Soldiers assigned to guard former communist rebels

By Christine F. Herrera

Manila Standard Today

GOVERNMENT troops have been assigned to protect the members of the Alex Boncayao Brigade and other communist splinter groups from their former comrades, Army Gen. Emmanuel Bautista said Sunday.

Bautista, chief of the Visayas-based 3rd Infantry Battalion, said the members of the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade were targeted for assassination after they broke away from the mainstream Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New People’s Army.

“We have assured the rebel-combatants that we would secure them because, apparently, this is one of the reasons for the delay in giving up their firearms,” Bautista told the Manila Standard.

“They fear they will be vulnerable to attacks and they need to protect themselves from their former comrades. We assured them we would secure them, so there is no reason for them to fear if they disband and disarm. We have prepared all the resources to protect them.’’

Bautista said the members of the breakaway groups openly carried their firearms, but those were not being used against the military.

“The combatants are armed, our soldiers are armed. We face each other, but we don’t train the guns on each other because both sides are talking peace. They are armed but not dangerous,” Bautista said.

Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles said special permits to carry firearms, as was part of the peace agreement signed by the RPMP-RPA-ABB led by Nilo dela Cruz in 2000, were granted the group until a final agreement with the Aquino government had been signed.

Dela Cruz said the “cessation of hostilities” between the government and his group was holding.

“We are upholding the peace accord I signed with then President Joseph Estrada, particularly on the issue of cessation of hostilities,” Dela Cruz said.

“But our members also became vulnerable to the mainstream CPP and the expelled members Veronica Tabara and Carapali Lualhati, who carries the nom de guerre Stephen Paduano.”

Following the split in the mainstream CPP-NPA, the communist insurgents declared the breakaway group “traitors to the revolutionary movement and anti-revolutionaries” and were hunted down.

Bautista and Dela Cruz blamed the CPP-NPA for the assassinations of Felimon “Popoy” Lagman, then head of Sanlakas, who was killed on Feb. 6, 2001; Romulo Kintanar, former head of the NPA, on Jan. 23, 2003; and Arturo Tabara, former chief of the RPMP-RPA, on Sept. 26, 2004. All of them were killed for breaking away from the CPP-NPA, Dela Cruz said.

He said Tabara’s wife Veronica and Paduano were expelled by the 22-member Central Committee of the Dela Cruz led RPMP-RPA-ABB due to allegations they allowed themselves to be co-opted by the Arroyo administration and served as private armies for the elite, politicians and landlords.

Some P267 million of the promised P568 million was given by the Arroyo administration to the Tabara-Paduano Group, Deles said.

She said the Aquino administration had earmarked P31 million for the same splinter group for “livelihood and core shelter projects in three peace and development communities.”

A separate “negotiated political settlement” is being worked out with the Dela Cruz group, which has said its members did not benefit from those fund releases.

Bautista confirmed Dela Cruz’s claims about the other faction resorting to becoming “mercenaries and guns for hire,” but added they were forced to do so because “the government was not fast enough in delivering the peace development and livelihood projects.”

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=2011/november/7/news5.isx&d=2011/november/7

Moro rebels protect Basilan commander

By Joyce Pangco Pañares

Manila Standard Today

Moro Islamic Liberation Front tells government negotiators that Dan Asnawi, blamed for the Oct. 18 attack that killed 19 soldiers, enjoys safe haven in its camps

MORO rebels on Sunday said they would continue to protect a commander who led the Oct. 18 attack that killed 19 soldiers in Al-barka, Basilan, and made that clear in their talks with the government last week in Kuala Lumpur.

“Commander [Dan] Asnawi is not part of a lost command. We will not surrender him,” said Mohagher Iqbal, chief negotiator of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

“He enjoys protection and safe haven in MILF camps.”

Asnawi, the MILF’s second highest ranking commander in Basilan, is wanted for his alleged involvement in the beheading of 14 Marines in 2007.

Iqbal said the only way to resolve the issue was to look back into the results of a probe of the 2007 beheading of government troops.

“The truth is that the MILF has been cleared of the beheading incident,” he said.

“In effect, Commander Asnawi was attacked by government troops [during the recent Basilan clash].”

Michael Mastura, a member of the MILF’s peace panel, said the rebels wanted the talks to continue, and to have the international monitoring team overseeing the cease-fire between the two sides to investigate and the Oct. 18 killings.

“What is important is to move forward,” Mastura said.

Earlier, the government’s chief negotiator Marvic Leonen said the MILF “reaffirmed that it will coordinate with government with respect to its efforts to interdict kidnap-for-ransom groups, criminal syndicates and lost commands” during their meeting last week in Malaysia.

