Things are preceding the same as ever as far as battling the insurgency goes. NPA soldiers and supporters continue to surrender to the AFP.
At least 28 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels surrendered to military authorities in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, officials said Friday.
Antipala said the NPA surrenderers, under the NPA’s Western Mindanao Regional Party Committee (WMRPC), used to operate in Zamboanga Peninsula provinces and Misamis Occidental. They turned over seven firearms and explosives.
Col. Leonel Nicolas, the Army’s 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, promised to enroll the 28 NPA surrenderers to the government's Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).
Diane (not her real name), one of the surrenderers, said she was deceived by his NPA recruiter who assured her that her family would receive financial support while she fought in the mountains.
"But the finances they’ve promised were not able to reach our family,” Diane said in the dialect.
The surrender ceremony was also attended by Zamboanga del Norte Vice Gov. Senen Angeles, Dennis Baguio, a representative of Zamboanga Sibugay Gov. Wilter Yap Palma, and officials of the Department of Labor and Employment, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, police, and battalion commanders under the Army's 102nd Infantry Brigade.
Diane (not her real name) and her fellow NPA fighters will be getting plenty of money for their family now along with education and training and housing and whatever else the government gives them. It's funny how there is always a surrendering ceremony with NPA fighter shaking the hands of their former enemies. Funny also how all the government and military authorities are always wearing huge medallions at these surrender ceremonies. Gotta put on a big show for the public though. 28 fighters surrendering is good but a small number compared to the the group who surrendered in Central and Northern Luzon.
At least 1,003 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels and supporters have voluntarily surrendered to the different field units of the army’s 7th Infantry Division operating in the provinces of Central and Northern Luzon for calendar year 2019.
Major Lenard T. General Agustin, the commander of the army’s 7th Infantry Division based in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, cited the implementation of the ‘Whole of Nation Approach’ to end the local communist armed conflict (ELCAC) as the main reason for the voluntary surrender of these insurgents in their area of responsibilities.
“The collaborations between and among the national government agencies (NGAs) and the local government units (LGUs) as mandated by Executive Order 70 have played an active role for the end of insurgency in Central and Northern Luzon,” he said.
“The surrender of the 1,003 NPA rebels and supporters to our operating units in our areas of jurisdiction is a clear manifestation of the positive impact of the EO 70 in Northern and Central Luzon,” he said.
Upon their surrender, the rebels and their supporters were immediately assessed whether they were qualified or not to receive the benefits under the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (ECLIP).
Under the ECLIP, Gutierrez said the firearms remuneration starts at Php12,500.00 for Caliber .22 and as high as Php214,000.00 for Light M60 Machine Gun.
That's a lot of money. But how many of these surrenderees were actual NPA fighters? No matter. They will still be able to qualify for training. Maybe they could learn how to weld.
At least 15 government militiamen and former communist rebels recently earned their National Certificates I and II (NC I and II) for completing the shielded metal arc welding training.
During the distribution of certificates, Punsalan said the government militiamen and the former NPA rebels were thankful for the opportunities given to them by the government with the support of the private sector.
“That was the first time they experienced graduation since they have not gone to school, while others only finished certain levels of education,” Punsalan said.
Imagine if the government provided this kind of training for anyone who wanted it and not just for terrorists? Funny that this is supposed to be a picture of an arc welding class and no one is wearing a welding helmet.
BIFF fighters continue to surrender too. It seems they are "exhausted" and "tired."
Saying they are exhausted from running away from military authorities and at the same time convinced by their former comrades to take the path of peace, a dozen members of Daesh-inspired Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) yielded to the Army on Tuesday.
The BIFF surrenderers turned over assorted firearms, including two homemade .50-caliber sniper rifles, in a ceremony held at the Sultan sa Barongis town hall and attended by Sultan sa Barongis Mayor Alfizzar Allan Datu Angas Sr.
Sixteen members of the Islamic State-linked Bangasamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) surrendered to military authorities in Maguindanao in the last two days, military officials said over the weekend.
BIFF field commander Wazre Kompas told military officials his group had been tired of fighting the government and running away from air and ground attacks of government forces.
“We have high hopes in BARMM and its new leaders,” Kompas said in the vernacular.
"High hopes in BARMM." It seems everyone has those same hopes. The world cheered the creation of the BARMM as a step forward to peace in the Philippines. But the BARMM, like any fledgling nation (and yes it is practically a nation), needs investments from abroad to create jobs and economic opportunities.
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Chief Minister Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said Malaysia is included in the Php4.153 billion investments his region secured last year.
He said among the other countries are China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and neighbouring Indonesia.
“BARMM is open for business. We want investors to come and create jobs and income to help us attain our goal of sustainable development and inclusive growth,” Ebrahim said
With the participation of these countries, he said BBARMM is expecting more influx of foreign investors this year to further spur its economy.
