GEN DANNY LIM; Esperon, Senga Involved in ’06 plot (tags)
PESANTE NEWS today learned by media sources that now it can be told—again. This time straight from the horse’s mouth as it were. Detained Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, a candidate for senator, on Friday claimed that the then Armed Forces Chief Gen. Generoso Senga and Army Chief Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. were his accomplices in the failed February 2006 coup plot. Lim, who appeared to be acknowledging for the first time his leadership role in the Feb. 23, 2006, coup plot, claimed that Senga and Esperon had betrayed him and his fellow plotters for what he described as “political enticements” from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “These people are turncoats and rabid opportunists. Durin
Sison belie AFP’s decimation claim, say numbers actually growing (tags)
NDF consultant Prof. jose maria Sison refuted the military’s claim that the rebel group is weakening as its membership is being decimated due to the continuous offensive operations against it by government forces and the string of rebel surrenderees, saying its numbers are even growing nationwide. In a statement sent to the media, CPP founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison said the CPP’s armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), is now working the expansion of guerrillas that will cover all 173 congressional districts in the country
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.
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.
ARROYO REVS UP SULU OFFENSIVE (tags)
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Saturday remained steadfast to her administration’s all-out war against the Abu Sayyaf group and other rogue elements accused of beheading 10 of the 14 Marines who died in a July 10 firefight in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan. Mrs Arroyo said the war in Mindanao, which so far claimed the lives of 25 soldiers and wounded 10 others, is not an act of vengeance but a strategy to win peace," against those who spread “mayhem" and “bloodsport" in the South. “We cannot allow terrorists to hold the South hostage to their agenda of mayhem and bloodsport," she said.
MILF UNFAZED BY ARREST WARRANTS, MILITARY OFFENSIVE (tags)
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is unfazed by the threat of “punitive action” from the government and urged it to review first the provisions of the ceasefire agreement before serving the warrants of arrest on those allegedly involved in the July 10 ambush of Marines in Basilan. MILF chief negotiator Muhaquer Iqbal said they are unfazed by the military’s threat to arrest those behind the ambush.
State raises concession in ultimatum to MILF (tags)
Making it more apparent that it is walking on eggshells on the matter, the government yesterday said while its set deadline for it had lapsed last Sunday, its doors are still open to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to surrender its members who were responsible for killing 14 Marines soldiers after an encounter in the island province of Basilan in the South two weeks ago. Government peace panel chief Rodolfo Garcia told reporters in an interview that even after its ultimatum had passed with the Muslim secessionist group ignoring its call, the government still hopes the MNLF’s leadership would be honorable enough to yield its members who killed 14 Marines soldiers, and even beheaded and mutilated the bodies of 10 of them, in an accidental clash in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan last July 10.
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.
MILF given one week to surrender ambushers (tags)
---THE Armed Forces on Wednesday gave the Moro Islamic Liberation Front seven days to surrender its fighters that took part in a bloody battle with Marines in Basilan last week. Another Marine battalion will be deployed to the island province, which is also a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf. The Armed Forces Public Information chief, Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro, said the additional battalion will beef up troops going after Moro rebels who ambushed a group of Marines in Tipo-Tipo town.
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.”
Reds reject peace overture (tags)
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) yesterday rejected a ceasefire offered by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. in a bid to revive stalled peace talks. CPP founder Jose Maria Sison, in a statement from the Netherlands, where he is in self-exile, said the group will only return to the negotiating table when the Philippine government moves to have it removed from a terrorist blacklisting in the United States and Europe. He stressed the Arroyo administration must also show it is sincere about stopping the military from carrying out political killings, while also indemnifying victims of human rights violations.
Ermita raises possibility of political pardon to Honasan, Trillanes (tags)
Malacañang yesterday floated the possibility of Presi-dent Arroyo granting senators-elect Gregorio Honasan and Antonio Trillanes IV political amnesty in the spirit of reconciliation, good governance and national progress, the Philippine News Agency (PNA) quoted Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita as saying yesterday. In his regular media briefing this afternoon in Malacañang, Ermita was said to have cited the President’s policy of extending her hand of reconciliation to detractors of her administration, including armed rebels and political leaders.
Mutineer’ calls court-martial illegal, asks SC to stop trial (tags)
ndicted Marine Col. Ariel Querubin yesterday petitioned the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the military tribunal from trying him on charges of mutiny for his alleged part in the February 2006 “withdrawal of support” from President Arroyo by members of the Philippine Marine Corps. In a 33-page petition, Querubin’s lawyer Rodrigo Artuz elevated the case to the SC after the Court of Appeals (CA) this month turned down the colonel’s appeal to stop the court-martial proceedings against him. The charges are in connection with the attempted mutiny charges filed against Querubin and 29 other military officers for their alleged plan to withdraw their support from Mrs. Arroyo. Querubin is detained at the Fort San Felipe Detention Center, Naval Base Compound, Sangley Point, Cavite province.
