Sunday, February 27, 2011

NPA rebels own up attack on Mindanao mining firm


ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 27, 2011) – Communist rebels have owned up Sunday to the raid on a mining firm they accused of destroying forests in the southern Philippines and warned of more attacks in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao.

Ka Norsen, a spokesman for the New People’s Army Julito Tiro Command, said the recent attack on Eagle Mining Company in Bukidnon province was in retaliation to its continued operation which is being opposed by tribesmen and environmentalists.

“Punitive action was handed down to the said company for its environmentally-destructive mining operations, for ignoring the demand of the Lumad tribesmen in the area and church people for mining to stop, and, for threatening to file cases against and summarily killing some leaders who opposed the operations of the company,” the spokesman said.

The allegations could not be immediately confirmed, but the military said the attack on the mining firm destroyed five of its heavy equipment. It said the rebels raided the mining firm after its owner failed to pay extortion money.

But the rebels denied the accusations and claimed security forces were protecting mining operations in exchanged for money.

“The claim of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, saying that the EMC was given sanction due to non-payment of revolutionary taxes, is a big lie. In truth, the Armed Forces of the Philippines protect these companies that destroy the environment, and it is one of their sources of corruption,” Ka Norsen said.

He said rebel forces were ordered to dismantle destructive mining operations in Mindanao.

“The revolutionary movement cannot permit the continued destruction of the remaining natural resources of the country, which results in devastating calamities, such us flooding and the destruction of peasant livelihood,” he said, adding “for as long as the strength of our forces permit, we shall work to ban, dismantle and disable all businesses that damage the environment and people’s livelihood, and those which do not conform to the policies and programs of the revolutionary movement.”

The rebels have earlier threatened to launch attacks on logging firms they accused of operating near protected watersheds and virgin forests in Mindanao.

New People’s Army rebels also accused these firms of engaging in destructive logging in Diwata Mountain Range in southern Mindanao; Kalatungan-Kitanglad Mountain Range in northern Mindanao; and mountain forests in the provinces of Compostela Valley, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga del Norte where Subanen tribesmen are fighting mining operations in their ancestral domain.

The rebels urged President Benigno Aquino III to immediately act on the destruction of forests and environment in those areas. Aquino has recently ordered a total ban on all logging activities in natural forests in the southern Philippines after flash floods killed and injured dozens of people in Mindanao.

“In the interest of protecting the country’s remaining virgin forests, the ban must see to it that the licenses of large logging companies operating in and around water sheds and natural forests must immediately be revoked or cancelled. The operations of these said companies must immediately be ordered to cease and pull out from the area. The reactionary government must, on the other hand, provide viable alternative livelihood for all the workers in the field who have been hired by these companies,” said Jorge Madlos, another rebel spokesman.

Madlos said large logging companies in Mindanao continue to operate within near and around water sheds and natural forest. Many virgin forests and mountains in the region are now denuded because of the unabated illegal loggings.

He said rebel forces are committed to stop destructive logging, mining and large scale plantations in Mindanao. “We will continue to launch military punitive actions against these said companies to prevent them from establishing their business, disband, or punish those that do not abide with our revolutionary policies,” Madlos said.

The New People’s Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, currently negotiating peace with Manila fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the largely Catholic country. (Mindanao Examiner)

NPA tumira ng minahan sa Mindanao

ILIGAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 27, 2011) – Inako ng New People’s Army ang pananalakay sa isang malaking mining firm sa lalawigan ng Bukidnon.

Sinabi ni Ka Norsen, ng Julito Tiro Command, na limang mga equipment units ng Eagle Mining Company sa Barangay Namnam sa bayan ng San Fernando ang kanilang sinira kamakailan lamang bilang parusa sa patuloy na pagmimina nito doon na umano’y siyang dahilan ng pagkasira ng kagubatan sa lalawigan.

Ilang ulit na rin umanong nakiusap ang mga Lumad natives at Simbahang Katoliko sa mining firm na itigil ang kanilang operasyong ngunit nanatiling bingi umano ang pamunuan nito kung kaya’t pinarusahan ng rebeldeng grupo.

“Punitive action was handed down to the said company for its environmentally-destructive mining operations, for ignoring the demand of the Lumad in the area and church people for mining to stop, and, for threatening to file cases against and summarily killing some leaders who opposed the operations of the company,” ani pa ni Ka Norsen.

Sinabi naman ng militar na sinunog ng mga rebeldeng komunista ang limang truck ng nasabing mining firm matapos na mabigo ang NPA na makapag-extort ng “revolutionary taxes” sa Eagle Mining company.

Ngunit mariing itinanggi naman ito ni Ka Norsen. “The claim of the Armed Forces of the Philippines saying that the EMC was given sanction due to non-payment of revolutionary taxes is a big lie. In truth, the AFP protects these companies that destroy the environment, and it is one of their sources of corruption.”

“Government agencies, like the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government of Bukidnon, are in collusion with the company in these mining operations, especially with the speedy processing of the papers for the entry of said mining company. Consequently, big military operations are conducted in areas of interest to mining and agri-business companies,” sabi pa ni Ka Norsen.

Unang nagbabala ang NPA na titira ng mga mining firm sa ibat-ibang bahagi ng Mindanao, kabilang ang malalaking minahan sa Zamboanga del Norte na umano’y sumisira sa mga ancestral domain doon ng mga Subanon. (Mindanao Examiner)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Defend gay rights in UN statement, PROGAY tells Manila


MANILA, Philippines - Besides rescuing thousands of Filipino guest workers trapped in turbulent Arab countries, the newly appointed secretary of foreign affairs faces demands from gays agitating for human rights protection in the United Nations.

The Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines or PROGAY is urging acting secretary Albert Del Rosario to make sure the country votes to affirm the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, at transgender in the Human Rights Council on March 9.

In an letter sent by the gay rights movment to the DFA and the Offices of the Permanent Representatives in Geneva and New York, the Aquino administration was asked to sign, defend and support the “Joint statement on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity”.

