MILF Armed Contacts for the Third Quarter of 2011, Part IV: The BIFF and BIAF at Each Other's Throats Once Again

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MILF Armed Contacts for the Third Quarter of 2011, Part I: The 106 Base Command Battles BIFF in Datu Piang

Datu Piang was a half Chinese, half Maguindanowan Tribesman who lived at the tail end of the 19th Century. Piang was more or less a self made man. Son of a Maguindanowan concubine to the Rajah of Buayan and a favoured Chinese merchant she was gifted to he gambled his future on an alliance with the Americans. As Datu Ali inherited what was left of Buayan Datu Piang moved down river into the Cotabato Basin, to a lowland site in what is today Maguindanao Province. Eventually becoming the richest man in the Southern Philippines his climb to riches and fame was made over the broken backs of countless enemies and more than a few innocent bystanders. Like its namesake, the municipality of Datu Piang, in Maguindanao Province has never enjoyed more than a few peaceful days. Datu Piang is perhaps the most violent town in an extremely violent province which itself exists on the Philippine's most violent island.

In early August of 2010 a clash took place in Datu Piang between sub-Kumander Ustadz Akas "Adzmie" Kasim of the BIAF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (the military wing of the MILF) and sub-Kumander Ustadz Abu Nuwas "Bayawak" Ibad Maniog of the BIAF's 104 Base Command (see my entry entilted "MILF Armed Contacts for the Second and Third Quarters of 2010"). Both men are natives of Datu Piang's Barangay Alonganen and in fact are related to one another as indeed are most villagers living in that barangay. At stake was a 6 hectare tract of arable land immediately adjacent to the Pulangi River (Rio Grande del Mindanao), situated directly on the border of Datu Piang's Barangays Alonganen and Liong and a stone's throw from the infamous Liguasan Marsh. The conflicting claims on the untitled tract first turned violent in 2009 but was largely ignored by the Philippine Government and world at large. After all, any armed conflict in Central Mindanao must automatically be connected to War of 2008, a larger conflict that continued unabated until July of 2009, or so goes the popular assumption.

The firefights lasted only as long as the rice harvest since most of that 6 hectare tract had been cultivated with rice. As soon as the paddy was plowed under life returned to normal, at least as "normal" as it ever gets in Mindanao. Just before New Year 2011 sub-Kumander Bayawak (Abu Nawas) tendered his formal resignation to the MILF Central Committe and almost immediately afterward joined Kumander Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato's Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, or BIFF. Fast forward to July 20th, 2011. BIFF's Chief of Staff, sub-Kumander Karialan Indong personaly led an attack on BIAF 106 Base Command positions in Barangay Balanaken's Sitio Nimao after BIAF guerillas had been sighted on a security permiter established around that 6 hectare collection of rice paddies in Barangay Alonganen. As the BIAF responded by launching retaliattory strikes the wife of sub-Kumander Bayawak (Abu Nuwas) was critically wounded during a mortar volley.

After that initial attack in July both sides took a step back from that bloody abyss and orally agreed to resolve their differences in a non-violent manner, despite the wounds inflicted on sub-Kumander Adzmie. That agreement held fast for a little more than two weeks. On August 6th Abu Nuwas led his men on an attack against Adzmie's men in their camp in Barangay Alonganen. Even before the shooting began that morning hundreds of families had began fleeing. Quickly joining them were families from the adjacent barangays Liong and Balanaken. The town's Datu Gumbay Piang Elementary School has long served as the municipality's IDP, or Internally Displaced Persons centre. By night fall on August 6th the official IDP tally stood at 482 families, of which 190 came from Balakaken, 180 from Liong, and 112 from Alonganen. In the Philippines a "family" is assumed to include five people but that figure borders on useless since demographers make no allowances for cultural, religious or even regional differences. A "family in Luzon will on average contain much less people than a socio-economically disadvantaged Tribal family whose head of household practices polygamy and whose religion commands a high reproductive rate. Moreover, the figures offered only take into account the number of heads of household that have managed to undergo the official registration process. Most IDPs take succor in other households and a fair number, distrustful of the Government or fearing disease and other negative aspects found in the state IDP centres make the best of it alongside hiways and in isolated jungle clearings. The displaced people themselves, known as "Bakwit" in the local dialect have had their daily lives disrupted every couple of months since 1972 and yet we have politicians in Manila asking why Maguindanao is the poorest province in the nation. Go figure

The day, August 7th, intermittent firefights took place in Barangays Alonganen, Liong, Balanaken with IDPs fleeing from the adjacent municipality of Guindulungan, home to the BIFF's main camp, the former-BIAF camp Omar ibn Khattab on Perez Hill. The resident of Barangay Muslim had received word that the BIAF was considering a direct attack on the camp and the news caused widespread apprehension that very quickly devolved into sheer panic. The day's fighting ended at nightfall with a finall tally (including the initial clash the day before) of five BIAF KIAs, or Killed in Actions with one known wounded. BIFF made out slightly better with three KIAs.

On August 8th BIFF launched the first attack with a moderate salvo of mortar shells against BIAF positions in Barangays Alonganen, now devoid of all civilians with the entire population having fled and Barangay Balanaken, itself nearly a carbon copy with the rest of its residents fleeing during a lull between salvos.

August 9th saw the heaviest fighting yet since this latest round commenced on August 6th. Fighting began at 630AM with the BIAF initiating a firefight and continued unabated until 330PM. At 700PM fighting began once again and only ended right before 11PM. During the morning exchanges fighting did finally spread to Guindulungan's Barangay Muslim although not related to any BIAF tactical strike against the main BIFF camp on Perez Hill. Most of Barangay Muslim's population had already fled in the preceding days but the remaining residents fled as the combatants entered the barangay with BIFF guerillas attempting to implement a Blocking Force there to deal more than 100 re-inforcements from the BIAF's 105 Base Command, co-incidentally the old command of BIFF leader Kumander Ustadz Kato. The IDPs from Barangay Muslim made their way into the ajoining municipality of Talayan's Barangays Binangga North, Tambunan, and Katibpuan. Gunidulungan's Barangay Damablak then fled en masse, totally emptying the barangay with most villagers taking shelter in Talayan's Barangay Katibpuan as well, along with the IDPs from Barangay Muslim.

August 10th FINALLY saw the Government respond. In cases of intercine conflict within the BIAF, or in this case between the BIAF and its recent offshoot BIFF, the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines almost always takes a hands off approach. This isn't an absolute rule as in last year's BIAF 104 Base Command throwdown with the MNLF/BMA's newest faction, MMSC, or Mainland Mindanao State Committee on the Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao Provincial borders. In that imbroglio the AFP entered the fray AGAINST the BIAF, but then BIAF on BMA (Bangsamoro Army, armed wing of the MNLF) isn't exactly an intercine affair. The AFP's 40IB (Infantry Battalion) implemented Blocking Force positions along the riverfront of Midsayap, in North Cotabato Province.

Midsayap sits directly parallel to Datu Piang, across the Pulangi River. It is also home to a camp of the BIAF's 105 Base Command, the Base Command most likely to re-inforce the 106th despite a bit of anomosity between the two Base Commands (after all, this anomosity led to the recent creation of the 118 Base Command, an episode I covered in a "MILF Armed Contacts for the Second Quarter of 2011" entry). In addition PNP, or Philippine National Police's PRO-12, or Police Regional Office for Region 12 deployed its PSCs, or Public Saety Companies (aaaah, the Filipino penchant for acronyms, gotta' love it) in key entrances to all North Cotabato municipalities fronting the Pulangi River. Until August 10th the only AFP element involved was the 1st Mechanised Brigade (M 1st Bde), attached to 6ID (Infantry Division) from 1ID, tasked with aiding IDPs and providing security at the IDP centre at Datu Gumbay Piang Elementary School.

The next day, August 11th, fighting finally spread across the river into North Cotabato Province's municipality of Midsayap when the predicted re-inforcement from the 105 Base Command began and their guerillas happened upon BIFF re-inforcements making their way into Maguindanao Province. Resident's of Midsayap's Barangay Damatulan fled as they witnessed BIAF guerillas from the 105 Base Command moving through their barangay en route. As night fell and fighting continued most residents living across the river in Puroks #4 and 5 in Guindulungan's Barangay Binangga North fled en masse with most IDPs ending up in that barangay's Purok #1.

On August 12th the AFP actually deployed non-lethal munitions as it dropped smoke in Datu Piang in an effort to separate both sides. On Mindanao smoke is used as a warning that should belligerents not heed the warning and cease and desist, the next munition will not be innocuous. The smoke did manage to soften the exhanges from incessant to sporadic but did not come close to shutting down the firefights raging in barangays Alonganen, Liong and Balanaken and just then spreading into Barangay Masigay. As fighting began in Barangay Masigay 170 of its families fled to Datu Gumbay Piang Elementary School.

On the following day, August 13th fighting petered out shortly after re-commencing just after daybreak. Sub-Kumander Adzmie, leader of the BIAF forces in this nightmare finally paid heed to the MILF's Central Command directive issued on August 10th in which he was ordered to stand down "unless attacked." As for sub-Kumander Bayawak (Abu Nuwas), he was under no such orders with Kumander Kato brusquely telling the media that IF the BIAF doesn't want trouble IT should NOT attack BIFF guerillas. Aaah, can't you just feel the love?

GPH-MILF Peace Process, Second Quarter of 2011, Part II: Bangsamoro Development Agency, AHJAG, and the CCCH

The BDA, or Bangsamoro Development Agency is the MILF arm for economic and social development. Enabled by the GPH-MILF Tripoli Agreement of 2001 (June 22nd, 2001) just as the Peace Process re-started after the EDSA II Coup that installed Gloria M.Arroyo as President. Then, on June 2nd, 2002 the MILF Central Committee passed the Resolution that created the entity. With 36 staff members in 5 Regional Management Offices (though they claim 6):

1) Cotabato City, Central Mindanao

2) General Santos City (GenSan), Southern Mindanao

3) Zamboanga City, Zamboanga Peninsula and Basilan Island

4) Marawi City, Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte

5) Davao City, Davao Region



On May 2nd, 2011 the MILF Central Committee announced plans to expand the BDA AOR (Area of Responsibility, as in Area of Operation) into Sulu and Tawi Tawi Provinces. Both provinces have virtually no MILF/BIAF (the latter being the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, the military wing of the MILF). There is a BIAF Base Command, the 117th, but it operates only in parts of two municipalities in Tawi Tawi and is centered upon its Sanga Sanga Island. Despite its rhetoric the MILF/BIAF has never come close to eclipsing the nearly universal support enjoyed by the MNLF before it bowed to then dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1976.

