Three dead, 33 wounded in Philippine bombing

Three people were killed and 33 others wounded after a man hurled a grenade into a cockfighting arena in the southern Philippines on Saturday, a police official said.

More than a hundred people had gathered at the makeshift cockpit in the small rural town of Aleosan when a fragmentation grenade went off, said provincial police chief Superintendent Conrado Salinas.

Survivors saw the man who threw the grenade and recognised him as a local resident, Salinas said, adding that he is now being hunted by police.

"We suspect that the man lost (money) in previous cockfights and he wanted to get even," the police chief added.

Cockfights are a popular past-time in the Philippines, attracting scores of gamblers who bet on the fights between the birds.

The southern Philippines has long been troubled by the widespread availability of weapons such as grenades due to decades of fighting involving soldiers, communist rebels, Muslim separatists and other armed groups.

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AFP News/Yahoo News Online | April 14, 2012 | Article Link

Sub-leader of Abu Sayyaf killed in Basilan

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) -- A sub-leader of the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf was killed in an ambush staged by lawless elements in Southern Philippine town of Al Barkah, Basilan Province, before noon Sunday, the military said.

Long Malat Sulayman, alias Long Malat, the sub-leader of Abu Sayyaf in Al Barkah and nearby Tipo-tipo, was attacked by a group of "local lawless elements" due to clan war around 11 a.m., said Col. Ricardo Visaya, commander of the 104th Brigade and Joint Task Force Basilan.

Visaya said Sulayman was hit in the leg and died of blood loss around 3 p.m. His body was later brought to Makalang village, also in Al Barkah town.

He added that Sulayman was the only Abu Sayyaf sub-leader who was hit in the ambush, which was followed by a firefight between the two sides.

Asked what will be the effect of Sulayman's death to the Abu Sayyaf, Visaya said: "Long Malat is a sub-leader of the Abu Sayyaf, so this will be a big loss to their leadership. They will be in disarray for the meantime that they have no leader."

As to the motive of the attack, the official said: "Those who staged the ambush have a land conflict with Malat. The rubber industry is booming here so what they need is space to plant. They have been fighting over land to plant rubber." 

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The Philippine Star | April 1, 2012 | Article Link

3 soldiers, 2 civilians wounded in Iloilo clash

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—At least three soldiers and two civilians were wounded when suspected New People’s Army rebels ambushed two military vehicles in a remote village in Tubungan, Iloilo Monday morning, three days before the NPA’s 43rd founding anniversary.

The suspected rebels, believed to be under the NPA’s Napoleon Tumagtang Command and the Southern Front Committee of the Communist Party of the Philippines, fled to hinterland villages after a firefight in Barangay Ingay in Tubungan, 42 km south of Iloilo City, according to Maj. Enrico Gil Ileto, spokesperson of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (3ID).

Around 18 soldiers belonging to the Army’s 82nd Infantry Battalion based in Miag-ao town in Iloilo were on board a 6-by-6 truck and a KM450 military vehicle when one of the trucks was hit by an explosion believed to be from an improvised explosive around 8 a.m. The suspected rebels subsequently opened fire on the soldiers.

A driver of a jeepney that was passing in the area and an elderly woman in a house near the ambush site suffered minor wounds after they were caught in the crossfire.

The identities of the wounded soldiers and civilians were still unavailable.

Two military helicopters and troops of the 3ID were sent to Tubungan and neighboring areas to pursue the suspected rebels.

Ileto said the vehicles were on their way to the town proper to bring trainees of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to Iloilo City.

The NPA, the CPP’s armed wing, will commemorate its 43rd founding anniversary on March 29.

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Nestor P. Burgos Jr. | Inquirer Visayas | March 26, 2012 | Article Link

Suspected NPA hit man nabbed in Laguna

CAMP PACIANO RIZAL, Laguna, Philippines —A suspected member of the New People’s Army (NPA), who was tagged in the ambush of a police official in Bicol nearly three years ago, was arrested in San Pedro, Laguna Thursday noon.

Allan Serrano, alias “Ka Bunso” 31, was arrested by joint members of the San Pedro and Albay police in Barangay San Antonio at around 1 p.m., according to Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz, Laguna police director, in a text message.

