By Danny Sabino GENERAL SANTOS CITY—At least three areas in Central Mindanao will be free from guns, goons and gold this May elections, as long…
Making life worth living.
Tag: Mindanao
Update: Ampatuan Sr. and 126 others charged with murder.
Someone very much involved in the 2010 elections said Buluan vice Mayor Ismael “Toto” Mangudadatu is agreeable to shaking hands with the patriarch of the Ampatuan clan for the sake of peace in Maguindanao.
Mangudadatu’s wife, Jenalyn, his sister, and some relatives were among the more than 57 killed in the Nov. 23 massacre allegedly perpetrated by the Mangudadatus in a fierce rivalry for the control of the province, the second poorest in the country. Thirty of those killed were journalists, who accompanied Mangudadatus’ wife who was to file her husband’s certificate of candidacy for mayor.
Andal Ampatuan, Jr, mayor of Datu Unsay in Maguindanao , has been identified by witnesses as the one who led the massacre. He has been charged with several counts of murder and is detained at the National Bureau of Investigation.
Ampatuan Sr. is in a military hospital in Davao City; his sons Datu Zaldy, Datu Anwar and Datu Sajid are detained in General Santos City with his son-in-law Datu Akmad Ampatuan Sr., husband of eldest daughter Rebecca.
Mukhang may niluluto na namang isang midnight deal itong administrasyong Arroyo. Ito ang kasunduan sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front na magkakaroon sila ng sariling nilang bansa sa ilalim ng Pilipinas.
Sariling bansa sa loob ng bansang Pilipinas? Hindi tama dahil kung magkaroon ng Bangsamoro substate, ay parang nagtanggal ka ng parte ng Pilipinas at binigay sa MILF.
Di ba yan ang ginawa ni Gloria Arroyo noong isang taon sa kamuntik lang matuloy na MOA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement-Ancestral Domain) na ipinabasura ng Supreme Court dahil labag ito sa Constitution?
Nagkita noong isang linggo ang GRP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) panel at ang MILF sa Kuala Lumpur at nagpalitan sila ng oputline ng kanilang proposal. Sabi ni Presidential Peace Adviser Annabelle Abaya na 17 pages daw ang sa kanila at 31 pages naman daw ang sa MILF.
Managot daw ang may kagagawan, sabi ng Malacañang sa nangyari sa Maguindanao kung saan mga 40 na tao ang pinatay dahil sa pulitika.
Pinagpapatay ng mga isang daan daw na armadong lalaki ang asawa, kapatid, kamaganak, mga tag-suporta ni Vice mayor Esmael Magungudatu ng bayan ng Buluan na mag-file ng certificate of candidacy sa bayan ng Ampatuan sa Maguindanao.
Ang mga babae daw ay ginahasa bago pinagpapatay. Kasama sa pinatay ay ang mga 13 na mamamahayag na magku-cover sana pag-file na certificate of candidacy.
Malaya
President Arroyo yesterday placed the provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City under a state of emergency following Monday’s massacre of around 40 family members of the Mangudadatu clan, their supporters and media men by around 100 armed men believed to be supporters of the Ampatuan clan in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province.
The state of emergency gives military and police wide powers of arrest and detention.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said Proclamation Order No. 1946 was issued upon the recommendation of the Cabinet security cluster during the National Economic and Development Authority-National Anti-Poverty Commission Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.
Statement of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV
It was a very sad day for our country yesterday. Forty people were reportedly abducted and killed in broad daylight allegedly by the security men of political warlords in Maguindanao with the possible involvement of some local law enforcement units.
The news may come as a shock for some but the truth is the brutal massacre merely highlighted what has been going on in many parts of our country all these years. This is ‘political warlordism’ at its worst! To make matters worse, the AFP/PNP are either accomplices, silents partners or helpless onlookers in these occurrences either by choice or through pressure from superiors. Often, the AFP/PNP area commanders are pressured or bribed by local politicians into issuing firearms for the latter ostensibly for security purposes but actually ends up being used for kidnapping, robbery, harassment/coercion, tribal wars and, in this case, a massacre of political foes. In an incident in 2001, then Col. Narcise, a newly assigned brigade commander in Basilan, recalled the government issued firearms of then Gov. Wahab Akbar but after a few days Col. Narcise was directed by then DND Sec. Reyes to return the said firearms to Akbar. The late Governor was a political ally of GMA and a personal friend of Reyes. Afterwards, Col. Narcise was unceremoniously relieved from his post by Reyes at the request of Akbar. Similar situations are happening in Maguindanao and other strife torn areas throughout the country.