The Central Committee is also making noises about the BDA moving into Palawan as well. Unlike Sulu and Tawi Tawi Palawan is not a part of Mindanao, administratively or otherwise. The MNLF first claimed the island as part of its theoretical MinSuLuPa, an independent Muslim nation it foresaw being created out of all area with a historical connection to Islam. While Palawan was CLAIMED by the Sultanate of Brunei who then gifted it to the Sultanate of Sulu in 1658 for sending nearly 500 warriors that enabled the Sultan of Brunei to maintain his throne, the Muslim connection is tenuous at best. There is an ethnicity known as the Palawani, composed of Islamic converts from various coastal tribes on Palawan, but they are an indistinct group along the lines of the so-called "Balik Islam," or the "Islamic Reverts." According to Islam every human is born a Muslim, it is humankind's natural state. Ergo, when one finally acknowledges themselves as a Muslim they are merely REverting, not CONverting. More than this however, the Balik Islam are Filipinos of other religions who accept Islam with the perception that ALL Filipinos either were, or would have been Muslims if not for Spanish intervention. This warped view holds that Rajah Solaiman, the ruler of Manila when the Spanish arrived there, was a Muslim. Indeed he was BUT he was from Brunei, NOT Manila. He ruled Manila as a conqueror, just like the Spanish.

The BDA shouldn't be confused with the BDAF, or Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund, which was created via Executive Order #872 in March of 2010 by then President Arroyo. The BDAF is a GPH, or Government of the Philippines entity that is meant as a catalyst for social and economic development vis a vis the parallel GPH-MNLF Peace Process. It was one of several steps taken by the Government to bring that Process' 1996 Jakarta Agreement, the FPA, or Final Peace Agreement meant to finally end THAT insurgency, to an end. Two different agencies with the same exact mandate, is it any wonder why this island is wracked with war?

On May 9th, 2011 the Chairman of the MILF CCCH, or MILF Co-ordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities, Said Shiek issued a little noticed directive stating that his GPH counterpart shouldn't even bother trying to liason with him over security for any developmental issues that aren't first vetted through the BDA. The CCCH is a bilateral entity composed of two components, one GPH, the other MILF. Among other things, if a foreign delegation wishes to survey a particular area for a farm to market road project, or say an outpatient health clinic, they would apply to the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines, who would delegate the responsibility to the GPH CCCH, which is composed of AFP personnel. In turn the GPH CCCH would liason with their MILF counterpart so as to avoid an attack or KFR (Kidnap for Ransom). Now the MILF wants a bite out of any project in its AOR, pay to play, like the true gangsters the MILF truly are.

Speaking of the MILF CCCH, Chairman Shiek says that he will file a Violation Complaint with the relatively new Civilian Component of IMT-6, or International Monitoring Team, Deployment #6. The Cotabato City-based IMT (though it is attempting to re-locate its headquarters to Zamboanga City) is a Malaysian-led multi-national entity mandated to act as a sort of referee when ceasefire-related disagreements crop up. The MILF is angry (what else is new) over what it says is a case of arbitrary arrest and incarceration of two men it claims are merely "farmers." At 6AM on May 18th, 2011 in Sitio Balang Kayan in the municipality of Lebak's Barangay Dumpilas, in Sultan Kudarat Province, Muslimin Mambulao and Paks Guiama were taken into custody by MBLT-7, or Marine Battalion Landing Team #7. That happens to be the perimeter of the main camp of the BIAF's 104 Base Command. The two "farmers" were brought to a Marine garrison in the municipality of Kalamansig, in that same province. As it turns out both men were released on May 19th without ever having been charged so I'm at a loss as to what the MILF CCCH will file.


The NDFP/CPP/NPA (National Democratic Front of the Philippines/Communist Party of the Philippines/New Peoples Army) aren't the only Insurgency Organisation bent out of shape over GPH inaction over detainees. The MILF has its own wish list of 25 MILF/BIAF detainees it wants released. Topping that list is Abraham Yap Alonto of Saragani Province who uses the alias Eduard Guerra. An engineer by degree Alonto served as one of the organisation's conduits for foreign money. He was nabbed by PNP CIDG-10 (Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for Region 10) on September 22nd, 2010 while sitting in a plane on the tarmac at Davao International Airport with one of his wives, waiting to fly to Manila where he was to catch a flight to Geneva, Switzerland. He had been scheduled to address the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Commission) on September 27th. Instead he has been kept in the basement at IS-AFP (AFP Intelligence Service) at Fort Bonifacio charged with so called MILF-SOG, or MILF Special Operation Group bombings. On April 23, 2011 MILF Peace Panel Chairman Mohagher Iqbal and the MILF Chairman of the Peace Panel Secretariat, Jun Mantawil, met with the families of most of those 25 detainees at CCCH Joint Headquarters, in Cotabato City. Once again Iqbal vowed to get all the detainees released.


On May 25th, 2011 the MILF's BDA held its 6th Annual Implementation Support Mission wrap up meeting at Cotabato City's Etosan Hotel. Ironically, the Etosan is known for its casino but I guess convenience trumps religious convictions (gambling is verboten for Muslims). The BDA's Vice Chairman Dr.Rizaldy L.Piang met with a World Bank delegation led by Matthew Stephens, a European Union delegation, and a host of local NGOs, most MILF/BIAF affiliated which is how the MILF obtains a large chunk of its arms budget. Foreign do-gooders channel money to Islamo-fascist organisations like the MILF, who then use these funds to terrorise most of the island, quite the scam but the MILF didn't invent it. No, that credit goes to the MNLF and its various developmental conduits. Not that former President Arroyo doesn't have a lot to be ashamed about but at least she neutralised the MNLF in THAT area (with the aforementioned BDAF). My favourite MNLF cash cow? It is difficult to choose with there having been so many but the White Orchid Textbook Contract at close to 100 Million Pesos that simply evaporated into thin air is good for starters. Insurgent Organisations should NEVER be given carte blanche with developmental funds.

The to do at the Etosan Hotel was to tie up all the loose ends from PPA3, or, Programme Partnership Agreement #3. The particular agreement had the World Bank and EU (European Union) funding the Mindanao Trust Fund-Reconstruction and Development Programme, with disbursements to two Trust Fund Recipients, or TFRs:

1) CFSI, or Community and Family Services International

2) Mindanao Land Foundation Incorporated

The two organisations work to re-settle and monitor IDPs, or Internally Displaced Persons (Refugees).

Also worth mentioning, kind of, as I mentioned in my "GPH-MILF Peace Process, First Quarter of 2011" entry, the AHJAG, or Ad Hoc Joint Action Group was re-constituted during the 20th Round of Exploratory Talks, February 9th and 10th, 2011. On April 19th, 2011 it held its first meeting since gaining its current mandate, at Davao City's Ritz Hotel at Garden Oases [sic]. The AHJAG is a bilateral organisation composed of members of both the MILF and the GPH, four members from each, that aims to avoid the circumstances that launched the 2003 Buliok Complex War. After the 2000 War MILF founder and Chairman Hashim Salamat installed his headquarters in a camp located in Barangay Buliok, in the town of Pikit, in North Cotabato Province. With roughly 1,000 guerillas from two Brigades (Base Commands would only truly take form after this war), located within the no man's land of Liguasan Marsh, the MILF/BIAF felt secure after almost being torn apart in the 2000 War. Then, in an anti-KFR Operation aimed at the infamous Pentagon Group, also located inside Ligusan Marsh, AFP gunships "mistakenly" fired on BIAF guerillas, or so the story goes. In the end more than 300 BIAF dead littered Buliok.

40 people attended this first meeting in Davao City, including GPH Peace Panel Chairman Mario Victor "Marvic" Leonen who gave the keynote speech. This is why side table entities like AHJAG end up as just another useless waste of everybody's time. Are there not enough KFR victims within the MILF/BIAF AOR? Why then should they take the first AHJAG meeting to have taken place in a year and a half and waste it with more nonsense from a Panel Chairman who has nothing to do with this particular issue? They were given a 12 month mandate, but it was effective March 1st, 2011. That means that when that 40 person circle jer* took place on April 19th, they had already wasted 1.5 months! I guess I shouldn't be suprised, it isn't as if AHJAG has ever really accomplished anything to begin with. Both GPH and the MILF have been patting themselves on the back over the release of Angelina "Angie" Soken Chew Mantigue when all the MILF really did was deliver her ransom, and I have no doubt they took a healthy "commission" for their "good deed."

Seriously, AHJAG has offices in 5 locales:

1) Maguindanao Province

2) Lanao and Misamis, covering del Sur and del Norte in the former and Oriental and Occidental in the latter

3) Zamboanga Peninsula and ARMM Islands, covering all 3 provinces in the former, and Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi Tawi in the latter

4) South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Saragani Provinces

5) Davao Region, covering all 4 provinces there, the 3 Davaos and ComVal (Compostela Valley)

There are also 3 Secretariat Offices:

1) Davao City

2) Zamboanga City

3) Cotabato City

The third one is co-housed at AHJAG Headquarters but all the others? Bloated isn't the word. It is a self-serving bureaucracy.

On April 27th, 2011 the MILF Central Committee appointed a 3 member delegation:

1) Nasrullah Mohammad, Chairman

2) Abdullah B. Adam, holding a Masters in Islamic Studies

3) Zainal D. Kulidtod, Guest Lecturer at Mindanao State University in Marawi City for the last 15 years

to liason with the two European Union members of the IMT. Giving senior status by the EU is Cynthia Petreigh, a Frenchwoman who spent her formative years in Lebanon and working with her is Susan Robertson, a British Subject. The two person EU contingent is attached to the IMT's Humanitarian Rehabilitation and Development facet, a new module introduced in IMT-6.


Finally, on April 1st, 2011 the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a Note Verbale to the GPH Peace Panel via the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta expressing its willingness that the GPH finally process its entry into the IMT. This comes after the Arroyo Government had tendered the invitation in December of 2009. Now, just after President Aquino's state visit to Jakarta the Indonesians decided its time. It is couching the message as a reciprocal gesture for AFP participation in a Peacekeeping Mission to Aceh, an area of Indonesia wracked by Islamo-fascist insurgency. Neither nation can solve its own problems so they look to muck it up with foreign intervention, brilliant.

MILF Armed Contacts,Second Quarter of 2011,Part I:Bloodshed in Palimbang

On June 3rd,2011 LGU (Local Government Unit,as in municipal or provincial government) executives were put on edge over a flurry of sightings concerning columns or armed men moving through the jungle on both sides of the South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat Provincial border.Unlike the NPA,which also operates in that sector (Front 72 and the recently re-activated Front 73),these guerillas were wearing the distinctive tiger pattern camoflauge fatigues that serve as a uniform of sorts for the BIAF,or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces,the military wing of the MILF.

The BIAF Base Command within that AOR (Area of Responsibility,as in Area of Operation) is the 107th but since the beginning of 2010 that element has come close to de-activation with its leadership falling in joint actions by the PNP (Philippine National Police) and the AFP's (Armed Forces of the Philippines) 73IB (Infantry Battalion) with the latter having been intially deployed to the area in August of 2008 to neutralise the Base Command for having gone off the reservation with 3 other Base Commands in the 2008 War.The 107th,then under Kumander Abdulrahman"Aguilar"Malayo,who is usally referred to by his alias Jayson Saliganan had very stupidly pissed where it slept as the saying goes.The 107 Base Command's main camp,ibn Walid,is in Barangay Daliao's Sitio Maca Uno in the mountains of Maasim,Sarangani Province.In May of 2008 the 105 Base Command under the infamous BIAF Kumander,Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato and his strongest sub-Kumander,Alo Binago,attempted to relocate their AOR to Sarangani Province.

