Army official says purging of Marawi voters' list triggered ambush near MSU

The purging of Marawi City's voters' list could have been the motive behind Wednesday night's ambush near the Mindanao State University which resulted in the killing of three soldies and a 6-year-old girl, a regional military commander said Thursday.  

Thirteen others, including 10 soldiers and three civilians, were wounded in the attack.

In a phone interview with GMA News Online, Col. Daniel Lucero, commander of the 103rd Brigade, said the attack could have been perpetrated by relatives of an influential Marawi politician.

"The active participation of the Army in the reduction of ghost voters in Marawi City [has been] taken as a threat to their political existence," Lucero said.

From an estimated 67,000 registered voters in April 2011, which included minors and multiple registrants, Lucero said the list has been trimmed down to about 43,000. The number is expected to be further slashed.

Two of the suspects have been identified as one Otik Awar and another merely as Satar.

The police, prosecution, judiciary, penal and civil society have been cowed by threats of the politically influential clan, Lucero said.

“[However], cases against these gang members as a result of past killings of Army troops are now [being] prepared to be filed at the DOJ (Department of Justice),” he added.
 

For his part, Captain Albert Caber, spokesperson for the Army's 1st Infantry Division told GMA News Online that they suspect the attack could also be in retaliation for the military's participation in the campaign against illegal logging and illegal drugs.

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Patricia Denise Chiu | GMA News Online | August 9, 2012 | Article Link

4 killed in Marawi ambush

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) – A boy and at least three soldiers were killed after an unidentified group ambushed the Philippine Army in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur on Wednesday night.

Initial reports said an undetermined number of suspects fired shots at members of the 65th Infantry Battalion on patrol near the Mindanao State University (MSU) at around 9 p.m.

Three soldiers were killed and at least 12 others were injured during the firefight that lasted for about 30 minutes.

Sr. Supt. Romeo Magsalos of Philippine National Police - Lanao del Sur, confirmed that a 10-year-old boy was one of the fatalities.

Magsalos also said two students were injured.

The clash has reportedly forced the university administration to put the entire university in a lockdown, according to Twitter user Khal Mambuay (@iamkhalmambuay).

“Classes in #MSUMarawi have been suspended. No one is allowed to enter and leave the campus premises,” Mambuay said.

“Everyone is discouraged to go outside from their dormitories or houses. #MSUMarawi is temporarily in a lock down situation,” she added.

The 103rd Infantry Brigade under Commander Daniel Lucero has ordered a pursuit operation against the attackers.

The attack comes in the wake of the clash earlier this week between the military and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group from of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The 103rd Infantry Brigade under Commander Daniel Lucero has ordered a pursuit operation against the attackers.

The government said the attacks were apparently meant to derail negotiations with the larger, more mainstream MILF.

The breakaway rebels are headed by Ameril Umbra Kato, a hardline Saudi Arabia-educated guerrilla who split from the 12,000-strong MILF after it dropped its bid for full independence to negotiate for an autonomous region.

Kato has boasted of having about 5,000 armed fighters, though military officials believe he only has a few hundred under his command.

The government has said it hopes to sign a peace deal with the MILF by the end of the year, but has asked the MILF leadership to help contain the forces of Kato, who opposes peace talks.

The Mindanao insurgency began in the early 1970s and the fighting has killed some 150,000 people, miring large parts of the south in deep poverty.

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Ronnie Enderes | ABS-CBN  News Online | August 9, 2012 | Article Link

Kidnapped S. Korean recovered in Philippines

One of three South Korean men missing for more than a month in the lawless southern Philippines has been found alive, but the fate of his two companions remains unknown, officials said Friday.

The South Korean, identified by police as Choi Inn So, was abandoned by his captors in the southern island of Mindanao late Thursday and was picked up by police and local officials, police and military spokesmen said.

"The kidnap victim was apparently ill and weak and was immediately brought to the hospital," regional military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said.

"They apparently abandoned him because he was sick. The situation of the other two kidnap victims is unknown."

He could not say what illness the South Korean was suffering from.

The man was found in a remote town on the border of Lanao del Sur and the neighbouring province of Lanao del Norte, said the head of the regional police, Chief Superintendent Jufel Adriatico.

His men are now searching for the other two kidnap victims, he added.

Adriatico said he had informed the South Korean embassy of the development. Embassy spokesmen declined to comment.

The three South Koreans were lured from their hotel in the trading city of Cagayan de Oro on October 21 and reportedly taken to Lanao del Sur, a heavily forested province about 50 kilometres (30 miles) away.

Police earlier said the three had been scouting for mining opportunities in Mindanao when they were taken and the kidnappers had contacted their relatives using their mobile phones.

Foreign governments warn their citizens to avoid many parts of the southern Philippines because of the threat of violent crime, including kidnapping for ransom.

A Muslim insurgency in the southern Philippines that has dragged on for more than 40 years has given birth to a wide range of militants, bandits and pirates who carry out abductions.

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Govt vows aid in rescuing 3 kidnapped Koreans

The Philippine government has promised it will assist in the safe recovery of the three Korean nationals who were reportedly abducted in Lanao del Norte three weeks ago.

"In a meeting with the Republic of Korea ambassador, we have given our government's assurance that all appropriate assistance will be given to ensure the safe recovery of the abducted Koreans," said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario.

The Koreans identified as Seok Wu, Kim Kimnamdoo and a certain Mr. Choi were found to have been kidnapped by a still unidentified group.

In an earlier report, Police Director Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations for Western Mindanao, said the kidnappers have already made contact using the cellular phones of the victims.

An initial investigation revealed that the three were last spotted in Lala Maranding town in Lanao del Norte.

Khu said the three left their hotel in Cagayan de Oro City last October 21 with three unidentified Filipinos.

Reports that the three were brought to an unspecified area in Lanao del Sur are being validated by Joint Task Force Ranao, which was reactivated by President Benigno Aquino III last May to combat kidnap-for-ransom groups in the area. — with Carmela Lapeña/RSJ, GMA News

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3 Koreans kidnapped in Lanao del Norte — police

Three Korean nationals who were reported missing in Lanao del Norte three weeks ago were found to have been kidnapped by a still unidentified group, local police said Monday.

Police Director Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations for Western Mindanao, identified the victims as Seok Wu, Kim Kimnamdoo and a certain Mr. Choi.

Khu, citing initial investigation, said the three left their hotel in Cagayan de Oro City last October 21 with three unidentified Filipinos. They were reportedly invited to go to Lala Maranding town in Lanao del Norte, where they were last spotted.

He added that the kidnappers have already made contact using the cellular phones of the kidnap victims.

Joint Task Force Ranao, which was reactivated by President Benigno Aquino III last May to combat kidnap-for-ransom groups in the area, is currently validating reports that the three were brought to an unspecified area in Lanao del Sur.

Last September, a businessman was also taken by an unidentified kidnap-for-ransom group in Lanao del Sur, but was able to escape from his abductors a day after the abduction. - Andreo C. Calonzo/KBK, GMA News

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