9 Moro rebels killed in series of clashes - Army

At least nine Moro guerillas were killed in a series of clashes with government forces in the borders of North Cotabato and Maguindanao since December 31, the Army here reported Friday.

Capt. Antonio Bulao, spokesperson of the 602nd Infantry Brigade, said the latest fatalities were two Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, who were killed on January 1 during a rebel attack on a paramilitary outpost in Barangay Nabalawag in Pikit, North Cotabato.

“Our forces retaliated from sniper shots fired from the BIFF side, killing two of the attackers,” Bulao said.

A soldier was wounded in the 20-minute firefight that ensued, he added.

On Thursday, seven rebels were also killed during a clash with soldiers in Barangay Paidu Pulangi, also in Pikit, according to Bulao.

“They keep on harassing our forces,” Bulao said of the recent activities involving the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front faction.

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Abu Sayyaf sub-leader arrested in Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Combined police and military forces have arrested on Thursday an Abu Sayyaf sub-leader in this city, the police said.

Alawie Pasihul alias Ustadz Alawie Jaji and Ustadz Usman was arrested around 3:10 p.m. along Rizal Street, Barangay Zone IV in downtown Zamboanga City, according to the police. 

Pasihul is facing charges for kidnapping and serious illegal detention for his alleged involved in the March 20, 2000 kidnapping of 54 people, mostly school children, teachers and a Claretian priest in Tumahubong, Sumisip, Basilan province, the police said.

The police disclosed that Pasihul, who holds the rank of Brigadier General, is a member of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Special Forces Command and was involved in the November 2002 Cabatangan siege in Zamboanga City.

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Jung-Jung Cabato | InterAksyon.com | June 22, 2012 | Article Link

Police kill rebel who kidnapped Americans

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (AFP) - Police shot dead a Muslim guerrilla who was allegedly behind the kidnapping of two Americans in the southern Philippines, officials said on Monday, June 18.

Police commandos killed Wahid Pingli in a raid Sunday, June 17, on his home on Sacol island, off the coast of Zamboanga City, said regional commander Chief Superintendent Napoleon Estilles.

He allegedly abducted American Gerfa Yeatts Lunsmann and her 14-year-old son Kevin as well as a teenage Filipino nephew while they were vacationing in the troubled south in July.

"Wahid's group are also said to be responsible for extortion activities, harassment and kidnapping of prominent families and teachers in this city," Estilles told reporters.

The mother and the Filipino relative were freed unharmed in October while Kevin Lunsmann walked free in December amid suspicions that ransom was paid.

Documents found in the raid showed that Pingli was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a Muslim separatist group that is engaged in peace talks with the government, Estilles said.

An assault rifle, a grenade launcher and bullets were also recovered, the police commander added.

MILF spokesman Von al-Haq confirmed that Pingli was a member but denied that he was involved in kidnappings.

"He is innocent and we are still confirming the veracity of the reports against our slain comrade," he told AFP.

The MILF will file a protest with the government over the killing which violated the ceasefire agreement between the two sides, he added.

The MILF waged a rebellion for more than three decades, originally for the establishment of an independent state in Mindanao, the southern third of the mainly Catholic Philippines.

In recent years it has dropped its independence demand and signed a ceasefire with Manila in order to negotiate for autonomous control over large areas of Mindanao.

However many Muslim extremists have turned to kidnapping for ransom to raise money, often targeting foreigners.

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Agence France-Presse | June 18, 2012 | Article Link

Ex-Moro reb tagged in kidnap of Chinese

COTABATO CITY—Authorities on Wednesday pointed to a renegade Moro guerrilla leader as the head of a group of armed men that kidnapped two Chinese mining ore traders last Monday.

Captain Albert Caber, spokesperson of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division, said in an interview with a radio station here that Waning Abdusalam, a former member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was the leader of the group that kidnapped Jampong Lin-Yuankai, 38, and Jian Luo, 48, of Guandong, China on Monday in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Caber said authorities still do not know where the captives are being kept.

He said the two Chinese are engaged in trading of manganese and copper ores and have been in Kabasalan since last year.

At least six men, who introduced themselves as National Bureau of Investigation agents, forced their way into the Chinese traders’ apartment a few meters from the town hall in Kabasalan and took the Chinese at gunpoint.