Arriving at the main 107 Base Command camp Kato et al began discussions about the envisioned re-location.Finding the 107 less than receptive the 105 prepared to de-camp to the Binago Clan stronghold in Barangay Kidayan in the municipality of Palimbang,in the adjacent province of Sultan Kudarat.As the 105 moved towards the border it crossed an MNLF camp perimeter in the municipality of Maitum,the last town on the Sarangani side of the border.A large firefight brokeout with the 105 Base Command overunning the small MNLF camp and occupying most of two barangays as well as positions in Palimbang,on the other side of the provincial line.Trying to dislodge the 105 Base Command Sarangani's Governor,then AND now,Miguel"Migs"Dominguez personally conferred with Kumander Kato and was able to have the 105 withdraw from Sarangani Province completely.

Fast forward to the August 4th,2008 TRO,or Temporary Restraining Order,issued by the Supreme Court against the Government which was preparing to sign the MoA-AD,or Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain,with the MILF/BIAF the next day (August 5th) in Kuala Lampur,Malaysia.In response to that TRO,the very same Kumander Kato,by now back at his designated AOR on the Maguindanao and North Cotabao Provincial border,launched a full scale assault on the PALMA Complex.The Complex,consisting of 5 North Cotabato municipalities with Ilonggo (non-Muslim ethnicity from the Western Visayan Islands in the Central Philippines) majorities,burning,pillaging and of course killing Ilonggo,Bisaya and Lumad (the Bisaya are a Christian ethnicity from Eastern Mindanao and the Eastern Visayan Islands,the Lumad are a collection of Animist Hilltribes) in an orgiastic expression of violence that sought out any non-Muslim.

Kato's raid was then followed by the Kumanders of two other Base Commands,Kumander Abdullah"Bravo"Macapaar of the 102 Base Command with an AOR covering most of the two Lanao Provinces (del Norte and del Sur),and Kumander Ustadz Aleem"Mars"Sulaiman Pangalian of the 103 Base Command whose AOR was supposed to cover a portion of Lanao del Sur Province into the Lanao side of the Liguasan Marsh.Looking for new Christians to terrorise,Kumander Kato deployed sub-Kumander Alo Binago back down south to Sarangani Province.

Just after sundown on August 17th,2008 as the AFP was intently focusing on the 102,103,and 105 Base Command AORs Binago led nearly 50 guerillas from the 105 on four motor-bancas (motorised skiffs) out of the Pulangi River (Rio de Cotabato) and south along the coast,finally pulling up on the shores of Maitum just before midnite,August 18th.Rendevouzing with less than two dozen guerillas from the 107 Base Command under sub-Kumander Datu Mama Abpa the combined forces of nearly 80 guerillas moved towards Barangay Poblacion,arriving at 130AM.Storming a pawn shop and pharmacy they looted both,then shot 3 civilians in cold blood,killing two of them:

1) Joleto Ulmas,age 34

2) James Raymund Ruiz,age 21

The third civilian,a 20 year old man was crippled for life.Moving towards the LGU compound housing both the town hall and the PNP MPO,or Municipal Police Office,they launched a poorly co-ordinated full scale assault.Without success,the force withdrew after running out of RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) rounds.Last seen moving through outlying barangays in the direction of the mountains and Camp ibn Walid,the alert went out.

The AFP immediately deployed additional troops to supplement the 27IB which was spread far too thin.Not taking any chances the powers that be shifted an entire IB,the 73rd and had them ensconce themselves directly in Maitum itself with the primary objective being to capture Camp ibn Walid and effectively neutralise the 107 Base Command.It took the 73IB all of 6 days to do just that.It was,hands down,the best performance of any single IB during the 2008 War.

Fast forward to June 3rd,2011 and reports of guerillas roaming the hinterlands where Sultan Kudarat,Sarangani,and South Cotabato Provinces converge.Because of the GPH-MILF Peace Process the GPH,or Government of the Philippines,is walking on egg shells,terrified of accusing the MILF outright.Needing a whipping boy and at the same time appreciating any possible leverage against the MILF,he accusations were made against the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters,or BIFF.BIFF is the new insurgency group created by the aforementioned Kumander Kato,formerly of the 105 Base Command.I will save the long winded back story of how Kato evolved from BIAF Posterboy to BIFF madman for an entry I am simultaneously working on,entirely devoted to Kato and BIFF (sounds like a Jap-pop band).Sufficient to say,it wasn't BIFF walking those trails.The idea is ridiculous to anyone at all knowledgeable about the insurgencies on Mindanao in that BIFF is confined to a very small area in the Liguasan Mash and the mountains above it in Maguindanao Province.It is more than a long walk from Maguindanao Province to the bottom of South Cotabato Province.That he could deploy columns traversing 3 full provinces on foot and in full battle array is just too ridiculous to even comment on (wait,I already did).

In fact,those guerillas happen to be from the nearly defunct 105 Base Command,Kato's Command while still in the BIAF.Where were they going?To Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat Province to reinforce the Binago Clan in two separate disputes.While BIFF would be noticed hiking through three provinces the BIAF would not because there are contigious MILF/BIAF AORs all the way down the trail from point A to point B.As long as BIAF guerillas remain within acknowledged perimeters they are ho hum.However,upon reaching the Surallah Valley in South Cotabato Province there are no more MILF/BIAF baliwicks and so...the columns did not escape notice.

The 73IB,still deployed in and around Maasim though since the end of the 2008 War in July of 2009,has been concentrating on going mano to mano with the NPA's Far South Mindanao Regional Committee,or FSMRC.Granted,it has had its hands full with the ressurection of a long dead guerilla unit,Front 73,but still,the top-notch IB from the 2008 War was caught unawares when on June 20th those BIAF columns from the 105 Base Command turned on their game face.

On the day in question,just before daybreak,four motor bancas carrying a total of 60 guerillas from the 104 Base Command under sub-Kumander Usop"Paradise"Pababangan,also known as Tato Musa,landed on the shores of Palimbang's Barangay Kidayan with lesser sub-Kumanders Dods"Ulo"Siman and Mama"Double M"Pangabangan at his side.Immediately upon wading through the surf onto the beach at Sitio Dongon the group found a gaggle of guerillas from the 105 Base Command and a firefight ensued.Yep,this one is BIAF on BIAF,the 104 versus the 105.I'm sure that the 73IB isn't too broken up about failing to read the situation correctly back on June 3rd.

The 104 Base Command,under Kumander Jud Caludtiag,is ensconced in Barangay Meti in the municipality of Datu Blah Sinsuat on the Maguindanao side of the Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provincial border.His name may be familiar to readers of this Blog (all 3.5 of you,hi mom!).Back in the Summer of 2010 his 104 Base Command went to war with the MNLF's newest faction,the MNLF-MMSC,or MNLF-Mainland Mindanao State Committee under Datu Faizal"Randy"Karon whose camp is just across the border in Sultan Kudarat Province,in the municipality of Lebak.Not content with having blown up most of his own hometown Kumander Jud saw fit to go to war against the 105 Base Command for two extremely important reasons:

1) Money

2) Money

Aaaaahhhhh,the root of all evil.It will do it everytime.Just as in that 2010 fracas Kumander Jud has his one good eye on a piece of prime real estate,guess he has a thing for beachfront lots in the middle of economically deprived warzones.More over,there is a bundle of extortion money up for grabs and THAT was what finally motivated Kumander Jud to send down the guerillas.

The Vicente T.Lao Construction Company,based in the Panacan District of Davao City is one of the nation's biggest players in large scale construction projects.One minor project it is handling at the moment is the re-paving of the Kalamansig-Palimbang-Sarangani National Hiway.Aside from nearly 100 kilometers of re-paving it is also going to rebuild four old bridges on the northern side of Palimbang.Great,but not really.Knowing that they were going to be awarded the hiway bid on June 20th (bribes are funny that way) they taken a proactive stance and already doled out a very healthy sum to Kumander Jud in the guise of"Revolutionary Taxes."Though the stretch of hiway begins near the 104 Base Command AOR the bulk of the work,vis a vis those four bridges,will be taking place in Palimbang,controlled by the Binago Clan...whose family are heavily involved in the 105 Base Command (as well as the 106 and 109).The Binagos began shaking their fists at the 104 back in late May when they began squeezing the Lao Construction representatives and daring the 104 to stop them.Knowing what this might initiate they had the 105 Base Command,or what remains of it anyway,start sending reinforcements to Palimbang at the beginning of June.It took until June 20th for the 104 to react.

To date,today being July 3rd,there have been slightly more than 50 deaths,12 of them being innocent civilians.There are,according to official numbers now,nearly 10,000 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,as in"refugees") and official numbers are usually lowballed by at least 35% meaning that there are at least 13,500 people who are now homeless all because the MILF/BIAF is unable to control its deploding organisation.The IDPs are from six barangays that were eventually engulfed in the widening conflict by June 24th:

1) Kidayan,the original barangay

2) Namat

3) Kisek

4) Masla

5) Batang-Baglas

6) Kiponget

Originally Maganao Elementary School,in the barangay of the same name,served as the town's only IDP centre but by June 25th fighting engulfed Barangay Mangao as well,marking the seventh barangay to fall prey to this senseless violence.

Kumander Jud didn't have to look far for a more than willing sub-Kumander.Tato Musa had a bone to pick with the Binago faction of the 105 Base Command.Back on August 18th,2010,two years to the day since the raid on Maasim,Tato Musa had joined the 105 Base Commands sub-Kumander Alo Binago,the 107 Base Commands sub-Kumander Jafa'ar Maguid under the command of the 105 Base Command's sub-Kumander Scorpion,better known as Kumander 511 for a raid on a pawnshop.The proceeds were to go to a joint weapons purchase but Kumander 511,with Binago's support,had refused to give a portion of the weapons purchase to Tato Musa.He had been waiting for payback,in both senses of the word.

What has been the MILF's reaction to this mayhem?On June 24th the MILF's Central Committee sent a single emissary to try and resolve this widening sub-conflict.Of course he was unable to even meet with a single sub-Kumander because of heavy firefights in what was then six barangays.With the AFP pressuring the MILF for results the Central Committee decided to deploy a team of senior emmisaries with 2 detachments of BIAF guerillas from the recently re-constituted National Guard Base Command which in terms of the BIAF is a Special Forces detachment though no conventional military would even let them peel potatoes in the mess hall.Trying to observe agreed upon protocols the MILF,via its CCCH,or Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities notified both IMT-6,the Malaysian-led International Monitoring Team,6th Deployment,and the GPH CCCH contingent that it was doing so.Immediately word came back forbidding the deployment of the National Guard Base Command guerillas.The AFP believes that there would be a significant chance that some or all of the National Guard gunmen would join the fray on one side or another.Judging by past performances it is an absolutely valid concern and so no further emissaries made their way to Palimbang.

