5 Maguindanao mayors face raps for alleged support to BIFF

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/14 August) — Administrative charges will be filed against five town mayors in Maguindanao for their alleged support to the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement who staged attacks against Army detachments along a major highway last week.

Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said the mayors will also be investigated for abandoning their posts when BIFF rebels attack their towns along the Cotabato-Isulan highway.

The five mayors were identified as Mayor Datu Saudi Sheam Ampatuan of Saudi Ampatuan town, Mayor Bai Bongbong Midtimbang Ampatuan of Datu Hoffer town, Mayor Bai Reshal Santiago Ampatuan of Datu Unsay, Mayor Bai Zandra Sinsuat Ampatuan of Saydona town, and Vice Mayor Kanor Ampatuan of Salibo town who replaced Akmad Ampatuan who has gone into hiding after being implicated in the 2009 Ampatuan massacre.

All of the five mayors did not show up at the meeting yesterday called by Robredo at the North Cotabato provincial capitol in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan City.

Robredo said the Maguindanao provincial government led by Gov. Toto Magugundatu will take the lead in the investigation of administrative cases against the mayors.

“We do not want to be seen that this is a political vendetta but provincial governments have their machinery in investigating administrative cases against erring elected officials,” Robredo said.

He said their investigation will focus on the whereabouts of the town mayors during the attacks by BIFF rebels.

“We are also interested whether they gave financial support to the rebels,” the secretary said.

Army officials said they were surprised that the BIFF rebels who launched simultaneous attacks on Army detachments last week were well-equipped.

“They could have good logistic support from somewhere in order to stage that attacks almost simultaneously,” Col. Prudencio Asto, spokesperson of the 6th Infantry Division said.

Von Al Haq, spokesperson of the MILF  Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, estimated the BIFF had about 200-300 fighters when its leader Umbra Karo broke ties with them last year. 

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Froilan Gallardo | MindaNews | August 14, 2012 | Article Link

50 killed as soldiers overrun rogue Moro rebels’ camp in Maguindanao

A BARRAGE of fire from 105mm howitzers backed by Air Force helicopter gunships and followed by ground assault resulted in the flushing out of rogue Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) fighters in Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao, Maj. Gen. Rey Ardo, 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division commander, said on Wednesday.

Ardo said the whole-day assault was completed late Tuesday afternoon after the troops captured Hills 166 and 714, former communities of the Teduray tribe that the rebels turned into a training ground for young recruits.

“Our estimate is more than 50 of them [gunmen] have been killed and more than 20 were wounded,” Col. Mayoralgo de la Cruz, commander of the Army’s 1st Mechanized Brigade, said.

De la Cruz said the death of 27 has been confirmed.

No casualties were reported on the government side.

De la Cruz said at least 20 gunmen were also confirmed wounded. 

The BIFM is led by Ameril Umbra kato, former commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who was expelled from the organization last year for rejecting the prospect of having a peace agreement with the government.

Earlier, Ardo agreed with the peace panels of the government and the MILF that tagged Umbra kato and his followers “spoilers” of peace in Mindanao.

“We’re coordinating now with the local government of Datu Hoffer and other government agencies, such as the agriculture department, on how to take care of those places to prevent the return of these rogue fighters of the BIFM,” Ardo said.

The MILF earlier condemned Umbra kato and his men for sowing violence in Maguindanao. The front believes that Umbra kato’s attacks were meant to frustrate the peace negotiations.

“However, we do not know what they get from this offensive.... Did they ably project their martial prowess? The answer is no. They are only confined in the small corner of the province. So, what did they gain, if ever? Nothing, except putting in the consciousness of people that they are still there, alive and kicking. But in exchange, their safe haven is now [a] free-fire zone,” the MILF said in its editorial at its web site www.luwaran.com.

The rogue fighters were operating in the fringes of the MILF’s Camp Omar.

Umbra kato himself is facing a string of criminal cases before different courts for his involvement in the violent attacks against government forces and civilian communities in Central Mindanao in 2008 after the Supreme Court junked the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain.

