MANILA – ‘Morong 43’ arrest, detention illegal — CHR (tags)
Five years since the arrest, detention and release of the 43 health workers dubbed as the “Morong 43,” the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has finally issued a resolution stating that state forces violated the rights of the health workers.
Philippines - NDFP says UN report on use of child combatants by NPA (tags)
MANILA – The National Democratic Front of the Philippines’ Special Office for the Protection of Children slammed the report released by the United Nations Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict (SRCAC) which alleges that the its armed wing the New People’s Army (NPA) has been using and recruiting children.
Philippines: Promotion of Morong 43 jailer enrages victims, rights groups (tags)
MANILA – The recent promotion of Major General Jorge Segovia, former commander of the 2nd Infantry Division of the Philippine Army that carried out the illegal arrest of 43 health workers in February 2010, has outraged human rights groups.
McCain, Bachmann Confronted Over USS Liberty ‘Incident’ (tags)
John McCain and his wife (Cindy McCain) don't care about Israel murdering/maiming my USS Liberty shipmates
Stop the AFP's red-baiting and intimidation against progressives (tags)
Since 2001, the Philippine government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been trying, but have so far failed, to stop us and our parties from representing the marginalized and underrepresented sectors in Congress. Now that we are running for the Senate, they are becoming more desperate in trying to prevent us from serving our people and pursuing the politics of change.
Peasant offensives in Southern Tagalog Despite AFP Militarization (tags)
The Pesante NEWS based in Los Angeles reported today that the peasant movement in Southern Tagalog is gaining ground despite AFP militaization in that region. The PESANTE NEWS also learned that the impoverished masses in the Southern Tagalog (ST) countryside are now organized under a peasant movement with a strong regional center. Provincial chapters have begun to rise anew from the surviving 54 chapters in various levels found in areas with existing cases of agrarian disputes and where the peasant masses are being threatened with eviction. Chapters continue to expand and new ones built on varying levels.
Pesante-USA slams Philippine CHR for Clearing the AFP on Mellisa Roxas Case (tags)
The Philippine Peasant Support Network (Pesante-USA), human rights group based in the United States today vehemently condemned the Commission of Human Rights (CHR) report that cleared the AFP on the abduction and torture of a US-based activist. The report, signed by CHR chair Loretta Rosales in February but released over the weekend, concluded Melissa Roxas was indeed abducted and apparently subjected to cruel treatment. But the Commission said it did not have enough evidence to put the blame on the military. The CHR also refused to use the word “torture” for the abuse Roxas suffered because “state actors” could not be pinpointed. Pesante is disappointed that Rosales a former political detainee and a victim of torture herself will clear the AFP of torture and wrongdoing. Pesante stated that: “ Rosales will join all traitors like Tayag,Tiglao, Barican, Morales and Olivar all former activist who have sold the Filipinos down the river.”
NDF-GPH CEASEFIRE ENDS, NDF COMMENDS NPA DISCIPLINE (tags)
The Pesante Buletin based in Los Angeles reported today that the NDFP in Mindanao salutes and congratulates all commands and units of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao and the rest of the country for its display of a high sense of political maturity, responsibility and military discipline during the mutually-declared seven-day ceasefire between the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) and the Government of the Philippines (GPH). Jorge Madlos, NDF-Mindanao spokesperson commended the NPA units in Southern Mindanao, in an act of goodwill and for humanitarian reasons, have released three prisoners-of-war (POWs) on separate occasions during the same period, further creating a more favourable atmosphere and bolster confidence for the peace negotiations and the entire peace process.
Wisconsin governor raises stakes in union fight with threat of job losses (tags)
Republican Scott Walker warns Wisconsin he will fire state workers if his union-busting bill does not pass
AFP VIOLATES OWN CEASEFIRE DURING PEACE TALKS (tags)
The PESANTE BULETIN, the news service of PESANTE-USA bassed in the United States reported today that the Armed Force of the Philippines (AFP) is violating the mutually-declared ceasefire which began on 15 February 2011 and will end on 21 February 2011 by conducting military operations in the guise of “civil-military operations” (CMO), “Peace and Development Teams” (PDTs) or “Community Organizer for Peace and Development” (COPD) in many barangays in all provinces of Mindanao. According to Jorge MAdlos of the NDF-Mindanao, fully-armed AFP-PNP-CAFGU units enter barrios or communities in platoon or company formations under the guise of promoting “peace and development” in a desperate attempt to “win over” the people through deceit and intimidation, taking advantage of the NPA reciprocal ceasefire. They break into two groups, whereby one takes charge of psy-war operations in barrio or community centers, while another does the security clearing operations.
Philippines - Stop the Plunder! Revamp the AFP Now! (tags)
THE FUNDAMENTAL role and character of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has been brought into question by the latest revelations of the colossal scale of corruption, nay, plunder of state and people’s resources by the general command of the AFP.
NPA TO UNDERTAKE STEPS TO PREVENT CIVILIAN CASULATIES-NDF (tags)
THE PESANTE BULETIN based in the United States today reported that the National Democratic Front-Eastern Visayas said today that the New People’s Army is undertaking steps to prevent civilian casualties over concerns of such occurring last Dec. 8 and Dec. 14 in Northern Samar. The PB reported that “In upholding the people’s war as just, correct and principled, it is important for the NPA to ensure the observance of the rights of civilians,” said Fr. Santiago Salas, NDF-EV spokesperson. "This demonstrates the NPA’s firm unity with the people and differentiates it from the enemy, which is carrying out an unjust and unpincipled counterrevolutionary war backed by US imperialism. It is the people, not arms alone, who are decisive in war — contrary to the casual acceptance of so-called “collateral damage” as well as the willful targetting of civilians by the Armed Forces of the Philippines."
NDFP-GRP RESUMES PEACE TALKS AFTER 24 YEARS (tags)
The Alliance Philippines (AJLPP) based in the United States expressed elation over the supposed resumption of peace negotiations between the NDFP and the GRP. The Alliance-Philippines is happy that after 24 years and four different sets of government from Aquino to Arroyo negotiating panels, the 3-month-old Aquino administration Thursday signaled its readiness to talk peace with communist rebels, hoping that a political settlement of the 41-year-old insurgency will finally be forged under its watch.
NDF-MINDANAO CALLS ON ALL REVOLUTIONARY FORCES TO FRUSTRATE OBL COMPLETELY (tags)
The PESANTE BULETIN gathered today that NDF -Mindanao spokeman Jorge madlos said that "the extension of the Arroyo regime’s brutal nine-year anti-insurgency campaign Oplan Bantay Laya exposes Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s real “peace” plan. Aquino's plan the NDF says is to step up military offensives against the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) - daydreaming of inducing revolutionary forces to capitulate and to impose its demands on the peace talks consistent with the US Counter Insurgency (COIN) strategy." The NDF also said that He (Aquino III) appears to be in a hurry to please his US imperialist masters, especially in laying the ground for the entry and the increase in profitability of mining companies and foreign-owned plantations such as Xtrata in South Cotabato and Dole Phils. in Surigao del Sur and Compostela Valley, and a host of other foreign monopoly capitalist investments. The NDF Mindanao also said that AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo David Jr., in his declaration of a new counter-insurgency plan by Jan 1, 2011, bragged that the new strategy would focus on the respect for human rights, admitting in effect that nine years of OBL were replete with human rights violations.
AFP Launches the biggest military offensive in the Philippines (tags)
"When they (the reactionaries) speak of peace, they wage war." The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) based in the United States expressed its utmost concern about the intention of the newly installed US-Aquino Regime as the AFP launched its biggest general offensive in Mindanao. The AJLPP learned that Jorge Madlos of the NDF-Mindanao said; " All the four divisions under the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) based in Mindanao are currently conducting massive and widespread military operations against the revolutionary forces in all the five NPA regions in the whole island, particularly more intense in the Southern Mindanao Region."
