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Kidnapped Irish priest Fr. Michael Sinnott

As if the twin typhoons are not enough to damage the country, here comes another one: another foreigner has been kidnapped by the dreaded terror squad, the Abu Sayyaf Group.

Catholic priest Fr. Michael Sinnott, 79 years old, was snatched by seven heavily armed men, believed to be ASG members at the Columbian House in Gatas district in Pagadian City. Father Siunott was walking in his private garden inside the compound around 7:30 in the evening when the armed men snatched him and put him at the back of an old mini-van.

The armed men, along with their victim, sped onboard a mini-van. The van was burned by the suspects when they reached Sta. Lucia village and reports say, the group boarded a boat. The last time that the victim and the suspects were seen was at Barangay Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur.

Fears about the safety of the priest grew when Fr. Donahue of the Columbian order of Missionaries in the Philippines revealed that Fr. Sinnott had a heart bypass a few years ago. Sinnott is reportedly still healthy but probably will not be able to survive the harsh conditions of the Mindanao jungles.

Father Sinnott has been serving as a missionary in the Philippines since 1976. No ransom has been communicated. Authorities are on top of the situation.

There are current reports indicating a breakthrough in the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The top leadership of the Bangsamoro people reportedly agreed to negotiate peace with the re-constituted peace panel of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines. Tha could be good news for some. However, upon closer analysis, this is highly improbable given the fact that the Central Committee of the MILF already took a position contrary to what government right now is announcing to the entire world.

Right after that controversial Supreme Court decision invalidating the Memorandum of Agreement-BJE, the MILF Central Committee already decided not to go back to the negotiating table if this is to be chaired by appointments of Arroyo. Philippine president Arroyo has just reconstituted the panel to be headed by Foreign Undersecretary Rafael Seguis and includes lawyer Tomas Cabili Jr., Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, former General Santos City Mayor Adelbert Antonino, and former legislator Ronald Adamat.

Note that the reconstituted panel includes people who really don’t know the status of years of negotiations with the MILF and has even taken a contrari stand on the issue of the Bangsamoro juridical entity. The MILF already said that it will not return to talking peace if the GRP just wants to reconfigure the conditions and terms of reference of the MOA-BJE. It will only talk peace under the conditions pre-set by those stated in the original MOA-BJE.

Notice also that those who compose this government panel stands to debate more with the MILF leadership instead of  going to constructive dialogue. Again, this peace talks, if ever it resumes, is designed to fail.

The reason why GRP is just doing this now and announcing the willingness kuno of the MILF to talk peace is very simple—Arroyo wants to project a good image before leaders of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) who will hold their conference here at the Dusit Hotel on January 9. 2009. Government wants to project an image that it is protecting the civil, economic, political and religious rights of the Bangsamoro when the contrary is happening.

A friend sent these photos. These pictures show victims of the alleged bombing of a village in Maguindanao last September 7. The official Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) statement is: these are collateral damages. They were caught in a crossfire between the Bangsamoro rebels and soldiers. 

dead and pregnant. how much for her life, mrs. arroyo?

Just look at these photos and see for yourself. This is the true costs of the war. Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro says they still need 80 billion pesos more for the war. I dare ask him–how many more bombs will you allow to be dropped in Mindanao? How many more mortar rounds will your soldiers spend to force the Bangsamoro rebels to drop to their knees? How many more ammo rounds do you possibly need to kill all those people seeking their own land to cultivate for themselves and not for the Lobregats and the Pinons? And how many more soldiers will you send to these deaths in Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Sulu, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte and Cotabato? How many kids can you possibly sacrifice to end this war? A few hundreds?

dead girl, dead future. how many more kids will die due to this war?

The Bangsamoro rebels and government should go back to the negotiating table and talk peace. There’s no justification for all of these deaths. It’s barbaric and always cause underdevelopment.

Like Nero during the burning of Rome, Mrs. Arroyo asked for a thorough probe of what happened. But the photos speak for themselves–there were indiscriminate bombings that happened and its undeniable. The AFP should at least admit that they erred and should not wash their hands on this one. That admission should have at least lessened the impact of this incident. The AFP’s continued denial of this incident further justified the war. 

End the war now!

The next US president?

Democratic presidential contender Barrack Obama seems to have an early and comfortable lead over Republican’s bet John Mccain. Polls show him to be the favorite to clinch the top post in the November polls. Mccain’s attempts to discredit Obama’s campaign has snagged and even backfired. Now, people, especially Americans and millions of foreign migrants are just waiting for the official pronouncement of the Obama presidency.

Now, one of the nagging questions on everybody’s mind now is–how will Obama address the ballooning problem of immigration? Will he pursue the standing policy of the Bush administration concerning illegal migrants?

Millions of Filipinos, especially those working there in the mainland, wants an answer. 

Likewise, how will Obama really solve the Iraq problem? Yes, he did say that a troop pullout will definitely be one of his highest priorities, but, will this cause more problems than solutions? 

