Readers that have examine my current four part series of entries entilted, "Bad Blood: AFP Sponsored Paramilitaries in Caraga, 1991" will be amazed how nothing has really changed in almost 22 years. Actualy, there has been a very slight, almost negligible improvement in the loves of most residents. In 1991 almost every road in Agusan del Sur Province was dirt so that for four to six months out of the year it was virtually impassable to vehicular traffic. Only Butuan City, the largest population centre had electricity and potable running water. The only telephone service was from phone centres in the largest towns. Waiting to send or receive a phone call often had people waiting two days or more just to complete.
Yet, the NPA still controlled a good portion of the countryside, something that unfortunately hasn't changed. Having firsr surfaced in Caraga in 1975, by 1983 the region became the national Centre of Gravity, the area with the largest number of guerillas who controlled the largest amount of land. Led by the "Barefoot Priest," Father Francisco "Frank" Navarro, who, under the nom de guerre "Ka Migo," served as the Secretary for the Operations Command of what the NPA today calls the "Pulang Diwata Command" of the NEMRC, or Northeast Mindanao Regional Committee- and who was killed in 1993, has been replaced by the even more iconic Jorge Madlos, known to the naïve and gullible folks serving in the NPA as "Ka Oris." Madlos, a native of Surigao del Norte Province's Siargo Island has seen it all and has lived to tell about it. Still, the only time Madlos can be found in the field nowadays is on the NPA's Anniversary or that of the NPA's political wing, the CPP, the Communist Party of the Philippines to which Madlos is fiercely dedicated, as is his wife, a cadre who uses the alias "Maria Malaya." While Madlos has assumed Spokesperson duties for the NDFP, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, a position he was appointed to by the CPP Party's leadership just as Aquino took office in July of 2010, his wife assumed his role as NPA-NEMRC Spokesperson.
Madlos' has been suffering from severe kidney disease and a urinary tract problem that requires a 24 hour catheter threaded through his genital so that he has pretty much been tied to whatever corner of hell he calls home for the last several years and yet, when one thinks of the insurgency in Caraga they usually envision Madlos with his Ho Chi Minh goatee and Mao cap that even the most moribund of the Chinese party hacks threw in the Yantzge two decades back. Hokey to a fault, one must offer respect to someone like Madlos, albeit grudgingly, for having remained in that stark wilderness for nearly four decades, avoiding Extra-Judicial Execution, or "Salvaging" in Filipino-speak, having also avoided being abdudcted and horribly tortured, having avoided dying in what by now must be more than two hundred tactical offencives and perhaps half that number in defencive actions as Military assets led the attacking soldiers in the capture of major camp after major camp...and of course both the physical AND ideological purges that greatly affected the NPA from 1985 to 1995...and yet Madlos has survived.
OK, now that we have graduated from Adulation 101, Madlos' NEMRC has been busy as it always is; on September 15th, 2011, in the municipality of Bislig City's Barangay San Jose, in Surigao del Sur Province, the NPA's Front 14 implemented a checkpoint in Sitio Sikahoy. A convoy from Bislig Ventures, a trucking outfit located on the edge of that same city, and en route into the city proper, was targetted for its owners refusal to pay the NPA's "Revolutionary Taxes," I mean rank extortion, I mean "Revolutionary Taxes" (cough).
The convoy consisting of five tandem dump trucks and three tractor trailers l fully loaded with coal were forced to pull onto the side of the road next to the checkpoint at 2PM. As the eight drivers were forced at gunpoint to dismount from their trucks, four guerillas set about dousing the vehicles with petrol and then lit a match. As coal is of course quite flammable, albeit slow burning, the convoy made quite a conflagration for several hours, and yet the NPA was in no hurry. Only at 5PM did it release the eight drivers for what was to be a long walk back to the company compound. The NPA of course folded up its checkpoint and withdrew into the jungle.
While the Maoists portray themselves as "Anti-Big Business" and "Anti-Environmentally Unsound Business" they are actually as avaricistic as any rapacious multi-national logging or mining outfit. Indeed, if truth be told, Artisinal, or so called "Small Scale" Miners and Loggers do much more damage to the Mindanowan Environment than any multi-national could ever do. Ehile those large corporations are fully liscenced and permitted and at least ostensibly monitored by redundant agencies like the DENR (Department of the Environment and Natural Resources), MGB (Mining and Geosciences Bureau), NCIP (National Commission on Indigenous Peoples), and other alphabetically challenging entities, the small and often illegal operations are using the most intrusive and destructive methods for the shortest term financial gain without a thought in the world about nurturing their targetted resource so as to leave it in a renewable state (so far as logging is concerned of course).
In mining, methods such as "Banlas," or "Sluice" involve he denudation of entire hillsides worth of vegetation to construct massive, engineeringly unsound wooden sluices which are then built at a steep angle so that their slag- or waste- runs directly into rivers or major creeks which also serve as the water source for the sluicing process, thus being destructive to the waterway on both ends of the process. Sluice Mining, at least here on Mindanao, entails running a very high volume of water, at relatively high pressure, through a set of gates and chutes until- hopefully- one nets a desired precious metal while 99% of the materiel being worked is dumped into a river, as opposed to a hillside from which it has been excavated...and "Banlas" is the least damaging of methods mind you.
The use of TNT and other explosives by untrained personnel without requisite engineering input does amazing amounts of damage geologically, while the use of cyanide and mercury in leeching processes naturally reek havvoc on the environment to almost unimaginable degrees.
Each year our island loses more and more of its timber and ground cover. Even leaving the island for six weeks can leave a mildly observant person shocked upon their return to see the rapid deforestation taking place. IF the NPA were TRULY concerned about such all important issues we would see them attacking ALL multi-nationals, not just the same companies over and over which merely (strongly) indicates an ulterior motive- even if one isn't privy to the hard intelligence centering upon the "Revolutionary Tax" brouhaha. Moreover, they would be implementing "No Mining" and "No Logging" bans within their considerable AORs, or Areas of Responsibility- as in "Areas of Operation" (note that the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee, or SMRC, under Leonicio "Ka Parago" Pitao of the Committee's Operational Command, Merardo Arce, HAS instituted such a ban in two Davao City districts but only because he has demanded a price that interested mining companies are unwilling to pay. The rest of the SMRC's AOR has no such ban, and he has NOT implemented a logging ban in those two aforementioned districts), they would never do that because they thrive where such small scale activities flourish. Unlike the multi-nationals, who- if intelligently managed- form private paramilitaries under the guise of the Armed Forces of the Philippines "SCAA," or Special Citizen Active Auxiliary programme...Atisinal operations rarely have the means or the muscle to form such private armies and so they take "the path of least resistance," as Mao correctly predicted, and pay their "Taxes" on time. When they don't, they face a mild wake up call as the first step in remedying their delinquency. Take for example, the following case in point:
Silvio Gogo, a smalltime sawmill operator doing business in the municipality of Tagbina's Barangay Batuna in that very same province of Surigao del Sur had recently been saddled with a low supply issue. Most small time sawmills rely almost entirely on illegal logging as their source of supply. Periodically interdiction occurs in a few isolated instances and when it does, business at such sawmills suffers greatly. The small number of employees are laid off and operators like Mr.Gogo fall back on other income producing activities- sawmills rarely form one's only source of income.
