US troops’ stay questioned, (tags)
They are supposed to be only visitors, but after six years they are still around and some local officials are wondering whether they are already part of the Filipino family. Officially, they are called the “visiting forces” but there has been no sign that American soldiers are leaving anytime soon and the officials are asking why the “visit” seems to have become a permanent deployment. Vice Mayor Mannix Dalipe says the Arroyo administration and the Philippine military have to explain why American troops are still in Zamboanga City. “No one is giving us answers,” Dalipe said in an interview the other day.
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.
Philippines: Senate alarmed by resurgence of killings (tags)
Senate leaders yesterday raised the alarm over the apparent resur-gence of extra-judicial killings in the country, taking to task the Philippine National Police (PNP) in containing the situation before it gets worse. Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., in condemning the killing of Fr. Rey Roda, OMI in Sulu, and the abduction of teacher Omar Taub during a raid on a church-run school, also warned authorities that the case had already raised tension in the province.
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.”