brig. Gen. Francisco Cruz, head of the AFP Civil Relations Service, said the election period is the "money-making season" of the NPA which collects cash or firearms from candidates.

The CRS said the NPAs demand P20,000 to P500,000 for "permit to campaign" and "permit to win" from the candidates, depending on the post they are running for.

Cruz said despite the extortion activities, the NPA continues to weaken. "This is because this money does not stay in the mountains but goes to the pockets of their corrupt leaders."

"Corruption inside the NPA organization has demoralized the NPA which caused many of them to leave the movement and join the mainstream society…we see extortion as a desperate coping method of the NPA to survive. Extortion is what’s keeping them alive, not their ideology," he said.

Cruz said it is "definitely absurd" for the NPA to demand fees for campaign permits, "much more guarantee anything for the candidates" because the NPA does not control areas.

"They do have members in some remote barangays but they don’t control territories," he said.

He asked the candidates not to give in to the extortion demands. To pay is analogous to paying ransom," he said.

According to the CRS, the NPA has earned at least P1.287 billion from extortion activities since 1996.

"For the period 1996 to 2007, the NPA earned a staggering P1.15 billion or an annual income of P101 million," said Maj. Eugenio Julio Osias, chief of the CRS Media Affairs Group.

Last year, the NPA collection amounted to some P137 million, Osias said.

"The money is extorted from construction, mining, telecommunication, transportation companies, logging concessionaires, politicians, and private individuals, including from the poor farmers, fisher folks and sari-sari store owners," said Osias.

News Updates - 21 January 2010 (Thursday)

37 cops relieved for lapses in Ivler manhunt

By Non Alquitran

The Philippine Star – www.philstar.com

Thursday, January 21, 2010

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa relieved yesterday 37 Quezon City policemen for lapses in handling the case of Jason Ivler.

Seven of them are police officials and 30 come from the ranks.

They are Superintendent Nestor Abalos, Quezon City Police intelligence chief; Superintendent Lino Banaag, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) unit chief; Chief Inspector Benjamin Elenzano, CIDG deputy chief; Chief Inspector Benjamin Gabriel Jr., Quezon City police public information chief; Inspector Genaro Martinez, and Chief Inspector Andrew Aguirre, Quezon City police CIDG field office chief; Deputy Senior Inspector Wilfredo Sy; Senior Police Officers 3 Jacobo Miranda, and Dandi Bonita; Senior Police Officers 2 Carlito Miranda, Rocco Matic, and Leonardo Pasco, Freddie Zorilla, and Hector Laceda;

Senior Police Officers1 Armando Rivera, Carlos Nicolas, Hector de Vera, Robert Trimor, Federico Diaz, Norberto Reblor Jr., Jorene Hernandez, Michael Collado, Alexander, Pancho, Tom Subida, and Eduardo Roy, Obed Anonuevo, and Darwin Linatoc; Police Officers 3 Teotimo Feudo, Michael Gomez, Antonio Byron, Raymond Avila, Gregorio Maramag, and Randy Danga-ap; Police Officers 2 Lhuis Coronel, Maximo Seda, and Ubaldo Macatangay; and Police Officer 1 Jexter Punzalan.

Ivler is the principal suspect in the killing of Renato Ebarle Jr., son of Undersecretary Renato Ebarle Sr., during a traffic altercation in Quezon City last Nov. 18.

Verzosa directed the Directorate for Intelligence to determine the possible lapses committed by the policemen and institute measures to prevent them from happening again.

The policemen are directly involved in the case of Ivler, he added.

A police official told The STAR the relieved policemen were tasked to closely monitor Ivler’s family residence in Blue Ridge and other areas in Quezon City 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“But it appears that they bungled the job,” the police official said.

Verzosa and Metro Manila police commander Director Roberto Rosales did not see the policemen on TV footage when agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) raided the residence and arrested Ivler last Monday.

Verzosa immediately approved the recommendation of Rosales and Director Raul Castañeda, CIDG chief, that the 37 be relieved.

The relieved policemen were temporarily assigned at the Quezon City police holding center while the PNP is coordinating with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on their supposed transfer to other police units.

Last Jan. 14, Verzosa instructed Director Eugene Martin, Directorate for Intelligence chief, to set up Task Force Ivler, and in the presence of Undersecretary Ebarle Sr. tasked the Quezon City police to focus on the Ivler residence.

Four other police districts would follow up jurisdiction of responsibility, while the Regional Police Intelligence and Operating Unit would take charge of places outside Metro Manila.

Senior Superintendent Billy Beltran, National Capital Region police intelligence chief, strongly believed that Ivler was hiding inside their Quezon City residence because his mother, Marlene Aguilar-Pollard, was monitored to be leaving the place very infrequently, contrary to past behavior.

Task Force Ivler coordinated with the former owner of the Pollard residence to get the house floor plan.