Yet the NPA still expects its monthly or quarterly installment on one's "tax bill." If one is unable, or refuses to comply, they get a relatively gentle wake up call, such as the following case in point:
On September 19th, 2011, at 2AM, five guerillas from the NPA's Front 14 entered Gogo's unnamed sawmill and dragged two Yanmar table saws out into the compound. The saws, one of which was a 16khp, the other an 18khp, were then doused with petrol and set on fire. In this case the damage was P100,000 ($2,200). While that may seem downright mild to many of my foreign readers, it is in fact half a year's net income for the average peasant on Mindanao. For a small time operator like Silvio Gogo, who like virtually all such operators exists outside the benefit of any insurance policy, it very well may represent the difference between remaining in business and folding up. Should Mr.Gogo ever resume business his delinquent "tax bill" is still hanging over his head as a new debt begins the day he saws his first log. It becomes a running treadmill (no pun intended).
Showing posts with label Front 14. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Front 14. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
NPA Armed Contacts for the Third Quarter of 2011, Part V: Open Season on Mining Companies
In terms of exploitable natural resources, no Philippine island even comes close to Mindanao. Indeed, the island holds the world's second richest gold deposit and it may in fact be deemed THE richest before all is said and done. It goes without saying then that such an abundance of natural resources goes hand in hand with some of life's most troubling aspects; organised crime, rank corruption, degradation of entire communities as greedy carpetbaggers, domestic and foreign, run roughshod over the island's lansdcape - physically as well as culturally.
With astronomical amounts of revenue at stake mining on Mindanao also attracts insurgent organisations who prey upon all involved in the dynamic. Both small scale, so called artisnal miners AND huge foreign based multi-national corporate outfits are sucked into the vortex, forced into financing bloody political struggles they barely understand and care about even less about. Representatives from the various armed groups make the rounds, collecting steep fees which are then used to fund the continuous bloodletting. While all politically organised armed groups extort in this manner, the NPA has turned its strong armed robbery into a fine art, a template used not only all over the island of Mindanao of course but throughout the Philippines as a whole. Known by a much more Politically Correct euphanism, "Revolutionary Taxes," even participants in the service economies springing up around the smallest scale artisinal operations are targetted. A habal-habal driver, as off road motorcyclists for hire who serve as the only form of public transportation in some far flung mining communities are known, are "taxed" at P500 ($11) per month, roughly 10% of gross monthly earnings. If a driver is unable to pay he must be able to offer three small bags of unmilled rice or one small bag milled. Noone is exempt and noone is overlooked.
Of course the NPA's rationale is that all "governments" tax their constituents. However, the NPA's constituents, willing or otherwise, are still bound by the Philippine Government's rules of taxation so that the NPA, to its constituency, is having them shoulder an extremely unfair burden by essentially double dipping, at least from the taxpayers' perspective. What does a taxpayer to the NPA receive in return? The payor is entitled to understand that they PROBABLY won't be troubled by the NPA for another 4 weeks. Essentially the payor is no different from a victim in a mafia extortion scheme. While it is very true that the Government provides precious little to the dirt poor peasantry composing the bulk of Mindanao's, neigh, the Philippine's overall population, does the same hold true for the multi-national corporations who are paying up to 20% of their gross revenue each month?
Multi-national corporations already pay the Government a fair share of taxes, although there are exemptions in the pre-production phase of mining agreements. Once revenue trickles in though, the Philippine Government rarely misses a centavo. This by the way is on top of the already tendered bribes that secured and expedited such agreements in the first place. Unlike the nation's vast underclass that receives practically no services for its tax burden corporations, foreign or otherwise receive the best the nation offers (granted, that isn't saying much): security, expedited bureaucratic processes in a nation where, for example, it can take literally 6 months for the post office to send a letter from Manila to Mindanao, and are provided with at least one "Fixer" to serve at said company's beck and call. Again, it really isn't saying much but at least it is a whole lot more than the average Filipino ever enjoys.
What if a corporation simply said no to paying its "Revolutionary Taxes?" Unlike the nation's poor who cannot even imagine that option, corporations doing business on Mindanao are always well armed. Those operating outside of the island's two largest population centres, Davao City in Davao del Sur Province and Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province, tend to organise and employ their own paramilitaries, albeit via the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines SCAA programme. SCAA, or Special Citizens Active Auxiliary is a component within the AFP's CAA module. Aaaaah, the Filipino penchant for acronyms, this acronym, CAA, stands for Citizen Active Auxiliary, though most laypeople simply refer to it as CAFGU, or Citizens Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit, the CAA's most visible component. The CAA is the cornerstone of the AFP's Counterinsurgency apparatus, despite the song and dance about the touchy-feely Hearts and Minds ideation at the root of the military's OPlan Bayanihan. Bayanihan, by its simplest definition is an 80:20 Programme, with the 20% being devoted towards Tac Ops (Tactical Operations, as in "Combat") and the other 80% dedicated to a non-violent strategy rooted in community based intervention at the grass roots level. That sounds grand, doesn't it? The problem though is that EVEN IF the AFP is sincere in this shift of policy, and for the most part it isn't, you cannot unveil your new Counterinsurgency strategy at a press conference in Manila and expect linemen on Mindanao to shift gears 39 years into the game. Re-training is absolutely necessary and yet even when brigades are re-trained, as they periodically are, they aren't getting more than a single afternoon of lectures to try and re-orient them.
With that understood, the SCAAs are given very little training and absolutely none of it is of a non-tactical nature. SCAAs are not groomed to smile at children and paint the bamboo hovel serving as the village schoolhouse. They are very simply tasked with protecting their employer's business (and all too often "business interests" as well) by any means necessary. They kill and are killed and though they are obstensibly under the command structure, if not the actual command of an AFP cadre battalion, they generally are given carte blanche to do as they please. Their employer recruits them and they then become employees of a given corporation upon enlistment, ergo their loyalty isn't to the state but to that particular corporation. With between a single platoon (27 to 35 men) and a single COY, or company (100 to 120 soldiers) all armed with M4s, M14s or M16s (as opposed to the 30 caliber Garands typically distributed to CAFGU CAAs) corporations naturally begin to feel that they are immune to threats given by the NPA. What happens when corporations turn off the Peso spigot?