In essence, the Joint Statement calls on UN Member States to take steps to end acts of violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

If the Joint Statement passes, the United Nations will be tasked to use its Special Procedures, treaty bodies and its accredited groups process LGBT rights issues.

PROGAY’s spokesperson Goya Candelario cited the use by the Philippine National Police of the Anti-Vagrancy Law, a Spanish-era decree, to arrest, hurt and shame gay men and transgenders. He added that there are unjust sodomy laws in 70 countries such as Uganda and Jamaica that punishes LGBTs with either prison terms or the death penalty.

PROGAY also expressed dismay on learning that the former DFA chief that Del Rosario replaced, Alberto Romulo, is positioning himself to be appointed by President Aquino to the post of UN Permanent Representative in New York. PROGAY is still smarting from Romulo’s supposed snub of LGBT concerns and demands.

“Under Romulo’s watch, the DFA’s voting record in UN assemblies is so vexing. Just last December, we asked Romulo to vote for the protection of LGBTs on the “Resolution on Extrajudicial, Summary, and Arbitrary Killings” and there was no affirmative action,” Candelaria said.

PROGAY said that UN Permanent Representative Libran Cabactulan abstained, an action that activists say is the same as voting No. The protection for “sexual orientation” in the Resolution was restored despite the abstention of the Philippine representative.

“The washing of hands by Romulo at Cabactulan sends a message to the LGBT communities that the Aquino administration sits well with extrajudicial killings meted on homosexuals and transgenders,” Candelario said.

PROGAY challenged the President to base his choice for the UN Permanent Representative on proactive consultation with community stakeholders, and let the voting reflect genuine human development goals, and not on political horsetrading with rich and powerful UN members.

PROGAY is a group of gay men that aims to gain full recognition of the different sectors of the society to all sexual minorities and be freed from sexual discrimination in their family, their community, the government, church and media. It was founded in September 1993 by a group of gay student activists that tried to develop the concept of the roles of the gay Filipinos.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Kidapawan's bare-foot athlete

A boy runs sans shoes at a track during the Kidapawan City Athletic Meet in Mindanao on Friday, February 25, 2011. Kidapawan is fast becoming one of the most progressive cities in the southern Philippines. (Geo Solmerano – Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Sulu gets modern fish port, cold storage



Filipino Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala leads Sulu provincial officials headed by Governor Sakur Tan to the groundbreaking ceremony of a huge fishing port complex and cold storage facility worth over P32 million in the town of Maimbung. Once completed this year, the complex is expected to hasten trade and commerce in the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the Sulu archipelago, a favorite fishing ground in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)


SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 25, 2011) – Filipino Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala flew to the Muslim autonomous province of Sulu in the southern Philippines where he led government officials in the groundbreaking ceremony of a huge fishing port complex and cold storage facility in the town of Maimbung.

The complex, worth over 32 million pesos, is expected to hasten trade and commerce in the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi in the Sulu archipelago, a favorite fishing ground in the southern Philippines.

Alcala, accompanied by senior officials from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources headed by Malcolm Sarmiento and Rodolfo Paz Jr., of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, arrived on Thursday and met with Governor Sakur Tan and other provincial officials and discussed other agricultural and livelihood projects for Sulu.

“Sulu is such a beautiful place and there are a lot of potentials for Sulu and this fish port complex and cold storage facility will surely be a big boost and hasten the local economy. You have a very good leader who is really working hard as we can see the various agricultural programs and projects here,” Alcala told a huge crowd of farmers and fishermen and villagers who witnessed the groundbreaking ceremony.

He also met with Maimbung Mayor Samier Tan and held a forum with fishermen and farmers and pledged to send working animals for cooperatives in Sulu and also experts in mariculture, a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in tanks, ponds or raceways which are filled with seawater.

The provincial government has in the past years promoted mariculture in coastal towns where fishermen organized themselves into cooperatives and raise prawns, oysters and various species of fishes in pens and cages. They are also involved in seaweed farming.

Alcala also said that he would sent a team of agriculturists to inspect banana plantations affected by an epidemic in at least five towns; and another team that would work with their local counterparts in seaweed tissue culture.

Tan also toured Alcala’s group to various sites in Sulu where the provincial government constructed hundreds of shelters as part of its housing program for the poor.

Alcala said he would report his visit to Sulu to President Benigno Aquino and tell him about the huge potentials of the province in the fishing industry.

On Wednesday, Tan convened a meeting of various government agencies and stakeholders to draw plans that would effectively address natural calamities and other emergencies in Sulu.

Tan called on stakeholders to actively participate in governance and to strengthen and revitalize the networking capabilities of the Area Coordinating Council, which coordinate the province’s various nongovernmental agencies, military, police, emergency services and other organizations and serves as an inter-agency communication network.

Tan is the chairman of the Area Coordinating Council which he established as a proactive, reactive, and post conflict mechanism to address various concerns at regional and local levels of governance and to solve problems of coordination and response.

Touching on the recent flash flood that hit Sulu early this month, Tan said: “The needs of Sulu are not merely centered on relief and assistance, for calamities are not an everyday occurrence, but instead we need to underline the long-term vision of the government such as poverty-alleviation and livelihood programs and the active involvement of community and people.”

“My official position is merely temporal, but the community and the people will outlive any political position or personality,” he added.

Eight people had been killed in Sulu’s coastal town of Jolo after flash flood swept away houses and destroyed government infrastructure. The President visited Sulu on February 11 and led the distribution of relief goods to thousands of villagers left homeless by the floods.

Tan said despite the calamity, many good things are happening for Sulu and he cited Aquino’s visit to the province and who pledged more development projects for Sulu, one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

He said a day after Aquino’s visit, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman flew to Sulu for the second time in 24 hours to hand-over shelter projects and launched government-financial assistance program for the poor. These were on top of hundreds of housing projects built by the provincial government recently.

Tan said Sulu will host the regional police headquarters that will oversee peace and order in the province and nearby Basilan and Tawi-Tawi provinces which are also part of the Muslim autonomous region.

