ASG,or the Abu Sayyaf Group,is a very small but volatile problem for the Philippine Government. Numbering less than 500 guerillas who are extremely factionalised and operating on only 2 of Mindanao's small island provinces (Basilan and Sulu) the organisation is approaching the 20 year mark with no end in sight. The different factions co-operate with one another but because of their relative isolation from each other are unable to forge a concerted ideological and operative front. In fact, the group has been almost entirely devoid of any ideology since 1999. Its activities centre upon KFR (Kidnap for Ransom) and Commercial Extortion. "Jihad" is used as a convenient rationale but that is where its Islamo-fascist leanings end.
One of the group's hallmarks is the use of ANFO (Ammonium Nitrate and Fuel Oil) primed IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices,as in"bombs"). Elsewhere in Mindanao ANFO is rarely utilised. Instead, bomb builders rely upon UXO (Unexploded Ordinance), especially mortar shells (the actualy substance is Compound B). Indeed, even within ASG AOR (Area of Responsibility, in this case "Area of Operation") one sees other groups using UXO. The typical ASG IED uses ANFO as the primer, TNT as the charge and 2 Nokia 3310 or 3315 cell phones as the powerpack and timer. Lately a second signature has been encountered on Basilan, which I will touch upon a bit later on in this entry.
April 9th, 2011 was much like any other Saturday Night at Spasky Lodging House. The 3 floored concrete building on the island province of Basilan's Barangay Maligaya in Lamitan City was rarely busy. Basilan has never been a tourist destination. With the majority of the islanders belonging to 1 of 4 Islamicised Tribes:
1) Yakan, the indigenous tribe of Basilan
2) Tausug, an Islamicised Bisaya Tribe centered upon Sulu Province's Jolo Island
3) Sama (Samal), the tribe indigenous to Sulu Province
4) Badjao (Bajao), a nomadic seafaring tribe known popularly as "Sea Gypsies"
there just wasn't a huge market for the sort of business most hotels depend upon. At 655PM 2 young men in their late teens or early 20s checked in carrying a large green plastic shopping bag. Requesting a room on the ground floor the young men were given the key to room #200. Just a few minutes later both men left, no longer carrying their shopping bag and hurried down Flores Street, away from the hotel. Just as the clock struck 710PM a powerful IED pancaked the entire building, 2 adjoining houses and everything inside them. As is almost always the case in Mindanao, the authorities refuse to discuss bodycounts. In fact, true to form, the official narrative has no casualties whatsoever. That is pretty amazing considering that at the bare minimum the desk clerk would have been crushed. Owner Jose Tejada had been receiving threatening SMS (Text) messages demanding monthly payments and just a week prior to the detonation he had been visited by 3 well armed ASG guerillas who again demanded a monthly protection fee. Mr.Tejada refused.
At a bit past 9PM that same night, Saturday April 9th, the 3rd Special Forces (Airborne) Battalion's COY 15 (15th Company) on foot patrol in Barangay Port Area [sic] of Basilan's provincial capitol Isabela City turned onto JS Alano Street. One keen soldier espied an abandoned shoulder bag sitting squarely against the exterior wall of an ice plant. Located just 10 meters from a street corner holding a petrol station and a videoke bar (known as the "Sofia Hotel") the AFP CO (Commanding Officer),1LT (First Lieutenant) Arizabel cautiously approached the bag and by carefully examining it found that it contained a small plastic doll (yep,go figure) and a cluster of wires. Ordering his men to set a perimeter to protect an unsuspecting public he then contacted the nearest EOD (Explosives and Ordinance Disposal), in this case the PNP SAF (Philippine National Police Special Action Force, the PNP Special Forces element). After vetting the device which consisted of 2 Nokia 3310 cellphones, a clear plastic lunch box-type container that held the ANFO slash TNT payload and was labeled "ABO SAYYAF" [sic], entirely in capitol letters, the EOD detonated it on site without incident.
At 10AM the next morning the 32IB (Infantry Battalion) was conducting a limited foot patrol with a K9 (bomb sniffing dog) to secure a mobile checkpoint in front of Lamitan Central Elementary School) on Quezon Blvd. The dog alerted and quickly uncovered a yellow plastic shopping bag which, except for it not having a plastic doll was exactly the same signature as the device found in front of the ice plant in Isabela City. The payload sat in a pink tinted clear lunch box-type plastic container. 32IB EOD responded and safely removed the device and disposed of it off site.
On Good Friday, April 22nd, 2011 a passerby discovered a very powerful IED placed directly in front of the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) Building. Though most people unfamiliar with the locale focused on the BIR the site is actually a mere 7 meters from the main gate to Santa Isabela Cathedral, a large Catholic Church that was holding Good Friday Mass. Again, this device had the same signature except that its payload was much larger and was wrapped inside bands of sheetrock nails.
The next day, Saturday April 23rd, a teenaged boy was enjoying the cool evening air in Isabela City when he decided to take a shortcut across Plaza Rizal and its Rizal Monument, opposite the Basilan Provincial Capital Complex. As the youth approached the monument itself he saw a blinking red light inside a pile of rocks placed around the base of the statue. To his credit he didn't approach it but rather dialed up the Isabela CPO (City Police Office) which promptly deployed a detachment. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after discovering a flashlight wired to a 9Volt battery.
Showing posts with label Isabela City. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isabela City. Show all posts
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Kidnap for Ransom,First Quarter of 2011,Part IV:Amir Nasser Arasul,Poroa Botawan Sancaan,Bairah Datumanong Sangcaan,Roberto Tacobo and Uju Araba'n
On Sunday,January 02,2011 Ujun Arabain joined family and friends at the wedding of a clan member in his home town of Indanan on Jolo Island in Sulu Province.Arabain didn't get a whole lot of time off from his position as Registar at HBSAT and so he looked forward to the wedding as a welcomed change of pace.HBSAT,or"Hadji Butu School of Arts and Trade"on Scott Road in the provincial capitol of Jolo City was formerly known as"National School of the Arts."With separate high school and college programmes and with Mr.Arabain bring the school's sole Registar,he was always struggling to keep up with an incredibly demanding schedule.
Enjoying the wedding feast at a bit past 2PM Mr.Arabain was busy in conversation and was therefore unaware that 5 well armed men had forced their way into the festivities.The leader of the gunmen.Abu Sayyaf sub-Kumander Aldin"Abu Shaining"Bagadi happens to be a 3rd cousin of Arabain's and as luck would have it had come specifically to settle an internal feud centering upon financial issues.Grabbing Mr.Arabain's possesions the 5 men hurriedly left,dragging Arabain as they went.
As unfortunate as the sordid event was it was rapidly concluded and unlike many kidnappings in the Southern Philippines it had a happy ending.Courtesy of clan elders,Mr.Arabain was released after they were able to convince the Abu Sayyaf guerillas to release Mr.Arabain.Just 47 hours later on the afternoon of January 4th,the shaken victim was back in his home in Indanan.If only those same"elders"had the decency to intervene in the cases of non-related kidnapping victims as well.
On the afternoon of February 13th,2011 6 year old Amir Nasser Arasul was walking alone on Kalle Prospero (Prospero Street) in Isabela City's Barangay San Rafael,the provincial capitol of Basilan.Suddenly,2 men riding tandem on a single motorcycle pulled up in front of the little boy,grabbed him without waning and just as quickly sped away.Within an hour Amir's father,Legislator Nasser Arasul,a CLA member (Consultative Legislative Assembly,the legislature of the ARMM,or Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) received a phone call informing him that his young son was being ransomed by Barangay Chairman Ronnie Keseg of Barangay Tablas in the town of Tuburan,also on the island province of Basilan.