The Third Quarter of 2011 began with the consequences of such a decision having led to a marked reaction by the Maoists. Twenty guerillas from Front 14 (NEMRC,or Northeast Mindanao Regional Committee) in a detachment led by Renato "Ka Friday" Saysay stormed Quarry #9 in the municipality of Rosario's Barangay Bayugan #3, in Agusan del Sur Province. Their goal was oh so simple, to instruct Rosario resident Roger Sawe on the need to pay one's share of "Revolutionary Taxes." Mr.Sawe is the owne of DBEC, or Datu Bulawanon Exploration Company. This past April, 2011, DBEC entered into a rather lucrative partnership with multi-national Belvedere Asset Inc. According to Philippine Law a foreign owned corporation is limited to a 40% share in mining concessions. Known as a "60:40," a foreign owned company wishing to set out a shingle anywhere in the Philippies must first enter into a minority share partnership with a Philippine based company OR else buy into such a company as long as that buy in doesn't surpass a 40% share.
Belvedere is a shell corporation for the Mali-based TTEC, or Think Environmental Company Limited. Datu Bulawanon on the other hand already holds the rights to a 846 hectare gold operation via a Special Extraction Permit issued in November of 2009. A Philippine version of a match made in heaven.
Upon entering Quarry #9 the NPA burned one excavator and three dump trucks after divesting a caretaker of a 45 caliber pistol for good measure. Afterwards the guerillas withdrew to the Surigao del Sur Provincial border on the other side of the Diwata Mountain Range. The incident was the first NPA action in the barangay since Janurary past (2011) when Front 14 overran AY 76 Security Agency, a firm employing private guards for small scale mines and low volume goldmills. Owned by retired AFP, or Armed Forces of the Phillipines Brigadier General Alexander "Alex" Yapching, in an incident I covered in an "NPA Armed Contacts for the First Quarter of 2011" entry.
On Saturday afternoon, August 6th, 2011, the employees of Nano Mines Trading were milling about the company compound in the municipality of Impasug-ong's Barangay Kapitan Bayong, having finished with yet another long week's worth of drudgerry preparing chromite for shipping. Nano is one of two foreign-owned corporations in Impasug-ong serving as middlemen to the four chromite mining operations in that town. Bukidnon Province isn't particularly keen on foreign-owned corporations raping the environment but the two firms fill a niche that supports the aforementioned mining operations, all Lumad owned. Lumad, or Animist Hill Tribesmen, are the most marginalised of Mindanowan demographics. Bukidnon's Provincial Government sees the four chromite mines as a way in which Lumads can achieve self sufficiency. More than 500 nuclear families are supported by the 4 mines, each 20 hectares in size and adjacent to one another. Hiring mining companies, usually multi-national corporations to engage in the actual minieral extraction so that for simply allowing the mining to proceed the particular Lumad band collects 60% of the profit without investing a centavo.
Chromite is a bulk ore, with tonnage as the basic increment. In addition the ore must be processed before shipping and so there is a vital niche. Nano Mines Trading fills part of that niche, handling the output from two of the four mining operations. Centered in Barangay Bayong's Purok #5, Nano's controlling owner, Kumar Jainini, is known as a man who is serious about his business. An Indian national, Mr.Jainini spends most of his nights in the company compound despite his leasing a condominium in Cagayan del Oro City, in the adjoining province of Misamis Oriental. The afternoon of August 6th found him hard at work at his office within the compound. As Mr.Jainani sat and examined his shipping records he was distracted by screaming coming from the compound yard.
At just after 2PM 40 NPA guerillas from Front 4A (NCMRC or Northcentral Mindanao Regional Committee) quickly approached the compound on foot. Encountering a group of four company labourers just leaving the yard the employees quickly recognised that the NPA was in the midst of an assault on their workplace. The four labourers turned heel and attemped to warn their co-workers. Before any of them could do so however the NPA guerillas nearest them opened fire hitting all four:
1) Raymond Castro, 19 years old, killed immediately
2) Jose Castro, his brother, aged 21 and crtically wounded
3) Victor Aparellas, aged 23 and also critically wounded
4) The fourth man, identity not released, was also critically wounded but was quickly pulled out of the line of fire by a pair of NPA gunmen.
During the next couple of minutes seven other employees were wounded as well in varying degees. After grabbing two cell phones and a chainsaw the NPA withdrew, having failed to captured the primary owner of the company, Mr.Jainani who was able to make his way safely out of a hole in the compound wall as the initial assault took place and the commotion caught his attention. The NPA force fractured into smaller detachments who peeled off in separate directions before rendevouzing on the border of the nearby municipalities of Quezon and Kisolon. Meanwhile, some of the wounded employees were rushed to Kisolon Emergency Hospital in the nearby town of Sumilao. There both Jose Castro and Victor Aparellas were both declared Dead on Arrival. The fourth man who had been pulled out of the line of fire was found to have also have died during the attack. The rest of the wounded personnel were taken to other area hospitals without any further tragedies taking place.
Much later that same day, August 6th, PRO-10, or Police Regional Office for Region 10, via its RSOG, or Regional Special Operations Group, was able to nab prison escapee Rustic Brandia of Malaybalay City in that same province, Bukidnon, whom they accuse of being both an NPA guerilla as well as having served as a "Spotter" on that particular tactical operation. When NPA launch an assault on a static target like a CAA garrison or a mining company base camp there will be three elements:
1) Strike Force, attacks the target
2) Blocking Force, blocks any re-inforcements, as well as in some cases the withdrawal of an opposition force
3) Spotting Force, scouts certain positions both as an advance force for the Striking Force as well as to warn the Blocking Force of any movement along routes of re-inforcement
Bradia's elder brother Moises Bradia was a mid-ranking guerilla in the NPA's NCMRC, or North Central Mindanao Regional Committee. During a heated firefight in late August, 2007 Moises threw a hand grenade at a detachment of PNP, or Philippine National Police from the Malaybalay City MPO, or Municipal Police Office, killing PO2 Roy Francisco and wounding four of his fellow police officers in the process. The attack took place in the Brandia family home in Malaybalay City's Barangay #9, Purok #5 when five MPO officers came to serve a warrant for Rape, having had no idea that Moises Brandia was a moderately high ranking guerilla. Mid-Level and High Level NPA members always carry a hand grenade when out of the bush to be used in such situations. Brandia was then able to escape though he had also critically wounded his own mother inadvertantly in the blast. In the end she recovered.
It is worth noting that August 6th, 2011 was also the day upon which the Mayor of Lingig, Henry Santos Dano was captured by the NPA Front 20 (Conrado Heredia Command, SMRC, or Southern Mindanao Regional Committee) along with his two military bodyguards from the 75IB (Infantry Battalion). All three remain in captivity as of this posting, August 28th, 2011.