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Philippine Daily Inquirer | June 7, 2012 | Article Link

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

2 dead, 5 wounded in North Cotabato bus blast - military

DAVAO CITY, Philippines -- (UPDATE 4 - 2:15 p.m.) Two persons were killed and at least five wounded when a bomb exploded on a passenger bus in North Cotabato Wednesday morning, the military said, drastically scaling down its original casualty count.

Lieutenant Colonel Benjie Hao told reporters the death toll was confirmed after soldiers reached the scene of the blast.

Colonel Leopoldo Galon, spokesman of the Eastern Mindanao Command, had initially announced 10 fatalities and two wounded.

Galon said the Rural Area Transit bus with the body number 2922 had just reached the terminal in Carmen town around 10:25 a.m. when the improvised explosive device planted in the vehicle’s baggage compartment went off.

All the casualties were passengers on the bus, which was traveling from Tacurong City to Cagayan de Oro.

The Eastmincom identified the fatalities as Analyn Sioco, 33, of Malanduage in Kabacan, and Rona Mae Causing, 18, of Bukidnon.

Four of the wounded were identified as Denia Causin of Bukidnon, Alan Hampiso, 36, of Magpet, his six-year old son, Janel Cosca, 11, from Bukidnon. They were rushed to the Kabacan Medical Specialist hospital.

The Rural Area Transit has been attacked in the past in which authorities believe to be extortion attempts by criminal syndicates.

On October 21, 2010, a powerful bomb ripped through a bus of the firm, which was en route to Tacurong City, killing 10 people and wounding several others.

On March 13 this year, a bomb also exploded in a bus at the public terminal in Tacurong City, wounding one.

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Jefry M. Tupas/Abigail Kwok | InterAksyon.com/TV5 Davao | April 11, 2012 | Article Link

Suspect in Palawan blasts linked to ex-governor

MANILA, Philippines - A commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is being held for questioning for the twin blasts in Palawan last Maundy Thursday.

In a radio interview, Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn said Hiya Hassan alias Commander Cobra, has links to former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, who is wanted for the murder of broadcaster Gerry Ortega.

Hagedorn said the suspect admitted that he was an employee of Reyes’ wife, Palawan Vice Gov. Clara Reyes.

“He (Hassan) was with his daughter Jheramae along with 17 former MNLF members for their scheduled meeting with Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn when we invited him for questioning,” Maj. Neil Estrella, spokesman and chief intelligence for the Western Command (Wescom) said yesterday.

Hassan and 17 other MNLF members were gathered at a table at the Asturias Hotel in Puerto Princesa City, when military undercover agents dialed the number used by a texter in sending bomb threats prior to the twin blasts, and the cellular phone in front of Hassan rang. 

“When we asked who owns the cellular phone, Hassan admitted that it was his. That’s the time we moved in and took him (Hassan) in for questioning,” Estrella said.

Hassan and his group were to discuss their pending request for Hagedorn to give them a permanent place to stay complete with livelihood projects in Puerto Princesa City.

No cause for alarm – Mitra

 Palawan Gov. Abraham Mitra said the twin explosions were isolated and assured the public, including local and foreign tourists, of their safety.

Mitra said security measures are in place to prevent a repeat of the explosions and ensure the arrest of the perpetrators.

“The police continue to investigate it thoroughly to determine who are behind it and their motive,” Mitra told The STAR.

Mitra said the province’s Peace and Order Council (POC) would convene today to discuss the twin blasts and the security measures to be implemented.

Mitra said representatives of the Philippine National Police and the Wescom were invited to the POC meeting.

Inspector Grace Vic Gomba, spokesman for the Palawan Provincial Police Office, said two men were also taken into custody.

However, Gomba refused to identify the two men pending a background check on them.

”We still have to wait for the outcome of the probe before we could determine whether they should be charged for the crime or not,” he said.

A female cook at the resort was injured in the explosion in El Nido town while two civilians were injured in the blast at the Royal Express Bus station in Barangay San Jose, Puerto Princesa City.