Benigno S. "Noynoy" Aquino III: The new face of counterrevolution (tags)
The PESANTE BULETIN learned today through the ANG BAYAN, the official newsletter of the revolutionary movement in the Philippines published in the internet that last July 7, 2010 said that " Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III is the new face of counterrevolution. Formally installed on June 30 as the new head of the puppet reactionary government. He is now the main advocate of US imperialist rule and that of the local big comprador bourgeoisie, bureaucrat capitalists and landlords. On his shoulders rests the main responsibility of continuing the administration of the bankrupt semicolonial and semifeudal system, consolidating and running its state and suppressing any challenge to puppet reactionary power." The revolutionary newspaper also said that :' Just as US imperialism and the local ruling classes expected of him, Aquino focused his first few days on consolidating the puppet army. Aquino is well aware that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is the main pillar of reactionary rule in the Philippines.
FAILURE OF ELECTIONS IN THE OFFING? (tags)
The Armed Forces of the Philippines has started fielding more than 7,300 soldiers in Metro Manila even as it declared 10 cities in the capital region as election “hotspots.” These with news filtering to PESANTE NEWS that politicians are arming their forces and deliberately ignoring the gun ban. PESANTE NEWS also learned that the airport are packed with supporters of candidates from LA who are trying to get out of Manila due to the situation. The situation turned to the worst when 78,000 PCOS machines cocked out and and there was a call for manual elections to the COMELEC. PGMA's lawyers have formally called for a postponement of elections for the next two weeks.
MILF, AFP clash in Lanao del Norte today (tags)
The LA based PESANTE NEWS learned today April 17, 2010 - MILF forces and government forces locked up in bloody fighting early today in Payong, Sultan Naga Dimaporo in Lanao del Norte. Sketchy report reaching www.luwaran.com said the government forces entered the said village in full battle gear and started firing indiscriminately that eventually resulted in a clash with MILF forces under Commander Latif.
U.S.-BACKED STATE TERRORISM AND MILITARY BRUTALITY IN THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
Millions of US taxpayers' money are supporting de facto President Arroyo's despotic rule in the Philippines. The continuing torture of 43 health workers may be an alibi to cover up the horrendous Ampatuan massacre and numerous corruption scandals, a preparation for martial rule by May 20. Fascist violence will surely be met by the enraged mobilization of the masses. The US public needs to protest the use of their taxdollars to fund Arroyo's extrajudicial killings, torture, and forced disappearances of thousands of Filipino civilians.
PGMA Appoints Her Man-Lt.Gen. Delfin (tags)
The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) greeted with scorn and disgust the designation of President Gloria M. Arroyo of Gen. Delfin Bangit, a former spy master called the “emperor,” as chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced to reporters Monday the appointment of Bangit, who headed the Presidential Security Group (PSG) during three coup attempts against her administration.
HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN THE PHILIPPINES ESCALATES (tags)
As the US-Arroyo regime gears towards its self-proclaimed deadline of crushing the NPA by 2010, the military and the police has also intensified its attacks against human rights defenders. AJLPP correspondents in Manila reported that it has documented 338 victims of threat, harassment and intimidation for the period Jan-Feb 2010.
AFP Award Medals to Torturers of Morong 43 (tags)
AJLPP NEWS sources learned today that Philippine Senators Pia Cayetano and Jamby Madrigal and other groups Tuesday cried foul over the awarding of Bronze Cross Medals to military officers involved in the controversial arrest and detention of 43 health workers attending a seminar in Morong, Rizal, early this month. “There’s something seriously wrong when a government institution commends its personnel for committing an illegal act,” said Cayetano in a statement.
As we celebrate the 24th anniversary of the first people power revolution, a historical event which saw the collective power of the Filipino people, permit me to share with you the reflections of a military man, a member of the uniformed service whose institution has been seen more as the enemy of the people, a source of corruption and a protector of a privileged few instead of being the defender of the people. Let me share some of my thoughts on this significant event which inspired me and has led me to a journey of arduous yet just and necessary struggles; a journey marked by persecution and incarceration.
PESANTE CONDEMNS AFP's MARTIAL LAW MIND SET (tags)
The Philippine Peasant Support Network (PESANTE-USA) vehemently condemns the AFP martial law mind set as elucidated by the 2nd Division general George Segovia in his statements against the detained Morong 43. For PESANTE-USA, the AFP has not rid itself of the martial law mindset as provided for by the post EDSa 1987 Constitution. Instead of protecting the people, they are persecuting those who are serving the people-the health workers known as the Morong 43 now illegaly detained in Camp Capinpin, Rizal, the home of the 2nd Division, Philippine Army.
PESANTE-USA CONDEMNS AFP"S DEFIANCE OF COURT ORDER ON MORONG 43 (tags)
The Philippine Support Network (PESANTE-USA) based in the United States condemns the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP for defying the court order to surface the illegally detained Morong 43. Despite the order of the by the Supreme Court, the military and the police failed to present before the Court of Appeals Friday the 43 health workers arrested on Feb. 6 on suspicion of being members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA).
FASCIST MILITARY VIOLENCE IN THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
The arrest and torture of 43 medical and health professionals in the Philippines by the Arroyo military and police seeks to obscure the ongoing Ampatuwan-Arroyo trial and rehearse emergency martial-law schemes to prolong the Arroyo regime's corrupt and brutal domination. US citizens: will you allow millions of your tax-dollars to support Arroyo's military-police in fascist abuses?
GMA's Game of Musical Chairs in the AFP (tags)
PESANTE NEWS based in Los Angeles learned today through news sources in Manila that some questions are circulating at the AFP. Will there be a new face at the helm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) by March or will President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stick it out with current military chief Gen. Victor Ibrado? Ibrado is due to retire on March 10, the day before the election appointments ban takes effect. The president is barred from making new appointments two months before the elections and until the end of her term.
Philippine Army chief sees ‘meltdown’ NPA by June (tags)
The EPCC NEWS today learned that the military on Monday said it has been well on track to defeating the communist insurgency within 2010, with the string of successes against the New People's Army across the country, causing the "meltdown" of rebel forces. According to the EPCC, in a speech to the army camp in Davao province in Mindanao, Army Lt. General Delfin Bangit, Philippine Army chief, said the military has been able to deal significant blows against the NPA, trimming down Asia's longest-running Maoist insurgency "into smaller formations." Bangit was in Davao del Norte Monday to personally thank and reward soldiers for "back-to-back victories" against the NPA in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental provinces in a week.
AFP-NPA Clashes: 28 AFP troops killed or wounded (tags)
EPCCNEWS learned today that more than 28 AFP troops were killed or wounded in several clashes in the Philippines last week. At least five Army soldiers were killed while 11 others were wounded in separate clashes with communist rebels in Malibcong and Tubo towns in Abra, in Northern Luzon on Sunday,January 31 reports reaching this camp on Monday said. Lieutenant Colonel Loreto Magundayao Jr., 5th Infantry Division spokesman and civil-military operations battalion commander, declined to identify the slain soldiers, saying Army officials were still getting in contact with their relatives, as of Monday.
AJLPP Condemns the Mercenary US Philippine Force Under the UN (tags)
The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) express disgust in the mercenary tradition of the AFP and the supposed Filipino pride in the appointment of a Filipino general in the United Nations forces serving under the direction of US Imperialism. General Ecarma of the Philipine Marines was formally appointed on Monday by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as force commander and head of mission for the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in what was once the battleground of the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and Syria.
Condemn the US-Arroyo Regime's Peddler of Lies, Fight its False Propaganda! (tags)
The reactionary and counter-revolutionary propaganda factory of the US-Arroyo regime led by the AFP, continue to churn out and plague the media and the public with illogical falsehoods to attack the legitimate left, which endanger the very lives of many activists and critics of this corrupt government. The black propaganda employed by the likes of Ret. Gen. Jovito Palparan, Jun Alcover and Brig. Gen. Eduardo del Rosario lumps together the legal progressive movement in urban areas and the armed revolution led by the CPP-NPA-NDF in the countryside. It aims to vilify, as part of its modus operandi, certain individuals in the progressive movement whom they capriciously judge as "supporters or leaders of the revolution" and make them targets of political assassinations.