Aside from serving as a Barangay Chairman,or as they better are much better known,Barangay Captain,Keseg also serves as his municipality's Chairman of the"ABC,"or"Association of Barangay Chairmen,"an entity composed of every barangay chairman in a given municipality.ABC Chairmen also serve as ex-officio members of municipal councils.Keseg took aim at the Arasul Clan because of Haber Arasul.Haber,brother of Legislator Nasser recently ended his term as Mayor of Sumisip,also on Basilan.While still mayor Haber incurred a debt of P300,000 ($6,200) to the Keseg Clan.
After receiving the phone call regarding his son Legislator Arusul took a highly unusual step and called the PNP (Philippine National Police) to seek their assistance in the case.Calling the PNP,or any authorities is usually the last thing someone will want do if victimised by a KFR (Kidnap for Ransom).In most cases PNP officers are complicit on one level or another,if not actually pulling strings themselves.Involvement runs from the lowest ranking officers (PO1s) to some of the highest ranking personnel (even up to Senior Inspector).Just this week a KFR organisation composed entirely of PNP personnel was discovered,albeit on Luzon.Another consideration is the lack of training for officers on all aspects of police work BUT ESPECIALLY with regard to KFR.Then there are other things to consider,namely,the PNP must inform LGUs (Local Government Units,i.e.barangay,municipal and provincial governments) and when KFRs take place the Standard Operating Procedure,as dictated by the philippine Government,is to immediately create a task force dedicated to that specific kidnapping.IF the PNP in a given area is unmarred by institutional involvement it is a guarantee that the LGU IS.LGUs are likewise involved in it either through direct participation or else simply by complicity.Mindanao has 4 KFR orbits:
1) Jolo Island in Sulu Province
2) Zamboanga City-Basilan Island nexus
3) Cotabato City to Liguasan Marsh nexus
4) Marawi City to Poona Piagapo nexus in Lanao del Sur Province
In each of these 4 orbits the LGUs are involved in the utmost.I reckon this would probably be worthy of at least 1 post all its own if not an actual series but for the sake of brevity I will just point to Cotabato City and Liguasan Marsh.In both the city and almost every municipality skirting the marsh there are public officials directly profiting from KFR.In the city,local warlord,Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema (concurrently the Chairman of the MNLF-EC15,MNLF-Executive Committee of 15,an off shoot of the larger MNLF-Misuari) is the shot-caller in the Tsinoy (Filipinos of Chinese descent) KFRs that have been plagueing Cotabato City and its environs for the last decade and change.Sema hasn't always been top dog of course but during his 3 terms as Mayor he was able to supplant the BMA-Misuari (the BMA,or Bangsamoro Army being the armed wing of the MNLF) and BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces,the armed wing of the MILF) Kumanders (amongst Islamic Insurgent organisations in the Southern Philippines the term"Kumander"denotes a Commanding Officer) that had here to fore carved a niche in this virtual cottage industry as armed conflicts powered down during the many peace processes that have been implemented and re-implemented.
So,if one has any sort of common sense they keep both the PNP as well as all LGUs as far away as they can.The goal is always profit and the KFR organisations ALWAYS expect serious negotiating.Just as in any negotiation you do not want a member of the opposition sitting in the room as you discuss pricing amongst your allies.More over,you don't want the KFR organisations being able to gauge your level of emotional and/or financial desperation.
Nasser Arasul,as an ARMM politico is well aware of the standard process in KFRs as well as the dangers one faces in directly involving the PNP.Yet,one of the first things Arasul did was call Director,Chief Supt.Felicisimo Khu ofDIPO-West.DIPO,or Directorate of Integrated Police Operations,was created at the end of 2008 to deal specifically with jurisdictional conflicts within the PNP's myriad of organisational entities.Aside from a bloated bureaucracy the PNP is inhibited by the crazy quilt-like patchwork of LGU demarcation.Arasul's home province of Basilan Island for example is very emblematic of this problem.
Basilan constitutes an entire province of Mindanao.The island,except for its provincial capitol,Isabela City,is encompassed within the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao).Isabela City on the other hand is administratively attached to Region IX which itself encompasses the entire Zamboanga Peninsula.So,you have a city,on an island.The city serves as the capitol of this island BUT isn't attached to the island in terms of regional government.Instead it is attached to a peninsula some 17km away.Travel between the island and the peninsula isn't exactly easy,nor is it easy in terms of infrastructural parity,implementation of regional programming and so forth.Yet,these LGU demarcations are but one piece of the puzzle.The other factor involves law enforcement.The PNP was demilitarised in the post-Marcos Era and to avoid a repeat of the mistakes made while militarised the police were sublimated to the DILG,the Department of the Interior and Local Government.Now,that shouldn't have really led to any real issues since the DILG concurrently oversees all LGUs.Ergo the department should be able to formulate a system that matches its LGUs,providing aququate coverage and services.At least that would be intuitive.However,when your LGUs are structured without rhyme or reason it is impossible to do so.
The LGUs aren't the only problem.The PNP is itself incredibly bloated.There are 2 main structures to deal with:
1) Operational Support Units
2) Police Regional Offices
These 2 structures are entirely parallel command structures subordinate the national headquarters.Ideally there would be a mechanism for parallel communication but it doesn't exist above and beyond informal relationships between individual personnel.Under the Police Regional Office,or PRO,you have the sublimated entities such as PSM (Public Safety Management,formerly known as"PMGs"or Police Mobile Groups),operating in battalion sized elements.Parallel to PSM/PMGs there is a second structure composed of PPOs (Provincial Police Offices) under which are CPOs (City Police Offices) and MPOs,also known as MPSs,or"Municipal Police Offices"or the more commonly known"Municipal Police Stations."
The parallel command structure,OSU,or Operational Support Units,have 3 main sublimated structures (and several less structures).All these different structures are entirely parallel to one another.The 3 main structures:
1) Intelligence Group
2) CIDG,or Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.Further complicating matters is the fact that CIDGs are attached regionally,BUT NOT sublimated to the afore mentioned PRO (Police Regional Office).
3) SAF,or Special Action Force.SAF are Special Forces,primarily utilised in combat environmemts.
If you think this is confusing,imaging someone whose loved one has been kidnapped.Let's take the Arasul Case for an example.The man's 6 year old son has been abducted in Isabela City in Basilan Province.The child was then taken outside the city.Inside the city it is Region IX,outside it is ARMM.CIDG 9,CIDG-ARMM,PRP-ARMM,PRO-9,Isabela City CPO,Tuburan MPO/MPS,what to do?Who to call?
In a more structured environment it would be fine to call any and all because not only would each organisation have the means to effectively communicate and liason with any other of the listed organisations,they would all have an SOP,or Standard Operating Procedure.There would be explicitly articulated protocols and contingencies in place to deal with this exact situation.For example,using the American Model,a kidnapping is under the jurisdiction of the municipal police force where the actual abduction occurred.IF the municipal police force is under equipped OR overwhelmed it is freely able to liason with the state police force who have statewide jurisdiction.IF the kidnapping involves an abduction and conveyance across state borders,even into a neighbouring state,it is taken out of the hands of the municipal and state police and automatically given to the FBI,or Federal Bureau of Investigation.Everybody involved is more than clear on how jurisdiction is handled.
To the PNP's credit it realised that the large amount of kidnappings in Region IX were an organisational nightmare.Quite a number take place in Zamboanga City with the victim being spirited across the strait and onto Basilan.In other words,an abduction would take place in Region IX,and the victim would be immediately taken into ARMM.This immediate changing of jurisdictions crippled law enforcement.So,on November 14,2008 the PNP created DIPO,the Directorate of Integrated Police Operations.Intially there were only 2,DIPO-East and DIPO-West with the latter being the main focus.Headquartered in Zamboanga City its mandate was to improve prevention and interdiction of KFR assailants.Currently,DIPO-West is under the command of the afore mentioned Director,Chief Supt.Khu.