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Jaime Laude/Cecille Suerte Felipe | The Philippine Star | April 10, 2012 | Article Link

PNP, Army put up check points following grenade attacks in North Cotabato town

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao, March 10 (PNA) - Police and military authorities have put up road blocks and choke points along major thoroughfares in Pikit, North Cotabato following the series of bomb and grenade attacks.


While no one was hurt in the latest incident that happened on February 9, Senior Insp. Elias Dandan, Pikit police chief, said more police are visibly deployed along residential areas and public places like markets and town centers.


Unidentified men tossed a hand grenade in front of a Mosque in Barangay POblacion at about 11:30 p.m. The blast caused fear among the residents nearby.


In February, a fragmentation grenade was also lobbed at the town's commercial establishments in what police believed was carried out by extortion groups.


The owner of the establishment had confirmed having received, but ignored a letter from the Al-Khobar extortion gang demanding monthly “protection money” prior to the bombing.


Dandan said investigators and Army intelligence operatives operating in Pikit are certain the latest grenade attack at the market and at the Mosque were the handiwork of the same extortion gang.


Composed of former Moro rebels, the Al-Khobar has claimed responsibility for the spate of deadly bombings of buses, commercial establishments and public terminals in North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in recent months.


The town police chief said one of two men riding a motorcycle in tandem hurled the grenade near the mosque and sped away.


Colonel Benjamen Hao, 7th Infantry Battalion commander based in Pikit, has augmented the undermanned town police force by establishing several choke points along portions of the highway linking Cotabato and Davao.


Common along the highway, especially during early evening rush hours, are robberies, hold-up, strafing of passenger vehicles, shooting and bombings.


Dandan said the local government is considering an imposition of curfew hours to prevent lawless elements from carrying their ill motives against innocent civilians.


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RSV/NYP/EOF | Philippine News Agency | March 10,2012 | Article Link 

Feuding Moro groups irk Maguindanao residents

COTABATO CITY, Philippines – Maguindanao villagers called on Muslim clerics to issue a fatwah (edict) against a village chief and his followers after they repeatedly attempted to drive away members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Rajah Buayan town.

The incident resulted to the displacement of thousands of residents in the area.

The military has already reported to the ceasefire committee the "misbehavior" of Jerry Macalay, chairman of Barangay Tabungao in Rajah Buayan, who is at odds with local MILF forces led by Commander Adzmi Tagadaya.

“His actuations are bad for the on-going peace process between the government and the MILF. He should be censured," Mohammad Gapur, a father of six, told reporters.

Members of Rajah Buayan's municipal peace and order council said many evacuees wanted the Islamic Darul Iftah (House of Opinions) to issue a fatwah declaring Macalay and his men as bughaat, which Arabic term that can either mean stubborn or abusive.

More than 3,000 people were displaced in last week's fierce encounters between Tagadaya and Macalay's group.

The chief of the MILF’s 106th Base Command, Adan Abdullah, and the local government of Rajah Buayan tried to formulate local security measures meant to stave off escalation of hostilities between the groups of Macalay and Tagadaya.

The mayor of Raja Buayan municipality, Yacob Ampatuan, said the hostilities erupted when Macalay and his men raided the territory of Tagadaya.

Macalay and his men have long been trying to evict the group of Tagadaya, who belong to the MILF’s 106th Base Command.

“The government’s ceasefire committee should immediately intervene and do something about the wrongdoings of this barangay chairman who does not respect the ceasefire between the government and the MILF,” Ampatuan said.

Ampatuan said barangay officials confirmed that the firefights figured by Macalay’s group and local MILF guerillas last week left several fighters dead on both sides.

“Some fighters from both sides have also been wounded since they used heavy firepower to overcome each other,” Ampatuan said.

The local police said Macalay’s men looted houses and carted farm animals of the MILF rebels.

Major Gen. Rey Ardo, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said soldiers in Rajah Buayan are to coordinate their efforts to pacify the feuding groups with the government’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities.

“This is delicate situation because this involves MILF forces. There are agreed protocols, crafted by the MILF and the government on how to address this kind of security problems,” Ardo said. 

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John Unson | The Philippine Star | March 06, 2012 01:32 PM | Article Link

PH gov’t: No new peace talks with MNLF

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—Government is committed to “find solutions to issues” bugging the full implementation of the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) it inked with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in 1996, but it will not tackle new ones that would precipitate fresh negotiations.

