A continuation...
The beleagured Secretary of the Department of Justice, or DOJ, Leila de Lima glibly announced that one of Father Fausto."Pops" Tentorio's killers was now in NBI custody in Manila. The Philippines being what it is, the word "susoect" iscrarely, if ever, bandied about. Not only had there been an "arrest," but the man in custody, Jimmy Ato, was mnone other than the actual shooter himself.
In reality however, things were a great deal different. Contrary to Secretary de Lima's exacting claims, noone had been arrested in the killing, let alone Jimny Ato. Ato was in custody of course, but he had been taken on a 1995 arrest warrant for Arson with Homicide for a crime allegedly committed in the municipality of North Upi, in Maguindabao Province, when Ato had been all of age 16. Having gotten its hands in censuses taken by the AFP, or the Armed Forces of the Philippines PDTs (Peace and Development Teams), the NBI had quickly run each resident of thevtargetted municipality, Arakan, the town in which the killing had taken place, NBI had discovered the aforementioned Arson warrant against Jimmy Ato lying dormant...voila, a fallguy.
Subjected to extreme interrogation techniques-a given in the Philippine scheme of things-Ato quickly played ball. While denying he was the gunman, Ato fingered four other people. In early October of 2011, he said, he had been at a local store when two brothers, casual acquaintances of his- Jose Sultan Sampulna and Dima Maligudans Sampulna- had offered the itinerant mining labourer a chance to earm some decent money for once. Curious, Ato was toldvto join the brothers at a meeting with a local businessman and would be politician, William Buenaflor.
Accompanying the Sampulna Brothers to the Buenaflor home, he was suprised to see that recently named MPO, or Municipal Police Office Director, Senior Inspector Benjamin Rioflorado, also in attendance. According to this initial affadavit by Jimmy Ato, it was the Sampulna Brothers on that Honda Wave motorcycle that ferried the actual killer. The motive behind the killing, according to this affadavit, was Father Tentorio's rabid opposition to a proposed hydroelectric favility on the Pulangui River (Rio Grande de Mindanao). Willian Buenaflor represented a handful of businessnen whob stood to make millions of Pesos each should the hydroelectric project ever reach fruition. Senior Unspector Riofkirado was the broker of the murder contract, fingering the Sampulna Brothers...who in turn recruited Jimmy Ato as a lookout.
Curiously as well, both the NBI and the DOJ began leaking information that Roberto Ato, Jimmy's brother, also played a role in tge murder scheme. In fact, in the narrative that holds Jimmy Ato to be the gunman, Roberto is fingered as the driver of that motorcycle. Alatmed at being supposedly implicated in the killing, Roberto Ato fled Kulaman Valleyband Arakam as a whole and made his way to Kidapawan City where he took refuge with Congresswoman Nancy Catamco (North Cotabato 2nd District). Both Jimmy and Roberto serve as Catamco's local political base. Catamco noted that Roberto had never neen charged but that erroneous allegations could ruin his life.
Just after New Year, 2012, NBI went to court in Cotabato City to press forward with the aforementioned Arson with Homicide warrant from 1995. The motion asked the court to mandate Jimmy Ato to remain within NBI custody until the bureau is ready to move forward in the Father Tentorio. On February 24th, 2012, the NBI did just that, in conjunction with a parallel investigatory agency, Task Force Fausto (led by PRO-12, aka Police Regional Office for Region 12) charging Jimmy Ato, his younger brother Roberto (who remains protected by Congresswoman Nancy Catamco, the Ato political patron), along with both Sampurna Brothers, who up until the present (June of 2012), remain the subject of a manhunt.
Showing posts with label Teduray Tribe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Teduray Tribe. Show all posts
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Political Developments for the First Quarter of 2012, Part I: Arrest in Father Fausto "Pops" Tentorio's Murder, Kind of...Part 1
As far as the Philippines go, the life of a foreigner holds considerably more cachet than that of any Filipino. In fact, one foreigner's death is significantly more news worthy than a score of Filipino deaths. One might consider that the October 17th, 2011 killing of Father Fausto "Pops" Tentorio makes for an excellent case in point.
As I noted in a Fourth Quarter of 2011 entry, Father Pops was a Roman Catholic priest of the PIME, or Pontificium Institutum Missionum Exterarum Order. PIME priests traditionally missionise in distant and forlorn corners of the world. In Southeast Asia, "distant" and "forlorn" can be rather neatly summed up with just one word, "Mindanao." So it was that Father Pops, a native of Italy, came to find himself living in the municipality of Arakan, in North Cotabato Province. Ministering to Lumad (Hilltribesmen), he often found himself thick in the middle of the NPA Insurgency. Although it will naturally seem counter-intuitive to a great many people, the Philippine Church is more often than not squarely rooted on the Left of the political spectrum. With PIME's fondness for Liberation Theology it is really a no brainer.
Indeed, of three PIME priests murdered on Mindanao, two were killed for their support of the Maoist NPA. In the nearby municipality of Tulunan, Father Tullio Favali, another PIME priest from Italy, was shot to death on April 11th, 1985 in what is probably the nation's most famous murder. A CHDF (Civilian Home Defense Force) unit led by Norberto Manero Jr. had been paid by the municipal government of Tulunan to wrest control of outlying villages from the NPA by any means necessary. Chief among their targets was another PIME priest, Father Peter Geremiah, a man still spending his days working the Lumad in that general area.
When Geremiah did not materialise they focused their wrath on Father Favali. Although it was an extremely violent death by any measure, the circumastances have become mythologised, so warped with macabre fantasy that today, the media continues retelling the tale without an iota of fact checking. Why, everyone knows that the subhuman killer, Norberto Manero Jr., ate Father Favali's brains as a jeepney full of passengers rolled slowly through the intersection in stunned silence...except...that never took place. What certainly happened was that the young Italian priest lost his life in a brutal, extant counterinsurgency campaign. Like Father Pops, Father Favalli's death reverberated not only throughout the Philippines, but throughout the world.
Both slain priests were lionised as martyrs, not only by the Pope, but by secular pundits as well.Their deaths are still discussed by disparate segments of society. It isnt difficult at all to find recognition of either man, or of their personal missions in life. But what of Father Jesus Reynaldo "Rey" Roda? Father Rey, a Roman Catholic priest of the OMI (Oblates of Mary the Immaculate), brutally murdered on Tawi Tawi by Abu Sayyaf in 2008, received a couple of lines in most Philippine news outlet releases, and as for the Pope, Father Rey merely warranted two short paragraphs from a Papal Secretary, Cardinal Tercisio Bertune. Forget about foreign media outlets...Of course, it is narutal that Westerners will care more about events involving other Westerners, just as Manila-based newspapers report in DWI (drunk driving) arrests involving overseas Filipinos in another hemisphere. The curious aspect though, is that Filipinos (usually) could not care less about the brutal bludgeoning and then point blank shooting of a young Filipino priest on a Church altar, a man who disdained all secular politics and did not try to save non-Catholic souls, but will spend countless time and energy over a foreigner who blatantly supported the Maoist Insurgency...and thereby stood neck deep in innocent blood.
