Army

CHANGING OF THE GUARD. Outgoing Army chief Lt. Gen. Romeo Tolentino (L-R, front row) , Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., and incoming Army chief Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano salute during turnover ceremonies in Fort Bonifacio. INQUIRER.net/JOEL GUINTO

Informant in killing of 9th most wanted to get cash windfall

By Dennis Jay Santos
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 01:16pm (Mla time) 08/25/2007

DAVAO CITY–The informant who led the authorities to where the country’s ninth most wanted criminal was hiding will receive a reward of P825,000 from the government, a top police official said Saturday.

 

Senior Supt. Jaime Morente, city police director, said the informant, whom he did not identify, helped the authorities in pinpointing the location of former police officer Allan Estrada here.

 

Estrada landed in the police’s top 10 wanted persons nationwide because of his alleged involvement in drugs and kidnapping.

 

During the operation launched by authorities in Dumoy, Toril district on August 13, Estrada traded shots with the arresting officers.

 

The 38-year-old former Davao City policeman was killed in the process.

 

Morente said the hunt for Estrada lasted for about four years.

 

Chief Supt. Andres Caro, Southern Mindanao police chief, said that after going on absence without leave from the service, Estrada became involved in the notorious Fajardo kidnap-for-ransom group. He was also allegedly one of Southern Mindanao’s top drug traders, Caro said.

Davao town’s police force sacked following NPA raid

Davao town’s police force sacked following NPA raid
By Ferdinand O. Zuasola, Orlando Dinoy
Mindanao Bureau
Last updated 01:24pm (Mla time) 08/25/2007

SAN ISIDRO, Davao Oriental — The entire police force of this town has been sacked following the August 22 raid by New People’s Army rebels during which the government lost a total of 15 firearms to the guerrillas.

 

The provincial police leadership has replaced the entire San Isidro police force with policemen from the provincial mobile group, headed by Senior Insp. Epe Rillo.

 

Supt. Wilbert Clarin, Davao Oriental deputy police chief, said the relieved policemen, including the San Isidro police chief, Insp. Edgar Viagedor, were now restricted to camp.

 

“They are now under investigation. They are now restricted at the police provincial headquarters in Mati. They have a lot of explaining to do given the number of firearms seized by the rebels from them,” Clarin said.

 

Viagedor and his men were inside the police station and were caught by surprise by the noontime raid.

 

“We cannot put up a fight because we were overwhelmed by their numbers. There were at least 70 rebels who stormed our police station,” Viagedor said.

 

An earlier police report said the rebels numbered only 20 and came aboard two L-300 vans.

 

Among the firearms confiscated by the rebels were M-16 rifles.

 

“We also have to protect our lives, otherwise all of us would have been killed by the rebels,” Viagedor said.

 

Aside from raiding the San Isidro police station, the rebels also disarmed the guards at a nearby farm.

 

Clarin said the police have already invited the drivers of the two vans for questioning.

 

But he immediately added that they were only asked about things that could shed light on the incident.

 

“The two drivers, both residents of Mati City, have said that they were hired and were told they were to fetch a sickly man from San Isidro. They were given P3,000 each after the NPA raid,” he said.

 

The San Isidro raid prompted the Southern Mindanao police to order its commanders to heighten security in their areas.

 

In Digos City, Senior Supt. Samuel Navaja, Davao del Sur police chief, warned chiefs of police and their men about the possible loss of their jobs if they fall prey to communist rebels.

 

“We will discharge them from the service if we could prove that they neglected their duties and responsibilities, when rebels will become successful in getting firearms from them,” Navaja said.

 

Navaja also warned police chiefs about an intelligence report that the NPA has fielded its sparrow unit of assassins in the province.

 

“Two of them were women and they were targeting PNP officials,” he said.

 

In Bansalan, Davao del Sur, Chief Insp. Restituto Abril, the town’s police chief, said they were closely watching some areas of barangays Managa, Darapuay, Alta Vista, Alegre and Eman after residents reported seeing NPA rebels there a few days ago.

PNP briefs US solons on killings

Inquirer
Last updated 01:24am (Mla time) 08/26/2007

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) gave a briefing to members of the US Congress and officials of the US Embassy on the progress of the investigations of extrajudicial killings in the country.

