A leader of a non-government organization (NGO) has expressed jubilation over the reported move of some indigenous people (IP) elders in North Cotabato for the creation of a separate town for the mostly IP-populated villages of Kidapawan, North Cotabato. rsad Solaiman, chairman of the Youth for Genuine Bangsamoro Empowerment (YGBE), told Luwaran that giving the IPs in this municipality a separate entity for their own tribe is most welcome and should be helped in every way possible.

He said that it has long been overdue that Moros and IPs have been ruled by outsiders and not by themselves.

The IP leaders wanted their new town to be called as the Municipality of Apo Sandawa.

The Cotabato Tribal Consultative Council (CTCC), through its 15-member board of trustees, said in a letter to Rep. Bernardo Piñol Jr. that the proposed town will have Barangay Ilomavis, now part of Kidapawan, as the seat of government.

CCTC chair Datu Samuel Asicam Sr. said the proposed town shall be composed of barangays adjoining the Mount Apo National Park. These areas straddle Kidapawan and the towns of Makilala and Magpet.

From Kidapawan are Ilomavis, Balabag, Meohao and Perez. From Makilala are Buhay, New Israel, Buenavida and Batasan were incorporated including the villages of Don Panaca, Bangkal, Kinarum, Manobo and Bongolanon in Magpet area.

Until 1940, Kidapawan was populated by IPs mostly of the Manobo ethnic tribe and few Moros. The Christian settlers only came in 1935 and onward which the Americans encouraged to provide a buffer zone between Cotabato and Davao where the Japanese population was growing very fast both by birth and illegal migrants.

This early, the Japanese were already considered a threat to the American presence in Mindanao, which came true when the Japanese government decided to join the Germans in World War II and attacked the Philippines in 1942. Davao, along with Sulu, suffered the first brunt of the Japanese invasion.

Source: luwaran

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The GRP-MILF Peace Talk is passing through a very decisive phase as the government is reportedly offering the MILF “enhanced autonomy” but which the MILF for the third time will reject without looking at the so-called package. This was the prediction of a senior member of the MILF Central Committee, who requested anonymity, in view of the latest report that the government is seriously considering abandoning all the consensus points on ancestral domain aspect of the Tripoli Agreement of 2001.

The two Parties signed at least 29 consensus points on the four strands of ancestral domain namely, concept, territory, resources and governance.

The first enhanced autonomy offer was proposed by Estrada in 2000 which the MIF flatly rejected; the second in February 2003, which the MILF did not care to look at, and now the government is offering another retooled enhanced autonomy offer. As usual, the MILF will reject.

However, the first and second offer resulted in two all-out wars against the MILF in 2000 and 2003, respectively. Will the third offer also result in another bloody war is question that can be answered in the month to come.

The MILF officer said that if the talks finally breakup, it would be disaster to the Arroyo regime given the fresh report of destabilization plots against the government.

At least six military officers were relieved on suspicion of involvement in an alleged new attempt to destabilize the government as two more battalions of combat troops arrived in Metro Manila from Central Luzon yesterday.

Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said yesterday the relieved officers, along with enlisted personnel, were being recruited by active and retired military officers, civilians and some politicians.

“We have done some moves short of arresting them, like reassigning them or putting them on hold, and continuing surveillance on them,” he said.

Esperon did not identify the officers that were relieved or reassigned or the branch of their service.

As this developed, more and more combat troops are being pulled from their present assignment to augment the defense of the National Capital Region where the nerve center of the government is based. At least one Marine battalion is pulled out of Basilan and reassigned in Manila. Also troops from the Army’s 5th Infantry Division based in Gamu, Isabela and the Air Force’s 760th Combat Group based in Clark Field arrived yesterday for assignment in Manila.

Source: Luwaran 

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The Chairman of the Board of the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), Dr. Abas A. Candao made a presentation on BDA in a meeting with the Small Grants Donors Group on September 21, 2007 at the JICA office, 40th flr RCBC Plaza, Makati.  The BDA has been wanting to meet with this Group since a few months ago. They used to be a bigger group but have limited their size and membership to only about thirteen now.

The BDA got this chance of introducing itself through the efforts of Buenaventura Maata,Jr. of Philgerfund. After Dr. Candao’s  presentation and open forum, those present, apparently enlightened on what BDA is all about, declared their willingness to partner with BDA.

“We can always find ways to tie up with BDA,” says Toto Divino of Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. “I shall be waiting for project proposals,” says Ms. Angie Cunanan of UNDP GEF SGP. Atty Jose Andres Canivel of the Philippine Tropical Foundation likewise would be waiting for project proposals on restoration and conservation of the forests in the conflict-affected areas.

Dr. Candao was also fortunate to meet the new JICA Philippine Resident Representative, Mr. Norio Matsuda who replaces Mr. Shozo Matsuura.