After Arasul phoned Director Khu the latter took a launch across to Isabela City,the immediate response hinging on Arasul's position as a legislator.The next day,February 14th Khu escorted Arasul to the home of Vice Mayor of Tuburan,Durie Kalahal.Kalahal had been briefed by phone and had arranged a formal sit down in the interim.Kalahal,Khu and Arasul proceeded to the Keseg compound where they discussed Keseg's demands.After 7.5 hours the 2 protagonists had agreed that Arasul would pay his brother's debt and Keseg agreed to release Arasul's son.
Tuburan,Ronnie Keseg's hometown,is an Abu Sayyaf centre of operations and most of the local politicians have been compromised by clan loyalty,financial profiteering or even so far as actually joining ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) themselves.Keseg isn't listed as an ASG member but he could not maintain a power base in the municipality without the co-operation of Abu Sayyaf.
On Thursday,March 01,2011,50 year old Roberto Tacbobo was spending his day in the usual manner.Driving his employer's 10 wheeler the Iligan City resident was travelling down Narciso Ramos National Hiway in the municipality of Masiu,in Lanao del Sur Province.Having entered Barangay Sawir he was returning to his employer,Macarambon Calandada in the town of Saguiran,also in Lanao del Sur.With no load,having just delivered rice in the municipality of Lumbayanague Mr.Tacbobo must have realised that he wasn't facing a hijacking when 4 motorcycles rapidly boxed him. In.Despite the appellation"hiway,"Narciso Ramos is exactly like all other hiways on Mindanao,a 2 lane road with no shoulder.Therefore there wasn't much Tacbob could do but slow his pace and allow them to corral him into a gradual stop.
Each motorcycle held 2 men riding tandem.Each one of the 4 passengers were fully armed and so Roberto Tacbobo had no choice but to comply and enter the van that soon pulled up.Lucky for Mr.Tacbobo hus employer wasd ready,willing and able to pay his ransom (amount undetermined) and gain his employeezks release.On Saturday,March 3rd at 4PM,Roberto Tacbobo was released unharmed in Barangay Sandab in the municipality of Butig,Lanao del Sur Province.
On Wednesday March 23,2011 57 year old attorney Poroa Botawan Sangcaan and his wife,Baira Datumanong Sangcaan,53,a public scool teacher were en route to a Kandoori (tribal feast) when they were waylaid at an impromptu checkpoint in the municipality of Pantar Ragao in Lanao del Norte Province.The 4 armed men stopped every vehicle entering Barangay Kalanganan,scanning faces as they searched for specific people.Pulling up in their green Toyota Adventure the Sangcaans had no idea that they check point had been hastily implemented entirely for their benefit.
As soon as the couple were recognised the leader of the 4 gunmen,Arpa"Arafat"Alim Gumpal ordered his men,all clansmen,to disassemble the checkpoint and get into the SUV with the couple.The 3 other men:
1) Farouk"Froxy"Alim Gumpal
2) Odeng Gumpal
3) Lucman"Lucky"Gumpal
Quickly did as they were told and the SUV sped off.The Gumpal Clan almost immediately sold them up the food chain to a very well established KFR group in the town of Poona Piagapo,in that same province,Lanao del Sur.Holding the terrified couple in that town's Barangay Mamaan and initially demanded P1.5 Million (~$33,000) but as is always the case gradually lowered their deman to P500,000 (~$11,500) and then finally to P250,000 (~$5,250).The couple's family members were able to collectively raise that sum and so on Saturday,March 26th the couple were released on the outskirts of Poona Piagapo.
As usual even the Government couldn't get the facts straight and reported the husband as Akmad Sangka Datumanong.Datumanong,a clansman of the female victim,is the Barangay Chairman of Barangay Dadu in the town of Malundo,also in the province of Lanao del Sur.It is extremely ironic given that that actual male victim,Poroa Botawan Sangcaan is a Government employee!He is Legal Counsel for DENR-10 (Department of the Environment and Natural Resources-Region X).The DENR has its share of pratfalls given the profits involves in logging and mining,legal and illegal,all of which come under the domain of that office.The possibility that the male victim's position may habe had something to do with the couple being victimised is certainly something that should be considered.In any event,the couple,residents of Barangay Poblacion in Marawi City were none worse for the wear,all things considered.
Enjoying the wedding feast at a bit past 2PM Mr.Arabain was busy in conversation and was therefore unaware that 5 well armed men had forced their way into the festivities.The leader of the gunmen.Abu Sayyaf sub-Kumander Aldin"Abu Shaining"Bagadi happens to be a 3rd cousin of Arabain's and as luck would have it had come specifically to settle an internal feud centering upon financial issues.Grabbing Mr.Arabain's possesions the 5 men hurriedly left,dragging Arabain as they went.
As unfortunate as the sordid event was it was rapidly concluded and unlike many kidnappings in the Southern Philippines it had a happy ending.Courtesy of clan elders,Mr.Arabain was released after they were able to convince the Abu Sayyaf guerillas to release Mr.Arabain.Just 47 hours later on the afternoon of January 4th,the shaken victim was back in his home in Indanan.If only those same"elders"had the decency to intervene in the cases of non-related kidnapping victims as well.
On the afternoon of February 13th,2011 6 year old Amir Nasser Arasul was walking alone on Kalle Prospero (Prospero Street) in Isabela City's Barangay San Rafael,the provincial capitol of Basilan.Suddenly,2 men riding tandem on a single motorcycle pulled up in front of the little boy,grabbed him without waning and just as quickly sped away.Within an hour Amir's father,Legislator Nasser Arasul,a CLA member (Consultative Legislative Assembly,the legislature of the ARMM,or Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) received a phone call informing him that his young son was being ransomed by Barangay Chairman Ronnie Keseg of Barangay Tablas in the town of Tuburan,also on the island province of Basilan.
Aside from serving as a Barangay Chairman,or as they better are much better known,Barangay Captain,Keseg also serves as his municipality's Chairman of the"ABC,"or"Association of Barangay Chairmen,"an entity composed of every barangay chairman in a given municipality.ABC Chairmen also serve as ex-officio members of municipal councils.Keseg took aim at the Arasul Clan because of Haber Arasul.Haber,brother of Legislator Nasser recently ended his term as Mayor of Sumisip,also on Basilan.While still mayor Haber incurred a debt of P300,000 ($6,200) to the Keseg Clan.
After receiving the phone call regarding his son Legislator Arusul took a highly unusual step and called the PNP (Philippine National Police) to seek their assistance in the case.Calling the PNP,or any authorities is usually the last thing someone will want do if victimised by a KFR (Kidnap for Ransom).In most cases PNP officers are complicit on one level or another,if not actually pulling strings themselves.Involvement runs from the lowest ranking officers (PO1s) to some of the highest ranking personnel (even up to Senior Inspector).Just this week a KFR organisation composed entirely of PNP personnel was discovered,albeit on Luzon.Another consideration is the lack of training for officers on all aspects of police work BUT ESPECIALLY with regard to KFR.Then there are other things to consider,namely,the PNP must inform LGUs (Local Government Units,i.e.barangay,municipal and provincial governments) and when KFRs take place the Standard Operating Procedure,as dictated by the philippine Government,is to immediately create a task force dedicated to that specific kidnapping.IF the PNP in a given area is unmarred by institutional involvement it is a guarantee that the LGU IS.LGUs are likewise involved in it either through direct participation or else simply by complicity.Mindanao has 4 KFR orbits:
1) Jolo Island in Sulu Province
2) Zamboanga City-Basilan Island nexus
3) Cotabato City to Liguasan Marsh nexus
4) Marawi City to Poona Piagapo nexus in Lanao del Sur Province
In each of these 4 orbits the LGUs are involved in the utmost.I reckon this would probably be worthy of at least 1 post all its own if not an actual series but for the sake of brevity I will just point to Cotabato City and Liguasan Marsh.In both the city and almost every municipality skirting the marsh there are public officials directly profiting from KFR.In the city,local warlord,Vice Mayor Muslimin Sema (concurrently the Chairman of the MNLF-EC15,MNLF-Executive Committee of 15,an off shoot of the larger MNLF-Misuari) is the shot-caller in the Tsinoy (Filipinos of Chinese descent) KFRs that have been plagueing Cotabato City and its environs for the last decade and change.Sema hasn't always been top dog of course but during his 3 terms as Mayor he was able to supplant the BMA-Misuari (the BMA,or Bangsamoro Army being the armed wing of the MNLF) and BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces,the armed wing of the MILF) Kumanders (amongst Islamic Insurgent organisations in the Southern Philippines the term"Kumander"denotes a Commanding Officer) that had here to fore carved a niche in this virtual cottage industry as armed conflicts powered down during the many peace processes that have been implemented and re-implemented.
