News
NPA seizes 12 firearms in Agusan and Zamboanga clashes
The New People's Army (NPA) confiscated 12 firearms in two separate clashes in Agusan del Sur and Zamboanga del Sur on August 5.
In Agusan del Sur, the NPA seized eight firearms, killed at least eight soldiers and wounded 13 troops in an encounter with assaulting elements of the 1st and 2nd Reconnaissance Coy of the 4th ID in Sitio Manawang, Barangay Guinabsan, Buenavista. In a statement, NDF-Northcentral Mindanao spokesperson Cesar Renerio belied enemy reports fed to the media that only five soldiers were killed and that many NPA fighters were killed and wounded. One guerrilla was martyred in the hour-long fighting, said Renerio.
In Zamboanga del Sur, the NPA raided a Philippine National Police detachment in Barangay Boyugan West, Kumalarang. The policemen in the detachment succumbed to a ruse because the Red fighters who entered the outpost wore military uniforms and sported military regulation haircuts. The NPA seized two M16 rifles and two 9 mm pistols from the police.
"Balance Piston" denounced
ANAKPAWIS party-list representative Rafael Mariano denounced "Balance Piston" and any presence of US troops in the Philippines as a "concrete violation of the country's national sovereignty." "Balance Piston," a joint RP-US war exercise participated in by 200 troops (50 Americans and 150 Filipinos) is currently being launched in Carmen, North Cotabato. It began in the last week of July and will end in the last week of August.
Mariano said the Philippines has been transformed into a virtual US military base that services US wars of aggression and serves as a showcase of American politico-military might in the Asia-Pacific region.
In a related news development, the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN), Moro-Christian People's Alliance (MCPA), United Youth of the Philippines (UYP) and the Federation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Maguindanao and Cotabato City launched protest actions in Cotabato on July 28 against "Balance Piston." They asserted their right to protest despite intense harassment from the military and police.
The demonstrators asserted that exercises like "Balance Piston" would result in indiscriminate arrests of Moros and put their lives in danger. The rallyists cited the death of Arzeed Baharon, a 19-year-old resident of Barangay San Roque, Zamboanga City hit by gunfire from American troops who, with elements of the Philippine Marines were conducting live firing exercises in the city.
IHRA demands pullout of RSOT in Ilocos Sur
THE Ilocos Human Rights Alliance (IHRA) renewed in the last week of July its demand for the pullout of the AFP's Reengineered Special Operations Team (RSOT) from Cabugao, Sinait and Sta. Lucia towns in Ilocos Sur due to abuses committed against the people in these areas. IHRA's secretary general, Pastor Jerry Arzadon also denounced Col. Roberto Almadin, commander of the 50th IB that oversees the RSOT in question, for his failure to act on complaints lodged with him since April 12.
Five of the victims faced the mass media and recounted the abuses they experienced in the hands of the military.
Alex Tan and Rolly Marato, both peasants from Sta. Lucia, assailed the RSOT's listing them as NPA members after Red fighters attacked the Sta. Lucia municipal hall on September 15, 2003. Soldiers, meanwhile, illegally ransacked the homes of Luzviminda Igne and Gloria Ibay, both of Baracbac, Sinait, because of their alleged connections to the NPA. Roland Ibarra of Quibit-Quibit, Sinait also complained of close surveillance by the military who suspected him of being an NPA member.
CPP condemns journalists' murder
THE Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) strongly condemned the death of two journalists who were murdered in succession in the first week of August.
In a statement, CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal said that the murders bring to the fore the grave dangers that journalists face, especially those who expose the corruption and terrorism of reactionary politicians, warlords and military officials.
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP)-Iloilo Chapter also denounced the journalists' murder. In a gathering in Iloilo City on August 6, NUJP-Iloilo members wore black T-shirts and armbands and lit candles in front of the provincial capitol to protest violence against journalists and condole with the victims' families.
The latest case was the slaying in Bauan, Batangas on August 5 of Arnel Manalo, a correspondent of dzRH in Batangas and the newspaper Bulgar. Prior to this, Roger Mariano, a broadcaster of dzJC-Aksyon Radyo in Ilocos Norte was also murdered on August 1.
Meanwhile, in Cebu City, three broadcasters of El Nuevo-Bantay Radyo narrowly escaped death when the jeep they were riding was ambushed on the night of August 5.
Zamboanga residents oppose mining
Residents of Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur opposed plans to conduct mining operations in their town, fearing that it would suffer the same fate as other areas in the Zamboanga Peninsula now saddled with pollution and the dislocation of the local population.
According to the Tumaud Pusaka Subaanen dig Midsalip (Tupusumi), an organization of Subanen tribespeople in Midsalip and the multisectoral Katawhan sa Midsalip Supak sa Mina (Kamisumi), widespread mercury poisoning occurred in the town of Sibutad, Zamboanga del Norte and thousands of Subanen families were forced to evacuate from Barangay Cabanatuan, Siocon in the same province due to the operations of Philex Mining Corporation, an Australian company.
Geotechnics and Mines Inc. (GMI) has a pending application to mine gold, silver and chromite in five barangays of Midsalip which the DENR had already declared as watershed areas. The villages are sources of drinking water, irrigation and fish, and provide protection against flooding. According to Midsalip residents, mining these areas will ruin the lives and livelihood of the people not only in Zamboanga del Norte but also in Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibuguey.
Tupusumi and Kamisumi led a protest rally on July 14 against GMI's planned mining operations.
Congressman Joel Virador's home raided
Suspected elements of the Military Intelligence Group (MIG) ransacked the house of Congressman Joel Virador in Barangay Matina, Davao City at 9 a.m. on July 14 without a search warrant. The raiding team seized various documents, personal belongings and money. Virador, who was in Manila at the time of the incident, is a former official of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in Southern Mindanao and one of the representatives of Bayan Muna in congress. The adjacent office of BAYAN-Southern Mindanao was raided simultaneously.
Virador strongly denounced the illegal raid on his house. He said, "If they can do this to me, then what prevents them from doing it to ordinary civilians?" Bayan Muna plans to file a resolution in congress to investigate the incident.
Gracia Burnham did not clear AFP
Contrary to claims by the Department of Justice (DOJ), Gracia Burnham never retracted in court what she said in 2003 regarding the collusion and division of ransom money between the AFP and the Abu Sayyaf. Burnham revealed this a year ago in her book In the Presence of My Enemies, which was based on her eyewitness accounts as a captive of the Abu Sayyaf from 2001 to 2002. She returned to the Philippines this August to testify against a number of Abu Sayyaf elements being tried in court.
The DOJ was pelted with criticism when videos and records of Burnham's testimony refuted its claims that Burnham had supposedly made a retraction.
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