News Story: Soldier on end to Marawi war - Are we there yet?

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

By Edith Regalado

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – “Are we there yet?”

One of the soldiers in the battlefront in Marawi City asked President Duterte during his surprise visit to the frontlines last Thursday whether the end to the fighting was near.

“I am not ready to talk peace at this time because so many soldiers have died in the war, including policemen. We have to end it the way it should be,” Duterte replied.

Duterte said the ultimate objective remains and the war against the Maute group will not stop until the last terrorist is neutralized. 

Duterte assured the soldiers that he would look for the money to rehabilitate Marawi from the ravages of war.

“But at the same time, I have also to rehabilitate my armed forces because there’s a fracture here somewhere. So many have died and I need the money to kickstart the rehabilitation,” he said.

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News Story: UN - Use of child soldiers persistent problem in Philippines

Child Soldier in Asia (File Photo)

By Jose Katigbak, STAR Washington bureau

WASHINGTON – The use of child soldiers by armed groups is a persistent problem in the Philippines, officials here said following revelations by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana that these groups used child warriors to behead hostages.

The UN reports armed groups operating in the Philippines, including the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, New People’s Army, Moro National Liberation Front, the Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, continue to recruit and use children, at times through force, for combat and noncombat roles.

The US State Department in its recent Trafficking in Persons Report 2017 said protracted armed conflict and reports of recruitment and use of child soldiers by armed groups in Mindanao were continuing.

It described child soldiering as a grave human rights violation.

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News Story: 'Vacillating' CPP-NPA-NDF puzzles Duterte

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News Story: Filipino Muslims trust MILF, MNLF (Poll)

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News Report: Time Bomb Ticking - Threat of Daesh Hangs Over Southeast Asia

Five ASEAN countries are joining forces to counter the threat posed to the region by the internationally-condemned terrorist organization Daesh.

Around 62% of the world's Muslims live in the Asia-Pacific region, which stretches from Turkey to Indonesia; they number 1 billion people.

The world's largest Muslim population resides not in the Middle East, but in Indonesia, making it a highly desirable goal for Daesh. Their plan is to make the world’s fourth most populous country (after China, India and the USA) a fanatical Islamic caliphate.

The Southeast Asia region in particular is home to about three hundred million Muslims. 

The Indonesian defense minister, Ryamizard Ryacudu, is set to meet with his counterparts from Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Singapore to discuss the rising threat.

Natalia Rogozhina, a PhD in Political Science who is the leading research associate at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke to Sputnik Vietnam in an interview about this development.

News Story: ‘No failure of intelligence in Marawi’

MANILA, Philippines - The crisis in Marawi City was not caused by a failure of intelligence but by connivance between local warlords and terrorists who stockpiled firearms in the city and the “soft” policy towards rebels, President Duterte said yesterday.

Duterte said the government was aware that firearms were being stockpiled in Mindanao but took it for granted because of the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). 

“We have adopted a very soft policy towards the rebels and this came about because they were bringing firearms. Since we are thinking of getting peace with the MNLF and MILF. The game there involves firearms. We took it for granted. We just allowed it to happen because we never knew until that time who was really the enemy,” Duterte told the troops in Butuan City. 

“When they see firearms and they were told that it’s for MILF or MNLF, the standing order was maybe we can talk to our brothers so there will be no trouble (but) it turned out that the Maute were bringing the firearms surreptitiously and we did not know how much ammunition and firearms were stockpiled, and besides it was not a failure of intelligence,” he added. 

Appearing in public for the first time in nearly a week, Duterte said the terrorists seem to have an “endless supply” of firearms and ammunition because of the assistance of corrupt local warlords.

“But all the while, the Maute (was conniving with) politicians there, the warlords, and were stockpiling. That’s why they do not run out of M203 bullets,” he said, noting many soldiers were hit by that type of bullet. 

Duterte confirmed extremists from Indonesia, Syria, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Kuwait joined the Maute terrorists in the clashes with government troops. 

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News Story: Rody to Maute matriarch - No ceasefire, peace talks

Philippines President Duterte

By Edith Regalado and Alexis Romero

DAVAO CITY , Philippines  – President Duterte yesterday thumbed down anew the overture of the matriarch of the notorious Maute clan for a possible ceasefire and peace talks with the government amid the continued siege in Marawi City that has already claimed almost 200 lives. 

