In "Bombs Away Part 1" I had offered a fair amount of information about the BIAF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the armed wing of the MILF and its fund raising schemes. Certain Base Commands, as the BIAF's basic military formation is known, concentrate their fund raising activities in certain niche industries. For the 113 Base Command, whose AOR, or Area of Responsibility (as in "Area of Operation") encompasses all three provinces on the Zamboanga Peninsula:
1) Zamboanga del Sur
2) Zamboanga del Norte
3) Zamboanga Sibugay
along with a sliver of Lanao del Norte Province adjoining the peninsula concentrates its efforts in KFR, or Kidnapping for Ransom. Likewise, the 114 Base Command, whose AOR encompasses all of Basilan Province and many of the small islands sublimated to Zamboanga City, in Zamboanga del Norte Province. Ditto for the infamous Kumander Bravo and his 102 Base Command in Lanao del Norte Province, who is at least smart enough not to soil his own bed, concentrating his Kidnapping activities in the adjoining province of Lanao del Sur in partnership with the Mayor of Marawi City.
Other Base Commands dabble in KFR as well, but concentrate their efforts in Extortion and Protection Rackets. Some have found this activity so lucrative that they have opted out of the insurgency and instead enjoy rather comfortable lives. Both they and their comrades that are still fighting the good fight target a particular businessman, corporation or municipality and begin with a hand delivered letter outlining their demands. The process maybe repeated up to two more times but if payment isn't forthcoming the gloves quickly come off.
On June 1st, 2011 a vendor of Balut, that quinessential Filipino street food got, the suprise of her life when she noticed an unfamiliar box that had been mysteriously placed under her cart outside of Tacurong City's Fitmart Department Store in Sultan Kudarat Province. Though business was brisk with it being 645PM and the after dinner crowd miling about her downtown stall, the vendor remembered that she had seen a woman customer lay the box on the ground as she ordered a couple of the fertilised duck eggs marinated in rice vinegar. Believing that the woman customer had climbed aboard a bus at the adjacent busstop she thought it best if she looked for some identifying feature on the package.
Unable to discover anything of note the vendor opened the package only to find herself staring at two powerful IEDs, or Improvised Explosive Devices (as in "bombs"). Both fashioned out of 81MM mortar shells with alarm clock triggers and utilising 9Volt batteries for a charge, she immediately began screaming. Attracted by the commotion which nearly precipitated a stampede two police offices from the CPO, or City Police Office, investigated and immediately began ushering people away from the immediate area.
Fitmart has been targetted for Extortion throughout the MILF/BIAF AOR since the late 1990s. On April 22nd, 2002 the Fitmart in General Santos City was targetted by a motorcycle bomb. Rigged in a triksiad, the most basic form of Philippine public transportation (an offroad motorcycle encased inside an aluminum framed shell that supports two bench seats with an extra wheel, like a sidecar), the powerful IED killed 15 and wounded 60. BIAF member Abdulbasit Usman was nabbed for the General Santos bombing in June of 2002 in of all places...Tacurong City. However he wasn't kept under wraps for long having escaped from police custody in October of that same year.
As for this most recent targeting of Fitmart, on June 1st, near midnite the CPO in conjunction with the Sultan Kudarat PPO, or Police Provincial Office, arrested Mokamad Mantungan in connection with the bomb under the Balut vendor's table. Of course the vendor had sworn up and down that it had been a woman who had left the box but Philippine Law Enforcement doesn't consider such inconsistincies to be relevant. A warm body usually does the trick though a cold, dead body is often just as acceptable. Mr.Mantungan ended up being released on June 14th after Prosecutors admitted that there was absolutely nothing connecting him to the bomb. The police however insist he is the culprit while admitting that not a shred of evidence supports their absolute certainty. I love the following quote given the overall context:
"There are some indications he was privy to the attack." I would love to hear about those "indications." I am sure one major "indication" was that he is a "Muslim." Despite its name, Sultan Kudarat Province is over whelmingly a Christian province.
Saturday night, June 18th, 2011 was much like any other Saturday Night at the Starlight Videoke Bar in Tacurong City's Barangay Buenaflor, in Sultan Kudarat Province, except for the almost total lack of customers. The T'boli Tribal women working there were talking amongst themselves, hoping that business would pick up. Located on National Hiway, the establishment usually did a brisk business.
At 845PM a powerful IED, fashioned from an 81MM mortar shell with a Nokia cellphone trigger detonated, wounding five employees:
1) Elenita Molan Alesna, age 45, of Barangay Apong in General Santos City in Sarangani Province
2) Noraida Tabon Lagiya, age 26, from the municipality of T'boli in South Cotabato Province
3) Glaiza Juan Caday, 19, of T'boli in South Cotabato Province
4) Noraya Raiza, 23 of T'boli, South Cotabato Province
5) Rosalie Lakim, aged 32 of Tacurong City's Barangay Fatima
June 21st, 2011, the AFP responded to intelligence that had unknown men frequently entering and leaving a home in the municipality of S.K.Pendatun in Maguindanao Province. Upon searching the domicile the PNP, or Philippine National Police (all police at any level are part and parcel of the PNP) discovered a small cachet. Two IEDs were discovered, fashioned out of RPG, or Rocket Propelled Grenade rounds. The MILF manufactures its own RPG rounds for the BIAF. Most arecountergeit BM40 shells. The charges were not attached but the cellphone triggers were showing that the devices were about to be transported for deployment. Additional IED components and a single round for an M203 rifle grenade launcher. 6ID's EOD disposed of the two IEDs via controlled detonation with a Phased Water Cannon, or PWC.