To recall, on October 17th, 2011, Father Pops, had walked out of his rectory in Arakan's Our Lady of Perpetual Help, andbwas just getting himself fastened into his Suzuki SUV when a blue Honda Wave motorcycle stopped at the end of the rectory's dirt driveway. A man got off the back of the motorcycle, without removing his helmet, and quickly walked 50 meters down the driveway to the rectory carport. Once he was two meters away from Father Tentorio, now sitting in his SUV, the man removed his helmet, placed it in his left hand, took a 9MM pistole from his waistband and raising his arm, shot the priest once in the abdomen with a standard ballpeen round. Quickly firing six more ballpeen rounds in quick succession, all between the waist and collar bone, he then slowly fired two hollow point rounds into the priest's chest from right next to the body, finally training his pistol on the now dead priest's mouth where he fired a coup de grace with a hollow point.
Placing his helmet back on his head, the gunman then ran back up the driveway to the still idling motorcycle, whose dtiver had been nervously scanning the area from behind his shaded helmet visor. The motorcycle quickly took off as soon as the gunman jumped back aboard.
As I have covered the aftermath of Father Tentorio's killing in that aforementioned Fourth Quarter of 2011 entry, I will simply move along to the meat and potatoes of THIS post, the naming of six suspects and the arrest of one of those men; Without a clue as to who might have committed the killing, but with everybody pointing fingers at each other, the Department of Justice, or DOJ, leaned on the Philippines' top law enforcement body, the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), to find the killers (as it always has been assumed that there was a cabal behind the murder).
Within days, NBI-12 (NBI Region 12) decided on its "master plan." Deploying undercover agents as street vendors and mining middlemen, ore handlers, they flooded the municipality of Arakan in hopes of gleaning shreds of intelligence. It was a pair of undercover agents posing as ore handlers seeking a possible mining investment in Barangay Kulaman Valley that led to "paydirt," at least in the NBI's version of events. As in any Lumad community, nothing worth happening takes place without the express approval of tribal chiefs, and moreover, tribal elders. In Kuluman Valley, tge dominant tribe is the Teduray, and so the two NBI agents cum mining investors presented themselves to Teduray tribal elders.
Like any good conmen, the "mining investors" dangled promises of riches, infrastructure, and jobs in front of the Yeduray elders and soon found themselves the esteemed guests of the Ato Clan. Shuffled from house to house, the two NBI agents familiarised themselves with the Teduray Community in Kulaman. On December 27th, 2011, the two agents began staying in the household of Jimmy Ato, 31, his 20 year old wife Ritchie, and their pair of toddlers in that barangay's Sitio Ikaw Ikaw. What happened next is highly debatable depending upon who offers up the narrative.
According to the NBI, as the agents settled into the home of Jimmy Ato, another undercover agent, who had been posing as a vendor of Balut (the quinessential Philippine street food, fertilised duck eggs), communicated to the "mining iinvestors" that Jimmy Ato had been running his mouth about having killed Father Tentorio. According to this intelligence, Ato had even remarked that he had found himself so suprised to discover how easy it was to kill a priest. Curiously, this "factoid" did not serve as the basis of an actual criminal investigation. Logically, it would have beena simple endeavour to gain a witness statement (affadavit) and use it as the raison d'etre in an arrest watrant for the ptiest's murder. Instead, before daybreak, on December 29th, both undercover agents pulled 45 caliber pistols on Jimmy Ato as the hapless men slept on the floor beside his young wife and children, having given the best acvomidations in the home to the two "guests," as he had been directed to by duped tribal elders.
As Ritchie and two toddlers watched in horror, the two guests frog matched Jimmy out the front door and began the slow descent to the barangay's only road. Alerted by Ritchie's desperate pleas neighbours rushed to the downslope,trail to try and plead with the two armed men. Identifying themselves as NBI agebts the two men warned onlookers not to intervene lest they too end up marching down the mountainside. Among the fearful onlookers were Ato Clansmen whobrushed to inform Jimmy's brother, Roberto Ato.
Just as the two NBI agents forced Jimmy Ato onto the roadway for the long march into the barangay propet, and their pre-arranged transportation, sniper fire forced the agents, and their prisoner, to take cover behind some roadside boulders. Roberto Ato led several clansmen in an attempt to save Jimmy Ato from what to those present, was still an unknown fate. Often times attackers on Mindabao present themselves as PNP (Philippine National Police), AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), and yes, NBI agents. Without identification, paperwork, or corroborative evide.ce, the two men escorting Jimmy Ato could be anybody...anybody with semi-automatic pistols trained on their loved one.
After nearly two hours of sporadic exchanges of gunfire, the two NBI agents and their prisoner Jimmy Ato were extricated safely by an NBI convoy that had been alerted by cellphone by one of the beleagured arresting agents. Owing to the sensitive nature of the crime, protocol was bypassed and Ato was driven not to NBI-12 Headquarters, but instead was directly taken to NBI-10 Headquarters, in Cagayan del Oro City. Processed, he was denied proper counsel as qell ad a chance to contact anybody, and was quickly bundled aboard an AFP AC130 transport on a direct flight to Manila. It was at NBI National Headquarters that Jimmy Ato first learned exactly what he faced.
To be continued in "Part 2"
As I noted in a Fourth Quarter of 2011 entry, Father Pops was a Roman Catholic priest of the PIME, or Pontificium Institutum Missionum Exterarum Order. PIME priests traditionally missionise in distant and forlorn corners of the world. In Southeast Asia, "distant" and "forlorn" can be rather neatly summed up with just one word, "Mindanao." So it was that Father Pops, a native of Italy, came to find himself living in the municipality of Arakan, in North Cotabato Province. Ministering to Lumad (Hilltribesmen), he often found himself thick in the middle of the NPA Insurgency. Although it will naturally seem counter-intuitive to a great many people, the Philippine Church is more often than not squarely rooted on the Left of the political spectrum. With PIME's fondness for Liberation Theology it is really a no brainer.
Indeed, of three PIME priests murdered on Mindanao, two were killed for their support of the Maoist NPA. In the nearby municipality of Tulunan, Father Tullio Favali, another PIME priest from Italy, was shot to death on April 11th, 1985 in what is probably the nation's most famous murder. A CHDF (Civilian Home Defense Force) unit led by Norberto Manero Jr. had been paid by the municipal government of Tulunan to wrest control of outlying villages from the NPA by any means necessary. Chief among their targets was another PIME priest, Father Peter Geremiah, a man still spending his days working the Lumad in that general area.
