GPH-MILF Peace Process for the Fourth Quarter of 2011, Part I: Kumander Kato Takes a Hike

Probably the most newsworthy of stories coming out of the GPH-MILF Peace Process in all of 2011 has been the Kumander Kato story. As many readers already know, Kumander Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato was the one person most responsible for the 2008 War. Commanding the 105 Base Command, the largest and most powerful of all the BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces as the military wing of the MILF is known) Base Commands, Kato led his men in the attack on and susbsequent occupation of the PALMMA Complex in North Cotabato Province just after the failed signing of the GPH-MILF Interim Agreement popularly known as the MoA-AD, or Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, on August 4th, 2008. Operating in tandem with Kato was the 102 and 103 Base Commands in the Lanao Region and between these three Base Commands, collectively (and incorrectly) labeled as "Lawless Elements" (meaning that they were operating outside of the MILF/BIAF Chain of Command which of course was utter nonsense), they terrorised 70% of Mindanao for the better part of a year and a half.

When, in July of 2009, both the Philippine military and the MILF re-established their spotty Ceasefire Kato was left out of the loop. Orders were being transmitted from the BIAF General Staff directly to Kato's subordinates but much more importantly Kato hadn't been consulted when the MILF/BIAF leadership had been negotiating the terms that led to each side uni-laterally declaring their respective SOMO/SOMAs (Stop of Military Operation/Stop of Military Actions). Kato felt that he was being made a scapegoat for the 2008 War and sacrificed by his organisation. Kato also felt that the MILF leadership had forgotten the teachings and principles of its late founder and Chairman, Hashim Salamat.

In a bit of childish egotism Kato decided to "test" the MILF leadership by tendering his resignation from the BIAF, the military wing, citing his age and increasing physical infirmities. He then had his core following and the civilians within his AOR, or Area of Responsibility (as in "Area of Operations") submit emotionally laden petitions in which they demanded that the MILF Central Committee reject Kato's Letter of Resignation. Kato admits that even he was suprised when the Central Committee accepted his resignation without a murmur, let alone even a mentioning of the petitions that had been submitted. In Kato's own words it was then that he resolved to leave the organisation.

Having accepted Kato's resignation the BIAF promoted a more moderate sub-Kumander named Zacarias Goma to replace Kato as overall commander, or "Kumander," of the 105 Base Command. Leaving the BIAF is not synonymous with leaving the MILF and so the Central Committee put Kato out to pasture as an "Advisor" to the MILF Shari'a Court (Islamic Court) with concurrent- but non-existent- responsibilities with the MILF Da'wa Committee (Islamic Outreach). Kato ignored the snub and declared the founding of BIFF, or the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. BIFF, as Kato described it at the time, was not an independent organisation but rather a new faction WITHIN the MILF/BIAF that aimed to remain true to the teachings of MILF founder Hashim Salamat. Ensconcing himself in the 105 Base Command's main base, Camp Omar ibn Khattab in Maguindanao Province, Kato continued his schizophrenic double talk of "not MILF/BIAF but still MILF/BIAF" and went about luring guerillas and sub-Kumanders from other Base Commands.

Kato's rationale in not burning his bridges with the MILF/BIAF was simple prudence. While still clinging to the organisation he and BIFF were all but immune from arrest, capture, and/or blatant attack from the AFP/PNP, or Armed Forces of the Philippines/Philippine National Police. The 2008 War had earned Kato a P10 Million ($215,000) bounty and at least 82 criminal charges most of which were Murder and Multiple Murder. Because of the GPH-MILF Peace Process the Government was and remains today very careful about going after any member of the MILF/BIAF. The few that have been apprehended were nabbed well outside of MILF/BIAF AOR. For example, MILF Central Committee member Abraham Yap Alonto who is much better known by the alias Eduardo Guerra (even the MILF has a sense of humor, "Guerra" being Spanish for "War"); Alonto/Guerra was only captured when he stupidly left the safety of the MILF/BIAF AOR and entered Davao City which for better or worse is deemed neutral territory. Still, authorities were so cautious that they waited until their target had physically boarded an airplane that then left the terminal and hovered on the tarmac.

Kato remained both associated with the MILF/BIAF AND well inside one of the BIAF camps formally recognised by the Government during the GPH-MILF Peace Process. Meanwhile, the GPH Peace Panel manipulated this internal MILF/BIAF issue for all it is worth. The focus of the GPH-MILF Peace Process, for all of 2011 thus far, should have been the Comprehensive Compact. The Comprehensive Compact is the blueprint for the envisioned Interim Agreement that will allow both sides to coast almost effortlessly to the FPA, or the Final Peace Agreement. In the Philippine approach Interim Agreements are the actual "peace treaties" while FPAs are merely a legal afterthought and truth be told we might as well omit the "legal" aspect because, as we see with the MNLF, CPLA, RPM-M, and RPM-P FPAs, the Government never worries itself with the upholding of its end of FPAs. Interim Agreements bring the "reward," and act as the "end game." Instead, the GPH Peace Panel focused on Kato.

The MILF Peace Panel turned over their revised draft of its Comprehensive Compact in February. The GPH Peace Panel was to reciprocate the following month, March. From March until August 22nd the Government has played footsy with the MILF and tried its best to deflect attention away from that crucial issue by focusing upon the rift within the ranks of the MILF/BIAF. Don't get me wrong, Kato and his BIFF is indeed a serious matter that definitely is deserving of the GPH Peace Panel's time and energy. IF the Interim Agreement is ever inked, how will BIFF and its position outside of the MILF/BIAF Chain of Command affect the Interim Agreement? If BIFF attacks a municipality and the AFP responds, would neighbouring BIAF Base Commands involve themselves on the side of BIFF? If the PNP attempts to serve an arrest warrant on a BIFF member within the MILF/BIAF AOR would the BIAF use it as a pretext to engage Government forces? Still, it is nowhere near an important an issue as the Comprehensive Compact. Put technically, Kato is a Side Table issue, the meat and potatoes is the Comprehensive Compact.