NDF-Mindanao Hits AFP's "Four Aces" (tags)
Pesante News today learned that the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Southern Mindanao hits the reactionary Philippine Army's stresses for 2010 calling them mere euphemism for a more vicious campaign against the Filipino people and the revolutionary movement. The fascist Philippine Army's recently pronounced four ACEs -- Army's Concern for the Environment, Army's Concern for Engineering, Army's Combat Excellence and Advocacy for Credible Elections -- is only a preliminary propaganda purveyed by its chief, the notorious Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit. Bangit, the most favored among Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's bootlicking generals, is groomed to replace current AFP chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado. Bangit from PMA Class 1978is now posturing himself to strengthen his bid for the AFP's highest position and dispel well-founded views that he will be playing a crucial role in perpetuating Mrs. Arroyo in power. His first attempt is to deodorize his unit's notorious record of human rights violations and electoral fraud. Despite Bangit's putting-his-best-foot-forward move, the Filipino people smell the stink of the Philippine Army's four ACEs. Its ballyhooed Advocacy for Credible Elections is nothing but a machination by the reactionary AFP to push its devious game plan of ensuring Mrs. Arroyo's victory in the upcoming GRP elections and continue her hold on power.
The CPLA is in the same sinking boat as the Ampatuan private army (tags)
The Philippine Peasant News (PESANTE NEWS) based in the US learned that the most recent in the long-running series of splits in the Cordillera Peoples Liberation Army (CPLA) has produced a purported new and reformed group but is composed of the same old opportunist elements. This was contained in an internet message posted by the CPDF signed by its spokesperson Filiw Naogsan posted on December 15, 2009. The reported ouster of Mailed Molina and the rise of a new group led by Arsenio Humiding is nothing more than a quarrel over the division of spoils within their dwindling organization. This same thing has repeatedly happened to the CPLA in the past as various factions squabbled over the funds, weapons, and jobs in the AFP that were dangled before them by the reactionary government.
Now it can be told: Martial Law a desperate attempt to exonerate AFP/PNP, US-Arroyo Regime (tags)
ThePESANTE NEWS today learned that the Armed Forces of the Philippines's posturing as hero in the aftermath of the Ampatuan massacre is hypocritical in the face of hidden arms caches found in the Ampatuan warlord's mansions and vast properties. These military-owned high-powered rifles, ammunition, and war materiel are evidence that pin the devious collusion between the Ampatuan warlord clan, their mercenaries in the AFP top brass, and the Arroyo family. Faced with mounting nationwide anger that could lead to an Oust Gloria reprisal, the Arroyo regime imposed Martial Law in Maguindanao in a desperate attempt to exonerate itself from the culpability of arming, backing, and using political warlords and their private armies in its counter-revolutionary schemes. It is ironic for 601st Infantry Brigade-AFP commander Col. Leo Ferrer, in the midst of the martial law hullabaloo, to warn Ampatuan supporters and CVOs of the military's capability to launch tactical offensives if the latter remains unwilling to be disarmed.
Coup Rumors and N0 ElECTIONS in the Philippines (tags)
" Where there is smoke, there is fire" The Alliance Philippines (AJLPP) learned from news sources that after Malacanang made announced that there will be no martlal law in the Philippines" another ranking AFP general echoed the same statement. The Alliance express alarm over these statements. The same propaganda pervaded the Philippines before Marcos declared martial law in 1972. Lieutenant General Roland Detabali, current president of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Makatarungan” Class of 1978, defended his class from allegations that its members are plotting to keep President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in power beyond the end of her term in 2010.
PHILIPPINES: Melissa Roxas' fighting stance against Arroyo regime (tags)
Melissa Roxas, member of BAYAN-USA and the cultural group Habi Arts in Los Angeles, California, returned to the country on July 20 to face head on those who abducted and tortured her and her two companions and pursue the cases she has filed against them. She attended a Court of Appeals hearing on her petition for a writ of amparo. She also testified before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Committee on Human Rights of the House of Representatives regarding her abduction and torture.
ACTIVE US INTERVENTION IN THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
The Pesante News gathered today from news sources that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is deceiving the Filipino people when it claims that US soldiers based in the Philippines are not engaged in operations against the New People's Army (NPA). NDF-Mindanao spokesperson Jorge "Ka Oris" Madlos said this in reaction to a statement by AFP spokesperson Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, Jr. denying US troops' involvement in anti-NPA operations. Pesante News said that Ka. Oris, NDF-Mindanao spokesoerson said that "Brawner is a flunky of the US military. He is an apologist for US military intervention. Just like his superiors in the AFP and the Arroyo regime, he praises the US military for permanently stationing its troops in the Philippines even if it violates Philippine sovereignty," Madlos further said that US soldiers have been involved in operations against the NPA for several years now. The 600-strong Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) under the US Pacific Command has been stationed in the Philippines since 2002 and is involved in "counterinsurgency" operations.
KD70 Statement on the Partial Writ for Roxas (tags)
For the Kilusang Dekada 70( KD70), the association of Filipino-American activists who are now residing in the United States,we firmly believe that the CA partial writ for Melissa Roxas is just a carbon copy of the some of the ruling of the high courts and other courts that upheld the concept of justice but contradicts the inequities of the ruling system. The recent The Court of Appeals decision on the partial granting of the petition for writ of amparo and habeas data filed by Filipino-American activist Melissa Roxas only successfully highlights and exposes the contradictions in the bourgeois justice system in the Philippines.
AFP in Honduras Hung By Its Own Photograph (tags)
STOP THE WAR IN MINDANAO! (tags)
The Alliance Philippines (AJLPP) in the United States strongly condemns the blantant display of callousness the US-Arroyo Regime on this matter of the highest humanitarian concern wherein more than 2 million people both Moro and Christian population are affected due to the escalating war in Mindanao.
STOP HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES! (tags)
The Kilusang Dekada 70 (KD70 ) empathize with Mrs.Edith Burgos on her frustration over the promotion of fascist AFP officers implicated on her son’s disappearance Following the promotion of three military officers linked to the disappearance of her son, Jonas Mrs. Burgos exclaimed: “Dear Lord, when will all this injustice end?” In a statement, the Burgos family yesterday said it considered the promotion of Lieutenant Colonels Noel Clement, Melquiades Feliciano and Edison Caga to full colonel as a “reward,” which could only result in more enforced disappearances of activists.
BAKBAKAN NG AFP AT MILF, TUMITINDI (tags)
Tumitindi ang bakbakan ng MILF laban sa AFP ganoon din ang iba’t ibang pwersang military tulad ng NPA na lumalaban sa rehimeng US-Arroyo. Ayon sa mga balitaan na nakuha ng PESANTE NEWS, mahigit 15 tropa ng AFP ang napatay at mahigit 38 ang nasugatan sa matinding labanan sa probinsya ng Maguindanao ng maglaban ang mga tropa ng MILF sa ilalim nila Commander Umbra Kato at Bravo laban sa 10th Army division.
Bakit Hindi Dapat Ipagdiwang ang Marso 22 bilang AFP Day? (tags)
Bakit hindi dapat ipagdiwang ang Marso 22 bilang araw ng hukbong sandatahan ng Pilipinas o ng AFP? Una, ang araw na ito ay kaarawan ni Heneral Emilio Aguinaldo, Itinalaga ng araw na ito na anibersaryo ng AFP para parangalan ang heneral ng Cavite. Ito ay simbolo ng partiarkalismo at eletismo para sa iisang tao. Ito rin ang nagaganap ngayon dahilang AFP ay sumusumpa lamang ng katapatan nito sa iisang tao-kay Presidente Gloria Arroyo na simbolo ng tiraniya at pangungurakot sa modernong panahon. Ikalawa, bagamat ito ay simbolo ng pagtatagumpay ng grupong Magdalo noong 1897, ang sumunod ay ang pagkatalo ng hukbong rebolusyonaryo sa mga Kastila sa Kabite at lahat ng dako. Ito ay nang matapos nilang paslangin si Andres Bonifacio. Pagkatapos nito sila ay nagpatapon sa Hongkong sa halagang P 100,000 piso. Ayon ito sa kasunduan sa Biak na Bato.