With astronomical amounts of revenue at stake mining on Mindanao also attracts insurgent organisations who prey upon all involved in the dynamic. Both small scale, so called artisnal miners AND huge foreign based multi-national corporate outfits are sucked into the vortex, forced into financing bloody political struggles they barely understand and care about even less about. Representatives from the various armed groups make the rounds, collecting steep fees which are then used to fund the continuous bloodletting. While all politically organised armed groups extort in this manner, the NPA has turned its strong armed robbery into a fine art, a template used not only all over the island of Mindanao of course but throughout the Philippines as a whole. Known by a much more Politically Correct euphanism, "Revolutionary Taxes," even participants in the service economies springing up around the smallest scale artisinal operations are targetted. A habal-habal driver, as off road motorcyclists for hire who serve as the only form of public transportation in some far flung mining communities are known, are "taxed" at P500 ($11) per month, roughly 10% of gross monthly earnings. If a driver is unable to pay he must be able to offer three small bags of unmilled rice or one small bag milled. Noone is exempt and noone is overlooked.
Of course the NPA's rationale is that all "governments" tax their constituents. However, the NPA's constituents, willing or otherwise, are still bound by the Philippine Government's rules of taxation so that the NPA, to its constituency, is having them shoulder an extremely unfair burden by essentially double dipping, at least from the taxpayers' perspective. What does a taxpayer to the NPA receive in return? The payor is entitled to understand that they PROBABLY won't be troubled by the NPA for another 4 weeks. Essentially the payor is no different from a victim in a mafia extortion scheme. While it is very true that the Government provides precious little to the dirt poor peasantry composing the bulk of Mindanao's, neigh, the Philippine's overall population, does the same hold true for the multi-national corporations who are paying up to 20% of their gross revenue each month?
Multi-national corporations already pay the Government a fair share of taxes, although there are exemptions in the pre-production phase of mining agreements. Once revenue trickles in though, the Philippine Government rarely misses a centavo. This by the way is on top of the already tendered bribes that secured and expedited such agreements in the first place. Unlike the nation's vast underclass that receives practically no services for its tax burden corporations, foreign or otherwise receive the best the nation offers (granted, that isn't saying much): security, expedited bureaucratic processes in a nation where, for example, it can take literally 6 months for the post office to send a letter from Manila to Mindanao, and are provided with at least one "Fixer" to serve at said company's beck and call. Again, it really isn't saying much but at least it is a whole lot more than the average Filipino ever enjoys.
What if a corporation simply said no to paying its "Revolutionary Taxes?" Unlike the nation's poor who cannot even imagine that option, corporations doing business on Mindanao are always well armed. Those operating outside of the island's two largest population centres, Davao City in Davao del Sur Province and Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province, tend to organise and employ their own paramilitaries, albeit via the AFP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines SCAA programme. SCAA, or Special Citizens Active Auxiliary is a component within the AFP's CAA module. Aaaaah, the Filipino penchant for acronyms, this acronym, CAA, stands for Citizen Active Auxiliary, though most laypeople simply refer to it as CAFGU, or Citizens Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit, the CAA's most visible component. The CAA is the cornerstone of the AFP's Counterinsurgency apparatus, despite the song and dance about the touchy-feely Hearts and Minds ideation at the root of the military's OPlan Bayanihan. Bayanihan, by its simplest definition is an 80:20 Programme, with the 20% being devoted towards Tac Ops (Tactical Operations, as in "Combat") and the other 80% dedicated to a non-violent strategy rooted in community based intervention at the grass roots level. That sounds grand, doesn't it? The problem though is that EVEN IF the AFP is sincere in this shift of policy, and for the most part it isn't, you cannot unveil your new Counterinsurgency strategy at a press conference in Manila and expect linemen on Mindanao to shift gears 39 years into the game. Re-training is absolutely necessary and yet even when brigades are re-trained, as they periodically are, they aren't getting more than a single afternoon of lectures to try and re-orient them.
With that understood, the SCAAs are given very little training and absolutely none of it is of a non-tactical nature. SCAAs are not groomed to smile at children and paint the bamboo hovel serving as the village schoolhouse. They are very simply tasked with protecting their employer's business (and all too often "business interests" as well) by any means necessary. They kill and are killed and though they are obstensibly under the command structure, if not the actual command of an AFP cadre battalion, they generally are given carte blanche to do as they please. Their employer recruits them and they then become employees of a given corporation upon enlistment, ergo their loyalty isn't to the state but to that particular corporation. With between a single platoon (27 to 35 men) and a single COY, or company (100 to 120 soldiers) all armed with M4s, M14s or M16s (as opposed to the 30 caliber Garands typically distributed to CAFGU CAAs) corporations naturally begin to feel that they are immune to threats given by the NPA. What happens when corporations turn off the Peso spigot?
The Third Quarter of 2011 began with the consequences of such a decision having led to a marked reaction by the Maoists. Twenty guerillas from Front 14 (NEMRC,or Northeast Mindanao Regional Committee) in a detachment led by Renato "Ka Friday" Saysay stormed Quarry #9 in the municipality of Rosario's Barangay Bayugan #3, in Agusan del Sur Province. Their goal was oh so simple, to instruct Rosario resident Roger Sawe on the need to pay one's share of "Revolutionary Taxes." Mr.Sawe is the owne of DBEC, or Datu Bulawanon Exploration Company. This past April, 2011, DBEC entered into a rather lucrative partnership with multi-national Belvedere Asset Inc. According to Philippine Law a foreign owned corporation is limited to a 40% share in mining concessions. Known as a "60:40," a foreign owned company wishing to set out a shingle anywhere in the Philippies must first enter into a minority share partnership with a Philippine based company OR else buy into such a company as long as that buy in doesn't surpass a 40% share.
Belvedere is a shell corporation for the Mali-based TTEC, or Think Environmental Company Limited. Datu Bulawanon on the other hand already holds the rights to a 846 hectare gold operation via a Special Extraction Permit issued in November of 2009. A Philippine version of a match made in heaven.
Upon entering Quarry #9 the NPA burned one excavator and three dump trucks after divesting a caretaker of a 45 caliber pistol for good measure. Afterwards the guerillas withdrew to the Surigao del Sur Provincial border on the other side of the Diwata Mountain Range. The incident was the first NPA action in the barangay since Janurary past (2011) when Front 14 overran AY 76 Security Agency, a firm employing private guards for small scale mines and low volume goldmills. Owned by retired AFP, or Armed Forces of the Phillipines Brigadier General Alexander "Alex" Yapching, in an incident I covered in an "NPA Armed Contacts for the First Quarter of 2011" entry.
On Saturday afternoon, August 6th, 2011, the employees of Nano Mines Trading were milling about the company compound in the municipality of Impasug-ong's Barangay Kapitan Bayong, having finished with yet another long week's worth of drudgerry preparing chromite for shipping. Nano is one of two foreign-owned corporations in Impasug-ong serving as middlemen to the four chromite mining operations in that town. Bukidnon Province isn't particularly keen on foreign-owned corporations raping the environment but the two firms fill a niche that supports the aforementioned mining operations, all Lumad owned. Lumad, or Animist Hill Tribesmen, are the most marginalised of Mindanowan demographics. Bukidnon's Provincial Government sees the four chromite mines as a way in which Lumads can achieve self sufficiency. More than 500 nuclear families are supported by the 4 mines, each 20 hectares in size and adjacent to one another. Hiring mining companies, usually multi-national corporations to engage in the actual minieral extraction so that for simply allowing the mining to proceed the particular Lumad band collects 60% of the profit without investing a centavo.