Presidential adviser on the peace process Teresita Quintos-Deles stressed this point during the high-level meeting March 1 to 2 in Bandung, Indonesia, between government and the MNLF under the auspices of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

The meeting sought to thresh out issues related to the parties’ respective compliance with the FPA.

In her opening address, a copy of which was given the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Deles cited that the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) itself recognized that the tripartite process’ aim “is not to renegotiate the agreement but rather to review its implementation…”

Earlier, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which has been negotiating for peace with the Philippine government, criticized the bringing up of the issues of power-sharing, wealth-sharing and territory in the review.

Apart from being “outside the competence of the FPA,” these are already in the official agenda of the MILF’s peace negotiations with government, according to the group that broke away from the MNLF in the 1970s.

“While we support the full implementation of the FPA, we cannot understand the wisdom of inputting new issues” into the review process, said an MILF statement.

The negotiation between government and the MNLF officially ended September 2, 1996, “which means that no new agenda will be discussed except those related to the implementation,” the MILF further noted.

Starting as a breakaway faction from the MNLF, the MILF is currently engaged in peace talks facilitated by Malaysia.  The talks are already into the final phase.

The MILF has been saying that its peace formula seeks to deepen and widen the gains so far achieved for Moro self-governance.

According to a news release from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the governors of five provinces in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) joined the government contingent in the Bandung meeting.

Also in the delegation were Representatives Jesus Sacdalan of North Cotabato and Sandra Sema of Maguindanao. Sacdalan and Sema are chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the House committee on peace, unity and reconciliation.

Deles said their presence was meant “to demonstrate the seriousness of government’s intent…to bring proper completion and closure to a process that has gone on for far too long.”

Deles explained that the current efforts to do institutional overhaul of the ARMM overseen by an interim leadership appointed by President Aquino have been in keeping with “an understanding” reached mid-2011 “to forge partnership between the government and the MNLF in pursuit of governance reform.”

A former MNLF fighter and woman leader, Bainon Karon, was appointed ARMM regional vice governor.

Deles noted that ARMM reforms “have drawn in and will continue to draw in more MNLF partisans, onto the straight path of public service exercised as a public trust.”

She expressed confidence that by the second half of the year, “the transformation that we are working to make happen in Muslim Mindanao” would have made an impact.

The review of the 1996 FPA is undertaken by the OIC’s Peace Committee for Southern Philippines chaired by Indonesia, which also brokered the pact.

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By Ryan D. Rosauro | Inquirer Mindanao | Sunday, March 4th, 2012 | Article Link

Abu Sayyaf behind Sulu bombing

Death toll in Sulu bomb explosion rises to 4

Philstar.com | March 04, 2012 12:00 PM | Article link 

COTABATO, Philippines (Xinhua) - The death toll in the bomb explosion blamed on militants on Saturday night in a commercial area in the southern Philippine province of Sulu rose to four, authorities said today.

Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the military's Western Mindanao Command, said two more wounded had died at the hospital after an improvised explosive device blast along Serantes Street in Jolo town at around 6:55 p.m. Saturday, which killed two people instantly.

Besides the four casualties, there are six others injured in the terror attack. "We have four fatalities, only two died soon after the explosion," he said.

Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations in Western Mindanao, said investigation by the police indicated that the bomb was planted at the generator of the store in the area.

No one group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but government security forces said they are looking into possible involvement of the Abu Sayyaf terror group.

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Police suspect Abu Sayyaf in Jolo bombing

Agence France Presse, AbsCbnNews.com | 03/04/2012 12:34 PM | Article link 

ZAMBOANGA - Islamic extremists with links to the Al-Qaeda network are suspected of carrying out a deadly bomb attack that left two dead and 13 wounded in the southernPhilippines, police said Sunday.

The Abu Sayyaf group likely planted the bomb that exploded in a commercial district of the southern island of Jolo late Saturday, said provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Antonio Freyra.

A street vendor and a schoolteacher were killed and 13 others were wounded when the home-made bomb exploded in Jolo, which has been a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf for over a decade, police said.

"Our initial report is that the Abu Sayyaf was behind the bombing. It is possible that this was in retaliation for the killing by the police of an Abu Sayyaf member last week," Freyra said.

