As I continue my wrap up of the 2010 Election Season one might ask just why I even bother since thus far,all areas mentioned have managed to live up to their nefarious reputations.I suppose that it might be a fair question but apart from simply noting the causes of unrest,i.e."insurgency,"people familiar with Mindanao are well aware of how such events go woefully under reported.People who have never been here or alternatively may have only been here in passing would usually have to rely strictly upon media reportage in trying to gain a clear picture of what took place this past Election Season.Obviously that would be problematic.Before a problem can be solved it has to be first identified and then discussed.
The government has its reasons for claiming that this was one of the safest Election Seasons in memory,but their rationale is self serving and will not do anything for the people of Mindanao or those trying to help them.The National figures for Election Related Violence,or"EVR,"and more to the point the figures relating to EVR Deaths does not even exceed the number of deaths from a single Mindanowan Region (Region IX, Zamoboanga Peninsula for example) so there definitely needs to be a record made of what happened this year,and what happens here day in and day out. Pretending it does not happen is not going to help a single person on this island,save a precious few deeply tied into the national government either politically or economically (which in the Philippines,like most nations,happens to be one and the same).
All things considered,Cotabato's 2 provinces (North and South,with North's infamous city, Cotabato City) are the historical epicenter of the Mindanowan insurgency.Originally the capital of the Maguindanowan Sultante,and the seat of Spanish administration of the island until Zamoboanga"s"La Caldera"was developed,the city has seen it share of hard times.A metropolis with a strong Christian population (mostly Ilonggons and to a lesser degree Cebuanos) it sits in the middle of a mostly Islamic region.
The night before Election Day,Sunday,May 9th at 7PM,just as the Islamic 4th Prayer finished,a man tossed a hand grenade into the entrance of a village mosque in Sitio Tinibtikan,Barangay Batulawan,in the town of Pikit,North Cotabato Province killing 1 man,Manuel Tautin and wounding 9 others.Although the town is the historical epicenter of the Ilaga-Barakuda paramilitary war (Christian versus Muslim) of the late 1960s/early 1970s (with the Ilaga re-emerging there in the early mid-1980s) this killing is not believed to be sectarian related and is instead believed to be Election related.
On Election Day itself,Monday,May 10th, 2010 at 105AM in Kidipawan City,South Cotabato Province,supporters of local cable television magnate Nancy Catamco were out plastering campaign posters near Catamco's home when they ran across supporters of Cotabato Christian (as in the ethnic sense) icon Congressman Bernardo"Bernie"Pinol,of the Pinol political dyansty.As these things usually do,it quickly devolved into gunfire causing the death of Pinol supporter Johnny Magbanua,aged 28.Interestingly,instead of simply denying any level of culpability,Ms.Catamco blamed the killing on another Pinol supporter,Efren Albaera Rivera.A 2nd man,Leo Laquinadanum,was badly wounded.
After the dust had cleared,and Ms.Catamco won a stunning upset against Pinol in the election that day,the soon to be ex-Governor Pinol went to the media with his version of events,which do not seem that removed from reality considering all reports thus far.Pinol claims that Catamco's armed supporters were at one of her cable stations,just meters away from the shooting site and that as Magbanua turned to leave,seeing that he was greatly outnumbered,these men shot him in the back (also supported by autopsy reports).It has to be noted that the CIDG (Criminal Investigations and Detection Group of the PNP) has failed to connect any Catamco supporters but then again they have failed to solidly connect anyone to the shooting).Indeed,the CIDG Report seems to actually point a finger at the aforementioned Pinol supporter,Efren Albaera Rivera,showing the PNP to truly epitomise political whoredom.After buttering their bread off of the Pinol Clan's collective backside the local PNP stooges took all of 9 hours to completely burn a decades long bridge.
Congresswoman Elect Catamco's version has the campaign workers out plastering posters when they notice a group of 4 men on 4 motorcycles trailing them.This almost always signals deadly trouble in Mindanao,all the more so when the men,like these men are wearing skimasks,or as they are called locally,"bonnets."Seeing they were had,the men on motorcycles allegedly took some pistol shots at the Catamco campaign workers,who were themselves then able to speed away towards Catamco's residence and flagship cable station (the 2 buildings are adjacent to one another).Reaching the front of that station,the groups collided and 1 man died in the subsequent firefight.The Catamco group IDd the shooters as Magbanua,Laquindanum,Rivera and a man named Syl Aranas Aninon.
Rivera is listed as a suspect because 18 people from both sides,said to have been present,were parrafin tested for gunshot residue and only Rivera tested positive.A big problem with that type of claim is that when one wears gloves, as most people do when riding motorcycles...or shooting people, they will test negative for gunshot residue.Basing culpability upon residue is a bit ridiculous in a place where the majority of men handle weapons.
That same morning,Election Day,May 10th,a cousin of former Congressman Pinol was shot to death while riding his motorcycle,also in Kidapawan City,South Cotabato Province.His passenger,another man,was seriously wounded.The gunman using a 45 pistol,the weapon of choice for motorcycle borne assassins here,has not been IDd but the conventional wisdom is that it is a supporter of Emmylou Talino Mendoza,a candidate for Vice Governor of North Cotabato Province. Aside from being the cousin of ex-Congressman Pinol,the unidentified dead cousin was also the cousin of incumbent Vice Governor Emmanuel"Manny"Pinol.
On Thursday,May 13th,2010,Abdulrakman Mero,a principal at Litain Elemntary School on Bongo Island,an offshore part of the municipality of Parang in Manguindanao Province was driving down Cotabato City's Bonifacio Avenue with his wife and 2 young children having arrived the evening before.Sitting next to him in his white VW were the results of the Parang Municipal Elections being delivered to the regional COMELEC (Electoral Authority) office in Cotabato City.
As the car crawled along in traffic,reaching the corner of Jose Lim Avenue,2 men riding tandem on a single motorcycle got off of their bike and casually walked over to the diver's side of the Mero auto.Looking over Mero's wife,they then walked around the back of the car and as they approached the driver's side window one of them pulled a 45 caliber pistol from his waistband and shot Mero in the head, killing him instantly.Then they slowly walked back to their motorcycle,calmly started it and rode off towards People's Plaza,the city hall of Cotabato City.
In a very suprising turn of events,on Wednesday,June 6th,2010,the 2 hired guns were arrested, a rare occurrence indeed.30 year old Malik Alano of Cotabato City's Barangay Campo Muslim and 31 year old Mandi Karublian of Bongo Island in the aforementioned town of Paranag in Maguindanao Province (the same locale as Mero) were taken without incident as they ate their lunch in a cafe near the Cotabato City town market.Alano had a loaded 45 in his waistband.
There is no word as to whether or not the Ballots had even been taken during the killing,let alone whether or not they had been recovered.
Showing posts with label Election Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Election Day. Show all posts
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Political Developments,Second Quarter of 2010,Part IV:Election Related Violence in Lanao del Norte Province
While Lanao del Sur is a majority Muslim province,Lanao del Norte is a bit different.While a fair number of Maranao (Maranaw) tribesmen,Muslims,do live in Norte,it has a rapidly increasing population of Bisayans (Visayans),a thoroughly Christian ethnicity.Bisaya are not native to this part of Mindanao and most are 2nd or 3rd generation transplants from the Visayan Archipelago,chiefly the island of Cebu at the archipelago's eastern extreme.Yet unlike other Muslim areas where Bisayans have settled,Lanao del Norte rarely suffers from communal violence.A huge exception to this co-existence was the"2008 War,"an event that I will get to eventually.
The largest population centre,Iligan City,is fairly safe and generally free from the overt violence effecting Lanao del Sur and many other areas of the island.All the more so since the very recent re-districting which created a 3rd Congressional district just for the city,the Lone District of Illigan City,Lanao del Norte Province.One exception however is the town of Pantao Ragat,ruled by the Lantud family.All other towns in the province are ruiled by the Dimaporo clan,a solid political dynasty who,if they are not ruling a town themselves have closely positioned allies who do so.This interesting dynamic resulted in a moderate flare up in this year's Election Season.
The Dimaporos,controls 21 of the provinces 22 municipalities and have long been at odds with the much smaller Lantud family,despite a blood relationship.Vice Mayor Lacson Mangotara Lantud is married to a Dimaporo,Eleanor Dimaporo Lantud who assumed her husband's former role as mayor when he finished his 3rd (and maximum term) in 2007.Vice Mayor's maternal relations,the Mangorara family are arch rivals of the Dimaporos and so the Lantuds have thrown their lot in against the province's strongest clan.
Eleanor Dimaporo Lantud is not only a Dimaporo,she is the 1st cousin of the clan's sitting patriarch,Congressman Abdullah Dimaporo who represents the province's 2nd Congressional District.It was Congressman Dimaporo who on December 6th,2009 asked the government to extend Martial Law over the town of Pantao Ragat.Martial Law had just been declared 1 day previously for Manguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provinces along with Cotabato City,to also cover Pantano Ragat.His rationale he claimed was that Vice Mayor Lantud personally controlled a 200 man paramilitary in the form of CAFGU (Civlian Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit,a cornerstone of the AFP,or Armed Forces of the Philippine's counterinsurgency programme).No mattwe that CAFGU are an official arm of local government sublimated to the AFP.He cited an example where he claims Lantud burned an entire barangay in his own municipality simply because he wanted to gain control over a considerable number of coconut palm trees growing there.He refused to name this barangay,didnt produce a single witness or piece of corroborating evidence.Not suprisingly then,his application was denied.