KONSULTANT NG NDF ILEGAL NA INARESTO (tags)
Inulat ng balitaan ng PESANTE-USA na iligal na inaresto ng mga militar at pulis ang isang konsultant ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) sa usapang pangkapayapaan. Mahigit na 20 tauhan na ng NDF ang inaaresto ng AFP mula ng matigil ang usapang pangakapayapaan noong 2004. Samantala. wala ring patid ang pagsalbeyds at pagpapahirap ng mga tropa ng AFP sa mga sibilyang pilit na isinasangkot sa armadong kilusang rebolusyonaryo. Ito ang ulat sa iba't ibang bahagi ng bansa na nilikom ng Pesante News.
Pagpatay kay Rebelyn Pitao-bagong utang na dugo ng mga Pasistang Kriminal (tags)
buong lakas na kinokondena ng AJLPP ang pasistang kriminal na rehimng US-Arroyo at ang Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at ang paniktik nito sa pangghasa, pandarahas at walang awing pagpatay kay Rebelyn Pitao, anak na babae ni NPA Kumander Leoncio Pitao- Kumnader Parago ng NPA sa Mindanao. Si Rebelyn Pitao ay dinukot at walang –awang pinatay matapos gahasain noong 6:30 ng gabi ng Miyerkoles habang pauwi sa kanilang bahay sa Bago Gallera. Ang kanyang bangkay ay natagpuang lumulutang sa ilog ng Carmen, Davao Del Sur may mahigit na 24 oras matapos siyang dukutin ng militar.
Balikatan 09: A Disguised Psy-War Operation (tags)
This is a reaction to the PDI article last January 9, titled “RP-US ‘Balikatan’ goes to Bicol; no war games. The US Armed Forces as well as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are blatantly deceiving the public of the real purpose of Balikatan 09 to be held here in Bicol.
BAYAN-Bikol: “Balikatan 09 is a disguised intelligence and psywar operation!” US troops sh (tags)
The militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Bikol (BAYAN-Bikol) lambasted the US Armed Forces as well as Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) for blatantly deceiving the public of the real purpose of Balikatan 09 to be held here in Bicol.
PHILIPPINE POLITICS HEATS UP FOR MAY 2010 ELECTIONS (tags)
PHILIPPINE POLITICS HEATS UP FOR MAY 2010 ELECTIONS (tags)
The political in-fighting among the reactionary political formations are bound to sharpen as the US-Arroyo ruling clique tries to consolidate its forces and probably rig the May 2010 elections as in 2004. With the Arroyo ruling clique at the top, three political formations are gearing up for the 2010 Presidential elections. These are the Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (KAMPI) of the fake president Arroyo, the Lakas-NUCD of ex-president Ramos and the Nationalist People's Coalition of the old Marcos crony Eduardo Cojuangco.
GYERA SA MINDANAO-LUMALALA (tags)
Ayon sa pinakahuling ulat ng grupong Pesante-USA, parami nang parami ang bilang ng mga sibilyang Morong binibiktima ng mababangis na operasyong militar ng Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) sa ilang bahagi ng Mindanao. Ayon sa ulat ng International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) na nahalaw ng Pesante, noong Oktubre 29, sa mga evacuation center sa Datu Piang, Maguindanao pa lamang ay mayroon nang 55,000 indibidwal na nagsilikas sa kani-kanilang mga tahanan, mula sa 35,000 katao noong Agosto. Mula Agosto hanggang ikatlong linggo ng Oktubre, umaabot na sa 127,164 pamilya o 611,753 indibidwal ang naaapektuhan ng mga sagupaan sa pagitan ng MILF at AFP sa mga prubinsya ng Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Sultan Kudarat at Maguindanao.
Very few people know that the US military is directly involved in the fierce fighting going on in the Philippines between the Moro insurgents and the corrupt and brutal Arroyo regime supported by the Bush neocons and the warmongering Pentagon planners. Will you continue to allow US tax dollars to be wasted in this barbaric genocidal war against indigenous peoples? Over a thousand extrajudicial killings and "forced disappearances" under Arroyo's tenure, plus a few hundred Muslims dead as "collateral damage," may be the signs of US "benevolent hegemony" (Robert Kagan) and US "magnanimous imperial power" (Dinesh D'Souza). McKinley's "Benevolent Assimilation" lives on!
Philippine Government Launches New War on Muslim Groups (tags)
War officially came to southern Philippines again as the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo unilaterally put an end to eleven years of negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) September 3. A month early the government abruptly broke off talks with the MILF on the eve of signing an autonomy pact. There are numerous reports of U.S. Special Forces accompanying Philippines Army units on their deadly sweeps in the Bangsamoro (land of the Moro people) region. More than 100 people have been killed so far and half a million refugees have fled from the fighting. Bourgeois liberals and the petty-bourgeois left lamely call on the government to resume the “peace process,” which in any case was only intended to wear down the insurgents. Revolutionaries instead seek to mobilize Philippine workers to drive out all U.S. forces, whatever their legal status; to force the withdrawal of the AFP from the contested southern areas; and to defend the Bangsamoro people and their right to self-determination.
US BLAMED FOR MINDANAO WAR (tags)
With more than 500,000 people in Northern and Central Mindanao as war refugees due to the AFP and MILF fighting, the Alliance Philippines (AJLPP) placed the blame on the United States for intervening in the Mindanao Conflict. As of the press time, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) based in Geneva, Switzerland have confirmed that more than 500,000 war refugees were affected by the current fighting in the two Lanao provinces, Cotabato and Davao provinces, Maguindanao and Saranggani due to the escalation of the conflict The AJLPP pointed out; “ If the United States did not advised President Arroyo to negotiate and affirm the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain without transparent consultations with all concerned parties, the situation will not turn from bad to worse.
AJLPP CONDEMNS US INTERVENTION IN MINDANAO (tags)
With more than 500,000 people in Northern and Central Mindanao due to the AFP and MILF fighting, the Alliance Philippines (AJLPP) placed the blame on the United States for intervening in the Mindanao Conflict. As of the press time, another the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) based in Geneva, Switzerland have confirmed that more than 500,000 war refugees were affected by the current fighting in the two Lanao provinces, Cotabato and Davao provinces, Maguindanao and Saranggani due to the escalation of the conflict The AJLPP pointed out; “ that if the United States did not advised President Arroyo to negotiate and affirm the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain without transparent consultations with all concerned parties, the situation will not turn from bad to worse.
Gen. Ochoa is daydreaming of victory against the NPA (tags)
Gen Ochoa of the 3rd ID Phil Army (PA) once again is "flying in the clouds" when he said that the "insurgency problem" will end in 2008. His braggings are the same with the illusions of the generals during the Marcos dictatorship up to the Estrada regime. He only wants to entertain the officials of the 302nd and 303rd Bde that their promotions will be affected because of the AFP's failures to hit their target-objectives in destroying the revolutionary movement in Negros being the priority of Oplan Bantay Laya (OBL2) II in the whole of Western Visayas. In three quarters of this year, the AFP has no significant breakthrough in their counter-revolutionary campaign. Surely by the last quarter of this year, they wil reap nothing but failures.
The US-Arroyo regime is responsible for the death and damages caused by the war in Mindana (tags)
-The people must concentrate their anger and condemnation on the US-Arroyo regime as directly responsible on the deaths and damages of the people in Mindanao caused by the escalation of the armed clashes between the AFP and the MILF. The problem can be rooted to the US-dictated two pronged militarist policy of the regime which is the all-out war against the revolutionary movement led by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) while neutralizing the Moro seccessionist movement of the MILF thru a deceptive and bogus peace process to finish the revolutionary movement in 2010. The militarist clique in the Arroyo regime never expected that the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) will ignite the chaos and war in Mindanao. This secret and hasty deal resulted to violent reaction and opposition from the pro and anti-Arroyo reactionary camp and the fake president will even face impeachment because of violations of the constitution. Arroyo got the worst fear of losing her warlord allies in Mindanao that helped her cheat the 2004 elections. Her ulterior motive of using the MOA-AD as a stepping stone for charter change (cha-cha) to remain in Malacanang was also exposed. The MILF's disgust and anger have basis when it was proven that the Arroyo regime is not sincere in the peace talks and on the agreement on ancestral domain and instead used these as a trap to demobilized and surrender of MILF.