Superintendent Kirby Kraft, San Pedro police chief, said they received reports that Serrano had been working as a tricycle driver in San Pedro.

The police said Serrano, an alleged member of the provincial committee of the communist NPA in Albay, was tagged in the murder of Superintendent Gregorio Guarin.

Guarin was acting administrative chief of the regional police in the Bicol region when he was gunned down in Barangay Tula-tula in Legazpi, Albay on May 2, 2009.

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Maricar Cinco | Inquirer Southern Luzon | March 22, 2012 | Article Link

5 soldiers hurt in Surigao Norte landmine blast

MANILA, Philippines -- Five soldiers were wounded in a landmine explosion in Maninit, Surigao del Norte Wednesday night, a military spokesman said.

Col. Leopoldo Galon, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said troops from the 30th Infantry Batallion were on board three military trucks when a landmine exploded along the road in Sitio Mat-e, Barangay Matinao shortly before 9:30 p.m.

Around 15 New People's Army then ambushed the soldiers leading to a 20-minute firefight.

The five wounded soldiers sustained minor wounds from shrapnel and were evacuated to the Caraga Hospital in Surigao City after the incident. Their names have been withheld. 
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Abigail Kwok | InterAksyon.com | March 22, 2012 | Article Link

Troops capture Abu Sayyaf camp; 6 terrorist killed

MANILA, Philippines - At least six suspected Abu Sayyaf militants were killed in an encounter with Army troops, who dismantled a terrorist camp in the outskirts of Sumisip town in Basilan late Friday afternoon.

 A soldier was also killed while several others were wounded. 

Col. Ramon Yogyog, ground commander of the troops, said the relatives of three of the slain Abu Sayyaf militants identified them as Aminin Baliyung, Obin Nasiral and Ambocoy Baliyung.

“The three other unidentified Abu Sayyaf militants were buried in Tumahubong in accordance with the Muslim burial rites,” Yogyog said. 

He said local officials of Sumisip are trying to recover the body of another militant in Barangay Pansul Baseh. 

Yogyog said the terrorist camp is composed of 23 structures, which are secured not only by snipers but also by improvised high-explosive devices rigged around its premises.

The Abu Sayyaf is reportedly preparing the new camp, which can house 70 to 100 persons, to train its new recruits.

 The military has deployed additional troops in Basilan to conduct an all-out operation against lawless groups behind the killing of 19 soldiers last year.

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Jaime Laude | The Philippine Star | March 18, 2012 | Article Link

6-year-old killed, younger sister hurt Capiz bomb blast

A SIX-year-old child was killed and her five-year-old younger sister was wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded in Barangay Tacayan, Tapaz, Capiz last Sunday afternoon around 4:30 p.m.

Captain Reylan Java, spokesman of the Army’s 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division, identified the victim as Rodelyn Aguirre who died on the spot while wounded is her 5-year-old sister Roda.

Based on the initial report, the explosion was caused by the lapses in the process of assembling of the IED by the members of the New People’s Army (NPA).

At least two unidentified members of the NPA were also seriously wounded during the explosion as revealed by the civilian witnesses.

Java added the IED is to be used by the rebels for their terrorist activities in Capiz and other parts of Panay.

Last February 20, 2012, the NPA members used IED to bomb the La Casa Transloading Station of Sugarcane Central in Barangay Mianay, Sigma, Capiz for failure to give in to their demand of extortion money.

On August 2011, the NPA members also laid IED when they ambushed the army personnel belonging to the 61st Infantry Battalion in Barangay Switch, Tapaz, Capiz.

They also set up two IEDs near the Igcabugao Elementary School in Igbaras, Iloilo sometime March of 2010 but were recovered by army personnel conducting peace and development works.

Based on the military record, a total of seven IEDs were recovered by the 82nd Infantry Battalion in various NPA encampments in Igbaras and Miagao, both in Iloilo province, on 2009.

Major General Jose Mabanta, commander of the 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division based in Camp Peralta, Jamindan, Capiz, extended his deepest sympathy to the victims of the incident.

“We appeal to the leadership of the NPA to spare our children from harm and stay away from the communities that choose to live in peace,” said MGen Mabanta.

“The four decades of armed struggle have only brought senseless deaths and miseries to the lives of innocent civilians,” Mabanta added.