He did not say if the cooperation would extend to Asnawi and two other rebel leaders.

After the MILF refused to surrender Asnawi, the Army said it would no longer recognize the rebel group’s “area of temporary stay” in Basilan where Asnawi is believed to be hiding.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Arturo Ortiz said the ATS in Ginanta village had been “terminated.”

Ortiz said the Army would continue to pursue Asnawi and Abu Sayyaf commander Long Malat.

“If they do not agree to the surrender, then we will enter those areas. No one’s above the law,” acting Army spokesman Major Harold Cabunoc said.

But Iqbal said the rebels were confident the Army would not launch an attack while the international monitoring team was investigating the Al-barka incident.

The MILF said it would seek a dialogue with three Catholic bishops who had criticized the government’s decision to give the rebels P5 million to establish a Bangsamoro leadership development institute.

“We will reach out to them first through a mutually acceptable go-between,” said Jun Mantawil, of the MILF peace panel secretariat, on the group’s Web site.

“We have very reliable lines of communication with the Catholic Church.”

Mantawil said it was unfortunate that Church leaders had been issuing statements encouraging hatred and animosity instead of promoting peace. With Florante S. Solmerin

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideNews.htm?f=2011/november/7/news1.isx&d=2011/november/7

How Gloria almost got away!

PerryScope

By Perry Diaz

Gloria's mugshot

If not for Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima’s insistence to see the official Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the Supreme Court issued on November 15, 2011, ex-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo could have been relaxing at Costa del Sol in Spain or skiing in the Swiss Alps right now.  And if De Lima took the word of Supreme Court Administrator Midas Marquez that the Supreme Court, by the same 8-5 vote, had upheld the TRO in “full force and effect” on November 18, Gloria would have been free as a bird and beyond the reach of the law.

But what exactly happened in the hallowed chamber of the Supreme Court the morning of November 18 was far from what Marquez declared.  The TRO was not executory at the time.  As a matter of fact, contrary to what Marquez announced, the Supreme Court, by a 7-6 vote, declared the TRO “inoperative.”

The High Court’s ruling that the TRO was inoperative was predicated on Gloria’s failure to comply with one of the conditions it set, to wit: “The appointment of legal representatives, who will receive all legal documents including subpoenas.” The other two conditions were: “Payment in cash of a P2 million cash bond; and report in person or call the Philippine embassy or consulate office in countries where the Arroyos will travel.”

Clerical error

What happened was that a “clerical error” became a “monumental horror” to Gloria.   Even Chief Justice Renato Corona failed in the end to help Gloria escape prosecution from justice, which, ironically, was the same institution that he swore to uphold when Gloria appointed him – notwithstanding the ban on “midnight” appointments – as Chief Justice in 2010.

It’s amazing that a seemingly orchestrated scenario, which was implemented with clockwork precision failed because of one minor glitch during its execution.  Some people say it was karma at work.

In their attempt to facilitate Gloria’s “Great Escape,” her lawyer Estelito Mendoza and his law firm blundered in complying with the TRO condition to appoint “legal representatives, who will receive all legal documents including subpoenas.” Any legal secretary could have done that in a minute.  But that’s what probably caused the “hiccup” – it was a routine clerical task that nobody reviewed the document before it was sent to the Supreme Court.  And as it turned out, the document was not compliant with one of the conditions set by the TRO.  The document says that lawyer Ferdinand Topacio is appointed as the Arroyos’ representative to “produce summons or receive documentary evidence” on their behalf.

But the TRO condition was very specific: “The appointment of legal representatives, who will receive all legal documents including subpoenas.” Associate Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno spotted the words “produce summons,” which was not required.

Judicial voodoo

In an early evening interview with the media last November 18, Marquez explained that while it’s true that, by a 7-6 vote, the justices found the TRO inoperative, the High Court decided that there was no need to suspend the effectivity of the TRO.  But how can they make it operative without correcting the document to make it legally compliant with the conditions of the TRO?  It’s like driving a car that breaks down making it inoperative.  To make it operative again, the car’s problem must first be fixed.

But by that time, the TRO had become moot and academic.

Earlier that day, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) met en banc and, by a 5-2 vote, passed a resolution to file electoral sabotage charges against Gloria.  The case was immediately filed with the Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC).  By 4:00 pm, the court issued an arrest warrant against Gloria.  And by 6:30 pm, Gloria was served the arrest warrant at St. Luke’s Medical Center where she was admitted after her aborted “Great Escape” last November 15.