To offer a prime example of how the GPH Peace Panel has manipulated the Kato imbroglio, in that aforementioned August 22nd, 2011, 22nd Exploratory Round, which took place in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia, the GPH Peace Panel was once agaim scheduled to turn over its long awaited Comprehensive Compact. As the Round opened GPH Peace Panel Chairperson Mario Victor "Marvic" Leonen asked for an hour delay in officialy opening the plenary session so as to converse with his MILF counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal, in a side conference in an adjoining anteroom. Peeved but with little choice in the matter Iqbal, along with Malaysian Facilitator Tengku Dato Abdullah Ghafar Tengku Mohammed proceeded into the anteroom where Leonen once again attempted to steer procedings towards yet another discussion of the BIFF issue. After nearly an hour that had both Chairpeople screaming at the top of their lungs Chairperson Leonen was forced to comply with the scheduled itinerary. Since I have discussed that very contentious Round and the MILF's disgust with the GPH Comprehensive Compact in two other "GPH-MILF Peace Process for the Third Quarter of 2011" entries I will segue directly back into my current topic, Kato, BIFF and Kato's manipulation of the BIFF issue vis a vis his refusal to claim outright secession from the MILF/BIAF organisation.

It took the MILF Central Committee a full year to grow a spine and take action on the matter. In the interim two other BIAF Base Commands almost collapsed as their core followings jumped ship to BIFF, resulting in the creation of a new Base Command, the 118, to try and act as a magnet for any disaffected guerillas within those two other Base Commands, the 104 and the 106. The MILF Central Committee was terrified of acting decisively against Kato and BIFF because it would be perceived by many BIAF guerillas as if the MILF leadership was in collusion with Manila, if not simply doing its bidding. While most of the BIAF wasn't about to join BIFF many, if not most within the military wing, viewed Kato as an icon of the Islamic Insurgency no matter what label he applied to himself. So, in between sending emissaries to Camp Omar ibn al Khattab the MILF Central Committee had its Ulama Council act in its stead.

To most lay people the "Bangsamoro Supreme Ulama Council," or BSUC, is an independent body of Islamic clerics but the fact of the matter is that it is an MILF entity just as the Bangsamoro Consultative Assembly, the Institute for Bangsamoro Studies, and the BDA, or Bangsamoro Development Agency are as well. Led by Sheikh Jamil Datu Haron Yahya, a Maranaw (Maranao) Tribesman from Marawi City in Lanao del Sur Province, the BSUC is a handy standby when the MILF seeks to show the outside world how it speaks for the Philippine Muslims of Mainland Mindanao.

Sheikh Yahya is a 66 year old graduate of the Medina Islamic University of Saudi Arabia. Usually seen in a purple silk caftan that would make Liberace faint from jealousy and topped with a purple turban that wonderfuly frames his Old Testament-like flowing white beard Yahya leads 125 clerics who issue rubber stamp approvals for the MILF Central Committee. When the MILF, who prides itself on absolute non-involvement in Philippine politics, had the BSCU issue its infamous Fatwa against former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada (along with Senator Franlin Drilon and Manuel "Mar" Roxas III) in the 2010 Presidential Campaign, the MILF flaunted the pronouncement while abdicating all responsibility for it, since it came from an "independent" entity. When the MILF needs some distance from anything that may be construed negatively by the Philippines' non-Muslim majority it unleashes its sock puppet Yahya to do its bidding.

While the aforementioned Fatwa is a good example it pales against the MILF's reaction to the death of Osama Bin Laden. After an MILF Central Committee member was caught supporting the terrorist icon the organisation as a whole backpedaled furiously in a mad race to distance itself from that clusterfuc* of a geopolitical nightmare while still saving face amongst Philippine Muslims who by and large supported Bin Laden and continue to view him favourably many months after his demise. Enter Sheikh Yahya, stage right. Back in October of 2001, just one month after 9/11, Yahya signed up at least 6,000 Filipino Muslims in the Lanao region to go to Afghanistan to fight in support of al Qadah and the Taliban. Most assuredly never left Mindanao but only because Yahya was unable to obtain the P40,000 ($800) per man needed to smuggle them to Afghanistan via a very circuitous route starting in Jolo, in Sulu Province. Much more recently, on May 6th, 2011, Yahya led a "Memorial Service" for Bin Laden at the Quiapo Golden Masjid in Metro Manila. He then accompanied marchers as they left the masjid (synonymous with "mosque") on Globo de Oro Street and threaded their way towards Roxas Boulevard and what they hoped was a march on the US Embassy. Interestingly, but NOT suprisingly, people close to Yahya tried to engage in damage control BEFORE the protest by claiming that the sheikh had only thought he was involved in a demonstration in support of former Libyan Dictator Khadaffi (not much damage control one reckons). However, the comments made both within the masjid whose 5,000 person capacity was far exceeded and in the march that followed dispell the claims that Sheikh Yahya wasn't acting in concert with the demonstrators.

Then, when just two weeks later the USS Carl Vinson, the American Aircraft Carrier that dumped Bin Laden's maggot laden corpse (pun perhaps intended) docked at Manila for a port call it was Yahya once again who lionised Bin Laden and demonised Americans whom he ridiculously claimed were "the world's number one terrorist." Co-incidentally the Khadaffi issue was another "MILF but not MILF" public relations nightmare. Libya has long been the patron saint of Mindanao's Islamic Insurgency. He has lent support to all three of its major organisations:

1) MNLF

2) MILF

3) Abu Sayyaf Group

and was single handedly responsible for bringing the MNLF into the OIC, or, Organisation of Islamic Countries, a move which forced then-Dictator Marcos into the GPH-MNLF Peace Process. It was only when the OIC turned on Khadaffi this past summer when the MILF finally took an official stance that criticised everyone's favourite crossdressing Islamo-fascist. Sheikh Yahya however has continued supporting Khadaffi and thereby representing the MILF's actual sentiments far more accurately than the single news release (all four sentences of it) that "criticised" him.

On June 27th, 2011 the BSCU labeled Kato a "Bughaat," an admonishment in Arabic akin to labeling one a "renegade," and cautioned Kumander Kato to make amends with MILF Chairman al Haj Murad Ebrahim. It reminded Kato that he had comitted himself to unflinching support of the MILF/BIAF via his "Bayat," or "Holy Vow of Obesiance" and that unless al Haj Murad Embrahim sinned unrepentantly, it was forbidden to withdraw support for the leader and his organisation. Theologically speaking the BSCU is basically correct but to Kato's way of thinking the MILF, under Ebrahim, has distanced itself so far from the goals and ideals of Hashim Salamat that the Bayat no longer stands. It is a situation entirely open for interpretation. Kato himself is just as educated as Sheikh Yahya, even attending that same university before graduating from another Saudi institution, and so he feels that he is at least just as qualified to make that judgement call. On July 5th the MILF Central Committee backed a Resolution (#03-06-2011) "accepting" the BSCU's labeling of "Bugha'at" and fowarded it for MILF Chairman al Haj Murad Ebrahim's signature. Ebrahim was of course cautious about signing this Resolution despite it merely being an admonishment with no teeth. Finally, feeling more secure after the August 4th meeting in Japan between himself and President Aquino, Ebrahim signed on the dotted line, on August 18th.

