Key Philippine Military and Insurgency-Related Events

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Mar 2, 2022):

On aerial bombing of civilian communities in Lanao del Sur, Mindoro and Masbate

This article is available in Bisaya

Marco Valbuena

Chief Information Officer

Communist Party of the Philippines

March 02, 2022

1.The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) condemns in the strongest terms the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for dropping at least 12 heavy bombs yesterday on a Moro civilian community of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Barangay Runggayan, Maguing, Lanao del Sur. At least five civilians, including children, were killed in the bombing that started at 2 a.m. Scores of others were injured. The local mosque was reportedly hit and all houses in the barangay suffered damages. Local residents in and around the community are terrorized and gravely traumatized.

2. The bombing in Lanao del Sur against civilians mark the AFP’s heightening campaign of aerial bombardment. It follows a similar bombing over the weekend (February 26) against Mangyan communities between Bongabong, Mindoro Oriental and San Jose, Mindoro Occidental which terrorized the people and forced them to evacuate their communities. A few days earlier (February 21), the AFP also dropped at least six bombs on communities in Barangay Igang, Masbate City, forcing people to leave their homes to seek safety. A few weeks earlier, the AFP dropped bombs over Agta communities in Barangay Sta. Clara, Gonzaga, Cagayan Valley forcing more than 60 families to flee their homes.

3. These incidents underscore the fact that aerial bombing is indiscriminate and endangers the lives of civilians. Over the past few years, the AFP has dropped countless 500-lb bombs and rocket bombs in mountains inhabited by minority communities, in agricultural fields and in the proximity of communities, in violation of international humanitarian law. Aerial bombings aim primarily at terrorizing people to make them kneel before the fascist authority of the AFP founded on their superior armed strength.

4. The Party condemns the AFP for its campaign of disinformation aimed at deceiving the people and covering up their crimes. In yesterday’s bombing in Lanao del Sur, the AFP whipped up Islamophobia and claimed they were targeting “ISIS” fighters, when it is a known fact in the locality that Barangay Runggayan is a community of the MILF, as confirmed by town officials. Claims that aerial bombings aim to “clear the area of landmines” are a false pretext. If this were true, why would the AFP drop bombs or fire their cannons on agricultural fields or near villages and in mountain communities? It has become standard operating procedure for the AFP to impose a news blackout on areas that it has bombed, preventing the media and even local officials at times access to the area. A group that was set to conduct a fact-finding mission in Gonzaga, Cagayan Valley last Monday were prevented from proceeding to the area and were later harassed with the unlawful arrest of one of the participants.

5. The Party enjoins the broad sectors of the Filipino people, together with the Moro people, to build a united front to demand an end to the AFP’s aerial bombing, aerial strafing and artillery shelling campaign which has caused widespread terror and trauma especially among children, deaths of civilians, superfluous injury, and destruction of civilian property, environment and wildlife. The Filipino people must demand an accounting and investigation of all cases of aerial bombing, strafing and artillery shelling, including an assessment of the deaths and injury caused by the bombings especially against civilians, damage to farmlands and forest resources, wild animals and birds, noise and air pollution caused by hours of overflight of drones, helicopters and attack aircraft, as well as the costs that the Filipino people have to shoulder for this dastardly campaign. We also call on the people to vigorously fight the AFP’s disinformation campaign by exposing by all means possible all cases of abuses and violations of human rights being perpetrated by the military and police forces.

6. The AFP’s campaign of aerial bombing, strafing and artillery shelling is a costly strategy that is designed and dictated by the US military advisers and supported by US military financing, despite lessons of its failures in Vietnam and Afghanistan. The United States has long been pushing militaries around the world to purchase drones, jet fighters, attack helicopters, bombs and artillery shell from companies forming the US military industrial complex and their allied companies in Israel, South Korea, Poland and other countries.

7. Units of the New People’s Army (NPA) have quickly adapted to the AFP’s use of aerial bombing and are raising their capability at guerrilla maneuvers and tactics to deny the AFP of a target and render these weapons ineffective. In their desperation to hit the NPA from the air and use up its annual supply of bombs and artillery shells, and thus justify new purchases in the coming years, the AFP is increasingly becoming careless and indiscriminate in dropping their heavy bombs and firing their rockets. Many more innocents are bound to be killed, terrorized and traumatized by the AFP’s bombs and cannons. The Filipino people must raise their voices and demand that this be put to a stop.

https://cpp.ph/statements/on-aerial-bombing-of-civilian-communities-in-lanao-del-sur-mindoro-and-masbate/

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Mar 2, 2022): Indict Duterte and the AFP in the cold-blooded massacre of the New Bataan 5!

Rubi del Mundo

Spokesperson

NDF-Southern Mindanao

National Democratic Front of the Philippines

March 02, 2022

The National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Southern Mindanao Region vehemently condemns the abduction and subsequent massacre of five civilian individuals by fascist troops of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Brgy. Andap, New Bataan, Davao de Oro last February 23.

The Filipino people hold the tyrannical Duterte regime and the AFP responsible for the heinous crime that calls to mind numerous bloody extra-judicial killings and abductions of the Marcos martial era and succeeding fascist reactionary regimes.

On the evening of February 23, Chad Errol Booc and Gelejurain Ngujo II, both volunteer Lumad school teachers; Elgyn Balonga, a community health worker; and two other individuals were accosted by AFP soldiers in a checkpoint in Brgy. Poblacion. By morning on February 24, their lifeless bodies were found sprawled on a dirt road in Purok 8, Brgy. Andap.

The military checkpoint is only a few kilometers away from the headquarters of the 66th Infantry Battalion in New Bataan.

The local NPA unit and masses in the area have confirmed that no armed encounter took place in the area during the time of the abduction. Clearly, the unarmed civilians were extra-judicially killed by the fascist troops. To cover up its crime and make war trophies out of it, the 10th Infantry Division peddled lies that the victims were members of the NPA and killed in an armed encounter.

The three activists and their two companions were neither combatants nor part of any NPA unit operating in the countryside. They were advocates whose only weapons were their pen, voice and avowed commitment to serve the Lumad and peasant communities.

The bloody massacre of the New Bataan 5 plainly demonstrates the fascist impunity that Duterte’s Oplan Kapanatagan has normalized and enabled in its tyrannical reign. Embodied and implemented by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), the carnage is proof of the lethal danger of the regime’s modus operandi of terrorist-labelling and vilification campaign as prelude to harassment, incarceration, abduction and even murder.

For several years, Booc, Ngujo and Balonga have been red-tagged for their education and health advocacies for peasants and Lumad in Mindanao. Booc was jailed in early 2021 along with other teachers and Lumad leaders following a police raid of a Lumad Bakwit school in Cebu City. When they were released several months later, Booc and the others were threatened by the mouthpieces of the AFP and NTF-ELCAC that state forces will continue to come after them. The New Bataan massacre is the heinous fulfillment of that thinly-veiled threat.