When Geremiah did not materialise they focused their wrath on Father Favali. Although it was an extremely violent death by any measure, the circumastances have become mythologised, so warped with macabre fantasy that today, the media continues retelling the tale without an iota of fact checking. Why, everyone knows that the subhuman killer, Norberto Manero Jr., ate Father Favali's brains as a jeepney full of passengers rolled slowly through the intersection in stunned silence...except...that never took place. What certainly happened was that the young Italian priest lost his life in a brutal, extant counterinsurgency campaign. Like Father Pops, Father Favalli's death reverberated not only throughout the Philippines, but throughout the world.
Both slain priests were lionised as martyrs, not only by the Pope, but by secular pundits as well.Their deaths are still discussed by disparate segments of society. It isnt difficult at all to find recognition of either man, or of their personal missions in life. But what of Father Jesus Reynaldo "Rey" Roda? Father Rey, a Roman Catholic priest of the OMI (Oblates of Mary the Immaculate), brutally murdered on Tawi Tawi by Abu Sayyaf in 2008, received a couple of lines in most Philippine news outlet releases, and as for the Pope, Father Rey merely warranted two short paragraphs from a Papal Secretary, Cardinal Tercisio Bertune. Forget about foreign media outlets...Of course, it is narutal that Westerners will care more about events involving other Westerners, just as Manila-based newspapers report in DWI (drunk driving) arrests involving overseas Filipinos in another hemisphere. The curious aspect though, is that Filipinos (usually) could not care less about the brutal bludgeoning and then point blank shooting of a young Filipino priest on a Church altar, a man who disdained all secular politics and did not try to save non-Catholic souls, but will spend countless time and energy over a foreigner who blatantly supported the Maoist Insurgency...and thereby stood neck deep in innocent blood.
To recall, on October 17th, 2011, Father Pops, had walked out of his rectory in Arakan's Our Lady of Perpetual Help, andbwas just getting himself fastened into his Suzuki SUV when a blue Honda Wave motorcycle stopped at the end of the rectory's dirt driveway. A man got off the back of the motorcycle, without removing his helmet, and quickly walked 50 meters down the driveway to the rectory carport. Once he was two meters away from Father Tentorio, now sitting in his SUV, the man removed his helmet, placed it in his left hand, took a 9MM pistole from his waistband and raising his arm, shot the priest once in the abdomen with a standard ballpeen round. Quickly firing six more ballpeen rounds in quick succession, all between the waist and collar bone, he then slowly fired two hollow point rounds into the priest's chest from right next to the body, finally training his pistol on the now dead priest's mouth where he fired a coup de grace with a hollow point.
Placing his helmet back on his head, the gunman then ran back up the driveway to the still idling motorcycle, whose dtiver had been nervously scanning the area from behind his shaded helmet visor. The motorcycle quickly took off as soon as the gunman jumped back aboard.
As I have covered the aftermath of Father Tentorio's killing in that aforementioned Fourth Quarter of 2011 entry, I will simply move along to the meat and potatoes of THIS post, the naming of six suspects and the arrest of one of those men; Without a clue as to who might have committed the killing, but with everybody pointing fingers at each other, the Department of Justice, or DOJ, leaned on the Philippines' top law enforcement body, the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), to find the killers (as it always has been assumed that there was a cabal behind the murder).
Within days, NBI-12 (NBI Region 12) decided on its "master plan." Deploying undercover agents as street vendors and mining middlemen, ore handlers, they flooded the municipality of Arakan in hopes of gleaning shreds of intelligence. It was a pair of undercover agents posing as ore handlers seeking a possible mining investment in Barangay Kulaman Valley that led to "paydirt," at least in the NBI's version of events. As in any Lumad community, nothing worth happening takes place without the express approval of tribal chiefs, and moreover, tribal elders. In Kuluman Valley, tge dominant tribe is the Teduray, and so the two NBI agents cum mining investors presented themselves to Teduray tribal elders.
Like any good conmen, the "mining investors" dangled promises of riches, infrastructure, and jobs in front of the Yeduray elders and soon found themselves the esteemed guests of the Ato Clan. Shuffled from house to house, the two NBI agents familiarised themselves with the Teduray Community in Kulaman. On December 27th, 2011, the two agents began staying in the household of Jimmy Ato, 31, his 20 year old wife Ritchie, and their pair of toddlers in that barangay's Sitio Ikaw Ikaw. What happened next is highly debatable depending upon who offers up the narrative.
According to the NBI, as the agents settled into the home of Jimmy Ato, another undercover agent, who had been posing as a vendor of Balut (the quinessential Philippine street food, fertilised duck eggs), communicated to the "mining iinvestors" that Jimmy Ato had been running his mouth about having killed Father Tentorio. According to this intelligence, Ato had even remarked that he had found himself so suprised to discover how easy it was to kill a priest. Curiously, this "factoid" did not serve as the basis of an actual criminal investigation. Logically, it would have beena simple endeavour to gain a witness statement (affadavit) and use it as the raison d'etre in an arrest watrant for the ptiest's murder. Instead, before daybreak, on December 29th, both undercover agents pulled 45 caliber pistols on Jimmy Ato as the hapless men slept on the floor beside his young wife and children, having given the best acvomidations in the home to the two "guests," as he had been directed to by duped tribal elders.
As Ritchie and two toddlers watched in horror, the two guests frog matched Jimmy out the front door and began the slow descent to the barangay's only road. Alerted by Ritchie's desperate pleas neighbours rushed to the downslope,trail to try and plead with the two armed men. Identifying themselves as NBI agebts the two men warned onlookers not to intervene lest they too end up marching down the mountainside. Among the fearful onlookers were Ato Clansmen whobrushed to inform Jimmy's brother, Roberto Ato.
Just as the two NBI agents forced Jimmy Ato onto the roadway for the long march into the barangay propet, and their pre-arranged transportation, sniper fire forced the agents, and their prisoner, to take cover behind some roadside boulders. Roberto Ato led several clansmen in an attempt to save Jimmy Ato from what to those present, was still an unknown fate. Often times attackers on Mindabao present themselves as PNP (Philippine National Police), AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), and yes, NBI agents. Without identification, paperwork, or corroborative evide.ce, the two men escorting Jimmy Ato could be anybody...anybody with semi-automatic pistols trained on their loved one.
After nearly two hours of sporadic exchanges of gunfire, the two NBI agents and their prisoner Jimmy Ato were extricated safely by an NBI convoy that had been alerted by cellphone by one of the beleagured arresting agents. Owing to the sensitive nature of the crime, protocol was bypassed and Ato was driven not to NBI-12 Headquarters, but instead was directly taken to NBI-10 Headquarters, in Cagayan del Oro City. Processed, he was denied proper counsel as qell ad a chance to contact anybody, and was quickly bundled aboard an AFP AC130 transport on a direct flight to Manila. It was at NBI National Headquarters that Jimmy Ato first learned exactly what he faced.