So,if one has any sort of common sense they keep both the PNP as well as all LGUs as far away as they can.The goal is always profit and the KFR organisations ALWAYS expect serious negotiating.Just as in any negotiation you do not want a member of the opposition sitting in the room as you discuss pricing amongst your allies.More over,you don't want the KFR organisations being able to gauge your level of emotional and/or financial desperation.
Nasser Arasul,as an ARMM politico is well aware of the standard process in KFRs as well as the dangers one faces in directly involving the PNP.Yet,one of the first things Arasul did was call Director,Chief Supt.Felicisimo Khu ofDIPO-West.DIPO,or Directorate of Integrated Police Operations,was created at the end of 2008 to deal specifically with jurisdictional conflicts within the PNP's myriad of organisational entities.Aside from a bloated bureaucracy the PNP is inhibited by the crazy quilt-like patchwork of LGU demarcation.Arasul's home province of Basilan Island for example is very emblematic of this problem.
Basilan constitutes an entire province of Mindanao.The island,except for its provincial capitol,Isabela City,is encompassed within the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao).Isabela City on the other hand is administratively attached to Region IX which itself encompasses the entire Zamboanga Peninsula.So,you have a city,on an island.The city serves as the capitol of this island BUT isn't attached to the island in terms of regional government.Instead it is attached to a peninsula some 17km away.Travel between the island and the peninsula isn't exactly easy,nor is it easy in terms of infrastructural parity,implementation of regional programming and so forth.Yet,these LGU demarcations are but one piece of the puzzle.The other factor involves law enforcement.The PNP was demilitarised in the post-Marcos Era and to avoid a repeat of the mistakes made while militarised the police were sublimated to the DILG,the Department of the Interior and Local Government.Now,that shouldn't have really led to any real issues since the DILG concurrently oversees all LGUs.Ergo the department should be able to formulate a system that matches its LGUs,providing aququate coverage and services.At least that would be intuitive.However,when your LGUs are structured without rhyme or reason it is impossible to do so.
The LGUs aren't the only problem.The PNP is itself incredibly bloated.There are 2 main structures to deal with:
1) Operational Support Units
2) Police Regional Offices
These 2 structures are entirely parallel command structures subordinate the national headquarters.Ideally there would be a mechanism for parallel communication but it doesn't exist above and beyond informal relationships between individual personnel.Under the Police Regional Office,or PRO,you have the sublimated entities such as PSM (Public Safety Management,formerly known as"PMGs"or Police Mobile Groups),operating in battalion sized elements.Parallel to PSM/PMGs there is a second structure composed of PPOs (Provincial Police Offices) under which are CPOs (City Police Offices) and MPOs,also known as MPSs,or"Municipal Police Offices"or the more commonly known"Municipal Police Stations."
The parallel command structure,OSU,or Operational Support Units,have 3 main sublimated structures (and several less structures).All these different structures are entirely parallel to one another.The 3 main structures:
1) Intelligence Group
2) CIDG,or Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.Further complicating matters is the fact that CIDGs are attached regionally,BUT NOT sublimated to the afore mentioned PRO (Police Regional Office).
3) SAF,or Special Action Force.SAF are Special Forces,primarily utilised in combat environmemts.
If you think this is confusing,imaging someone whose loved one has been kidnapped.Let's take the Arasul Case for an example.The man's 6 year old son has been abducted in Isabela City in Basilan Province.The child was then taken outside the city.Inside the city it is Region IX,outside it is ARMM.CIDG 9,CIDG-ARMM,PRP-ARMM,PRO-9,Isabela City CPO,Tuburan MPO/MPS,what to do?Who to call?
In a more structured environment it would be fine to call any and all because not only would each organisation have the means to effectively communicate and liason with any other of the listed organisations,they would all have an SOP,or Standard Operating Procedure.There would be explicitly articulated protocols and contingencies in place to deal with this exact situation.For example,using the American Model,a kidnapping is under the jurisdiction of the municipal police force where the actual abduction occurred.IF the municipal police force is under equipped OR overwhelmed it is freely able to liason with the state police force who have statewide jurisdiction.IF the kidnapping involves an abduction and conveyance across state borders,even into a neighbouring state,it is taken out of the hands of the municipal and state police and automatically given to the FBI,or Federal Bureau of Investigation.Everybody involved is more than clear on how jurisdiction is handled.
To the PNP's credit it realised that the large amount of kidnappings in Region IX were an organisational nightmare.Quite a number take place in Zamboanga City with the victim being spirited across the strait and onto Basilan.In other words,an abduction would take place in Region IX,and the victim would be immediately taken into ARMM.This immediate changing of jurisdictions crippled law enforcement.So,on November 14,2008 the PNP created DIPO,the Directorate of Integrated Police Operations.Intially there were only 2,DIPO-East and DIPO-West with the latter being the main focus.Headquartered in Zamboanga City its mandate was to improve prevention and interdiction of KFR assailants.Currently,DIPO-West is under the command of the afore mentioned Director,Chief Supt.Khu.
After Arasul phoned Director Khu the latter took a launch across to Isabela City,the immediate response hinging on Arasul's position as a legislator.The next day,February 14th Khu escorted Arasul to the home of Vice Mayor of Tuburan,Durie Kalahal.Kalahal had been briefed by phone and had arranged a formal sit down in the interim.Kalahal,Khu and Arasul proceeded to the Keseg compound where they discussed Keseg's demands.After 7.5 hours the 2 protagonists had agreed that Arasul would pay his brother's debt and Keseg agreed to release Arasul's son.
Tuburan,Ronnie Keseg's hometown,is an Abu Sayyaf centre of operations and most of the local politicians have been compromised by clan loyalty,financial profiteering or even so far as actually joining ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) themselves.Keseg isn't listed as an ASG member but he could not maintain a power base in the municipality without the co-operation of Abu Sayyaf.
On Thursday,March 01,2011,50 year old Roberto Tacbobo was spending his day in the usual manner.Driving his employer's 10 wheeler the Iligan City resident was travelling down Narciso Ramos National Hiway in the municipality of Masiu,in Lanao del Sur Province.Having entered Barangay Sawir he was returning to his employer,Macarambon Calandada in the town of Saguiran,also in Lanao del Sur.With no load,having just delivered rice in the municipality of Lumbayanague Mr.Tacbobo must have realised that he wasn't facing a hijacking when 4 motorcycles rapidly boxed him. In.Despite the appellation"hiway,"Narciso Ramos is exactly like all other hiways on Mindanao,a 2 lane road with no shoulder.Therefore there wasn't much Tacbob could do but slow his pace and allow them to corral him into a gradual stop.