While the people grieve for their loss of selfless servants in the struggle for their democratic rights and interests, they are nevertheless outraged at the Duterte regime that continues to weaponize the entire reactionary system, draconian legislations and enabling fascist military-junta to go after legitimate dissent in the name of counterinsurgency.

The Anti-Terror Law is a blunt weapon being bullheadedly brandished by the rabid AFP and NTF-ELCAC to legally lump together combatants and non-combatants alike, label them wholesale as terrorists and render them targets for arrests and liquidation. Booc, Ngujo and Balonga, like most red-tagged civilians, activists and even personalities from the reactionary political opposition, suffered relentless vilification before being thrown in jail or murdered.

Just mere two days before this year’s commemoration of the 1986 EDSA popular uprising against the Marcos dictatorship, the New Bataan 5 massacre is a gruesome reminder of state fascism that continues to be a stark reality more than 30 years later. With the looming return of a Marcos progeny to the highest reactionary political seat and an effective perpetuation of Duterte’s brand of tyranny, the massacre is likewise a call to arms to all freedom-loving Filipinos. It is the kind of careless brutality that sends the youth and other Filipinos to the streets to protest or wage armed resistance with the NPA in the countryside.

The Filipino people demand a thorough, independent and impartial investigation of the massacre in New Bataan. They hold the Duterte regime and the AFP accountable and demand the culprits to be indicted for the crime and all other crimes they committed against the people. Most of all, they clamor for revolutionary justice which they know can only be achieved by waging the national democratic revolution.

https://cpp.ph/statements/indict-duterte-and-the-afp-in-the-cold-blooded-massacre-of-the-new-bataan-5/

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Mar 2, 2022):

AFP’s fiction of armed encounter cannot belie cold-blooded summary execution of civilian activists in New Bataan

Rigoberto F. Sanchez

Spokesperson

Southern Mindanao Regional Operational Command (Merardo Arce Command)

New People's Army

March 02, 2022

The Regional Operations Command of the New People’s Army in Southern Mindanao strongly condemns the barefaced lie of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that the three activists and two of their companions were killed in an armed encounter in New Bataan, Davao de Oro on February 24. In truth, the unarmed civilians were abducted and later summarily killed by the fascist thugs.

No engagement occurred between an NPA unit and AFP troops in Purok 8, Brgy. Andap or anywhere in New Bataan that day.Reports from the local NPA unit and the masses confirm that civilian victims Chad Booc, Gelejurain Ngujo II, female health worker Elgyn Balonga, and two other companions were flagged down and accosted in a military checkpoint in Brgy. Poblacion, New Bataan in the evening of February 23. Further reports suggest that the victims bore torture marks.

The war crime is in fact a spineless retaliation: on February 9, Red fighters under the ComVal-Davao Gulf Subregional Command ambushed AFP troops in Brgy. Tandawan, New Bataan, incurring several enemy casualties. Failing to inflict retaliatory damage against the NPA, the enemy trained their guns on unarmed civilians, and subsequently spun lies to smokescreen its atrocity.

Sticking true to cowardice, the AFP even manipulated surrendered NPA members and coerced civilian activists to bolster the sham circumstances of the summary killing and project a veneer of legitimacy in its fascist narrative.

The abduction and summary execution of unarmed civilians attest to the evil lengths that the AFP under the Duterte regime’s JCP Kapanatagan will go to in order to terrorize the people who fight for their democratic rights and interests and curtail their legitimate resistance against tyranny. Much as the AFP’s spin doctors try to sweep the crime under the rug, it is a reminder of their capacity for fascist brutality, a veiled threat to the masses who believe not a word of the AFP’s denial.Much as the AFP’s spin doctors try to sweep the crime under the rug, it is a reminder of their capacity for fascist brutality, a veiled threat to the masses who believe not a word of the AFP’s denial. As in cases of indiscriminate aerial bombardment and artillery shelling, the incident is a sheer display of gratuitous and disproportionate violence that the AFP continues to employ in its war against the people.

The summary execution is a deadly conclusion to years of AFP vilification campaign through redtagging and legal attacks against activists proscribed as terrorists by the Duterte regime’s NTF-ELCAC. It is a direct result of how heinous violations to rules of engagement protecting unarmed civilians and international humanitarian laws committed by the AFP, PNP and their paramilitaries can hide behind draconian reactionary laws such as Duterte’s Anti-Terror Law. The incident is evidence of the monstrous degree of impunity exercised and enjoyed by a fascist armed organization that, by its very nature, is inured to inhumane violence even against civilians, non- combatants or hors de combat.

In misrepresenting the five civilians as Red fighters who were killed in an armed engagement with the enemy, the AFP is desperately trying to spin the incident as yet another score in its counterinsurgency war. Despite billions of taxpayers’ money, so- called advanced war materiel, focused troop deployment and relentless combat operations, the AFP, however, remains a sadistic gang of mercenaries that resorts to egregious war crimes in order to defeat the revolutionary armed struggle of the people. And yet, the AFP has never maintained an upper hand, much less claimed complete victory, against the NPA in Southern Mindanao.

The fact remains that the AFP, whose troops continue to commit craven acts of blunt terror such as the summary execution of the New Bataan 5, is deeply isolated from and hated by the masses. The people hold the AFP and its commander in chief Rodrigo Duterte wholly responsible for the recent summary executions and other innumerable crimes. The NPA in Southern Mindanao shall ensure that revolutionary justice in the conduct of the people’s war is thoroughly meted out.

https://cpp.ph/statements/afps-fiction-of-armed-encounter-cannot-belie-cold-blooded-summary-execution-of-civilian-activists-in-new-bataan/

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Mar 3, 2022): Press Release//CPP, NPA vow justice for slain Lumad teachers and companions

Information Bureau

Communist Party of the Philippines

March 03, 2022

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army Southern Mindanao Regional Operational Command today vowed to punish the perpetrators of the massacre of Lumad teachers Chad Booc and Gelejurain Ngujo II, community health worker Elgyn Balonga, and two other companions last February 24 by Duterte’s fascist butchers.

The NPA command revealed that based on its investigation, the five victims were in the custody of the soldiers under the 10th Infantry Division since the night of February 23 before they were presented as “killed in an encounter” the following day. It found out that the victims were accosted in a military checkpoint in Barangay Poblacion of New Bataan town in Davao de Oro.

On February 24, the lifeless bodies of the five were found sprawled on a dirt road in Purok 8, Barangay Andap.

The military checkpoint is only a few kilometers away from the headquarters of the 66th Infantry Battalion in New Bataan.

Initial reports from the Save Our Schools Network who assisted Booc’s family in claiming his body said that the cadaver bore wounds and bruises, indicating possible signs of torture while under military custody.

“The NPA in Southern Mindanao shall ensure that revolutionary justice in the conduct of the people’s war is thoroughly meted out,” said Rigoberto F. Sanchez, spokesperson of the NPA-Southern Mindanao.