Finally, on September 10th, with Kato ignoring the Central Committee Resolution, the BSCU gave Kato 14 days to "repent" and make amends with the MILF Central Committe lest he be declared persona non grata by the MILF/BIAF (Hey! I thought that the BSCU was "independent" of the MILF!). Kato knew that this juncture would eventually come and so he has prepared accordingly and has even founded a political wing, the BIFM, or Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Movement, albeit one devoid of any real ideology apart from the MILF circa 2002. Forwarded to the MILF Central Committee the warning was finally transmitted to Kato on September 12th so that the deadline ended up becoming September 26th. The deadline came and went and so the MILF Central Committee was able to finally say that the Ulama (Islamic Scolars) gave Kato an ultimatum that he failed to acknowledge and that because of Kato's refusal to do so he left the MILF no choice but to publicly declare him persona non grata. The MILF Central Committee finally produced an official Resolution saying as much, signed by Chairman Ebrahim on September 30th, and even went so far as to commit itself towards jointly hunting down Kato and his men in tandem with the AFP (though later the MILF struggled to clarify that in doing so it would merely commit to serving as a Blocking Force to any AFP assault on Camp Omar ibn al Khattab.

MILF Armed Contacts, Second Quarter of 2011, Part II: Bombs Away

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Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, BIFF: Islamo-fascism's New Degenerate Stepchild

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) Joleto Ulmas,age 34

2) James Raymund Ruiz,age 21

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) Money

2) Money

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

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

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

1) Kidayan,the original barangay

2) Namat

3) Kisek

4) Masla

5) Batang-Baglas

6) Kiponget

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

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

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

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

GPH-MILF Peace Process for the Second Quarter of 2011, Part I: Much Ado About Nothing

By now President Aquino had planned to be on top of his game. Scheduled to hand over the GPH (Government of the Philippines) Draft Comprehensive Compact, or "Com-Com" as it is called in shorthand, on the MILF's so called "Assymetrical State: Sub-state Solution." As I noted in my First Quarter entry on the GPH-MILF Peace Process, the MILF has climbed aboard the Autonomy train and has chosen to instead frame its wish list as a somewhat more palatable Federal-style relationship with the Central Government. The term "Assymetrical" refers to a comparison of the proposed GPH-MILF relationship and the relationship between other Regions and the Central Government. Since the MILF aims for a unique form of relationship, when held up against all other Regions, it is clearly "Assymetrical."

The phrase "State" simply refers to the Central Government, or GPH.The phrase "Sub-state" is referring to the envisioned autonomous region to be controlled by the MILF during a loosely defined transitional phase. In their last Round in Kuala Lampur, in February of 2011, the MILF Peace Panel handed over a revised version of its wish list, the aforementioned "Comprehensive Compact." When they parted, the GPH Peace Panel had committed itself towards handing over its own Draft Comprehensive Compact, using the MILF draft as a sounding board.

The problem though is that President Aquino has been planning to offer the GPH's Draft within the larger dynamic taking place with regard to the ARMM, or Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Beginning in the Autumn of 2010. Mr.Aquino began agitating for a delay in the ARMM Election scheduled for August 8th, 2011. The President obviously envisioned getting this delay long before the present Round in the GPH-MILF Peace Process.

The idea is to kill two birds with one stone. On one hand the parallel GPH-MNLF Peace Process hinges entirely on an amendment of Republic Act #9054 (RA #9054), the so called, "Revised Organic Act." RA #9054 itself was an amendment of an earlier act that actually created ARMM. The GPH endgame in the current phase of the Peace Process involves greatly expanded autonomy within the framework of the ARMM. To do this,the President,as I just noted,needs to amend RA #9054.At the same time it wishes to offer the MNLF a share in running the ARMM (I know,I know,it didn't fare too well the last time the Government tried it but bear with me here). Also at the same time it wants to frame the MILF's latest obssesion, the "Assymetrical State:Sub-state Solution" within the extant frame work of the ARMM, albeit in the amended ARMM with greater autonomy, which is pretty much what the MILF's wish list is at the end of the day. Of course the MILF is swearing up a storm, raising its collectively clenched fist as it vows to Allah that it will never accept a role in the ARMM...

But just why is the ARMM Election so crucial to the President's agenda? If the election were to proceed in August of 2011,as scheduled, and the amendment to follow anytime AFTER that election, there would be a coterie of elected officials screaming bloody murder. There would be a whole range of issues, the most pressing of them being the un-Constitutionality of the Central Government proscribing new duties and responsibilities for extant elective positions. In simpler terms, if the Governor of the ARMM is suddenly delegated new responsibilities, or alternatively has existing responsibilities negated by virtue of an amendment to RA #9054 it would contravene the Local Government Code of 1991, an act that itself hinges upon the 1987 Constitution. Fifty duly elected officials could clog up the courts for literally decades as they challenged Governmental excess...I mean "reforms."

Another very pressing issue would be 50 odd slots,all elected positions, that the Central Government would love to stack with MNLF and MILF members. The only way in which to do this in a productive fashion is to appoint people directly to the position(s) in question outside of an electoral process. That seems like a no-brainer but one must remember that in 1996 the Goverment pulled out its black bag of dirty tricks to get the MNLF's Chairman Nur Misuari into that very same Governor's chair. It then simply tossed the election out the window at what was supposed to be the end of his term, knowing Misuari could never hope to win re-Election EVEN WITH the "Hello Garci" type shenanigans Manila is famous for ("Hello Garci" being a catch phrase relating to former President Arroyo's manipulation of the 2004 Presidential Election in order to retain power). At the same time, in appointing these people,it only makes sense if the appointment is given for a long enough period of time. Appointing officials to serve for 18 months (or any other arbitrary number below 24 months) is simply shuffling the deck without a sense of purpose. On a more serious note the MILF and MNLF would square off against Manila maintaining that they had been sabotaged from the start, as indeed Misuari did in 2001 when faced with his failure to improve the lives of his ARMM consistuents. It is crucial that appointees, or Officers in Charge (OICs) as they would officially be known (OICs),be given sufficient time.

In any event, with the Senate finally passing the President's electoral delay it becomes a moot issue. President Aquino is preparing to sign it into law on June 30th and so he can now appoint his 50 people. As it currently stands President Aquino will apoint his ARMM OICs to a term beginning September 30th, 2011 and ending June 30th, 2013. The point to that last date is that the ARMM Election will be held on May 13th, 2011 having been synchronised with the National Mid-Term Elections.