Chromite is a bulk ore, with tonnage as the basic increment. In addition the ore must be processed before shipping and so there is a vital niche. Nano Mines Trading fills part of that niche, handling the output from two of the four mining operations. Centered in Barangay Bayong's Purok #5, Nano's controlling owner, Kumar Jainini, is known as a man who is serious about his business. An Indian national, Mr.Jainini spends most of his nights in the company compound despite his leasing a condominium in Cagayan del Oro City, in the adjoining province of Misamis Oriental. The afternoon of August 6th found him hard at work at his office within the compound. As Mr.Jainani sat and examined his shipping records he was distracted by screaming coming from the compound yard.
At just after 2PM 40 NPA guerillas from Front 4A (NCMRC or Northcentral Mindanao Regional Committee) quickly approached the compound on foot. Encountering a group of four company labourers just leaving the yard the employees quickly recognised that the NPA was in the midst of an assault on their workplace. The four labourers turned heel and attemped to warn their co-workers. Before any of them could do so however the NPA guerillas nearest them opened fire hitting all four:
1) Raymond Castro, 19 years old, killed immediately
2) Jose Castro, his brother, aged 21 and crtically wounded
3) Victor Aparellas, aged 23 and also critically wounded
4) The fourth man, identity not released, was also critically wounded but was quickly pulled out of the line of fire by a pair of NPA gunmen.
During the next couple of minutes seven other employees were wounded as well in varying degees. After grabbing two cell phones and a chainsaw the NPA withdrew, having failed to captured the primary owner of the company, Mr.Jainani who was able to make his way safely out of a hole in the compound wall as the initial assault took place and the commotion caught his attention. The NPA force fractured into smaller detachments who peeled off in separate directions before rendevouzing on the border of the nearby municipalities of Quezon and Kisolon. Meanwhile, some of the wounded employees were rushed to Kisolon Emergency Hospital in the nearby town of Sumilao. There both Jose Castro and Victor Aparellas were both declared Dead on Arrival. The fourth man who had been pulled out of the line of fire was found to have also have died during the attack. The rest of the wounded personnel were taken to other area hospitals without any further tragedies taking place.
Much later that same day, August 6th, PRO-10, or Police Regional Office for Region 10, via its RSOG, or Regional Special Operations Group, was able to nab prison escapee Rustic Brandia of Malaybalay City in that same province, Bukidnon, whom they accuse of being both an NPA guerilla as well as having served as a "Spotter" on that particular tactical operation. When NPA launch an assault on a static target like a CAA garrison or a mining company base camp there will be three elements:
1) Strike Force, attacks the target
2) Blocking Force, blocks any re-inforcements, as well as in some cases the withdrawal of an opposition force
3) Spotting Force, scouts certain positions both as an advance force for the Striking Force as well as to warn the Blocking Force of any movement along routes of re-inforcement
Bradia's elder brother Moises Bradia was a mid-ranking guerilla in the NPA's NCMRC, or North Central Mindanao Regional Committee. During a heated firefight in late August, 2007 Moises threw a hand grenade at a detachment of PNP, or Philippine National Police from the Malaybalay City MPO, or Municipal Police Office, killing PO2 Roy Francisco and wounding four of his fellow police officers in the process. The attack took place in the Brandia family home in Malaybalay City's Barangay #9, Purok #5 when five MPO officers came to serve a warrant for Rape, having had no idea that Moises Brandia was a moderately high ranking guerilla. Mid-Level and High Level NPA members always carry a hand grenade when out of the bush to be used in such situations. Brandia was then able to escape though he had also critically wounded his own mother inadvertantly in the blast. In the end she recovered.
It is worth noting that August 6th, 2011 was also the day upon which the Mayor of Lingig, Henry Santos Dano was captured by the NPA Front 20 (Conrado Heredia Command, SMRC, or Southern Mindanao Regional Committee) along with his two military bodyguards from the 75IB (Infantry Battalion). All three remain in captivity as of this posting, August 28th, 2011.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
NPA Election Related Activities,National and Local Elections of 2010
The NPA, or "New People's Army" is a Maoist organisation founded as the armed wing of the CPP,or"Communist Party of the Philippines."Both entities being the handiwork of former U of P (University of the Philippines) professor, Jose Maria"JOMA"Sison.Sison, a native of Luzon founded the NPA in 1969 and it was not until 1971 and the dawn of President Marcos' Martial Law that the group truly branched out to Mindanao.
Philosophically the group offers very little original ideology,strictly patterning itself after Mao in all key areas.Juxtapose 95% of orthadox Maosim with Sisonian ideology and you have a perfect fit.Needless to say I will go into great detail about the organisation and its beliefs in future entries,for now I am just trying to catalouge all recent events,especially with regard to the 2010 Election this past May 10th.
To the NPA's credit it does not overtly interfere in election related goings on but does take a very proactive stance with regard to candidates.This year,as in elections past,the group has"sold""PTCs" (Permits to Campaign).A PTC enables a candidate who buys one to campaign relatively worry free in the NPA's AOR (Area of Responsibility,in this case synonymous with Area of Operations).Contrary to AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) claims,there was no evolution this year towards a"PTW,"or"Permit to Win."The AFP claimed that this year,instead of PTCs the NPA was selling their services to ensure that a given candidate would win a particular office by mobilising their"mass base of support"(civilian supporters).For candidates unwilling to pay the relatively steep fee (a minimum of 50,000 Pesos,roughly 1,000 Euros),they risked having their security details disarmed at gunpoint,weapons taken and for a recalcitrant few,they risked kidnapping.
The NPA's AOR on Mindanao is almost entirely in the northeast and the Davao Region,connected by the Diwata Mountain chain from Surigao del Sur Province down through ComVal (Compostela Valley Province) with a strong pocket in N.Cotabato Province towards the Bukidnon provincial line.The following incidents all took place in the northeast, unless otherwise noted.A note,the title"Ka"is idiomatically akin to"Comrade"and is a unisex appellation.A"Front"is equivalent to a military company and they operate within a given geographical zone.
Valentine's Day in the Philippines is all about hearts,candy and love...unless you happen to live on Mindanao. On our island it is one of many times each year when specific insurgent groups make regularly timed attacks. Valentine's' because it is of course associated with the Catholic faith,the dominant religion of the Philippines,is a day on which the MILF/BIAF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces),and to a lesser extent ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) go on rampages.This Valentine's however the culprit was the NPA who launched a tactical operation in Barangay Sibahay in the town of Boston in Davao Oriental Province.Unfortunately,an innocent bystander, 13 year old Memilyn Moreno,was shot and killed.