The NPA-Southern Mindanao also noted that the summary execution may be a form of retaliation by the AFP after suffering defeat last February 9 from an NPA ambush against its soldiers in Barangay Tandawan, New Bataan.

“Failing to inflict retaliatory damage against the NPA, the enemy trained their guns on unarmed civilians, and subsequently spun lies to smokescreen its atrocity,” added Sanchez.

Marco Valbuena, the CPP’s Chief Information Officer, for his part said that the revolutionary movement holds AFP and its commander in chief Rodrigo Duterte responsible for the recent summary executions and other innumerable crimes.

“Under the direction of the Party and local organs of political power, units of the NPA can punish identified perpetrators of the crime,” Valbuena said.

Valbuena also called on all units of the NPA across the country to continue to mount tactical offensives and punitive actions, especially against forces of the AFP, PNP and paramilitaries which are responsible for fascist crimes against the people.

https://cpp.ph/statements/cpp-npa-vow-justice-for-slain-lumad-teachers-and-companions/

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Mar 3, 2022): South Central Negros launched a series of military actions!

Dionesio Magbuelas

Spokesperson

NPA-South Central Negros (Mt. Cansermon Command)

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

March 03, 2022

Five elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) were wounded in the series of military actions launched by the NPA-MCC-South Central Negros since February 22 until March 02. Military operations have been going on for over a month along the boundary of Brgy. Carabalan and Brgy. Buenavista– both are part of Himamaylan City.

Two elements of the 94th Infantry Battalion were injured after the NPA launched a sniping operation around 1:30 PM last February 22, 2022 at Sitio Amaga-Cantupa, Brgy. Buenavista. The 94th IB were conducting an operation in the said area for two weeks. Forestlands and households of innocent farmers suspected as members of the New People’s Army (NPA) were searched. After the sniping operation, the elements of the 94th IB were forced to pull-out of the area but were later replaced with new troops.

Another sniping operation was launched at 6 PM last February 28, 2022 against the 94th IB while they were hiding on the highlands of Sitio Cunalom Purok 3 – Gamot. As a result, three army troopers were wounded.

Lastly, around 8 PM on March 02, 2022 heavy quarrying equipments were destroyed in Hilabangan river, an area along the boundary of Brgy. Orong and Brgy. Hilamunan of Kabankalan City. These equipment were owned by the Sabay family, one of the biggest quarry operators in the city. Also, this is one out of over 10 quarrying operations in the area. Their quarrying operation intends to widen the two rivers for the construction of a megadam, also called as Ilog-Hilabangan River Basin Project, displacing more than 200 households. Evidently, quarrying operations result in the destruction of environment, massive dislocation of residences, and loss of livelihood, severely affecting the peasant sector.

https://cpp.ph/statements/south-central-negros-launched-a-series-of-military-actions/

Propaganda statement posted to the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Website (Mar 3, 2022):

Opensibang militar sang NPA-Negros, padayon nagabaskug bisan pa sa nagasingki nga operasyon militar! (The NPA-Negros military offensive continues to intensify despite the intensifying military operations!)

Juanito Magbanua

Spokesperson

Negros Island Regional Operational Command (Apolinario Gatmaitan Command)

New People's Army

March 03, 2022

Panginbulahan sa tanan nga katapu sang New People’s Army (NPA) sa idalum sang Apolinario Gatmaitan Command (AGC-NPA) Negros Island sa mga kadalag-an nga ginlunsar nga mga taktikal nga opensiba sa tunga sang lapnagon kag dalagkuan nga mga operasyon militar.
Sabat ini sa plano sang US-Duterte nga rehimen nga wasakon ang rebolusyonaryo nga kahublagan sa bilog nga pungsod antes matapos ang iya termino nga ginapatuman sang mersenaryo kag berdugo nga AFP/PNP. Bangud sa kapaslawan, nagpatigayon sang desperado nga tikang ang AFP/PNP nga pareho sa natabu nga pagpang-raidsadtong Pebrero 19, 2022 sa mga puluy-an sang mga sibilyan kaangay sa Synchronized Enhanced Management of Military and Police Operation(SEMPO), pagpang-aresto sang mga sibilyan pareho sa aktibista nga si Harlyn Balora nga nagabulig sa naapektuhan sang bagyong Odette nga napabayaan sang reaksyonaryo nga gobyerno.

Si Balora isa ka katapu sang ANAKBAYAN nga nagapatigayon sang relief and rehabilitation sa mga biktima sang bagyong Odette sa Sityo Montara, Barangay Camangcamang, Isabela, Negros Ocidental.

Kinaandan na nga ginahimo sang AFP/PNP ang pag-red tag kag pag-aresto sa mga katapu sang legal nga organisasyon, pagtanum sang mga ebidensya agud mapasakaan sang himo-himo nga kaso. Ano ang rason nga magdala sang bala sang M203 nga mapalupok lamang ini kon ibala sa M203 granade launcher? Klaro nga binu-ang kag panghinabon nga pamaagi agud hatagan rason ang ilegal nga pag-aresto, ilegal nga pagransak sang mga pamalay sang mga pwersa sang 303rd Bgde kag NOPPO.

Kabutigan kag hinimo-himo nga istorya nga ako ara sina nga lugar nga tani pagaserbihan sang warrant of arrest kag dugang wala basehan nga ang pumuluyo didto sa Sitio Montara amo ang ang naghatag inpormasyon. Ang matuod, ang AFP/PNP nagatukod sang ila lokal nga intel nga may malain nga rekord sa baryo kag nagatuman ang ini bangud sa kwarta o padya nga makapadakop o makapatay sang NPA.

Padugi na ini nga pamaagi agud mawaldas ang daku nga intelligence fund, sa diin nagakadto ang milyones nga pondo sang ila intelligence fund? Segurado, ang gamay nga bahin ginagasto sa intel nga trabaho kag ang daku nga bahin nagakadto sa bulsa sang matag-as nga opisyal sang AFP/PNP.

Plano sang berdugo kag uhaw sa dugo nga rehimen US-Duterte nga tapuson ang problema sa “insurhensya” paagi sa mahigko nga gera sa antes matapos ang iya termino. Pat-od nga mag-ani lang sang kapaslawan bangud ginakangil-aran ini sang pumuluyo.

Ang armado nga rebolusyonaryo nga paghimakas nga ginalunsar sang NPA kag absuluto nga ginapamunuan sang CPP, isa ka makatarungan nga gera bangud ginatib-ong sini ang interes sang malapad nga pumuluyo ilabi na ang mga mangunguma kag mamumugon gani naga-angkon sang malapad kag madalum nga suporta halin sa pumuluyo. Kabaliskaran sa ginalunsar nga indi-makatarungan gera sang berdugo kag mersenaryo nga AFP/PNP nga nagtuga sa kakugmat sa pumuluyo bangud sang lapnagon nga paglapas sang tawhanon nga kinamatarung. Nag-angkon ini sang pagpakamala-ot sang pumuluyo kag naghatag sang klaro nga rason agud ipadayon ang armado nga paghimakas tubtob mawasak ang mahimuslanon kag mapiguson nga sistema sang malakolonyal kag malapyudal nga sistema sang pungsod Pilipinas.