Ardo said efforts were also being done to convince the Teduray tribe to return to its original abode in order to develop the lands.

Lt. Col. Prudencio Asto, Ardo’s spokesman, said soldiers continue to mount offensives against the beleaguered fighters to totally flush them out from the area.

“With the capture of Hill 166 and Hill 714, farmers nearby can now grow their crops without fear of attacks from the bandits,” Asto said.

More than 10 people have been killed since the BIFM mounted attacks that started in August against military and police detachments and/or outposts in at least five towns in the province.

Director General Nicanor Bartolome, National Police chief, sent several teams from the Special Action Force  to help the military pound Umbra kato’s men. 

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Zaff Solmerin | BusinessMirror.Com.Ph | August 15, 2012 | Article Link

BIFM sends Kato's proof-of-life

MANILA, Philippines – The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement (BIFM) sent a proof that its founding-leader Ameril Umbra Kato is alive.

In a photo and letter obtained by philstar.com through Prof. Rommel Banlaoi, BIFM spokesman Abu Missry Mama reiterated that Kato is well and ready to fight.

Banlaoi is a peace scholar and the Executive Director of the Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research.

Mama said the letter and photo were aimed at ending once and for all circulating reports that Kato was already dead as insisted by its rival the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Kalakip nito (letter) ang larawan namin ni Ustadz Amerial Umbra Kato at sana'y maniwala ang mga hindi naniniwala na buhay pa ang chairman ng BIFM," Mama noted.

He claimed that the photo was taken last January 10 during his meeting with Kato in the hinterlands of Maguindanao.

The photo showed Kato wearing a brown silk polo shirt with the spokesman of the BIFM. It is, however, evident that the BIFM leader has lost weight as compared to his previous public appearances.

The letter and photo were sent to Banlaoi through courier company LBC.

In December 2010, news proliferated that Kato, who is facing multiple murder charges for the August 2008 Maguindanao attack, due to a stroke following a long walk sometime in November.

While the BIFM denied the report, the MILF insisted that it has reliable sources that confirmed the death of Kato.

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By Jun Pasaylo January 20, 2012 11:33 AM

PhilStar.Com

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Kidnap victim released in Maguindanao — Army

A student seized by suspected Moro rebels in November last year has been released early Thursday morning in Maguindanao, a military statement said. 

The Army's 6th Infantry Division identified the kidnap victim as Romy Cabaya, who was in Aleosan town in North Cotabao by a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels under Umbra Kato.

Authorities earlier said the victim could have been mistaken for the son of Mayor Lorito Cabaya, Jason.

The kidnappers had also demanded a P2-million ransom in exchange for the victim's freedom.

The military statement said Romy was released around 1:30 a.m. Thursday along Dalican National Highway in Datu Odin Sinsuat town.

About 10 p.m. Wednesday, the same statement said military and police officials, together with Mayor Cabaya, proceeded to Barangay Tamontaka in Cotabato City to negotiate the release of the victim.    

Romy was then taken to the headquarters of the 40th Infantry Battalion in Aleosan for futher debriefing.
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January 19, 2012 4:59pm
 RSJ, GMA News Online
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MNLF presents photo proof Umbra Kato still alive

A ranking official of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) presented to news media on Saturday a photograph showing a frail-looking but alive Ameril Umbra Kato, the leader of the breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

“Contrary to claims made by several groups, Kato is recuperating from stroke,” Mercado Salangani, secretary-general of the tri-media of the MNLF, said Saturday in Cotabato City.

Salangani said the photograph of him and Kato was taken on Dec 8 inside the rebel’s house where he said Kato is staying while recuperating from a stroke.

Salangani refused to reveal Kato’s location.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Vice Chairman for Political Affairs Ghadzali Jaafar, who earlier reported that Kato had suffered a stroke, said last November 27 that Kato is still alive.

"Confirmed na-stroke siya (Kato), na serious siya. At a time na-comatose siya pero hindi siya makapagsalita. Ganyan, na-paralyze 'yung kalahati sa katawan kaya hindi siya makakain, hindi makapagsalita,” Jaafar said.