How about his stand on terrorism? What’s his take on Southeast Asian terrorism? What measures will he use to curb or cut terrorist funding in this part of the world?

Post war traumatic stress. That’s the explanation given by the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in explaining the cause of death of a Patriot, Col. Caldeo. This 1983 cavalier died, allegedly, by committing suicide. His family and mistahs said that he was disturbed by what happened between him and his superiors during the Puno Mohadji incident against the bandit group, Abu Sayyaf.

That Puno Mohadji incident was some of the defining moments of the Philippine Army. First, it was both a victory and a defeat. Caldeo’s unit suffered serious casualties yet inflicted major damages on the Abu Sayyaf. They were’nt able to save the foreign hostages, though.

I distinctly remember the Sipadan hostage crisis because I was assigned there as a television reporter. I spent a considerable amount of time covering that incident. Like my other colleagues, it was a career-defining moment. Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA 7 and I spent some time at Helen’s lodge which is in the heart of the city of Jolo. That place is just a few meters away from the Jolo Cathedral where some years back, a priest was killed. So, like the rest of the police and military there, we were also under constant threat from the civilian supporters of the ASG. There were reports that the ASG would conduct kidnappings of foreign and local journalists. Fortunately, I was not kidnapped. But the ABS-CBN crew was.

In Isabela, Basilan where Col. Caldeo was assigned, the tension was also palpable. The ASG unit there was reportedly a ferocious lot. Trained in Afghanistan, these ASG fighters vowed to resist the incursions by the “mushrikuns” into their territory.

My colleague Alvin Alburo, who now writes for GMA 7, saw that battle first hand between Caldeo’s group and the ASG. Jun Veneracion (who was then a ABC 5 reporter) and another GMA7 reporter also were there, when some of the soldiers were beheaded by the ASG. I think (if my memory serves me right) about 15 soldiers died during that Puno Mohadji battle. Accounts say that the group of soldiers were ambushed when they were walking along a shallow river bed between two hills. Without air support, the soldiers did not stand a chance against the insurgents.

That battle was a major defeat. And it was a humiliating one.

After Puno Mohadji, the Army and the Philippine Marines suffered a series of defeats in the theatre of war in Mindanao. Hundreds of soldiers died in Mindanao already. It was not superior firepower that defeated these soldiers.

They were defeated due to the inefficiency of their superiors which affected their morale.

Whatever AFP Spokesman and 1983 baron Col. Daniel Lucero would try to picture it, the AFP of today is demoralized and fragmented. It has been politicized by Mrs. Arroyo and her ilk so much that it has been turned into their private army.

Proof? Look at what ex-General Jovito Palparan did just recently. He occupied a mining firm in Bulacan using the resources of the AFP, soldiers of an Infantry battalion assigned there. In what authority, you may ask? None but his!

Palparan’s act shows how generals and ex-generals treat soldiers–they’re their personal security force, their own private armies.

Palparan is a disgrace to the profession. If he’s a Cavalier, his mistahs should immediately summon the courage to oust him from their class. Imagine, somebody without authority using the resources of the state for his own personal gain?

I am totally disgusted by this Palparan guy. He thinks that he’s so powerful that he can use the AFP as his prop. Without his soldiers, will Palparan stand a chance against the New People’s Army? I doubt it.

Palparan shows us how abusive someone can become given the license to kill enemies of the state.

This shows you how shabby our military has become since this administration took charge. Where’s the professionalization of the ranks. Mrs. Arroyo?

You and your propagandists call for the military to remain apolitical and the Patriots to stand their ground against you. Yet, you and your mafia continue to abuse and use the military for your own personal power trip!

Where, oh, where are the Patriots whom the people love? Where are the True Cavaliers whom we, the People, supported and sacrificed our hard-earned monies just to hone them on the fine ideals of Truth, Honesty, Integrity and Honor?

Where are the others who will stand against this evil regime come what may? Where are they who will sacrifice their lives and their futures to correct the wrongs of this administration? Has corruption totally erased idealism from their hearts?

I shudder to think of other Col.Caldeos taking their own lives because they think they’re helpless in abatting the continued slide towards disgrace of the military. Don’t take your own lives, true Patriots of the New Generation. No.

Do something. Don’t sulk in your chairs or in your camps whenever you see something wrong with the organisation. Exhaust all possible means to change the defects of the system. Then, you’ll realize that these wrongs are symbols of a bigger problem, that of a system so corrupt and so decrepit that it makes you puke.

Don’t puke. Do something. Stand up, you Patriots of the New Generation. Take charge. Act now.

You’ll be doing it for the people. You’ll be doing it to secure the futures of your children.

The loss of such fine gentlemen and officers like Col. Roberto Caldeo should stop now. The loss of such corrupt men like General Jovito Palparan should begin.

” Are we ready to go to another war in Sulu?”

by Patricio Mangubat (newphilrevolution.blogspot.com)

A brewing revolt in the South

While we are so engrossed with the food crisis, a revolution is a-brewing in Mindanao.