Ang lima ka larangan gerilya sa isla sang Negros padayon nga nagapalig-on kag nagapalapad. Sang tuig 2021, nagalab-ot sa 33 ka aksyon militar kag mga opensibang aksyon ang nalunsar sang NPA. Sini nga tuig, 13 ka askyon militar ang nalunsar sang NPA sa bulan lang sang Enero kag Pebrero.

Ang NPA sa Negros padayon nga magalunsar sang mga taktikal nga opensiba agud pabayaron sang mahal ang may utang nga dugo sa pumuluyo kag magkuha sang armas kag iban pa nga kagamitan militar agud ma-armasan ang nagadamu nga nagapasakop sa NPA. ###

https://cpp.ph/statements/opensibang-militar-sang-npa-negros-padayon-nagabaskug-bisan-pa-sa-nagasingki-nga-operasyon-militar/

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): MILF communities in ZamPen get farm machinery, equipment (By Lade Jean Kabagani)

NORMALIZATION. Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) communities in the Zamboanga Peninsula receive agricultural machinery and livelihood equipment under the normalization program of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity and the Department of Trade and Industry. OPAPRU on Thursday (March 3, 2022) said this is part of the four main components of the Bangsamoro normalization track. (Photo courtesy of OPAPRU)

Five cooperatives composed of decommissioned combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) with their families received farming machinery and equipment that could help them revive agricultural livelihood within their communities in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

In a statement on Thursday, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) said three cooperatives in Zamboanga Sibugay, one each from Zamboanga City and Zamboanga del Sur, will benefit to the portion of PHP70 million worth of Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Peaceful Return Aggressive Inclusion on Social Entrepreneurship (PRAISE) Project, through government's Inter-Cabinet Cluster Mechanism on Normalization (ICCMN) Program.

The PRAISE project, created by the government and the MILF Peace Panels, is now being implemented with the guidance of the joint GPH-MILF Task Force for Decommissioned Combatants and their Communities (TFDCC), aiming to push socio-economic development programs for decommissioned MILF combatants and their families within their communities.

The TFDCC, composed of OPAPRU, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the MILF members, carrying out social entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihood initiatives for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) communities within and even in its outside the BARMM's official core territory.

Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Secretary Carlito C. Galvez Jr., earlier said the whole-of-government approach is crucial to the "realization of the normalization programs" for Bangsamoro communities and neighboring core territories.

Galvez said the Executive Order 79 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte, created the ICCMN, the GPH, and the MILF peace mechanisms have been crucial in allowing pooled government efforts to push not only for lasting peace but progressive developments in the countryside.

He said the EO 79 has strengthened partnerships between various government institutions such as the DTI, National Irrigation Authority, Department of Health (DOH), and other government instrumentalities, to provide further economic progression in the far-flung communities that have been previously left behind due to armed conflict.

"These partnerships allow us to pool our efforts and deliver programs and services in an inclusive and timely manner,” Galvez said.

"This is really important to make sure that no one is left behind in the provision of programs that are not only meant for decommissioned combatants, but also for their families and the rest of the members of their communities," he added.

Aside from Zamboanga Peninsula, other MILF communities including Munai in Lanao Del Norte; Butig in Lanao del Sur; Barira, Guindulungan, and Datu Hoffer in Maguindanao; Pikit in North Cotabato; and Davao Region, also benefitted to the implementation of the DTI-ICCMN PRAISE Program.

Among other projects include the provision of solid waste processing facilities, mobile rice mills for food production, mini halal meat shops and abattoirs, and more farm machinery to boost the agricultural sector.

The ICCMN, a multi-agency body, is mandated to implement the four main components of the Bangsamoro normalization track, which include security, socio-economic development, confidence-building measures, as well as transitional justice and reconciliation.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1169000

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): Whole-of-nation vs. CTGs in Central Luzon ‘effective’: Galvez (By Lade Jean Kabagani)

File photo

The whole-of-nation approach pushed under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has been "very effective" in dismantling various guerilla fronts of the communist terrorist groups (CTGs) in the country.

Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Secretary Carlito G. Galvez Jr., earlier said addressing the communist insurgency in Central Luzon has become more challenging amid the health crisis, but the Duterte administration’s whole-of-nation strategy made the responses bearable.

Galvez, who is also the Cabinet Officer for Regional Development and Security (CORDS) for Central Luzon, said the strategic approach of different government agencies working together with the local government units (LGUs) and the security forces, to putting an end to the decades-long communist insurgency has been very crucial, particularly in restoring developments in various conflict-afflicted areas.

He was referring to the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) and the 17 Joint Regional Task Forces (JRTFs) under the Executive Order 70, signed by Duterte in December 2018, institutionalizing a whole-of-nation approach in obtaining exclusive and sustainable peace, and giving the government an effective tool against communist terrorists.

“I know that our work in RTF 3 has not been a walk in the park. Since the health crisis struck in 2020, the task force has been facing various challenges both at the peace and security and health front, but time and again, the RTF 3 has shown that it is made of sterner stuff. You have not only faced these difficulties head-on, but you have also managed to carry out our crucial mandate as the task force continues to strengthen as an organization,” Galvez said in a previous virtual meeting with the key officials of the RTF-Central Luzon.

During the meeting, the Peace and Security Sub-Cluster of the RTF-Central Luzon reported a significant reduction in the number of guerilla fronts in the region—from five in 2018 to only two in 2021.

The RTF-Central Luzon also dismantled the KLG Sierra Madre of the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

It has also neutralized the KLG Caraballo and the Larangang Guerilla sa Patag 1 in 2019, clearing at least 36 areas infiltrated by the CTGs in 2021.

These joint efforts led to the voluntary surrendering of about 207 NPA rebels with 141 NPA members operating in the barrios and 2,567 members of the underground mass movement.

The local peace engagement (LPE) initiatives of the RTF-Central Luzon have also pushed all the seven provinces of the region including Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zambales, to declare the CPP-NPA persona non grata.

Following the success of the dismantling of communist guerilla fronts, the government carried out a series of livelihood interventions in the region such as the distribution of food packs and relief goods; conduct of peace-building activities; implementation of agricultural and fishing projects, as well as the provision of business start-up assistance for the residents and the former rebels.

"We have been making major headway in this effort through the strong partnership between local government units, the security sector, and members of the community. We need to sustain this," Galvez said.

Galvez also noted the need to further address communist recruitment through mass organizations.

He said the youth sector and the marginalized individuals, as well as indigenous peoples, remain the most vulnerable population to the CTG recruitment.

"We need to prevent them from bringing more recruits into their fold through convergent efforts of concerned clusters in exposing the CTG deceptions and expounding on the truth," Galvez said.

