State of emergency remains in Maguindanao

By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated December 30, 2009 12:00

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Ampatuan followers unite with Moro rebels

In Cotabato City, residents believe that more than 50 armed followers of the embattled Ampatuan clan have joined forces with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“We are just amazed on why the military has been announcing that members of the armed Ampatuan militia have already gone to other provinces when, in fact, they are just roaming in mountainous areas overlooking the towns of Shariff Aguak, Ampatuan, and Datu Hofer,” a public school teacher who requested anonymity said.

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Ampatuans entrust arsenal to Moro Islamic Liberation Front 12/21/09

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Navy lieutenant, 2 more die in Basilan clash

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 12/30/2009 9:53 AM

MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine Navy lieutenant and two other officers were killed after their group encountered a group of former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members in a coastal town in Basilan province, Tuesday.

Police identified the slain Navy officers as Lt. Christopher Pantaleon, Petty Officer 3 Almario Manalili and another officer named Reynan Sumalinog.

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2 Navy soldiers killed in Basilan hostilities 12/30/09 01:51: PM @ GMA (more details)

Attempt to bomb power pylon in N. Cotabato foiled

GMANews 12/30/2009 | 12:55 AM

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Army troops on Tuesday evening foiled a bombing attempt on a power pylon in the southern Philippine province of North Cotabato, a police official said.

Inspector Winston Seniel, the chief of police of Carmen town, said the improvised explosive device (IED) was found near the National Transmission Commission (Transco) steel tower in Sitio Dungu-an in Barangay Ugalingan.

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BusinessWorld 12/28/09

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has asked the government’s response to Moro demand for self-rule in parts of Mindanao to form part of the final agenda in the second round of talks in Kuala Lumpur next month.

“We hope that the government this time will give us what we have been clamoring in the past decades,” Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief peace negotiator, told BusinessWorld yesterday.

For the MILF, he said they are the draft peace deal, includes territory and political and economic authority over ancestral domain claims.

Rafael E. Seguis, government chief negotiator, was unavailable for comment. In earlier interviews, he only said they are consolidating inputs gathered from a series of consultations throughout Mindanao.

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Zamboanga City Mayor Questions Peace Panel 12/17/09

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Who kidnapped Basilan school vice president? 12/28/09

Botched territory deal part of new peace negotiations 12/22/09

Moro Islamic Liberation Front bombs newly repaired bridge in south Philippines 12/22/09

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Police have tagged five Ampatuans – Rajah Buayan Mayor Yacob Ampatuan, Mamasapano Mayor Banarin Ampatuan, Datu Ulo Ampatuan, Datu Ipi Ampatuan and Datu Kanor Ampatuan – as alleged leaders of the rebellion.  Over 608 respondents! State Prosecutor Lamberto Fabros said all 638 respondents are given until Jan. 12 to submit counter-affidavits. Meanwhile Ampatuan private armies are seen scampering in hinterlands of Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat and in Cotabato City(map) read full report @ Abs-Cbnnews 12/29/09

Commentary: @ Inquirer 12/28/09

Pt1 Big-time gambling patriarch plays high-stakes politics

Pt2 Ampatuan patriarch gave Arroyo big win that fueled his rise to power

Ampatuans entrust arsenal to Moro Islamic Liberation Front 12/21/09

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12/27/09

Sun Star reports Gov orders probe on Basilan school exec’s kidnapping. The report says ‘Akbar’s order bolstered the suspicion that the kidnappers of Fajardo are not the Abu Sayyaf bandits contrary to what was believed earlier’ ( read full report 12/27/09)  The “rescue” (here)  of Dr. Orlando Fajardo by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front maybe a charade. Just like the “rescue” of Irish priest Fr. Sinnot here. Fr Sinnot has identified 2 of his kidnappers as M.I.L.F. here. These is bad publicity for a group that wants to be an international player in Mindanao. Arroyo will be holding her last national security meeting for 2009  in Baguio here.  On the agenda among others  is the peace talks…

Update on Peace talks w/ Moro Islamic Liberation Front 12/22/09

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ABS-CBN – Sunday, December 27 via Yahoo News Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — An improvised bomb exploded Sunday early evening in front of the house of Maguindanao 1st district Rep. Didagen Dilangalen in Cotabato City.