He also said social problems in our country can easily be solved in an environment of peace rather than through armed struggle.

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TE | SunStar.Com.Ph | March 12,2012 | Article Link

Soldiers seize rebels' explosive factory

THE Army’s 8th Infantry Division in Catbalogan City seized an explosive factory of the New People’s Army (NPA) in the hinterlands of Paranas, Samar on March 5.

Lieutenant Colonel Niceforo Diaz Jr., spokesperson of the 8th ID, said while Army troopers were performing community work in the upland villages of Paranas town, some residents informed them of the existing explosive production facility located between Barangays Sto. Niño and Pagsanjan.

“The NPA manning the camp were caught off-guard when the government soldiers arrived and prompted them to engage in a brief firefight as they escaped,” Diaz said.

In the course of the firefight, Sergeant Freddie Gusoso was hit on his thigh and was immediately brought to Remedios T. Romualdez Hospital in Tacloban City for medical treatment.

No casualties were reported from the NPA side.

Diaz said the soldiers eventually overran the camp and seized 44 pieces of improvised landmines, one unit of machine for landmine production, 20 pieces blasting caps with detonating cords, assorted explosive production paraphernalia, one B40 type rocket launcher, one improvised round for B40 type rocket launcher and an M16 rifle.

“The 8th ID is now conducting an investigation based on the recovered pieces of evidence from the site with the help of the local police. With the volume and quality of explosives recovered and the geographic location of Samar Island, it is believed that the seized explosive factory has produced landmines for NPA in the Bicol Region and Northern Mindanao,” Diaz said.

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Leyte Samar Daily Express | SunStar.Com.Ph | Thursday, March 8, 2012 | Article Link

Rebels kill rubber plantation manager

MANILA — Authorities say suspected communist rebels in the south have killed a rubber plantation manager who was also a military intelligence agent.

Kidapawan town police chief Renante Cabico says two men shot Patrick Winiger at close range Wednesday as he was buying vegetables in the local market. The gunmen took Winiger's pistol and wallet and fled on motorcycles with two other men who served as lookouts.

Cabico says the 47-year-old served as a military intelligence agent and was an anti-communist crusader who had organized local tribesmen to fight the rebel New People's Army.

Regional military spokesman Col. Leopoldo Galon says Winiger's plantation hires former rebels.

Cabico says Winiger is of Swiss descent and was born in the Philippines.

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AP | SunStar.Com.Ph | Wednesday, March 7, 2012 | Article Link

2005 bomb plot suspect arrested in O. Mindoro

MANILA, Philippines - An alleged Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM) leader tagged in a 2005 plot to bomb establishments in Metro Manila was arrested in Oriental Mindoro Sunday, officials said yesterday.

Dinno Amar Pareja – who uses the aliases Khalil Pareja, Rash, Abu, Jihad, Mohammad, Arlan, Al Luzon and Ahmad – did not resist when he was cornered by Philippine National Police (PNP) Intelligence Group (IG) in Barangay Libertad, Roxas town.

“He expressed willingness to cooperate in our investigation of incidents involving RSM terrorists,” IG director Chief Superintendent Manny Barcena said.

Police said the RSM is a local militant cell composed of Muslim converts with links to the Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah and the al-Qaeda.

Barcena said Pareja, is the subject of an arrest warrant issued by Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 154 Judge Abraham Borreta for murder and multiple frustrated murders.

The PNP said Pareja took over command of the RSM after its leader, Hilarion “Akmad” Santos, was arrested and detained at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City in 2005. Pareja was arrested for rebellion in 2009 but was released from detention in 2010 after the evidence against him was found to be weak.

“He went into hiding in Oriental Mindoro after getting wind that several arrest warrants for his role in killings and bombings in Mindanao were issued against him by various courts,” Barcena said.

Borreta recommended no bail for Pareja, who is being subjected to tactical interrogation at the IG headquarters in Camp Crame.

According to the PNP, Pareja was reportedly trained by Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists Dulmatin and Umar Patek on demolition and explosives, firearms familiarization and radical Dawah training in Camp Jabel Guba at Mt. Caranao, Central Mindanao in 2004.