Yesterday, a band of Islamic militants staged a rally in Sulu, one of the Southernmost islands of the Philippines. The rallyists called for independence from Manila, the seat of power. Police were unable to resist the militants, who carry long knives tucked in their waists.

A mockery of Arroyo

Obviously, this is a mockery of the administration of Mrs. Arroyo. One, it was a defiant act of rebellion. That action was a direct contravention of existing Philippine laws. The rallyists should have been arrested for inciting to rebellion and/or secession since they are calling for independence of Sulu. Police were helpless in arresting the militants, calling the incident just a way to let off steam.

Was that just a way to let off steam? No.

That incident was plain and simple rebellion. If it happened here in Manila, the rallyists could have been arrested, even mauled by police. But no. That one occurred in Mindanao, and our cops are afraid shitless.

Bigger than a rally

Second, that act shows that Islamist are preparing for something bigger than a call for independence. It’s just a warning to Manila that Tausugs are again ready to go to war against them. Is Manila ready for war?

Obviously, Manila is ill prepared for another war in the South. That might cause Mrs. Arroyo’s quick downfall. Imagine a scenario where hundreds if not thousands of troops being killed in Sulu. Imagine another conflagration similar to the one which happened in the 1970’s where Marcos sent his troops to suicide missions in Mindanao.

Government peace panel adviser Jesus Dureza said it might take a while to implement the remaining unmet provisions of the MNLF peace pact. What Dureza meant is this–Manila is not that serious in really institutionalizing peace in Mindanao.

Talks are rife that former MNLF chairman Nur Misuari will join the MNLF panel in OIC talks in Jeddah. Will it appease the Tausugs? No. Remember that only a few weeks ago, Nur has been replaced by a government factotum in the person of Ampatuan. Ampatuan has zero credibility among his people. The entire MNLF Central Committee does not have the personality to influence the remaining MNLF fighters toe the government line. 

What about the MILF? Reports say, the biggest Bangsamoro group is split into different factions, due to the inability of MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad to maintain organizational cohesion. Many young MILF fighters vowed not to follow Murad should he proceed with peace talks with Manila. Reports say as many as 3,000 young fighters will continue waging war with Manila even if both sides sign a peace pact.

Revolt could break Gloria’s backbone

A revolution in Mindanao could take its toll on this administration, both politically and economically. It could break the backbone of Mrs. Arroyo who cling to power in the barest of threads. Remember that her troops have suffered innumerable defeats in the battlefield against Muslim fighters in the South. The once-feared Marines have been decimated in that area. If war breaks out, how will government explain the expected deaths and casualties of government troops there? How will it cope with the exodus of thousands of families? Is government logistically prepared to face this eventuality?

Effects in the regional anti-terror campaign

How will events happening in Mindanao impact on the regional anti-terror campaign? Reports on the ground show that more and more Bangsamoros are being influenced by radical Islamist thinking. A report by Maria Resa of ABS-CBN revealed that a new group has been formed which diametrically pursues the Jemaah Islamiya philosophy, that is, the creation of a Pan Islamic Sultanate.

This new group, allegedly being funded by the global Islamist organisation Al-Qaeda, could be funding the escalation of hostilities in the South. Remember that anti-terror groups have been unable to break the financial backbone of JI and it continues to spread its tentacles in the region. Left unattended, this new group could pose a serious security threat in the region, more dangerous and lethal than its predecessors.

US intervention in Bangsamoro affairs

A few months back, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney visited the main MILF camp in Mindanao. This is the first time that a representative of the US government came to visit the MILF. Analysts say this could lead the way for the de-listing of the MILF as a terrorist organisation. Some analysts however say that it was a blatant “in-your-face” act by the US against Gloria, which, fortunately, did not result to anything serious other than a note verbale.

What that visit meant was very simple–it shows that the US is very serious in addressing the root causes of rebellion in Mindanao. It wants to participate as a third party mediator. Malaysia has been a long-time participant in the talks. Yet, nothing substantial has resulted so far with Malaysia at the helm of the talks. 

The US has a substantial strategic defense interest in Mindanao. One, Mindanao has been known as a safe haven for terrorists. Two, most of the suicide bombers who concocted the 9/11 attacks and the World Trade Center bombings came from Mindanao prior to planing to the mainland. And three, in the interest of regional security, Mindanao is placed very high in the agenda of the US State department since most areas being controlled by the MILF provide training to would-be JI fighters in the region. The Philippines ranks as the training and r&r (rest and recreation) area of the JI, followed by Malaysia and Indonesia  as recruitment centers and Singapore as the financial hub.

A war in the South, especially in Sulu, would destroy all institutional efforts being implemented there by regional de-escalation experts. It could likewise, provide JI an opportunity to train their fighters in actual combat. 

Net–a war in Mindanao could spark a regional war between the JI and anti-terror troops. It could endanger regional security. Is the region prepared to sacrifice its security because of Arroyo’s inability to talk peace with the Bangsamoro?