The improvised explosive device (IED) was reportedly placed at the perimeter wall of the house of Dilangalen in Kabuntalan Street, Barangay Rosary Heights 3, Cotabato City and exploded 6 p.m..

A cousin of the congressman, Mayor Ramil Dilangalen of Northern Kabuntalan in Maguindanao, said the legislator had just arrived in his Cotabato City house from Davao City. After 15 minutes the bomb exploded, said the Northern Kabuntalan mayor.

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Bomb explodes in Carmen, North Cotabato on Christmas day 12/26/09

No respite for troops hunting down bandits, rogue guerrillas 12/20/09 Business Mirror

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KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 26, 2009) – A bomb explosion in the southern Philippines destroyed a cargo truck, but security officials said there were no reports of casualties.
The Christmas day attack occurred in the town of Carmen in North Cotabato province, a hotbed of Muslim and communist insurgencies.
It was unknown whether the bombing was carried out by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front or the communist New People’s Army rebels and officials said authorities were investigating the motive of the attack.

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via @inquirerdotnet By Edwin Fernandez Inquirer Mindanao 12/26/09

COTABATO CITY – Government security forces clashed with a group of militiamen identified with the Ampatuan clan in a 15-minute skirmish allegedly started by the militiamen, the military said Saturday.

Soldiers of the 46th Infantry Division were patrolling Barangay (village) Kuloy in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, on Friday when they were fired upon around 2 p.m., said Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Ponce, spokesman of the military’s 6th Infantry Division.

He said the soldiers, backed by armored personnel carriers, retaliated and a 15-minute firefight ensued.

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Collusion and collision in Muslim Mindanao 12/08/09

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Today’s Zaman 12/24/09

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu met on Thursday with Chairman Haci Murat İbrahim of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) (Philippines) and its executive for foreign affairs Adnan Alim.

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Burak Özügergin, responding to a question about the meeting, said Davutoğlu briefed MILF executives about the peace process and the “International Contact Group” which was established aiming to provide international support to peace talks that resumed between the government of the Philippines and MILF.

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Give credit where credit is due: We would like to cite the  Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the rescue of Basilan State College vice president here. However there is the question of the jailbreak in Basilan here.  A P2M bounty for the recapture of Comd’r Laksaw who was implicated in the beheadings of 10 marines here.

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By Ramon Tulfo

Philippine Daily Inquirer 12/21/09

SOME P400 MILLION WAS stolen by people who first got to the mansion of the Ampatuans in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, according to my sources in Camp Crame.

The sources said the amount was inside the vault of the mansion.

Army soldiers were the lead troops in securing the Ampatuan mansion because of the martial law situation in the province. Martial rule has since been lifted.

One of the sources said the vault in the Ampatuan mansion is as big as that of a bank.

It should be, since the Ampatuans bought some vaults from a bank that went bankrupt several years ago, according to sources.

The Ampatuans didn’t believe in the banking system and kept their money in the vaults of their mansions in Maguindanao and Davao City.

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Their money?…No. It’s the people’s  money!

CoA orders special audit for ARMM 12/17/09 Mb.com

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On Renewed Peace Talks Consultations: We should not rush things-Celso

Na Mi Pueblo 2009-12-21 08:20

Mayor Celso Lobregat has underscored the need for the peace talks between the government and the secessionist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front to continue but stressed that consultations should not be done in a rush just to be able to finalize everything before the end of the term of the present administration.

Lobregat said this, as he maintained his protest to the supposed consultation conducted by the government panel in Zamboanga City December 14-15 intended for city and municipal mayors in the region, as a sequel to the previously conducted dialogue among Mindanao stakeholders.