The regional police headquarters are currently located in Maguindanao province in Mindanao. “Peace and order is an integral component of development efforts and the regional office in Sulu will mean more effective and quick responses to eventualities,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

US pledges more peace, development projects for Sulu province

The United States pledges more development projects for the southern Filipino province of Sulu where hundreds of US troops are deployed and training local soldiers. Gloria Steele, Mission Director of the US Agency for International Development, visited Sulu on Thursday, February 24, 2011 and met with Governor Sakur Tan. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)


SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 25, 2011) – The United States pledged more development projects for the southern Filipino province of Sulu where hundreds of US troops are deployed and training local soldiers.

Gloria Steele, Mission Director of the US Agency for International Development, visited Sulu this week and met with Governor Sakur Tan and pledged to continue supporting peace and development projects in the province.

“We are happy with the continued support of the United States to the people of Sulu and Washington has done a lot of development projects and very supportive of our peace and development efforts and anti-poverty programs as well,” Tan said.

Steele did not speak to reporters, but the US Agency for International Development has various infrastructure projects in Sulu under the Growth with Equity in Mindanao.

The US official was accompanied by Daniel Miller, Deputy Chief of the Office of Economic Development and Governance; and Robert Beadle, the Program Director and other American military officers and US Embassy staff.

Tan has previously praised American Presidents George Bush and Barack Obama for Washington’s peace and development support to Sulu where the US Agency for International Development funded the renovation of the airport in Jolo town; provided road infrastructure projects and potable water system, electrification among many other projects in the Muslim province.

The US Agency for International Development is an independent government agency that provides economic development and humanitarian assistance to advance US economic and political interests overseas.

US troops are deployed in Sulu on the request of the Philippine government, to train and advise the local military. They are also active in humanitarian missions and were working alongside with Filipino soldiers in development projects on poor areas in the province in collaboration with the provincial government. (Mindanao Examiner)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Kidnappers free 2 hostages in Mindanao


MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 24, 2011) – Kidnappers have freed Thursday a faculty member and a student they seized inside the Mindanao State University in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the duo - Cris Neil Gulfan, 24, and Aubrey Virtudez, 19, were released in the village of Panggao near Piagapo town in Lanao del Sur, one of five provinces under the troubled Muslim autonomous region.

“They are okay and were brought to the headquarters of the 103rd Infantry Brigade for debriefing and medical check up and subsequently handed over to their respective families,” said Colonel Daniel Lucero, the brigade commander.

He said the kidnappers released the hostages due to pressure exerted by joint police and military operations and Sultan Fahad Salic, the mayor of Marawi City.

Lucero said no ransom was paid to the kidnappers for the release of Gulfan, a faculty member of the Al-Khawirizmi International College and Virtudez, who were both seized February 19 inside the university compound.

Authorities did not say who were behind the kidnappings, but there had been similar incidents in the past where gunmen also seized innocent students inside the compound of the Mindanao State University. (Mindnaao Examiner)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Sulu convenes coordinating council, tackles disaster management

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan addresses the opening Wednesday, February 23, 2011 of the Area Coordinating Council in the town of Patikul. (Al-Al Salinas)


SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 23, 2011) – Sulu province in the southern Philippines convened Wednesday a meeting of various government agencies and stakeholders to draw plans that would effectively address natural calamities and other emergencies.

Governor Sakur Tan has called on stakeholders to actively participate in governance and to strengthen and revitalize the networking capabilities of the Sulu Area Coordinating Council, which coordinate the province’s various nongovernmental agencies, military, police, emergency services and other organizations and serves as an inter-agency communication network.

Tan is the chairman of the Area Coordinating Council which he established as a proactive, reactive, and post conflict mechanism to address various concerns at regional and local levels of governance and to solve problems of coordination and response.

Touching on the recent flash flood that hit Sulu early this month, Tan said: “The needs of Sulu are not merely centered on relief and assistance, for calamities are not an everyday occurrence, but instead we need to underline the long-term vision of the government such as poverty-alleviation and livelihood programs and the active involvement of community and people.”

“My official position is merely temporal, but the community and the people will outlive any political position or personality,” he added.

Eight people had been killed in Sulu’s coastal town of Jolo after flash flood swept away houses and destroyed government infrastructure. President Benigno Aquino visited Sulu on February 11 and met Tan and other government officials and he led the distribution of relief goods to thousands of villagers left homeless by the floods.

Tan said despite the calamity, many good things are happening for Sulu and he cited Aquino’s visit to the province. The president pledged more development projects for Sulu, one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

He said a day after Aquino’s visit, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman flew to Sulu for the second time in 24 hours to hand-over shelter projects and launched government-financial assistance program for the poor. These were on top of hundreds of housing projects built by the provincial government recently.

Tan said Sulu will host the regional police headquarters that will oversee peace and order in the province and nearby Basilan and Tawi-Tawi provinces which are also part of the Muslim autonomous region.

The regional police headquarters are currently located in Maguindanao province in Mindanao. “Peace and order is an integral component of development efforts and the regional office in Sulu will mean more effective and quick responses to eventualities,” he said.

On Thursday, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala will fly to Sulu from Manila to lead the groundbreaking ceremony of the P32-million fish port and cold storage facility in the town of Maibung. He said if completed, the facility will be handed over to cooperatives whose members are mostly fishermen.

The Area Coordinating Council has been recently chosen as one of the finalists for the prestigious Galing Pook Awards.

Fazlur-Rahman Abdulla, Executive Director of the Area Coordinating Council, said the facility also functions both as a system and as a council for planning, integrating, directing, supervising, and implementing line-up government programs and projects particularly on political, socioeconomic, cultural, religious, development, security and information issues.

He said the United States government also funded some of the construction of buildings use as headquarters of the Area Coordinating Council in Sulu. There are at least 20 Area Coordinating Council across the province. (Mindanao Examiner)

Flash flood hits Dipolog City


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 23, 2011) – More than 160 people were evacuated to safer areas after flash floods hit the southern Filipino city of Dipolog, but there had been no reports of casualties.