To be continued in "Part 2"
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
GPH-MILF Peace Process,Last Quarter of 2011:The MILF, Treading Water as Always
In the Honeymoon Phase both (then) newly elected-President Aquino and the MILF could not help but trip over themselves as they gushed sweet nothings,promising a full scale resumption of the GHP-MILF Peace Process.Of course both sides saw no reason to jump back onto that bicycle built for two just then and instead vowed to get down to the task at hand immediately after Ramadan,a month long Muslim"holiday."Well Ramadan has come and gone.After that breather both sides yawned,stretched and finally noticed that it was rather close to the Haj,the time of year when most Muslims who are able,make a pilgrimage to the al Hajaz region of Saudi Arabia.Then,afterwards,came Islamic New Year...besides,the Philippine Xmas Season officially begins on December 16...so let's just hold the darn thing in early 2011.
Of course before both sides can begin to talk to each other,they need people to do the"talking."While the Philipine Government began empanelling its representatives in early July,just about 2 weeks after President Aquino was inagurated.On the flip side,the MILF did what it does best,it put a finger in each ear and tried to find an extra hand so that they could point a finger at someone else (really doesn't matter WHO,anyone will do in a pinch). Finally,as the nation waited with baited breath (hey,it COULD happen) the MILF finally deigned to reveal the names on their re-constituted Peace Panel:
Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman.
Datu Michael O.Mastura
Maulana"Bobby"Alonto
Datu Antonio Kinoc
Abdullah Camilan
Professor Abhoud Sweed (Syed) Linga.
No suprises there, indeed not even any new names since 2 of the 3 new people (Kinoc and Camilan) were long involved on the Technical end of the Process.The 3rd,Lingga,is a flunky who is moderately well known to observers for his involvement in very minor MILF entities.I will go into great depth when I devote an entire post to the MILF Panel.
The next day,September 14, 2010,OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process) Secretary Teresita Q.Deles announced that President Aquino had approved the blueprint for the latest Round of the GHP-MILF Peace Process,without elaborating as to what said blueprint will consist of.The decision came after Aquino met with Malaysian Foreign Minister,Dato Sri Hanifa HJ Aman.Ms.Deles made her remarks during a short speech at the Turn Over Ceremony for MinDA (Mindanao Development Authority).She also announced that the 2 sides plan to hold an informal get together sometime before December so as to iron out any large wrinkles ahead of formal resumption.When asked why it might take additional time before said resumption,in light of both sides having repeatedly vowed to implement resumption just after the end of Ramadan,Deles dropped the ball and said that they are now awaiting word from Malaysia,which as Facilitator of the Peace Process has the responsibility to set the date.
Speaking of MinDA,longtime Chairman Jesus Dureza,who concurrently served as Deles' predecessor as the last Secretary of OPAPP under the Arroyo Administration,handed over control of MinDA to old hand Luwalhati Antonino.Ms.Antonino,a native of Upi,Maguindanao Province (though in her day it was still a part of N.Cotabato Province) made her mark as one of the infamous"Tres Marias" (3 Marias).As the Congresswoman representing South Cotabato Province from 1992 to 2001,Ms.Antonino was an active opponent of the MILF (as well as the MNLF,as well as most anything Muslim).As the so called"Final Agreement" (aka "Jakarta Accorf of 1996") between the Philippine Government and the MNLF began shaping up in 1995 she joined together with 2 other female politicians who vehemently opposed any kind of settlement with Filipino-Muslims at the expence of non-Muslim Filipinos,Daisy Fuentes and the legendary,late Maria Clara Lobregat.
Along with her 2 contemporaries,Ms.Fuentes and the late Ms.Lobregat (mother of Mayor Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City and at the time Mayor herself) Ms.Antonino did all that she could possibly do to mitigate the effects of Jakarta 96 (once the Agreement itself became inevitable). Though generally known as the "Tres Marias," the MILF (and most other Filipino-Muslims) referred to the trio as the,"Black Marias."It only took a few days for Secretary Antonino to run afoul of the MILF once again.The issue that caused the consternation? Ms.Antonino hand the gall to tell the media that the MILF's BADF (Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund) was a product of the GPH-MILF Peace Process.That statement caused Chairman of the then newly re-constituted MILF Peace Panel Secretariat,Jun Mantawil to angrily point out that while the MILF's BDA (Bangsamoro Development Agency) WAS such a development,the BDAF was NOT. The BDA was created out of the (GPH-MILF) Tripoli 2001 Agreement (June 22, 2001) with the mandate to "determine, lead, and manage" relief,rehabilitation and development projects within the targeted area.On the other hand,the BDAF was created by virtue of Executive Order #872, by former-President Arroyo (March 16, 2010) as an implementation mechanism for the afore mentioned economic reforms that were to have been realised by Jakarta 96.Ergo the BDAF is MNLF-centric where as the BDA is MILF-centric.
Septmber 27,2010 saw the MILF jump into the fray surrounding the proposed"Pulangi V"hydro-electric project in Bukidnon Province.The"El Nino"-related drought that effected Mindanao in the Summer of 2010 severely limited the island's hydro-electric output.With 55% of Mindanao deriving its electricity from hydro-electricty,droughts can be catastrophic.How much more so when that 55% of the island relies on 2 plants?The 2 plants,Agus in Lanao del Sur and Pulangi in Bukidnon are in dire straits.For the sake of brevity I will desist from going into great detail, sufficient to say that even in the best of times these 2 plants are struggling.
There is,without an iota of doubt,an extremely pressing need for viable,sustainable energy sources.However,the proposed"Pulangi V"project would utilise a dam on the Upper Cotabato Basin that would flood roughly 32,000 hectares of land that composed 80% of a single CAD (Certificate of Ancestral Domain,a claim by a tribe on its historical, ancestral lands).Among these flooded lands would be the holiest shrine of most Manobo Tribes,a site also holy to other tribes as well.I plan to do an entry on the Pulangi Project as well as its dire ramifications in an entry on"Development Aggression."
With a new president comes a new Peace Panel and THIS Panel's Chairperson,Mario Victor"Marvic"Leonen naturally wants to prove himself capable.How does Mr.Leonen try to do this?He has taken aim at long time Facilitating Nation,the nation of Malaysia,by denigrating its long time representative,Datuk Othman bin 'Abd Razak.On November 16, 2010 the Philippines formally requested that Datuk Razak ("Datuk" is the Malay equivalent of the Southern Philippine title "Datu"),be replaced claiming that Razak had long exhibited a bias against the Philippines.The MILF Central Committee then passed a Resolution in which,aside from lauding Razak,asked Malaysia not to acede to GRP's demands.