Speaking of the MILF taking on a role in a "reformed" ARMM...On Thursday evening, June 12th, MILF/BIAF mouthpiece Eid Kabalu sent an SMS (text message) to former North Cotabato strongman, warlord Emmanuel "Manny" Pinol and asked to see him face to face, promising him it would be well worth his time. Less than 10 minutes later Pinol called Kabalu and they arranged to meet the next evening, Friday, June 13th.

Showing up at 830PM in the lobby of Davao City's Marco Polo Hotel Kabalu was suprised to see that city's Vice Mayor Rodrigo "Roddy" Duterte along with his son Paolo in attendance. Pinol had intelligently asked Duterte to show up, knowing how messy things can be with people denying having said this or that. Pinol wanted a witness. Sitting at a lobby table, enjoying soft drinks, Kabalu got right to the point. Laying all his cards on the table he told Pinol and Duterte that placing an MILF member in the ARMM Governor's chair just might be the magic bullet to end the 30 year MILF/BIAF Insurgency. Pinol asked Kabalu if he was speaking on authority from the MILF Central Committee to which Kabalu responded he was. Pinol then asked Kabalu if the MILF had any particular person in mind for the position, knowing of course that Kabalu had himself in mind. Before Kabalu could respond Vice Mayor Duterte interjected and said that it was far too early to begin discussing specific people. Instead Duterte offered, compose an actual wish list, write down everything the MILF would like to happen vis a vis the ARMM and he promised he would pass it on to Manuel "Mars" Roxas III, President Aquino's former running mate and still his confidante. Kabalu suprised them all by promptly downloading the information off of his laptop and offering Duterte a four paged printout that did just that, in great detail.

With the meeting ending in high spirits Kabalu must have felt that he was on top of the world. That wave of good feeling would only last until daybreak when a Manila tabloid reported a tiny item about the Davao City meeting. The MILF's Ghazali Jafaar, Vice Chairman of Political Affairs, who with Chairman al Haj Murad Ebrahim being just about out of the picture, serves as the de facto leader of the MILF, was obviously out of the loop on the meeting. Jafaar went beyond his usual self restraint and full force into obnoxious by calling Pinol a compulsive liar. He challenged Pinol to prove that he had met with what the tabloid was saying was an,"unnamed member of the MILF Central Committee." Jafaar said that the MILF would NEVER have sought the assistance of a lowlife of Pinol's ilk. Just hours later Kabalu spoke on the record about the meeting and indeed corroborated every single claim made by Pinol. I wonder if Jafaar was more livid at not having been consulted OR about Kabulu proudly stating that he was a "good personal friend" of Pinol's.

The Pinol Clan are Illongos from North Cotabato Province whose vehement opposition to Filipino Muslim aspirations os legendary. Back in 2008 it was Manny Pinol himself who sank the MoA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Demand) single handedly when, after then GPH Peace Panel chairman, retired AFP General Hermogenes "Gene" Esperon surretipiously faxed him a copy of it right before its under the table signing, ran to the Supreme Court screaming foul. His petition for a TRO, or Temporary Restraining Order was quickly followed by a host of traditionaly anti-Muslim politicians from the island filing their own silver bullets. Having gotten his desired Temporary Restraining Order just 16 hours before the signing on August 4th, Pinol's opposition to the document ended up sparking the 2008 War when three BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces as the military wing of the MILF is known) went off the reservation and began slaughtering non-Muslims ad naseum. In fact, the first BIAF Base Command to do so, the 105 under Kumander Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato ("Kumander Kato") launched the opening salvo by occupying the PALMMA Complex, five North Cotabato towns considered to be the Pinol Clan's power base.

It has been no secret that for the last year the MILF/BIAF has been imploding. From Murad's stroke last summer until now, four Base Commands have ceased to exist in all but name (105,107,108, and 115), Kumander Kato has formed his own extreme military organisation, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, or BIFF, and has been attracting dissatisfied BIAF guerillas left and right. On the other hand the BIAF's manpower has been sapped by a mass of defections to the MNLF-EC15 (Executive Committee of 15, under Kidnapping Kingpin and Vice Mayor of Cotabato City, Muslimin Sema), and to a much smaller extent, the MNLF-Misuari. Moreover, the MILF Central Committee is heavily factionalised. Kabalu was deployed to Pinol because the Central Committee faction coallescing behind Kabalu (who served only as a figurehead for expediency) believed that in going to Pinol it could revel in full deniability. Who in their right mind would imagine anyone from the MILF Central Committee having a liason with any Pinol, let alone THE Pinol single handedly responsible for destroying the MoA-AD? Indeed they played it correctly up to a point as seen by Ghazali Jafaar's extra-arrogant response when finding Pinol had claimed to have met with an MILF Central Committee member. They just didn't count on Kabalu getting full of himself.

After Jafaar went off the deep end Kabalu tendered his resignation. In doing so he came clean, although he delicately avoided tarring any fellow members of the Central Committee. Resigning his concurrent positions as BIAF Spokesman for Military Affairs and BIAF Chairman of Civil-Military Relations,both General Staff positions. Though he only officialy spoke for the BIAF his role as a member of the MILF's Central Committee and lack of any parallel Spokesman for the MILF meant that Eid Kabalu was the go to man for the entire organisation. Some may remember how Kabalu had just re-gained his positions after a huge misstep made in April of 2010. In those heady days before the Presidential Election of 2010 when Kabalu once again claimed to represent the Central Committee when signing a pact with Presidential candidate Brother Eddie Villanueva. The agreement had Villanueva vow to work with the MILF/BIAF for a just solution within the framework of the 1987 Constitution. Aside for purporting to represent the entire MILF/BIAF when signing it he broke MILF/BIAF Rule Number 1 in relation to the Election: No Involvement on any Level.

In the current Kabalu Clusterfuc*, despite his resignation, Ghazali Jafaar called an Emergency Session of the MILF Central Committee and strong armed the membership into passing a harshly worded Resolution in which it expelled Kabalu from the MILF/BIAF. Claiming the ex-Spokesman had violated the MILF/BIAF Code of Conduct he was charged with "Conduct Unbecoming of an Officer" and sacked. Kabalu certainly doesn't seem at all peturbed because with his delusions of grandeur he still imagines that he is a shoe in as OIC Governor of ARMM. Whatever viability Kabalu MIGHT HAVE had rested squarely on his role as a high ranking member of the MILF/BIAF. Having lost this cachet, Kabalu has been rendered worthless to the powers that be now that the MILF has rejected Kabalu.