That said, I will be filing a resolution on Monday calling for a Senate investigation on the Maguindanao massacre to find out the circumstances that led to this gruesome crime with a particular focus on the possible involvement/negligence of the AFP/PNP. Also, it intends to extract how many firearms have actually been issued by the AFP/PNP to all local officials not only in Maguindanao but all over the country with the end in view of recalling such firearms. Earlier, I have also filed a Gun Control Bill that intends to curb the proliferation of loose firearms. The bottom line is: WE HAVE TO GET THESE GUNS!
Now, this is just the first step. Ultimately, only an aggressive political/governance reform and development agenda can restore peace, progress and democracy in these areas. Let’s just hope Noynoy (or whoever will be the next president) has one.
“The state of emergency shall remain in force and effect until lifted or withdrawn by the President,” Remonde said.
Bodies of 21 of 44 kidnap victims, including the wife and relatives of Buluan town’s vice mayor, were recovered by government troops in Ampatuan town in Maguindanao province Monday afternoon.
The killings are the first reported poll-related violence. The May 2010 elections are still 6 months away. Most of the victims are women.
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. confirmed to ANC that 13 female and 8 male bodies were found by members of the 601st Infrantry Brigade of the AFP around 4:30 p.m. Monday.
CAGAYAN DE ORO–Noong Martes ng hapon isang granada ang sumabog malapit sa City Hall ng Marawi City na ikinamatay ng isang tao at nasugatan naman ang mga 20.
Ayon Mindanews, sinabi raw ng mga nag imbestiga na mga opisyal na itinapon ng mga di-kilalang mga lalaki ang granada mga 50 metro nag layo sa opisina ng Commission on Election kung saan may ginagawang registration ng mga botante.
Sabi ni Carol Arguillas, publisher ng Mindanews, tinitiyak pa nila ang impormasyon na ang mga nagre-register ay galing sa Linamon, Lanao del Norte.
Nakakapagtaka ito kasi bakit ang mga taga Lanao del Norte ay nasa Marawi nagpa-paregister? Flying voters?
by Tessa Jamandre VERA Files AS Muslims all over the world end their monthlong prayer and fasting on Monday, their brothers who have been displaced…
by Evangeline de Vera
Malaya
The Supreme Court, voting 8-7, yesterday declared unconstitutional the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain that the government would have signed with the secessionist Moro National Liberation Front two months ago.
The MOA-AD, whose signing was stopped by the tribunal, proposes to create a Muslim homeland in the South which will have its own judicial system and police force.
The Muslim homeland will be governed by the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), also proposed to be created under the MOA, which can enter into economic agreements and trade relations with other countries.
The Supreme Court said the government peace negotiating panel that crafted the MOA with the MILF violated the Constitution when it initialed the agreement that would have ceded a portion of the country’s territory to the secessionist group under the BJE.
Galit na galit si Sen. Rodolfo Biazon sa panukala ni Secretary Ronaldo Puno ng Interior and Local Government na magbibigay sila ng P25 milyon sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front kung isu-surender nila sina Ameril Ombra kato, Abdulla Macapaar alias Kumander Bravo at Aleem Sulaiman.
“Hindi ako papayag na pagsinurender yung dalawang commander binigyan pa natin ng P25 milyon yung MILF. Ibibili nila ng bala at baril yan,” sabi ni Biazon.
Ang P25 milyon at para sa talong kumander. Noong isang linggo kasi, dinoble ang patong sa ulo nina Kumander Ombra kato at Bravo ng tig-P10 milyon. P5 milyon naman ang patong sa ulo ni Kumander Sulaiman.