Very interestingly both the AFP, via the 6ID spokesperson AND DIPO-West Commanding Officer, Felicimo Khu insisted that the materiel was the handiwork of...Abdul Basit Usman. The problem with that however is that the US claims to have killed Usman in a UAV strike. UAV, or Unmanned Air Vehicle, are employed for surveillance, intelligence gathering, AND targeted killings. The Americans claim that Usman was an unintended bonus from an attack against a member of the Pakistani Taliban's hierarchy. Ustadz Mohiden Usman was a member of the MILF/BIAF attached to the group's Da'awah Center in the municipality of Sultan Kudarat (not to be confused with the province bearing that very same name), in Maguindanao Province. He was nabbed by the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines in 2004 after which he disappeared and is presumed to have been a victim of Extra Judicial Killing.
The AFP and PNP refuse to buy into the American narrative and continue accusing Basit Usman in most bombings.
On June 27th, 2011 at 10AM the Crossing Dukay (Dukay Bridge) checkpoint, in Sultan Kudarat Province's municipality of Esperanza, located in Barangay Crossing Dukay was being extremely vigilant. AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines assets within the MILF/BIAF had revealed a short term plan to bomb Cotabato City in North Cotabato Province. Moreover, just that morning two bombs had detonated in Koronadal City. Manned by PNP, or Philippine National Police from Sultan Kudarat PPO and the PRO-12 PSC, or Police Regional Office for Region 12's Public Safety Company (formerly the PMG, or Police Mobile Group) were going over each and every vehicle with a fine tooth comb. As the vehicles made their way through the line at the foot of the bridge the officers manning the checkpoint must have groaned outloud after seeing the Toyota Hi-Ace passenger van inching towards them. Piled high with sacks of bananas it would not be one of their easier inspections. Still, traversing the Tacurong City to Koronadal City route meant that the vehicle was highly suspect even if apparently empty.
Lo and behold, midway through the inspection two sacks of bananas were found to be concealing IEDs. One was fasioned from a 60MM mortar shell while the other utilised an 81MM mortar shell. The 60MM device utilised four AA batteries as a charge while the 81MM device used a 9Volt battery. Neither device was outfitted with their cellphone triggers. PRO-12 EOD, the Explosives and Ordnance Division was called on to safely dispose of both IEDs.
That morning, June 27th, at 820 AM an IED had, as I mentioned above, detonated in Kidipawan City in North Cotabato Province. Placed by the gate in front of the CoA, or Committee of Audit in Barangay Amas blowing up a COTELCO (Cotabato Electric Cp-operative) but failing to injure anyone. Given the time of day it is a miracle that nobody was maimed or killed. Usually there is a line waiting to get into the CoA entrance for its 9AM opening. Moreover, the site is immediately adjacent to TESDA, or Technical Education Skills and Development Authority, which itself is usually faced with a crowd waiting to get in.
6ID Spokesperson, Colonel Prudencio Asto made the amazing claim that CIDG-12, or Central Investigation and Detection Group for Region 12, actually has Basit Usman in custody! Of course CIDG-12 said the opposite. The Mayor of Kidapawan City, Rodolfo Gatuangco, admitted that the town was facing an extortion attempt by a group calling itself al Khobar. The original al Khobar was composed of MILF/BIAF and MNLF/BMA (BMA being the Bangsamoro Army, the armed wing of the MNLF). It was decimated after successive AFP and PNP operations against it. Nowadays a sub-Kumander from the BIAF's 105 Base Command utilises the group's name in its fund raising activities.
Sub-Kumander Zabide "Bedz" Abdul remained with the MILF/BIAF after Kumander Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato, the Commanding Officer of the 105 fell out of odds with the MILF Central Committee in late 2009 and went off to form the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, or BIFF. Commanding a camp in the municipality of S.K.Pendatun's Barangay Pawas in the infamous Liguasan Marsh, Abdul now serves under the 105's new Kumander, Zacarias Goma.
Mayor Gatuangco has faced al Khobar before. In late 2007 the city was targeted by al Khobar and Gatuangco paid them off. That is not unusual in the least, there isn't a municipal government in Central Mindanao that isn't paying Protection money or else mired in negotiations to do so. What IS unusual though is that Mayor Gatuangco publicly admitted he was doing so. Gatuangco claimed that he did so out of his own pocket (suuuuuure) and only then because he wanted to entrap the group. Depositing the cash in an acct based in Zamboanga Sibugay Province he admits that he was never able to trace what should have been a very simple trail. In Janurary of 2008 the Kidapawan City Council issued a Proclamation lauding Mayor Gatuangco for a "selfless" act. Not everyone was happy though; Councilor Gregory Yarra labeled the Mayor's "initiative" as "immoral" and would only serve to whet the tongue of criminals who would now continue in their Extortion. Councilor Yarra incidently was then serving as Chairman of the City Council Committee on Good Governance.
On June 29th, 2011, with nerves on edge after the recent bombings an alert citizen became very concerned when he noticed a black motorcycle that had been seemingly abandoned behind Koronadal City's old city hall, in South Cotabato Province. With motorcycle bombs being all too common on Mindanao the CPO, or City Police Office, deployed a bomb sniffing K9 to examine the motorcycle and immediate area around it. Upon arrival the dog alerted almost immediately and the handler radiod in for a general evacuation and an EOD to be deployed. In the end a single 45 caliber round was found in the motorcycle's storage box.
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