Most of those affected by the flood were brought to temporary shelters. At least three houses were destroyed by the rampaging waters and that crops and livestock had been affected by the flood.

Government media reported that at least 167 people were evacuated to the municipal complex in Zamboanga del Norte province. Heavy rains the past days have flooded some villages in Dipolog City.

Thousands of families were also left homeless earlier this month after flash floods triggered by continuous rains hit many provinces in the southern Philippines and killed and injured dozens of villagers.

In Sulu province, eight people had been killed by flash flood and submerged the capital town of Jolo. President Benigno Aquino visited Sulu on February 11 and distributed relief goods together with local officials headed by Governor Sakur Tan and Mayor Hussin Amin to thousands of villagers in the town. (Mindanao Examiner)

Justice For Maguindanao Massacre Victims; 15 Months Had Passed!


It is 15 months now since the Maguindanao massacre where at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

PROGAY begs Bahrain, free jailed gays, respect street protests


MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 22, 2011) – Gay activists in the Philippines have appealed Tuesday for the release of more than 120 Arab homosexuals arrested by police a week before massive protests swamped the oil-producing kingdom of Bahrain.

Goya Candelario, spokesperson of the Progressive Organization of Gays in the Philippines or PROGAY, called on the government of Bahrain to immediately free the 127 gays as their security in detention is compromised due to the political instability in the kingdom’s capital.

He said Bahraini police raided on February 2 a private reception for an alleged same-sex wedding, netting more than a hundred men, mostly visiting from Syria and Lebanon. The party venue was a sports hall in Hidd, a village on Muharraq Island.

Police argued that the party was decadent and depraved because of the presence of male guests who wore makeup and women’s attire, and were also consuming alcohol, behaviors that are sanctioned as immoral and illegal in most Gulf countries. Later, the police conducted checks to ascertain if the men engaged in sexual relations.

PROGAY expressed concern that the police in the Middle East routinely practice increased cruelty when dealing with gay men in their custody, while citing reports from returning gay overseas Filipino guest workers.

Candelario said some Filipino workers who entertain in private parties for fun or income are also being arrested in surprise raids and spend between six months to one year in prisons, where they suffer further sexual abuse, deprivation and shame.

However, victims do not file complaints and even reapply and reenter Gulf countries for work, preferring curbs on homosexual lifestyles to the grinding poverty and unemployment in the Philippines.

Last year, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued a blanket ban on the recruitment of known homosexuals from the Philippines, raising protests from gay activists and prospective migrant workers.

On the other hand, PROGAY also saw hope of increased freedoms for gays and lesbians in the simultaneous uprisings of the Arab peoples against tyrannical rulers in Bahrain, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen. PROGAY believes that democratization in these countries may provide opportunities for advancing human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Candelario also scored the Aquino administration for not pursuing genuine economic reforms that would generate employment for Filipinos. The gay advocate said that Aquino should now order an immediate evacuation plan to protect thousands of lives in the Middle East and Africa who fear further escalation of violence and job losses.

Progay Philippines is a service and advocacy organization that provides counseling, training and education assistance to marginalized gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual Filipinos, especially the youth and the ageing sectors. ProGay initiated Pride traditions in the country when it led the first ever gay and lesbian Pride parade in the entire Asian region on 26 June 1994.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Mindanao will experience power outages in March: PIA


KORONADAL CITY, Philippines - Mindanao could experience power outages in March, Department of Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said.

Almendras, who visited Koronadal on Friday, said that for three weeks in March, Mindanao could experience at least two to three hours of power interruptions, particularly during peak hours because of grid operations maintenance protocol they will implement next month.

Last week, the National Grid Corporation (NGCP) informed South Cotabato 1 Electric Cooperative (SOCOTECO 1) General Manager Santiago Tudio of a possible power curtailment of 1 megawatt for the province in March reportedly because the National Power Corporation (Napocor) will be de-silting a large part of Pulangi river where the hydropower plants are located.

“From last week of May until the first week of June, the power supply will be very tight so if something goes wrong, brownouts are possible,” Almendras added.

“But the possibility that there will be brownout in June is very minimal because in the past seven months we have put in place several measures to ensure that there will be no shortage of supply this year.”

However, Almendras pointed out that Mindanao is very short of power supply. “Kahit isang generator lang ang masisira, siguradong magkakaroon kayo ng brownout dahil wala kayong reserve,” he said.

To augment this power shortage in the region, DOE is rushing the rehabilitation of the Iligan 100-megawatt diesel plant.

“We are also trying to move four barges from Panay Island to Mindanao but all these are stop-gap measures. They are only able to supply the present needs,” he said.

DOE is considering the development of alternative indigenous power sources, including establishment of coal-fired power plants.

“We have no choice but to develop indigenous resources and coal is the cheapest alternative source next to nuclear power,” he said.

He explained that there are already technologies to use coal without necessarily endangering the environment.

“There are already coal-fired power plants in the middle of Tokyo, Taipei and major cities of Europe because they already have technologies for clean coal,” he said. (Philippine Information Agency)

7 prisoners escape from Zambo jail


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 21, 2011) – Seven prisoners escaped Monday from a jail facility in Pagadian City in the southern Filipino province of Zamboanga del Sur, officials said.

Officials said a jail guard and a prisoner were killed in an ensuing gun battle. Those who escaped were facing murder and other criminal charges, said Army Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a regional military spokesman.

He said the prisoners grabbed the weapons of jail guards and used them in fighting their way out. "The prisoners escaped with at least two high-powered firearms and have commandeered a vehicle," he said.

No other details were made available by jail officials and the provincial police chief Elmer Escosia ignored phone calls and did not answer text messages from journalists.

The prison is being run by the Zamboanga del Sur provincial government.
(Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnappers tumirang muli sa loob ng Mindanao State University


DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 21, 2011) – Communist rebels have released Monday a Filipino policeman and an army soldier they captured in Mindanao after more than two weeks in captivity, a spokesman for the New People’s Army said.