 

In his briefing, Director Jefferson Soriano, chief of the PNP’s Task Force Usig which was tasked to investigate the killings of activists and journalists, said most of the killings were borne out of personal motives like personal grudges, land disputes, and business rivalry, and not politically motivated.

 

Nonetheless, Soriano assured the US officials that all unsolved cases in the country were being closely investigated.

 

In a statement, Soriano said the US officials “expressed satisfaction for the swift action and transparency of the PNP in handling the slay cases, noting the successful prosecution of persons behind some of these murders.”

 

Also present were Chargé d’Affaires Paul W. Jones and other US Embassy officials Thomas Brown and Mario Fernandez.

 

PNP officials present were Senior Supt. Lina Sarmiento, chief of the PNP’s Human Rights Affairs Office (HRAO).

Bike Lane in Eastwood City

BIKE LANE. Bikers and environmentalists would be happy to note that a bike lane has been specified in Eastwood City. INQUIRER/JOAN BONDOC

Inventory of Metro cops’ guns ordered

By Nancy C. Carvajal
Inquirer
Last updated 01:24am (Mla time) 08/26/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Police units in Metro Manila have been ordered to take an inventory of their armories after an intelligence report suggested that terrorists might obtain firearms and ammunition from rogue policemen and military personnel to replenish their dwindling arsenal.

 

 

“Reports said the enemies are planning to purchase firearms and ammunition from dishonest policemen and members of the Armed Forces,” National Capital Region Police Office chief Deputy Director General Reynaldo Varilla said, in issuing a memorandum directing the police to monitor and account for all their firearms.

The Philippine National Police last week raised the alert level in Metro Manila in anticipation of a possible spillover of the armed conflict in Sulu and Basilan.

 

The inventory-taking, Varilla said, was a preemptive measure aimed at thwarting any group planning to sow terror in the capital.

 

A police source who asked not to be named for lack of authority to speak, said rebels fighting the military in Mindanao were facing logistics problems due to the prolonged fighting.

 

He said the rebels were interested in high-powered guns and ammunition used mainly by Special Weapons and Tactics team members and the Special Action Force.

 

The intelligence report might have some substance, the source said, since the prices of such firearms have risen. For instance, he said, the going rate for an M-16 rifle was now between P35,000 and P40,000, when it previously sold in the black market for only P25,000.

 

The report also indicated that Abu Sayyaf terrorists planned to bomb in various facilities in Basilan, including power plants, to divert military attention away from them.

 

The military stated it had suffered 57 fatalities while 42 Abu Sayyaf bandits had been killed since the renewed offensive was launched in July following the beheading of 14 Marines.

 

In Cotabato City yesterday, ecumenical and inter-faith groups urged President Macapagal-Arroyo to put a stop to the war in Basilan and Sulu.

 

“If this all-out war will not cease, it will just cost many more lives and further drain the national coffers,” Fr. Joe Dizon, convenor of the Ecumenical Voice for Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines, and Amirah Lidasan of Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao, said in a joint statement.

 

Dizon said the projected P1 billion to be spent monthly to finance the war could be used to help the people, not only in Mindanao but the entire country. With a report from Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao

Partition of Malampaya gas proceeds raises questions

By Redempto Anda
Inquirer
Last updated 06:11am (Mla time) 08/26/2007

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — Malacañang and Palawan provincial officials have agreed in principle to jointly utilize some P12 billion in royalties from the Malampaya natural gas project off the province which are currently frozen due to a pending dispute in the Supreme Court over its ownership.

 

But the agreement immediately drew howls of protest from critics over what they perceive to be the conversion of the country’s income from natural gas into a “pork barrel” for legislators.

 

After about a month of secret negotiations between Palawan officials and Malacañang, sources told the Inquirer President Macapagal-Arroyo had signed an executive order detailing the manner the money would be spent.

 

The EO, which is expected to be issued in the next few days, allocates P2 billion each to projects identified by the two congressmen from Palawan in their respective districts and another P2 billion to projects identified by the provincial government.

 

Another P6 billion will be utilized by the national government to fund major infrastructure projects in Palawan, including big-ticket items.

 

“It is signed, sealed and ready to be delivered,” a source privy to the negotiations told the Inquirer.

 

The source said Malacañang originally wanted to hold the ceremonial signing of the EO this week but it was postponed “because there were some apparent kinks in the division of appropriations.”

 

Provincial Information Officer Rolando Bonoan confirmed reports there had been discussions among key Palawan political leaders to review the position of the province with respect to the legal dispute pending in the Supreme Court.