Pareja is allegedly a key participant in the foiled bomb plot – codenamed “Big Bang” or “Great Ibadah” – targeting establishments in Metro Manila, especially those frequented by Americans.

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Non Alquitran |  The Philippine Star | March 07, 2012 | Article Link

NPAs burn cargo trucks in Agusan

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines – Suspected New People's Army (NPA) rebels burned two cargo trucks in Purok 3, Barangay Katipunan, Bayugan City in Agusan del Sur Monday noon.

A report of the Bayugan City police to Caraga police regional information office stated that the vehicles were traveling from Barangay Anislagan to Bayugan City, when their drivers were forced to pull over by the NPA rebels at Barangay Marcelina.

The communist rebels then poured gasoline on the hoods of the vehicles and lighted them. The suspects fled after the incident.        

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By Ben Serrano 

The Philippine Star

February 29, 2012 12:00 AM

Article Link

NPAs raid Tarlac construction site

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga ,Philippines  – At least 30 suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebels raided a construction site along the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La-Union-Expressway in Tarlac City on Sunday and torched several heavy equipment, police said.

Senior Superintendent Alfredo Corpus, Tarlac police director, said the armed men, wearing fatigue uniforms, swooped down on the site of RD Policarpio Construction located in Barangay San Manuel, Tarlac City and burned three backhoes, a crane and a grader.              

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By Ric Sapnu 

The Philippine Star 

February 28, 2012 12:00 AM

Article Link

Soldier killed, 3 others wounded in NPA attack in Compostela Valley

An Army soldier was killed while three others were wounded following an attack by suspected communist rebels in Compostela Valley Monday afternoon, the spokesman for the Philipine Army said Tuesday.

About 5:30 p.m. Monday, a land mine exploded while elements of the Army's 25th Infantry Battalion were conducting security patrols in San Vicente village in Montevista town, said Army spokesman Maj. Harold Cabunoc.

Cabunoc said that as the soldiers alighted from their vehicle to look for cover, more or less 15 New People's Army fired at them, triggering a firefight that lasted for several minutes.

The identities of the government casualties were not immediately known. The three wounded soldiers have since been taken to the COMVAL Regional Hospital for treatment.

Cabunoc deplored the use of land mines by the insurgents, stressing such violates the laws of armed conflict and Republic Act 9851, which punishes international humanitarian violations as domestic crimes.          

Further, Cabunoc said the use of landmines "violates the agreement signed by both the GRP and the NDF panel, as contained in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAHRIHL)."

The attack came a month before the NPA, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, observes its 43rd founding anniversary on March 29. Peace talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines remain stalled since August 2004.
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RSJ, GMA News Online
February 28, 2012 9:22am
Article Link

Camarines clash prompts call for ceasefire

MANILA (Updated 4:08 p.m.) -- A lawmaker renewed a call for ceasefire between the military and communist rebels after reports that two children were killed in a clash in Camarines Norte over the weekend.

"How many more have to lose their lives before we realize that nothing good comes from this conflict? Let's end this now for the sake of our children," Senator Francis Pangilinan, chairman of the Senate committee on social justice, said in Filipino Monday.

Peace talks between the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and the government have been on hold over a dispute on an agreement giving CPP-NPA-NDF consultants immunity from arrest. The NDF said the government has arrested members covered by the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (Jasig) anyway.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said the government "cannot blindly extend Jasig coverage to just anyone that the NDF alleges is covered, especially since the NDF has consistently claimed highly placed captured party members to be covered by aliases in its Jasig list, without offering any proof."

According to reports, two children of suspected members of the NPA were killed alongside their father in Labo, Camarines Norte this weekend. Another daughter was reportedly hit in the leg during the firefight.

The NPA opened fire at soldiers sent to Labo to check reports that there were rebels there.

"Four decades of fighting is too long. Let us not allow our children to be further victimized by the atrocities of war. We refuse to accept war and escalating violence as a fact of life. It should not be," Pangilinan said.

Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex

Monday, February 27, 2012

SunStar.Com.Ph

Article Link

Troops on the look for wounded rebels at hospitals

THE police and military forces are closely monitoring the hospitals in Zamboanga de Sur province for wounded members of the New People’s Army (NPA), the police reported Friday.