Said Resolution was then concurred by the Chairman of the MILF,al Haj Murad Ebrahim.Leonen continued his personal crusade on a Manila radio station during an interview on November 20 where he said that aside from Othman's extreme bias against the Philippine Government he also has been more than a bit keen on taking credit for past GHP-MILF Agreements which contravenes the modus operandi of an effective Facilitator.More over says Leonen,an objective Facilitator would resign post haste upon learning that 1 or both parties he was facilitating had lost all confidence in him.Razak's reluctance to do so is proof positive of his lack of objectivity.
As this minor soap opera unfolded another avoidable snafu was taking place.Since mid-September the MILF has been up in arms about the IMT Programme.IMTs, or International Monitoring Teams,are a product of the 2002 phase of the GPH-MILF Peace Process.Currently with 39 people from 4 nations (Malaysia,which administers the programme overall has 20; Brunei,15;Libya,3 and Japan has a single representative) the programme functions as a Ceasefire Security Mechanism, to minimise the number of armed engagements between the MILF's armed wing,the BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces) and the APF (Armed Forces of the Philippines).
Currently in its 5th deployment,the IMT's mandate is set to expire on February 28, 2011 despite the deployment having began on December 09, 2009 (though this disparity between"Mandate"and"Deployment"has led to controversy and confusion).Because Team deployments last only 12 months the nations involved had been set to withdraw their personnel on December 08, 2010.When the Philippine Government shrugged off its inertia and began to join the MILF in its request for an extension until at least February 28,the official termination date,the MILF suddenly lost interest and then took the opposite stance.The Philippine Government transmitted this request formally on Deceber 01 via a Note Verbale to the diplomatic missions of each of the 4 IMT nations.Finally the MILF"reluctantly agreed"to the same request,an extension until the official termination date via formal letters,from Chairman of the MILF Peace Panel,Mohagher Iqbal on December 03.
The MILF has been expressing concerns over the stated,and even more so,the unstated intentions of the UNWFP (UN World Food Programme) with regard to Ligusuan Marsh.On December 10,2010 the WFP (as it is known in shorthand) Deputy Director for the Philippines,Asaka Nyangara visited a WFP funded tree nursery in the town of Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao Province.The nursery which is equipped to raise 100,000 seedlings is primed to take part in a huge rehabilitation of Ligusuan Marsh.The wetlands span the provinces of North Cotabato,Maguindanao,Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Sur Provinces and covers a total of 288,000 hectares.The MILF has been observing all the to do and rather quietly noting that the WFP whose primary mission is to provide food staples in extreme locations such as the conflict affected areas of Mindanao is now aiming to do a massive rehabilitation of an ecosystem.This ecosysten just happens to sit atop what some feel may be massive reserves of natural gas and oil.
On December 11,Secretary of the MILF's Central Committee Muhammad Ameen publicly asked why the WFP's envisioned rehab of the marsh was needed on such a grand scale?He also cautioned the UN to coordinate all activities within MILF AOR with the MILF itself.It was such lack of coordination that caused the 2003 GPH-MILF War (aka "Buliok Complex War") in and around that same marsh.
Since MILF founder Salamat Hashim died from natural causes in 2003 the organisation has been Chaired by al Haj Murad Ebrahim.Though Hashim was never one for the limelight he was a rock star compared to his successor,al Haj Murad. Ergo it is hard to discern fact from rumour with regard to reports that Murad is lying in a hospital bed in Malaysia's Sabah State.What is known for sure is that the reclusive leader had enjoyed an all expence paid junket to attend a conference sponsored by a Swiss NGO devoted to fair governance and independent judiciaries being held in Geneva,Switzerland from September 23 to September 28.Murad then travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Haj Pilgrimage (once again).It is believed, according to
IS-AFP (Military Intelligence), that he then travelled to Malaysia, on MILF business.While in Malaysia Murad is said to have made his way from Kuala Lampur to Sabah,which sits on the island of Borneo.It was in Sabah reports say that Murad suffered a massive stroke that as of December 03 has kept him confined to a hospital bed with half of his body paralysed.0f course the MILF is denying that its erstwhile leader is even ill but refuses to disclose his whereabouts,much less what has happened to him since al Haj (not Murad per se,but the Islamic Pilgrimage itself) ended roughly 2 months ago and Murad hasn't ben seen since. If the Intelligence Reports are accurate it would have catastrophic results for the GPH-MILF Peace Process.One should remember that founder Hashim Salamat died in the middle of July,2003 and his death was only publicly revealed by the MILF on August 06 of that year.In the 3 week interval between the 2 dates the MILF was promising that Salamat would be attending the upcoming round of Talks in Malaysia.
On October 04, 2010,an all female NGO based in Aleosan,North Cotabato Province joined the afore mentioned IMT via the entity's CPC (Civil Protection Component).Led by 2 ex-nuns and calling itself the"Female Peace Corps,"it describes itself as"totally committed" to helping maintain the current Ceasefire."The 2 "ex-nuns,"Analiza Ugay formerly a Carmelite sister,and Adel Nayal,a sister in the Oblates of Notre Dame,remain committed while understanding that they may not get very much time to help given the issues related to the expiration of the IMT mandate.The CPC was an innovation of the post-2008 War meetings and was handed a mandate that asked constituent organisations to"provide a functional system and effective mechanisms for monitoring,verifying and reporting" on implementation and maintenance of the Ceasefire and pursuant requisites."In other words,very little work relating to civilians and a whole lot of work with combatants.Oh well,at least it was a great idea,right?
With the rapid pace of modern life I for one,always take comfort in life's constants.One case in point is the constant hypocrisy of the MILF.Here is an organisation that seriously demotes lifelong members who have contravened Rule#1,"No Philippine politics."That in itself might actually be understandable,and in the case of longtime MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu having gotten suspended for 6 months over doing just that,even welcomed... but then we see the MILF constantly engaging politicians and even actively campaigning for politicians that THEY feel will further the MIlF agenda.Supporting candidates is only the converse of denigration of candidates (denigration is something that the MILF has mastered).If one disdains politicking then one disdains ALL politicking.
Towards this end, Secretary of the Central Committee,Muhammad Ameen and Vice Chairman for Political Affairs,Ghazali Jafaar signed off on a memorandum distributed to all BIAF unit commanders with regard to the (then) upcoming synchronised Barangay and SK (Provincial Board) Elections.Dated October 01,2010,the memo said in no uncertain terms that there was to be absolutely no interaction with the election OR its candidates.It went so far as to prohibit even letting a candidate use one's vehicle.The memo went on to describe the Philippine democratic process, and Liberal Democracy in general in less than glowing terms:"The so-called Democratic process of choosing leaders is not only divisive, acrimonious and creates anomosity and intrigues,but it also failed miserably to produce the best qualified people to run their affairs [sic],and the consequence is a corrupt and strife torn society."