What has been the GPH reaction?Intially responding to reports of a gunfight on the beach the Palimbang MPO responded on site and then ran for their lives when both Base Commands concentrated their fire on the PNP personnel and vehicles though the PNP was able to verify that they killed a single guerilla,Base Command unknown,without suffering casualties themselves.The next day,June 21st,while on patrol across the provincial border in South Cotabato Province's Barangay Ned in the municipality of T'boli,the 73IB ran across a thick column of 105 Base Command guerillas moving south to bolster their fellow fighters in Palimbang.A fierce engagement broke out before the BIAF withdrew into the jungle.Still,the AFP refuses to even condemn the MILF/BIAF for fear of upsetting the teetering Peace Process.

MILF/BIAF Developments for the Second and Third Quarters of 2010

The MILF is gearing up for the Peace Process once again, set to resume after Ramadan, i.e. in mid-September to early October, though of course we will be lucky if it happens anytime close to late October. While the MILF has yet to announce its new Peace Panel, GRP (Govt.) has, and I will get to that in this entry. In the interim the killing continues though of course without official MILF sanctioning (cough).

June 5th, 2010 saw Norway joining the MILF-GRP Peace Process. Norway has agreed to join the IMT (International Monitoring Team, an entity I have explained in detail a bit further on in this post) via a letter from Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines, Kmot Solem to GHP Peace Panel Chairman Rafael Seguis with a corresponding copy to MILF Peace Panel chairman Mohagher Iqbal.


July 4th, 2010 in Barangay Buluan, Sultan Kudarat (town, not province), in Maguindanao Province, an IED, or Improvised Explosive Device (as in "bomb") fashioned from a 60MM mortar shell detonated and critically wounded one man. As the 54IB (Infantry Battalion) responded and set up a security perimeter and the 6ID (Infantry Division) EOD (Ordnance Team) Detachment set about scouring the immediate area for clues an alert soldier discovered a well concealed, second IED fasioned from an 81MM mortar shell. This 2nd device, much more powerful than the first was primed to detonate just as 1st Responders (medical, police and soldiers) reached critical mass on scene. Luckily this was averted and the device was decommisioned by Phased Water Cannon.

Predictably, and tiredly, the AFP tried to spin it as an MILF-SOG (MILF Special Operations Group, an almost apocryphal element of the MILF blamed for any type of bombing not thoroughly linked to any of the Kidnap for Ransom cum Extortion Gangs in the MILF AOR). The MILF though tried to outdo the AFP in implausability as it actually issued a release 9as opposed to unoffical comment or innuendo) blaming the AFP for a "False Flag Operation." For those unaware, a False Flag Operation is an act of war , or sabotage/terrorism undertaken by one side but served up as to appear as if it is from a second group. A good historical example might be the "Lavon Affair" that Israel undertook in Egypt in the very early 1950s.

The MILF is claiming, amazingly, that soldiers belonging to Datu Piang's Mayor Samer Uy's CVO had personally witnessed men in MILF fatigues walking from the town of Datu Piang across the border into the municipality of Sultan Kudarat and setting the 60MM IED. They then allegedly witnessed this group of men walking back into Datu Piang and entering the 29IB post, from which they were not observed leaving. In other words, 29IB soldiers wearing MILF camoflauge uniforms walked right past MILF supporters, crossed a municipal border, and in full view primed and buried a large IED. They then supposedly walked back across the border and down the street, back past MILF supporters, and then casually sauntered into an AFP post...in MILF uniforms. Riiiight.

In reality it was the work of BIAF, or Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (armed wing of the MILF) Kumander Tata Uy, the nephew of the Mayor of Datu Piang, Samer Uy. The 2 kinsmen are battling each other over the younger man, Tata, not bowing to his older and more powerful kinsman, Mayor Samer Uy.

At 805PM on July 12th, 2010 in Datu Piang's Barangay Poblacion, a young man carrying an ADIDDAS gymbag hurriedly walked towards the towns MPO, or Municipal Police Office and set the bag down on the ground. Next door the town plaza was full of young students from Datu Gumbay Piang Elementary School who were having a school celebration in the cool evening air. Then the powerful IED inside the bag detonated and rained debris for a radius of at least a half a kilometer. 8 year old student Moktar Ma was vapourised, a principal of a school in Datu Saudi Ampatuan, a neighbouring community and two 12 year old High School students were also critically wounded.

Young Moktar Ma had attended the school function in the town plaza and after it ended had gone across the road for a take away meal with his dad. Getting into a Triskiad (i.e. "Trike," i.e. "Tuk Tuk,"the most popular form of public transport in most Philippine communities. Fashioned from a dirt bike or off road motorcycle with a small cubic centimeter engine, inserted into an aluminum or iron carriage with bench seats front and back for passengers, unlike the similar contraptions one sees in Mainland SE Asia). As the triskiad began the ride to the Ma home, several streets away, the IED detonated and left little of the small boy. Amazingly, his father sitting next to him as well as the driver were left entirely unscathed.

The "School Principal" was on his own motorcycle and passing by the plaza as the detonation took place. He was able to survive with just a slight flesh wound in his leg. The two high schoolers were walking along the shoulder of the main road, en route to their homes after witnessing the event in the plaza. Both suffered moderate shrapnel wounds. All victims were residents of Datu Piang's Barangay Poblacion.

The BIAF itself is not known for laying IEDs though its members are often times involved in profitable sidelines, feuds and even stated political objectives that are, quite interestingly, 100% in synch with MILF/BIAF Objectives. IS-AFP (AFP Intelligence) often talks about the MILF-SOG (MILF Special Operations Group) as if it is an actual MILF entity, which it is not. What IS factual though is that particular BIAF Kumanders (Base Command brass) sanction these operations either for profit (as in Lanao del Sur and Norte transformers and Globe Telecom cell towers being blown to bits) or for political ends, as in the 105, 101 and 102 Base Commands, the so called "MILF Lost Commands" (another bit of fantasy) which use these bombings to manipulate both the GPH, or Government of the Philippines and the MILF political echelon.

The Datu Piang bombing, the 2nd in 2 months to hit the town, is the work of the 105 Base Command, in a matter of speaking since it is the work of its sub-Kumander Tata Uy, and though the MILF has made quite a show of giving its Kumander Ustadz Kato a lateral transfer into the political echelon, he is sanctioning the attacks for Kumander Tata Uy and his long running sub-conflict in Barangay Reina Regente. The fact of the matter is that the entire town has been terrorised since 2008 (actually since 1968 but you get the idea) and so, at present, the reasons why these bombings take place no longer really matters.

That same day, July 12, at 10PM, in Barangay Barurao, Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao Province the 105 Base Command's sub-Kumander Maestro Felmin led 400 of his well armed guerillas into town and surrounded roughly 100 homes belonging to clansmen and supporters of ex-Vice Mayor Oca Badal. The MILF then proceeded to burn almost the entire barangay to the ground. Badal is a Kumander in the ILLEGAL (as opposed to the re-formed and legal) Ampatuan CVO, the entity behind the Maguindanao Massacre. The CVO and the MILF have been at each other's throats for nearly 3 decades due to the Ampatuan's loyalty to the MNLF and their having exerted considerable power within the MILF AOR (Area of Operations).

As if Datu Piang, Maguindanao Province didnt have enough problems with its Mayor, Samer Uy battling his nephew and MILF sub-Kumander, Tata Uy, it also must contend with 2 other MILF groups battling EACH OTHER. Kumander Abunawas of the 104 Base Command is at odds with Kumander Adzmi of the 106 Base Command in one of those rice harvest blood baths that strike all over the island during the twice yearly harvest. It began when small detachments of uerillas from both groups came into the town to assist (i.e. "guard" i.e. "EXTORT") villagers with their rice harvests.

Tempers being what they are, especially when it comes to one fo the more lucrative forms of income for these guerillas, a fire fight borke out, lasting approximayely 45 minutes before both sides withdrew back into the bush. This initial exchange caused 500 IDPs to flee Barangays Liong and Balanaken, most taking shelter in Datu Gumbay Piang Elementary School in Barangay Poblacion.

At that point it was only a matter of time before violence re-erupted and at 1130AM on August 07 it took place once again. By then the 29IB had set up a small lean-to outside the main gate to the school housing the IDPs from the earlier exchange. Open 9AM to 5PM, 7 days a week, and again from 730PM to 11PM on week nights it has managed to ensure the safety of all IDPs taking refuge inside the school compound. An additional 1200 people sought shelter at the school and at 2 other locations (Fish Landing Shelter on the Pulangi/rio Grande de Mindanao River in Barangay Buayan, at GLAC13, a.k.a. Gani L.Abpi College, a local private school also serving as an IDP centre).

On August 08 the 29IB, only tallying those IDPs at Datu Gumbay recorded, in number of families not individuals, 89 families from Barangay Alonganen, 63 from Barangay Balanaken and 194 from Barangay Liong. To the 29IB's credit it has taken it upon itself to show films on the school's stage, almost every evening to try and entertain the IDPs, a measure not usually taken by other Infantry Battalions. Outside the school that evening, 2 of Kumander Abunawas' guerillas were shot to death.

July 14, at 7PM in Barangay Labu Labu, Datu Hofer, Maguindanao Province, Labu Labu Elementary School was struck with a pre-mature IED detonation whose only casulaty was its courier.24 year old Sabtula Kad Unte was arrested at Cotabato Regional Medical Center as he was being treated for shrapnel wounds. He was then transferred to the 6th Infantry Division Hospital at Camp Siongco outside the city.

On July 19, 2010, the MILF formally announced the 4 month suspension of BDA (Bangsamoro Development Agency) BOD (Board of Directors) Chairman, Dr.Safrullah Dipatuan.The suspension formally began on July 15 and will run until November 15. He has been suspended for not having gotten his superiors' permission prior to a trip abroad. He had left on June 09 for Kuala Lampur, Malaysia to attend an Islamic conference where he harshly criticised Israel's Blockade of Gaza. This of courswe would probbally earn him kudos for a job well done with the MILF except that hidden in the Suspension Order is an interesting mention of his having gone there to "meet a friend."

Dr.Dipatuan had become chairman in 2009 when his predecessor Dr.Parido Pigkaulan was demoted to Member of the Board (on BOD)in what the MILF has claimed was a regular rotation of staff in that all appointees to the BDA are there for a 2 year rotation unless extended. Of course that doesnt explain just why Dr.Pigkaulan became a Member after serving as the Board's Chairman.

From July 19 to July 21, 2010 in Sitio Risingan, Barangay Dunguan, aleosan, North Cotabato Province, just over the river from Datu Piang, the municipality discussed in my last paragraph(s), Kumander Hadju Sajid of the 105 Base Command was warring with his arch nemesis Norodin Ungkay, a Town Councilotr in Aleosan and local CVO Kumander.

On the 19th Sajid attacked a CAFGU post loyal to Ungkay in Sitio Manggahan, Barangay Dunguan and caused an unknown (but large) number of IDPs to flee into the adjoining towns of Pikit, North Cotabato.