Galvez said there is also a need to sustain the socioeconomic gains of addressing communist insurgency in the country.

"As the peace and security conditions in our communities continue to improve, we also need to highlight the socioeconomic gains of our efforts which are expected to result in community resiliency," he added.

“As CORDS in [Central Luzon], I am very proud of what we have accomplished in the regional task force. We have seen and demonstrated that the Whole-of-Government Approach in addressing the decades-long communist insurgency works,” Galvez said.

The CPP-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The National Democratic Front (NDF) has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168950

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): Gov't should focus more on WPS as Reds' threat reduced: Lacson (By Priam Nepomuceno)

File photo

Partido Reporma standard-bearer, Senator Panfilo "Ping" Lacson, on Thursday said the government should focus more on security threats in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) with the steady reduction of the local communist and terrorist rebels.

"Kasi lumiliit na o nababawasan na ‘yung threat galing sa insurgency, sabihin natin sa mga NPA (New People's Army), ano. Maraming lugar sa Pilipinas na-lessen na, hindi tulad noong araw, ‘di ba? (The threat from insurgency, let’s say from the NPA, is getting smaller or being reduced. More areas in the Philippines have their (insurgency) problems lessened, not like back in the day)," he said in a statement.

With the internal threats posed by communist rebels now reduced, Lacson said there is now a need to enhance the technical ability of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Lacson, also chairperson of the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, said the Philippine Navy could also use more modern arms, equipment, and ships to patrol the seas, especially the country’s territories in the WPS that are being claimed by China.

Lacson previously said he is open to a joint venture with other countries to explore the energy resources such as oil and natural gas in the WPS.

He said the country is not limited to just having a dialogue with China on the matter, as many other nations are interested to help the Philippines on this.

Lacson also insisted that the country assert its rights in the WPS by enhancing its presence in the contested region, initially by sending more people like research teams and scientists to Pagasa Island, which Lacson and Partido Reporma officials visited last November.

The government should also improve its facilities in its WPS outposts such as Pagasa to improve the country’s surveillance and security of our territories there, he added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168926

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): US donation boosts PH Army anti-tank capability (By Priam Nepomuceno)

File photo

The Philippine Army (PA) on Thursday said the US-donated "improved target acquisition system" (ITAS) has given it a capability similar to those being provided by anti-tank guided missile systems (ATGMs).

"It has a similar capability as that of the ATGMS to deny possible threats sighted on the ground," said Army spokesperson, Col. Xerxes Trinidad, in a message when asked whether the Army has existing ATGMs or these are in the procurement pipeline.

He added that the ITAS uses tube-launched optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missiles to defeat threats on the battlefield.

ATGMs are weapons designed to destroy tanks, armored transports, and other armored fighting vehicles.

These ITAS are part of a USD18 million precision-guided munition package given by the US government to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in late 2020.

Some of the weapons handed over include 100 TOW-2A missiles, 12 ITAS, 24 Mark-82 bombs, and associated guidance kits to convert these into smart bombs.

Trinidad said the ITAS is "already ready for distribution to our field units".

Also in the pipeline for the PA is the so-called "medium multipurpose assault weapon (MMAW), he added.

"What we have in the pipeline for the Army capability enhancement program is the procurement of MMAW," Trinidad said.

When asked to describe what type of weapon an MMAW is, Trinidad said it is similar to a recoilless rifle (RR) and can be used to defeat different threats like personnel, vehicles, and bunkers depending on the ammunition used. An RR is a lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher.

"Similar to our 90RR or the Carl Gustav weapon, but more advanced that can easily be deployed in the field by the foot soldiers," he added.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168914

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): Sermonia named new JTF Covid-19 Shield commander (By Christopher Lloyd Caliwan)

PNP deputy chief for operations, and JTF Covid-19 Shield commander, Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia (File photo)

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Dionardo Carlos, has appointed Lt. Gen. Rhodel Sermonia as the new Joint Task Force (JTF) Covid-19 Shield commander.

"Effective Wednesday, March 2, Lt. Gen. Sermonia is designated as the (PNP) deputy chief for operations and concurrent Task Force commander of the enforcement arm of the national government in the implementation of quarantine rules and health protocols," Carlos said in a statement Wednesday night.

Sermonia, the current PNP deputy chief for operations, replaced Lt. Gen. Israel Ephraim Dickson, who was promoted as PNP deputy chief for administration, the second in command of the PNP.

"As the new commander of this Task Force, I expect Lt. Gen. Sermonia will continue the plans and programs of the previous commander and enforce minimum health protocols for us to fully mitigate the deadly virus," Carlos said.

The JTF Covid-19 Shield is composed of members of the PNP, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine Coast Guard, and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

As this developed, the PNP said that it has heightened monitoring of social activities movement of people in public areas with Alert Level 1 now in effect up to March 15.

Carlos said the first day of implementation to areas classified under alert level 1 is generally peaceful, with no untoward incident reported.

Unit commanders in areas under Alert Level 1 are implementing protocols in coordination with their respective local government units (LGUs).

Quarantine control points established under higher alert levels can be converted to law enforcement checkpoints or Commission on Elections (Comelec) checkpoints upon proper coordination with the local Inter-Agency Task Force.

Meanwhile, some 6,766 PNP personnel are deployed in quarantine control points around the country.

This coincides with the Comelec-PNP-Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) checkpoints that are in place during this election period.

The PNP has also observed a heavier traffic flow in areas under Alert Level 1 with more private vehicles going out to the streets and public transport is now allowed to carry passengers in full capacity.

“We are coordinating with the different government agencies and offices to better monitor the traffic flow and assist in the enforcement of traffic rules,” Carlos said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168916

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): 10ID donates 1-day meal allowance to Odette victims (By Che Palicte)

CASH ASSISTANCE. Lt Col. Bernard Pelobello of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (2nd from left) hands over the PHP987,600 cash donation to Placer, Surigao del Norte Mayor Jovymarie Villazon on Feb. 28, 2022. The donation was gathered from the one-day subsistence allowance of the officers and enlisted personnel of the military unit for January. (Photo courtesy of 10ID)

The 10th Infantry Division (ID) has donated close to PHP1 million in cash assistance to the local government of the Typhoon Odette-hit town of Placer in Surigao Del Norte.

In a statement Thursday, the 10ID said the total PHP987,600 cash donation was handed over by their representative, Lt Col. Bernard Pelobello, to Placer Municipal Mayor Jovymarie Villazon on February 28.

“The donation that is set to aid the needs of the Typhoon Odette-affected families in Placer was gathered from the one-day subsistence allowance of the officers and enlisted personnel of the Agila Division for January,” the 10ID statement said.

Also, the 10ID delivered assorted relief goods that included water, canned goods, sacks of rice, and other food pack items the day before the turnover of the cash assistance.