The same day that the afore mentioned memorandum was distributed the MILF once again warned the AFP about uncoordinated movements within MILF AOR.This has been a hot issue since July,2007 when 14 AFP Marines were mowed down in an ambush by the MILF 114 Base Commamd on Basilan Island.At the time the AFP had been moving heavily and frequently as it searched high and low for the kidnapped Irish priest, Father Michael Sinott.The elderly Columban Missionary had been abducted from the Columban compound in Pagadian City,across the strait from Basilan Island.The killing of those 14 Marines gained even more notariety when it was discovered that 10 of the Marines were decapitated after being shot to death.Of course,in order to preserve the mostly non-existent Ceasefire the government played ball when the MILF insisted that although the MILF DID mow those Marines down,somehow Abu Sayyaf guerillas had crept into the Kill Zone before the smoke cleared and sawed off 10 heads.Furthermore,the accepted narrative went,it was the Marines' fault for moving within an MILF/BIAF bailiwick without prior notification and
co-ordination (actually THAT issue is valid since the AFP is signatory to an Agreement in which they vow to notify and co-ordinate its movements in such areas).
In the end Fr.Sinott had never even been brought to Basilan.He had been taken by 113 Base Command on the Lanao del Norte/Zamboanga Peninsula Border,but that is another sordid tale.
The MILF concerns this time revolved around AFP Riverine Exercises in and around the rivers and mangroves of Kabuntulan,Maguindanao Province.Trying out those new Australian Air Boats (that were brilliantly offloaded in Polloc, Maguindanao (the ARMM Port...in BROAD DAYLIGHT) ended up having caused a coventional patrol craft to capsize off shore spilling its 4 man AFP crew.Luckily all 4 were rescued but an M60 (machinegun) was among the valuable gear lost.The MILF is correct to note that Special Forces in maneuver could very easily ignite a malestrom IF their presence and intent were never telegraphed to the MILF).
The next day, October 02,2010 in Barangay Nupo,Upi,Maguindanao Province the MILF dispatched a small delegation to the"Second Timfada Lumad"(Second Lumad Conference) sponsored by the local NGO,"TJG"(Timuay Justice and Governance). "Lumad" is the Cebuano (Bisaya) word that generically describes all Mindanowan (Mindanaon) animist tribes except Negritos.It is the local equivalent of the generic Tagalog word,"Igarot,"that is used to desribe Animists (except Negritos) on Luzon.This"Congress"only focuses on the Teduray,Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo Tribes,the 3 Animist tribes of Maguindanao Province.Lumad and Muslims have sometimes had an uneasy co-existence but more often than not muted animosity has exploded into outright violence (despite the propaganda of Muslim-Filipinos and their apologists).Indeed,it was the Teduray Tribe,1 of the 3 sponsoring this event,who initiated the Ilaga-Muslim War of the late 1960s/early 1970s but that deserves an entry all its own).
Much has been made about the Muslim-Filipino disregard for Lumads and the right of Lumads to control their own land.The MILF has been belatedly trying to rectify this huge public relations nightmare,ergo an MILF delegation at a minor Lumad gathering at a municipal gym,albeit with as about a minor a personage as one could find in the MILF,but at least they came...The "minor personage"?The MILF delegation was led by a former member of the MILF Peace Panel's TWG (Technical Working Group),Amor B.Pendaliday.
Mr.Pendaliday read a lengthly speech that he said had been authored by Chairman of the MILF Peace Panel Mohagher Iqbal (maybe he held the pen in his mouth),in which the main focus was what Pendaliday/Iqbal called,"4 Point Policy,"which I will resist describing for the sake of brevity (though I might elaborate upon it in a future entry).
Of course before both sides can begin to talk to each other,they need people to do the"talking."While the Philipine Government began empanelling its representatives in early July,just about 2 weeks after President Aquino was inagurated.On the flip side,the MILF did what it does best,it put a finger in each ear and tried to find an extra hand so that they could point a finger at someone else (really doesn't matter WHO,anyone will do in a pinch). Finally,as the nation waited with baited breath (hey,it COULD happen) the MILF finally deigned to reveal the names on their re-constituted Peace Panel:
Mohagher Iqbal, Chairman.
Datu Michael O.Mastura
Maulana"Bobby"Alonto
Datu Antonio Kinoc
Abdullah Camilan
Professor Abhoud Sweed (Syed) Linga.
No suprises there, indeed not even any new names since 2 of the 3 new people (Kinoc and Camilan) were long involved on the Technical end of the Process.The 3rd,Lingga,is a flunky who is moderately well known to observers for his involvement in very minor MILF entities.I will go into great depth when I devote an entire post to the MILF Panel.
The next day,September 14, 2010,OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Advisor on the Peace Process) Secretary Teresita Q.Deles announced that President Aquino had approved the blueprint for the latest Round of the GHP-MILF Peace Process,without elaborating as to what said blueprint will consist of.The decision came after Aquino met with Malaysian Foreign Minister,Dato Sri Hanifa HJ Aman.Ms.Deles made her remarks during a short speech at the Turn Over Ceremony for MinDA (Mindanao Development Authority).She also announced that the 2 sides plan to hold an informal get together sometime before December so as to iron out any large wrinkles ahead of formal resumption.When asked why it might take additional time before said resumption,in light of both sides having repeatedly vowed to implement resumption just after the end of Ramadan,Deles dropped the ball and said that they are now awaiting word from Malaysia,which as Facilitator of the Peace Process has the responsibility to set the date.
Speaking of MinDA,longtime Chairman Jesus Dureza,who concurrently served as Deles' predecessor as the last Secretary of OPAPP under the Arroyo Administration,handed over control of MinDA to old hand Luwalhati Antonino.Ms.Antonino,a native of Upi,Maguindanao Province (though in her day it was still a part of N.Cotabato Province) made her mark as one of the infamous"Tres Marias" (3 Marias).As the Congresswoman representing South Cotabato Province from 1992 to 2001,Ms.Antonino was an active opponent of the MILF (as well as the MNLF,as well as most anything Muslim).As the so called"Final Agreement" (aka "Jakarta Accorf of 1996") between the Philippine Government and the MNLF began shaping up in 1995 she joined together with 2 other female politicians who vehemently opposed any kind of settlement with Filipino-Muslims at the expence of non-Muslim Filipinos,Daisy Fuentes and the legendary,late Maria Clara Lobregat.