AFP OFFENSIVES AS RAMADAN SETS IN (tags)
The AJLPP and the media sources including Luwaran.com of the MILF confirmed that the AFP offensive in Mindanao grounds into a halt as Ramadan, the holy month of the Muslim world sets in. More than 300,000 people have been dislocated by the fighting between the AFP and the MILF. The campaign by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to encircle and finally finish off MILF Commander Bravo Macapaar and his 102nd BIAF Base Command has been terribly foiled by the heavy losses in men and materiel on the part of the invading force. This was reported by the Luwaran.com This is notwithstanding the far superior manpower being utilized by the AFP in the campaign and the sheer air and ground firepower to back up the assaulting troops on the ground. According to ground information an initial of four infantry battalions have been thrown into the fray against Commander Bravo.
Frustrate Arroyo's Cha-cha and All out War (tags)
By declaring all-out military offensive against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front days after unravelling moves to amend the GRP Constitution, Gloria Arroyo has thoroughly exposed her shameless ambition to perpetuate herself in power. Militarization and federalism will not solve the problems of Mindanao and the Moro people; they will only aggravate them. Arroyo and her minions attempt to play their cards well. They try to up the sagging morale of AFP troops after losing to many tactical offensives by the New People's Army by now chest-beating against the MILF and its commanders.
AJLPP Calls for The Resumption of Peace Talks, Warns of US Intervention (tags)
The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) reiterates its call for the US-Arroyo regime and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to resume peace talks and go back to the negotiations in the light of heavy fighting in the south that displaced almost 170,000 people. The AJLPP also views with deep concern the unseen hand of US intervention. News about US military forces helping AFP troops in their operations against the MILF is disconcerting. The prouncements of US Ambassador Kristie Kenney that feigns innocence over US involvement is also unsettling.
AFP orders Military Offensive Vs MILF, Fighting Escalates in Mindanao (tags)
The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) reiterates its call for the US-Arroyo regime and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to resume peace talks and go back to the negotiations in the light of heavy fighting in the south. The AJLPP expressed concern about the escalation of violence and fighting in the South as the President ordered the military to “defend every inch of the Philippine territory and condemns the treacherous and sneaky attacks by the MILF” in Mindanao.
STOP THE MILITARY OFFENSIVES, RESUME PEACE TALKS NOW! (tags)
he Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) based in the United States calls on the US-Arroyo Regime to stop its military offensives against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) armed forces in the Central Mindanao areas and resume peace talks now. According to media sources from the Philippines, more than 160,000 people were affected by the fighting between the AFP and the MILF in six towns of central Mindanao. At least 60 AFP troops have been killed since the week-old fighting erupted.
STOP THE MILITARY OFFENSIVES, RESUME PEACE TALKS NOW! (tags)
The Alliance-Philippines (AJLPP) based in the United States calls on the US-Arroyo Regime to stop its military offensives against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) armed forces in the Central Mindanao areas and resume peace talks now. According to media sources from the Philippines, more than 160,000 people were affected by the fighting between the AFP and the MILF in six towns of central Mindanao. At least 60 AFP troops have been killed since the week-old fighting erupted.
BUSH SENDS NUCLEAR AIRCRAFT CARRIER TO THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
With the subservience of the Arroyo regime, Bush continues the political-military intervention in the "killing field" of the Philippines, wasting millions of tax-dollars in suppressing the Moro insurgents and Filipino national-democrats, abetting the horrendous extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances and widespread poverty and oppression, all in the name of the war against "terrorism," a code-word for popular resistance against global capital's greed and inhumane devastation of the planet.
AFP officials are desperate in their military campaign in Negros (tags)
Military officials are desperate in their drive to destroy the New People's Army in Negros. Col Honorato de los Reyes of the 303rd Bde kag Lt Col Cesar Yano of 302nd Bde, Phil Army have also ordered their infantry battalions, Scout Ranger and Division Reconnisance Company Units to include as targets of their operations the civilians they alleged as "NPA supporters or NPAs" and the legal legitimate organizations of the people.
MILF attacks meant to push peace talks’ revival — AFP (tags)
A senior military official said the Muslim separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is stepping up attacks in Mindanao in a bid to pressure the government into restarting its stalled peace talks with the rebel group. Meanwhile, the MILF blames the AFP for the attacks. According to Regional Army chief Maj. Gen. Reymundo Ferrer, elements within the MILF want to put pressure on the government to resume the talks by launching the attacks.
15 Killed in AFP-NPA Clashes in Mindanao (tags)
Armed encounters between NPA bands and the AFP escalated yesterday in Mindanao. AFP sources said soldiers from the Army’s 30th Infantry Battalion, 42nd Military Intelligence Company supported by the Regional Mobile Police Group and the local police were pursuing New People’s Army (NPA) rebels who simultaneously attacked the police stations in Dapa and Gen. Luna towns in Surigao del Sur province on Saturday night.
New AFP chief dared to bring abusive military personnel before Congress (tags)
Taking cue from the statement of newly-installed Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander Yano to make good his promise to turn over to civilian authorities military personnel involved in abusing military detainees, opposition lawmaker Rep. Teofisto Guingona III yesterday challenged the latter to fulfill his promise by turning over erring personnel to the House committee on human rights. “Bring those erring officers before the committee on human rights of the House of Representatives so that we may know the truth,” Guingona said.
Ibayong lumalawak at lumalakas ang NDF (tags)
Lipos ang kagalakan ng mga rebolusyonaryong magsasaka, manggagawa, kabataan, kababaihan, maralitang komunidad, propesyunal, taong simbahan at mga kadre at kasapi ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan at Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas sa anibersaryo ngayon ng pagkakatatag ng National Democratic Front of the Philippines. Umabot na sa 34 taon ang malawak na nagkakaisang prente ng mamamayang lumalaban sa imperyalismo, pyudalismo at burukrata kapitalismo. Ang pagdiriwang na ito ay sa gitna ng sinungaling na pagmamalaki ng reaksyunaryong rehimeng Arroyo na tagumpay nitong napapahina o nadudurog ang rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa ilalim ng kontra-mamamayang Oplan Bantay Laya. Sa kabila ng sustenidong pagtutugis, panunupil at mala-ararong pag-ooperasyon at pagbabakod ng AFP, higit pang tumatag at humusay ang kalagayan ng buong rebolusyonaryong kilusan sa rehiyon.
Iligal na pang-aaresto at panggigipit mula Marso hanggang unang linggo ng Abril (tags)
Iligal na pang-aaresto at panggigipit ang tampok sa mga paglabag sa karapatang-tao ng rehimeng Arroyo nitong nakaraang Marso 10 hanggang Abril 3.
Kaso ng Masaker Sa Sulu Isasampa ng SBM at MILF sa UN (tags)
- Isasampa ng Suara Bangsamoro o Suara at ng Mor Islamic Liberation Front sa United Nations Huma Rights Council ang karumal-dumal na masaker ng mg elemento ng Special Warfare Group ng Philippine Nav at Light Reaction Company ng Philippine Army sa walong sibilyan sa Ipil, Maimbung, Sulu noong madaling araw ng Pebrero 4. Ito'y matapos absweltuhin ng AFP ang mga sundalong responsable sa masaker. Ayon kay Amira Lidasan, pambansang pangulo ng Suara, hindi kapani-paniwala ang resulta ng imbestigasyon ng AFP na nagsasaad na may nangyaring labanan sa pagitan ng militar at mga elemento ng Abu Sayyaf. Wala pa mang imbestigasyon ay idineklara na dati ng AFP na pawang mga elemento o tagakanlong ng Abu Sayyaf ang mga biktima. Inulit lamang ito ng AFP nang ianunsyo nitong Pebrero 28 ng Judge Advocate General's Office ng Western Mindanao Command ang pagkaabswelto ng mga sangkot na sundalo matapos ang sariling imbestigasyong ginawa umano ng militar.
US slashes AFP aid to RP, cites corruption, killings (tags)
he United States has slashed its development and military assistance to the Philippines from $116.6 million in 2008 to $99.2 million in 2009, citing corruption and extra-judicial killings as reasons, a report yesterday said. In its 2009 congressional budget justification report for East Asia and the Pacific, the State Department said the aid for the Philippines “represents an overall decrease from the FY 2008 level.”