July 25 to August 01, 2010 in Barangay Matabong, Ampatuan, Maguindanao Province saw the LEGAL Ampatuan CVO under Kumander Marcos battling the MILF's 105 Base Command. The "Legal Ampatuan CVO" is the newly organised and trained, government sanctioned CVO operating out of Shariff Aguak, the provincial capitol of Maguindano but with branches in the towns once dominated by the ILLEGAL Ampatuan CVO (towns like Datu Saudi, etc,etc). A CVO, or "Civilain Volunteer Organisation" is an official government paramilitary that operates as a very localised military reserve. Manned by citizens of and only operating in specific municipalities and sublimated to the LGU at hand (Local Governmental Unit, i.e. "municipality or barangay), and usually operating under supervision of an infantry Battalion though the Ampatuan CVO did not have much to do with the AFP. The illegal Ampatuan CVO was the group responsible for the so called "Maguindanao Massacre" in late November of 2009. Almost all Filipinos and ex-pats reading this will know pretty much whom and what I am talking about, owning to the entire brouhaha's domination of the media for the first 6 months of 2010. However, imagining that others may not know these things, I will briefly offer up some context.

The Ampatuan Clan is, or perhaps was (actually still is) Maguindanao's most powerful clan. Led by patriarch Andal Sr, who at the time of the Massacre was the provincial governor, with his son and heir apparent Anadal Jr, the mayor of a town created just for him (1 of a few created by andal Sr, who also created an entire province, Shariff Aguak before the Supreme Court dissolved it). the Clan held a tite reign over the province but one time aly, Mayor Eshmael"Toto"Mangudadatu" sought to chalenge this monopoly of power with a run for the governor's seat in the last election, in 2010. Making known his intent, he sought to negate any chance for violence by deploying his wife at the head of a large convoy of SUVs filled with female clan members, allied attorneys and a horde of media representatives.

Driving down National Hiway towards to provincial capitol of Shariff Aguak (town, not the afore mentioned failed province), they were held at a PNP checkpoint in the town of Ampatuan. Andal jr., leading about 100 well armed members of the Ampatuan CVO appeared out of the jungle by the side of the road, and after some physical assaults had the CVO soldiers drive the vehicles in the Mangudadatu convoy to a hill about 2 kms away but over looking the checkpoint. At that site all 57 people (including a few who had only been sandwiched in by the convoy and weren't attached toit at all) were murdered by chain-fed M16 (1 journalist, hogtied and in the front seat of an SUV had been shot in the head with a double barrled shotgun).

The dead and their vehicles were being interred in 3 hastily excavated pits, with provincially owned construction machinery when CVO scouts alerted the group to an approaching detachment of AFP soldies not allied with the Ampatuan Clan. the soldiers had been deployed after a flurry of communications between the media and the AFP, by the companies employing the murdered journalists. the gruseome scene was recorded for all posterity instead of simply becoming yet another one of the many Philippine "Killing Fields" and the Ampatuans themselves were pretty much under the microscope, but not out of power, and not separated from their vast ill gotten fortune.

198 people have been charged in the incident, of which more than 100 remain at large. Many of those wanted men are CVO soldiers. interestingly, the CVO which had roughly 2500 men, has pretty much gone rogue with an estimated 2000 gunmen operating in Maguindanao and N.Cotabato Provinces, battling both the AFP as well as their perennial enemy , the MILF.

The whole sordid affair deserves its own series of entires and I will be producing them soon.

After the Massacre a State of Emergency, then a State of Martial Law which soon reverted back to a State of Emergency was declared for Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provinces (the latter being the base of the Mangudadatu Clan, themselves fairly powerful), as well as Cotabato City. Cotabato City was added because it is the capitol of the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao). Besides Maguindanao being 1 of 5 ARMM provinces, the Governor of the ARMM (at the time) was another Ampatuan son, Zaldi Ampatuan. The region remains under a State of Emergency and the Ampatuan CVO (illegal) is spilling alot of blood up until the present.

On the day in question, the MILF 105 Base Command battled the legal Ampatuan CVO and around nightfall the moratars began pounding both sides without let up. At that point the AFP's 46IB came in and reinforced the CVO. The bloodshed stopped on August 01 when the IMT (International Monitoring Team, an entity composed of Brunei, Japan, Norway and the EU and led by Malaysia, created to monitor and support the Cease Fire between the MILF and the AFP/GRP), and the CCCH-MILF and the CCCH-GRP (explained in an earlier portion of this post) set up shoppe in Barangay Matabong and the adjoining Barangay Kapimpilan. This enabled both sides to save face due to international pressure and attention.

During this same period, July 25 through August 01, 2010 in Barangay Salat, President Quirino, Sultan Kudarat Province, 400 MILF guerillas under sub-Kumander Daud Macaalay entered the barangay and burned more than 100 homes to the ground. Most of the burned homes and buildings belonged to MNLF Kumander Magalona Ampatuan, a barangay councilor in Barangay Salat. Ampatuan's brother, Manny, also an MNLF Kumander was killed in an earlier exchange of gunfire. IDPs in the town have set up temporary shacks around the city hall compound.

July 26 through July 30, 2010 in Malabalay City, Bukidnon Province, the PMA (Pangadapu Mindanao Association) under Supreme Datu Migketay Victorino Saway, a Lumad (Hill Tribes) umbrella organisation held an important meeting of tribal chiefs in which they produced a Resolution demanding that Lumads (of course via the PMA) be given a seat at the next MILF-GRP Talks in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia after Ramadan. They demand that their rights with regard to Ancestral Domain be respected.

Datu Saway is a nemesis of the MILF's alternate Peace Panel member, Datu Antonio P.Ki , a B'laan tribal Historian who takes the opposite tact, i.e. the MILF party line. The MILF of course tries to sell a defected bill of goods claiming that while the MILF would hold political sovereignity of the Lumad Ancestral Domains, it would not actually "control" them. Instead it says, the Lumad themselves would handle the tracts. Naturally this has failed to satisfy anyone but the few Lumad puppets on the MILF payroll.

Again, a subject deserving of its own entry, Ancestral Domain is a concept akin to the US' Native American "Reservation" system with limited autonomy to indigenous groups over patches of land, not neccessarily contigious with which specific indigenous groups have a recorded historical conenction. These Domains involve alot of money because of timber, minerals, metals, and agricultral land. The Talks so far have hardly even mentioned the Lumad, and when mentioning them have sublimated their concerns to that of the Moros, the collective term for Muslims. in other words, the MILF wants to have ultimate control over Lumad lands within lands awarded to the Moros. Naturally this doesnt sit well with Lumads themselves.

On July 29, 2010, the Chairman of the MDA (Mindanao Development Authority). Jesus Dureza who concurrently has served in successive Peace Panels in MILF Talks, most recently as Chairman of the last Panel under the Arroyo Government in the 2003 Talks (which took place after the 2003 MILF-GRP War), has resigned his position at MDA. He was in the middle of a 6 year term but left his position because of his heavy identification with the former Administration.

Some may recall that as Chairman of the 2003 GRP-MILF Talks he became embroiled in some controversy when he was accused of "annotating" the proceedings minutes (the transcript of what is said during negotations), specifically 1 very important parlez in Kaula Lampur, Malaysia on February 28 that year. interestingly, and not known to very many, in 1999 long before the government utilised his services or gave him a position in any office he had contacted the MILF on his own and had offered to serve on THEIR Panel.

There is alot that can be said about this, and some may even argue that as a lifelong resident of Mindanao and a well known attorney not connected to either side that there was nothing wrong in what he did but it does show a certain level of ambitiousness that has caused some to call his abilities into question. when a person is attracted to the limelight, and more specifically to the hallowed halls of pwoer they will do anything within their reach to stay there, no matter the cause, the ends will justify the means. With that said, since his appointment to the GRP, both on the Panel as well as in his position at the MDA, he has done nothing to prove his critics right.


That same day, July 29, Sultan Muhammad Fuad Abdullah Kiram I of Suluofficially asked the GRP to disqualify Malaysia from its role as mediator of the GRP-MILF PEace PRocess Talks owing to his long time claim on Sabah. As I briefly discussed in my "Whole Lot of Ugly cum Operation Merdeka" series of entries, although Malaysia has flown its flag over Sabah State on Borneo since Malaysian Independance the state historically belongs to the Sulu Sultanate.

The remarks first surfaced at the CMD (Christian Muslim Democrats, as in Lakas-KAMPI-CMD) joint SultanteAward Presentation at Quezon City's Sulo Hotel. The Sultan (actually 1 of several claimants for the title of Sultan) clarified that he does not advocate seccession of Mindanao but does advocate a form of autonomy akin to Finalnd's entity created for its Sami ("Lapp") minority. The MILF which is heavily biased towards Malaysia came out swining and warned the Sultan to "be careful" with his words and made sure to describe him as a "claimant" to the throne.

In a related development, on Monday, August 30 GRP re-certified Malaysian participation and rationalised this by pointing out Malaysia's lengthly and deeply immersed service to the process. Malaysia which joined the Process as Mediator in March of 2001 also heads the IMT (International Monitoring Team), an entity devoted to preserving the Cease Fire. Malaysia reciprocated on Wednesday, September 01 by officially re-commmitting itself. If the government had not re-certified Malaysia it would have not only grreatly delayed the Talks, but could have very well jeapourdised the Process owing to MILF's afore mentioned bias towards the country. To reject the nation would have taken a bi-lateral agreement by both the GRP AND the MILF, and the latter would have never come.


July 30 to August 01, 2010 in Barangay Makasendeg, Pikit, North Cotabato saw the 29IB ensconed and shelling the MILF under Kumander Tata Uy who were dug in across the provincial border in Barangays Reina Regente and Dasawao in Datu Piang, Maguindanao. The AFP was lobbing 81MM mortar shells for 2 days stright and one of the last shells, at 3PM on August 01 managed to critically wound 4th grader Datu Mama Samiling (the child's first name is "Datu," he was not actually a "Datu" which means "Most Esteemed Man" and idiomatically means "Tribal Chief").

On August 07, 2010 in Sitio Kimudal, Barangay Balanakan, Datu Piang, Maguindanao Province, a detachment from the 29IB (Infantry Battalion), under Lt.Orcullo has ensconced itself in a village mosque as it sets up shoppe trying to pacify a local Rido (Clan Warfare) between 2 MILF factions from 2 different Base Commands ("Base Command" is a designation akin to conventional Brigade, a format the MILF adopted after the 2000 GRP-MILF War when the MILF destroyed almost all the MILF's static camps.

The fighting, which I had discussed earlier in this entry, reached its apex on August 10, but has ebbed and flowed continuously since then with very hot flare ups. I do know that 4 guerillas from the 106 Base Command died on the 10th but other than that it is exceedingly difficult to keep a tally since according to Shar'ia Law (Islamic Law), the dead must be buried before the following nightfall (though alternatively, "martyrs" in the undertaking of Jihad can be left as is but that is a Maranaw and Yakan custom not universally adhered to y all Moro ethnicities and certainly not at all held by the Islamic World in general).

The villagers are angry at the AFP for living in the mosque, especially since most in the AFP are non-Muslim and drink beer, eat pork, etc. As of posting, today is August 28, they are still biouvaced in that mosque. Some may recall that in 2009 the 54IB came under criticism for doing this same thing in Barangay Sambulawan, in Datu Salibo in that same province. This has also happened in Datu Piang's Barangays Magaslong and Balanakan in the past. In fairness to the AFP, there just arent that many semi-modern buildings large enough, and safe enough to house at least a platoon, and usually a company of soldiers. As long as the soldiers do not desecrate the building and make allowances for worshippers it shouldnt be a problem, irrespective of the Muslim belief that non-muslims shouldnt be living there.