“My position is that the peace talks should continue but because the present term of the president is ending, whatever agreements that are going to be made should be done in the next administration,” Lobregat said in a press conference the other day. “We should not rush and put a timetable because things have to be done properly.”

Lobregat said the supposed consultation, held at the Patio Palmeras and attended only by at least 8 of the over 60 municipal mayors and not one of the 5 city mayors in the region due to a very short notice, “is one example of things not being done properly”.

“How can you call a consultation when even a member of the panel does not know that there will be a consultation,” the chief executive said referring to Adel Antonino, government panel member representing the local government units in Mindanao. “It brings about more questions, what is happening, why are they doing this in such a manner, in such a rush, was this meeting intended really to be that way?”

Lobregat deliberately did not attend the supposed consultation spearheaded by the GRP panel chief Ambassador Rafael Seguis for various reasons: the very short notice sent not only to him but to all other four city mayors in the region; lack of coordination with panel member Antonino and the tapping of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society chairman, who was one of the respondent intervenor in the August 2008 petition against the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) before the High Tribunal, as head of the GRP Panel Secretariat.

“It is also very suspicious why a member of the panel itself was not informed of the consultation when he was the one contacting us saying that we will have a consultation in January,” Lobregat said again referring to Antonino. Issues as important as consultations on peace talks should be given ample time for preparation.

“By attending that meeting it would be legitimizing (the supposed consultation) and again that is not a consultation,” the mayor reiterated.

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Botched territory deal part of new peace negotiations

Business World Online 12/22/09

ZAMBOANGA CITY — The comprehensive peace agreement between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would cover political and economic scope and control that provide greater autonomy for Moros in some parts of Mindanao, including some provisions of the botched territorial agreement.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Rafael E. Seguis, government chief negotiator, said during a consultation meeting with local chief executives on Monday that part of the current draft agreement adopted some key points in the botched Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD).

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF peace panel chairman, earlier told BusinessWorld that their proposed agreement will contain some key provisions of the MoA-AD, particularly on territory and ancestral domain.

The supposed signing of the MoA-AD in August last year was aborted after some politicians contested the deal before the Supreme Court, saying it did not undergo proper consultation and that the pact is unconstitutional.

This sparked renewed fighting between Moro rebels and the military that killed over a hundred civilians and displaced more than half-a-million residents. The Supreme Court declared the agreement unconstitutional in October of the same year. A truce has been declared by the two sides last July.

read full report….

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Explosions rock Sulu

Business Mirror 12/22/09

Written by Bong Garcia Jr. / Correspondent 1

ZAMBOANGA CITY—Government forces are pursuing a group of rebels who are believed to be behind the three bomb explosions that rocked the island-province of Sulu on Monday.

No one was reported killed or injured in the explosions, but a newly repaired bridge was damaged.

Lt. Gen. Benjamin Mohammad Dolorfino, Western Mindanao Command chief, said the first explosion took place at about 1:45 a.m. on Monday at the garbage dump of an elementary school in barangay Liang, Patikul town.

Dolorfino said another bomb exploded 10 minutes later in the same place.

The third explosion took place shortly after 10 a.m. on Monday, when gunmen believed to be members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) bombed a newly repaired bridge in Bato-Bato, Indanan town.

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So much for peace talks…

Collusion and collision in Muslim Mindanao 12/08/09

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By Roel Pareño (The Philippine Star) Updated December 22, 2009 12:00 AM

ZAMBOANGA CITY , Philippines  – Suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits have reduced their ransom demand from P20 million to P3.5 million for the release of an executive of the Basilan State College, a provincial official said yesterday.

The Abu Sayyaf has also lifted up its ultimatum imposed last Friday on the life of Dr. Orlando Fajardo, vice president for academic affairs of the Basilan State College, following the intervention of the Crisis Management Committee (CMC), Basilan Vice Gov. Al-Rasheed Sakalahul said.

Sakalahul has remained in Al-Barka town to personally oversee the possible early release of Fajardo.

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Collusion and collision in Muslim Mindanao 12/08/09

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12/17/09

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