Rafael de la Cruz, of the NPA’s Wilfredo Zapanta Command, said police officer Jerwel Tugade was freed as a sign of support to the ongoing peace talks between the rebels and Aquino government.

“His release was an act of good faith in support to the current peace talks and to inspire reciprocal measures from the Government of the Philippines,” he said.

Tugade, a member of the 1106th Provincial Mobile Group of the Philippine National Police, was arrested February 7 at a rebel checkpoint at a highway the town of Banaybanay in Davao Oriental province.

“In the course of his 15-day captivity, he was treated humanely; his rights as prisoner of war were fully respected in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions,” the rebel spokesman said.

He said they released the prisoner despite ongoing military and police operations in Mindanao which violated a weeklong truce that both sides declared on February 15 to allow peace negotiations between the National Democratic Front, the political wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, and the Aquino government.

The rebels accused the Army’s 10th Infantry Division of sabotaging the peace talks by its continued operations in areas where the communist secessionist group is strong.

“The 10th Infantry Division only shows its utter contempt to the peace talks as it tries to sabotage the mutual ceasefire in its desperate bid to gain an upper hand against the people's army. The safe and orderly release of NPA prisoner of war Tugade today and the series of accumulated defeats that the Armed Forces of the Philippines sustained from the NPA have only proven that the bankrupt reactionary army and the rotten regime have been failing miserably in its anti-people and counter-revolutionary war,” Dela Cruz said.

Another rebel unit said it also freed Private First Class El Bryan Cañedo, a member of the 5th Scout Ranger Company under the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion.

Homer Sandejas, a spokesman for the NPA’s Front 25 Operations Command, said the release of the soldier was also gesture of goodwill gesture in support to the peace talks.

“Prisoner of war Cañedo's reunion with his family would have come much earlier were it not for the 10th Infantry Division’s fascist arrogance in pursuing their futile offensive combat and so-called rescue missions - even amid appeals of the religious sector to stop military operations for his expeditious and safe release and the Armed Forces of the Philippines declaration of suspension of offensive military operations during the week-long formal peace talks resumption,” Sandejas said.

The rebels also freed last week a policeman Jorge Sabatin and a former army Mario Veluz after weeks in captivity in Mindanao. The NPA is fighting for decades for the establishment of a communist state in the predominantly Catholic nation.
(Mindanao Examiner)

Maoist rebels free another captured policeman in Mindanao


DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 21, 2011) – Communist rebels have released Monday a Filipino policeman they captured in Mindanao after more than two weeks in captivity, a spokesman for the New People’s Army said.

Rafael de la Cruz, of the NPA’s Wilfredo Zapanta Command, said police officer Jerwel Tugade was freed as a sign of support to the ongoing peace talks between the rebels and Aquino government.

“His release was an act of good faith in support to the current peace talks and to inspire reciprocal measures from the Government of the Philippines,” he said.

Tugade, a member of the 1106th Provincial Mobile Group of the Philippine National Police, was arrested February 7 at a rebel checkpoint at a highway the town of Banaybanay in Davao Oriental province.

“In the course of his 15-day captivity, he was treated humanely; his rights as prisoner of war were fully respected in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions,” the rebel spokesman said.

He said they released the prisoner despite ongoing military and police operations in Mindanao which violated a weeklong truce that both sides declared on February 15 to allow peace negotiations between the National Democratic Front and the Aquino government.

The National Democratic Front is the political wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines.

The rebels also accused the Army’s 10th Infantry Division of sabotaging the peace talks by its continued operations in areas where the communist secessionist group is strong.

“The 10th Infantry Division only shows its utter contempt to the peace talks as it tries to sabotage the mutual ceasefire in its desperate bid to gain an upper hand against the people's army. The safe and orderly release of NPA prisoner of war Tugade today and the series of accumulated defeats that the Armed Forces of the Philippines sustained from the NPA have only proven that the bankrupt reactionary army and the rotten regime have been failing miserably in its anti-people and counter-revolutionary war,” Dela Cruz said.

The rebels also freed last week a policeman Jorge Sabatin and a former army Mario Veluz after weeks in captivity in Mindanao, but are still holding another soldier Private First Class El Bryan Cañedo who was captured this month at a checkpoint in Compostela Valley’s Compostela town. Cañedo is a member of the 5th Scout Ranger Company under the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion.

The rebels are fighting for decades for the establishment of a communist state in the predominantly Catholic nation. (Mindanao Examiner)

Police search for killing fields in Maguindanao



Justice Secretary Leila De Lima talks to a forensic expert on the two skeletal remains exhumed from previous excavations in Shariff Aguak and Datu Hoffer towns in Maguindanao province in the southern Philippines. (Mark Navales – Mindanao Examiner Photo)


MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 21, 2011) – Philippine authorities continue to search for graves of civilians allegedly murdered in the province of Maguindanao allegedly on orders of influential politicians linked to the brutal slayings of dozens of people in 2009.

The search was ordered after an informant tipped off authorities about the existence of the graves in the towns of Shariff Aguak and Datu Hoffer, all stronghold of the wealthy Ampatuan clan accused of murdering 57 people, including at least 32 journalists.

Human remains have been found in one of the graves, police said, adding
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and a team of forensic experts inspected the bones. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sunday, February 20, 2011

500 shelters up for grabs in Sulu Province


Photo released by the Sulu Provincial Government shows Sulu Government Sakur Tan with Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman during a recent inspection of provincial government housing projects in Mainbung town. Tan says more than 500 shelters are to be constructed in Sulu as part of a massive housing program for the poor. (Text: Mindanao Examiner)


SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 20, 2011) – At least 500 shelters are set to be constructed for poor families as part of a massive housing program in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the projects are in collaboration with the Sulu provincial government, the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Gawad Kalinga.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan said the project is part of a program aimed at providing shelters to poor families in different villages in the province. Hundreds of housing units have already been built in the coastal town of Maimbung.

“We have built hundreds of shelters in the past years and we are going to construct more to provide descent housing for poor families and other important infrastructure projects that will hasten trade and commerce in Sulu,” Tan said.