Of course Congressmen,or"Solon"as they are called in the Pilippines,are not allowed to even actually apply for such things.Only a provincial governor can actually make the request.It helps though when the governor happens to be your own son,who took your place when you had served the maximum number of terms.Governor Khalid Quibranza Dimaporo then went on the offencive and ordered a"Preventive Suspension"of 60 days for Lantud,effective January 21st,2010.
On Feburary 5th, 2010 Lantud filed a Petition with the governmental authority for elections,COMELEC,claiming that the suspension was illegal for having been implemented during an Election Season.Lantud cited 2 statutes:
I)Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code which states that such suspensions must first have COMELEC authorisation,
II) COMELEC Resolution,promulgated in December of 2009 which offers that such illegal suspensions are punishable by 6 years imprisonment.He charged Gov.Dimaporo,Acting Provincial Administrator Joselito Quibranza (a relative of the governor,et al) and PNP (Philippine National Police) Director of the PPO,or Provincial Police Office,Orlando Benas.
On March 18th, 2010,fourty well armed men belonging to a Dimaporo allied paramilitary entered Pantao and attempted to storm city hall.In running gun battles that lasted much of that afternoon the AFP's 43IB (Infantry Battalion) and the"Lantud paramilitary,"the 5IB CAFGU were able to defeat the invaders despite their having been significantly reinforced shortly after the initial push.Only 1 person was reported killed,a Dimaporo guerilla.
During the melee it was reported that Congressman Dimaporo personally phoned the 43rd's local pointman and asked for a ceasefire,telling the man,"They are my men."Reportedly the AFP officer responded that Dimaporo,as a politician for many years,should be well aware of the circumstances since a COMELEC weapons ban was in effect for the entire Election Season.Dimaporo then went on local radio station DXIC to deny any culpability and connection to the invading force.
Interestingly,most media have reported the event as a relatively minor event where"some armed men"went to"visit"an "ally of Dimaporo's."Lantud reportedly jumped the gun and called in the AFP who in responding were fired upon, responded and inadvertantly killing 1 man.That is as far as the reporting goes.As for background,all sources have only offered a single activist's assertion,defending the Dimaporo version of events.
On Tuesday,April 22nd, 2010 at 330PM in the town of Maguntao in Lanao del Norte Province,Lantud's father was himself involved in an incident.Inurac Lantud is running for mayor of the town,much to the chagrin of Dimaporo ally,incumbent Mayor Jabber Azis.On the day in question,Inurac's chief Organiser,Kunum Radto Manguranda was surrounded by 9 men on motorcycles,including the aforementioned mayor's brother Samuel Bocor Azis.Samuel Azis told Manguranda that his brother,the mayor,wanted to talk to him at city hall about his support and legwork for Inurac Lantud.He then ordered Manguranda to get on the back of his motorbike.Not feeling as if he had a choice the man complied.
Approaching Barangay Poblacion (the location of city hall) Manguranda shifted his weight so as to spill the motorcycle and did so in front of Lantud's campaign headquarters. When the accident happened Lantud supporters ran to the scene including 1 of Lantud's 2 PNP (Police) officer bodyguards.Attempting to stop a physical melee the police officer was pulling his pistol when Samuel Azis beat him to the draw,to avoid being shot himself the officer fired a single round in Azis' stomach.This of course led to much more pitched violence and so the 601 Brigade's Col.Leo Ferrer ended up deploying the 15IB under LtCol.Allan Hambala to try and prevent the violence from spreading. Shortly afterwards he also redployed 2 APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers) via the 43rd IB.
In the end a possible massacre was averted so that all in all one can say that it was a"peaceful election" as far as Mindanao goes.
The largest population centre,Iligan City,is fairly safe and generally free from the overt violence effecting Lanao del Sur and many other areas of the island.All the more so since the very recent re-districting which created a 3rd Congressional district just for the city,the Lone District of Illigan City,Lanao del Norte Province.One exception however is the town of Pantao Ragat,ruled by the Lantud family.All other towns in the province are ruiled by the Dimaporo clan,a solid political dynasty who,if they are not ruling a town themselves have closely positioned allies who do so.This interesting dynamic resulted in a moderate flare up in this year's Election Season.
The Dimaporos,controls 21 of the provinces 22 municipalities and have long been at odds with the much smaller Lantud family,despite a blood relationship.Vice Mayor Lacson Mangotara Lantud is married to a Dimaporo,Eleanor Dimaporo Lantud who assumed her husband's former role as mayor when he finished his 3rd (and maximum term) in 2007.Vice Mayor's maternal relations,the Mangorara family are arch rivals of the Dimaporos and so the Lantuds have thrown their lot in against the province's strongest clan.
Eleanor Dimaporo Lantud is not only a Dimaporo,she is the 1st cousin of the clan's sitting patriarch,Congressman Abdullah Dimaporo who represents the province's 2nd Congressional District.It was Congressman Dimaporo who on December 6th,2009 asked the government to extend Martial Law over the town of Pantao Ragat.Martial Law had just been declared 1 day previously for Manguindanao and Sultan Kudarat Provinces along with Cotabato City,to also cover Pantano Ragat.His rationale he claimed was that Vice Mayor Lantud personally controlled a 200 man paramilitary in the form of CAFGU (Civlian Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit,a cornerstone of the AFP,or Armed Forces of the Philippine's counterinsurgency programme).No mattwe that CAFGU are an official arm of local government sublimated to the AFP.He cited an example where he claims Lantud burned an entire barangay in his own municipality simply because he wanted to gain control over a considerable number of coconut palm trees growing there.He refused to name this barangay,didnt produce a single witness or piece of corroborating evidence.Not suprisingly then,his application was denied.
Of course Congressmen,or"Solon"as they are called in the Pilippines,are not allowed to even actually apply for such things.Only a provincial governor can actually make the request.It helps though when the governor happens to be your own son,who took your place when you had served the maximum number of terms.Governor Khalid Quibranza Dimaporo then went on the offencive and ordered a"Preventive Suspension"of 60 days for Lantud,effective January 21st,2010.
On Feburary 5th, 2010 Lantud filed a Petition with the governmental authority for elections,COMELEC,claiming that the suspension was illegal for having been implemented during an Election Season.Lantud cited 2 statutes:
I)Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code which states that such suspensions must first have COMELEC authorisation,
II) COMELEC Resolution,promulgated in December of 2009 which offers that such illegal suspensions are punishable by 6 years imprisonment.He charged Gov.Dimaporo,Acting Provincial Administrator Joselito Quibranza (a relative of the governor,et al) and PNP (Philippine National Police) Director of the PPO,or Provincial Police Office,Orlando Benas.
On March 18th, 2010,fourty well armed men belonging to a Dimaporo allied paramilitary entered Pantao and attempted to storm city hall.In running gun battles that lasted much of that afternoon the AFP's 43IB (Infantry Battalion) and the"Lantud paramilitary,"the 5IB CAFGU were able to defeat the invaders despite their having been significantly reinforced shortly after the initial push.Only 1 person was reported killed,a Dimaporo guerilla.
During the melee it was reported that Congressman Dimaporo personally phoned the 43rd's local pointman and asked for a ceasefire,telling the man,"They are my men."Reportedly the AFP officer responded that Dimaporo,as a politician for many years,should be well aware of the circumstances since a COMELEC weapons ban was in effect for the entire Election Season.Dimaporo then went on local radio station DXIC to deny any culpability and connection to the invading force.
Interestingly,most media have reported the event as a relatively minor event where"some armed men"went to"visit"an "ally of Dimaporo's."Lantud reportedly jumped the gun and called in the AFP who in responding were fired upon, responded and inadvertantly killing 1 man.That is as far as the reporting goes.As for background,all sources have only offered a single activist's assertion,defending the Dimaporo version of events.
On Tuesday,April 22nd, 2010 at 330PM in the town of Maguntao in Lanao del Norte Province,Lantud's father was himself involved in an incident.Inurac Lantud is running for mayor of the town,much to the chagrin of Dimaporo ally,incumbent Mayor Jabber Azis.On the day in question,Inurac's chief Organiser,Kunum Radto Manguranda was surrounded by 9 men on motorcycles,including the aforementioned mayor's brother Samuel Bocor Azis.Samuel Azis told Manguranda that his brother,the mayor,wanted to talk to him at city hall about his support and legwork for Inurac Lantud.He then ordered Manguranda to get on the back of his motorbike.Not feeling as if he had a choice the man complied.
Approaching Barangay Poblacion (the location of city hall) Manguranda shifted his weight so as to spill the motorcycle and did so in front of Lantud's campaign headquarters. When the accident happened Lantud supporters ran to the scene including 1 of Lantud's 2 PNP (Police) officer bodyguards.Attempting to stop a physical melee the police officer was pulling his pistol when Samuel Azis beat him to the draw,to avoid being shot himself the officer fired a single round in Azis' stomach.This of course led to much more pitched violence and so the 601 Brigade's Col.Leo Ferrer ended up deploying the 15IB under LtCol.Allan Hambala to try and prevent the violence from spreading. Shortly afterwards he also redployed 2 APCs (Armoured Personnel Carriers) via the 43rd IB.