March 11,2010 at 230PM in Davao City's Paquibato District,an NPA stronghold,an advance team for candidate Prospero Nograles was forced to stop at an NPA checkpoint.Although the occupants of the SUV were unarmed,in accordance with the COMELEC Election Season Weapons Ban,the team was made to exit their vehicle and walk out of the outlying district on foot.All campaign materiels which included personalised bottles of liquor with Nograles' face imprinted upon the label were"confiscated"by the guerillas (hiccup) from the NPA's Pulang Bagani Company 1 (PBC1),the company sized formation belonging to one of the oldest NPA Fronts on Mindanao,Front 53.
After proving their point,whatever that"point"may be,the NPA surrdendered the SUV at 8PM that evening,notifying 1 of Nograles' campaign workers where they could pick up the SUV which had been left in satisfactory condition.
The AFP's (Armed Forces of the Philippines) 69IB (Infantry Battalion) rationalised the incident as primarily being the fault of Nograles' advance team.Why?The workers didnt coordinate their movements prior to entering the sector, as all candidates and supporters are advised to do,so says the 69th's CO (Commanding Officer),Col.De Mesa.
On March 22, 2010,in the town of Sapang-Dalaga in Misamis Occidental Province,incumbent Mayor Donjie"Dondon"D'lonso Animas was stopped at an NPA checkpoint and found his security detail disarmed of four 45 caliber pistols.
On Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 420 PM in Sitio Kalayan in Barangay Malixi near the border of Barangay San Vincente in the municipality of Tagbina in Surigao del Sur Province,Tagbina's Vice Mayor Jessie Callano who was running for mayor was stopped at an NPA checkpoint by 30 guerillas from Front 14 led by Ka Tata.Ka Tata demanded that Callano, who had been resistant up until then,finally buy a PTC for P50,000 (1,000 Euros).Callano sent for the money and once it was received,in approximately 30 minutes,he and his entourage were released.Two 45 pistols were captured by the NPA.
That same day in in Barangay Mabuhay in the town of Tandag which is also in Surigao del Sur Province,incumbent Mayor Alexander"Ayek" (not "Ike" as it is usually listed by the media) Pimentel,the brother of the governor and running unopposed in Tandag,had his security detail disarmed at an NPA checkpoint manned by 100 guerillas but was released after 30 minutes.
On April 15,2010 in the municipality of Gigaquit which is ALSO in Surigao del Sur Province,Mayor Caloy Egay had his security detail disamred at an NPA checkpoint.One KG 9 and one 45 caliber pistol were captured.
On April 20,2010 in the town of Sibagat in the province of Agusan del Sur,Mayor Dr.Thelma Gonzaga Lamanilao had her detail disarmed as well at an NPA checkpoint.One KG 9,two 45 caliber pistols,one 9MM and two 38 caliber revolvers were captured.
April 22,2010 in Barangay Santa Juana in the town of Tagbina in Surigao del Sur Province,incumbent Mayor Donnel Villaluz Polizon and 4 of the Sangguniang Bayan (Town Council) found themselves and their very large security detail disarmed at an NPA checkpoint.No inventory of divested weapons available.
Sunday,April 25,2010 in Sitio Paklap in Barangay San Vincente in Bislig City in Surigao del Sur Province,200 NPA guerillas from Front 14 under Ka Dino stopped the 2 SUVs of Provincial Council candidates Natciso Curalde and Gertrude Cabatingan who were travelling in tandem for safety.The 2 candidates were en route to a rally in Hinatuan's Barangay Tidman but never made it though they were released unharmed after 3 hours,and after paying for PTCs.
Speaking of Hinatuan,on April 26,2010 a well known supporter of incumbent Mayor Candelario J.Viola Jr. was stopped at an NPA checkpoint manned by 60 guerillas from the afore mentioned Front 14,this time under the command of Ka Juniel.The mayor himself was returning from a rally in Barangay San Vincente but intelligently took an alternate route upon leaving the gathering.When it was discovered that the supporter was not with the mayor the disappointed guerillas allowed the man to leave unmolested,albeit after a stern dressing down.
On April 28,2010,Wednesday,on Road #13 in Sitio Mamparasan in Barangay San Roque in Bislig City in Surigao del Sur Province,at 11AM,incumbent Mayor Alberto M.Tan was stopped and had himself and his security detail disarmed at an NPA checkpoint.
That same day,at 2PM in Sitio Cadlum in Barangay Kabangahan in the municipality of Tago in Surigao del Sur Province, a political rally for incumbent Congressman Philip Pichay,Tago's outgoing Mayor Hermenegildo Pimentel Jr.and the man running to replace him,Henrich Pimentel was interrupted by 30 NPA guerillas from Front 30,under Ka Puma.The guerillas quickly disarmed the extra-large security detail and managed to capture four AK47s,three M16s and 1 each of the following pistols:45 caliber,9MM, and 40 caliber.Congressman Pichay,who rarely travels in his own district says that he was so shaken up that he will now pay the PTC in any future candidacies.
On May 1,2010,early Saturday morning in the town of Malimono in the province of Surigao del Sur,incumbent Mayor Teodoro Sinaca's home was surrounded by well armed gunmen who then proceeded to strafe it with M16s for about 30 minutes.Malimono's MPO (Municipal Police Office,as in PNP station) responded in force and an intense firefight ensued for another hour before the gunmen withdrew into the bush.3 members of the mayor's family were moderately wounded in the gunbattle.
This incident has been pawned off on the NPA by the AFP and PNP,but of course it is entirely not the modus operandi of the NPA to surround a home and just shoot 3 round bursts for a half hour.For one thing,the NPA pays P40 to 50 Pesos per round (1 Euro,more or less) and otherwise depends almost entirely upon captured ammunition.That is purely from a common sensical point of view.More to the point,though its SPARU squads (incorrectly spelled as "Sparrow," assasination squads,"Special Partisan Armed Units") would never place themselves in such a jeapourdising position, neither do they operate in larger than 5 man contingents and almost always in 3,composed of 1 shooter,1 back -up and 1 look out.Almost certainly this was entirely related to a competitor who I will leave to the imagination owning to the very strict libel laws we enjoy here in the Philippines).
On Wednesday,May 5,2010 as the sun rose over Agusan-Davao National Hiway,Lingig Mayor Roberto"Jimmy"Luna Jr.and his 4 man security detail pulled up to what they believed was a PNP Checkpoint in Barangay Pasi-an in the town of Monkayo in ComVal (Compostela Valley) Province,not too far from Trento on the Agusan del Sur Provincial Line and Agusan Marsh.Much to their suprise however,the checkpoint was manned by the NPA guerillas who disarmed the 4 man detail (2 AFP soldiers and 2 PNP officers) and kidnapped all 5 men,seizing both their SUVs.