Those present were: Mr. Hirosu Tonokawa, Ms. Aya Kano, Mr. Hernan Pineda, and Ms. MaryAnn Bakisan of JICA, Ms. Angie Cunanan of   UNDP Global Environment Fund Small Grants Program, Mr. Arnold Divino of Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, Atty. Jose Andres Canivel of Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation and Mr. Buenaventura Maata,Jr. of Philgerfund. (BDA News Bureau)

Source: Luwaran  

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A reporter of the Philippine Daily Inquirer has been banned by the military from covering its operations in the battle-scarred island province of Basilan, a report reaching Luwaran today. The reporter was identified as Julie S. Alipala, who drew the ire of the military for her reports on “military abuses and lapses in its operations”.

Philippine Marines commandant Major General Ben Dolorfino has confirmed that Zamboanga Inquirer correspondent Julie S. Alipala has been banned by the military from covering its operations in Basilan.

The report was received by the Media Safety Office of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and International Federation of Journalists.

Alipala wrote an article on the August 18 clash in Unkaya Pukan town in Basilan, where 15 Marines were killed by the Abu Sayyaf.

Since then, the report said, Alipala received threats and warned by colleagues to be extra careful.

Meanwhile, Khaled Musa, deputy chairman of the MILF Committee on Information, expressed his concern for the “arm-twisting approach” of the military, saying instead of banning Alipala, they should conduct an inquiry into the veracity of the reported abuses and lapses.

“It is good that there are still courageous media people out there who can say straight in the eye of the military that ‘they, are problems in your ranks in the field’”, he said.

He suggested that instead of banning and castigating the poor reporter, the military should investigate and if her report has no basis then she can be liable for libel and should be charged in court, but there is enough evidence of her report then she should be commended

He further commented that by banning Alipala will only strengthen her credential  as a true journalist, who vowed to uphold the truth at all times, and on the other hand reinforces the perception that the military is hiding something from the public and has indeed committed that abuses and lapses.

Source: Luwaran

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Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, chairperson of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), has urged leaders and members of the Front to close ranks and unite in the face of all sorts of trials and tribulations that come within and from without the organization. Murad was speaking before a group of fellow workers in the MILF from municipalities to provinces in Central Mindanao, who came to see him before the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

He said that even in no active combat situation, there is always need to unite and rally one another, citing other revolutionary groups which split into several sub-groups after they have already signed agreement with the government.
 
He also mentioned the National Democratic Front (NDF), which cracked and split into several groups not because they are not all communists but they differed on strategy and tactics to reach their political goal.
 
The NDF pro-Sison wing strictly adheres to the non-revisionist line of the Maoist-Marxist line, while the other groups gradually adopted the European style of communism which participated in state affairs and politics.
 
Murad also reminded his audience that one of the most dangerous threats to any revolutionary organization, even if it has already attained maturity and gained vast experience, is “influence operations” of the enemy.
 
He said the enemy will not try to assassinate or lure a revolutionary leader to surrender  but covertly send operatives to find their way into the inner circle of such leader and influence his decisions aimed ultimately for the destruction of the organization by sowing intrigues, hatred, and disunity.
 
He enumerated several ways to maintain the unity and solidarity of the MILF, to wit:
 
1. Always dedicate our service to Allah, Who rewards us for our sincere acts and service;
2. Think, act, and work for the true interests of the entire Bangsamoro people and never for one’s own ethnic tribe, groups, or clans;
3. Never entertain or work for personal ambition while in the service of the MILF;
4. Resolve all doubts, all conflicts in favor of the highest interests of the struggle;
5.  Never act on the basis of suspicion or speculation;
6. Always find way to verify or validate with your brothers any adverse report. Both in Islam and in a revolutionary struggle, it is always bad to act on the basis of suspicion; and
7. Never talk to the government or its officials except through the framework of the peace process or ask any favor from them.

Source: Luwaran

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The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panel will undertake series of peace advocacy after the holy month of Ramadan, in close coordination with the International Monitoring Team (IMT) and the government peace panel. This was disclosed to Luwaran today by Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel Secretariat, who said that there is really a need for a sustained peace advocacy especially in the provinces of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Palawan, which were just included in the jurisdiction of the IMT.      

He said the aim of this advocacy is to inform the people about the progress of the peace talks as well as to solicit ideas from them on how to overcome the various obstacles facing the two Parties in the talks, without divulging those confidential aspects of the negotiation.

“We need to expand the base of support from the people,” he stressed, adding that keeping the people in the dark as to the real score surrounding the talks is more negative than a plus factor.

In June this year, the MILF, in coordination with the IMT and the government peace panel, held an advocacy program in Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.
 