Each motorcycle held 2 men riding tandem.Each one of the 4 passengers were fully armed and so Roberto Tacbobo had no choice but to comply and enter the van that soon pulled up.Lucky for Mr.Tacbobo hus employer wasd ready,willing and able to pay his ransom (amount undetermined) and gain his employeezks release.On Saturday,March 3rd at 4PM,Roberto Tacbobo was released unharmed in Barangay Sandab in the municipality of Butig,Lanao del Sur Province.
On Wednesday March 23,2011 57 year old attorney Poroa Botawan Sangcaan and his wife,Baira Datumanong Sangcaan,53,a public scool teacher were en route to a Kandoori (tribal feast) when they were waylaid at an impromptu checkpoint in the municipality of Pantar Ragao in Lanao del Norte Province.The 4 armed men stopped every vehicle entering Barangay Kalanganan,scanning faces as they searched for specific people.Pulling up in their green Toyota Adventure the Sangcaans had no idea that they check point had been hastily implemented entirely for their benefit.
As soon as the couple were recognised the leader of the 4 gunmen,Arpa"Arafat"Alim Gumpal ordered his men,all clansmen,to disassemble the checkpoint and get into the SUV with the couple.The 3 other men:
1) Farouk"Froxy"Alim Gumpal
2) Odeng Gumpal
3) Lucman"Lucky"Gumpal
Quickly did as they were told and the SUV sped off.The Gumpal Clan almost immediately sold them up the food chain to a very well established KFR group in the town of Poona Piagapo,in that same province,Lanao del Sur.Holding the terrified couple in that town's Barangay Mamaan and initially demanded P1.5 Million (~$33,000) but as is always the case gradually lowered their deman to P500,000 (~$11,500) and then finally to P250,000 (~$5,250).The couple's family members were able to collectively raise that sum and so on Saturday,March 26th the couple were released on the outskirts of Poona Piagapo.
As usual even the Government couldn't get the facts straight and reported the husband as Akmad Sangka Datumanong.Datumanong,a clansman of the female victim,is the Barangay Chairman of Barangay Dadu in the town of Malundo,also in the province of Lanao del Sur.It is extremely ironic given that that actual male victim,Poroa Botawan Sangcaan is a Government employee!He is Legal Counsel for DENR-10 (Department of the Environment and Natural Resources-Region X).The DENR has its share of pratfalls given the profits involves in logging and mining,legal and illegal,all of which come under the domain of that office.The possibility that the male victim's position may habe had something to do with the couple being victimised is certainly something that should be considered.In any event,the couple,residents of Barangay Poblacion in Marawi City were none worse for the wear,all things considered.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Abu Sayyaf Armed Contacts for First and Second Quarters of 2010
Seeing as how I have spent the last 2 entries discussing the island province of Basilan I thought I might make a relatively painless segue directly into an update about actions undertaken by the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) as I begin discussing the insurgency on that small island.
On Feburary 2nd, 2010, Tuesday at 12PM in Barangay Guiong in the town of Maluso in Basilan Province, an AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) 6 x 6 truck with armoured refitting was flipped onto its back by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device, i.e. "Bomb"), one of two that day on that same Sumisip-Maluso Road (I wrote about the second IED in my previous entry on the Election Related Violence on Basilan). Corporal Bryan Ansing of the 32IB (Infantry Battalion) was killed instantly while eight of his mates were severely wounded.
With two IEDs by Abu Sayyaf, one hitting the army, the second hitting a politician, it is difficult to say which 1 was the target. IEDs in the Philippines are almost always command detonated (someone must physically detonate it, no timer is used) as indeed these two were...which leads one to wonder just whom the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) was aiming for. Conceivably it could have been both but the organisation hasn't attempted any finely co-ordinated attacks since the younger Janjalani brother was killed on Jolo Island. It is more likely than not that the target was the military and that the political killing was simply a stroke of luck (good luck for ASG but terrible luck of course for the victims).
Feburary 26th, 2010, at 820PM in Barangay Biembengan, in the municipality of Sumisip in Basilan Province,the two Chinese nationals kidnapped from the island's Chinese owned Hi-Tech Wood Craft Plywood mill in the town of Maluso on Novemeber 10th, 2009 were finally freed. They had been taken with Filipino worker Mark Singson who was decapitated not long after because of his family's refusal to negotiate a ransom. 51 year old Zhi Shun Lu, known as "Oscar Lu," and 27 year old Bo Shung Tan, known as "Michael Tan," were found after a firefight between the Marines and ASG's Puruji Indama Faction, the strongest ASG faction on Basilan.
The men, both natives of Guanghzou, China, were then taken to the AFP's Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City for de-briefing and the requisite hospitalisation. Unfortunately, the older man, "Oscar Lu," who has had advanced kidney disease for a number of years, and who of course was without medications and dialysis for the length of his ordeal, passed away due to organ failure three days after being found. Talk about "mixed blessings."
On Saturday, Feburary 27th, 2010,at 545AM in the town of Maluso's Barangay Tubigan seventy ASG guerillas launched a village wide raid and burned five homes down by throwing kerosene lamps onto the thatched huts roofs. Most villagers were still sleeping at what for them was a relatively late hour due to an Islamic holiday the evening before and a party at the village mosque. As villagers were running for safety ASG began picking them off. Eleven died on scene. The raid stemmed from a personal disagreement between the Barangay Chairman/Captain (village chief) and an ASG factional leader,Puruji Indama. One of the dead was an off duty CVO soldier (Civilian Volunteer Organization, one of four entities that together form the CAA, or Civilian Active Auxiliary,the cornerstone of the AFP's counterinsurgency Force Multiplication protocol. CVO though, unlike all others, is under the PNP, Philippine National Police, and not the AFP). Among the initial eleven killed was young mother Karen Bucoy, her 9 year old son Arjie, and infant Abigail who were all burned alive in their home.
Other eight casulaties:
1) Benjie Laping
2) Timhaar Arakani
3) Uding Pagdalian
4) John Laping
5) Salima Salapuddin
6) Lorna Sahidda Salisa
7) Tawasil Idjiran
the eleventh initial victim, the CVO soldier, has not been immediately identified as per SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). In addition, ten other villagers were wounded, with two of them dying over the next 48 hours. One of the latter was 9 year old Jabrian Laping who died from organ failure related to his severe burns. The last and thirteenth fatality has not had their identity released.
Thursday, March 18th, 2010 was a lucky day for Examinda Lindio of Isabela City on Basilan, perhaps her luckiest ever when the AFP was able to pressure her Abu Sayyaf kidnappers into withdrawing without her. At 11AM, in Barangay San Jose Maloong, in Lamitan City in Basilan Province, MBLT-1 (Marine Battalion Landing Team #1 (a Landing Team being the equivalent of a company in strength but battalion in deployment) affected the capture Abu Sayyaf member Arvin Guirny of that same barangay.
After interrogating him they were able to glean the location of Ms.Lindio and by 115PM were in position. As the cordon tightened lookouts alerted the kidnappers who quickly fled the abandoned three story building without taking the necessary time to free and take their captive who was held in a tiny crawlspace underneath the 1st floor of the building.
Ms.Lindio had been kidnapped on Saturday, March 13th so she is doubly lucky having only spent roughly five days in captivity and having been freed unscathed which is incredibly rare here.
On April 13th, 2010 at 1030 AM in Isabela City's Barangay Eastside in Basilan Provincr Abu Sayyaf attempted to duplicate the 1995 Attack on Ipil, a majority Christian city on Mindanao's Zamboanga Peninsula, an isthmus that sits directly north of Isabela City. Ipil, an attack that killed fifty-six civlians was an operation that put Abu Sayyaf on the map.It was extremely well planned and audacious in nature but more importantly the group was able to pull it off in textbook fashion. Unfortunately for Abu Sayyaf, those days are long gone. 15 years later Abu Sayyaf, devoid of the Janjalani brothers and all other founding members dead and gone, the April 13th operation in Isabela City should prove this better than anything else.