The MILF has filed an official complaint for a Cease Fire Violation, by the AFP (i.e. "GRP") via the CCCH (an entity consisting of a panel from each side that is designed to mediate so called Violations so as to prolong the Cease Fire). The comaplaint is against an alleged bombing run by 2 AFP OV-10s ("Broncos," jets) that the MILF maintains bombed an entire barangay, Algunganan in Datu Piang, Maguindanao in fighting related to the 104 and 106 Base Commands. On August 07 those 2 jets dropped WP (White Phosphorus) in a rice paddy where the 2 groups were battling as a distinct warning. WP, as some may very well know, is the munition which turned the world's angry attention (once again) to Israel during the IDF's (Israeli Defense Forces) December 2008/Janurary 2009 operation in Gaza. Amazing how THAT can get the world on the edge of its collective seat while the very same munition can land on heads in umpteenth other conflicts that the West could not care the least about.

In truth, WP is completely legal and is NOT an AP (Anti-Personnel) Munition, meaning that it is not used to cause death or injury. Rather, when used correctly, it is designed to denude brush (clear foilage), Mark terrain (for subsequent bombing runs) , for Illumination (to provide light in dark conditions, or as an Obscurant (to give "Smoke" so that Ground Forces, i.e. infantry can operate in a much improved environment, safety wise).

On the day in question, the AFP dropped it a a Marker, so as to send a loud and clear message to the 2 MILF Base Commands to knock off the nonsense or take some 500 pounders on the head (stop fighting or you will be bombed into submission). The MILF, ignoring the fact that the entire sub-conflict is an MILF on MILF affair, and ignoring the bloodshed and misery not only amongst its own guerillas but the civlians amongst whom the operate instead chooses to spin the 2 WP shells as a propaganda exercise that noone even pays attention to. That day in question, 6000 new villagers (in total) became IDPs (Refugees).

August 09, 2010, Camp Darapanan, in Barangay Darapnan, Sultan Kudarat (town, not province), in Maguindanao Province, the camp holding the MILF's main political apparattus was home to the MILF-FOCAP (Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines), "Forum of the Peace Process." al Haj Ebrahim Murad, the Chairman of the MILF gave the Opening Speech.

In his speech chairman Murad claimed that there is merely 1 "Substantiative Agenda Item" holding the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) and the MILF apart. Om Janurary 27, 2010 both sides attempted to solve the impasse via the "Comprehensive Compact" Draft Agreement. The exchange of Drafts failed to bbring the 2 sides together. Murad claims that the MILF merely reiterated its last position, the so caled, "Assymetrical State and Sub-State Arrangement of Governance" where as the GRP recycled an untenable position it had held from 2000 to 2003.

The circa 2003 position, "Enhanced Autonomy" is merely a slight riff on the current programme, "ARMM" (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao). He continued, relating that at the last tet a tet in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia on June 03, 2010 left the GRP merely repeating its stated lack of direction. Murad sees no difference twith the new Administration, thus far but is taking a wait and see approach.

August 12, 2010 saw the IS-AFP (AFP Intelligence) distribute a Report on the MILF's "State of Readiness" over the preceeding 7 months. Camp Palestine, in butig, Lanao del Sur Province was home to 8 Training cycles. Of these 8, 2 were 90 day Basic Training courses, one 30 day Intelligence course and 6 courses of 3 day Reivews (Brush Ups) on Infantry technique. The 3 day Reviews of course entailed hundreds of trainnes per cycle. there was also 1 cycle in Tawi Tawi under the 117 Base Command, in Jungle Warfare, something that the MILF hasnt really concentrated on given the terrain under which it usually operates (Maranaw and Maguindanaowan area are marsh or river basins, or otherwise very denunded farmland that would not look entirely out of place in say, Essex in England or Wisconsin in the US). 2 Base Commands, the 114 and afore mentioned 117 do primarily operate in the jungle but then the 117th, whose AOR is Sulu and Tawi Tawi but basically only exists on Tawi Tawi, is ineffectual and basically concentrates its efforts at "fundraising," while the 114, whose AOR (Area of Operations) is on Basilan Island, is for all intensive purposes folded into the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group).

On august 18, 2010, MILF Peace Panel Chairman (or I should say former since the Panel was officially deactivated almost 2 months ago though it is an open secret that he will once again be made Chairman when the re-constituted Panel is announced within the week) Jun Mantawil responded to media reports that Congressman Rodolfo Biazon has remarked that "Cha Cha" (Charter change, i.e. Constituional Ammending) is a pre-requisite for any realisation of the MoA (Memorandum of Agreement) on Ad (Ancestral Domain), per the current MILF position on the issue. Mantawil pointed out that under the current MILF position (this "position" being "Assymetrical State and Sub-State Arrangement") there are no demands for anything not currently allowed by the 1987 Constitution.

Mantawil stresses that the MILF is not demanding ultimate control over Currency/Monetary Arrangements or Foreign Relations and that indeed the MILF conceeds these to the GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) along with Postal Powers (maybe this last aspect was given as a joke given the absolutely deplorable state of the Philippine Postal System, with most Mindanowan towns taking 6 months or more to receive DOMESTIC mail if they even ever receive it at all).

It is also worth noting that Mantawil also flogged the latest joint venture of the MILF and the Asia Foundation, a nicely bound (and rather expencive) compendium of all signed GRP-MILG Agreements post 1996 's Jakarta Accord. for those keeping count, there are 87 including the non-sensical blather like the last Agreement signed in Kuala Lampur in early june this year.

On August 21, 2010 on the eastside of Zamboanga City, 2 MILF guerillas were taken into custody re the AFP's Order of Battle. They were wanted though for their involvement with a local extortion gang along the likes of al Khobar and the Pentagon Gang, groups who I will discuss, as well as their dynamic, in an upcoming entry. The 2 men are charged with having strafed alocal bus with M16s as it sped by with passengers in an extortion plot against the bus company. The first attack in this spate took place on Janurary 17, 2010 in Licomo, Zamboanga del Sur Province when 12 people were wounded by an M16 strafing. 2 of those 12 people were plainclothes PNP Marshalls working with the bus company, Rural Transit.

The MNLF,First through the Third Quarters,2010:Alot of Bloodshed and a Tiny Boost Politically

The MNLF,or Moro National Liberation Front,is the granddaddy of Modern Islamic Insurgency here in the Southern Philippines.Though the organisation is most often linked to former Professor Nur Misuari,a Tausug Tribesman from Jolo Island in Sulu,the actual story is alot more complex.Like all insurgent organisations here it is a story well deserving of its own time and attention.With that in mind I will use this current entry to simply outline goings on within the organisation during 2010,with the hope and intent to focus on that history and backstory in an upcoming entry.

First however,I do need to point out that the organisation is currently made up of 5 factions,3 of which are very distinct:

1) MNLF-Misuari Faction,still loyal to Nur Misuari

2) MNLF-Committee of 15 (MNLF-EC15),sometimes referred to as the MNLF-Sema.This faction is loyal to a former underling of Misuari,Muslimin Sema who is also currently the Vice Mayor of Cotabato City in North Cotabato Province (having moved to that slot from the Mayoral seat after reaching his term limit)

3) MNLF-Mainland Mindanao State Committee (MNLF-MMSC),under Kumander Datu Faizal"Randy"Karon,of whom I have been posting so much about lately due to his ongoing sub-conflict with Kumander Jud Caludtiag of the BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces,the military wing of the MILF,or Moro Islamic Liberation Front) 104 Base Command on the borders of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provinces.MNLF-MMSC is very closely allied with the MNLF-EC15.

The other 2:

1) MNLF-Reformist Group (MNLG-RG)


2) MNLF-Islamic Command (MNLF-IC)


are nearly extinct and no longer even field armed components. I will have to discuss these factionalisations and shifting alliances in that aforementioned"upcoming"entry.I need to add for clarity that there is the MNLF-Habir Malik (MNLF-HM) which can actually be considered a part of the Misuari organisation.

On to the "happenings"...On Janurary 23,2010 in Barangay Bato-Bato, Indanan, Sulu (Jolo Island), a rogue faction of the MNLF-Misuari Faction centered on Jolo Island,the largest island in the Sulu Archipelago,blew up the Talaktak Bridge.The faction,under Kumander Ustadz Habir Malik operates in a close alliance with the largest Abu Sayyaf faction on Jolo Island.

6 MNLF guerillas led by sub-Kumander Tahil Sali were seen approaching the bridge and carefully laying the charges (C4 explosives, A.K.A. "Plastique").After the guerillas withdrew local residents notified the authorities and MBLT-6 (Marine Battalion Landing Team #6) was deployed to the scene.As the detachment was en route the charges detonated , knocking out the bridge.

MBLT-6 was them immediately re-deployed for a Pursuit Operation in hopes of cutting off the MNLF team who in addition to THAT bridge had also attempted to bomb another one on Janurary 21,two days prior.That earlier bridge, Lampaking-Dayuan,also in the municipality of Indanan was only partially damaged but still usable.

Kumander Malik and his faction are in heavy opposition to the Infrastructural Improvement Projects ("Hearts and Minds") spearheaded by US Forces ensconced at the island's Camp Bautista,the Headquarters for AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) Marines.They were behind the IED (Improvised Explosive Devices,as in"bombs") that killed an AFP Marine and 2 US personnel,incorrectly identified as US SEABEES (Naval Construction personnel),but in reality 2 Special Forces soldiers.That incident took place on an access road near Camp Bautista in September of 2009,an incident I will flesh out in more detail in an upcoming entry (I know,I know,alot of"upcoming entries"but time being what it is...).

On Feburary 27th and 28th,2010 at (MNLF) Camp Datu Lumambas in the town of Kabacan in North Cotabato,the main camp of the MNLF-Committee of 15,a 2 day gathering of roughly 400 MNLF leaders officialised the newest MNLF faction, MNLF-Mainland Mindanao State Committee (MNLF-MMSC) under Kumander Datu Faizal"Randy"Karon" of Sultan Kudarat Province. This newest faction is comprised mostly of Maranowan (Maranaon) Tribesmen (the chief ethnicity in Lanao del Sur Province and around Lake Lanao and Ligusan Marsh) despite Datu Faizal,better known by the moniker"Randy Karon"being a Maguindanowan,whereas the Committee of 15 Faction is dominated by Maguindanowan Tribesmen,the main ethnicity in Maguindano and Cotabato
Provinces.

The new faction coalesced out of Maranaowans who were present at an important MNLF gathering on Janurary 13,2010 where 400 leaders of the organisation had gathered to forge a new direction in light of the then rapidly progressing GHP-MILF Peace Talks (negotiations between the Government and the MILF),and the possible conflict that these talks represented in light of the existing Agreement between the government and the MNLF,the 1996 Agreement,"Jakarta 1996."Chairman Misuari failed to show up for that all important meeting and much worse,didnt even bother calling to tell the organisers of that gathering that he wouldnt be able to make it.