Determined to avoid prosecution at all cost, the Arroyos didn’t let up. They petitioned the Supreme Court to nullify the electoral sabotage case filed against Gloria.  Mike Arroyo also submitted a supplemental petition arguing that the case should be declared “null and void and without legal effect whatsoever” because it was based on the findings of the joint DOJ-Comelec panel, which he claimed was unconstitutionally created.  He asked the High Court to issue a TRO or a status quo ante order, which if granted would stop the case and release Gloria from arrest; thus, allowing her to flee.

Supreme Court intervention

The Supreme Court fast-tracked the Arroyos’ petitions and met en banc last November 22.  The justices, on a 10-4 vote, deferred ruling on the petitions and did not issue a TRO or status quo ante order.  The High Court instead required DOJ and Comelec to submit their comments within five days on the consolidated petitions of the Arroyos and that of former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. who was also charged in the same electoral sabotage case.  Oral arguments were set for November 29 at 2:00 pm to determine whether a TRO should be issued on the electoral sabotage case.

What is strange is that 10 justices – presumably all of Arroyo’s appointees — voted to have the High Court handle the consolidated petitions while four justices voted to remand them to the Pasay RTC.  Obviously, the 10 justices’ motives are suspicious.  Why wouldn’t they remand the petitions to the Pasay RTC where they belong and let justice takes its course?

Mike Arroyo’s reaction to the ruling was, “We follow whatever the honorable Supreme Court says unlike De Lima. We follow the rule of law.”  What rule of law, Mr. Arroyo?  Or is it “rule of man” disguised as “rule of law”?

Determined to have Gloria prosecuted for plunder, President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino may have a little time on his side.  If the Office of the Ombudsman filed at least one of the six pending plunder cases before the anti-graft court,Sandiganbayan, prior to the Supreme Court oral arguments on November 29, another arrest warrant could be issued against Gloria; thus, preventing her to travel regardless of the outcome of the oral arguments.

Tyranny of supremacy

The question is: Would the “Arroyo Court,” as the Supreme Court is pejoratively called, come to the rescue of Gloria again?  And with a slew of cases – Malacañang said around 20 – soon to be filed against Gloria, would the “Arroyo” justices continue to callously protect her from prosecution?

With 10 “Arroyo” justices voting as a block, their supremacy in the High Court is assured.  What they say is the law. Their rulings “amend” the constitution just like what they did when they legalized the midnight appointment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Sovereignty of the people

But the people would not just stand by the sidelines and watch the breakdown of the judicial system.  History tells us that the people’s patience has its limit.  The “Arroyo” justices should be reminded that they might be supreme when it comes to interpreting the law any which way they want, but the people are sovereign above all, including the Supreme Court.  That is people power and it is enshrined in the constitution.

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)

How our media can become a national security problem

AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR 

By William M. Esposo 
The Philippine Star

President Noynoy Aquino (P-Noy) has solid reasons for his “NO to all-out war, YES to all-out Justice” policy with regards the Basilan encounter where 19 of our soldiers and officers had perished.

We simply cannot afford the cost of war – not just the financial burden but also factors like the human misery, social dislocation and economic dampener. A United Nations (UN) commissioned study in 2005, The Philippine Human Development Report, identified that from 1970 to 2005 at least 2 million Filipinos had been dislocated by the fighting in Mindanao, easily half of this from Joseph Estrada’s all-out war folly of 2000. The same study discovered that from 1970 to 2001 the Mindanao War had cost at least U$2 billion. Per the World Bank, the indirect economic impact of the conflict could go as high as $10 billion.

Then there is the need for a reliable ally if we’re forced to go to war. Some analysts believe that the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) is receiving external support. Malaysia and the US are the favorite suspects. Thus, it was not surprising that the US announced that they would not support the Philippines if we go on an all-out war.

Despite the big percentage of the national budget that’s allocated for the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), still we keep hearing of the complaints about lack of ammunition, gear and war materiel. We cannot simply say that the shortage of funds is due to corruption in the AFP. That made for good propaganda for the Oakwood mutineers of 2003 but the truth is the cost of war is far bigger than what corruption can siphon off.

How does the MILF get the means to wage and sustain its war? Even if we assume that they’re only spending a fourth of the AFP war budget, still the amount would be enormous and something that they cannot raise locally. The fact is their local economy is the poorest in the country.

Indeed, these are more than enough reasons for P-Noy to junk all notions for an all-out war. He heeded Sun Tzu who advised that one must never fight a war that cannot be won. Weakness and the lack of leadership, as the “evil eyes” are charging P-Noy, have absolutely nothing to do with this decision. It’s all about acting for the best interest of the nation. As history teaches us — it takes fortitude and character to do what’s right even if it’s sometimes unpopular.