Meanwhile, in the GPF-MILF Peace Process, after having notified the MILF Peace Panel via the Malaysian Facilitator, Tengku Dato Abd' Gafaar Tengku Mohammad, the GPH Peace Panel merely engaged in a half day Executive Session on Monday, April 27th.Representing the GPH was:

1) Chairperson Mario Victor "Marvic" Leonen

2) Panelist Miriam Coronel Ferrer

3) Chairperson of the GPH Peace Panel Secretariat, Iona Jalijali.

Meeting with them on behalf of the MILF Peace Panel was:

1) Chairman Mohagher Iqbal

2) Panelist, Datu Michael O.Mastura

3) Panelist, Maulana "Bobby" Alonto

The GPH Panel explained in extremely broad terms just why it wouldn't be turning over its Draft of the Comprehensive Compact but vowed, once again, to do so on August 2nd, 2011. Under almost any circumstances the MILF would have went ballisitic, probably in both senses of the word. However, going against form the MILF graciously agreed to wait until August. Why? Because the Government informed the MILF Peace Panel that it wanted to center its Comprehensive Compact around the amended ARMM. While the MILF swears up and down that such an idea is anathema to them the truth of the matter is that by simply re-naming the ARMM all that faux opposition will fall by the wayside. Both sides will hold a three day Round from August 2nd through 4th. Since the major Islamic holiday of Ramadan commences this year on August 1st all three of those sessions will be half day meetings.

Kidnap for Ransom,Second Quarter of 2011,Part V:The Release of Soken Chew Mantigue and How it Plays Directly into the MILF-BIAF Infighting

At 430AM on Tuesday, May 24,2011 Asila"Kumander Gordon"Syafullah,the Commanding Officer of the BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces,armed wing of the MILF) National Guard Base Command telephoned the MILF CCCH (Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities) Secretariat Chairman,Rashid Ladlasan to notify him that the BIAF had taken custody of Soken"Angelina"Chew Mantigue after handing over the still undisclosed ransom to"former"BIAF guerilla Boy Calvo.Chairman Ladiasan then quickly notified his GPH (Government of the Philippines) counterpart,Major General Carlos Sol and asked the General to rendevouz with 3 MILF representatives who would accompany him to retrieve the victim.By 530AM Major General Sol and his escorts had arrived at the riverside clearing in Barangay Taviran in the town of Kabutalan,Maguindanao Province to await Kumander Gordon and his man who were travelling overland from the release site in that municipality's Barangay Dadtumeg.Before too long the BIAF force emerged from the jungle and Major General Sol formally took custody of Ms.Mantigue from the BIAF.

Major General Sol then drove the shaken victim directly to 6th Infantry Division Headquarters at Camp Siongco in Barangay Awang,Datu Odin Sinsuat in that same province,Maguindanao.It was in the Camp Siongco Hospital that Ms.Mantigue's grateful husband and children were able to finally relax a bit,knowing that their wife and mother had survived none the worse for the wear.

In follow up operations that morning the PNP (Philippine National Police) stumbled across some unhappy BIAF guerillas and a brief firefight ensued in which one police officer was critically wounded.Still,the day was hailed as a success by both the MILF/BIAF and the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) as well as the Government as a whole.The MILF claimed that Ms.Mantigue had been"rescued"by the BIAF after it had seized 3 BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters) whom they then held hostage as bargaining chips.The BIFF of course is the new group of Islamic Insurgents led by the infamous Ustadz Ameril Ombra Kato.Kato was the man single handedly responsible for starting the 2008 War (aka MoA-AD War,or Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain War) when he invaded and occupied 5 municipalities in North Cotabato Province.At the time Kato was the CO (Commanding Officer) of the BIAF's largest Base Command,the 105.

As the war wound down in the middle of 2009 the MILF negotiated a Ceasefire with the Government (GPH) and didn't bother consulting Kato.Then,in an effort to buy goodwill in a resumption of the MILF-GPH Peace Process the BIAF removed Kato from Command,replacing him with his much more moderate Second in Command,Zacarias Goma.The MILF then assigned Kato to their Shar'ia Court (Islamic Court) as a lowly legal aide.To add insult to injury they claimed it was a promotion.Kato formally resigned from the MILF/BIAF and took virtually the entire 105 Base Command with him.At the same time members of the BIAF 109 Command and members of the former Ampatuan CVO/CAFGU (Civilian Volunteer Organization/Citizen Auxiliary Force Geographical Unit,Force Multiplication elements ubder the PNP and AFP respectively) joined forces with Kato's burgeoning guerilla force.

Despite this turn of events both the MILF/BIAF and BIFF have tried walking a very fine line between rejecting each other and re-integrating.The BIFF wear teeshirts emblazoned with their own initials,"BIFF" with"of the MILF"under it as if to portray itself as an MILF armed organisation.In late March of this year the MILF Central Committee issued a Resolution demanding that Kato remove the MILF initials as well as for the BIFF to stop claiming an association.On the other hand it has been stating publicly that Kato was still an MILF member and that they would welcome him and his men back into the fold should he ever decide to follow the dictates of the MILF/BIAF hierarchy.

While the MILF/BIAF would have no qualms about kidnapping members of KFR (Kidnap for Ransom) groups,it would not dare to directly oppose the BIFF.The BIAF is in shambles as I have noted in other recent MILF entries.Those guerillas not actually joining Kato usually sympathise with his direct pull no punches methodology.Likwise there has been a rash of defections to the MNLF,both the MNLF-Misuari as well as MNLF-EC15 (Executive Committee of 15,aka MNLF-Sema).In fact,it is the MNLF-EC15 that is directly responsible for the Mantigue KFR,as noted in my previous KFR entry for the Second Quarter of 2011.

The day after Ms.Mantigue was released,Wednesday,May 25,2011 the new governmental taskforce taking aim at Tsinoy (Filipinos of Chinese descent) KFRs in that particular area went to the media with a strongly worded condemnation of both the Mantigue Family as well as invectives against other governmental entities obstensibly taking aim at the Tsinoy KFR problem.TF Kutawato,created by the Department of Justice to uncover local political clout attached to the main KFR Group responsible for the Cotabato City kidnappings says that the Mantigue Family had had CCTV (Closed Circuit TV,Security Cameras) footage clearly showing the identities of the 4 kidnappers posing as customers.After the men dragged Ms.Mantigue kicking and screaming into incognito the family quickly took the tape and gave it to their parish priest,worried that the highly connected kidnappers would come back if they turned it over to local authorities.The priest then took it upon himself to turn over the tape to PACER (Presidential Anti-Crime and Emergency Response).TF Kutawato maintains thatif they had been able to view the tape they would have been able to launch a rescue operation.As I noted in that afore mentioned entry on KFR,that is the last thing any intelligent person would want since Filipino Authorities have absolutely no finesse in hostage situations.