At 1030 AM a truck bomb fashioned out of a Hyundai minivan parked behind Basilan National High School's grandstand detonated in a spectacular fireball. PNP (Philippine National Police) officer SPO4 Enrico "Ricky" Morales who commanded the Basilan PNP PPO (Provincial Police Office) joined 2 Marines stsnding nearby and ran to the source of the explosion. As the 3 men rounded the corner on the opposite end of the grandstand Abu Sayyaf snipers in captured PNP uniforms drew a bead on them. Both Marines died instantly while SPO4 Morales was seriously wounded. Sadly, Professor Bong de la Luna who taught at Basilan State College was caught in a crossfire between SPO4 Morales and the snipers and was also killed in the melee. Two Abu Sayyaf snipers were taken down,dying on scene,1 of which was in plain clothes.
At this point the remaining ASG snipers and their blocking force (shooters who protect escape routes and rear echelons) began to rapidly withdraw, pursued by SPO4 Morales' underlings aided by well armed civlians so that the barangay devolved into a chaotic scene of running firefights.
2 more Abu Sayyaf were wounded,both in PNP SAF (Special Action Forces,the PNP Special Forces) fatigues. They were taken to nearby Infante Hospital before being quickly airlifted across the water to Camp Navarro Hospital in Zamboanga City (1 dying days later,on April 21,from sepsis,with his only known ID being his nom de guerre, "Umbar" (He was buried on the coast of Zamboanga at Caragasan by the local Imam). The surviving Abu Sayyaf guerilla,Ajid Jalil,alternatively known as "Ajid Jainul" was arrested on June 29th after being released from WESMINCOM (West Mindanao Command) Hospital, the AFP's Camp Navarro Hospital in Zamoboanga City.
At just before 11AM, the day of the aforementioned ASG raid,after the wounding of the two Abu Sayyaf gunment above,a 2nd IED with an equally powerful payload (a"payload"being the expolsive component of the bomb) detonated at the Cathedral of Santa Isabela and destroyed 70% of the building's compound, wounding thirteen civilians. The bomb had been rigged to a motorcycle parked in the compound's parking lot immediately adjacent to the cathedral itself. Six SUVs were also destroyed along with 10 other motorcycles and 1 habal-habal (motorcycle taxi).
A third IED set in front of the home of Judge Leo Jay Principe, adjacent to Basilan RTC-1 (Regional Trial Court 1) was discovered prior to detonation. An AFP EOD (Explosive and Ordnance Detachment) detonated the device near by.Judge Princpe is the jurist who swore out the warrants for the 130 ASG and MILF 114 Base Command guerillas who are said to have taken part in the infamous joint action in July of 2007 that killed fourteen Marines, ten of whom were then decapitated,on Basilan.
A fourth IED did detonate, though prematurely as a cargo van full of Abu Sayyaf guerillas were driving through the streets of Isabela City at 1135 AM.Their van inexplicably caught fire causing the IED to go off before they could stop and exit the van. The guerillas were killed.
In a tell tale sign of just how low Abu Sayyaf has sunk,the wounded guerilla revealed during interrogation at Camp Navarro that almost all actors were in fact inexperienced youth hired from Basilan's municipality of Tipo Tipo.The operation was entirely devoid of political ideology and the fact that their direct employer was apparently a middle man,brokering the operation clearly points to an act of election sabotage in the avaristic sense, a candidate attempting to gain the upper hand over 1 or another of his (or her) competitors and win the election. Ergo, a political act devoid of political ideology if you will. Since Abu Sayyaf has been operating entirely for profit since 2002, this should come as no suprise.
On April 26th, 2010 in Barangay Baiwas, in the town of Sumisip, five Abu Sayyaf guerillas were killed in an accidental encounter with the AFP, as was one AFP soldier. After that initial bloody encounter running firefights took place throughout the rest of the day. These skirmishes in turn led to another unexpected windfall when the AFP"s 4th Scount Ranger Company (AFP Special Forces) stumbled into a major Abu Sayyaf camp.4 of the Rangers were moderately wounded when 1 inadvertantly tripped a boobytrapped IED inside the camp's perimeter. The IED was fashioned from a 60MM mortar shell with a simple monofilament trip wire.More shells,as is,were recovered as were RPG-2 rounds.
Tuesday, April 27th,2010, on the border of Barangays Pamasatken and Baiwas in the municipality of Sumisip in Basilan Province, an IED detonated wounding three AFP Scout Rangers from the 4th Scout Ranger Company on the side of Bundok Abong-Abong (Abong Abong Mountain) during a firefight with ASG who were wearing captured AFP fatigues along the ridgeline. A fourth Scout Ranger from the same company was wounded in a firefight 30 minutes later under the ridgeline as they began withdrawing to Medivac the 3 previously wounded soldiers.
On Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 5PM, in Barangay Bakong, in the town of Sumisip in Basilan Proince,a PNP convoy from Isabela City that had arrived in search of Abu Sayyaf after ASG guerillas had been sighted in and out of the bush outside of town had come up empty and was just turning around for the return trip into Isabela City when they were ambushed by that same band of Abu Sayyaf. Two PNP officers, SPO1 Abdurajik Haji and PO1 Charlie Arsenal were shot to death just as the ambush began. In a stroke of luck, Basilan's Director of the PNP PPO, Senior Superint.Antonio"Tony"Mendoza just missed punching his ticket by a single meter as his unarmoured vehicle managed to round the bend as the shooting began.Talk about thanking your lucky stars.
Two Abu Sayyaf guerillas were killed in that attack as well, one of which, Adduji Kawwil, is an ex-CVO soldier as well as a current Barangay Councilman/Kagawad. He was moonlighting but whether as a guerilla or a councilman depends upon perspective.
Wednesday,May 26th,2010 at 6 AM in Sitio Mompol in Barangay Libug,cin the town of Sumisip,30 Abu Sayyaf guerillas ambushed a jeepney (ubiqitous form of Philippine public transportation,fashioned from WWII Era American military jeeps that have had their axles lengthened to about 10 meters,thus resembling lowriding school busses) that was plying the road between Isabela City and Sumisip.
The Jeepney had just picked up a load of passengers for the return trip to Isabela City when it was flagged down by well armed Abu Sayyaf guerillas. Stopping, all passengers jumped out the rear,3 passengers,all males were singled out and taken away by the gunmen.
Claudio Mananita, an employee of Manggal Agrarian Reform Beneficiary and Development Cooperative, a rubber plantation land distribution concern was the 1st to be ransomed off,for P2 Million (roughly 40,000 Euros).His family,unable to pay anything at all later found that he had been executed.
His two fellow passengers, a gay couple,were executed just 2 hours after being led into the bush,apparently because of their sexual orientation since no ransom demands were even floated (despite widely circulated media reports that the kidnappers had sent SMS messages to victim's grandmother demanding a P1 Million (roughly 20,000 Euros) payment. Also just as inaccurate are the reports that the 2 gay men had been executed at around the same time that Mr.Mananita was,24 hours prior to discovery).The 2,Rolando Francisco Jr. and Dariel Quintela were heading into Isabela City so that Francisco could earn money by styling hair as he tried to save enough to enter college.
The bodies of all 3 men were found on Saturday,June 4th in Barangay Sukaten in the town of Sumisip,after a fire fight at 8am the day before.As the AFP pursued the withdrawing ASG guerillas into their stronghold in Barangay Baiwas they came across the decomposing remains.That fire fight on Friday also wounded 2 AFP soldiers.It is worth noting that all 3 had been shot at close range and not decapitated as has also been reported by the media.