There is however an X Factor that should stop us before we engage in an all-out war. That X Factor is the over entertained and under informed Filipino public mind. Sensationalistic and shallow media have further worsened the state of the public mind. It’s almost impossible for a nation to win a controversial war such as the Mindanao separatist rebellion if Filipinos do not understand the reasons why we’re forced to fight and are easily manipulated to even weigh down the government efforts.

Respected veteran journalist Ed Lingao correctly described in his October 27 Internet posting titled “Media Goes to War” the problem that our media had magnified with sensational but mostly speculative reporting on the Basilan encounter and the MILF.

Ed wrote: “However, what I cannot understand is how media screws it up every time. Every time. Is it a problem of ignorance, or arrogance? Or is it simple laziness?” Ed was commenting on how media had muddled the issues and incensed the public.

Ed added: “One newspaper used the word slaughter in its lead to describe the death of the 19 troops. Talk about loaded words. The troops were not lined up and shot. The firefight lasted more than ten hours. Ten hours. This is not the only example. Time and again, we would come across the word ‘massacre’ to describe what happened in Basilan. Again, loaded words. We are agitating further those already agitated by using words in the wrong context. Why? Perhaps because they are sexier? BTW, I read the Inquirer.”

Ed was disturbed by the radio commentaries that he heard pertaining to the P5 million that the government had given the MILF for leadership development. He wrote: “Last night, some marvelous commentators decided to talk about the P5 million that P-Noy gave to the MILF for leadership training. Now, that issue is explosive enough when viewed under present circumstances. The two commentators however chose to lay it out some more.”

He clarified: “In the context of peace negotiations, both sides try to have confidence building measures. This is not the first time government committed an amount to rebel groups with the proviso that the amount be spent for building peace and understanding. In that context, P5 million is small change compared to other government expenses such as waging all-out war or keeping our congressmen and senators happy.”

“I understand how some troops want a war to finish everything. That is gut instinct after losing so many men. But the decision is not theirs, so the responsibility for enlightening the public and the body politic falls on us (media practitioners). Yet we have just proven plain stupid, uneducated, and unenlightened. So many commentators are agitating for all-out war, as if they had ever stepped onto a battlefield. Too many strategists and armchair generals are out there, beating the drums of war, telling our troops how to fight,” Ed wrote.

Senator Chiz Escudero looked pathetic when he tried to ride on the P5 million that were donated to the MILF. How could he relate that with “arming” the MILF for more battles? That was an idiotic notion and an altogether irresponsible comment.

Maybe his pollster for the 2013 Senate race tipped him that he’s not leading the pack. Maybe Escudero is setting the stage to leave the administration coalition. If he could not attain his presidential ambition in 2010 with the NPC (Nationalist People’s Coalition) behind him, we have to wonder where he can go now to attain his ends. Even Vice President Jojo Binay is not with him in this issue. The Vice President had expressed all-out support for P-Noy’s “all-out justice” policy.

The US lost the Vietnam War not in the battlefields but in the battle for the American public’s mind. Public pressure removed the sting from the US armed forces in Vietnam. Assuming that we find the means to go to war and have powerful allies to support us, still that would prove insufficient if Filipinos continue to think the way they do and our media persist in dishing substandard and irresponsible news reporting.

We can easily be our greatest enemies.

* * *

Chair Wrecker e-mail and website: macesposo@yahoo.com and www.chairwrecker.com

AQUINO COJUANGCO: FACTS THEY DONT WANT YOU TO KNOW (VIDEO)

By PinoyMonkeyPride on Oct 21, 2011

Lahat ng baho ni Marcos, Ramos, Erap at GMA ay naisapubliko na. Maliban lang kay Cory. Dahil nga sa media bias sa ating bansa. Ito po ang aking pokus sa ngayon, ang pag-laganap ng facts na hindi binabanggit sa media. Dahil dito, nagmumuka akong anti-Aquino kahit na hindi ito ang aking pakay. My only aim is to FIGHT FILIPINO IGNORANCE in order to help them have an educated decision on WHO to vote.

This is not an anti Aquino-Cojuangco propaganda. All of the leads, facts and trivia presented can be verified online through credible sources. These facts are silenced in Philippine media. Youtube provides alternative media for the citizens of the Philippines. Media that is unfiltered and untouched by corporate or political interests.