RELEASE KMP LEADER RANDALL ECHANIS- Pesante-USA (tags)
The Philippine Peasant Support Network (Pesante)-USA. a Filipino peasant., human rights and environmental advocacy network in the United States and a member organization of the AJLPP, strongly condemns the arrest and detention of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) deputy secretary general Randall Echanis, 60 years old in the island of Negros last Monday, January 28,2008 in the Philippines. Pesante Coordinator Arturo Garcia said : “the arrest of Echanis, is a strong warning to legal activist to stop organizing the Filipino peasantry. It is also a strong arm tactic of the AFP and the PNP to implicate legal mass leaders to the Communist Party of the Philippines and the NPA as a part of their legal offensive.” “With the extension of Esperon as AFP Chief of Staff, the US-Arroyo regime will try to make out KMP and other legal mass organizations as “communist organizations” in order to present them as war trophies.
AFP High Fallutin Blusters, Empty Threats (tags)
The US-Arroyo Regime in its first command conference January this year with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), claimed that that it dismantled 13 guerrilla fronts of the revolutionary movement in 2007 and are set to dismantle 30 more this year. This is contrary to open admission made by the head of the AFP's military operations, Maj. Gen. Joji Leo Fojas, that only three guerrilla fronts have been dismantled, as of October last yea
AFP seeks additional troops, P3.5B to quash insurgents (tags)
President Arroyo yesterday said she is merely awaiting the recommendation of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro to approve the proposal of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) leadership to beef up its strength by six battalions to bolster the government’s campaign to stamp out the decades-old local communist insurgency. Presiding over the first AFP Command Conference of 2008 at Camp Aguinaldo yesterday morning, Mrs. Arroyo listened intently to the presentations of the military brass, led by AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. on the insurgency situation and other threats to national security. Esperon reported to the President that the AFP needs six more battalions and P3.5 billion to implement its “unified command” program. In addition to the six battalions, the AFP hopes to constitute 20 more Cafgu (Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit) companies to help the military fight insurgency in the countryside.
Military, police raise coup d’etat alarm anew (tags)
With the prospect of an extension of the term of Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., as the day of his retirement nears and with the Palace already preparing for the negative points as a result of this, both the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP) leaders, along with the Defense and Interior chiefs, again raised the alarm on coups and destabilization moves by alleged rebel soldiers, saying moves are afoot to topple President Arroyo and her government, claiming that they obtained the information gathered by the intelligence community.
Significant NPA victories in 2007, more and bigger victories eyed in 2008 (tags)
The revolutionary movement i n thePhilippines today said the New People's Army (NPA) "achieved significant military victories the past year, portending more and bigger successes in response to the Party's anniversary call to accelerate advances in 2008." "Based on our summary of still very partial reports received from the field, clearly the revolutionary forces have gained significant victories in waging guerrilla warfare. Foremost is the defeat of the military campaigns launched by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) this year to date," said CPP spokesperson Gregorio "Ka Roger" Rosal.
Why there is no ceasefire in The Philippines (tags)
It is understandable why there is no ceasefire between the armed forces of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and those of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
Philippine Military report says it can’t defeat NPA by 2010 (tags)
The cat is out of the bag. Finally,the Philippine military, the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) has admitted it had limited success in destroying the firepower of communist insurgents, putting it way behind the target of wiping out the rebellion by 2010, a classified military report said. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is also the AFP Commander in Chief, has said she wants the communist New People’s Army (NPA) largely defeated by the time she steps down from power in June 2010. She announced it after she “won” the hotly contested elections of 2004.
Philippine Military report says it can’t defeat NPA by 2010 (tags)
The cat is out of the bag. Finally,the Philippine military, the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP) has admitted it had limited success in destroying the firepower of communist insurgents, putting it way behind the target of wiping out the rebellion by 2010, a classified military report said. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is also the AFP Commander in Chief, has said she wants the communist New People’s Army (NPA) largely defeated by the time she steps down from power in June 2010. She announced it after she “won” the hotly contested elections of 2004. But an assessment report seen by Reuters said “ the military was not winning enough victories against the NPA, which despite the collapse of communism worldwide, continued to strike a chord with poor Filipinos angered at widening inequality at home.”
SENATE PROBES US MARINES COMBAT PRESENCE IN RP (tags)
ough talk from the police and the military on arresting some 130 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Abu Sayyaf rebels whom they claimed massacred 14 Marines, with 10 of them beheaded in Basilan, and for which thousands of troops were sent to back up the elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in serving these arrest warrants, turned out to be nothing but bluster, in the military brass’ bid to get the troops to cool down their anger over the brutal slaying of their Marine comrades. The PNP yesterday returned to the court the warrants of arrests issued against 130 MILF and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) suspects after they failed to serve the warrant to any of the suspects.
KAMPANYA NG PAGPATAY SA PILIPINAS, LUMALALA AT NAGPAPATULOY PA. (tags)
Sa kabila ng diumano’y komperensya na ipinatawag ng Korte Suprema para harapin ang usapin ng mga ekstrahudisyal na pamamaslang , nagpatuloy ang mga magkasunod na pagpatay sa mga lider ng Anakpawis sa Tacloban City at Compostela Valley at iba pang panig ng Mindanao. Ayon sa mga ulat na tinipon ng AJLPP at Pesante-USA, naririto ang mga tala ng mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao at pagpatay ng ginagawa ng AFP:
AFP chief gives green light for Basilan offensive (tags)
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. issued an order yesterday to the troops currently on standby in Basilan to commence military operations in the island province. “It’s all systems go. The units can now start punitive actions against the perpetrators. The orders have been given,” said AFP Public Information Office (PIO) chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, referring to military actions against those behind the beheading of the 10 Marines during the July 10 ambush in Tipo-Tipo. Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, deputy chief of the Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom), was designated to head the newly formed Task Force Meteor aimed at capturing the group responsible for the ambush.
ANOTHER BATALLION SENT TO BASILAN (tags)
-The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is deploying another Marine battalion in Basilan to augment government forces massing up in the province in preparation for the hunt for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels behind the June 10 ambush. “We will be deploying another Marine battalion to the area, on top of the earlier deployment of a Marine battalion from Sulu to Basilan,” AFP Public Information Office chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said. He said the deployment of additional troops is in anticipation of a bigger force against military operations following “punitive actions against the suspects.”
FILIPINO EDUCATOR ASSAILS ARROYO DICTATORSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES (tags)
World-renowned Filipino educator Dr. Francisco Nemenzo, former president of the University of the Philippines and head of the coalition, LABAN NG MASA, urges the formation of a revolutionary transitional government to replace the corrupt, brutal and illegitimate Arroyo regime backed by Bush neocons and predatory corporate elite. The following article provides a background to Dr. Nemenzo's principled critique of U.S.-Arroyo State terrorism.
AFP attack planes mobilized; 12 killed in NPA-military clashes (tags)
The area command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has mobilized attack planes and gunship helicopters to extend air support to the combat battalions currently pursuing communist insurgents in Compostela Valley province and Davao Oriental. Clashes between government troops and members of the New People’s Army (NPA) left four soldiers and eight rebels dead, military officials yesterday said. Lt. Gen. Rodolfo Obaniana, AFP’s Eastern Mindanao Command area chief, ordered Maj. Gen. Ernesto Boac, 10th Infantry Division (ID) commander, to use all available combat personnel and military bulldozers to “pin down” the communist rebels.
Philippine Govt rejects OIC on MNLF camps (tags)
The Philippines has rejected the request of the powerful Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)—the United Nations of Muslim majority countries, whose official observer for the Philippines is the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)—to give back to the MNLF’s Ustadz Habier Malik the two camps that government troops wrested from Malik on April 15. The OIC is helping all parties in the Mindanao conflicts keep the peace. Its richer members are pouring development aid into Mindanao and have pledged to invest billions to make Mindanao and the Filipino Muslims enjoy prosperity and modernization. Malik had issued a declaration of jihad (holy war) against the government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines after government troops overran his MNLF camps in retaliation for his group’s attack, using mortars, on a Marine base. Malik’s attack killed two Marines.