June 11,2010,Saturday,3PM outside of the town of Maluso in Basilan Province,3 men were illegaly logging in the bush, towing logs with caraboa (water buffalo) when they had the extremely bad luck to come across a retreating group of ASG. All 3 were found decapitated in Sitio Pali in Barangay Abong-Abong in that same town,Maluso.
On Wednesday, June 26th, 2010 at about 2PM in Sitio Stardust, in Barangay Tubig,also in the town of Maluso in Basilan Province,a jeepney en route to Sumisip's Barangay Calcaban from Isabela City became the 2nd to be waylaid by Abu Sayyaf in the last four weeks,killing four and critically wounding wounding,including a 10 year old boy.The older wounded passenger was hacked nearly to death by bolo (machete) but despite media reports was not decapitated. The dead were the driver, 35 year old Rodel Weng Circulado and passengers Salsijan Ampuan Sali aged 22,Rahma Anjalun aged 35 and 17 year old Solis Aspalun.
Abu Sayyaf snipers atop a hill strafed the side of the jeepney, killing its driver and causing it to roll to a stop. At that point all passengers jumped out the rear and made a run for it with four being shot as they did so. As mentioned, one unlucky man,though managing to outrun his attacker was still badly mutilated by his pursuer's bolo.
On Feburary 2nd, 2010, Tuesday at 12PM in Barangay Guiong in the town of Maluso in Basilan Province, an AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) 6 x 6 truck with armoured refitting was flipped onto its back by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device, i.e. "Bomb"), one of two that day on that same Sumisip-Maluso Road (I wrote about the second IED in my previous entry on the Election Related Violence on Basilan). Corporal Bryan Ansing of the 32IB (Infantry Battalion) was killed instantly while eight of his mates were severely wounded.
With two IEDs by Abu Sayyaf, one hitting the army, the second hitting a politician, it is difficult to say which 1 was the target. IEDs in the Philippines are almost always command detonated (someone must physically detonate it, no timer is used) as indeed these two were...which leads one to wonder just whom the ASG (Abu Sayyaf Group) was aiming for. Conceivably it could have been both but the organisation hasn't attempted any finely co-ordinated attacks since the younger Janjalani brother was killed on Jolo Island. It is more likely than not that the target was the military and that the political killing was simply a stroke of luck (good luck for ASG but terrible luck of course for the victims).
Feburary 26th, 2010, at 820PM in Barangay Biembengan, in the municipality of Sumisip in Basilan Province,the two Chinese nationals kidnapped from the island's Chinese owned Hi-Tech Wood Craft Plywood mill in the town of Maluso on Novemeber 10th, 2009 were finally freed. They had been taken with Filipino worker Mark Singson who was decapitated not long after because of his family's refusal to negotiate a ransom. 51 year old Zhi Shun Lu, known as "Oscar Lu," and 27 year old Bo Shung Tan, known as "Michael Tan," were found after a firefight between the Marines and ASG's Puruji Indama Faction, the strongest ASG faction on Basilan.
The men, both natives of Guanghzou, China, were then taken to the AFP's Camp Navarro in Zamboanga City for de-briefing and the requisite hospitalisation. Unfortunately, the older man, "Oscar Lu," who has had advanced kidney disease for a number of years, and who of course was without medications and dialysis for the length of his ordeal, passed away due to organ failure three days after being found. Talk about "mixed blessings."
On Saturday, Feburary 27th, 2010,at 545AM in the town of Maluso's Barangay Tubigan seventy ASG guerillas launched a village wide raid and burned five homes down by throwing kerosene lamps onto the thatched huts roofs. Most villagers were still sleeping at what for them was a relatively late hour due to an Islamic holiday the evening before and a party at the village mosque. As villagers were running for safety ASG began picking them off. Eleven died on scene. The raid stemmed from a personal disagreement between the Barangay Chairman/Captain (village chief) and an ASG factional leader,Puruji Indama. One of the dead was an off duty CVO soldier (Civilian Volunteer Organization, one of four entities that together form the CAA, or Civilian Active Auxiliary,the cornerstone of the AFP's counterinsurgency Force Multiplication protocol. CVO though, unlike all others, is under the PNP, Philippine National Police, and not the AFP). Among the initial eleven killed was young mother Karen Bucoy, her 9 year old son Arjie, and infant Abigail who were all burned alive in their home.
Other eight casulaties:
1) Benjie Laping
2) Timhaar Arakani
3) Uding Pagdalian
4) John Laping
5) Salima Salapuddin
6) Lorna Sahidda Salisa
7) Tawasil Idjiran
the eleventh initial victim, the CVO soldier, has not been immediately identified as per SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). In addition, ten other villagers were wounded, with two of them dying over the next 48 hours. One of the latter was 9 year old Jabrian Laping who died from organ failure related to his severe burns. The last and thirteenth fatality has not had their identity released.
Thursday, March 18th, 2010 was a lucky day for Examinda Lindio of Isabela City on Basilan, perhaps her luckiest ever when the AFP was able to pressure her Abu Sayyaf kidnappers into withdrawing without her. At 11AM, in Barangay San Jose Maloong, in Lamitan City in Basilan Province, MBLT-1 (Marine Battalion Landing Team #1 (a Landing Team being the equivalent of a company in strength but battalion in deployment) affected the capture Abu Sayyaf member Arvin Guirny of that same barangay.
After interrogating him they were able to glean the location of Ms.Lindio and by 115PM were in position. As the cordon tightened lookouts alerted the kidnappers who quickly fled the abandoned three story building without taking the necessary time to free and take their captive who was held in a tiny crawlspace underneath the 1st floor of the building.
Ms.Lindio had been kidnapped on Saturday, March 13th so she is doubly lucky having only spent roughly five days in captivity and having been freed unscathed which is incredibly rare here.
On April 13th, 2010 at 1030 AM in Isabela City's Barangay Eastside in Basilan Provincr Abu Sayyaf attempted to duplicate the 1995 Attack on Ipil, a majority Christian city on Mindanao's Zamboanga Peninsula, an isthmus that sits directly north of Isabela City. Ipil, an attack that killed fifty-six civlians was an operation that put Abu Sayyaf on the map.It was extremely well planned and audacious in nature but more importantly the group was able to pull it off in textbook fashion. Unfortunately for Abu Sayyaf, those days are long gone. 15 years later Abu Sayyaf, devoid of the Janjalani brothers and all other founding members dead and gone, the April 13th operation in Isabela City should prove this better than anything else.
At 1030 AM a truck bomb fashioned out of a Hyundai minivan parked behind Basilan National High School's grandstand detonated in a spectacular fireball. PNP (Philippine National Police) officer SPO4 Enrico "Ricky" Morales who commanded the Basilan PNP PPO (Provincial Police Office) joined 2 Marines stsnding nearby and ran to the source of the explosion. As the 3 men rounded the corner on the opposite end of the grandstand Abu Sayyaf snipers in captured PNP uniforms drew a bead on them. Both Marines died instantly while SPO4 Morales was seriously wounded. Sadly, Professor Bong de la Luna who taught at Basilan State College was caught in a crossfire between SPO4 Morales and the snipers and was also killed in the melee. Two Abu Sayyaf snipers were taken down,dying on scene,1 of which was in plain clothes.
At this point the remaining ASG snipers and their blocking force (shooters who protect escape routes and rear echelons) began to rapidly withdraw, pursued by SPO4 Morales' underlings aided by well armed civlians so that the barangay devolved into a chaotic scene of running firefights.