In December last year, the 10ID dispatched its Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Response team in the areas of Surigao to help in the restoration and clearing of roads, security, medical, and telecommunication assistance to the residents.

Maj. Gen. Nolasco Mempin, 10ID commander, said their unit will live by its core purpose in creating an environmentally sustainable community for development and just and lasting peace for the Filipino nation and is ready to answer the call for help in times of dire need.

“As we move forward towards sustainable development as a nation, the 10th Infantry 'Agila' Division will answer any call for help and will be at the forefront in assisting our in-need brothers and sisters in times of disaster,” he said.

Meanwhile, Villazon expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the 10ID for their help to the people of Placer.

“They have executed their mantra of serving the people and securing the land. I was touched by the gesture of the troops by donating from their pocket to raise funds,” she said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168947

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): DI terror plot averted: Westmincom (By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.)

TERROR PLOT AVERTED. Troops recover some 45 firearms and improvised bombs after capturing a Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group lair in Lanao del Sur on Tuesday. The Western Mindanao Command on Thursday (March 3, 2022) said a possible terror plot of the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-inspired group has been averted after the lair was seized. (Photo courtesy of Westmincom)

Military officials said Thursday a possible terror plot has been averted with the fall of the Dawlah Islamiya - Maute Group (DI-MG) lair in Lanao del Sur.

Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr., Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) chief, said the troops have recovered a total of 22 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and several anti-personnel mines that could be used in launching terror attacks.

“Our troops averted and countered possible desperate attacks employed by the DI to inflict casualties not only to government troopers but even the innocent civilians,” Rosario said.

He said the troops have recovered the remains of seven Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-inspired DI-MG members while scouring the vicinity of the fallen lair in Barangay Ilalag, Maguing, Lanao del Sur.

Also recovered were a total of 45 assorted high-powered firearms that included three .50-caliber machineguns, two M60 machineguns, a .30 caliber machinegun, six rocket-propelled grenade launchers, six improvised sniper rifles, five kilos of shabu, bomb-making components, improvised explosive mixer, a computer, mobile phones, hand-held radio, ISIS flag, and propaganda materials.

The lair of the DI-MG led by Faharudin Hadji Satar alias Abu Zacariah fell into the hands of the government troops following hours of firefight Tuesday that was preceded by an airstrike at dawn. The lair can accommodate 100 persons.

Abu Zacariah is the new emir of ISIS in Southeast Asia. He replaced Owayda Benito Marohombsar alias Abu Dar, who was killed together with three other DI-MG terrorists in a clash with government troops in March 2019.

Brig. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade commander, said Zacariah is planning to create havoc during the observance of Ramadan and the upcoming national and local elections.

Cuerpo said the group of Zacariah, who joined forces with the DI-Hassan group from Maguindanao, has launched several bomb attacks in cellular sites in Lanao del Sur in the latter part of 2021 and early this year.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168959

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): NoCot village receives ELCAC projects (By John Andrew Tabugoc)

WATER SYSTEM. North Governor Nancy Catamco (center) tries potable water flowing out from the pipe of a P1.5 million water system inaugurated on Monday (Feb. 28, 2022) in Barangay Nabundasan, Tulunan town of the province. The village, a former New People’s Army-infested area, is a beneficiary of projects under the government’s whole of nation approach to end the local communist conflict in the countryside. (Photo courtesy of North Cotabato PIO)

TULUNAN, North Cotabato - A village official here on Thursday expressed optimism to receive more interventions from the government following their area's conversion from peace zone (PZ) to peace and development zone (PDZ).

Ramonito Roble, chair of Barangay Nabundasan, said they have already felt the intent of the latter through the government projects now being poured into their village.

“It opened for us wider opportunities for progress which we longed for decades,” Roble said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency.

According to Roble, several projects are yet to be implemented and were discussed during their conduct of consultations with the provincial government the past two days.

On Monday, a PHP1.5 million water system project was turned over by the Provincial Task Force in Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC) to the Nabundasan village council for the management of the facility.

Also, a total of 336 residents in the village have been assisted to the free civil registration of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and officially received their first-ever birth certificates.

“That is their first-ever record in the government due to shortage of money and lack of know-how to acquire such documents”, he said.

Governor Nancy Catamco, who chairs the provincial PTF-ELCAC, led the ceremonial rites with representatives from the local government unit, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police; and village officials.

“With this provision, our communities and citizens can enjoy the peace and development initiatives of our government. I am hoping that we will always be working hand-in-hand to make these projects and programs holistic and thriving.” Catamco said

The projects are part of the developmental and socio-economic interventions being undertaken in the formerly declared peace zone that intends to shield residents from atrocities caused by the communist New Peoples’ Army since the1980s.

Only recently, the 30-year old peace zone declaration in Nabundasan and three other adjoining villages was amended by the Sangguniang Bayan through a resolution based on President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order 70 or whole of nation approach for peace-building in initiatives.

The three other areas included in the transformation to peace and development zones are the village of Bituan; and Sitios Miatub and New Alimodian of Barangays Tuburan and Banayal, respectively.

A peace zone is aptly described as a community-based, people-led initiative in local geographical areas that residents themselves declare to be off-limits to armed conflict primarily to protect civilians, livelihood, and property.

On the other hand, a peace and development zone is a peace-building initiative that promotes the establishment of durable peace by addressing the root causes of conflict through reconciliation; institution building; and socio, political and economic transformation.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168974

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): Cops, Army foil bombing try in Agusan Sur town (By Alexander Lopez)

FOILED BOMBING. Authorities thwart a bomb attempt with the recovery of three improvised explosive devices and components planted at the National Irrigation Authority Road in Sitios Igang and Quarry in Barangay Basa, Trento, Agusan del Sur on March 2, 2022. The Police Regional Office in Caraga is still trying to identify the group behind the attempt. (Photo courtesy of PRO-13)

Authorities have averted a bombing plot by a still-unidentified group in Agusan del Sur town, a police official said Thursday.

In a statement, Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr., the Police Regional Office – Caraga (PRO-13) director, said three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were planted Wednesday along the National Irrigation Administration Road in Sitios Igang and Quarry, Barangay Basa, Trento town, prompting military and police units to secure the area.

“Personnel from Trento police, together with the 2nd Agusan del Sur Provincial Mobile Force Company, 1303rd Regional Mobile Force Battalion, the Agusan del Sur and PRO-13 intelligence units, and troopers from the 25th Army’s Infantry Battalion responded to the area,” Caramat said.

He added that concerned citizens discovered the IEDs and immediately reported the matter to authorities.

Personnel from the Agusan del Sur Provincial Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Unit (ADS-PECU) immediately conducted a safe recovery procedure of the IEDs in the area, Caramat said.

Recovered from the site were explosive concoctions contained in an eight-liter plastic container weighing 12.90 pounds (lbs.); an eight-liter plastic container weighing 12.20 lbs.; and a six-liter plastic container weighing 10.50 lbs.

Six blasting caps and a black electric firing wire were also recovered by ADS-PECU at the site.