PHILIPPINES: Kontra Daya( AGAINST CHEATING) post election report (tags)
Kontra Daya ( Against Cheating) congratulates the Filipino people for their continuing vigilance against poll fraud, election violence and other anomalies. This report would not have been possible were it not for the vigilance of ordinary people who acted as Kontra Daya volunteers, sent us their texts and emails or called the Kontra Daya hotline. We also congratulate the various people’s organizations, the vigilant media, the election watchdogs and international observers and other allied groups for their efforts in monitoring the conduct of the Philippine elections. The elections this year saw the rise of a more vigilant and conscious people who would not allow a repeat of the fraud-tainted 2004 polls. Kontra Daya’s preliminary post election report is based on the groups’ own documentation, field date from the Task Force Poll Watch, reports from the People’s International Observers Mission, correspondence with other watchdog groups such as Namfrel, Alliance of Concerned Teachers as well as media reports. The fight against election fraud and violence is by no means over. Kontra Daya expects more incidents of wholesale vote rigging to emerge in the following days. The dark forces trying to subvert the people’s will are working overtime. The people’s vigilance and collective action are needed now more than ever.
PHILIPPINES: AS ELECTION DAY COMES , GMA CHEATING MACHINE REVS UP (tags)
As the US-Arroyo regime revved up Its cheating and repressive machinery for the May 14 national elections, the AJLPP reiterates it call for the Filipino people to be vigilant and fight with all their might against legalized vote buying, wholesale cheating and brazen violence in this coming May 14 elections.
War in Mindanao :Palace, AFP reject OIC call for ceasefire in Sulu (tags)
Manila-- Malacañang is giving full support to the military offensive against renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) forces in Sulu, which entered its fourth day of fierce fighting yesterday. While the government acknowledges the appeal of the 47-nation Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to disengage forces, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said there must be an assurance against further attacks from the renegade forces. Nearly 8,500 families ( 40,000 people)have fled the fighting and thousands crammed into schools and gymnasiums in downtown Jolo, relying on food rations from disaster agencies. The mass evacuations are a bitter development for conflict-scarred residents, who had hoped Jolo was becoming a more stable place after a long-running military campaign to rid the island of scores of Islamic militants.
AJLPP-USA Denounced Indiscriminate AFP aerial bombing in Davao Del Norte, Mindanao (tags)
The Alliance for A Just and Lasting Peace (AJLPP) vehemently condemened the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for indiscriminately dropping bombs at Barangay Manay in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, damaging homes and banana fields and endangering the lives of residents who had to evacuate to safer grounds.
54 AFP mutineers plead guilty, get 7 years (tags)
A military court, in a plea bargain deal, sentenced yesterday 54 soldiers out of the more than 600 involved in the failed Oakwood mutiny in July 2003 to seven years and six months in prison. Aside from the jail term, the seven-member military tribunal chaired by Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Legaspi also ordered the dishonorable discharge of the convicted officers. In secret balloting, the seven members unanimously found the 54 soldiers guilty of violating the Articles of War for "conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline."
AKBAYAN denounces US intervention in Philippine elections (tags)
AKBAYAN Party-list condemned today the reported participation of US soldiers Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) initiated campaigns against leftist party-list organizations. The group said that it received reports from the local media in Zamboanga City that US soldiers are also campaigning against party-list groups that the AFP considers as “communist fronts.”
MILF: AFP hawks ruining peace deal (tags)
Muslim MILF leader Hadji Murad on Thursday accused “hawkish” Philippine officials of trying to sabotage peace talks. Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Murad Ebrahim welcomed President Arroyo’s move this week to rein in military units operating in rebel-held areas in Mindanao to salvage the talks but said some officials were undermining these efforts.
Military officers involved in last year’s coup plot ordered detained (tags)
— Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. ordered the detention here of all the military officers involved in last year’s foiled coup attempt. Esperon effectively wanted all those implicated in the power grab detained in one facility, directing the various commands to relinquish custody of the 28 officers charged before the General Court Martial to effectively acquire jurisdiction over them. The announcement came after the arraignment of the 28 accused officers was rescheduled after defense lawyers demanded to see a copy of the pre-trial investigation.
Alston press statement and Melo commission report (tags)
The press statement of the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary and special executions Prof. Philip Alston and the report of the Melo commission put forward important findings and conclusions that hold the Arroyo regime and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) accountable for extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations from 2001 to the present.
Statement of Prof. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur of the UN-Human Rights Council (tags)
Professor Phillip Alston, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions in the Philippines
Bayan Muna member gunned down in Northern Samar (tags)
A member of the party-list group Bayan Muna and chairperson of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) in Northern Samar was gunned down late yesterday afternoon by a motorcycle-riding assassin in front of students at the University of Eastern Philippines in Catarman. Professor Jose Maria Cui, also a former secretary general of human rights group Karapatan in the Eastern Visayas, died on the spot after being shot in the head and chest by an unidentified suspect outside the Engineering Building of the campus around 4:15 p.m.
AFP gets P10-billion hardware shop list (tags)
THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will be embarking on a spending spree with President Arroyo approving on Friday a P10-billion shopping list for military hardware. The President and concurrent defense secretary gave AFP brass the green light to bid out 14 contracts. Mrs. Arroyo also on Friday vowed to defeat communist and secessionist rebels in Mindanao before her term of office ends in 2010.
AFP's new "holistic counter-insurgency plan" will victimize more ordinary and in (tags)
The revolutionary forces in the Philippines thorugh their spokesperson issued a statement today that the new oplan- BANTAY LAYA II "will be more vicious in their effort to catch the fish by totally draining the water."
Esperon: AFP to wipe out NPA rebels in next 3 years (tags)
The military announced an intensified offensive against communist rebels in the country, vowing to wipe out the insurgency over the next three years, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said.
Rehimeng US-Arroyo, nanguupat at naghahanda ng Gyera sa Mindanao. (tags)
Patuloy na ipinakikita ng reaksyunaryong gubyerno, laluna ng rehimeng Arroyo, na hindi ito interesadong kamtin ang tunay na kapayapaan para sa mamamayang Moro. Ang tanging interes ng rehimen ay sumuko at magbaba ng armas ang MILF. Sa ngayon todo ang propaganda ng gobyerno kapwa laban sa NPA at sa MILF na ang diumano may sabwatan ang MILF sa Abu Sayaff at sa Jemmayah Islamiya. Anuman ang kahihinatnan ng paghahanda sa gyera ng gobyerno, gumagawa lamang ito ng gulo at sa huli magbabagsak ng mabigat na bato sa sariling paa nito kapag itinodo nito ang gyera laban sa mamamayan ng Mindanao.
Tight security ring thrown around six detained colonels (tags)
-The military threw a tight security ring around the six Marine colonels involved in the failed February coup attempt following reports of sympathizers planning to free them. The six colonels—Ariel Querubin, Orlando de Leon, Januario Caringal, Armando Banez, Custodio Parcon and Achilles Segumalian—were currently being detained at a Marine base in Manila. They are among 13 Marine officers and 25 Army officers, including a brigadier general, detained for their alleged involvement in a plot with communist insurgents and opposition figures to bring down the government in February.
AJLPP-USA Protests AFP Operations Despite Ramadan in Sulu, Mindanao (tags)
The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace (AJLPP) –USA and its allied organizations vehemently protests and condemns the Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon’s announcement Monday that military offensives against suspected al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines will continue throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan
AJLPP-USA Protests AFP Operations Despite Ramadan in Sulu, Mindanao (tags)
The Alliance for Just and Lasting Peace (AJLPP) –USA vehemently protests and condemns the newly promoted and confirmed Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon’s announcement Monday that military offensives against suspected al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines will continue throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in the siland of Sulu and elsewhere.
Sulu offensives to continue through Ramadan – AFP Chief (tags)
Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. announced Monday. that military offensives against suspected al Qaeda-linked militants in the southern Philippines will continue throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan
AFP ASSESSMENT THAT THEY WILL ERADICATE THE NPA BY 2010- A BIG BLUFF (tags)
The Philippine Peasant Support Network (Pesante)-USA - a human rights, environemtal and a peasant advocacy network based in Los Angeles, called the AFP assessment that they will destroy the New People’s Army (NPA) by 2010, at the end of the President Arroyo’s term “ A big bluff and an empty pipe dream!.”