Representatives of the IMT, who spoke in Malay language, participated in the Tawi-Tawi. Most of the people of the province understand and can converse with Malay.
 
The IMT also conducted medical mission after the forum.
 
But the IMT skipped Sulu. Report said the IMT did not get the go-signal from Kuala Lumpur to join the Sulu forum.
 
More than 1,000 MILF forces, in half uniform, paraded in downtown Jolo, to the dismay of spectators thinking that the MILF has no solid presence in the island province. The gymnasium, where the forum was held, was jampacked with more than 4,000 people in attendance.
 
Bobby Alonto, a member of the MILF peace panel, Jun Mantawil, Al Camlian, head of the MILF Technical Committee, represented the MILF peace panel in the two forums.
 
Mantawil disclosed that the MILF leadership in Basilan has already requested the MILF peace panel to hold the first advocacy program there, followed by Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and Palawan, in that order.

Ramadan will end either on October 13 or 14 depending on the sighting of the moon.

Source: Luwaran.com

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MANILA, Philippines -- In a gesture of goodwill ahead of an anticipated resumption of peace talks, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Sunday announced that it had offered to abandon its strongholds in the provinces of Basilan and Sulu so the military could go after Abu Sayyaf bandits.

MILF spokesperson Eid Kabalu said over local radio the rebels would move out of their strongholds in Basilan and Sulu “to give way to a big military offensive” against Abu Sayyaf militants.

“We are prepared to leave the areas, on certain considerations, including the security and subsistence of the families of our fighters,” Kabalu said. “We want to apply that to avoid misencounters” with the military, he added.

Kabalu said the offer to temporarily vacate their camps was a “sign of sincerity and cooperation so that the government could focus on the lawless elements they are after.”

The 12,000-strong MILF has been waging a decades-old rebellion for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines.

Lack of coordination

In 2003, the MILF signed a truce with the government, but a lack of coordination between ground forces on both sides has often led to bloody encounters.

In July, renegade MILF guerrillas backed by the Abu Sayyaf ambushed a military convoy, killing 14 soldiers -- 10 of whom were beheaded. The incident sparked outrage and pushed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to mount a massive offensive.

The MILF owned up to the attack, but said its fighters had followed rules of combat and did not mutilate the bodies.

The military later said the offensive was aimed at the Abu Sayyaf, a small gang of self-styled bandits and kidnappers on the US government’s list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Peace talks

Government negotiators have said peace talks under the auspices of Malaysia will resume with the MILF this month to coincide with Ramadan, the Islamic fasting season, or shortly after.

Nine days before government forces launched military operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Tipo-Tipo town on Basilan on Aug. 18, MILF forces had already repositioned themselves to avoid misencounters.

Von Al Haq, chair of the MILF’s Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, said the decision to reposition MILF guerrillas was reached between himself and his government counterpart, Gen. Edgardo Gurrea.

Al Haq said the government chief negotiator, retired Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, and MILF chief negotiator Mohaqger Iqbal, who both recommended the arrangement to preserve the gains of the peace process, approved the plan.

Maguindanao

In August 2005, MILF rebels vacated their two camps, Badre and Omar Ibni-Khattab, in Guindulongan and Talayan towns in Maguindanao province to give way to government troops who were running after Abu Sayyaf and suspected Jemaah Islamiyah militants holed up there.

Source: Inquirer Online

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His Excellency MGen Datuk Mat Yasin bin Mat Daud, the new Head of Mission of the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team (IMT), will arrive in Manila today from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. MGen Datuk Mat Yasin of the Royal Malaysian Army heads the fourth batch of the 60-man international monitors composed of mostly military officials and some socio-economic experts from the governments of Malaysia, Brunei, Libya and Japan. Earlier, Malaysian Admiral Dato’ Pahlawan Amzah Bin Sulayman, the IMT Deputy Head of Mission, arrived to initially lead the IMT Headquarters in Cotabato City after the one-year tour of duty of the IMT batch three ended last August 31, 2007.


Gen Yasin one-year tour duty will cover an expanded area of responsibility with the inclusion of the provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Palawan, a development viewed as moving forward on the ongoing peace process between Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Joint Chairmen of the GRP-MILF Coordinating Committees on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH), BGen Edgardo Gurrea and Von Al Haq, and officials from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and Malaysian Embassy will receive Gen Yasin at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

In Manila, His Excellency Gen Yasin will immediately pay courtesy calls to the Embassies of Malaysia, Brunei, Libya and Japan, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in Malacanang, OPAPP Secretary Jesus Dureza, GRP Peace Negotiating Panel Chairman LGen (Ret) Rodolfo Garcia, National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro, Jr, AFP Chief of Staff Gen Hermogenes Esperon Jr, and PNP Director Gen Oscar Calderon.