The mayor,who was en route to Davao Doctors Hospital to visit an ill son was"charged"by the NPA with a variety of offences:
1) Murdering his predecessor,Mayor Amerosin V.Onsing in 2001
2) Murdering the Suazo brothers in 2007 in his town's Barangay Union
3) Burning out squatters on a 30 hectare plot of land in Barangay Pagbacatan
4) Doing the same on a smaller plot on Dahican Island
5) Embezzling 26 million Pesos from a Land Bank Loan to improve irrigation in his municipality.The 2009 loan is now wrapped up in legal proceedings with government prosecutors charging him as well so the headaches just keep piling up for Mayor Luna.
He and his detail,2 Pfcs from the 58IB:
1) Arnel Dizon
2) Jon Rey Abao
along with 2 Lingig PNP officers:
1) PO2 Boy de Castro
2) PO3 Alan Dapitanon
were moved 5 times during their 8 days of captivity but were treated fairly well they all say,and were released in a carefully orchestrated propaganda exercise on May 13, 3 days after the election.
On May 8,2010,Saturday,11AM on the Hinatuan-Bislig City Boundry Road, in Sitio Tandawan in Barangay Loyola on the Bislig side.Outgoing Governor Vincente Pimentel Jr'sconvoy of 3 SUVs was stopped at an NPA checkpoint manned by 90 guerillas.The Governor's security detail then proceeded to get into a heated argument with the guerillas as they were being divested of weaponry and the scene could have easily turned into one giant blood bath.Instead the guerillas captured four M16s,one MP5 and two 45 caliber pistols and allowed the convoy to proceed.
They had been coming from a meeting about Lingig's afore mentioned Mayor Roberto"Jimmy"Luna Jr. who had just been kidnapped days before.It is also worth mentioning that the Governor,who has reached his term limit was campaigning for the mayoralty of Carrascal in Surigao del Sur Province,and later ended up winning that election.
In Davao Oriental Province's municipality of Lupon on Sunday,April 11th,2010 at 3 PM,mayoral candidate Arfran Larrobis Quinones who had served as mayor in the past as well,was en route to a campaign meeting with supporters to Sitio Tiombokan in Barangay Marayag and had just entered Sitio Calatagan in that same barangay when 30 NPA guerillas from Front 18 under Ka Benjie stopped them at a checkpoint.At 6PM all except Quinones and Barnagay Chairman/Captain Pedro Rosito were released.The 2 were kidnapped victims were then released as ComVal Governor Arturo Uy began negotiations for their release.Both were released in good condition on April 13th at 8PM in that town's Barangay Kalatagan.
Philosophically the group offers very little original ideology,strictly patterning itself after Mao in all key areas.Juxtapose 95% of orthadox Maosim with Sisonian ideology and you have a perfect fit.Needless to say I will go into great detail about the organisation and its beliefs in future entries,for now I am just trying to catalouge all recent events,especially with regard to the 2010 Election this past May 10th.
To the NPA's credit it does not overtly interfere in election related goings on but does take a very proactive stance with regard to candidates.This year,as in elections past,the group has"sold""PTCs" (Permits to Campaign).A PTC enables a candidate who buys one to campaign relatively worry free in the NPA's AOR (Area of Responsibility,in this case synonymous with Area of Operations).Contrary to AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) claims,there was no evolution this year towards a"PTW,"or"Permit to Win."The AFP claimed that this year,instead of PTCs the NPA was selling their services to ensure that a given candidate would win a particular office by mobilising their"mass base of support"(civilian supporters).For candidates unwilling to pay the relatively steep fee (a minimum of 50,000 Pesos,roughly 1,000 Euros),they risked having their security details disarmed at gunpoint,weapons taken and for a recalcitrant few,they risked kidnapping.
The NPA's AOR on Mindanao is almost entirely in the northeast and the Davao Region,connected by the Diwata Mountain chain from Surigao del Sur Province down through ComVal (Compostela Valley Province) with a strong pocket in N.Cotabato Province towards the Bukidnon provincial line.The following incidents all took place in the northeast, unless otherwise noted.A note,the title"Ka"is idiomatically akin to"Comrade"and is a unisex appellation.A"Front"is equivalent to a military company and they operate within a given geographical zone.
Valentine's Day in the Philippines is all about hearts,candy and love...unless you happen to live on Mindanao. On our island it is one of many times each year when specific insurgent groups make regularly timed attacks. Valentine's' because it is of course associated with the Catholic faith,the dominant religion of the Philippines,is a day on which the MILF/BIAF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces),and to a lesser extent ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) go on rampages.This Valentine's however the culprit was the NPA who launched a tactical operation in Barangay Sibahay in the town of Boston in Davao Oriental Province.Unfortunately,an innocent bystander, 13 year old Memilyn Moreno,was shot and killed.
March 11,2010 at 230PM in Davao City's Paquibato District,an NPA stronghold,an advance team for candidate Prospero Nograles was forced to stop at an NPA checkpoint.Although the occupants of the SUV were unarmed,in accordance with the COMELEC Election Season Weapons Ban,the team was made to exit their vehicle and walk out of the outlying district on foot.All campaign materiels which included personalised bottles of liquor with Nograles' face imprinted upon the label were"confiscated"by the guerillas (hiccup) from the NPA's Pulang Bagani Company 1 (PBC1),the company sized formation belonging to one of the oldest NPA Fronts on Mindanao,Front 53.
After proving their point,whatever that"point"may be,the NPA surrdendered the SUV at 8PM that evening,notifying 1 of Nograles' campaign workers where they could pick up the SUV which had been left in satisfactory condition.
The AFP's (Armed Forces of the Philippines) 69IB (Infantry Battalion) rationalised the incident as primarily being the fault of Nograles' advance team.Why?The workers didnt coordinate their movements prior to entering the sector, as all candidates and supporters are advised to do,so says the 69th's CO (Commanding Officer),Col.De Mesa.
On March 22, 2010,in the town of Sapang-Dalaga in Misamis Occidental Province,incumbent Mayor Donjie"Dondon"D'lonso Animas was stopped at an NPA checkpoint and found his security detail disarmed of four 45 caliber pistols.
On Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 420 PM in Sitio Kalayan in Barangay Malixi near the border of Barangay San Vincente in the municipality of Tagbina in Surigao del Sur Province,Tagbina's Vice Mayor Jessie Callano who was running for mayor was stopped at an NPA checkpoint by 30 guerillas from Front 14 led by Ka Tata.Ka Tata demanded that Callano, who had been resistant up until then,finally buy a PTC for P50,000 (1,000 Euros).Callano sent for the money and once it was received,in approximately 30 minutes,he and his entourage were released.Two 45 pistols were captured by the NPA.
That same day in in Barangay Mabuhay in the town of Tandag which is also in Surigao del Sur Province,incumbent Mayor Alexander"Ayek" (not "Ike" as it is usually listed by the media) Pimentel,the brother of the governor and running unopposed in Tandag,had his security detail disarmed at an NPA checkpoint manned by 100 guerillas but was released after 30 minutes.
On April 15,2010 in the municipality of Gigaquit which is ALSO in Surigao del Sur Province,Mayor Caloy Egay had his security detail disamred at an NPA checkpoint.One KG 9 and one 45 caliber pistol were captured.