2 more Abu Sayyaf were wounded,both in PNP SAF (Special Action Forces,the PNP Special Forces) fatigues. They were taken to nearby Infante Hospital before being quickly airlifted across the water to Camp Navarro Hospital in Zamboanga City (1 dying days later,on April 21,from sepsis,with his only known ID being his nom de guerre, "Umbar" (He was buried on the coast of Zamboanga at Caragasan by the local Imam). The surviving Abu Sayyaf guerilla,Ajid Jalil,alternatively known as "Ajid Jainul" was arrested on June 29th after being released from WESMINCOM (West Mindanao Command) Hospital, the AFP's Camp Navarro Hospital in Zamoboanga City.
At just before 11AM, the day of the aforementioned ASG raid,after the wounding of the two Abu Sayyaf gunment above,a 2nd IED with an equally powerful payload (a"payload"being the expolsive component of the bomb) detonated at the Cathedral of Santa Isabela and destroyed 70% of the building's compound, wounding thirteen civilians. The bomb had been rigged to a motorcycle parked in the compound's parking lot immediately adjacent to the cathedral itself. Six SUVs were also destroyed along with 10 other motorcycles and 1 habal-habal (motorcycle taxi).
A third IED set in front of the home of Judge Leo Jay Principe, adjacent to Basilan RTC-1 (Regional Trial Court 1) was discovered prior to detonation. An AFP EOD (Explosive and Ordnance Detachment) detonated the device near by.Judge Princpe is the jurist who swore out the warrants for the 130 ASG and MILF 114 Base Command guerillas who are said to have taken part in the infamous joint action in July of 2007 that killed fourteen Marines, ten of whom were then decapitated,on Basilan.
A fourth IED did detonate, though prematurely as a cargo van full of Abu Sayyaf guerillas were driving through the streets of Isabela City at 1135 AM.Their van inexplicably caught fire causing the IED to go off before they could stop and exit the van. The guerillas were killed.
In a tell tale sign of just how low Abu Sayyaf has sunk,the wounded guerilla revealed during interrogation at Camp Navarro that almost all actors were in fact inexperienced youth hired from Basilan's municipality of Tipo Tipo.The operation was entirely devoid of political ideology and the fact that their direct employer was apparently a middle man,brokering the operation clearly points to an act of election sabotage in the avaristic sense, a candidate attempting to gain the upper hand over 1 or another of his (or her) competitors and win the election. Ergo, a political act devoid of political ideology if you will. Since Abu Sayyaf has been operating entirely for profit since 2002, this should come as no suprise.
On April 26th, 2010 in Barangay Baiwas, in the town of Sumisip, five Abu Sayyaf guerillas were killed in an accidental encounter with the AFP, as was one AFP soldier. After that initial bloody encounter running firefights took place throughout the rest of the day. These skirmishes in turn led to another unexpected windfall when the AFP"s 4th Scount Ranger Company (AFP Special Forces) stumbled into a major Abu Sayyaf camp.4 of the Rangers were moderately wounded when 1 inadvertantly tripped a boobytrapped IED inside the camp's perimeter. The IED was fashioned from a 60MM mortar shell with a simple monofilament trip wire.More shells,as is,were recovered as were RPG-2 rounds.
Tuesday, April 27th,2010, on the border of Barangays Pamasatken and Baiwas in the municipality of Sumisip in Basilan Province, an IED detonated wounding three AFP Scout Rangers from the 4th Scout Ranger Company on the side of Bundok Abong-Abong (Abong Abong Mountain) during a firefight with ASG who were wearing captured AFP fatigues along the ridgeline. A fourth Scout Ranger from the same company was wounded in a firefight 30 minutes later under the ridgeline as they began withdrawing to Medivac the 3 previously wounded soldiers.
On Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at 5PM, in Barangay Bakong, in the town of Sumisip in Basilan Proince,a PNP convoy from Isabela City that had arrived in search of Abu Sayyaf after ASG guerillas had been sighted in and out of the bush outside of town had come up empty and was just turning around for the return trip into Isabela City when they were ambushed by that same band of Abu Sayyaf. Two PNP officers, SPO1 Abdurajik Haji and PO1 Charlie Arsenal were shot to death just as the ambush began. In a stroke of luck, Basilan's Director of the PNP PPO, Senior Superint.Antonio"Tony"Mendoza just missed punching his ticket by a single meter as his unarmoured vehicle managed to round the bend as the shooting began.Talk about thanking your lucky stars.
Two Abu Sayyaf guerillas were killed in that attack as well, one of which, Adduji Kawwil, is an ex-CVO soldier as well as a current Barangay Councilman/Kagawad. He was moonlighting but whether as a guerilla or a councilman depends upon perspective.
Wednesday,May 26th,2010 at 6 AM in Sitio Mompol in Barangay Libug,cin the town of Sumisip,30 Abu Sayyaf guerillas ambushed a jeepney (ubiqitous form of Philippine public transportation,fashioned from WWII Era American military jeeps that have had their axles lengthened to about 10 meters,thus resembling lowriding school busses) that was plying the road between Isabela City and Sumisip.
The Jeepney had just picked up a load of passengers for the return trip to Isabela City when it was flagged down by well armed Abu Sayyaf guerillas. Stopping, all passengers jumped out the rear,3 passengers,all males were singled out and taken away by the gunmen.
Claudio Mananita, an employee of Manggal Agrarian Reform Beneficiary and Development Cooperative, a rubber plantation land distribution concern was the 1st to be ransomed off,for P2 Million (roughly 40,000 Euros).His family,unable to pay anything at all later found that he had been executed.
His two fellow passengers, a gay couple,were executed just 2 hours after being led into the bush,apparently because of their sexual orientation since no ransom demands were even floated (despite widely circulated media reports that the kidnappers had sent SMS messages to victim's grandmother demanding a P1 Million (roughly 20,000 Euros) payment. Also just as inaccurate are the reports that the 2 gay men had been executed at around the same time that Mr.Mananita was,24 hours prior to discovery).The 2,Rolando Francisco Jr. and Dariel Quintela were heading into Isabela City so that Francisco could earn money by styling hair as he tried to save enough to enter college.
The bodies of all 3 men were found on Saturday,June 4th in Barangay Sukaten in the town of Sumisip,after a fire fight at 8am the day before.As the AFP pursued the withdrawing ASG guerillas into their stronghold in Barangay Baiwas they came across the decomposing remains.That fire fight on Friday also wounded 2 AFP soldiers.It is worth noting that all 3 had been shot at close range and not decapitated as has also been reported by the media.
June 11,2010,Saturday,3PM outside of the town of Maluso in Basilan Province,3 men were illegaly logging in the bush, towing logs with caraboa (water buffalo) when they had the extremely bad luck to come across a retreating group of ASG. All 3 were found decapitated in Sitio Pali in Barangay Abong-Abong in that same town,Maluso.
On Wednesday, June 26th, 2010 at about 2PM in Sitio Stardust, in Barangay Tubig,also in the town of Maluso in Basilan Province,a jeepney en route to Sumisip's Barangay Calcaban from Isabela City became the 2nd to be waylaid by Abu Sayyaf in the last four weeks,killing four and critically wounding wounding,including a 10 year old boy.The older wounded passenger was hacked nearly to death by bolo (machete) but despite media reports was not decapitated. The dead were the driver, 35 year old Rodel Weng Circulado and passengers Salsijan Ampuan Sali aged 22,Rahma Anjalun aged 35 and 17 year old Solis Aspalun.
Abu Sayyaf snipers atop a hill strafed the side of the jeepney, killing its driver and causing it to roll to a stop. At that point all passengers jumped out the rear and made a run for it with four being shot as they did so. As mentioned, one unlucky man,though managing to outrun his attacker was still badly mutilated by his pursuer's bolo.
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