In the end a possible massacre was averted so that all in all one can say that it was a"peaceful election" as far as Mindanao goes.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Political Developments,Second Quarter of 2010,Part III:The June 3rd Re-Balloting in Lanao del Sur Province
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Thursday, June 24, 2010
Political Developments for the Second Quarter of 2010, Part II: 2010 Election and Election Related Violence in Lanao del Sur Province
Lanao, both de Sur and de Norte Provinces are the traditional lands of the Maranao (Maranaw) Tribe and their myriad of principalities, the equivalent of "Sultunates." To most non-Muslim Filipinos however the two provinces are known as being a hotbed of insurgency and violence. In fact, they are downright famous for Election Related Violence along with political dishonesty, typified by the Hello Garci scandal (in 2004 President Arroyo was audio taped during an NBI, or National Bureau of Investigation, voice recording as she made a phone call to a COMELEC Commissioner in which the two discussed padding and shaving votes). Sadly, Election Day 2010 was no different with seven communities in Lanao del Sur being declared "Failed Elections" by the national electoral authority, COMELEC. As I mentioned in an earlier entry there was a re-balloting on June 3rd but even at this late date (June 24th at posting), only one of the seven towns given a re-balloting on June 3rd have even come close to having a final tally.
On Sunday, June 20th, the son of COMELEC Commissioner Elias Yusoph , 22 year old Nuralden Yusoph, was kidnapped in Lanao del Sur's Marawi City. On his third day in town, killing time as he awaits a visa to take additional religious studies in Saudi Arabia, he was grabbed, just as he left Bato Ali Mosque at Fourth Prayer. The kidnappers of the younger Yusoph then contacted his family at 10PM with their demands. Instead of a large amount of money, the usual demand, the kidnappers instead are asking for a nullification of the voting tallies in four Lanao del Sur communities:
1) Masiu
2) Taraka
3) Malabang
4) Pikong
The NBI deployed a top investigative team from Manila to its regional office in Iligan City (Lanao del Norte Province). The four investigators arrived on Tuesday, June 22nd. The Marawi City Council of Elders under Sheikh Guru are also attempting to mediate a settlement but already the PNP (Philippine National Police) is telling the press that it is "probablly" due to "Rido" (Clan Feud). Of course noone has even wasted time asking the PNP why a Rido would involve the nullification of votes but...
The Election Season starts the spring before, when people begin testing the waters with grand proclamations to the media, and to the communities whom they hope to "serve." It really heats up when "Declarations of Candidacy" are filed at Regional COMELEC offices. In Lanao the first notable case of violence took place on October 29th, 2009, about a week before COMELEC even began accepting Declarations. On the day in question, at Marawi City Hall in Barangay Fort Bag-ong, a large group of "Flying Voters" (illegaly registered in a community not their own so as to be able to vote for a candidate who pays them) from Iligan City in the adjacent province of Lanao del Norte were lined up awaiting registration when two men casually walked over and tossed a hand grenade into the line. Three people died but only 22 year old Jeffrey Navarro from Iligan City had his name released. Twenty-one others were wounded, six critically.
The group in question had received a P100 down payment (less than 2 Euros), a snack and a jeepney (public transportation) ride to and from the city hall. If they had proven to have voted for the candidate who pays them they were to get P1,000 which is a very small amount considering some people can make P10,000 (per family). The price increases considerably as Election Day approaches.
On Election Day, Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 930AM, on Anai Pakpak Avenue, in Marawi City, three rifle grenades landed at a poll site situated at Amai Pakpak Elementary School (which is popularly known as the "Pilot School"). The nineteen clustered barangays that the school was servicing were unable to vote. Polls open at 7 AM, when possible, so the residents of those nineteen barangays had all of 2.5 hours to get their voices heard. Disenfranchisement is a huge and terrible problem in the Philippines and the problems becomes much worse the further you get from Manila.
With all the problems one faces in Mindanao, having had just since the end of November 2009, Martial Law, State of Emergency (ongoing) and State of Calamity, one might offer that Voter Disenfranchisement is a lesser problem, to say the least. For those of us well versed in insurgency however the story is much different. Lack of access to the democratic process is a driving force in illicit violence and terrorism as well (Dr. Abadi from the Kennedy School has done some great work and with regard to the Southern Philippines. Abadi served here with the US Special Forces so he has alot of insights to offer on other levels as well, but I will save that for a later entry).
Also in Marawi City on that same day, an IED (Improvised Explosive Device, as in "bomb") packed inside of a navy blue Isuzu SUV sitting 70 meters away from the polling site at Saduc Elementary School, in Barangay Saduc Proper, also in Marawi City, detonated. No casulaties reported but again, that poll site was closed as a result leading to more Voter Disenfranchisement. Car/Truckbombs, technically known as VBIEDS, or Vehicle Borne IEDs, are rare on Mindanao so that this particular detonation is especially worth noting.
Also on Election Day, at 1245PM in Barangay Parao, in the municipality of Kapai, in Lanao del Sur Povince, Kobaib Gauraki shot his cousin and political opponent Mamak Sangco to death with an M16.Gauraki is the son of mayoral candidate Kimal Gauraki and shot Sangco as he neared the polling site.
During polling at Tugaya Central Elementary School in the town of Tugaya in Lanao del Sur Province, an M16 sprayed waiting voters and wounded a 12 year old boy and 19 year old woman. Both were brought to Amai Pakpak Provincial Hospital in Marawi City. Sadly,the woman, Asila Panda, died on the operating table at 4PM that day, May 10, 2010.
The June 3rd re-balloting was free of notable violence but not of underhanded dealing. PNP, or the Philippine National Police from PRO-13, or Police Regional Office for Region #13, also known as PRO-Caraga (Region 13, in Northeast Mindanao is also known as Caraga) as well as PNP trainees from throughout the island were deployed as extra security in the 7 affected towns. To avoid the lack of BEIs (Board of Election Inspectors, the personnel who manually verify tallies and supervise the overall process, almost always performed by public school teachers who are compelled by law to do this for a very nominal fee), which is what caused six of the seven towns to fail on May 10th had COMELEC attorneys who were used instead of the usual local public school teachers. The PNP, via individual officers speaking unofficially, reports open cheating including offers of up to P300,000 (US6,500) for selling the remaining empty ballots. That amounts to roughly 1.5 years salary for a PO2, a medium level officer). To give one an even better idea, that is nearly two years salary for the public school teachers who usually fufill that role.
Finally, on July 2nd, 2010 the kidnappers of Nuralden Yusoph changed their demands and added P25 Million to their previous demand for nullification of votes in four Lanao del Sur municipalities. Shortly after that new demand the Kidnap Crisis Team launched a raid on a three story building in Marawi City, searching for the young man only to come away empty handed.
On July 19th, 2010 at 510PM in Barangay Carmen in Cagayan del Oro City, in the neighbouring province of Misamis Occidental, COMELEC Commissioner Yusoph's son Nuralden was finally released in good health. Officials are saying that the kidnappers delivered the young man by automobile from the location in Lanao del Sur where he was being secuestered. Hampered by heavy Monsoon rains that happened a bit later than planned, the authorities were unable to capture the automobile or its other occupants...COUGH.
Less than an hour after Yusoph was dropped off near the intersections of Macanhan and Masterson, the newly elected governor of Lanao del Sur made a televised appearance to applaud his own initiatives.This despite travelling time taking approximately 2.5 hours during dry season. The jist? Some have remarked that the "release" of the young man was entirely staged, as opposed to "stage managed," and that the governor might have had a connection to the incident.
Needless to say this is an extremely serious charge but as of late many serious accusations have been flying back and forth.
Nuralden himself remarked on how happy he was to be free, and that several times during his ordeal he was convinced that he would never see his 3 month old son again. The happy young man also said that he had been kept blindfolded the entire time and fed merely a single meal per day (nobody thought to inform him, at the press conference, that a single meal a day is just about what 90% of Mindanao gets to eat, and some get less than that. He also told the media that he had been threatened with imminent execution at least nine times during his captivity.
The leader of the group who had kidnapped and held Nuralden Yusoph was a Muslim paramilitary leader by the name of Dimaporo "Kumander Delta" Dimasacal, who happens to be the 1st cousin to ex-Congresswoman Bai Faiza Biston Maniri Dumarpa, whose husband Salic Dumarpa just ran for his wife's former Congressional seat, the 1st District of Lanao del Sur. Salic Dumarpa lost that race to Hussein Pangandaman, son of ex-DAR (Department of Agricultural Reform) Secretary Nasser Pangandaman by a margin of 3,401 votes.
The reason why this information is relevant is because it is now generally believed that Commissioner Yusoph was paid a series of bribes by candidates in Lanao del Sur. Some, like Salic Dumarpa, are less than happy about their having lost (some, unlike in Dumarpa's case, "massively lost") and are in the process of exacting refunds, money Yusoph reportedly has lost or is otherwise refusing to surrender. It turns out, according to "observers," that Salic was simply outbid by Hussein Pangandaman who paid Yusoph a much larger sum, ensuring his win in the Election.