The 4 customers cum kidnappers:

1) Kumander Taylor Silongan

2) Sammy Tilaka

3) Kadaffy Guiamalon

4) Datukan Kalbo

The 4 were sub-contracted by Boy Calvo on behalf of Manyangkang Saguile,himself working for none other than MNLF-EC15 Chairman Muslimin Sema.Sema of course is ALSO the Vice Mayor of Cotabato City...ergo TF Kutawato.Ah what a tangeled web.

Political Developments,Second Quarter of 2010:Election Related Violence

Since I was discussing Maguindanao Province in my last entry I thought that I might just pick up right where I left off and concentrate on the region at large.At the most basic unit of governance is the"Barangay."Named after the ocean going outriggers ("Balangays") with which the Austronesian Peoples,of whom all Filipinos (except for Negritos) are part of.Traditionally Filipinos believe that each pre-Hispanic village consisted of a single outrigger,or"Barangay"and that this is how most of the islands were populated before the coming of Magellan in the 16th Century.

There are smaller units,known as"Sitios"(Sites) as well as another lesser unit in rural areas known as a"Purok" (Zone) but there is no level of governance below the Barangay.Above the Barangay is the Municipality.The Municipality can be either a"Town,"a"City"or a"Chartered City."Each Municipality consists of a collection of Barangays.A Municipality's classification as a Town or City depends upon its generated income and the size of its population.Originally the financial watermark was P20 Million (US460,000) in income generated anually without taking allotments from the national government into consideration.After intense lobbying from the"League of Cities"who feared that their own allotments would lessen if enough towns converted into cities,this watermark was raised to P100 Million (US2.5 Million),a huge sum in Philippine terms.Population requirements were also raised to 150,000 residents),though that is far less of an onus.

For purposes of clarification I must add that contrary to popular belief,not all cities are"Chartered Cities."The term"Chartered City"specifically refers to cities which,by an Act of Congress,have been granted specific,special powers not regularly granted to other cities.I also...hey!wake up!...need to point out that rare cities also contain"Districts."Districts are like"Regions,"they don't play a role in Governance,only in the distribution of services.Likewise,certain cities are granted the status of"Metropolitan Areas,"again relating only to infrastructure,delivery of services.On Mindanao only Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province and Davao City in Davao del Sur Province have been granted"Metropolitan Area"status.Likewise,only Davao City has"Districts"though Pagadian City on the Zamboanga Peninsula seems rto be moving in that direction with city officials sometimes referring to certain areas as"Districts."WAKE UP!!!


Municipalities are grouped together into"Provinces."Depending upon the size of the island a province can encompass an entire island,as is the case with Basilan Island/Basilan Province or a single island can hold dozens of provinces as is the case with Mainland Mindanao.Additionally,a province can be spread out over dozens of islands,as is the case with Sulu Province.As if this isn't confusing enough for the uninitiated,smaller islands are almost always linked administratively to larger islands despite an"Island"serving no purpose in terms of Governance.For example,both Basilan and Sulu Provinces are administratively attached to Mindanao,they ARE provinces of Mindanao.Because"Islands"aren't a cog in Governance the term"Administrative"refers to infrastructural logistics.

Above the Provincial Level is the"Region."Above the Region only stands the"National Government."

Simple thus far,right?Hahahaha.Suuuuuuuure...

As I have said,the lowest level of Governance is the Barangay.Each Barangay has a"Chairman,"or as they are popularly known,"Captain."The Chairman/Captain sits above a"Barangay Council"which has 7"Barangay Councillors,"or as they are more popularly known,"Barangay Kagawads."Each Councillor/Kagawad deals with 1 of 7 areas of Governance:

1) Finances/Treasury

2) Health

3) Education

4) Tourism

5) Development/Infrastructure

6) Peace and Order (local term for"Law and Order"/Security

7) Agriculture

each of these areas have 3 person committees composed of appointed members of the barangay with the respective Councillor/Kagawads serving as the Chairperson of that committee.In addition there is an 8th Councillor/Kagawad who sits as an ex-officio member of the Council by virtue of his or her position as Chairperson of the"Sangguiniang Kabataan,"or"SK" (Youth Council).Aged 15 to 18 this Councillor/Kagawad represents Youth Interests as well as Chairing the Barangay Council's"Sports"committee.

At the Municipal Level there is a"Mayor,"a"Vice Mayor"and then just as at the Barangay Level there is a"Municipal Council"which is formatted exactly like the Barangay Councils.Each Councillow handles a specific area of Governance and chairs a committee mandated for that respective subject.Above the Municipal Level is the Provincial Level.The"Governor"and"Vice Governor"fufill the same roles as the Mayor and Vice Mayor.Likewise the Provincial"Governor"and"Vice Governor"sit above a"Provincial Council"which is formatted exactly like the Barangay and Municipal Councils,each Provincial Councillor tasked with just 1 area of Governance but having an equal vote on provincial issues.

Regionally,except for the nation's 2"Autonomous Regions"(ARMM,or Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao on Mindanao and"CAR,"or Cordilleran Autonomous Region" on Luzon) there is no system of Governance.Regions serve an infrastructural and logistical role in the distribution of services from the National Level.In many ways though it merely serves to create confusing redundancies.I will relegate this entry to a basic explanation of the overall structure and leave the critiques for a later,more in depth entry.

In addition,there is a parallel system of Governance that is itself a redundamcy;Each Municipality has an"ABC,"or"Association of Barangay Chairmen/Captains."All Barangay Chairmen/Captains belong and amongst themselves elect their own"Chairman/Captain."Then,each Municipal ABC Chairman/Captain sits in the"Provincial ABC,"which again elects its own"Chairman"or"Captain."All Provincial ABC Chairmen/Captains sit in a National ABC which itself elects a single"Chairman"or"Captain."The idea is to provide plurality of view of not an actual check or balance but in reality it is an entirely worthless endeavour.

The synchronised National and 0local Elections ("Local"as in Province and Municipality) took place on May,10,2010.The Barangay and SK Elections are set to take place in October of 2010.Regional Elections are set to take place in August of 2011.

On Wednesday March 19th,2010 Bai Mona Ampatuan, the principal of Shariff Aguak National High School in the provincial capitol of Maguindanao,Shariff Aguak had her home hit by 2 grenades thrown by 2 men riding tandem on a motorcycle wounding a 30 year old woman and her 2 kids who just happened to be walking by.Although Ms.Ampatuan IS a member of THE Ampatuan Clan (as in the"Maguindanao Massacre") it is believed that THIS attack is unrelated to that event and is instead due to recent extortion attempts made against public educational institutions in Maguindanao Province.Unfortunately most Filipino Muslims have little respect for secular education and find public institutions fair game since they are of course a product of the Philippine Government.Then their intellectuals bemoan the lack of government services in Muslim Communities.Gee,I wonder why...