"Our investigators are currently conducting an in-depth investigation in identifying the perpetrators of this planting of explosives in the area,” Caramat said.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168937

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): Cebu City police to post gallery of wanted NPA members (By John Rey Saavedra)

ON ALERT. A member of the Cebu City Mobile Force Company inspects a motorcycle at a checkpoint along the Transcentral Highway connecting the capital city to the mid-western corridor of Cebu province in this undated photo. Cebu City Police Office deputy chief Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla on Thursday (March 3, 2022) said they will post a rogues' gallery of wanted New People's Army from other provinces. (Photo courtesy of CCMFC)

The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) headquarters will post in every station and upland detachment a rogues’ gallery of most wanted New People's Army (NPA) members from other provinces.

Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, CCPO deputy director for operations, said in a presser on Thursday the headquarters will cascade a list of most wanted persons in 11 police stations, subordinate units, and the Cebu City Mobile Force Company manning detachments in the hinterland villages here.

Although the intelligence units of the Police Regional Office-Region 7 and the CCPO are still validating reports that terrorist groups are planning an attack, the police does not discount such a possibility.

“As usual, we will not discount any possibilities. Always, we remind our stations and lower units to strengthen their target hardening. It means that they have to secure their stations and also make their defense least possible for attacks,” Parila said in mixed Cebuano and English.

Some wanted NPA rebels have fallen into the hands of the authorities but reports said some of them sneaked into Cebu from other provinces to elude arrest.

The Communist Party of the Philippines-NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

Meanwhile, Parilla said the CCPO headquarters will request to retain a 150-strong augmentation force tasked to enforce strict minimum public health standards down to the village level amid the fourth surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases here last month.

“Our proposal, in our office, together with other staff, we will request they should continue their augmentation works up to the election day. This is especially that Cebu City will be a venue for big political rallies. We will no longer face personnel issues to man local and national campaign activities,” he said. “They should be on stand-by until election day.”

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168968

From the Philippine News Agency (Mar 3, 2022): Tired, hungry NPA rebel yields to Army in Surigao Norte (By Alexander Lopez)

NEW LIFE. Alias "Rustom", an NPA rebel from Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda of Guerrilla Front 16C of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee, voluntarily surrenders to the Army's 30th Infantry Battalion on Tuesday (March 1, 2022) in Guigaquit, Surigao del Norte. Fatigue and hunger due to continuing military operations have driven the NPA insurgent to abandon the organization and return to the folds of the law. (Photo courtesy of 30IB)

Exhausted from being always on the run, a New People’s Army (NPA) insurgent has voluntarily surrendered to the Army’s 30th Infantry Battalion (IB) in Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte.

In a statement Thursday, the 30IB identified the NPA rebel as Alias Rustom who belonged to Sandatahang Yunit Pampropaganda of Guerrilla Front 16C of the North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee.

Rustom yielded to the 30IB on Tuesday afternoon.

“He voluntarily surrendered due to fatigue, thirst, and hunger while inside the rebel movement especially nowadays that military operations of the 30IB have intensified,” the military unit said.

It added that Rustom managed to escape from his companions which led him to connect with 30IB troopers for his immediate surrender.

“Life inside the NPA movement is very difficult, especially during military operations. Our food is scarce, no water to drink, and we could not sleep at night as we continue to run and walk,” Rustom said as quoted in the 30IB statement.

He added that his longing to be with his family was among the reasons why he decided to abandon the NPA organization.

Lt. Col. Ryan Charles Callanta, the 30IB commander, welcomed the surrender of Rustom and lauded his decision to cut ties with the NPA and return to normal life.

“We continue to call on the remaining NPA rebels in the area to follow the example set by Rustom. Return to the fold of the law while you still have the time,” Callanta said in the 30IB statement.

He said the government is always open to accepting and providing support to NPA rebels who wish to change their lives.

Meanwhile, the 30IB also reported the recovery of high-powered firearms and an improvised explosive device (IED) on Tuesday in the hinterlands of Barangay Magtangele, San Francisco, Surigao del Norte.

Recovered from the area were one M16 rifle, an M79 grenade launcher, and an improvised explosive device.

The recovery of the firearms and IED was the result of the continuing community support program of the 30IB in the area.

The Communist Party of the Philippines - NPA is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Philippines.

The National Democratic Front has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the Anti-Terrorism Council on June 23, 2021, citing it as “an integral and inseparable part” of the CPP-NPA created in April 1973.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1168924

From the Mindanao Examiner (Mar 3, 2022): Blast rips through bus in South

An explosion ripped through a provincial bus while parked at a terminal in Cotabato City in southern Philippines.

Workers said the explosion occurred at the rear of the Mindanao Star Bus around 7 p.m. Wednesday. The bus just came from Davao City and was empty when the explosion occurred.

No one was wounded in the blast with people at the terminal saying the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive or a grenade.“It was good that the bus was empty when the explosion occurred,” said Sajid Gumaga, a bus conductor.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the blast which occurred as security forces were battling members of the Dawlah Islamiya - whose leaders pledged loyalty to the Islamic State - in the neighboring province of Lanao del Sur.

At least three terrorists and a soldier were killed in intense fighting since Tuesday in Maguing town that also left five infantrymen wounded.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front chieftain Murad Ebrahim, who is also the regional governor of the Muslim autonomous region, said security forces were fighting members of his former rebel group.

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2022/03/blast-rips-through-bus-in-south.html

From the Mindanao Examiner (Mar 3, 2022): Troops recover drugs, more weapons, bombs from terrorist camp

Government troops who clashed with pro-ISIS militants have recovered not only a cache of weapons, but seized at least five kilos of crystal meth from the hideout of the Dawlah Islamiya fighters in Maguing town in the Muslim province of Lanao del Sur, officials announced on Thursday.

Army Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario, Jr., chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said soldiers have captured the terrorist camp in the village of Ilalag following fierce clashes since Tuesday that killed at least three gunmen, but the fighting also left one soldier dead and a total of five infantrymen wounded.

Photos released by the military's Western Mindanao Command to the Mindanao Examiner regional newspaper show some of the weapons recovered by troops from the pro-ISIS Dawlah Islamiya camp in Lanao del Sur's Maguing town.

Aside from the crystal meth, Rosario said troops also recovered a total of 22 improvised explosives, anti-personnel mines, and at least 45 assorted crew-served weapons and high-powered firearms, including three .50-caliber machine guns, one .30-caliber machine gun, two M60 machine guns, twelve M16 automatic rifles, one M653 rifle, one M4 Carbine rifle, one AR15 rifle, five M14 rifles, one M4 automatic rifle, six anti-tank grenade launchers, two M203 grenade launchers, six .50-caliber sniper rifles, one M1 Garand rifle, one Browning automatic rifle, one AK47 assault rifle and a shotgun, assorted ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, improvised rockets and ISIS flags, among others.