This is a documentary/commentary for EDUCATIONAL purpose only. All copyrighted materials that may appear in this video are owned by their respective owners. We invoke United States Copyright Law of FAIR USE and that WE DO NOT INTEND TO EARN ANY PROFIT from this educational video. The contents herein are mere exposition of facts about the Aquino-Cojuangco clan. These facts are based on testimonies of people and credible news reporting of some unbiased reporters. This is a video BY a Filipino, FOR Filipinos.

Utter lack of common sense by the ordinary Filipino citizen is brought about by years of government practice of dumbing down the masses in order to sway their VOTES to their favor. This leads to massive decline of intelligence, morality and dignity of the people, while media create demons to blame for this social decay. ABSCBN(Lopez) and INQUIRER(Belmonte) are owned by allies of the Aquino-Cojuangco families. These media outfits are directly responsible in corrupting the minds of the viewers.

SOURCES:

Ysidra Cojuangco and the treasures of the First Philippine Republic -Henry Tiu-Laurel. Ambassador Rafaelita Hilrio Soriano. Larry Henares. Isabelo Crisostomo, Cory’s biographer.

Violations of human rights during Cory Aquino’s term – Task Force Detainees of the Philippines

History of Hacienda Luisita and the Luisita Massacre- Stephanie Dychiu,Sandra Aguinaldo, Howie Severino, and Johanna Camille Sisante of GMA news

Eventual Shooting War

By Erick San Juan

People of the world beware! I don’t want to be an alarmist but in my group’s analysis of the current global situation, we are in for something that we will all regret soon. All the ingredients and prescriptions for chaos are already part of our lives. We seem to accept what’s happening to our society and the world as the new trend and a way of life in this changing world. The ongoing and mounting recession could lead to civil unrest worldwide. The domino effect of this global economic stagflation could repeat the pattern of events before the first and second world war. The saber-rattling this time could also lead to a shooting war, a shorter war where nukes will be inflicted to the world by superpowers destroying not only the living but the earth.

Nobody in his right mind wants war. But, if the global elites will fail to control some of their allies who seem to show their superiority and world control, we are all in for trouble. All the ingredients for disaster are being assessed by different think-tank groups worldwide. Recently, the United Nations released the information that the world population is now 7 billion people and a Filipino child completed it. The world is now over populated with a high percentage of the so called “useless eaters”. To add more injury to the global problem, there are more calamities occurring worldwide like earthquakes, floods, snow storms,etc. making the world food supply scarce. The worst is the fight for the control of the dwindling oil and gas supply.

The “painting in the west and fighting in the east” scenario by the Pentagon has change it’s gear when US defense secretary Leon Panetta made a statement in Tokyo recently (Wall Street Journal 10/25/11) and said,”The winding down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan clears the way for the U.S. to shift it’s focus to Asia and in particularly to China, where the part of the world that likely matters most in the long run.” He added that the “U.S. now is at a turning point that will allow a strategic re-balancing toward Asia.” He explained that despite the belt-tightening, the U.S. forces in Asia won’t be cut to check China’s military build up. It was a clear message to Beijing, whose military build up and maritime assertiveness in the South China Sea has alarmed America and it’s regional allies.

The blame game approach compounded when the Philippine navy and the South Korean authorities detained fishing boats from China. Beijing urged both Philippine and South Korean governments to unconditionally return the Chinese dinghies as soon as possible ’cause it harmed the “lawful rights and interests of their fishermen”. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Jiang Yu, in a Beijing conference (October 20) said, “The Philippine naval vessel entered the waters off Liyue Bank of Spratleys, called the Nansha islands.” But the Philippine authority claimed that the Chinese boats got entangled with their ship near the Recto Bank, owned by the Philippines. (PhilStar 10/22/11)

The situation turned uglier when the US and the Philippine military had their Philblex joint military exercises recently near the Spratlys. The US and the Philippine government announced that the exercises were not aimed at China but the Chinese military reacted and said that these events have been promoting hawkish responses within China. Global Times(10/25/11) said that Beijing wants peace which is vital for it’s own economic development but some of it’s neighbors have been exploiting China’s mild diplomatic stance. Small countries are allegedly being used by the west as an “opportunistic strategy” to push them to the wall and fight, that a ‘counter-attack’ is likely. If these countries won’t change their ways with China, they will need to prepare for the ‘sound of cannons’.

I would like to reiterate that with the word war emanating from their proxies, it could lead to a shooting war. We should prepare for the worst. We could be the collateral damage. We have to watch out for the pretext and learn from history where our forefathers were once cannon-fodders by these warring elites. Even our second world war veterans are up to now were not given what’s due them. The Aquino government should wake up. May your conscience bother you.