On Sunday March 21st, 2010 at 11 AM a jeepney (form of public transportation) pulled into the Philippines Phoenix Petroleum gas station located on National Hiway in Barangay Poblacion,Ampatuan,Maguindanao Province.The attendant noticed after the jeepney had left that it had left behind a cardboard box.Walking over to it he was disturbed by the threatening writing on top of the package in that it threatened to kill the station owner.The young man stupidly-but bravely-pushed the box to the side of the hiway and immediately told his supervisor.The supervisor,the station manager,then called the authorities who discovered that the box contained an IED (Improvised Explosive Device,as in"bomb").

Later that day,just after sunset,the home of the station's owner was hit by at least 10 60MM mortar shells wounding 3 familiy members.Who is this beleagured atation owner you ask?None other than Zacarias Sangki,the OIC (Officer in Charge,meaning Govt.appointed,not elected) Mayor of Ampatuan (the municipality,not the Clan).Mr.Sangki gained his current political position after the Elected Mayor,Andal Ampatuan Sr.,was jailed over the aforementioned"Maguindanao Massacre"which took place on November 23rd,2009.For those unfamiliar with that sordid event Andal Sr.allegedly ordered his son Andal Jr.,the Mayor of another Maguindanowan municipality,Datu Unsay,to murder members of a rival Clan,the Mangudadatus.Unfortunately for Andal Sr.his son was a few arrows short of a quiver and he ALSO ended up killing nearly 3 dozen journalists and a handful of attorneys.The event marks the single worst case of directed violence towards journalists that the world has ever seen.The irony is that had Andal Jr.been intelligent enough to follow daddy's orders there wouldn't have been much more than couple of 3 sentence articles devoted to yet another case of Mindanowan blood letting.The Mangudadatus are no better than the Ampatuans and have just as many gory killings to their credit...just no journalists.

On Janurary 17th,2010,OIC Mayor Sangki had his 20 hectare farm ruined when gunmen burned down all buildings,including 11 houses,along with a crop nearly ready to harvest.The farm,located in Sitio Najib,Barangay Salman,also in Ampatuan is within a stone's throw of the barren field where the"Massacre"took place.Why is Zaraia Sangki so hated?Is it just aggravation that the former Vice Mayor now gets to sit in the hot seat while his former boss sits in stir?Of course not.Sangki almost immediately turned State's Witness against Andal Sr.and nearly 200 other individuals currently charged in the atrocity.Adding insult to injury Sangki,a member of a related Clan,wad ALSO a willing participant in the atrocity.

Only one day after the attack on the Sangki farm,Janurary 18th,2010,Dok Uling Salahuddin,a Barangay Captain in Barangay Kalkul in the municipality of Ampatuan,and a cousin of Zacarias Sangki was shot to death at 6PM by a single gunman.

On Tuesday April 6th,2010,51 year old Mohamadisa"Datu Haris"Sangki,brother of the OIC Mayor of Ampatuan,Zacarias Sangki,was riding his motorcycle past Cotabato City Plaza when 2 young men riding tandem on another motorcycle flagged him down at the corner of Sinsuat and S.K.Pendatun Streets in Barangay Poblacion #5.
Mr. Sangki pulled over and engaged the men in conversation when 1 of them suddenly stabbed him in the chest causing him to fall face down.The second man,later indentified as Kenny Osmena,walked over to the prostrate man and calmly shot him in the back with a 45 caliber pistol,killing him instantly.Both men then got onto their motorcycle and rode off towards the main town market.Though 5PM in the afternoon,and in full view of possibly thousands of people,not one person tried to intervene,or even pursue the gunmen.


On April 13th, 2010,in Sitio Masalay,Barangay Salman in the municipality of Ampatuan in Maguindanao Province,a CVO post (Civilian Volunteer Organisation,1 of 4 entities known collectively as"CAA,"or"Citizens Active Auxiliaries,"the cornerstone of the Government's Counterinsurgency Force Multiplication Programme.The CVO are sublimated to the PNP,or Philippine National Police and cannot bear arms unless their element has specifically been granted that right be the Secreatary of DILG,Department of the Interior and Local Government) was struck by eight M79 grenades without causing a single casualty.The attackers,Ampatuan Clan Paramilitary guerillas,were positioned in a nearby banana grove.Ironically perhaps,Barangay Salman is the same barangay where the"Massacre"took place.Not far away in Barangay Labulabu a 2nd CVO detachment was also attacked by M79 grenades and also managed to come out of it unscathed.Perhaps even more ironically,the Ampatuan Paramilitary is primarily composed of ex-CVO soldiers from that very same post!When President Arroyo first declared a State of Emergency over the Massacre most CVO personnel took to the hills knowing that they had no chance of living a law abiding life after being tarnished by their membership as Ampatuan Municipal (as well as Maguindanao Provincial) CVO.

The Ampatuan Paramilitary has been launching large scale assaults on the town since shortly after the"Massacre"took place.Despite a massive PNP and AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) presence vis a vis the dedicated joint element known as"Task Force Alpha"the paramilitary has shelled the town with 60 MM mortars just about every night in March and April of 2010 with the attacks escalating as Election Day,May 10th draws near.It is not only the government that is suffering from the attacks as one can see with the repeated assaults on the Sangki family.Zacarias Sangki isn't even the Sangki to turn on the Ampatuans.The Vice Mayor of Shariff Aguak,the provincial capital of Maguindanao,is Rasul Sangki.In case his name is not familiar to you,he was the chief witness against Andal Ampatuan Jr.I will explore all that in a series of entries on the"Massacre"and all its just as bloody aftermath.It is worth noting here that the perennial enemies of the Ampatuan Clan,the MILF/BIAF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces),have also not been sitting idly by through all this drama heaped atop drama.

On Janurary 12th,2010 the BIAF's 105 Base Command under Kumander Usatadz Ameril Ombra Kato,almost always known simply by the moniker"Kumander Kato,"along with allied MNLF/BMA (Moro National Liberation Front/Bangsamoro Army) the parent organisation from which the MILF/BIAF broke away) guerillas engaged the Ampatuan Paramilitary in a 24 hour firefight in Sitio Balutukan,Barangay Kitapok in the town of Datu Saudi Ampatuan (a different town than the town of "Ampatuan" proper,also created by Andal Ampatuan Sr.when he sat as Governor of Maguindanao Province,for his family to rule).Several deaths resulted but both sides handled it quietly so no exact number is forthcoming.