“Iyong casualties natin, medyo mabigat, kaya sabi nila na mag-usap iyong nanay ni Maute, sabi ko (We suffered heavy casualties so they said I should talk to the mother of the Mautes, I said), ‘No, I will not.’ I will not talk anymore kasi marami na ang sundalo ko namatay. Marami nang pulis ko namatay. P***** i**, huwag mo akong bolahin diyan usap-usap na ’yan (because many of my soldiers have died. Many of my policemen have died. Son of a b****, do not fool me with those talks). Not anymore,” the President said in a pep talk with soldiers of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat yesterday afternoon. 

Duterte was referring to Ominta “Farhana” Romato, the first wife of Cayamora Maute, the patriarch of the clan who was arrested Tuesday morning in an Army-led Task Force Davao checkpoint in Barangay Sirawan here. Romato herself remains at large.

Maute and Romato are said to be the brains behind the organization, networking and operation of the Maute group.

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News Story: Duterte on Misuari offer of fighters for Marawi - Not now

By Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines — The 2,000 combatants offered by Moro National Liberation Front founder Nur Misuari will not join the campaign against Maute terrorists in Marawi City, President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday.

Speaking to Army troopers in Tacurong City, Duterte said it would not be good to pit Moros against fellow Moros.

"Nur and I talked once… He offered to send 2,000 of his men. I said ‘Wait, not now. Not now Nur,’” Duterte said.

“It’s not good to be fighting if they do not realize what it’s all about. A Moro against the Moro. Let us make them understand first what this is all about,” he added.

Security forces have been fighting the Maute militants in Marawi City since May 23. The terrorists, who are said to have ties with the extremist Islamic State, had launched attacks in the city, prompting Duterte to declare martial law in Mindanao.

Duterte previously said he was ready to recruit MNLF members and other former rebels to the military if the clashes in Marawi City drag on.

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News Story: Duterte invites Muslim rebels to join in fight against ISIS militants

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte

MANILA, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday invited Muslim rebels to join the Philippine military in the fight against ISIS militants.

In a speech before the troops in Mactan in Cebu City in the central Philippines, Duterte said that he has accepted the offer of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari to integrate some 2,000 to 3,000 MNLF fighters into the Armed Force of the Philippines to help crush the Maute group.

The government security forces are now fighting close to 200 to 250 Maute militants holed up in the southern Philippine city of Marawi. The group has pledged loyalty to the ISIS.

Fighting between the government troops and the Maute fighters broke out on May 23 when the militants tried to occupy Marawi in a bid to make it a caliphate for ISIS. The military said 120 militants, 30 civilians and 38 soldiers and policemen have been killed in the sporadic fighting.

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News Report: Swell of Philippine Violence Will Rally Support for President

President Rodrigo Duterte

Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI — A sudden surge of deadly violence in the ever restive Philippine southland is likely to further endear common people to once controversial President Rodrigo Duterte as they see the strife as fallout from his effort to resolve five decades of strife, experts and polls indicate.

Filipinos are accustomed to violence in the far southwest, including parts of the giant island Mindanao where troops have been fighting militants in the city of Marawi over the past week, leaving more than 100 dead, including 24 civilians.

But they resent that Mindanao has been left out of the Philippines’ overall quick economic development, partly because of security risks.

“This is not an easy fight. Our enemy is terrorism,” said Vice President Leni Robredo, who was elected separately from the president last year and often critical of his policy. “This is a time for us to unite,” she told reporters last week at the military’s headquarters. “This is the time we need to protect the security of our nation. This is not the time for divisiveness.”

News Story: Martial law shows Duterte's strong-arming, says analyst

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte

By Patricia Lourdes Viray

MANILA, Philippines — The declaration of martial law and the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in Mindanao represent President Rodrigo Duterte's "inevitable strong-arming," a political analyst said.

Erin Cook, who covers Southeast Asia politics, said in analysis released by a Sydney-based think tank that the siege in Marawi City the past week can also be regarded as the peak of heightening violence between government forces and ISIS-inspired militants.

"The declaration of martial law amid the bloody insurgency has found far more supporters than critics, and raises questions about the immediate future for the archipelago," Cook said in an article published by Lowy Institute for International Policy.

The clash between government forces and the Maute terror group started with the manhunt for Isnilon Hapilon, a former leader of both the Moro National Liberation Front and terror group Abu Sayyaf.

On May 23, Duterte declared martial law in the whole of Mindanao after members of Maute group seized Marawi City in direct retaliation for the so-called surgical strikes against them and Abu Sayyaf.

Such proclamation prompted Duterte to cut his visit to Russia as he immediately flies home to oversee the situation in Mindanao.

The last president to declare martial law was Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who did so in Maguindanao province on Dec. 4, 2009 in the aftermath of the Ampatuan massacre. Martial law was lifted in the province on Dec. 12, 2009.

