Military – Page 50 – ellen tordesillas

Making sense of the Basilan debacle (Part 2)

Published by Ellen on August 27, 2007

Gonzalez and Dolorfino direct behind the scene

AT the height of the firefight between the soldiers of the 1st Marine Brigade and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the village of Guinanta in Al-Barka, Basilan, Gloria Arroyo was at the Pryce Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City talking about “Muslim brothers and sisters working in good faith with our government” and being “on the cusp of a permanent peace” in Mindanao.

She was addressing the Mindanao Peace and Security Summit. With her were national security adviser Norberto Gonzales, at that time acting defense secretary; Lt. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, head of the Western Mindanao Command; and Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino, commander of the National Capital Region Command and co-chair of the government Ad Hoc Joint Action Group negotiating with the MILF. Dolorfino is also the incoming commander of the Philippine Marines.

Making sense of the Basilan debacle (Part 1)

Published by Ellen on August 26, 2007

The double agent

As the military gears for the major offensive that AFP chief of staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. announced in Basilan last week, the people recoil over how many lives will be lost further in a war that they do not understand.

In less than two months, the hostilities, which started with the July 10 ambush by elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the town of Al-Barka (formerly Tipo-Tipo) in Basilan, have claimed more than a hundred lives. Fifty-seven soldiers have died, 10 of them in a most gruesome manner, and 30,000 persons have been displaced.

An undetermined number have been killed on the side of the “enemy” that the public is not so clear about.

Alivio confirms aircraft were recalled

Published by Ellen on August 23, 2007

Malacañang wants him restricted and gagged

by Ellen Tordesillas and Victor Reyes

The former Marine commander in Basilan yesterday confirmed that “someone” recalled the aircraft which were supposed to provide support for the Marines who clashed with members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Al-Barka, Basilan last July 10.

Fourteen Marines died, with 10 of them found beheaded and mutilated the following day.

The confirmation by Col. Ramiro Alivio, who was relieved as commander of the 1st Marine Brigade Wednesday, is contained in his After Battle Report.

Together in trials and tribulations

Published by Ellen on August 23, 2007

To protest the “incompe-tence” of the military leadership that led to the deaths of 14 of their colleagues in Albarkha, Basilan last July 10, the Marine officers detained in Camp Capinpin in Tanay shaved their heads.

A month after, it was the turn of the Philippine Army. Twenty-five killed in just one day in the fighting in Sulu, the highest casualty in the recent history of the Philippine military. Two weeks after, it was again the turn of the Marines. Last Saturday, 15 of them died in an uphill assault to take over an Abu Sayyaf camp in Ungkawa Pukan in Basilan.

Basilan Marines commander relieved

Published by Ellen on August 22, 2007

The commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, Col. Ramiro Alivio, was relieved of his duties for staying in his headquarters while Marines clashed with around 80 Abu Sayyaf forces in Ungkawa Pukan town, Basilan last Aug.18.

AFP chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said Alivio’s relief was the decision of the Board of Generals.

Col. Rustico Guerrero, former chief of the Marine Corps Training Center based at the Marine headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, took over Alivio’s post in simple rites at the 1st Marine Brigade headquarters in Isabela City yesterday.

The Akbar connection

Published by Ellen on August 21, 2007

My column last Monday on the lessons the government has not learned from the 2001 Lamitan tragedy elicited a number of comments, giving more information about the connivance among the bandits, local politicians and military officials.

In last Monday’s piece, a line in the June 1, 2001 incident After Battle Report which I quoted was unintentionally deleted. It should read:

“Capt. Guinolbay also went about soliciting the help of every soldier and policemen he could find to help solve the problem by being deployed around the compound. It is worth mentioning that during the crisis, there were a lot of policemen and soldiers at the mayor’s residence that were called upon by Capt. Guinolbay but didn’t lift a finger. The governor of the province was also at the mayor’s residence at that time but neither of the executives came out to help or at least look at what was happening outside.”

Slain Marines ‘not sitting ducks’–commander

Published by Ellen on August 20, 2007

‘Troops not on test mission’

Update: General walks out of press conference; junior marine officers explain “test mission”.

By Joel Guinto

The Marine ground commander in Basilan denied observations that the 15 troops slain in a clash with Abu Sayyaf fighters on Saturday were mowed down like “sitting ducks.”

In a phone interview, Brigadier General Juancho Sabban, commander of Joint Task Force Thunder, said the fatalities, who included four young lieutenants fresh from the Philippine Military Academy (PMA), “knew what they were doing” and were guided by veterans of the Basilan pursuit.

Akbar and the ghost of the Lamitan siege

Published by Ellen on August 19, 2007

Coming from a meeting with detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, said there’s a lot of similarities of the deadly incidents that happened in Lamitan on June 2, 2001 and in Tipo-Tipo last July 10, both in the province of Basilan.

Last Saturday’s hostilities also in Basilan remind us of the Lamitan siege because the five officers who perished during the assault to take the Abu Sayyaf camp in Ungkaya Pukan were part of Force Reconnaissance. They were on a test mission that is a prerequisite before graduation. In Lamitan, Scout Ranger Class 142-2000 under Course Director Capt. Ruben Guinolbay had just completed their test mission when ordered to prepare for deployment to the Southern Command area of responsibility.

In fact, one of the recommendations that came out of the Lamitan debacle was to “desist from employing units which are not 100 percent combat ready.”

Walang katapusang parada ng mga bangkay

Published by Ellen on August 18, 2007

Habang sinusulat ko ito patuloy ang bakbakan sa Basilan. Labin-limang Marines na naman ang patay.

Lima ay mga opisyal at sampu ay enlisted men. Ang babata ng mga namatay na Marine officers. Ang isa ay 22 taong gulang. Ang isa sa mga namatay, si si Lt. Salvador, ay number 7 sa PMA Class 2005. Number one sa Philippine Navy.

Kailan pa hihinto itong walang kabuluhang kamatayan ng ating mga magigiting na sundalo?

Air Force helicopter crashes during clash with Abu Sayyaf

Published by Ellen on August 18, 2007

Update: Bodies in crashed helicopter recovered

From ABS-CBN online:

A Philippine Air Force (PAF) pilot was killed while his co-pilot and a crewman were wounded when a military helicopter crashed during a clash with al Qaeda-linked Muslim extremists in Basilan province Saturday afternoon, ABS-CBN News reported.

Lt. Col. Epifanio Panzo, PAF spokesman, said the MG-520 helicopter plunged into Bubuan Island, south of Basilan, around 5 p.m.

Panzo said the Philippine Navy has rescued the two injured helicopter crewmen and retrieved the body of the unidentified pilot. They were brought to the headquarters of the 1st Marine Brigade in Basilan.

Category: Military