In a recent edition of an online botique journal dedicated to armed conflict (NOT mine), Brigadier General Rey Ardo of the AFP's 103rd Brigade, which is Headquartered in Marawi City and has Operational Control (OPCON) of the entire Lanao del Sur Province, has added fuel to the flames of suggestion by openly declaring that the kidnapping was payback for people who bribed Commissioner Yusoph and then lost. Commissioner Yusoph is understandably livid and has threatened the General with civil action. Not suprisingly the general then went on the defencive denying that he had ever made those comments.
Prior to his appointment to COMELEC Elias Yusoph was a government Prosecutor for 32 years, most of which he spent working in Marawi City.
On Sunday, June 20th, the son of COMELEC Commissioner Elias Yusoph , 22 year old Nuralden Yusoph, was kidnapped in Lanao del Sur's Marawi City. On his third day in town, killing time as he awaits a visa to take additional religious studies in Saudi Arabia, he was grabbed, just as he left Bato Ali Mosque at Fourth Prayer. The kidnappers of the younger Yusoph then contacted his family at 10PM with their demands. Instead of a large amount of money, the usual demand, the kidnappers instead are asking for a nullification of the voting tallies in four Lanao del Sur communities:
1) Masiu
2) Taraka
3) Malabang
4) Pikong
The NBI deployed a top investigative team from Manila to its regional office in Iligan City (Lanao del Norte Province). The four investigators arrived on Tuesday, June 22nd. The Marawi City Council of Elders under Sheikh Guru are also attempting to mediate a settlement but already the PNP (Philippine National Police) is telling the press that it is "probablly" due to "Rido" (Clan Feud). Of course noone has even wasted time asking the PNP why a Rido would involve the nullification of votes but...
The Election Season starts the spring before, when people begin testing the waters with grand proclamations to the media, and to the communities whom they hope to "serve." It really heats up when "Declarations of Candidacy" are filed at Regional COMELEC offices. In Lanao the first notable case of violence took place on October 29th, 2009, about a week before COMELEC even began accepting Declarations. On the day in question, at Marawi City Hall in Barangay Fort Bag-ong, a large group of "Flying Voters" (illegaly registered in a community not their own so as to be able to vote for a candidate who pays them) from Iligan City in the adjacent province of Lanao del Norte were lined up awaiting registration when two men casually walked over and tossed a hand grenade into the line. Three people died but only 22 year old Jeffrey Navarro from Iligan City had his name released. Twenty-one others were wounded, six critically.
The group in question had received a P100 down payment (less than 2 Euros), a snack and a jeepney (public transportation) ride to and from the city hall. If they had proven to have voted for the candidate who pays them they were to get P1,000 which is a very small amount considering some people can make P10,000 (per family). The price increases considerably as Election Day approaches.
On Election Day, Monday, May 10th, 2010 at 930AM, on Anai Pakpak Avenue, in Marawi City, three rifle grenades landed at a poll site situated at Amai Pakpak Elementary School (which is popularly known as the "Pilot School"). The nineteen clustered barangays that the school was servicing were unable to vote. Polls open at 7 AM, when possible, so the residents of those nineteen barangays had all of 2.5 hours to get their voices heard. Disenfranchisement is a huge and terrible problem in the Philippines and the problems becomes much worse the further you get from Manila.
With all the problems one faces in Mindanao, having had just since the end of November 2009, Martial Law, State of Emergency (ongoing) and State of Calamity, one might offer that Voter Disenfranchisement is a lesser problem, to say the least. For those of us well versed in insurgency however the story is much different. Lack of access to the democratic process is a driving force in illicit violence and terrorism as well (Dr. Abadi from the Kennedy School has done some great work and with regard to the Southern Philippines. Abadi served here with the US Special Forces so he has alot of insights to offer on other levels as well, but I will save that for a later entry).
Also in Marawi City on that same day, an IED (Improvised Explosive Device, as in "bomb") packed inside of a navy blue Isuzu SUV sitting 70 meters away from the polling site at Saduc Elementary School, in Barangay Saduc Proper, also in Marawi City, detonated. No casulaties reported but again, that poll site was closed as a result leading to more Voter Disenfranchisement. Car/Truckbombs, technically known as VBIEDS, or Vehicle Borne IEDs, are rare on Mindanao so that this particular detonation is especially worth noting.
Also on Election Day, at 1245PM in Barangay Parao, in the municipality of Kapai, in Lanao del Sur Povince, Kobaib Gauraki shot his cousin and political opponent Mamak Sangco to death with an M16.Gauraki is the son of mayoral candidate Kimal Gauraki and shot Sangco as he neared the polling site.
During polling at Tugaya Central Elementary School in the town of Tugaya in Lanao del Sur Province, an M16 sprayed waiting voters and wounded a 12 year old boy and 19 year old woman. Both were brought to Amai Pakpak Provincial Hospital in Marawi City. Sadly,the woman, Asila Panda, died on the operating table at 4PM that day, May 10, 2010.
The June 3rd re-balloting was free of notable violence but not of underhanded dealing. PNP, or the Philippine National Police from PRO-13, or Police Regional Office for Region #13, also known as PRO-Caraga (Region 13, in Northeast Mindanao is also known as Caraga) as well as PNP trainees from throughout the island were deployed as extra security in the 7 affected towns. To avoid the lack of BEIs (Board of Election Inspectors, the personnel who manually verify tallies and supervise the overall process, almost always performed by public school teachers who are compelled by law to do this for a very nominal fee), which is what caused six of the seven towns to fail on May 10th had COMELEC attorneys who were used instead of the usual local public school teachers. The PNP, via individual officers speaking unofficially, reports open cheating including offers of up to P300,000 (US6,500) for selling the remaining empty ballots. That amounts to roughly 1.5 years salary for a PO2, a medium level officer). To give one an even better idea, that is nearly two years salary for the public school teachers who usually fufill that role.
Finally, on July 2nd, 2010 the kidnappers of Nuralden Yusoph changed their demands and added P25 Million to their previous demand for nullification of votes in four Lanao del Sur municipalities. Shortly after that new demand the Kidnap Crisis Team launched a raid on a three story building in Marawi City, searching for the young man only to come away empty handed.
On July 19th, 2010 at 510PM in Barangay Carmen in Cagayan del Oro City, in the neighbouring province of Misamis Occidental, COMELEC Commissioner Yusoph's son Nuralden was finally released in good health. Officials are saying that the kidnappers delivered the young man by automobile from the location in Lanao del Sur where he was being secuestered. Hampered by heavy Monsoon rains that happened a bit later than planned, the authorities were unable to capture the automobile or its other occupants...COUGH.
Less than an hour after Yusoph was dropped off near the intersections of Macanhan and Masterson, the newly elected governor of Lanao del Sur made a televised appearance to applaud his own initiatives.This despite travelling time taking approximately 2.5 hours during dry season. The jist? Some have remarked that the "release" of the young man was entirely staged, as opposed to "stage managed," and that the governor might have had a connection to the incident.
Needless to say this is an extremely serious charge but as of late many serious accusations have been flying back and forth.
Nuralden himself remarked on how happy he was to be free, and that several times during his ordeal he was convinced that he would never see his 3 month old son again. The happy young man also said that he had been kept blindfolded the entire time and fed merely a single meal per day (nobody thought to inform him, at the press conference, that a single meal a day is just about what 90% of Mindanao gets to eat, and some get less than that. He also told the media that he had been threatened with imminent execution at least nine times during his captivity.
The leader of the group who had kidnapped and held Nuralden Yusoph was a Muslim paramilitary leader by the name of Dimaporo "Kumander Delta" Dimasacal, who happens to be the 1st cousin to ex-Congresswoman Bai Faiza Biston Maniri Dumarpa, whose husband Salic Dumarpa just ran for his wife's former Congressional seat, the 1st District of Lanao del Sur. Salic Dumarpa lost that race to Hussein Pangandaman, son of ex-DAR (Department of Agricultural Reform) Secretary Nasser Pangandaman by a margin of 3,401 votes.
The reason why this information is relevant is because it is now generally believed that Commissioner Yusoph was paid a series of bribes by candidates in Lanao del Sur. Some, like Salic Dumarpa, are less than happy about their having lost (some, unlike in Dumarpa's case, "massively lost") and are in the process of exacting refunds, money Yusoph reportedly has lost or is otherwise refusing to surrender. It turns out, according to "observers," that Salic was simply outbid by Hussein Pangandaman who paid Yusoph a much larger sum, ensuring his win in the Election.
In a recent edition of an online botique journal dedicated to armed conflict (NOT mine), Brigadier General Rey Ardo of the AFP's 103rd Brigade, which is Headquartered in Marawi City and has Operational Control (OPCON) of the entire Lanao del Sur Province, has added fuel to the flames of suggestion by openly declaring that the kidnapping was payback for people who bribed Commissioner Yusoph and then lost. Commissioner Yusoph is understandably livid and has threatened the General with civil action. Not suprisingly the general then went on the defencive denying that he had ever made those comments.
Prior to his appointment to COMELEC Elias Yusoph was a government Prosecutor for 32 years, most of which he spent working in Marawi City.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Political Developments,Second Quarter of 2010:Election Related Violence
Since I was discussing Maguindanao Province in my last entry I thought that I might just pick up right where I left off and concentrate on the region at large.At the most basic unit of governance is the"Barangay."Named after the ocean going outriggers ("Balangays") with which the Austronesian Peoples,of whom all Filipinos (except for Negritos) are part of.Traditionally Filipinos believe that each pre-Hispanic village consisted of a single outrigger,or"Barangay"and that this is how most of the islands were populated before the coming of Magellan in the 16th Century.