Along with her 2 contemporaries,Ms.Fuentes and the late Ms.Lobregat (mother of Mayor Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City and at the time Mayor herself) Ms.Antonino did all that she could possibly do to mitigate the effects of Jakarta 96 (once the Agreement itself became inevitable). Though generally known as the "Tres Marias," the MILF (and most other Filipino-Muslims) referred to the trio as the,"Black Marias."It only took a few days for Secretary Antonino to run afoul of the MILF once again.The issue that caused the consternation? Ms.Antonino hand the gall to tell the media that the MILF's BADF (Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund) was a product of the GPH-MILF Peace Process.That statement caused Chairman of the then newly re-constituted MILF Peace Panel Secretariat,Jun Mantawil to angrily point out that while the MILF's BDA (Bangsamoro Development Agency) WAS such a development,the BDAF was NOT. The BDA was created out of the (GPH-MILF) Tripoli 2001 Agreement (June 22, 2001) with the mandate to "determine, lead, and manage" relief,rehabilitation and development projects within the targeted area.On the other hand,the BDAF was created by virtue of Executive Order #872, by former-President Arroyo (March 16, 2010) as an implementation mechanism for the afore mentioned economic reforms that were to have been realised by Jakarta 96.Ergo the BDAF is MNLF-centric where as the BDA is MILF-centric.
Septmber 27,2010 saw the MILF jump into the fray surrounding the proposed"Pulangi V"hydro-electric project in Bukidnon Province.The"El Nino"-related drought that effected Mindanao in the Summer of 2010 severely limited the island's hydro-electric output.With 55% of Mindanao deriving its electricity from hydro-electricty,droughts can be catastrophic.How much more so when that 55% of the island relies on 2 plants?The 2 plants,Agus in Lanao del Sur and Pulangi in Bukidnon are in dire straits.For the sake of brevity I will desist from going into great detail, sufficient to say that even in the best of times these 2 plants are struggling.
There is,without an iota of doubt,an extremely pressing need for viable,sustainable energy sources.However,the proposed"Pulangi V"project would utilise a dam on the Upper Cotabato Basin that would flood roughly 32,000 hectares of land that composed 80% of a single CAD (Certificate of Ancestral Domain,a claim by a tribe on its historical, ancestral lands).Among these flooded lands would be the holiest shrine of most Manobo Tribes,a site also holy to other tribes as well.I plan to do an entry on the Pulangi Project as well as its dire ramifications in an entry on"Development Aggression."
With a new president comes a new Peace Panel and THIS Panel's Chairperson,Mario Victor"Marvic"Leonen naturally wants to prove himself capable.How does Mr.Leonen try to do this?He has taken aim at long time Facilitating Nation,the nation of Malaysia,by denigrating its long time representative,Datuk Othman bin 'Abd Razak.On November 16, 2010 the Philippines formally requested that Datuk Razak ("Datuk" is the Malay equivalent of the Southern Philippine title "Datu"),be replaced claiming that Razak had long exhibited a bias against the Philippines.The MILF Central Committee then passed a Resolution in which,aside from lauding Razak,asked Malaysia not to acede to GRP's demands.
Said Resolution was then concurred by the Chairman of the MILF,al Haj Murad Ebrahim.Leonen continued his personal crusade on a Manila radio station during an interview on November 20 where he said that aside from Othman's extreme bias against the Philippine Government he also has been more than a bit keen on taking credit for past GHP-MILF Agreements which contravenes the modus operandi of an effective Facilitator.More over says Leonen,an objective Facilitator would resign post haste upon learning that 1 or both parties he was facilitating had lost all confidence in him.Razak's reluctance to do so is proof positive of his lack of objectivity.
As this minor soap opera unfolded another avoidable snafu was taking place.Since mid-September the MILF has been up in arms about the IMT Programme.IMTs, or International Monitoring Teams,are a product of the 2002 phase of the GPH-MILF Peace Process.Currently with 39 people from 4 nations (Malaysia,which administers the programme overall has 20; Brunei,15;Libya,3 and Japan has a single representative) the programme functions as a Ceasefire Security Mechanism, to minimise the number of armed engagements between the MILF's armed wing,the BIAF (Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces) and the APF (Armed Forces of the Philippines).
Currently in its 5th deployment,the IMT's mandate is set to expire on February 28, 2011 despite the deployment having began on December 09, 2009 (though this disparity between"Mandate"and"Deployment"has led to controversy and confusion).Because Team deployments last only 12 months the nations involved had been set to withdraw their personnel on December 08, 2010.When the Philippine Government shrugged off its inertia and began to join the MILF in its request for an extension until at least February 28,the official termination date,the MILF suddenly lost interest and then took the opposite stance.The Philippine Government transmitted this request formally on Deceber 01 via a Note Verbale to the diplomatic missions of each of the 4 IMT nations.Finally the MILF"reluctantly agreed"to the same request,an extension until the official termination date via formal letters,from Chairman of the MILF Peace Panel,Mohagher Iqbal on December 03.
The MILF has been expressing concerns over the stated,and even more so,the unstated intentions of the UNWFP (UN World Food Programme) with regard to Ligusuan Marsh.On December 10,2010 the WFP (as it is known in shorthand) Deputy Director for the Philippines,Asaka Nyangara visited a WFP funded tree nursery in the town of Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao Province.The nursery which is equipped to raise 100,000 seedlings is primed to take part in a huge rehabilitation of Ligusuan Marsh.The wetlands span the provinces of North Cotabato,Maguindanao,Sultan Kudarat and Lanao del Sur Provinces and covers a total of 288,000 hectares.The MILF has been observing all the to do and rather quietly noting that the WFP whose primary mission is to provide food staples in extreme locations such as the conflict affected areas of Mindanao is now aiming to do a massive rehabilitation of an ecosystem.This ecosysten just happens to sit atop what some feel may be massive reserves of natural gas and oil.
On December 11,Secretary of the MILF's Central Committee Muhammad Ameen publicly asked why the WFP's envisioned rehab of the marsh was needed on such a grand scale?He also cautioned the UN to coordinate all activities within MILF AOR with the MILF itself.It was such lack of coordination that caused the 2003 GPH-MILF War (aka "Buliok Complex War") in and around that same marsh.