Alot of dissent had been building up until that point because of Misuari's warm welcome for Norberto Manero Jr., icon of the Ilaga Movement.The Ilaga,very briefly because they too are deserving of at least a couple of entries of their own,were an organisation formed in the very early 1970s to counter the Barakuda,an Islamic paramilitary formed by Moro (Muslims) politicians here on Mindanao.The Ilaga very early on were simply concerned with battling Moros though they veered into anti-Communist Operations from the early 1980s onward before finally losing steam in the early 1990s.There was a briefly re-constituted version of the group from 2005 until 2009,concentrating on countering the rogue MILF/BIAF factions terrorising Bisayan and Ilonggo communities in Central and Nortern Mindanao,but they seem to have faded into obscurity after the move by Misuari,towards Manero.

Norberto"Kumander Bucay"Manero Jr.became famous in the Philippines for the killing of a pro-Communist priest in North Cotabato Province,an incident that gained infamy when Manero and others ate the priest's entrails,a claim which Manero himself disputes but for which he was convicted and ended up serving nearly 3 decades in prison. Towards the end of his sentence Misuari made contact with him and to the suprise of many Manero converted to Islam, at which point Misuari welcomed him into the MNLF as a"brother."

This move by Misuari,perhaps astute in that it neutralised Manero at a time when the Ilaga was enjoying a moderate resurgence,alienated the Chairman to a great many Moros,both within and without the MNLF.

Additionaly,voices of dissent within the MNLF noted that while Misuari couldn't find time to even notify organisers that he wouldnt appear at the Feburary meeting,he had been able to campaign vigirously for the Governorship of Sulu Province,1 of 3 non-contigious provinces in Mindanao. To add insult to injury, this was also seen as further proof that Misuari had fully engaged the government at the expence of the MNLF's vital principles.While indpendance had been given up as unobtainable under Libyan pressure,the organisation is still very much committed to a form of autonomy not much removed from the vision of the MILF.That is to say an autonomy that borders on actual independance in all but name.

The February meeting at which this new faction officially took shape also served a dual purpose in that it was an enthronement ceremony for the Sultanate of Buayan,as well as for Kumander Karon who became a full fledged"Datu." Though the term Datu is often used loosely these days it holds considerable meaning and prestige for Moros as well as for some non-Islamicised tribes on Mindanao (i.e. "Lumad").Often mis-understood to mean"Chief,"while all chiefs ARE Datus,not all Datus are chiefs.It is an honourific given to the most esteemed men in the community.Buayan is 1 of 2 Maguindanowan Sultunates,and though Karon leaders a force of mostly Maranowans he himself is Maguindanowan.

Karon took the tile"Datu Wata"(Young Datu),an important step in what may be a telegraphing of Karon's intentions to become more than just a petty warlord.Congressman Datu
Pax Mangadadatu,who is a sub-chief of the Maguindanowan Tribe for most of Sultan Kudarat Province (Karon's home province) was in attendance,as was Cotabato City Mayor (soon to be"Vice Mayor') Muslamin Sema who is Chairman of the MNLF-Committee of 15 faction.Mayor Sema was also enthroned as Crown Prince (Rajamuda) of the Buayan Sultanate. This move also works to solidify the alliance between these 2 factions of the MNLF,against the Misuari faction.

Kumanders under Karon, Datu Dima Ambil and Datu Mentokan Sunsona were also in attendance at that ceremony and organisational meeting as well.

Not to be undone,the Misuari faction moved to solidify its position as the faction with which the government does business.Until about 2007 there was a 4 year period in which the Committee of 15 was the"official"MNLF.This changed as the Government found Misuari much more conducive to doing business after his release from Home Arrest for his rebellion after being unseated as Governor of ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao).Misuari of course being the man whom the OIC (International Islamic umbrealla group which has been very involved in the Mindnowan Peace Process since the mid-1970s) considers to be the true representative of the MNLF.

On April 20,2010,the Misuari Faction was in Tripoli,Libya for the signing of a 2 page MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the government.Misuari himself signed on behalf of the MNLF while the Government was represented by attorney Camilo Miguel M.Montessa,a sign of how unimportant the Governor now considers the MNLF in the overall scheme of things for Mindanao.The Government brass was in Kuala Lampur,Malaysia trying to make progress with the MILF. In terms of organisational accumen and recent military movements the MILF certainly takes precedence but by no means should anyone count the MNLF out for the count,especially its newer and more ambitious factions.Representing the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Countries),which has been the long term mediator between the GHP (Government of the Philippines) and the MNLF,H.E.Rezlan I.Jenie,signing on behalf of the OIC-PCSP.

This MoU has 3 main points,which I will paraphrase here in condensed form:

I)Re: 3rd Tripartite Meeting,it will concentrate on the transformation of Common Proposals into Legal Form.Both parties,GHP and the MNLF have reviewed the work of the JLP (Joint Legal Panel,a panel combined of attorneys from both the GRP and MNLF) and have given their assent to the list of Common Proposals to be concentrated on.This list is given as"Annex A."

Any other remaining contentious issues that need to be resolved towards this end,such as additional Common Proposals not represented in"Annex A,"will be listed on"Annex B."

Work is to be done as soon as humanly possible after which it will be transmitted jointly to the President,and there after to Congress as a"Certified Administration Bill."A copy of this Bill will then be forwarded to the OIC-PCSP.

II) Re: Fund Mechanism,Both parties recognise the most pressing need for development of the Southern Philippines and both appreciate the work towards that end undertaken thus far by the OIC which has been working on this since the "1996 Jakarta Agreement."

With the OIC's further support both sides agree to implement a Fund Mechanism to support the afore mentioned development,with exact details to be concluded via discussion with both sides,mediated by the OIC.

III) Re: Tripartite Implementation and Monitoring,the 3 parties agree to implement a monitoring entity to oversee the implementation of the "1996 Jakarta Agreement."

Aside from that important development,on May 10,2010 the Election was held and Chairman Misuari lost his bid to assume Governorship of Sulu Province.Co-incidentally,Mayor Muslamin Sema of Cotabato City in North Cotabato Province and Chairman of the Central Committee of the faction now popularly holding his name but officially known as the MNLF-Executive Committee of 15 (EC15) won election as Vice Mayor of that city after having reached his 9 year term limit as mayor.Meanwhile,his wife Bai Sandra Sema won the 1st District Congressional Seat for North Cotabato Province.

On May 21,2010,Jolo City Court issued Warrant #1119-4 with no provision for bail,against 20 MNLF-Misuari Faction members under Kumander Habir Malik,the kumander mentioned at the begininning of my entry.The warrant relates to the IED that killed 2 US Special Forces soldiers and 1 AFP Marine on September 29,2009 in Barangay Kagay in the town of Indanan on Jolo Island in Sulu Province.20 MNLF guerillas led by sub-Kumander Khaid Ajibon were involved in the setting of an IED on the gravel access road leading to a forward AFP Marine post.An unarmoured US Hummer carrying AFP Marines and 2 US personnel was flipped,killing the 2 US personnel and 1 AFP Marine.

The official release claims that the 2 Americans were Navy SEABEES,construction workers,overseeing the reonvation of school classrooms in Sitio Laum Siang in Barangay Kagay where the bombing took place.In reality though they were Special Forces soldiers training the Marines in COIN (Counterinsurgency Warfare):

1) 1stSgt.Christopher D.Shaw,37,of Markham,Illinois

2) Staff Sgt.Jack Martin III,26,of Bethany, California

were both attached to the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Special Forces Group.Politics being what it is,especially with the latest brouhaha out of Basilan with American forces (I will get to it in a subsequent post),the 2 men deserve to be recognised for the very difficult job that they were sent to do and that job was NOT to renovate school rooms (though in terms of COIN,Counterinsurgency,that IS an important role as well).The MNLF denies any and all involvement in their deaths.

That was the 1st killing of US personnel on the Philippine mission since 2002 when an IED attached to an unoccupied motorcycle detonated outside a videoke bar close to Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City killing a Special Forces soldier deployed on Basilan.That IED was an Abu Sayyaf operation.

2 hours after the IED detonation that killed the 2 soldiers (and 1 AFP Marine) on Jolo Island a 2nd detonated in Barangay Kasanyangan in Jolo City at a PNP RMG (PNP Regional Mobile Group,used to supplement security shortcomings, primarily police,as needed) command post.It is believed to have been set in retaliation for a PNP engagement in which 1 Abu Sayyaf guerilla,Karim Juldani,was killed on Sunday,September 26.That engagement also resulted in the capture of a 2nd Abu Sayyaf member,Albashir Adjili.The incident took place as the 2 guerillas were interdicted at a PNP checkpoint in an outer barangay of Jolo City,as they tried to infiltrate the city.This 2nd IED caused no casualties.

Later in the day in Sitio Dauyan in Barangay Bunot in the town of Indanan a bridge was targetted with yet another IED.

On June 20,2010 the MNLF-Misuari faction signed yet another Unity Agreement with the MILF.This Agreement however was noteworthy due to its broker being the Secretary General of the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference).The signing, by both Misuari and MILF Chairman,al Haj Murad Ebrahim,took place in the OIC Secretary General's office on the sidelines of the OIC Annual Conference in Dashnube,Tajikastan.

June 22,2010 at 10AM in Barangay Mahala in the town of Talipao on Jolo Island in Sulu Province,MNLF-Misuari Kumander Habir Malik was again letting his displeasure over"Hearts and Minds"projects be seen.In this case it was a road connecting an outlying barangay,Tuyang,to Barangay Poblacion so as to speed up transport to market of farm goods. Malik's sub-Kumanders Nidzmi Jabar,Maas Ejan and Jahid Susukan joined with an Abu Sayyaf faction under Kumander Yasser Igasan to attack MBLT-3 (Marine Battalion Landing Team #3).2 Abu Sayyaf guerillas were killed and 4 AFP Marines were wounded.

After the firefight MBLT-3 entered Barangay Tuyan and captured a main MNLF camp belonging to Malik.At the same time, MBLT-1 was able to capture a satellite camp in Barangay Poblacion,also in the municipality of Talipao.

Though he supports Nur Misuari,Malik has been on his own since rejecting the 1996 Jakarta Accord in November,2001. since that time he has been attacking the AFP though his actions ebb and flow.A major player,he commanded an entire front (Sulu has 2 MNLF fronts,East and West),he also operates almost openly in tandem with ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group). He currently has a P1 Million Bounty on his head (20,000 Euros).Some might remember his name from the audacious Operation he pulled off in Feburary,2007.General Ben Dolorfino and then Under Secretary of Defense Ramon Santos along with 12 AFP officers were trying to negotiate with Malik over his actions (he was trying to get Misuari released from House Arrest in Manila at the time).Malik took the party hostage.The goal was to get Misuari released to attend the OIC (Organisation of the Islamic Conference) Conference in Jeddah.Though nominally independent he is counted as part of the Misuari faction due to his diehard support of his old friend and former Commander.