There are smaller units,known as"Sitios"(Sites) as well as another lesser unit in rural areas known as a"Purok" (Zone) but there is no level of governance below the Barangay.Above the Barangay is the Municipality.The Municipality can be either a"Town,"a"City"or a"Chartered City."Each Municipality consists of a collection of Barangays.A Municipality's classification as a Town or City depends upon its generated income and the size of its population.Originally the financial watermark was P20 Million (US460,000) in income generated anually without taking allotments from the national government into consideration.After intense lobbying from the"League of Cities"who feared that their own allotments would lessen if enough towns converted into cities,this watermark was raised to P100 Million (US2.5 Million),a huge sum in Philippine terms.Population requirements were also raised to 150,000 residents),though that is far less of an onus.
For purposes of clarification I must add that contrary to popular belief,not all cities are"Chartered Cities."The term"Chartered City"specifically refers to cities which,by an Act of Congress,have been granted specific,special powers not regularly granted to other cities.I also...hey!wake up!...need to point out that rare cities also contain"Districts."Districts are like"Regions,"they don't play a role in Governance,only in the distribution of services.Likewise,certain cities are granted the status of"Metropolitan Areas,"again relating only to infrastructure,delivery of services.On Mindanao only Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province and Davao City in Davao del Sur Province have been granted"Metropolitan Area"status.Likewise,only Davao City has"Districts"though Pagadian City on the Zamboanga Peninsula seems rto be moving in that direction with city officials sometimes referring to certain areas as"Districts."WAKE UP!!!
Municipalities are grouped together into"Provinces."Depending upon the size of the island a province can encompass an entire island,as is the case with Basilan Island/Basilan Province or a single island can hold dozens of provinces as is the case with Mainland Mindanao.Additionally,a province can be spread out over dozens of islands,as is the case with Sulu Province.As if this isn't confusing enough for the uninitiated,smaller islands are almost always linked administratively to larger islands despite an"Island"serving no purpose in terms of Governance.For example,both Basilan and Sulu Provinces are administratively attached to Mindanao,they ARE provinces of Mindanao.Because"Islands"aren't a cog in Governance the term"Administrative"refers to infrastructural logistics.
Above the Provincial Level is the"Region."Above the Region only stands the"National Government."
Simple thus far,right?Hahahaha.Suuuuuuuure...
As I have said,the lowest level of Governance is the Barangay.Each Barangay has a"Chairman,"or as they are popularly known,"Captain."The Chairman/Captain sits above a"Barangay Council"which has 7"Barangay Councillors,"or as they are more popularly known,"Barangay Kagawads."Each Councillor/Kagawad deals with 1 of 7 areas of Governance:
1) Finances/Treasury
2) Health
3) Education
4) Tourism
5) Development/Infrastructure
6) Peace and Order (local term for"Law and Order"/Security
7) Agriculture
each of these areas have 3 person committees composed of appointed members of the barangay with the respective Councillor/Kagawads serving as the Chairperson of that committee.In addition there is an 8th Councillor/Kagawad who sits as an ex-officio member of the Council by virtue of his or her position as Chairperson of the"Sangguiniang Kabataan,"or"SK" (Youth Council).Aged 15 to 18 this Councillor/Kagawad represents Youth Interests as well as Chairing the Barangay Council's"Sports"committee.
At the Municipal Level there is a"Mayor,"a"Vice Mayor"and then just as at the Barangay Level there is a"Municipal Council"which is formatted exactly like the Barangay Councils.Each Councillow handles a specific area of Governance and chairs a committee mandated for that respective subject.Above the Municipal Level is the Provincial Level.The"Governor"and"Vice Governor"fufill the same roles as the Mayor and Vice Mayor.Likewise the Provincial"Governor"and"Vice Governor"sit above a"Provincial Council"which is formatted exactly like the Barangay and Municipal Councils,each Provincial Councillor tasked with just 1 area of Governance but having an equal vote on provincial issues.
Regionally,except for the nation's 2"Autonomous Regions"(ARMM,or Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao on Mindanao and"CAR,"or Cordilleran Autonomous Region" on Luzon) there is no system of Governance.Regions serve an infrastructural and logistical role in the distribution of services from the National Level.In many ways though it merely serves to create confusing redundancies.I will relegate this entry to a basic explanation of the overall structure and leave the critiques for a later,more in depth entry.
In addition,there is a parallel system of Governance that is itself a redundamcy;Each Municipality has an"ABC,"or"Association of Barangay Chairmen/Captains."All Barangay Chairmen/Captains belong and amongst themselves elect their own"Chairman/Captain."Then,each Municipal ABC Chairman/Captain sits in the"Provincial ABC,"which again elects its own"Chairman"or"Captain."All Provincial ABC Chairmen/Captains sit in a National ABC which itself elects a single"Chairman"or"Captain."The idea is to provide plurality of view of not an actual check or balance but in reality it is an entirely worthless endeavour.
The synchronised National and 0local Elections ("Local"as in Province and Municipality) took place on May,10,2010.The Barangay and SK Elections are set to take place in October of 2010.Regional Elections are set to take place in August of 2011.
On Wednesday March 19th,2010 Bai Mona Ampatuan, the principal of Shariff Aguak National High School in the provincial capitol of Maguindanao,Shariff Aguak had her home hit by 2 grenades thrown by 2 men riding tandem on a motorcycle wounding a 30 year old woman and her 2 kids who just happened to be walking by.Although Ms.Ampatuan IS a member of THE Ampatuan Clan (as in the"Maguindanao Massacre") it is believed that THIS attack is unrelated to that event and is instead due to recent extortion attempts made against public educational institutions in Maguindanao Province.Unfortunately most Filipino Muslims have little respect for secular education and find public institutions fair game since they are of course a product of the Philippine Government.Then their intellectuals bemoan the lack of government services in Muslim Communities.Gee,I wonder why...
On Sunday March 21st, 2010 at 11 AM a jeepney (form of public transportation) pulled into the Philippines Phoenix Petroleum gas station located on National Hiway in Barangay Poblacion,Ampatuan,Maguindanao Province.The attendant noticed after the jeepney had left that it had left behind a cardboard box.Walking over to it he was disturbed by the threatening writing on top of the package in that it threatened to kill the station owner.The young man stupidly-but bravely-pushed the box to the side of the hiway and immediately told his supervisor.The supervisor,the station manager,then called the authorities who discovered that the box contained an IED (Improvised Explosive Device,as in"bomb").
Later that day,just after sunset,the home of the station's owner was hit by at least 10 60MM mortar shells wounding 3 familiy members.Who is this beleagured atation owner you ask?None other than Zacarias Sangki,the OIC (Officer in Charge,meaning Govt.appointed,not elected) Mayor of Ampatuan (the municipality,not the Clan).Mr.Sangki gained his current political position after the Elected Mayor,Andal Ampatuan Sr.,was jailed over the aforementioned"Maguindanao Massacre"which took place on November 23rd,2009.For those unfamiliar with that sordid event Andal Sr.allegedly ordered his son Andal Jr.,the Mayor of another Maguindanowan municipality,Datu Unsay,to murder members of a rival Clan,the Mangudadatus.Unfortunately for Andal Sr.his son was a few arrows short of a quiver and he ALSO ended up killing nearly 3 dozen journalists and a handful of attorneys.The event marks the single worst case of directed violence towards journalists that the world has ever seen.The irony is that had Andal Jr.been intelligent enough to follow daddy's orders there wouldn't have been much more than couple of 3 sentence articles devoted to yet another case of Mindanowan blood letting.The Mangudadatus are no better than the Ampatuans and have just as many gory killings to their credit...just no journalists.
On Janurary 17th,2010,OIC Mayor Sangki had his 20 hectare farm ruined when gunmen burned down all buildings,including 11 houses,along with a crop nearly ready to harvest.The farm,located in Sitio Najib,Barangay Salman,also in Ampatuan is within a stone's throw of the barren field where the"Massacre"took place.Why is Zaraia Sangki so hated?Is it just aggravation that the former Vice Mayor now gets to sit in the hot seat while his former boss sits in stir?Of course not.Sangki almost immediately turned State's Witness against Andal Sr.and nearly 200 other individuals currently charged in the atrocity.Adding insult to injury Sangki,a member of a related Clan,wad ALSO a willing participant in the atrocity.
Only one day after the attack on the Sangki farm,Janurary 18th,2010,Dok Uling Salahuddin,a Barangay Captain in Barangay Kalkul in the municipality of Ampatuan,and a cousin of Zacarias Sangki was shot to death at 6PM by a single gunman.
On Tuesday April 6th,2010,51 year old Mohamadisa"Datu Haris"Sangki,brother of the OIC Mayor of Ampatuan,Zacarias Sangki,was riding his motorcycle past Cotabato City Plaza when 2 young men riding tandem on another motorcycle flagged him down at the corner of Sinsuat and S.K.Pendatun Streets in Barangay Poblacion #5.
Mr. Sangki pulled over and engaged the men in conversation when 1 of them suddenly stabbed him in the chest causing him to fall face down.The second man,later indentified as Kenny Osmena,walked over to the prostrate man and calmly shot him in the back with a 45 caliber pistol,killing him instantly.Both men then got onto their motorcycle and rode off towards the main town market.Though 5PM in the afternoon,and in full view of possibly thousands of people,not one person tried to intervene,or even pursue the gunmen.