NPA'S BEATEN BY 2010- AFP (tags)
Government forces are geared up to accomplish their mission to neutralize the communist New People’s Army (NPA) before President Arroyo ends her term by 2010, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon declared yesterday
PESANTE CONDEMNS AFP RED BAITING (tags)
Philippine Peasant Support Network(Pesante)-USA based in Los Angeles, in a statement issued today, September 14, 2006 vehemently condemns AFP Chief General Esperon’s statement against Ocampo and Casino and other leaders of the progressive mass organizations in the Philippines. “Esperon’s statement is a clear military’s anti communist mind-set. It’s bunker mentality that foments anti-communist with-hunting and a clear signal for the military death squads to go after progressive mass leaders.”
AFP DEPLOYS TWO MORE BATALLIONS TO CARAGA REGION IN MINDANAO (tags)
Two more battalions of Army soldiers have been deployed by the AFP to the Caraga region as reinforcements to troops battling communist guerrillas in an apparent bid to crush the NPA insurgency. Meanwhile, NDF's George Madlos, NDF Mindanao spokeperson warned that a bloody end awaits the soldiers responsible for the spate of militant killings in the region. Caraga region is in the Northeastern part of Mindanao which covers Surigao and Agusan provinces.
More reason to junk Anti-Terror Bill: (tags)
The continuing breakdown of civil government in Central Luzon and the human rights abuses committed by Jovito Palparan's troops could be a sneak preview of what could happen if the Anti-Terror Bill is passed into law, detained Anakpawis Representative Crispin Beltran said today. From the Office of Anakpawis Representative Crispin B. Beltran
Esperon says no quarter for NPA (tags)
Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, the new Armed Forces chief of staff, on Friday vowed to crush the communist rebellion during his term. Esperon, former Army chief, became the AFP’s 35th chief of staff. He replaced Gen. Generoso Senga, who retired Friday. He said he would lead efforts to foil attempts to vilify the AFP as an institution. The government has a two-year plan to defeat the communist New People’s Army.
New AFP Chief Esperon vows to crush insurgency (tags)
New Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon vowed yesterday to crush the 37-year-old communist insurgency during his watch, saying he would devote his last years as a soldier to finish the task. "The President has renewed her call for the defeat of the insurgents ... I welcome the challenge," Esperon said in a speech as he formally took the helm of the 117,000-strong AFP.
The US-Arroyo Regime is a Shameless Fascist Puppet of US Imperialism (tags)
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had shed off her last pretensions on respecting human rights by naming her AFP Chief of staff and the most notorious military officials into her area commands. By exposing her nature as a fascist puppet, GMA now decidedly put on the military uniform of dictator Ferdinand Marcos and is ready to wage her all out war against all opposition, armed or unarmed
Esperon’s marching orders: Crush Reds (tags)
President Arroyo has given incoming Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon his marching orders: Crush the 37-year-old communist rebellion and the groups plotting to destabilize the administration.
Norway rules out resumption of talks (tags)
Norway rules out resumption of talks PEACE talks broker Norway said it saw no chance of a rapid resumption of the stalled peace talks between the Philippine government and the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF). “I don’t see the prospect of talks resuming in the near future,” Tore Hattrem, director general of the section of peace and reconciliation at the Norwegian foreign ministry, told AFP after four days of consultations with the NDF.
US arms Infusion boost to RP troops (tags)
THE United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie A. Kenney has assured the Philippines that the US will continue providing the Armed Forces of the Philippines with military hardware to strengthen its capability to fight terrorism and insurgency. At a roundtable at The Manila Times, Kenney said the AFP would also receive technical assistance to boost its firepower.
PPNP, AFP, agencies to meet on counterinsurgency (tags)
Pesante-USA/AJLPP reported this news about the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and other government agencies will be meeting to coordinate their efforts to combat the communist insurgency, newly installed PNP Director General Oscar Calderon said Thursday. Calderon said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, at a meeting, instructed the PNP and AFP to create a joint plan to combat communist rebels.
AFP war widens into two fronts as Maguindanao battle goes on (tags)
Pesante-USA reprinted the news about the increased fighting in Mindanao. The counter-insurgecnyw ar being waged by the Arroyo goverment is escalating not only against the NPA but also against the Moro people in Maguindanao. THE Armed Forces’ war against rebels has widened into two fronts as fighting between government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front forces continued on Monday in Maguindanao province despite efforts of peace negotiators to end the clashes that have left dozens of people dead and wounded and displaced 3,000 families.
AFP beefs up anti-Red forces in Samar, Leyte (tags)
Pesante-USA reprinted the news of renewed AFP deployment of forces from Mindanao to areas in Luzon and the Visayas against the NPA. The new counter-insurgency campaign ordered by President Arroyo is reminicensce of the Marcos anti-NPA drive during martial law. Pesante condmens such gross militarization that will only result into more poltical killing that had reached more than 610 since 2001, hardship for the Filipino people and the perpetuatio of GMA into power.
Condemn Political Killings in Central Luzon, Philippines (tags)
Pesante-USA reprinted an interview by Ang Bayan of Salud Roja, a revolutionary leader in Central Luzon. it was printed at the QC Indymedia regarding the political killings in Central Luzon on June 4.
CRISIS AND DISINTEGRATION OF THE ARROYO FASCIST REGIME IN THE PHIIPPINES (tags)
A critical analysis of the inherent contradictions in the current regime in the Philippines would reveal the logic of irreversible fascist decay. While objective conditions have polarized and sharpened the divisions within the ruling bloc, the subjective forces of national democracy and anti-imperialism have not fully organized and united to deliver the decisive blow. Meanwhile, the U.S. and its agents are working behind the scenes to pick a successor to Arroyo and re-consolidate its neocolonial stranglehold. But will millions of concerned Filipinos allow the U.S. and its "guns, goons and gold" to determine again our collective fate and national destiny? Filipinos in the Philippines and around the world will have to decide as the Arroyo cabal, convulved with death-pangs, lashes out at everyone within reach.
The Smoking Gun: Samarra bombing not by 'insurgents' (tags)
The AFP is reporting that the bombing of the Golden Domed Mosque “was the work of specialists” and that the “placing of explosives must have taken at least 12 hours.”
French TV screens images 'of US helicopter crew killing Iraqis' DOWNLOAD HERE (tags)
PARIS, May 4 (AFP) - The French cable television station Canal Plus on Tuesday will broadcast images, stolen in Iraq, of a US army helicopter killing three Iraqis, one of them wounded, who do not appear to be posing any threat
Lebanese student protesters clash with police over Syrian army presence (tags)
BEIRUT - Lebanese students clashed Friday with security forces during protests against Syria's military presence in their country which their hero, exiled general Michel Aoun, tried but failed to end 15 years ago.
Iraqi oil pipeline blown up (tags)
"The Iraqi people will welcome us with open arms" Think again.
US Losses Mount Two Months After The Fall Of Baghdad (tags)
The US death brought to 29 the number of American servicemen who have died in fighting or accidents in Iraq since US President George W. Bush declared the war effectively over on May 1, according to an AFP toll.
Jailed Iraqi children run free as Marines roll into Baghdad suburbs (tags)
"There were parents running up, so happy to have their kids back." "The children had been imprisoned because they had not joined the youth branch of the Baath party," he alleged. "Some of these kids had been in there for five years."
HUMAN COST: The bodies of an Iraqi woman and her child in a coffin in Hilla, about 80km south of Baghdad. They were among 48 civilians killed by US-led attacks since Monday. -- AFP
Third veteran US diplomat quits over Iraq war (tags)
WASHINGTON, March 20 (AFP) - Another veteran US diplomat has resigned from the State Department in protest over President George W. Bush's policy toward Iraq, becoming the third and the highest-ranking career foreign service officer to do so since last month...
feds withhold crucial wtc evidence (tags)
by chris bollyn
9-11: burying the evidence? (tags)
read this and form your own opinions about what you have been told about 9-11
The UN calls Northern Alliance "main opium producer" (tags)
AFP, Oct.6, 2001 story featured at the RAWA site.