He said a P32 million fish port and cold storage facility will also start construction this month in Maimbung town. He said the fish port and cold storage would be given to cooperatives, whose members are mostly fishermen and farmers.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala is expected to lead government officials in the ground-breaking ceremony of the facility on Thursday in the town.

Tan, who is now serving a second term, said he implemented various infrastructure projects the past years and is now continuing in many parts of Sulu. “I really don’t count the number of days of my public service. I just continue working hard for our people, for the development and progress of my beautiful province,” he said.

His days in office are marked with ground breaking and inaugurations of many development projects – from urban housing, health and education, to the promotion of tourism and trade in Sulu.

“Ours is a short and long-term program that will surely benefit not only our people and the province, but also the region as well. We have an ambitious peace and development programs that will address poverty,” Tan said.

He said Sulu, one of five provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is fast becoming a gateway to Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

Now with an airport bigger than the Zamboanga International Airport, Sulu hopes to attract more airliners to open routes in the province. Philippine Air Lines has already opened its regular 3 times-a-week flights from Zamboanga City to Sulu and further boosting trade and commerce in the province.

Ferries also ply the Zamboanga-Sulu-Sandakan routes and traders and travelers come and go, Tan said.

Although Sulu gets little projects from the Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao, Tan said they have learned how to survive on their own by tapping so-called “people power.”

“We have our own version of people power and this is the cooperation of the different sector of our society – the people themselves, in making and achieving that change that will benefit us all, our children and the future – in the end. It is simply hard work,” he said.

Tan said he would also build a market place in Maimbung where locals can sell their catch and other marine products. He said government engineers are also working on a college that would offer free education to locals specializing in fishery and agriculture.

He said they are also promoting cooperatives in the province and has launched in the past fish cages and lobster fattening and seaweed farming in many coastal areas where fishermen formed themselves into cooperatives.

“I am a firm believer of cooperatives and we have aggressively promoted and formed many cooperatives that benefitted our farmers and fisher folks and even housewives are now members of cooperatives and they are enjoying the livelihood benefits of all these projects and programs,” he said.

Tan has also offered to host the main headquarters and training base of the police force in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in an effort to make it easier for authorities to effectively maintain the peace and order in the island-provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The current headquarters of the regional police is located far away in Maguindanao province in Mindanao Island. Maguindanao in central Mindanao and Lanao del Sur province in the west, are part of the autonomous region, but is also far away from each other.

Sulu province lies between Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, about 8 hours by boat from Basilan or Tawi-Tawi.

Tan, a known philanthropist and religious man, said he would like to see Sulu as a peaceful and progressive province, a former seat of government of the once powerful Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo which ruled over much of the southern Philippines in the past.

At its peak, it stretched over the islands that bordered the western peninsula of Mindanao in the east to Palawan in the north. It also covers the area in northeastern side of Borneo, stretching from Kimanis in now Sabah, to Tepian Durian in now Kalimantan. (Mindanao Examiner)

Cotabato, lubog sa krimen!


COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 20, 2011) – Wala pa rin humpay ang patayan sa magulong lungsod ng Cotabato matapos na atakihin ng mga gun-for-hire ang isang negosyante sa loob mismo ng kanyang bahay doon.

May-ari umano ng isang restoran sa Cotabato ang biktima at ilang ulit itong pinagbabaril Kamakalawa ng hapon sa kanyang bahay. Hindi naman agad mabatid kung may kasamahaan ito ng maganap ang pagpatay.

Sa ulo at dibdib umano ng babae ang puntirya ng lahat ng tama ng baril at wala na itong buhay ng matagpuan ng mga kapit-bahay. Hindi rin agad mabatid kung may nakakita sa mga kriminal.

Subali’t ayon sa ilang ulat ay tumakas ang dalawa sa ng isang motorsiklo.

Talamak ang patayan sa Cotabato na kung saan ay halos kagagawan ng mga gun-for-hire ang mga krimen doon. Ilang ulit na rin nanawagan ang ilang mga sector sa Cotabato na sibakin ang hepe ng pulisya doon dahil sa kabiguan nitong pigilan ang pagtaas ng kriminalidad.

Nais rin ng mga civil group na busisiin ng pamahalaang Aquino ang intelligence fund ng lokal na pamahalaan upang mabatid kung saan ito napupunta dahil sa kabiguan rin diumano ng alkalde na pigilan ang kaguluhan doon.

Nuong nakaraang buwan lamang ay isang negosyanteng Tsinoy ang dinukot sa labas lamang ng Estosan Hotel di-kalayuan sa compound ng Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao sa nasabing lungsod. (Mindanao Examiner)

Saturday, February 19, 2011

NPA rebels free another captured policeman in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 19, 2011) – New People’s Army rebels have freed Saturday a police officer they held in captivity for more than two weeks in the southern Philippines, the group’s spokesman said.

Roel Agustin II, of the New People’s Army Conrado Heredia Command, said the police officer Jorge Sabatin was released as an act of goodwill after a rebel court absolved him of any charges against the Maoist group which has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate state in the country.

He said: “The order to release POW PO3 Sabatin was also issued as an act of goodwill for the formal resumption of the peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front.”

The National Democratic Front is the political wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines which is currently negotiating peace with the Aquino government.

“On the occasion of the renewed round of peace talks between the Government of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, the Conrado Heredia Command-Front 20 Operations Command of the New People's Army in Southern Mindanao has released today NPA Prisoner of War PO3 Jorge Sabatin with Badge No. 146981,” Agustin said.

Sabatin, a member of the 1403rd Police Provincial Mobile Group, was taken prisoner after rebel forces stormed and overrun and police post on February 1 in Agusan del Sur’s Trento town.

The policeman was wounded in the firefight and had been taken cared of by rebels during his captivity. The rebels accused security forces in the town of protecting politicians and their private army involved in alleged extortion activities and illegal logging.