On April 13th, 2010,in Sitio Masalay,Barangay Salman in the municipality of Ampatuan in Maguindanao Province,a CVO post (Civilian Volunteer Organisation,1 of 4 entities known collectively as"CAA,"or"Citizens Active Auxiliaries,"the cornerstone of the Government's Counterinsurgency Force Multiplication Programme.The CVO are sublimated to the PNP,or Philippine National Police and cannot bear arms unless their element has specifically been granted that right be the Secreatary of DILG,Department of the Interior and Local Government) was struck by eight M79 grenades without causing a single casualty.The attackers,Ampatuan Clan Paramilitary guerillas,were positioned in a nearby banana grove.Ironically perhaps,Barangay Salman is the same barangay where the"Massacre"took place.Not far away in Barangay Labulabu a 2nd CVO detachment was also attacked by M79 grenades and also managed to come out of it unscathed.Perhaps even more ironically,the Ampatuan Paramilitary is primarily composed of ex-CVO soldiers from that very same post!When President Arroyo first declared a State of Emergency over the Massacre most CVO personnel took to the hills knowing that they had no chance of living a law abiding life after being tarnished by their membership as Ampatuan Municipal (as well as Maguindanao Provincial) CVO.
The Ampatuan Paramilitary has been launching large scale assaults on the town since shortly after the"Massacre"took place.Despite a massive PNP and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) presence vis a vis the dedicated joint element known as"Task Force Alpha"the paramilitary has shelled the town with 60 MM mortars just about every night in March and April of 2010 with the attacks escalating as Election Day,May 10th draws near.It is not only the government that is suffering from the attacks as one can see with the repeated assaults on the Sangki family.Zacarias Sangki isn't even the Sangki to turn on the Ampatuans.The Vice Mayor of Shariff Aguak,the provincial capital of Maguindanao,is Rasul Sangki.In case his name is not familiar to you,he was the chief witness against Andal Ampatuan Jr.I will explore all that in a series of entries on the"Massacre"and all its just as bloody aftermath.It is worth noting here that the perennial enemies of the Ampatuan Clan,the MILF/BIAF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces),have also not been sitting idly by through all this drama heaped atop drama.
On Janurary 12th,2010 the BIAF's 105 Base Command under Kumander Usatadz Ameril Ombra Kato,almost always known simply by the moniker"Kumander Kato,"along with allied MNLF/BMA (Moro National Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Army) the parent organisation from which the MILF/BIAF broke away) guerillas engaged the Ampatuan Paramilitary in a 24 hour firefight in Sitio Balutukan,Barangay Kitapok in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan (a different town than the town of "Ampatuan" proper,also created by Andal Ampatuan Sr.when he sat as Governor of Maguindanao Province,for his family to rule).Several deaths resulted but both sides handled it quietly so no exact number is forthcoming.
On April 15th at the Hillside Resort in Datu Odin Sinsuat,also in Maguindanao Province,the owner of the resort and mayoral candidate for Datu Odin Sinsuat,Motasser Sabal and his brother and running mate for Vice Mayor, Abdulwahab "Abraham "Sabal were engaged in a campaign strategising session with a group of close supporters when a grenade was thrown into the room.A supporter,Kagi Ketong,of that same town was killed but the brothers were unhurt.
On Thursday April 22nd,2010 in Barangay Bako,Shariff Aguak,roughly 100 guerillas from the BIAF's 105th Base Command, which was at that time still under Kumander Kato (more about his being re-deployed in a subsequent entry),crossed the GPH (Govt.of the Philippines)-MILF/BIAF permimeter (the DMZ line) by about 1 kilometer and then managed to cross paths with 2 platoons from the 45IB (Infantry Battalion),which is itself based in Shariff Aguak's Barangay Poblacion.The predictable result was a 2 hour long firefight with no reported casulaties.
On Friday,April 30th, 2010 on the town of Ampatuan's 1st Street,in Purok 1,Barangay Kauran,an IED 20 meters away from National Hiway detonated just as gubneratorial candidate Esmael"Toto"Mangudadatu's convoy was passing en route to a political rally in the town's Barangay Poblacion.Luckily noone was injured or killed in the explosion.
On Saturday,May 8th,2010 OIC Mayor Zacarias Sangki's Phoenix petrol station was once again faced with an IED.This time the device was left by 2 men riding tandem on a motorcycle who rode non-chalantly over to the gas pumps and left it in a plastic bag.This time however the IED detonated but for an unkown reason failed to set off the petrol underneath it.No casualties.
On Election Day,Monday,May 10th,2010 at 1040AM,in Barangay Kapimpilan,North Kabuntalan,in that same province of Maguindanao,Sukarno Paglas was shot to death in the neck and chest,dying just 100 meters from a polling site as he tried to run into Barangay Bagungdang.The firefight that killed him was between the camps of 2 prospective vice Mayors,Bhernie Mamolintao Bagungdang (PMP) and Muslimin Guiama Baliwan (party unknown though initially it was said that it was with the camap of the Lakas-KAMPI-CMD candidate for Vice Mayor,Raul Vidal,a Bisayan).
That same day,May 10th,in Barangay Poblacion in Shariff Aguak,a poll site at Sasez Elementary School was hit by a grenade thrown by 2 men on a motorcycle.
Also on election Day,in the town of Datu Salibo,also in Maguindanao Province,voting was suspended after an RPG (BM2) attack near a PNP station.The road and bridge into the adjacent municipality of Datu Piang were closed down stranding many residents of both towns as fighting was heavy in Datu Piang as well.It began when BIAF snipers from the 105 Base Command,positioned in Barangay Pagatin,began firing on AFP soldiers in Barangay Dapiawan.The AFP in turn positioned snipers with 50 caliber Barrets in 3 positions along the Barangay's main road,and they continued firing into Barangay Pagatin for most of the day.
Also on Election Day,in S.K.Pendatun,another town in Maguindanao Province,50 meters from the poll site in Barangay Lao Lao,three IEDS were disarmed after being discovered throughout the day.The goal of course being to disrupt the elections and keeping people from voting at that site.The last device was found at 247PM.
Meanwhile,at 1145Am that morning in Barangay Datu Saligop,in the municipality of Datu Unsay,also in Maguindanao Province,the Ampatuan Paramilitary clashed with the 39IB shortly after three IEDs detonated in that barangay.As the firefight took place a 4th IED detonated as well with the government claiming no casualties,a point which I will address at the end of all my Election Day wrap up entries.
That evening at the 4th Call to Prayer (Islamic) 2 guerillas from the aforementioned Ampatuan Paramilitary were killed in a firefight with the 45th IB,just outside Barangay Poblacion in Ampatuan.
At 11AM Tuesday, May 25th, 2010,in Barangay Dansalan,in the town of Rajah Buayan in Maguindanao Province,Barangay Captain Datu Norodin Utto and his paramilitary came under attack from the Ampatuan Paramilitary.
Datu Utto's men,numbering roughly 50 gunmen were assaulted by 57MM and 90MM recoiless rifle and 60MM mortar volleys before being approached from different directions by approximately 200 guerillas being personally led by the new leader of the force,Bahnarin Ampatuan,a grandson of Andal Sr.,and like his grandfather and almost 70 other clansmen, under indictment for the massacre.No word on paramilitary casulaties but 2 civlians were killed.
Again on Thursday May 27th,from 7AM to 3PM an 8 hour long firefight took place after mortar volleys.In this last attack the Ampatuan Paramilitary were led by 2 underlings,Kagi Nasser and Kagi Sangatin.The 2,500 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,i.e."Refugees") that resulted from this clash are camping along the Sultan Buayan to Sultan sa Barougis National Hiway.
On June 2nd,2010,at 9AM,in Barangay Balunan in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat,the 6IB engaged 25 BIAF guerillas in from the 105th Base Command in a 1 hour firefight before the guerillas withdrew into the Liguasan Marsh.The BIAF had been on the National Hiway laying IEDs.AFP snipers manned 50 caliber Barrets and artillery batteries of 105 MM Howitzers pounded the marsh afterwards.It is worth noting that in early May leadership of the 105th Base Command,at least on paper,passed to an underling of Kumander Kato,sub-Kumander Zacaria Goma.Goma is a long time MILF/BIAF vet who is known for a more moderate outlook despite his having worked directly under Kato for nearly 2 decades. "Moderate"in this case is certainly a relative term.As I noted earlier,I will hash that out in a subsequent entry.
On June 8th,2010 in Sultan sa Barongis,in Maguindanao Province,the BIAF's 105th Base Command fighting under sub-Kumander Bedai Mosayden battled with a CVO formed out of a demobilised MNLF (Moror National Liberation Front) Brigade,under Kumander Abu Samin Sampalo,causing 2,500 people to become IDPs.The 33IB was on site but refused to get involved,as always citing its obligations under the GPH-MILF Peace Process.The fighting continued sporadically until Saturday,June 12th when it intensified causing even more IDPs and even spilled over into the municipality of Montawal and threatened to ignite an even wider sub-conflict with Kumander Urao's BIAF element.As of this posting, June 21st,2010,things have calmed down to an even simmer with sporadic clashes taking place and almost all of the IDPs still homeless.