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News Story: 5,000 MNLF fighters to help AFP

By Roel Pareño

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – President Duterte has accepted the offer of Moro National Liberation Front chief Nur Misuari to deploy MNLF fighters in Marawi City and help the military defeat the Maute terror group.

During a visit to wounded soldiers in Jolo on Saturday, Duterte urged the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)  and the New People’s Army (NPA) to do the same.

Duterte cited a letter that Misuari sent him, offering 5,000 MNLF fighters in the fight against the terrorists.

In the letter, Misuari said the Marawi incident is an opportunity for them to show their mettle in helping the President and the people restore peace in Mindanao, particularly in Marawi.

The President was considering a suggestion to enlist the MILF and MNLF fighters as well as the NPA in the fight against the Maute.

In return, the government will give the secessionist fighters and guerrillas pay and privileges similar to what the members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) receive.

“I am announcing to all forces of the MI, MN, if this conflict will take long and if you want to join, cast your lot with the Republic… I will take you in as soldiers, same privileges, and I will build houses for you in some areas,” Duterte said.

He called on the NPA rebels to leave their leaders who are waging conflict at the expense of civilians, to leave the ranks and join forces with the military in fighting the Islamic State terrorists.

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News Story: Duterte bestows ISIS status on Maute group

By Charmaine Deogracias

MANILA, Philippines — Before May 23, 2017, the band of bandits operating in the Lanao area called Maute Group was nothing but an armed network of clans with familial ties to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. But the Maute Group is now an international terrorist organization, thanks to President Rodrigo Duterte and his declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

What is referred to in military and police reports as a local group has now been renamed Maute ISIS. Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Eduardo Año on Friday said the AFP is considering classifying the group as an international terrorist organization.

So far, only the Abu Sayyaf and the New People's Army are the Philippine groups listed in the US Department of State roster of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Research conducted by VERA Files shows that before Mindanao was placed under martial law, police and military intelligence reports have already noted the diminishing strength of the Maute group and as well as its so-called vision to establish an Islamic State wilayah or province in Mindanao.

Both the AFP and the Philippine National Police have maintained that the group is a network of armed clans based in Lanao del Sur. They had relatives in the MILF and connections with local politicians, and maintained training and financial relations with the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiya.

But Maute had no established direct ties with the Islamic state of Iraq and Syria. Only when President Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao did Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana label the group Maute ISIS.

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News Story: DND - Reds won’t be targeted under martial law

New People’s Army (NPA) rebels

By Jaime Laude

MANILA, Philippines - Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana yesterday assured the communists that they are not included in the target list of the martial law implementation in Mindanao.

Lorenzana, as the designated martial law administrator, said the enforcement of military rule in Mindanao will not specifically target the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

“We would like to make it clear that in the implementation of martial law in Mindanao, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will not specifically target the New People’s Army as alleged by the National Democratic Front (NDF) chief consultant Jose Ma. Sison,” Lorenzana said.

He said the AFP will fully comply with the directives of the President that martial law was declared to address radical Islamic terrorism and narco-terrorism in Mindanao.

He said the military would conduct all its operations in accordance with the rule of law and respect for human rights.

Sison earlier slammed the declaration of martial law, saying that NPA rebels are key targets of the military operations in Mindanao.

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News Story: Foreign terrorists among killed in Marawi clash

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Soldiers {File Photo)

By AJ Bolando

MANILA, Philippines — Endorsing the idea that the attack in Marawi City was an "invasion," the government said on Friday that foreign terrorists were killed in the clash which has so far claimed 44 lives.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla said at a televised press briefing in Davao City that militants from neighboring countries in Southeast Asia region were among the fatalities in the the firefight since Tuesday.

"We are continuously verifying that there have been a number of them who have been killed," Padilla said.

"There is a certain information that we received which confirmed the killing of 12 members of this group and half of that are foreign terrorist Malaysians, Indonesians, and one other," he added.

At the same news conference, Solicitor General Jose Calida said he thinks the inclusion of foreign terrorists among the attackers fulfills one of the requirements in the Constitution to justify the declaration of martial law.

"What is happening in Mindanao is no longer a rebellion of Filipino citizens," Calida told reporters in Manila. "It has transmogrified into an invasion by foreign terrorists who heeded the clarion call of [the Islamic State]."

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News Story: Don’t complicate matters in Mindanao, CPP urged

New People's Army (NPA) "Soldiers"

By Mayen Jaymalin

MANILA, Philippines -  The government yesterday called on the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) to immediately recall its “senseless” order for an intensified offensive against the military. 

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, who is also chair of the government peace panel negotiating with the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF), said the CPP’s order for an intensified offensive could be interpreted as support for the terrorist activities of the Maute group in Marawi City.