A former commander of the MILF's 105th Base Command, Kato had questioned the MILF's capability to face the government in peace negotiations. He claimed the MILF does not represent the real sentiment of the Bangsamoro people.

Kato was expelled from the MILF and has standing arrest warrants for murder and arson, among others, in connection with the 2008 attacks he led against military and civilian targets in Central Mindanao.

"(Kato), his companions and followers are 'BUGHAAT.' (His) companions and followers are no longer members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front unless they cease and desist without delay their anti-MILF campaigns and other related activities that are intended to discredit and destruct the entire legitimate leadership of the MILF and henceforth return at once to the fold of the MILF," the MILF said last August. — ELR, GMA News

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December 10, 2011 8:29pm

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Kato camp allegedly off-limits to visitors

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the new group that Ameril Umra Kato had founded after breaking away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, has allegedly shut down its camp in Maguindanao to visitors.

The Inquirer found this out when it tried to visit the camp to see the BIFF leader amid the group’s continued denial of persistent reports he had died weeks ago.

The visit was aimed at establishing the truth about Kato’s state of health.

A messenger, who met the Inquirer at a village preceding Kato’s camp, had relayed a message that nobody–not even reporters–would be allowed in until further notice as the camp, renamed Camp Alfaro, had been declared by BIFF officials off-limits to visitors.

When the Inquirer offered a camera so that a photograph of Kato could be taken by anyone he could trust, the messenger said in Maguindanaon: “Believe me, he is alive but he may not be around here these days. The camp is close even to some members of (the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement and BIFF).”

The messenger could not say why Kato’s group made the decision.

The MILF had said it was certain that Kato had died because the information came from the BIFM leader’s first wife, who took care of him in Toril in Davao City.

Also, BIFM forces and Kato’s family held a kanduli (food offering and prayers) for his death last week, the MILF said.

Sheikh Muheideen Anembang, BIFM vice chair, said reports on Kato’s death were false and that the MILF should stop spreading it.

“Just wait and he will one day resurface to speak to the public about his true condition,” he earlier told the Inquirer by text.

Anembang said the kanduli that the MILF was referring to was a form of thanksgiving for the Islamic New Year.

The Hijrah calendar starts with Muharram, one of the four months that Muslims consider to be holy.

For some Muslims, the first day of Muharram calls for fasting but for the majority, it is a day for celebration.

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By Nash B. Maulana
Inquirer Mindanao

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MILF official: Rogue commander Umbra Kato is dead

COTABATO CITY — Ameril Umra Kato, leader of a breakaway group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, died while under the care of his first wife in Toril, Davao City, shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday.

In a text message to reporters, Atty. Michael Mastura, legal counsel of the MILF and member of the Front’s peace negotiating panel, on Saturday said “Now it is confirmed [that] Ameril Umbra Kato passed away in Toril..." Mastura's text message did not elaborate.

Last Saturday morning MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar said a stroke "paralyzed" Kato and that the rogue leader could only communicate by writing.

With his breakaway group, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF), Kato had questioned the MILF's capability to face the government in peace negotiations as the Front does not represent the real sentiment of the Bangsamoro people.

Kato is facing charges for leading attacks in Mindanao after the Supreme Court junked in 2008 a Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain of the Bangsamoro.

Text messages were circulating Saturday morning saying Kato died after suffering a fatal stroke, allegedly causing blood to ooze from his mouth, nose, ears and eyes.

But Von Al-haq, the military spokesperson for the MILF, denied any confirmation on Kato's death.

"Yan yung nag-circulate na information... kaliwa't kanan... na umano'y namatay si Kato. But even his close relatives we asked could not confirm if Kato's death was true," Al-haq said.

He had a stroke, we believe it's true. It happened at his hiding place in Sharif Aguak in Maguindanao," Al-haq added, saying efforts to confirm Kato's death is ongoing. — LBG, GMA News

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November 27, 2011 12:35pm

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