There are smaller units,known as"Sitios"(Sites) as well as another lesser unit in rural areas known as a"Purok" (Zone) but there is no level of governance below the Barangay.Above the Barangay is the Municipality.The Municipality can be either a"Town,"a"City"or a"Chartered City."Each Municipality consists of a collection of Barangays.A Municipality's classification as a Town or City depends upon its generated income and the size of its population.Originally the financial watermark was P20 Million (US460,000) in income generated anually without taking allotments from the national government into consideration.After intense lobbying from the"League of Cities"who feared that their own allotments would lessen if enough towns converted into cities,this watermark was raised to P100 Million (US2.5 Million),a huge sum in Philippine terms.Population requirements were also raised to 150,000 residents),though that is far less of an onus.
For purposes of clarification I must add that contrary to popular belief,not all cities are"Chartered Cities."The term"Chartered City"specifically refers to cities which,by an Act of Congress,have been granted specific,special powers not regularly granted to other cities.I also...hey!wake up!...need to point out that rare cities also contain"Districts."Districts are like"Regions,"they don't play a role in Governance,only in the distribution of services.Likewise,certain cities are granted the status of"Metropolitan Areas,"again relating only to infrastructure,delivery of services.On Mindanao only Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province and Davao City in Davao del Sur Province have been granted"Metropolitan Area"status.Likewise,only Davao City has"Districts"though Pagadian City on the Zamboanga Peninsula seems rto be moving in that direction with city officials sometimes referring to certain areas as"Districts."WAKE UP!!!
Municipalities are grouped together into"Provinces."Depending upon the size of the island a province can encompass an entire island,as is the case with Basilan Island/Basilan Province or a single island can hold dozens of provinces as is the case with Mainland Mindanao.Additionally,a province can be spread out over dozens of islands,as is the case with Sulu Province.As if this isn't confusing enough for the uninitiated,smaller islands are almost always linked administratively to larger islands despite an"Island"serving no purpose in terms of Governance.For example,both Basilan and Sulu Provinces are administratively attached to Mindanao,they ARE provinces of Mindanao.Because"Islands"aren't a cog in Governance the term"Administrative"refers to infrastructural logistics.
Above the Provincial Level is the"Region."Above the Region only stands the"National Government."
Simple thus far,right?Hahahaha.Suuuuuuuure...
As I have said,the lowest level of Governance is the Barangay.Each Barangay has a"Chairman,"or as they are popularly known,"Captain."The Chairman/Captain sits above a"Barangay Council"which has 7"Barangay Councillors,"or as they are more popularly known,"Barangay Kagawads."Each Councillor/Kagawad deals with 1 of 7 areas of Governance:
1) Finances/Treasury
2) Health
3) Education
4) Tourism
5) Development/Infrastructure
6) Peace and Order (local term for"Law and Order"/Security
7) Agriculture
each of these areas have 3 person committees composed of appointed members of the barangay with the respective Councillor/Kagawads serving as the Chairperson of that committee.In addition there is an 8th Councillor/Kagawad who sits as an ex-officio member of the Council by virtue of his or her position as Chairperson of the"Sangguiniang Kabataan,"or"SK" (Youth Council).Aged 15 to 18 this Councillor/Kagawad represents Youth Interests as well as Chairing the Barangay Council's"Sports"committee.
At the Municipal Level there is a"Mayor,"a"Vice Mayor"and then just as at the Barangay Level there is a"Municipal Council"which is formatted exactly like the Barangay Councils.Each Councillow handles a specific area of Governance and chairs a committee mandated for that respective subject.Above the Municipal Level is the Provincial Level.The"Governor"and"Vice Governor"fufill the same roles as the Mayor and Vice Mayor.Likewise the Provincial"Governor"and"Vice Governor"sit above a"Provincial Council"which is formatted exactly like the Barangay and Municipal Councils,each Provincial Councillor tasked with just 1 area of Governance but having an equal vote on provincial issues.
Regionally,except for the nation's 2"Autonomous Regions"(ARMM,or Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao on Mindanao and"CAR,"or Cordilleran Autonomous Region" on Luzon) there is no system of Governance.Regions serve an infrastructural and logistical role in the distribution of services from the National Level.In many ways though it merely serves to create confusing redundancies.I will relegate this entry to a basic explanation of the overall structure and leave the critiques for a later,more in depth entry.
In addition,there is a parallel system of Governance that is itself a redundamcy;Each Municipality has an"ABC,"or"Association of Barangay Chairmen/Captains."All Barangay Chairmen/Captains belong and amongst themselves elect their own"Chairman/Captain."Then,each Municipal ABC Chairman/Captain sits in the"Provincial ABC,"which again elects its own"Chairman"or"Captain."All Provincial ABC Chairmen/Captains sit in a National ABC which itself elects a single"Chairman"or"Captain."The idea is to provide plurality of view of not an actual check or balance but in reality it is an entirely worthless endeavour.
The synchronised National and 0local Elections ("Local"as in Province and Municipality) took place on May,10,2010.The Barangay and SK Elections are set to take place in October of 2010.Regional Elections are set to take place in August of 2011.
On Wednesday March 19th,2010 Bai Mona Ampatuan, the principal of Shariff Aguak National High School in the provincial capitol of Maguindanao,Shariff Aguak had her home hit by 2 grenades thrown by 2 men riding tandem on a motorcycle wounding a 30 year old woman and her 2 kids who just happened to be walking by.Although Ms.Ampatuan IS a member of THE Ampatuan Clan (as in the"Maguindanao Massacre") it is believed that THIS attack is unrelated to that event and is instead due to recent extortion attempts made against public educational institutions in Maguindanao Province.Unfortunately most Filipino Muslims have little respect for secular education and find public institutions fair game since they are of course a product of the Philippine Government.Then their intellectuals bemoan the lack of government services in Muslim Communities.Gee,I wonder why...
On Sunday March 21st, 2010 at 11 AM a jeepney (form of public transportation) pulled into the Philippines Phoenix Petroleum gas station located on National Hiway in Barangay Poblacion,Ampatuan,Maguindanao Province.The attendant noticed after the jeepney had left that it had left behind a cardboard box.Walking over to it he was disturbed by the threatening writing on top of the package in that it threatened to kill the station owner.The young man stupidly-but bravely-pushed the box to the side of the hiway and immediately told his supervisor.The supervisor,the station manager,then called the authorities who discovered that the box contained an IED (Improvised Explosive Device,as in"bomb").
Later that day,just after sunset,the home of the station's owner was hit by at least 10 60MM mortar shells wounding 3 familiy members.Who is this beleagured atation owner you ask?None other than Zacarias Sangki,the OIC (Officer in Charge,meaning Govt.appointed,not elected) Mayor of Ampatuan (the municipality,not the Clan).Mr.Sangki gained his current political position after the Elected Mayor,Andal Ampatuan Sr.,was jailed over the aforementioned"Maguindanao Massacre"which took place on November 23rd,2009.For those unfamiliar with that sordid event Andal Sr.allegedly ordered his son Andal Jr.,the Mayor of another Maguindanowan municipality,Datu Unsay,to murder members of a rival Clan,the Mangudadatus.Unfortunately for Andal Sr.his son was a few arrows short of a quiver and he ALSO ended up killing nearly 3 dozen journalists and a handful of attorneys.The event marks the single worst case of directed violence towards journalists that the world has ever seen.The irony is that had Andal Jr.been intelligent enough to follow daddy's orders there wouldn't have been much more than couple of 3 sentence articles devoted to yet another case of Mindanowan blood letting.The Mangudadatus are no better than the Ampatuans and have just as many gory killings to their credit...just no journalists.
On Janurary 17th,2010,OIC Mayor Sangki had his 20 hectare farm ruined when gunmen burned down all buildings,including 11 houses,along with a crop nearly ready to harvest.The farm,located in Sitio Najib,Barangay Salman,also in Ampatuan is within a stone's throw of the barren field where the"Massacre"took place.Why is Zaraia Sangki so hated?Is it just aggravation that the former Vice Mayor now gets to sit in the hot seat while his former boss sits in stir?Of course not.Sangki almost immediately turned State's Witness against Andal Sr.and nearly 200 other individuals currently charged in the atrocity.Adding insult to injury Sangki,a member of a related Clan,wad ALSO a willing participant in the atrocity.
Only one day after the attack on the Sangki farm,Janurary 18th,2010,Dok Uling Salahuddin,a Barangay Captain in Barangay Kalkul in the municipality of Ampatuan,and a cousin of Zacarias Sangki was shot to death at 6PM by a single gunman.
On Tuesday April 6th,2010,51 year old Mohamadisa"Datu Haris"Sangki,brother of the OIC Mayor of Ampatuan,Zacarias Sangki,was riding his motorcycle past Cotabato City Plaza when 2 young men riding tandem on another motorcycle flagged him down at the corner of Sinsuat and S.K.Pendatun Streets in Barangay Poblacion #5.
Mr. Sangki pulled over and engaged the men in conversation when 1 of them suddenly stabbed him in the chest causing him to fall face down.The second man,later indentified as Kenny Osmena,walked over to the prostrate man and calmly shot him in the back with a 45 caliber pistol,killing him instantly.Both men then got onto their motorcycle and rode off towards the main town market.Though 5PM in the afternoon,and in full view of possibly thousands of people,not one person tried to intervene,or even pursue the gunmen.