On June 27,2010 officials in and around Valencia City in Bukidnon Province expressed alarm that the MNLF was moving into this partof the island.Bukidnon is not home to many Muslims but the organisation has been actively recruiting in the towns of Pangantucan,Kalilangan and as I mentioned,Valencia City.The recruiters have been promising P15,000 a month (almost US400),practically a fortune in that depressed area,though with a hitch.Applicants need to pay up to P3,000 (US75) for the application,ID card,etc.This same scheme has also been taking place in ComVal Province (Compostela Valley),Davao del Sur and Davao Oriental Provinces which are other non-Muslim provinces and another area where LGUs (Local Government Units,i.e."towns") officials are up in arms and asking the AFP to boost its presence over the course of the last 12 months.

In Valencia City's westside,in Sitio Kibalaog,Barangay Lilingayon the MNLF have established a provincial HQ in a place they are calling Camp Datu Matoos.Actually this development took place almost 2 years ago unbeknownst to most local officials and in fact created quite a stir locally when Chairman Misuari himself arrived in a 7 vehichle convoy,with 18 well armed bodyguards brought with him from ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao).The event was an Induction Ceremony for local recruits,but that took place after they were first converted to Islam.

Misuari has long made a point of trying to include non-Muslims in the MNLF,even going so far as to state that a "Moro"is anyone who lives in Mindanao and accepts the label (I think I'll pass).Earlier this year,2010,he appeared at a Lumad (Hill Tribe) festival in Agusan del Sur Province as a guest of honor.Agusan del Sur is tied with Surigao del Sur as the 2 provinces in Mindanao having the least number of Muslim residents,both barely registering more than 1,000 each.

The 2008 ceremony in Bukidnon,which took place on December 1st,was organised in conjunction with Barangay Councilwoman Julie Zulita,a non-Muslim.


On July 2nd,2010 in the town of Datu Blah Sinsuat in Maguindano Province the MNLF-MMSC faction,under its leader Datu Faizal"Randy"Karon and the BIAF 104 Base Command under Kumander Jud Caludtiag once again locked horns over that piece of contentious provincial borderland.On June 13th the AFP's 6IB (Infantry Battalion) managed to pull both sides apart and occupy the border,creating a mini-DMZ (Demiliatarised Zone) of sorts.It was able to get warring parties out of Barangay Meti in Datu Blah Sinsuat as well as out of Barangays Tran and Kalamonogg in the adjoining town of Lebak in Sultan Kudarat Province.

The BIAF withdrew and re-positioned in upper sectors of Barangay Laguitan in the town of Datu Blah Sinsuat but over the last week of June there were sporadic clashes.On June 30th the AFP which here-to-fore had claimed it had no manpower to re-deploy from adjoining barangays lest more flare-ups occur there suddenly re-positioned forces in Barangay Sinepak whic adjoins Barangay Laguitan.On the morning of July 2nd,2010 the MNLF-MMSC attacked the BIAF's positions in Barangays Dunpilas and Tran over the border in Lebak,Sultan Kudarat Province.

July 3rd,at 7PM in Barangay Sinepak in the town of Datu Blah Sinsuat,the AFP launched five 105MM rounds from a gunboat situated off the coast of Laguitan as ground forces launched a fussilade of 81MM mortar shells into BIAF held sectors.

The next morning,July 4th,at 7AM,ground forces attacked the BIAF in Barangay Meti.Of course the MILF/BIAF brass, while denying any culpability at all for the actions undertaken by Kumander Caludtiag have cried foul and accused the AFP of supporting the MNLF.

On July 16 the MNLF-MMSC blew a small boat out of the water as it ferried IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,i.e. "Refugees"),as the BIAF was landing in similar boats down the beach,using the IDP exodus as cover for troop re-positioning.Roughly 50 BIAF guerillas landed and an intense firefight broke out as IDPs fled in all directions.


That same day Datu Blah Sinsuat's ex-mayor Datu Ibrahim Manot"Manaut"Sinsuat who also serves in the MNLF-MMSC was en route to a mosque in another border town of Maguindano Province,the municipality of Buluan,when he was waylaid in Barangay Poblacion in the town of President Roxas in Sultan Kudarat Province.Trucks boxed in his minivan as gunmen on foot strafed the vehicle badly with M16s.Shaken but alive the MNLF Kumander was able to escape with everything intact.

Datu Sinsuat,while still mayor (he was voted out this past election,May 10th,2010) is believed to have had his nephew Errol Sinsuat murdered.Errol was a Barangay Captain/Chairman in the town and had just passed a Resolution condemning the Mayor for maintaining a paramilitary (actually it was his MNLF element),a hot political issue since the"Maguindanao Massacre."The Resolution however stemmed from Errol's support of a 2nd uncle,Vice Mayor Marcial Sinsuat in his bid to unseat the Mayor.The murder took place on Cotabato City's Don Ramon Rebago Street in Barangay Mother in the city's fashionable Rosary Heights section on Wednesday,February 17th,2010.

As the 2 murderers were riding tandem on a single motorcycle while leaving the scene they had the very bad luck to run across a rookie PNP officer.Unlike a more seasoned officer who tries to avoid life threatening,or even physically challenging situations whenever possible this young man took it upon himself to actually try and catch the shooters and a short but violent firefight ensued.When the noise stopped one of the men on the motorcycle was wounded and though he still managed to escape the firefight caused him to leave his backpack on scene.

The backpack,military issue,had the owner's name stenciled on it,PFC.(Private First Class) Norodin Sinsuat (another nephew of the former Mayor) deployed with the 10ID (Infantry Division).The operator of the motorcycle,PFC.Esmael Mama,deployed with the 6ID was charged along with Norodin,who is the alleged shooter.

On July 18th the fighting between the BIAF and MNLF-MMSC continued heavily,unabated from the 16th but with it having expanded into the town of Datu Blah Sinsuat's Barangay Sadam as well,and back over the border into Barangay Tran in the town of Lebak in Sultan Kudarat Province.As the 6IB struggled to stay out of the way some 40 civilians were killed along with an unknown number of guerillas on both sides.

On July 29th,2010 in Cotabato City in North Cotabato Province,MNLF member Jonel Pandalat was caught fleeing the scene of a murder.PNP says he had just killed 50 year old Roger Aragon after buying charcoal from the man.He refused to answer anything under interrogation but is being looked at for involvement in earlier murders in the city and outlying areas.

That same week the long simmering conflict between Kumander Datu Faisal"Randy"Karon,the paramount leader of the MNLF's newest faction,the MNLF-MMSC (Mainland Mindanao State Committee) and the BIAF 104 Base Command's Kumander Jud Caludtiag saw the MILF/BIAF hierarchy trying to float a peace plan of sorts.The conflict between these 2 men, because it is not an organisational conflict,but rather a personal feud (as opposed to "Rido," or "Clan Feud"),has been flaring up as I explained in my aforementioned entry for about 4 years now.Sadly,the civilians on the border of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provinces are the ones who suffer the most,this time is no exception.

The MILF/BIAF"Plan"has received approval from Kumander Jud Caludtiag,commanding the BIAFF 104 Base Command,as well as the MNLF-Misuari and MNLF-Sema (Executive Committee of 15) factions.Though Kumander Karon's faction, Mainland Mindanao State Committee is allied with Sema,ithasn't agreed to abide by the"plan,"and of course THAT is the MNLF faction doing the actual fighting...He has been very receptive,but has always found a major issue to contest and so the fighting continues.

Basically there are 3 components of this"Plan":

I) Deploy uninvolved elements of both the MILF/BIAF and the MNLF to the provincial border where the fighting is taking place.

II) Let IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,i.e."Refugees") return to their villages and both sides will then work towards rehabilitation and development of the area so as to benefit those IDPs.

III) After the 1st two components have been implemented talks will begin between the 2 sides so as to reach an acceptable and permanent accord.

It seems simple enough,and yet it hasn't been accepted although Kumander Karon has agreed to allow non-local PNP (Philippine National Police) officers to be deployed to the area so as to bring at least the semblance of law and order (looting and other lawlessness is always an issue in these types of sub-conflicts).It is a start anyway.

Interestingly the 2 men have along history together and it wasn't always acrimonius.Both started off as combatants in the MNLF (when there was only one MNLF,under Misuari),based in Barangay Tran in the town of Lebak in Sultan Kudarat,1 of the 2 communities currently embroiled in this violence.A specific battle there was christened"Battle of Hell's Little Acre"by the AFP who had an incredibly difficult time against this particular MNLF element who amazingly were able to hold the barangay for 6 months as the AFP threw its best men and equipment at them (the AFP has a penchant for using American military terminology,in this case the battle's name).If only the same elan and finesse had been present at Camp Abubakar in the"2000 War"perhaps Mindanao would be a much different place right now.

The battle took place from Feburary 23rd,1973 until mid-August of that year and claimed the lives of Karon's 3 elder brothers as well as serious wounding Kumander Karon himself.Also worth noting,Senator Gregorio"Gringo"Honasan, leader of a famous coup attempt while still in the AFP,was also wounded in that famous battle.Kumander Jud Caludtiag wasn't wounded but did fight well by all accounts and so both men have positive common ground on which to build a lasting agreement should they ever truly be serious about it.

As of August 2nd,2010,there are a total of 17,000 IDPs suffering during the height of Monsoon.That should be the most pressing issue.17,000 men,women and children...So what is causing this latest round of violence?The MILF/BIAF says Karon kidnapped a woman from the BIAF 104 Base Command AOR (Area of Responsibility"i.e."Turf") in 2009.More neutral voices say it is over control of a patch of beach straddling both towns (Lebak,Sultan Kudarat and Datu Blah Sinsuat,Maguindanao) directly on the border that holds immense strategical value,as well as possibly commercial value should the conflict ever end and development ever truly come to the region.Karon,for his own 2 cents says it is because of an MILF/BIAF attack after the failure of the MoA-AD (Memorandum of Understanding on Ancestral Domain) in August of 2008.

Most will remember that when the Supreme Court issued a Restraining Order against the signing of this Memorandum by the GPH (Government) and the MILF/BIAF,that 3 BIAF Base Commands went off the reservation.It began with Kumander Kato and his 105 Base Command occupying PALMA,a strategic patch of land holding 5 municipalities in North Cotabato Province close to the Maguindano Province Border.These villages and towns were almost entirely Bisaya and Ilonggo (i.e. "Christian") and so what has been called a"Police Action"against 3"Lost Commands" (term first used by Philippine Constalbury Col.Carlos"Charlie" Palabrica Lademora,later known as"Kumander Brown,"borrowed from American lingo used in the Vietnam War),but without a doubt was actually a war.

Many Crimes Against Humanity,atrocities took place during this war but Kumander Karon is angered over a particular act.What act you ask?The 104 Base Command under Kumander Caludtiag attacked a power generator located on a barge off of the town of Kalamansig in Sultan Kudarat Province.The barge provided power to the area and left residents without power for several weeks.As the barge was being attacked an element also attacked the town of Lebak as a diversionary move.That diversionary move is the jist of it,though in honesty Karon seems to have a case of selective memory since that attack took place 2 years AFTER his problems with the 104 Base Command began.