Since MILF founder Salamat Hashim died from natural causes in 2003 the organisation has been Chaired by al Haj Murad Ebrahim.Though Hashim was never one for the limelight he was a rock star compared to his successor,al Haj Murad. Ergo it is hard to discern fact from rumour with regard to reports that Murad is lying in a hospital bed in Malaysia's Sabah State.What is known for sure is that the reclusive leader had enjoyed an all expence paid junket to attend a conference sponsored by a Swiss NGO devoted to fair governance and independent judiciaries being held in Geneva,Switzerland from September 23 to September 28.Murad then travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Haj Pilgrimage (once again).It is believed, according to
IS-AFP (Military Intelligence), that he then travelled to Malaysia, on MILF business.While in Malaysia Murad is said to have made his way from Kuala Lampur to Sabah,which sits on the island of Borneo.It was in Sabah reports say that Murad suffered a massive stroke that as of December 03 has kept him confined to a hospital bed with half of his body paralysed.0f course the MILF is denying that its erstwhile leader is even ill but refuses to disclose his whereabouts,much less what has happened to him since al Haj (not Murad per se,but the Islamic Pilgrimage itself) ended roughly 2 months ago and Murad hasn't ben seen since. If the Intelligence Reports are accurate it would have catastrophic results for the GPH-MILF Peace Process.One should remember that founder Hashim Salamat died in the middle of July,2003 and his death was only publicly revealed by the MILF on August 06 of that year.In the 3 week interval between the 2 dates the MILF was promising that Salamat would be attending the upcoming round of Talks in Malaysia.
On October 04, 2010,an all female NGO based in Aleosan,North Cotabato Province joined the afore mentioned IMT via the entity's CPC (Civil Protection Component).Led by 2 ex-nuns and calling itself the"Female Peace Corps,"it describes itself as"totally committed" to helping maintain the current Ceasefire."The 2 "ex-nuns,"Analiza Ugay formerly a Carmelite sister,and Adel Nayal,a sister in the Oblates of Notre Dame,remain committed while understanding that they may not get very much time to help given the issues related to the expiration of the IMT mandate.The CPC was an innovation of the post-2008 War meetings and was handed a mandate that asked constituent organisations to"provide a functional system and effective mechanisms for monitoring,verifying and reporting" on implementation and maintenance of the Ceasefire and pursuant requisites."In other words,very little work relating to civilians and a whole lot of work with combatants.Oh well,at least it was a great idea,right?
With the rapid pace of modern life I for one,always take comfort in life's constants.One case in point is the constant hypocrisy of the MILF.Here is an organisation that seriously demotes lifelong members who have contravened Rule#1,"No Philippine politics."That in itself might actually be understandable,and in the case of longtime MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu having gotten suspended for 6 months over doing just that,even welcomed... but then we see the MILF constantly engaging politicians and even actively campaigning for politicians that THEY feel will further the MIlF agenda.Supporting candidates is only the converse of denigration of candidates (denigration is something that the MILF has mastered).If one disdains politicking then one disdains ALL politicking.
Towards this end, Secretary of the Central Committee,Muhammad Ameen and Vice Chairman for Political Affairs,Ghazali Jafaar signed off on a memorandum distributed to all BIAF unit commanders with regard to the (then) upcoming synchronised Barangay and SK (Provincial Board) Elections.Dated October 01,2010,the memo said in no uncertain terms that there was to be absolutely no interaction with the election OR its candidates.It went so far as to prohibit even letting a candidate use one's vehicle.The memo went on to describe the Philippine democratic process, and Liberal Democracy in general in less than glowing terms:"The so-called Democratic process of choosing leaders is not only divisive, acrimonious and creates anomosity and intrigues,but it also failed miserably to produce the best qualified people to run their affairs [sic],and the consequence is a corrupt and strife torn society."
The same day that the afore mentioned memorandum was distributed the MILF once again warned the AFP about uncoordinated movements within MILF AOR.This has been a hot issue since July,2007 when 14 AFP Marines were mowed down in an ambush by the MILF 114 Base Commamd on Basilan Island.At the time the AFP had been moving heavily and frequently as it searched high and low for the kidnapped Irish priest, Father Michael Sinott.The elderly Columban Missionary had been abducted from the Columban compound in Pagadian City,across the strait from Basilan Island.The killing of those 14 Marines gained even more notariety when it was discovered that 10 of the Marines were decapitated after being shot to death.Of course,in order to preserve the mostly non-existent Ceasefire the government played ball when the MILF insisted that although the MILF DID mow those Marines down,somehow Abu Sayyaf guerillas had crept into the Kill Zone before the smoke cleared and sawed off 10 heads.Furthermore,the accepted narrative went,it was the Marines' fault for moving within an MILF/BIAF bailiwick without prior notification and
co-ordination (actually THAT issue is valid since the AFP is signatory to an Agreement in which they vow to notify and co-ordinate its movements in such areas).
In the end Fr.Sinott had never even been brought to Basilan.He had been taken by 113 Base Command on the Lanao del Norte/Zamboanga Peninsula Border,but that is another sordid tale.
The MILF concerns this time revolved around AFP Riverine Exercises in and around the rivers and mangroves of Kabuntulan,Maguindanao Province.Trying out those new Australian Air Boats (that were brilliantly offloaded in Polloc, Maguindanao (the ARMM Port...in BROAD DAYLIGHT) ended up having caused a coventional patrol craft to capsize off shore spilling its 4 man AFP crew.Luckily all 4 were rescued but an M60 (machinegun) was among the valuable gear lost.The MILF is correct to note that Special Forces in maneuver could very easily ignite a malestrom IF their presence and intent were never telegraphed to the MILF).
The next day, October 02,2010 in Barangay Nupo,Upi,Maguindanao Province the MILF dispatched a small delegation to the"Second Timfada Lumad"(Second Lumad Conference) sponsored by the local NGO,"TJG"(Timuay Justice and Governance). "Lumad" is the Cebuano (Bisaya) word that generically describes all Mindanowan (Mindanaon) animist tribes except Negritos.It is the local equivalent of the generic Tagalog word,"Igarot,"that is used to desribe Animists (except Negritos) on Luzon.This"Congress"only focuses on the Teduray,Lambangian and Dulangan Manobo Tribes,the 3 Animist tribes of Maguindanao Province.Lumad and Muslims have sometimes had an uneasy co-existence but more often than not muted animosity has exploded into outright violence (despite the propaganda of Muslim-Filipinos and their apologists).Indeed,it was the Teduray Tribe,1 of the 3 sponsoring this event,who initiated the Ilaga-Muslim War of the late 1960s/early 1970s but that deserves an entry all its own).
Much has been made about the Muslim-Filipino disregard for Lumads and the right of Lumads to control their own land.The MILF has been belatedly trying to rectify this huge public relations nightmare,ergo an MILF delegation at a minor Lumad gathering at a municipal gym,albeit with as about a minor a personage as one could find in the MILF,but at least they came...The "minor personage"?The MILF delegation was led by a former member of the MILF Peace Panel's TWG (Technical Working Group),Amor B.Pendaliday.
Mr.Pendaliday read a lengthly speech that he said had been authored by Chairman of the MILF Peace Panel Mohagher Iqbal (maybe he held the pen in his mouth),in which the main focus was what Pendaliday/Iqbal called,"4 Point Policy,"which I will resist describing for the sake of brevity (though I might elaborate upon it in a future entry).
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