The authorities believed that some 20 NPA rebels were wounded during a recent clash in the municipality of Molave, Zamboanga del Sur.

The clash took place around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday in the boundaries of Santo Rosario and Ariosa villages in the town of Molave, police said.

The troops from the Army's 55th Infantry Battalion were on foot patrol when they clashed with around 20 NPA rebels led by a certain Ka Joji.

The rebels have fled towards the forested area as they were overpowered by the government troops, the police said.

The troops found traces of blood in the withdrawal path of the rebels, reason why authorities are monitoring hospitals in the province.

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By Bong Garcia

Friday, February 24, 2012

SunStar.Com.Ph

Link

Government hunts suspects in Zambo del Sur attack

ZAMBOANGA CITY –- Police and military forces are pursuing Friday a group of rebels who allegedly attacked a village in Zamboanga del Sur that left six people dead and seven others wounded.

Zamboanga del Sur Police Director Jose Bayani Gucela said he also ordered an intensified intelligence operations to establish the rebels group’s location.

Object of the manhunt operations is the group of Ami Andi and his brother Pahid, who were tagged as behind last Wednesday’s attack in Sitio Bahing, Tininghalang village, Lapuyan, Zamboanga del Sur.

Six people, including four children, were killed on the spot, while seven others were wounded when the Andi brothers-led group attacked Tininghalang village around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Four of the six fatalities were identified as Junjun Tumbal Bangholot, Rex Langhay, Raquel Langhay, Daryl Daano.

The names of the wounded victims, who were rushed to the Margosatubig Regional Hospital, were not immediately available.

The victims were at their respective residence when around 10 gunmen led by Andi brothers swooped down on their village and strafed their houses, Gucela said.

He said attack was in retaliation for the death of Andi’s brother, Sammang Andi.

Sammang Andi and one of his followers identified only as a certain Ibrahim were killed in a firefight with combined police and military forces last February 11 in Sitio Bahing, Tininghalang village, Lapuyan municipality.

Sammang and Ibrahim are wanted for the crime of murder and rape, Gucela said.

The Andi brothers suspect that the victims were the ones who tipped off the police and military about the presence of their brother in Sitio Bahing, Tininghalang village, Gucela said.

Several armed groups operate in the Zamboanga peninsula, including Muslim rebels who have been fighting for self-rule in the predominantly Christian nation for decades.

Among them are groups that often turn to banditry, extortion and ransom kidnappings for survival and elude authorities by hiding in forests and on nearby islands.

A military offensive last year overran a guerrilla camp in a neighboring province but most of the fighters escaped.

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with reports from AP/Sunnex

Friday, February 24, 2012

SunStar.Com.Ph

Link

Troops continue to hunt down Kipawan jail raiders

COTABATO CITY - Government operatives recovered two dozens of new Army uniforms and combat boots in a house where raiders of the Kidapawan City jail slept before they carried out the botched attempt to spring their leader from the facility.


Kidapawan City Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco, chairman of the city’s inter-agency peace and order council, said this is an indication that the plan to rescue detained bandit Datukan Samad from the jail was indeed carefully planned.


Policemen and soldiers found the military provisions, which include a first-aid kit, schematic sketches of the streets traversing the area where the city jail is located, and the gunmen’s possible escape routes, inside an abandoned house in a secluded area about 10 kilometers southeast of Kidapawan City.


More than a hundred combatants of the Philippine Army’s 602nd Brigade, and members of the North Cotabato provincial police are still been scouring the surroundings of Kidapawan City in search of some 50 gunmen that tried to rescue Samad.


Three people were killed and 16 others were injured in the attack when the gunmen set off improvised explosive devices, indiscriminate fired B-40 anti-tank rockets, and strafed buildings in the surroundings with assault rifles, when they failed to breach the guarded gate of the city jail.


Samad, also known as Commander Lastikman in his hometown Pikit in North Cotabato, is being litigated for multiple murders, highway robberies, kidnappings, drug-trafficking, and cattle-rustlings and theft of government-owned firearms.


An Army Simba combat vehicle and a platoon-size Army contingent are posted in the immediate surroundings of the jail to prevent a repeat of the bungled attempt to rescue Samad.


Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo awarded yesterday with merit citations 27 members of the fire and jail management bureaus and a civilian volunteer watchman for thwarting an attempt by some 50 gunmen to spring from jail bandit Datukan Samad from the Kidapawan City jail last Sunday.


The awarding rite, held in Kidapawan City, was witnessed by local officials led by Gantuangco.


Nineteen of the 27 awardees are firemen while the rest are security details from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and a civilian community watchman named Joemar Lizardo, who, all together, fused ranks when they repelled the heavily armed attackers, preventing them from even getting close to the front gate of the city jail.


Among those Robredo awarded with medals were the injured Lizardo, Chief Inspector Romeo Tactaquin, who is Kidapawan City’s fire marshal, and his subordinate-firemen, Jerry Anunciado and Jonathan Cornejo, all being treated of gunshot and shrapnel wounds at a hospital in Kidapawan City.


Samad is just one of 16 “high risk” inmates at the Kidapawan City jail local officials wanted transferred to any detention facility outside of North Cotabato even before Sunday’s bloody incident.
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By John Unson 
The Philippine Star
February 24, 2012 12:25 PM
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Iqbal denies Aquino nods on MILF autonomy

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III never agreed to a Muslim autonomy that was reportedly proposed by the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a rebel official said on Wednesday.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal denied a news report that the Chief Executive already gave his nod on the supposed parliamentary form of government similar to that of Malaysia, which the Muslim rebels reportedly proposed in the peace talks.

"That's spinning (of the story)...who am I to put words on the mouth of the President," Iqbal said.

Oman Tribune quoted Iqbal as saying that Aquino approved such a proposal. But Iqbal said that he was never interviewed by the Oman Tribune.

He said that if there will be any agreement, the statement would come from the MILF panel or from its counterpart led by Marvic Leonen, and not from Aquino.

Iqbal said the MILF's proposal for a "substate" to address the decades-old conflict in southern Philippines remains.

He said that in the formal talks in Malaysia last week, both the MILF and the government peace panels agreed to further discuss on substantive issues, such as the power-sharing, wealth-sharing, and interim mechanism, in their next round of negotiation in March.

The government has been offering a "genuine autonomy" to the MILF in a quest for a just and lasting peace in Mindanao.

Leonen earlier said the administration agrees that there is a need for genuine autonomy, which the current Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao has not delivered.

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SDR/Sunnex

Thursday, February 23, 2012

SunStar.Com.Ph

Link

Possible release of top rebel leader worries military

THE Philippine Army expressed apprehension over the possible release of top Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) leader Romeo Nanta.

Nanta, who also goes by the names of Juanito Magbanua, Jack Nanta, Juaning, Islao and Kulas, is the head of the NPA’s Regional Operations Command.

Joint police and military elements arrested Nanta last Nov. 7, 2011, at Barangay Zone 2 in Cadiz City by virtue of arrest warrants for rebellion, robbery-in-band, attempted and frustrated murder issued by three different courts in Negros Occidental.

Judge Moises Nifras of the San Carlos City Regional Trial Court (RTC) denied Nanta’s request for bail for robbery-in-band charges. On the other hand, Judge Jose Aguirre of the Himamaylan City RTC and Judge Victor Magahud of the Ilog-Candoni Municipal Circuit Trial Court recommended P200,000 bail for charges of rebellion, frustrated murder and attempted murder.

Based on military and police records, Nanta was responsible for the ambush of a government-owned vehicle in Salamanca village in Toboso town, Negros Occidental last July 13, 2009.

Eryl Baynosa, 42, one of the survivor and son of Eriberto Baynosa, former Salamanca village chief, pointed Nanta as the leader of armed men who led the ambush.

The said incidents claimed the lives of Edmar Sultan, 14, a student of the Toboso National High School, Rodolfo Salipod, 56, driver of the barangay service vehicle, and Ena Pata, 50.

Captain Reylan Java, Public Affairs Officer of the 3rd Infantry Division, said that this early, families of the survivors claimed to be anxious about Nanta’s possible release.

“They (the families) firmly believe that he (Nanta) will rejoin his group and take revenge on them,” Java said.

Military sources claim that apprehended NPA members usually rejoin their group once they get free.

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By Teresa Ellera-Dulla

Saturday, February 18, 2012

SunStar.Com.Ph

Link