 

The national government has questioned before the high court Palawan’s claim to 40 percent of the royalties paid by the Shell-SPEX-led consortium which operates the natural gas pipeline project north of the province.

 

But Kilusan Love Malampaya (KLM) spokesperson, lawyer Joselito Alisuag, warned both Malacañang and the provincial government that the agreement “violates the relevant provisions of the Local Government Code pertaining to the distribution of benefits to local government units.”

 

Alisuag said that under the code, any share from Malampaya’s proceeds should be distributed to the provincial government, the municipality where the natural gas was found, and the barangay where it was actually located.

 

“There is no legal basis for them to treat this money as pork barrel,” Alisuag said.

No cut in US military aid

By Julie Alipala, Alcuin Papa
Inquirer
Last updated 01:24am (Mla time) 08/26/2007

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The United States will not cut its military assistance to the Philippines given the country’s good track record in the fight against terror, a top US legislator said Saturday.

 

Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes, chair of the powerful armed services committee of the US House of Representatives, made the assurance after his five-member delegation yesterday visited American troops stationed here to help train Filipino soldiers battling the al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf group.

 

“The US Congress will continue to pour support, including financial, to boost whatever efforts both countries have done to fight terrorism,” Reyes said.

 

He said the US was happy over what the Philippines had achieved in the fight against terror.

 

“We are proud of the work being done here and more than that, we know that it’s an important part of the global effort that we need to make in protecting our allies and protecting the vital regions of the world,” he said.

 

The military immediately welcomed Reyes’ assurance that there would be no cut in US military assistance to the Philippines.

 

Lt. Col. Ernesto Torres, spokesperson for the Philippine Army, said military aid from the US would lead to the eventual downfall of the enemies of the state.

 

“It is a welcome development. That would translate to better training and equipment for our soldiers, thereby hastening the defeat of the insurgents and the destruction of terrorists,” Torres told the Inquirer.

 

The Army is the biggest among the three services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

 

Late last month, it was reported that the US State Department had proposed to the US Congress a sharp cut in aid to the Philippine military and police in the light of their alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings in the country.

 

It reportedly requested the US Congress to cut aid to the AFP, specifically, on the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for procurement of military equipment from the US from nearly $30 million last year to only $11 million in fiscal year 2008 starting this September, and the International Military Exchange Training (IMET) program for sending and training AFP officers in the US from $2.9 million to $1.5 million.

 

Also reportedly included in the request is a slash on the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) assistance program to the Philippine National Police from almost $2 million to $1.1 million for the same period.

 

The report was posted on the website of the ABS-CBN television network and carried by its news channel ANC. The report came from its North American News Bureau which based the story on a US State Department report.

 

‘False’ report

 

Militants had welcomed the reported US cut in military assistance which they said was being used by the Philippine military and police forces to kill activists and to commit human rights abuses.

 

But to Malacañang’s relief, the report turned out to be false. Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo officially denied the report.

 

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had warned that if the aid reduction were true, it would affect the antiterror efforts of the Arroyo administration.

 

The US Embassy in Manila called the report “premature and misleading,” saying the US Congress has yet to pass the proposed 2008 federal budget, including foreign aid appropriations.

 

Asked about possible US cuts to its military aid to the Philippines, Reyes said that “if anything, we recommend that we expand the assistance and the support.”

 

“We are prepared to provide any assistance possible because we think a safe and secured Asian region, certainly the Philippines is part of this, is in the best interests of everyone,” Reyes added.

 

The US government had poured nearly $400 million in military assistance to the Philippines, according to the militant group Bayan Muna, citing reports from the Library of the US Congress-Federal Research Division on the Philippines.

 

For 2006, the proposal was $23 million while it was not specified for 2007.

 

Bipartisan delegation

 

Reyes, chair of the permanent select committee on intelligence and armed services committee, led four other members of the US Congress during his visit here.

 

The bipartisan delegation also included New Jersey Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, member of the appropriations committee and the select intelligence oversight panel; New Mexico Rep. Heather Wilson of the committee on energy and the intelligence committee; New York Rep. Gregory W. Meeks of the financial services and international relations committees; and Maryland Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, of the appropriations and intelligence committees.

 

Except for Meeks, who is a Democrat, the other members of the team are Republicans allied with US President George W. Bush.