On April 15th at the Hillside Resort in Datu Odin Sinsuat,also in Maguindanao Province,the owner of the resort and mayoral candidate for Datu Odin Sinsuat,Motasser Sabal and his brother and running mate for Vice Mayor, Abdulwahab "Abraham "Sabal were engaged in a campaign strategising session with a group of close supporters when a grenade was thrown into the room.A supporter,Kagi Ketong,of that same town was killed but the brothers were unhurt.

On Thursday April 22nd,2010 in Barangay Bako,Shariff Aguak,roughly 100 guerillas from the BIAF's 105th Base Command, which was at that time still under Kumander Kato (more about his being re-deployed in a subsequent entry),crossed the GPH (Govt.of the Philippines)-MILF/BIAF permimeter (the DMZ line) by about 1 kilometer and then managed to cross paths with 2 platoons from the 45IB (Infantry Battalion),which is itself based in Shariff Aguak's Barangay Poblacion.The predictable result was a 2 hour long firefight with no reported casulaties.


On Friday,April 30th, 2010 on the town of Ampatuan's 1st Street,in Purok 1,Barangay Kauran,an IED 20 meters away from National Hiway detonated just as gubneratorial candidate Esmael"Toto"Mangudadatu's convoy was passing en route to a political rally in the town's Barangay Poblacion.Luckily noone was injured or killed in the explosion.

On Saturday,May 8th,2010 OIC Mayor Zacarias Sangki's Phoenix petrol station was once again faced with an IED.This time the device was left by 2 men riding tandem on a motorcycle who rode non-chalantly over to the gas pumps and left it in a plastic bag.This time however the IED detonated but for an unkown reason failed to set off the petrol underneath it.No casualties.

On Election Day,Monday,May 10th,2010 at 1040AM,in Barangay Kapimpilan,North Kabuntalan,in that same province of Maguindanao,Sukarno Paglas was shot to death in the neck and chest,dying just 100 meters from a polling site as he tried to run into Barangay Bagungdang.The firefight that killed him was between the camps of 2 prospective vice Mayors,Bhernie Mamolintao Bagungdang (PMP) and Muslimin Guiama Baliwan (party unknown though initially it was said that it was with the camap of the Lakas-KAMPI-CMD candidate for Vice Mayor,Raul Vidal,a Bisayan).

That same day,May 10th,in Barangay Poblacion in Shariff Aguak,a poll site at Sasez Elementary School was hit by a grenade thrown by 2 men on a motorcycle.

Also on election Day,in the town of Datu Salibo,also in Maguindanao Province,voting was suspended after an RPG (BM2) attack near a PNP station.The road and bridge into the adjacent municipality of Datu Piang were closed down stranding many residents of both towns as fighting was heavy in Datu Piang as well.It began when BIAF snipers from the 105 Base Command,positioned in Barangay Pagatin,began firing on AFP soldiers in Barangay Dapiawan.The AFP in turn positioned snipers with 50 caliber Barrets in 3 positions along the Barangay's main road,and they continued firing into Barangay Pagatin for most of the day.

Also on Election Day,in S.K.Pendatun,another town in Maguindanao Province,50 meters from the poll site in Barangay Lao Lao,three IEDS were disarmed after being discovered throughout the day.The goal of course being to disrupt the elections and keeping people from voting at that site.The last device was found at 247PM.

Meanwhile,at 1145Am that morning in Barangay Datu Saligop,in the municipality of Datu Unsay,also in Maguindanao Province,the Ampatuan Paramilitary clashed with the 39IB shortly after three IEDs detonated in that barangay.As the firefight took place a 4th IED detonated as well with the government claiming no casualties,a point which I will address at the end of all my Election Day wrap up entries.

That evening at the 4th Call to Prayer (Islamic) 2 guerillas from the aforementioned Ampatuan Paramilitary were killed in a firefight with the 45th IB,just outside Barangay Poblacion in Ampatuan.

At 11AM Tuesday, May 25th, 2010,in Barangay Dansalan,in the town of Rajah Buayan in Maguindanao Province,Barangay Captain Datu Norodin Utto and his paramilitary came under attack from the Ampatuan Paramilitary.
Datu Utto's men,numbering roughly 50 gunmen were assaulted by 57MM and 90MM recoiless rifle and 60MM mortar volleys before being approached from different directions by approximately 200 guerillas being personally led by the new leader of the force,Bahnarin Ampatuan,a grandson of Andal Sr.,and like his grandfather and almost 70 other clansmen, under indictment for the massacre.No word on paramilitary casulaties but 2 civlians were killed.

Again on Thursday May 27th,from 7AM to 3PM an 8 hour long firefight took place after mortar volleys.In this last attack the Ampatuan Paramilitary were led by 2 underlings,Kagi Nasser and Kagi Sangatin.The 2,500 IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons,i.e."Refugees") that resulted from this clash are camping along the Sultan Buayan to Sultan sa Barougis National Hiway.

On June 2nd,2010,at 9AM,in Barangay Balunan in the town of Datu Odin Sinsuat,the 6IB engaged 25 BIAF guerillas in from the 105th Base Command in a 1 hour firefight before the guerillas withdrew into the Liguasan Marsh.The BIAF had been on the National Hiway laying IEDs.AFP snipers manned 50 caliber Barrets and artillery batteries of 105 MM Howitzers pounded the marsh afterwards.It is worth noting that in early May leadership of the 105th Base Command,at least on paper,passed to an underling of Kumander Kato,sub-Kumander Zacaria Goma.Goma is a long time MILF/BIAF vet who is known for a more moderate outlook despite his having worked directly under Kato for nearly 2 decades. "Moderate"in this case is certainly a relative term.As I noted earlier,I will hash that out in a subsequent entry.

On June 8th,2010 in Sultan sa Barongis,in Maguindanao Province,the BIAF's 105th Base Command fighting under sub-Kumander Bedai Mosayden battled with a CVO formed out of a demobilised MNLF (Moror National Liberation Front) Brigade,under Kumander Abu Samin Sampalo,causing 2,500 people to become IDPs.The 33IB was on site but refused to get involved,as always citing its obligations under the GPH-MILF Peace Process.The fighting continued sporadically until Saturday,June 12th when it intensified causing even more IDPs and even spilled over into the municipality of Montawal and threatened to ignite an even wider sub-conflict with Kumander Urao's BIAF element.As of this posting, June 21st,2010,things have calmed down to an even simmer with sporadic clashes taking place and almost all of the IDPs still homeless.