On April 20,2010 in the town of Sibagat in the province of Agusan del Sur,Mayor Dr.Thelma Gonzaga Lamanilao had her detail disarmed as well at an NPA checkpoint.One KG 9,two 45 caliber pistols,one 9MM and two 38 caliber revolvers were captured.
April 22,2010 in Barangay Santa Juana in the town of Tagbina in Surigao del Sur Province,incumbent Mayor Donnel Villaluz Polizon and 4 of the Sangguniang Bayan (Town Council) found themselves and their very large security detail disarmed at an NPA checkpoint.No inventory of divested weapons available.
Sunday,April 25,2010 in Sitio Paklap in Barangay San Vincente in Bislig City in Surigao del Sur Province,200 NPA guerillas from Front 14 under Ka Dino stopped the 2 SUVs of Provincial Council candidates Natciso Curalde and Gertrude Cabatingan who were travelling in tandem for safety.The 2 candidates were en route to a rally in Hinatuan's Barangay Tidman but never made it though they were released unharmed after 3 hours,and after paying for PTCs.
Speaking of Hinatuan,on April 26,2010 a well known supporter of incumbent Mayor Candelario J.Viola Jr. was stopped at an NPA checkpoint manned by 60 guerillas from the afore mentioned Front 14,this time under the command of Ka Juniel.The mayor himself was returning from a rally in Barangay San Vincente but intelligently took an alternate route upon leaving the gathering.When it was discovered that the supporter was not with the mayor the disappointed guerillas allowed the man to leave unmolested,albeit after a stern dressing down.
On April 28,2010,Wednesday,on Road #13 in Sitio Mamparasan in Barangay San Roque in Bislig City in Surigao del Sur Province,at 11AM,incumbent Mayor Alberto M.Tan was stopped and had himself and his security detail disarmed at an NPA checkpoint.
That same day,at 2PM in Sitio Cadlum in Barangay Kabangahan in the municipality of Tago in Surigao del Sur Province, a political rally for incumbent Congressman Philip Pichay,Tago's outgoing Mayor Hermenegildo Pimentel Jr.and the man running to replace him,Henrich Pimentel was interrupted by 30 NPA guerillas from Front 30,under Ka Puma.The guerillas quickly disarmed the extra-large security detail and managed to capture four AK47s,three M16s and 1 each of the following pistols:45 caliber,9MM, and 40 caliber.Congressman Pichay,who rarely travels in his own district says that he was so shaken up that he will now pay the PTC in any future candidacies.
On May 1,2010,early Saturday morning in the town of Malimono in the province of Surigao del Sur,incumbent Mayor Teodoro Sinaca's home was surrounded by well armed gunmen who then proceeded to strafe it with M16s for about 30 minutes.Malimono's MPO (Municipal Police Office,as in PNP station) responded in force and an intense firefight ensued for another hour before the gunmen withdrew into the bush.3 members of the mayor's family were moderately wounded in the gunbattle.
This incident has been pawned off on the NPA by the AFP and PNP,but of course it is entirely not the modus operandi of the NPA to surround a home and just shoot 3 round bursts for a half hour.For one thing,the NPA pays P40 to 50 Pesos per round (1 Euro,more or less) and otherwise depends almost entirely upon captured ammunition.That is purely from a common sensical point of view.More to the point,though its SPARU squads (incorrectly spelled as "Sparrow," assasination squads,"Special Partisan Armed Units") would never place themselves in such a jeapourdising position, neither do they operate in larger than 5 man contingents and almost always in 3,composed of 1 shooter,1 back -up and 1 look out.Almost certainly this was entirely related to a competitor who I will leave to the imagination owning to the very strict libel laws we enjoy here in the Philippines).
On Wednesday,May 5,2010 as the sun rose over Agusan-Davao National Hiway,Lingig Mayor Roberto"Jimmy"Luna Jr.and his 4 man security detail pulled up to what they believed was a PNP Checkpoint in Barangay Pasi-an in the town of Monkayo in ComVal (Compostela Valley) Province,not too far from Trento on the Agusan del Sur Provincial Line and Agusan Marsh.Much to their suprise however,the checkpoint was manned by the NPA guerillas who disarmed the 4 man detail (2 AFP soldiers and 2 PNP officers) and kidnapped all 5 men,seizing both their SUVs.
The mayor,who was en route to Davao Doctors Hospital to visit an ill son was"charged"by the NPA with a variety of offences:
1) Murdering his predecessor,Mayor Amerosin V.Onsing in 2001
2) Murdering the Suazo brothers in 2007 in his town's Barangay Union
3) Burning out squatters on a 30 hectare plot of land in Barangay Pagbacatan
4) Doing the same on a smaller plot on Dahican Island
5) Embezzling 26 million Pesos from a Land Bank Loan to improve irrigation in his municipality.The 2009 loan is now wrapped up in legal proceedings with government prosecutors charging him as well so the headaches just keep piling up for Mayor Luna.
He and his detail,2 Pfcs from the 58IB:
1) Arnel Dizon
2) Jon Rey Abao
along with 2 Lingig PNP officers:
1) PO2 Boy de Castro
2) PO3 Alan Dapitanon
were moved 5 times during their 8 days of captivity but were treated fairly well they all say,and were released in a carefully orchestrated propaganda exercise on May 13, 3 days after the election.
On May 8,2010,Saturday,11AM on the Hinatuan-Bislig City Boundry Road, in Sitio Tandawan in Barangay Loyola on the Bislig side.Outgoing Governor Vincente Pimentel Jr'sconvoy of 3 SUVs was stopped at an NPA checkpoint manned by 90 guerillas.The Governor's security detail then proceeded to get into a heated argument with the guerillas as they were being divested of weaponry and the scene could have easily turned into one giant blood bath.Instead the guerillas captured four M16s,one MP5 and two 45 caliber pistols and allowed the convoy to proceed.
They had been coming from a meeting about Lingig's afore mentioned Mayor Roberto"Jimmy"Luna Jr. who had just been kidnapped days before.It is also worth mentioning that the Governor,who has reached his term limit was campaigning for the mayoralty of Carrascal in Surigao del Sur Province,and later ended up winning that election.
In Davao Oriental Province's municipality of Lupon on Sunday,April 11th,2010 at 3 PM,mayoral candidate Arfran Larrobis Quinones who had served as mayor in the past as well,was en route to a campaign meeting with supporters to Sitio Tiombokan in Barangay Marayag and had just entered Sitio Calatagan in that same barangay when 30 NPA guerillas from Front 18 under Ka Benjie stopped them at a checkpoint.At 6PM all except Quinones and Barnagay Chairman/Captain Pedro Rosito were released.The 2 were kidnapped victims were then released as ComVal Governor Arturo Uy began negotiations for their release.Both were released in good condition on April 13th at 8PM in that town's Barangay Kalatagan.
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