Gen Yasin will also attend the celebration of the 74th Malaysian Armed Forces Day on September 19, 2007 in Manila.

Courtesy call to the MILF Central Committee headed by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim by the new chief of mission is tentatively scheduled on September 24, 2007 at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan province.

Based on the Terms of Reference (TOR), Malaysia assumes the top two highest posts of IMT that principally monitors the adherence to the ceasefire accord and secondarily keeps an eye on the implementation rehabilitation and development aspect of the 2001 GRP-MILF Agreement on Peace.

Now Lt Gen Dato’ Zulkifeli bin Mohammad Zin, MGen Dato’ Pahlawa Soheimi bin Abbas and MGen Dato’ Md Isamil bin Ahmad Khan were the previous Heads of Mission of the first, second and third batches of IMT, respectively.

The deployment of the IMT in Mindanao since October 10, 2004 had significantly improve the peace and security situation as well as the development programs especially in the conflict-affected areas due to diminishing ceasefire violations and incidents of violence transpiring between the forces of the government and the MILF.

Previously without the IMT, tactical engagements, ceasefire infractions and violent incidents had reached to almost 700 cases which deplorably claimed scores of casualties on both parties, displacements of innocent civilians, economic dislocations and politically instability in Mindanao and in the Philippines in general.

Source: Luwaran

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The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has told the Arroyo administration of never to act alone in addressing the Bangsamoro Problem, because it will fail miserably and the suffering will not stop in Mindanao. Muhammad Ameen, chairperson of the MILF Secretariat, was reacting to confirmed report that the government is filing a bill in Congress seeking to enhance and amend the law creating the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and offer this to the MILF.

“The MILF will not accept any autonomy offer of whatever package or name and is a waste of time and smacks of bad faith”, he stressed.
“This is not negotiation anymore but imposition.”

He reiterated earlier MILF policy that it will never accept any imposed solution to the Bangsamoro Problem from the government, except through a negotiated political settlement by the Parties with third party facilitation.

Recently, President Arroyo was addressing the Bishops-Ulama Conference and assured them that the ancestral domain aspect of the Tripoli Agreement of 2001 will be addressed soon, thereby leaving the political part to be discussed by the Parties.

The footage of this address had been shown on television recently.
Many cabinet secretaries are frequently coming out with press statements that the peace deal with the MILF will soon be signed, but these pronouncements are contrary to what actually is happening to the talks. The government keeps on scheduling and postponing the talks.

Analysts described these statements as “dribbling” and aimed at attracting foreign investments.

In a related development, another analyst told Luwaran that President Arroyo does not fully grasp what is meant by solving the Bangsamoro Problem with a “new formula” as stipulated by the Tripoli Agreement of 2001.

The new formula totally excludes the format shown in the ARMM, which represents the “old formula”, and if the government does this again, then it is violating the agreement and is not sincere in the negotiation.

The analyst said the president is getting the wrong advice from his cabinet secretaries who are her front men in the negotiation like Secretaries Norberto Gonzales, Eduardo Ermita, and Ronaldo Puno.

Source: Luwaran

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By E. T. SUAREZ

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is ready for the Oct. 29 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections and will respect congressional decision to postpone the twin political exercise, if the legislative measure for the purpose is enacted into law.

The Comelec, led by Chairman Benjamin S. Abalos Sr., said that while there is still no law postponing the synchronized polls, the preparations will continue to make sure the elections will be peaceful, orderly, and credible, in case the postponement bill is not appoved into law.

"We do not like to be caught unprepared as the village poll is as important, if not more important to the nation just than the national and local elections," poll officials said.

The Comelec assured its readiness for the synchronized elections amid the approval by the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms of a consolidated bill postponing the barangay and SK elections.

A bill filed by Rep. Annie Rosa L. Susano of the second district of Quezon City, the country’s biggest legislative district with more than 1.2 million constituents and 520,299 registered voters, seeks the postponement of the village polls to the second Monday of May, 2009 so that the Comelec could automate the elections.

Susano, chairman of the House Special Committee on Metro Manila Development, said the amount of R2.4 billion is included in the proposed 2008 national budget for the computerization of the barangay and SK elections.

"The postponement will pave the way for full computerization of future elections that will prevent cheating and other electoral frauds and at the same time helps heal the wounds caused by the just concluded mid-term polls," said Susano, a holder of a diploma from the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University.

In the Senate, Senate President Manuel B. Villar Jr. said he will seek the consensus of his colleagues on the proposal to defer the village polls for the third time.

Villar said he will first study the recommendation of the House of Representatives to call off the elections, but assured that he prefers the barangay polls to proceed so the people could render their judgment on incumbent village officials. 

Source: mb.com.ph  

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