 

“This is an opportunity for my colleagues and myself to travel to the Philippines to see, first hand, the close cooperation between our two countries on several fronts,” he said.

 

Meeks praised Philippine-US links, saying the visit showed that “we have much more in common that brings us together.”

 

No to US bases

 

Reyes also denied reports about plans to reopen US military bases in the country.

 

“There is no move to reopen US bases in the Philippines,” he said.

 

Following their visit here, the US congressmen said they would seek more US aid to bolster the Philippines in its fight against terror groups.

 

The poorly equipped Philippine military has been hoping to receive more assistance from the US in the face of increased conflict with Muslim extremists.

 

The US solons also met with Filipino military commanders and local officials and were briefed on the security situation in the region where Filipino soldiers are still in pursuit of the Abu Sayyaf rebels.

 

The arrival of the American legislators comes just four days after a bomb, believed planted by the Abu Sayyaf Group, exploded in a square here, injuring 14 people.

 

The Abu Sayyaf has been linked by both the US and Philippine intelligence agencies to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida. The group has been blamed for the worst terrorist attacks in the country and the July 10 ambush-slaying of 14 Marines, of which 10 were beheaded.

 

The US delegation also expressed sympathy for the scores of soldiers who have been killed in recent weeks in an upsurge of fighting with the Abu Sayyaf and their allies in the island provinces of Jolo and Basilan.

 

At least 57 government troops have been killed since the fighting began.

 

Military solution not enough

 

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon said yesterday that the ongoing military offensives in Basilan and Sulu are only a small component of the government’s total approach to eliminate the Muslim and communist insurgency by 2010.

 

Interviewed by Vice President Noli de Castro on the latter’s radio program, “Para Sa Iyo Bayan,” Esperon acknowledged that a military solution would not be enough to give lasting peace in Mindanao.

 

“Hindi naman po puwede na military solution lamang po ang ilalagay natin sa insurgency. In fact, iyong military component ng solution sa insurgency ay napakaliit kumpara sa kabuuang solusyon o wholistic solution (It’s not enough that we employ only a military solution to the insurgency. In fact, the military component of the solution to the insurgency is very small compared to the total solution or wholistic solution),” Esperon told De Castro.

 

Esperon noted that on Jan. 4 this year, President Macapagal-Arroyo ordered state security forces to defeat the communist insurgency by 2010, to defeat the Abu Sayyaf as soon as possible, and to contain the Muslim secessionist movement.

 

The President reiterated her deadline during the recent command conference in Zamboanga City, but added the infusion of the development component in the overall solution to the insurgency problem.

 

Media play

 

Esperon said the military operations in Basilan and Jolo were being given prominence by the media simply because of the recent terroristic activities by the Abu Sayyaf, including the beheadings of the 10 Marine soldiers, and the heavy casualties incurred by government troops.

 

Four Marine brigades have been deployed to Sulu and Basilan to hunt down and destroy the Abu Sayyaf. These include four Marine battalions, three Army infantry battalions, one Scout Ranger battalion, one Special Forces battalion and one Light Reaction battalion.

 

But in other parts of the country affected by the communist insurgents, he said, a “humanitarian” offensive or development should prevail over military operations.

 

Civil-military operatives

 

Esperon said that aside from the combat operations, the President had also ordered the deployment of more engineering battalions in Zamboanga, Sulu and Basilan to construct circumferential roads.

 

He said that civil-military operations were also going on in other parts of insurgency-affected barangays.

 

“Higit na mas malaking effort ang development to give a lasting solution to the insurgency problem para wala na talagang babangong insurgency na bunga ng ideolohiya at kahirapan (Development is a bigger effort to give a lasting solution to the insurgency problem so that there will be no more insurgency based on ideology that will crop up), he stressed. With reports from Cynthia D. Balana and Inquirer wires

Shabu

DRUG NET. Sixteen kilos of prohibited shabu worth some P8 million was found during a raid of a house in a Quezon City subdivision. Unfortunately, no suspect was arrested. INQUIRER/JOAN BONDOC

People Power Cardinal

TRIBUTE IN BRONZE: A 13.5-foot statue of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin is now the focal point of the public plaza in his native New Washington, Aklan. Standing in front of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Church, the bronze statue by Castrillo’s nephews will be unveiled on Aug. 31, the 79th birthday of the “People Power” cardinal.