The bomb went off in the same commercial area where the Abu Sayyaf member was shot dead when police caught him extorting money from shop-owners, Freyra said.

Security has been tightened on the heavily-forested island to prevent future attacks from the group, which has long used kidnappings for ransom and extortion to raise funds, Freyra said.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small group of Islamic militants founded in the 1990s with seed money from Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

It has been blamed for the worst extremist attacks in Philippine history including a ferry bombing in Manila in 2004 that killed more than 100 people.

Despite the arrest and killing of many of its key leaders, the group remains an enduring security threat with about 300 fighters still active, authorities have warned.

Woman hurt in Cotabato City blast

COTABATO CITY, Philippines—A 27-year old woman was slightly injured when an improvised bomb went off near the Cotabato Barter Trade Center, just outside the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional government compound, here around at 7:30 p.m.

Superintendent Danny Reyes, city police chief, said the remotely-detonated improvised explosive device was fashioned out from a mortar shell but its exact make was still being determined.

He said it was fortunate that the bomb exploded when there was less activity in the area.

The Barter Trade Center is also near the Central Mindanao office of the Government Service Insurance System.

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By Edwin Fernandez
Inquirer Mindanao

8:32 pm | Thursday, March 1st, 2012

Article 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

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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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Military, MILF at fault for deadly Basilan clash

MANILA, Philippines - Government troops and Moro rebels violated ceasefire provisions that led to a clash that killed 19 Special Forces soldiers and 5 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members in Al Barka, Basilan last October 18, 2011, an international team implementing the truce said.

The International Monitoring Team (IMT) also wants sanctions on military and MILF commanders behind the clash, according to Armed Forces Peace Process Office chief Col. Dickson Hermoso.

AFP officers involved the incident are already facing court martial, Hermoso said.

The 4 officers involved are Col. Alexander Macario, former commander of the Special Operations Task Force-Basilan; Lt. Col. Leo Pena, former commander of the 4th Special Forces Battalion; Special Forces Regiment (SFR) commander Col. Aminkadra Undog; and SFR Training School commandant Lt. Col. Orlando Edralin.

Hermoso said the MILF is also punishing rebel commanders.

"They are also imposing their own sanctions to their immediate commanders but I cannot give details. They are reciprocating also the sanctions that government imposed on our military officers," he said.

The IMT said the military failed to coordinate with the MILF in entering a rebel area to arrest wanted men.

"Both sides committed the same offense. We (the military) are instituting some more measures so that similar incidents will not happen in the future," Hermoso said.

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ABS-CBNnews.com

Posted at 02/23/2012 8:54 PM

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7 killed in Zambo Sur attack

MANILA, Philippines – At least 7 people were killed, most of them reportedly were children, after heavily-armed men attacked a coastal community in Lapuyan, Zamboanga del Sur on Wednesday, February 23.

Speaking to Rappler by phone from the site of the attack, Zamboanga del Sur police director Sr Supt Jose Bayani Gucela described the incident as “an act of retaliation.”

According to police reports, more or less 10 unidentified men carrying firearms that included “RPGs (Rocket Propeller Grenade) and M16 rifles” opened fire at residents of Sitio Bahing, Barangay Tininghalang around 4pm on Wednesday.

The attack killed 7 people and hurt 3 others. A military report indicated that most of the fatalities “were probably children”.

Based on initial police investigation, the attack in the Subanen-dominated community was led by a certain Amie Andi, brother of a suspected lawless group leader who was recently arrested by local authorities. 

“Apparently, the gunmen suspected that the residents of this community were the ones who helped in the neutralization of Samang Andi,” Gucela said. “They retaliated by shooting indiscriminately at the victims.” Andi was killed in an encounter with government authorities last February 11.

Gucela said Andi, a notorious lawless group leader operating in the towns of Lapuyan and Margosatubig, has been a subject of police operation for his involvement in a string of criminal cases that included “extortion, piracy, kidnapping and murder.”

A joint police and military manhunt operation has been launched to pursue the attackers, who fled the area on board their pump boats towards an unknown direction.

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David Y. Santos

Posted on 02/23/2012 8:55 PM  | Updated 02/23/2012 9:05 PM

 Rappler.com

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