“Lest it be construed as abetting the criminal and terror acts of Maute group and a gang of Moro bandits, we put the CPP to task to correct its error and recall its senseless order,” Bello said in a statement.

By opposing the declaration of martial law and ordering an intensified attack, Bello said the CPP showed lack of sincerity in the peace talks with the government.

Bello stressed that President Duterte’s declaration of martial law is not in any way intended to stamp out the CPP.

“The President, in no uncertain terms, categorically declared he was not after the New People’s Army (NPA). He, in fact, reiterated his keenness in pursuing peace,” Bello said.

He said the conditions that prompted the declaration of martial law were public knowledge.

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News Story: MILF, MNLF reaffirm commitment to peace process amid Marawi siege

By John Unson

LANAO DEL SUR, Philippines - The Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front reiterated Thursday their commitment to the peace process in the wake of the raging strife in Marawi City.

The two fronts also condemned the siege since Tuesday afternoon of several baragays in Marawi City by combined members of the Maute terror group and the Abu Sayyaf.

Al-Haj Murad Ibrahim, chairman of the MILF’s central committee, said they condemn the violent attacks in Marawi City by terrorists.

“There is no justification for launching an offensive against civilian populace and to destroy infrastructures and institutions serving the public,” he said in a signed press communiqué The STAR received on Thursday.

The MILF, which splintered from the MNLF in the early 1980s, has a current diplomatic overture with Malacanang, which began on January 7, 1997.

“The MILF stands in solidarity with the people of Marawi and Lanao del Sur,” Murad said.

He said MILF forces have been directed to help the government thwart attempts by terrorists to derail the peace in the local communities.

Murad said the MILF remain committed to the southern peace process, which aims to put a negotiated closure to the now four-decade Moro issue.

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News Story: Abu Sayyaf group sees cut in members - Philippine military

MANILA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- The Armed Forces of the Philippines Wednesday claimed to have reduced the strength of the Abu Sayyaf by about a half, from a high of 500 men, since January when the military waged an intensified campaign against the group.

"Before the campaign started in January this year, we started going after more than 500 Abu Sayyaf members," said Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, commander of the military's Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City.

Previous military estimates placed the strength of the Abu Sayyaf at about 300 to 400 men, mostly based in their bailiwick province of Sulu. The group is notorious for kidnapping, beheading and bombings.

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News Story: ‘No peace if NPA keeps attacking government forces’

President Duterte

By Edith Regalado and Alexis Romero

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – There will be no peace deal with the Communist Party of the Philippines-National Democratic Front (CPP-NDF) if its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA), continues to kill government troops, President Duterte has said. 

“For as long as they are killing government security forces I will not sign anything. There is nothing I can do about it. I have to protect my soldiers. I am the commander-in-chief,” Duterte said upon arrival at the Davao International Airport early yesterday morning.

The government and the CPP-NDF peace panels have yet to resume talks.

“Ayusin mo. Matagal na eh (Fix it. It’s taking too long),” the President told chief peace negotiator and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.

Duterte said his offer to CPP founder Jose Maria Sison remains and he guarantees the communist leader’s safety should he decide to come home.

“So my offer to Sison stands. He can come here in peace. I will guarantee safety and I will even underwrite his hospitalization. I will not arrest him,” the President said.

Duterte said Sison is sick and that instead of arresting him, he would arrange for his medical treatment.

It’s not right to pick a fight with people who are sick and helpless like Sison, he added.

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Related Story: Deal on socio-economic reforms needed to end hostilities with NPA

News Story: Duterte worried over Bangsamoro peace process

Philippines President Duterte

By Edith Regalado

DAVAO CITY , Philippines  – President Duterte admitted he is a bit worried that nothing will come out of the peace talks with both the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) seeking to bring lasting peace to the Bangsamoro areas. 

“Kaya pati ako, ‘di naman kinabahan (I’m not really bothered) but I’m a little bit worried that nothing will come out of this,” he told policemen of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao during a visit to their headquarters in Parang, Maguindanao Friday afternoon. 

Duterte explained that he has been talking to both the MILF and the MNLF to address their concerns and eventually come up with a comprehensive peace accord for all the concerned parties in the south. 

“I am talking to the MI pati (and) MN but apparently you’d notice nag-aagawan sila ng kampo ngayon (they are fighting over camps). So I’m at a loss even. I was very optimistic before but I’m a bit pessimistic now. He is keeping his silence, but he talks to me in private,” the President said, referring to MNLF chairman Nur Misuari.

The President said the concerns of the parties in the peace process in the south were legitimate grievances, which government is trying to resolve.

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