On April 13th, 2010,in Sitio Masalay,Barangay Salman in the municipality of Ampatuan in Maguindanao Province,a CVO post (Civilian Volunteer Organisation,1 of 4 entities known collectively as"CAA,"or"Citizens Active Auxiliaries,"the cornerstone of the Government's Counterinsurgency Force Multiplication Programme.The CVO are sublimated to the PNP,or Philippine National Police and cannot bear arms unless their element has specifically been granted that right be the Secreatary of DILG,Department of the Interior and Local Government) was struck by eight M79 grenades without causing a single casualty.The attackers,Ampatuan Clan Paramilitary guerillas,were positioned in a nearby banana grove.Ironically perhaps,Barangay Salman is the same barangay where the"Massacre"took place.Not far away in Barangay Labulabu a 2nd CVO detachment was also attacked by M79 grenades and also managed to come out of it unscathed.Perhaps even more ironically,the Ampatuan Paramilitary is primarily composed of ex-CVO soldiers from that very same post!When President Arroyo first declared a State of Emergency over the Massacre most CVO personnel took to the hills knowing that they had no chance of living a law abiding life after being tarnished by their membership as Ampatuan Municipal (as well as Maguindanao Provincial) CVO.
The Ampatuan Paramilitary has been launching large scale assaults on the town since shortly after the"Massacre"took place.Despite a massive PNP and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) presence vis a vis the dedicated joint element known as"Task Force Alpha"the paramilitary has shelled the town with 60 MM mortars just about every night in March and April of 2010 with the attacks escalating as Election Day,May 10th draws near.It is not only the government that is suffering from the attacks as one can see with the repeated assaults on the Sangki family.Zacarias Sangki isn't even the Sangki to turn on the Ampatuans.The Vice Mayor of Shariff Aguak,the provincial capital of Maguindanao,is Rasul Sangki.In case his name is not familiar to you,he was the chief witness against Andal Ampatuan Jr.I will explore all that in a series of entries on the"Massacre"and all its just as bloody aftermath.It is worth noting here that the perennial enemies of the Ampatuan Clan,the MILF/BIAF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces),have also not been sitting idly by through all this drama heaped atop drama.
On Janurary 12th,2010 the BIAF's 105 Base Command under Kumander Usatadz Ameril Ombra Kato,almost always known simply by the moniker"Kumander Kato,"along with allied MNLF/BMA (Moro National Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Army) the parent organisation from which the MILF/BIAF broke away) guerillas engaged the Ampatuan Paramilitary in a 24 hour firefight in Sitio Balutukan,Barangay Kitapok in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan (a different town than the town of "Ampatuan" proper,also created by Andal Ampatuan Sr.when he sat as Governor of Maguindanao Province,for his family to rule).Several deaths resulted but both sides handled it quietly so no exact number is forthcoming.
On April 15th at the Hillside Resort in Datu Odin Sinsuat,also in Maguindanao Province,the owner of the resort and mayoral candidate for Datu Odin Sinsuat,Motasser Sabal and his brother and running mate for Vice Mayor, Abdulwahab "Abraham "Sabal were engaged in a campaign strategising session with a group of close supporters when a grenade was thrown into the room.A supporter,Kagi Ketong,of that same town was killed but the brothers were unhurt.
On Thursday April 22nd,2010 in Barangay Bako,Shariff Aguak,roughly 100 guerillas from the BIAF's 105th Base Command, which was at that time still under Kumander Kato (more about his being re-deployed in a subsequent entry),crossed the GPH (Govt.of the Philippines)-MILF/BIAF permimeter (the DMZ line) by about 1 kilometer and then managed to cross paths with 2 platoons from the 45IB (Infantry Battalion),which is itself based in Shariff Aguak's Barangay Poblacion.The predictable result was a 2 hour long firefight with no reported casulaties.
On Friday,April 30th, 2010 on the town of Ampatuan's 1st Street,in Purok 1,Barangay Kauran,an IED 20 meters away from National Hiway detonated just as gubneratorial candidate Esmael"Toto"Mangudadatu's convoy was passing en route to a political rally in the town's Barangay Poblacion.Luckily noone was injured or killed in the explosion.
On Saturday,May 8th,2010 OIC Mayor Zacarias Sangki's Phoenix petrol station was once again faced with an IED.This time the device was left by 2 men riding tandem on a motorcycle who rode non-chalantly over to the gas pumps and left it in a plastic bag.This time however the IED detonated but for an unkown reason failed to set off the petrol underneath it.No casualties.
On Election Day,Monday,May 10th,2010 at 1040AM,in Barangay Kapimpilan,North Kabuntalan,in that same province of Maguindanao,Sukarno Paglas was shot to death in the neck and chest,dying just 100 meters from a polling site as he tried to run into Barangay Bagungdang.The firefight that killed him was between the camps of 2 prospective vice Mayors,Bhernie Mamolintao Bagungdang (PMP) and Muslimin Guiama Baliwan (party unknown though initially it was said that it was with the camap of the Lakas-KAMPI-CMD candidate for Vice Mayor,Raul Vidal,a Bisayan).
That same day,May 10th,in Barangay Poblacion in Shariff Aguak,a poll site at Sasez Elementary School was hit by a grenade thrown by 2 men on a motorcycle.
Also on election Day,in the town of Datu Salibo,also in Maguindanao Province,voting was suspended after an RPG (BM2) attack near a PNP station.The road and bridge into the adjacent municipality of Datu Piang were closed down stranding many residents of both towns as fighting was heavy in Datu Piang as well.It began when BIAF snipers from the 105 Base Command,positioned in Barangay Pagatin,began firing on AFP soldiers in Barangay Dapiawan.The AFP in turn positioned snipers with 50 caliber Barrets in 3 positions along the Barangay's main road,and they continued firing into Barangay Pagatin for most of the day.
Also on Election Day,in S.K.Pendatun,another town in Maguindanao Province,50 meters from the poll site in Barangay Lao Lao,three IEDS were disarmed after being discovered throughout the day.The goal of course being to disrupt the elections and keeping people from voting at that site.The last device was found at 247PM.
Meanwhile,at 1145Am that morning in Barangay Datu Saligop,in the municipality of Datu Unsay,also in Maguindanao Province,the Ampatuan Paramilitary clashed with the 39IB shortly after three IEDs detonated in that barangay.As the firefight took place a 4th IED detonated as well with the government claiming no casualties,a point which I will address at the end of all my Election Day wrap up entries.
That evening at the 4th Call to Prayer (Islamic) 2 guerillas from the aforementioned Ampatuan Paramilitary were killed in a firefight with the 45th IB,just outside Barangay Poblacion in Ampatuan.
At 11AM Tuesday, May 25th, 2010,in Barangay Dansalan,in the town of Rajah Buayan in Maguindanao Province,Barangay Captain Datu Norodin Utto and his paramilitary came under attack from the Ampatuan Paramilitary.
Datu Utto's men,numbering roughly 50 gunmen were assaulted by 57MM and 90MM recoiless rifle and 60MM mortar volleys before being approached from different directions by approximately 200 guerillas being personally led by the new leader of the force,Bahnarin Ampatuan,a grandson of Andal Sr.,and like his grandfather and almost 70 other clansmen, under indictment for the massacre.No word on paramilitary casulaties but 2 civlians were killed.
Again on Thursday May 27th,from 7AM to 3PM an 8 hour long firefight took place after mortar volleys.In this last attack the Ampatuan Paramilitary were led by 2 underlings,Kagi Nasser and Kagi Sangatin.The 2,500 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,i.e."Refugees") that resulted from this clash are camping along the Sultan Buayan to Sultan sa Barougis National Hiway.
On June 2nd,2010,at 9AM,in Barangay Balunan in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat,the 6IB engaged 25 BIAF guerillas in from the 105th Base Command in a 1 hour firefight before the guerillas withdrew into the Liguasan Marsh.The BIAF had been on the National Hiway laying IEDs.AFP snipers manned 50 caliber Barrets and artillery batteries of 105 MM Howitzers pounded the marsh afterwards.It is worth noting that in early May leadership of the 105th Base Command,at least on paper,passed to an underling of Kumander Kato,sub-Kumander Zacaria Goma.Goma is a long time MILF/BIAF vet who is known for a more moderate outlook despite his having worked directly under Kato for nearly 2 decades. "Moderate"in this case is certainly a relative term.As I noted earlier,I will hash that out in a subsequent entry.
On June 8th,2010 in Sultan sa Barongis,in Maguindanao Province,the BIAF's 105th Base Command fighting under sub-Kumander Bedai Mosayden battled with a CVO formed out of a demobilised MNLF (Moror National Liberation Front) Brigade,under Kumander Abu Samin Sampalo,causing 2,500 people to become IDPs.The 33IB was on site but refused to get involved,as always citing its obligations under the GPH-MILF Peace Process.The fighting continued sporadically until Saturday,June 12th when it intensified causing even more IDPs and even spilled over into the municipality of Montawal and threatened to ignite an even wider sub-conflict with Kumander Urao's BIAF element.As of this posting, June 21st,2010,things have calmed down to an even simmer with sporadic clashes taking place and almost all of the IDPs still homeless.
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