Agustin said the prisoner could have been freed early, but military operations against the rebels in the provinces of Compostela Valley, Agusan del Sur and Davao Oriental had delayed the release.

“His reunion with his family could have been much earlier had the military and police heeded calls of Sabatin’s family and well-meaning individuals to cease their futile and failed combat operations to make way for his earlier release,” he said.

Sabatin had earlier appealed to the military and police to stop operations to rescue him because it could jeopardize his safe release.

‘The safe and orderly release of PO3 Sabatin today has only proven the futility of the so-called military and police rescue missions. Despite the intensified operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines before and even during the week-long ceasefire, the safety and well-being of POW Sabatin were ensured inside the territories of the People's Democratic Government. The NPA has once again proven its principled adherence to international covenants and war protocols,” Agustin said.

Communist rebels on Friday also released a government soldier, Army Master Sergeant Mario Veluz, after more than a week in captivity in Mindanao.

Veluz was captured on February 6 at a rebel checkpoint along a highway near Bukidnon province and had been held as prisoner of war.

“The Herminio Alfonso Command-Front 53 Operations Command of the New People's Army released today Master Sergeant Mario Veluz after an investigation cleared him of his possible continuing active involvement in counter-revolutionary activities. He has neither direct culpability nor serious violations to the revolutionary movement,” said Isabel Santiago, a rebel spokesperson for the Herminio Alfonso Command.

Rebels are also holding another government soldier Army Private First Class El Bryan Cañedo in Compostela Valley province who was captured this month at a rebel checkpoint in the village of Marapat in Compostela Valley’s Compostela town.

Cañedo is a member of the 5th Scout Ranger Company under the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion.

The rebels have declared a weeklong truce starting on February 15 to allow peace talks with the Aquino government in Norway which is brokering the negotiations.

Peace talks collapsed in 2004 after rebels accused then President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on several agreements and among them was the release of all political detainees.

The truce came after the Aquino government declared a cease-fire with the New People’s Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate Maoist state in the largely Catholic country. The 40-year old communist insurgency in the Philippines is the longest in the world. (Mindanao Examiner)

Maoist rebels threaten logging, mining firms in the Philippines


DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 19, 2011) – Philippine communist rebels have threatened to launch attacks on logging firms they accused of operating near protected watersheds and virgin forests in the mineral-rich region of Mindanao.

New People’s Army rebels also accused these firms of engaging in destructive logging in Diwata Mountain Range in southern Mindanao; Kalatungan-Kitanglad Mountain Range in northern Mindanao; and mountain forests in the provinces of Compostela Valley, South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat and Zamboanga del Norte.

The rebels urged President Benigno Aquino III to immediately act on the destruction of forests and environment in those areas. Aquino has recently ordered a total ban on all logging activities in natural forests in the southern Philippines after flash floods killed and injured dozens of people in Mindanao.

“In the interest of protecting the country’s remaining virgin forests, the ban must see to it that the licenses of large logging companies operating in and around water sheds and natural forests must immediately be revoked or cancelled. The operations of these said companies must immediately be ordered to cease and pull out from the area. The reactionary government must, on the other hand, provide viable alternative livelihood for all the workers in the field who have been hired by these companies,” said Jorge Madlos, a rebel spokesman.

Madlos said large logging companies in Mindanao continue to operate within near and around water sheds and natural forest. He said one such company operating inside natural forest areas in Mindanao is the Surigao Development Corporation (SUDECOR).

“Their destructive operations cover the watershed areas and virgin forest in the boundaries of the provinces of Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Sur, Agusan del Norte and Surigao del Sur. It is one of the remaining biggest and most destructive logging companies in the Caraga region. It employs the destructive bulldozer-dragging method in its operations,” he said.

Caraga refers to the administrative region on the northeastern portion of Mindanao which is composed of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur and the cities of Butuan, Surigao, Bislig.

Many virgin forests and mountains in the region are now denuded because of the unabated illegal loggings.

“If the government is sincere in saving the environment, Mr. Aquino must immediately cancel the logging permit of the SUDECOR, and order its unconditional pull-out from Caraga,” Madlos said.

He said rebel forces are committed to stop destructive logging, mining and large scale plantations in Mindanao. “We will continue to launch military punitive actions against these said companies to prevent them from establishing their business, disband, or punish those that do not abide with our revolutionary policies,” Madlos said.

“In particular, we will continue to launch military actions against SUDECOR, DOLEPHIL and other such companies that refuse to recognize and respect revolutionary policies, particularly on environmental protection.”

“We again call, as we have been calling for so many years now, on the workers and dependents of the SUDECOR logging company to shift to other sources of living so that we can once and for all stop the destruction of our remaining virgin forests in Caraga region,” Madlos said.

DOLEPHIL refers to the Dole which is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and fresh cut flowers with a growing line of quality packaged foods. Its product lines in the Philippines range from canned pineapple solids, canned mixed fruits, canned beverages, packaged fruit snacks to tomato sauce.

The New People’s Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, currently negotiating peace with Manila fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the largely Catholic country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Toyota Innova For Sale In Zamboanga


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Paseo del Mar in Zamboanga City


Day view of the Paseo del Mar in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

NPA rebels free army prisoner in Mindanao


DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 18, 2011) – Filipino communist rebels have freed on Friday a government soldier after more than a week in captivity in the southern Philippines.

Army Master Sergeant Mario Veluz was released after a rebel court absolved him of any crimes against the New People’s Army or civilians.

Veluz was captured on February 6 at a rebel checkpoint along a highway near Bukidnon province and had been held as prisoner of war. His pistol was also confiscated by rebels.

“The Herminio Alfonso Command-Front 53 Operations Command of the New People's Army released today Master Sergeant Mario Veluz after an investigation cleared him of his possible continuing active involvement in counter-revolutionary activities. He has neither direct culpability nor serious violations to the revolutionary movement,” said Isabel Santiago, a rebel spokesperson.

Santiago said during interrogation, Veluz told his captors that he had served in combat duties in the Philippine Army for more than three decades. Santiago said the rights of Veluz were protected under the International Humanitarian Law.