However, NBI agents raided the place Monday before the Task Force Ivler could get hold of the document.

Top police officials noticed in the video footage that the Quezon City police and CIDG tracker teams were not on the scene.

“They should have been more responsible and focused on the job assigned to them,” a police official told The STAR.

“But it turned out that they were not there. They were sleeping on the job.”

Martin said the unsatisfactory performance of the Quezon City police and CIDG tracker teams showed that they lack proper training.

Members of the tracker teams would undergo intelligence training like the Special Task Groups created to go after Partisan Armed Groups, Martin said.

However, Rosales said it doesn’t matter “what government agency arrested Ivler.”

“The important thing is he’s behind bars so he can feel the pain and agony of being inside a jail,” he said.

More charges vs Ivler

The NBI is set to file charges of direct assault with frustrated murder and attempted murder against Ivler.

Head agent Ross Bautista, executive officer of the NBI deputy director for intelligence services, said the attempted murder charge was for the shooting of lawyer Angelito Magno, NBI Special Action Unit chief, and frustrated murder was for the wounding of Special Investigator Anna Labao during the shootout inside Ivler’s home in Blue Ridge, Quezon City.

The charges will be filed before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office, he added.

Meanwhile, Bautista said the leaves suspected to be marijuana found in Pollard’s home turned out to be a spice used for pizza.

The NBI is planning to transfer Ivler from the Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City to a nearby hospital in Manila for security reasons.

“We will wait for the clearance of the doctors if Ivler could be transferred,” he said.

Ivler’s mother accuses NBI of violating son’s human rights

Marlene Aguilar-Pollard, Ivler’s mother, accused NBI agents yesterday of violating her son’s human rights when they arrested him following a shootout in their house in Quezon City last Monday.

Pollard said video footage showed that her son was treated like an animal when he was taken to the NBI van.

“Trinato na parang baboy ang anak ko (they treated him like a pig),” she said.

Pollard said the footage showed how the NBI agents pointed their guns at her son despite his being wounded and handcuffed.

“Tinadyakan yung tiyan (They kicked hi in the stomach),” she said in between sobs after visiting her son at Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.

“Itinapon sa sasakyan na parang baboy (They threw him in the vehicle like a pig). There are human rights that must be respected under any circumstance.”

Pollard said a friend called her up after seeing the footage on YouTube.

However, she had not personally seen the video, she added.

She was accompanied by her husband, Stephen Pollard, who is also set to be questioned by the NBI on whether he participated in coddling Ivler.

Pollard said the NBI also prevented her from talking to her son at the hospital.

“They won’t let me talk to my son. It’s every mother’s right,” she said.

Rickson Chiong, NBI deputy director for investigation, said it was “for Ivler’s own good” that family members and friends have no physical contact with him, as they might cause “stress” to him.

Chiong said this has been the setup since Ivler was brought to the hospital Monday morning.

“He (Ivler) is still in the curing stage,” he said. “And I hope they would understand that.”

Chiong also denied Pollard’s allegations that NBI agents violated her son’s human rights.

Ivler was resisting arrest when he was being taken out of the house, he added.

NBI agents are on standby at Ivler’s bedside, and only doctors and nurses are allowed to get near him.

Pollard seeks US embassy’s help

Pollard has called the US embassy’s attention over the treatment of her son, a US citizen, when he was arrested.

“Jason is one of your soldiers who fought in Iraq,” she said.

“This is how they (Philippine authorities) treated your soldier. Protect him and defend him.”

The US embassy has contacted the Quirino Memorial Medical Center to allow officials to see and talk with Ivler.

A source showed reporters a copy of the US embassy’s letter to the hospital based on Pollard’s request.

The letter was signed by Michael Garrote of the US embassy’s American Citizen’s Services section.

Embassy officials want to visit and contact Ivler as part of routine procedure, according to the letter.

Dr. Fernando Lopez, Quirino Memorial Medical Center head of surgery, said Ivler is now out of danger and will soon be moved to a regular room.

Ivler was set to be transferred to a private room, but he had a fever yesterday due to infection in one of his wounds, he added. – With Sandy Araneta, Reinir Padua, Paolo Romero

Masbate official slain

By Cet Dematera

The Philippine Star – www.philstar.com

Thursday, January 21, 2010

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines – The president of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) in Esperanza, Masbate was gunned down near his house Tuesday afternoon, the military said.

Maj. Harold Cabunoc, spokesman of the Army’s 9th Infantry Division based in Bicol, said Ali Aransado, ABC president of Esperanza town, was shot at close range near his residence in Barangay Masbaron at around 3:30 p.m.

Quoting reports, Cabunoc said the gunmen immediately fled to the hinterland portion of the village after the attack.

Probers were still clueless on the killing, although authorities suspect politics or the involvement of communist rebels, who are imposing permit-to-campaign fees from local candidates in the 2010 polls.