“Our troops averted and countered possible desperate attacks employed by the Dawlah Islamiya to inflict casualties not only to the armed forces but even the innocent civilians,” Rosario said.

Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, commander of the 1st Infantry Division and Joint Task Force ZamPeLan, commended the 51st and 55th Infantry Battalions for battling the terrorists and at the same time condoled with the family of the slain soldier, Pvt. Clint Rey Armada. “We dedicate this success to our brother-in-arm, Private Clint Rey Armada, who paid the ultimate sacrifice during the encounter last Tuesday,” Ponio said, adding based on the latest military report, “the armed forces have successfully overrun the enemy stronghold which can accommodate more or less 100 individuals, and recovered war materials.”

According Brig. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, commander of the 103rd Infantry Brigade based in Marawi City, the military operation actually began in January when members of the Dawlah Islamiya were monitored to have relocated from the west side to the east side of Lake Lanao, the largest lake in Mindanao.

“They perpetrated a number of bomb attacks in cellular sites here in Lanao in the latter part of 2021 and early this year. We received a report that the remaining members of Dawlah Islamiya-Maute Group in Lanao provinces and Dawlah Islamiya-Hassan Group from Maguindanao are reorganizing in the target area hence the conduct of close air support followed by the combat operations,” Cuerpo revealed, saying the terrorists were planning to carry out attacks during the holy month of Ramadan and the upcoming national and local polls.

The Moro Islamic Liberation, which signed a peace accord with Manila in 2014, said the fighting was between them and security forces and accused the military of attacking their members in Maguing town.

MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim, who is also the governor of the Muslim autonomous region, issued a statement late Wednesday saying: “The regional government is making sure that the on-going ceasefire between the MILF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will produce positive outcomes and provide permanent resolution to the conflict. “We are optimistic that no further confrontation will take place.”

“Our dear constituents in Maguing, Lanao del Sur have been troubled, from military airstrikes, and most recently, firefight incident that involved members of the military force and forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. As of writing, the incident has claimed several lives. And has forced some of our constituents to flee their homes and find shelter, and nearby areas,” he added.

But Lt. Col. Palawan Miondas, a spokesman for the 103rd Infantry Brigade, said those killed in the fighting were terrorists and members of the Dawlah Islamya and the Maute Group which were also involved in the deadly siege of Marawi in May 23, 2017 that lasted five months.

He said the terrorist lairs were also near an illegal camp of the MILF. “We are sure that those terrorists are members of the Dawlah Islamiya,” Miondas said.

The acronym of the group’ full Arabic name is al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham, translated as “Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (or the Levant).”

http://mindanaoexaminernewspaper.blogspot.com/2022/03/troops-recover-drugs-more-weapons-bombs.html

From MindaNews (Mar 3, 2022): Turning MILF camps into productive ecozones: still much work to be done (By BONG S. SARMIENTO)

MILF weapons that were deactivated during Phase 2 in September 2019. MindaNews file photo by BONG SARMIENTO

The transformation of the six recognized camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) into peaceful and productive economic zones has remained largely unfulfilled after a decade of discussions, a third party observer admitted Thursday.

Heino Marius, chair of the Third Party Monitoring Team (TPMT), said the finalization of the Camps Transformation Plan and the Camps Transformation Investment Plan “have been agreed very recently.”

“We would expect that the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF), which is now in place and which has been operationalized (last year), could also hopefully play an important role in working towards turning these camps into peaceful, productive communities,” he said in a hybrid press conference.

Marius said the discussions about the Bangsamoro normalization trust fund can be found in documents way back 2021, but it was only last year that the fund was operationalized.

The transformation of six MILF-recognized camps into productive economic zones is part of the confidence-building measures contained in the Annex on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

The CAB is the final peace agreement signed by the government and the MILF after 17 years of negotiations.

The six MILF enclaves recognized by both parties are camps Abubakar as-Sidique in Maguindanao, Bilal in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur, Omar ibn al-Khattab in Maguindanao, Rajamuda in North Cotabato and Maguindanao, Badre in Maguindanao, and Busrah Somiorang in Lanao del Sur.

The BNTF was formally launched in May 2021 by the MILF-led Bangsamoro government, together with officials from the then Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the World Bank, which was chosen as fund administrator by the Philippine government and the MILF.

During the launching, Ndiamè Diop, World Bank country director for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, said the fund will assist the MILF combatants and their communities achieve their desired quality of life in a peaceful and inclusive manner.

The amount of the fund was not disclosed during the launching, but Diop said the international donors that had pledged support for the fund included the European Union, Australia, Canada, United Nations and Japan.

7th Public Report

On Thursday, the TPMT, which was established in 2013 with a mandate to monitor and review the implementation of the peace agreements between the Philippine government and the MILF, issued its 7th Public Report, covering the period from November 2020 to January 2022.

In a statement, the TPMT noted a steady progress in advancing the peace process in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which was created in 2019 following the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Organic law for the BARMM.

The key achievements during the reporting period include the adoption of two more priority codes (Civil Service Code and the Education Code), the transfer of Cotabato City into BARMM administrative structures, regular interaction between the national government and the Bangsamoro government through the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB), the issuance of an amnesty proclamation including for members of the MILF and the launch of the 3rd round of decommissioning of MILF forces, the TPMT said.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front combatants in a military formation at Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town, Maguindanao. MILF fighters will be decommissioned in line with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, the final peace deal between the government and the MILF signed in 2014. MindaNews file photo by BONG S. SARMIENTO

These achievements were obtained even though implementation of the peace process during the reporting period was slowed down by the COVID-19 pandemic and the debate in Congress to extend the transition period of the BARMM from 2022 to 2025.

Several dimensions of the peace process are still at an early implementation stage, the TPMT said, adding that the challenge of realizing sustainable peace by 2025 remains great and should not be underestimated.

Looking forward, the TPMT encourages the following steps to consolidate the implementation of the peace process:

● Adopt priority legislation ideally within the originally defined timeframe prior to June 2022;

● Use the IGRB to methodically address pending issues and proceed with the operationalization of remaining IGR mechanisms;

● Address normalization on the basis of synchronized actions combining all its different elements. Most importantly, resolve questions related to the provision of socio-economic packages for decommissioned combatants and agree on guidelines for the entry of MILF and MNLF into the PNP;

● Ensure that the National Amnesty Commission can begin operations as soon as possible;

● And, strive for greater security and prevention of violent incidents, whether involving rido, resource conflicts or extremism, through holistic and strategic measures.

The TPMT said it is convinced that the peace agreements remain the cornerstone of peace in Mindanao.

“Building a comprehensive, inclusive and sustainable peace in Mindanao is the key inheritance which the parties can leave to future generations. Their strongest underlying commitment and continued allegiance to the letter and spirit of the agreements is the best guarantee of success,” the body said.

https://www.mindanews.com/top-stories/2022/03/turning-milf-camps-into-productive-ecozones-still-much-work-to-be-done/

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