Rebels are also holding another government soldier Army Private First Class El Bryan Cañedo in Compostela Valley province and a policeman Jorge Sabatin in Agusan del Sur province. Both were captured separately this month.

Homer Sandejas, a spokesman for the New People’s Army in Southern Mindanao, said the 23-year old soldier was arrested at a rebel checkpoint in the village of Marapat in Compostela town. A pistol was seized from the infantryman.

He said Cañedo is a member of the 5th Scout Ranger Company under the 2nd Scout Ranger Battalion and both the soldier and Sabatin are facing investigation for possible crimes committed against the masses and the revolutionary movement.

The rebels have declared a weeklong truce starting on February 15 to allow peace talks with the Aquino government in Norway which is brokering the negotiations.

Peace talks collapsed in 2004 after rebels accused then President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on several agreements and among them was the release of all political detainees.

The truce came after the Aquino government declared a cease-fire with the New People’s Army, armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for decades for the establishment of a separate Maoist state in the largely Catholic country. The 40-year old communist insurgency in the Philippines is the longest in the world. (Mindanao Examiner)

Come and Visit My Sulu


"Wow Sulu" is a tourism slogan of Governor Dr Sakur Tan, of the province of Sulu, the 15th largest island of the Philippine Archipelago in terms of the area, spanning 1,600 square kilometers. Sulu is a part of the Sulu Archipelago, which stretches from the tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula to the island of Borneo. The main island and also its islets are located between the island-provinces of Basilan to the northeast, and Tawi-Tawi to the southwest.

Sulu is located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Its capital is Jolo and occupies the middle group of islands of the Sulu Archipelago, between Basilan and Tawi-Tawi. It is home to the historical Sultanate of Sulu.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Philippine military launches probe into soldiers' brutal attacks on civilians


MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 17, 2011) – The Philippine military launched an investigation Thursday into a video uploaded on the social networking site Facebook where it showed soldiers beating up four men whose faces were covered and hands tied behind their back.

The video was believed taken by one of the soldiers from a cell phone and it showed about a dozen troops at a coconut farm taking turns in punching and kicking the still unidentified men as they lay helpless.

Some of the victims were crying and begging the soldiers to stop the beatings, but it continued more with some of them threatening to execute the four men. It was unknown whether the men were civilians or rebels, but security officials who watched the clip said the video was probably taken between 2008 and 2009 in Basilan province, south of Zamboanga City, because of its familiar topography.

Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, three of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, are where most of the marine forces are currently stationed.

But it was not immediately known when the video was taken and whether the four men had been killed by the soldiers. The clip ran for almost 2 minutes and can be accessed on this URL http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=189913031028856&comments.

“Let’s bring them all and then kill them later because if we kill them now it will be difficult for us to carry (the bodies of) these sons of bitches,” said one soldier.

Two soldiers also kicked one of the men on the face after he was told to stand up, but he could hardly walk because of the beatings. “Walk you animal, walk,” one soldier shouted at the man, whose face was covered with a hood just like the others.

The video clip drew harsh criticism from those who watched it on Facebook.

“This is how the AFP and PNP serve the country,” one comment said, referring to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police.

One of those who watched the clip could not believe the video and said it could be propaganda of leftist organizations and communist rebels. But was quick to say that if the video was genuine, "then the soldiers must be punished."

The Armed Forces of the Philippines headed by Lieutenant General Ricardo David has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and that Army Colonel Domingo Tutaan, head of its new Human Rights Office, who viewed the clip, has already launched a detailed inquiry into it.

“As soon as I have heard the news about the video clip, I have directed the Philippine Navy human rights officers to conduct an inquiry and a thorough investigation to determine the veracity of the video and identify the soldiers, their unit and when and where this was committed and the commanders of said unit,” said Tutaan, who was appointed last year by President Benigno Aquino as head of the AFP Human Rights Office.

In an interview with the Mindanao Examiner, Tutaan said: “The intent of the investigation is to determine the culpability of soldiers and if there is culpability, we will file immediately a case in accordance with the military justice system and to cooperate with local enforcement agencies for filing of criminal charges. Respect for human rights of every citizen is our primordial concern.”

He said the AFP also wanted to determine what happened to the four men and their whereabouts. “We want to determine all these things so we can extend assistance to them. We want to extend them legal assistance too,” Tutaan, a known hard-core human rights defender, said.

Captain Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, a spokesman for the Philippine Navy which has control over the Marine forces, said the video was viewed by senior military officials and that an investigation was launched to identify the soldiers in the video.

“The Flag Officer in Command of the Philippine Navy (Rear Admiral Alexander Pama) has directed the Naval Inspector General to conduct formal investigation to ferret out the truth relative to that video that was uploaded in that Facebook for further appropriate actions as results would warrant,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said the Philippine Marine Corps is also in the process of determining the authenticity of the contents of the video. “If found authentic, the Philippine Marine Corps will conduct an investigation to identify the personnel involve and the extent of their culpability,” the spokesman said.

“In support to the AFP human rights advocacy, the Philippine Navy leadership assures that adherence to the rule of law and respect to Human Rights is our paramount concern in every operation,” he added.

The Department of National Defense also mounted its own investigation after senior officials watched the video clip, according to an aide of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. “Secretary Gazmin who watched the video clip is angry about these abuses by soldiers and he has ordered an investigation into it,” the aide said.

The Human Rights Watch, one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights, reported that hundreds of leftist politicians, political activists, journalists, and outspoken clergy have been killed or abducted since 2001 – the time that President Gloria Arroyo rose from power after deposing President Joseph Estrada in a military-backed, people-power revolution.

Most of the killings had been blamed to the military, but so far only 11 people have been convicted for these extrajudicial killings, two in 2009. No member of the military active at the time of the killing has been brought to justice for such crimes.

In an April 2009 follow-up report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Philip Alston observed that while the Arroyo government has taken some steps to address extrajudicial killings, it fails to implement needed reforms such as institutionalizing the principle of command responsibility.