Ebrahim said his trip to Ankara from Dec 11-16 was official and he obtained permission from the Office of the President.
“Under the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law), there are provisions allowing us to directly engage with foreign investors and countries with diplomatic relations with the Philippines,” he said.
Any people that cannot create their own economy is doomed to failure. Saudi Arabia is a strange choice to have as investment partner in the BARMM but the Palace is pressing for them to join in and spread the wealth.
Development efforts in the BARMM were among the topics discussed when Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs Robert Borje paid a courtesy call on Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud in Riyadh on Monday.
“With the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Borje asked the Saudi Arabian government to extend assistance for the development of the region,” a MalacaƱang statement issued yesterday said.
“Under President Duterte’s Build Build Build program, Saudi Arabian companies could invest in the Philippines, particularly in Mindanao,“ the statement said.
Saudi Arabia has expressed readiness to contribute to the development of the BARMM, it added.
“Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia is pleased with the progress of the Mindanao peace efforts and expressed the kingdom’s willingness to help. He assured the Philippine official that Saudi Arabia would contribute to BARMM’s development,” the statement read.
Anyone who knows Saudi Arabia knows this is a bad idea. Saudi Arabia is a state sponsor of terrorism. It is the birthplace of Wahhabism and Salafism which are the most violent forms of Islam. And besides all that Saudi Arabia supports ISIS.
Judging by a 2014 email purportedly written by Hillary Clinton to John Podesta, her current campaign chairman, and published by WikiLeaks, there have been serious tensions over Saudi Arabia’s role in the Syria conflict as well. In the midst of a nine-point overview of U.S. strategy in the Middle East, Clinton wrote:
“… we need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region.”
Clinton’s private comments differ from the public line taken by members of the Obama administration. Speaking at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, John Brennan, the director of the CIA, recently called the Saudis “among our very best counterterrorism partners globally.” Last month, Obama, who long ago referred to Saudi Arabia as a “so-called” ally, acted to protect the Saudi government from litigation by vetoing the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which would allow 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi government for damages in U.S. federal court. Congress overturned Obama’s veto, leaving the door open for Saudi Arabia to be named as a defendant in future lawsuits.
Why would any sane person invite the Saudis to finance the BARMM? Such is the perfect cover for other nefarious activities like spreading violent extremist ideology.
The MNLF are happy about the way the GPH is handling the peace process.
Around 2,000 members of the Moro National Liberation Front in this province met here last week to thank the government for taking steps to fulfill the remaining commitments under the 1996 Final Peace Agreement signed between the government and the MNLF.
They also vowed to continue supporting the Duterte Administration’s Peace and Development Agenda.
“President Rodrigo Duterte and I have met at least 16 times already, and I am impressed by the dedication of our President to fast-track the implementation of the peace agreement.”
MNLF Founding Chairman Nur Misuari told the MNLF members gathered inside Camp Astanah Bud Nagha in this town on Friday.
“In our meeting I asked him: ‘Brother President, can we fast-track the peace process to ensure the full implementation of government commitments during your time?’ The President replied: ‘I understand your concern. I, myself, want to fast-track the peace initiative to achieve long-lasting peace in Mindanao during my term,’” Misuari shared.
Responding to the President’s acts of goodwill, Misuari vowed to secure the full support of OIC member-countries to ensure the completion of the remaining deliverables contained in the Tripartite Review Process of the 1996 peace accord.
“I am appealing to all members of the MNLF to support the initiatives of the government [to ensure the full] implementation of the 1996 peace agreement,” he told his comrades during the gathering.
Based on the results of the TRP, two commitments have yet to be complied with on the side of the Philippine government.
These include the establishment of the Bangsamoro Development Assistance Fund and the creation of the Tripartite Implementation Monitoring Committee.
The TRP, which was jointly carried out by the government, MNLF and OIC, was concluded in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in January 2016.
Galvez said the President expects to see “substantial results” in the implementation of the remaining commitments under the GPH-MNLF peace agreement within the first quarter of this year.
“The main commitment of President Duterte is to bring peace in the Bangsamoro homeland,” he said.
As a former official of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Galvez was assigned in Sulu in early 2000. His stint in the province allowed him to see the ugly face of war which brought untold suffering to the people and claimed the lives of his men.
This situation, he said, must come to an end.
“I lost many of my soldiers here. It’s about time to change the condition of Sulu through peace and progress,” Galvez said.
“And every time the President learns about people being killed because of this so-called cycle of violence, he is hurt,” he added.
With the abolition of the ARMM it is not clear how any of the provisions in the TRP will be able to be implemented. The establishment of the BARRM and dismantling of the ARMM would seem to be a repudiation of the TRP. But Duterte has also promised to establish a new area in Sulu just for the MNLF. We shall see how that turns out.