8,000 families displaced in Sulu fighting; OIC steps in (tags)
More than 8,000 families ( 40,000 people)have fled their homes as Marines and Army troops hunted down renegade Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) commander Habier Malik and his men, who have killed 12 people in Sulu. For three days now, thousands of troops have been sent to Sulu to run after Malik’s band after he escaped when the military captured his sprawling hilltop encampment in Panamao, Sulu on Sunday. Reports said several MNLF commanders, along with an undetermined number of fighters from the towns of Pata, Daungdong and Capual in Sulu, are now fighting alongside Malik.
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."
Esperon, other officials say Davao prison warned of NPA raid (tags)
Officers of the Davao Prison and Penal Farm in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte had been warned of a possible assault by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, Armed forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and other security officials disclosed yesterday. This came after media sources reported that an NPA band led by Mindanao Regional Guerrilla Unit-Pulang Bagani Command commander Leonardo Pitao ransacked the armory of the penal farm and took over 100 guns in a pre-dawn raid on Easter Sunday. The guerrillas carted away 50 M-16 and carbine rifles, 46 shotguns and seven pistols from the prison armory after disarming four guards, police said. They did not attempt to free any of the about 4,000 convicted criminals detained in the prison complex during the 20-minute raid that was staged without a shot being fired, police said, adding there were no injuries.
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.
AJLLP Joins the Call for the Removal of AFP Chief and NSA Chief in the Philippines (tags)
he Alliance- Philippines (AJLPP)-USA supports the call of -- party list group Bayan Muna (People First) and other pro-people groups that demanded the sacking of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Armed Forces chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr., and the prosecution of retired major general Jovito Palparan, now a Department of Justice security adviser for the political killings in the country.
The Philippine armed forces fielded more than 10 warships around Sulu in what could be the single biggest naval blockade meant to trap Abu Sayyaf terrorists in their lair. Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said yesterday the naval blockade formed part of the "small unit tactics" designed to eventually wipe out local and foreign terrorists holed out in Sulu, as part of the military’s ongoing offensive dubbed Oplan Ultimatum
New GMA's Appointments: Ebdane to DND, Nachura to SC (tags)
Malacañang formally announced yesterday the appointment of former public works chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. as the new defense secretary, ignoring recommendations for a civilian to head the sensitive post. Ebdane, 58, replaces Avelino Cruz, who quit unexpectedly in November, fueling speculation of a rift in President Arroyo’s Cabinet over moves to change the Constitution. Also at Malacañang yesterday, Chief Justice Reynato Puno announced Mrs. Arroyo’s appointment of Solicitor General Antonio Eduardo Nachura as Supreme Court associate justice. Ebdane was reportedly the one who brought out of the country former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano at the height of the vote rigging controversy involving Mrs. Arroyo. Ebdane denied the accusations
Philippine Armed Forces target: 5 communist reb fronts (tags)
Reports from Northern Command Camp Aquino, said, five communist guerrilla fronts in four regions where the New People’s Army has first taken root since its founding in 1969 are targeted for dismantling this year, the Army’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) chief said on Thursday.
AFP: Peace pact with MILF by April (tags)
A peace agreement with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is expected early this year, Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. disclosed yesterday. "A final peace agreement with the MILF would be signed by March or April," Esperon told a press conference held at the AFP Eastern Mindanao Command headquarters here. The contentious issues affecting the peace negotiations, particularly disputes over ancestral domain, are now being discussed by both panels, said Esperon, who arrived here as part of a series of camp visits to implement the second phase of President Arroyo’s campaign against insurgency.
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."
AFP orders court-martial to 30 officers (tags)
TWO generals and 28 other military officers will face court-martial for their alleged participation in the abortive coup against the Arroyo administration in February. The two generals to face court-martial are Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, former Marine Corps commandant and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, former commander of the elite First Scout Ranger Regiment.
Philippine Military To hire 9,000 militia to end insurgency by 2010 (tags)
The military will recruit 3,000 new soldiers and 9,000 additional militiamen to boost the counterinsurgency campaign and end the communist uprising by 2010, Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said yesterday. Esperon said President Arroyo approved the recruitment of 9,000 members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Units (Cafgus) and 3,000 troopers to be deployed in areas threatened by communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels as part of the government’s intensified counterinsurgency drive.
Philippine Army Lt.San Juan turns back on Magdaló comrades (tags)
“I reaffirm my allegiance to the Constitution and the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” San Juan said. Rumors had surfaced in past weeks that San Juan, who belongs to the elite Light Reaction Company (LRC), had broken off from the Magdaló.