The fourth anniversary of the Marawi siege was last week on May 23rd. For some the day was a reminder that the government has failed in its promises to rebuild the city.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/05/23/2100287/most-promises-remain-unfulfilled-govt-pressed-marawi-rebuilding-4-years-siege |
A network of groups from Mindanao has pressed the government to fast-track the rebuilding of Marawi City, as it said many who were displaced by the Maute siege four years ago have yet to return home despite promises.
The battle between state forces and the Islamic State-inspired group stretched for four months in 2017. In its wake were 370,000 forced out of their homes, and a cost of damage at P11.5 billion.
In a joint statement, members of the Marawi Advocacy Accompaniment urged the Duterte administration to prioritize the return of internally displaced persons to their communities and compensate victims.
"Four years after the siege, most of the promises...remain unfulfilled," MAA said in a May 22 statement. "President Rodrigo Duterte's promise saying that Marawi will rise as a prosperous city again remains invisible and cannot be felt on the ground."
While buildings, roads and utilities have risen in the war-torn city, many residents have yet to secure building permits while others simply had no money, PCIJ also noted.
Despite this, officials remain confident that work will be completed by December 2021, a date that Housing Secretary Eduardo del Rosario told senators in September last year.
While buildings are being rebuilt the real problem is that many Maranaos are still living in temporary shelters or with relatives.
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https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/23/21/buildings-rise-4-years-after-marawi-siege-but-few-residents-are-allowed-to-go-back
Clearly there are major issues to be resolved in Marawi. Those who want to rebuild cannot because their papers are not in order. Some do not even own the land and the land has since been mortgaged out by relatives who do own it. Some projects such as the hospital and sewage treatment plant are still undergoing the procurement process. Yet the government is sure that the rehabilitation will be fully completed by December 2021. Or at least by the end of Duterte's term.  |
https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/05/24/21/duterte-marawi-seige-4th-anniversary
Malacañang on Monday expressed confidence that the war-torn southern city of Marawi would be "completely rebuilt" before President Rodrigo Duterte bows out of office next year.
"We have a year, roughly a year bago po matapos ang termino ng Presidente. And I think the target can be met that Marawi will be completely rebuilt at the end of the term of the President," he said in a press briefing.
(The President promised that Marawi would rise again within his term. We have roughly a year before the President's term ends.)
- The President also promised he would jet ski to the sparkly islands and plant the Philippine flag but recently said anyone who actually believed him is stupid. Who can believe Duterte?
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| https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/5/13/Anti-Terrorism-Council-terrorist-list.html |
The Anti-Terrorism Council has formally tagged as "terrorists" 29 individuals, including the founder and alleged leaders of the Communist Party of the Philippines.
The resolution was signed by Executive Secretary ATC Chairperson Salvador Medialdea and ATC Vice Chairperson Hermogenes Esperon on April 20 and published in a newspaper on Thursday.
The executive council has designated CPP founder Jose Maria "Joma" Sison and his wife Julieta Sison as terrorists. It also included National Democratic Front of the Philippines peace consultants Benito Tiamzon, Wilma Tiamzon, Rafael Baylosis, Vicente Ladlad, and 13 other alleged members of CPP's central committee.
It said the 19 personalities violated Sections 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
"Based on verified and validated information, the ATC found probable cause, as defined in the Anti-Terrorism Act, warranting the designation of the following central committee members of the CPP... for planning, preparing, facilitating, conspiring, and inciting the commission of terrorism and recruitment to and membership in a terrorist organization or a group organized for the purpose of engaging in terrorism" the resolution said.
ATC said the assets of listed individuals shall be subject to the authority of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, which can freeze their accounts without delay.
Joma, of course, brushed off this designation saying he is not scared of being put on such a list. But there is something odd about Joma and all the rest being designated terrorists and facing having their bank accounts frozen while actual NPA fighters and supporters who surrender are not designated terrorists and are actually given money from the government. Take these NPA fighters for instance.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141985 |
One soldier was wounded after a 10-minute firefight between government troops and New People's Army (NPA) rebels Sunday morning in Barangay Badas, Mati City, Davao Oriental.
Based on the report of the 10th Infantry Division (10ID), the Alpha Company of the 66th Infantry Battalion (66IB) was on board a military truck from Barangay Taguibo and headed to Banaybanay town when about 10 NPA Guerrilla Front 18 rebels ambushed them near Punta Tagawisan.
Lamosao said the 66IB immediately deployed more troops to hunt down the communist terrorist group.
Now, barring that the AFP does not catch up with these terrorists and obliterate them, they could surrender, avail of the E-CLIP program, and never face any sanctions for this act of terrorism. There is even one Rebel Returnee association which is registered with the SEC.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1141434 |
The Kalinga Rebel Returnees Association (KRRA), which was recently registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), sees the government standing side by side with them for a much better life in this province.
Marcelino Ibaña, chairman of the KRRA, said Monday they are confident that after years of seeking help, their situation will be better compared in the past under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte and thru the whole of nation approach that is embodied in Executive Order (EO) 70 that aims to end the local communist armed conflict (ELCAC).
KRRA has about 1,500 members.
He said their group was able to get recognition and was registered as an organization in government offices like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), as well as the provincial government, giving them a legal personality eligible to receive government aid.
“The government cannot give to an organization which has incomplete documents. The governor of Kalinga and the Sanggunian (Panlalawigan) saw the papers of KRRA and they approved us,” he said.
“With the help of the province, we have our papers now. We understand now how the government works and with our papers, we can already access assistance for our members who are former rebels, who returned to the fold of the law for a peaceful life,” Ibaña said in the Ilocano dialect.
Ibaña said their members have already received various trainings from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
They have also approached the Department of Agriculture (DA) for livelihood assistance in the form of farm equipment, among others.
Ibaña said DA-Cordillera regional director Cameron Odsey has committed to help them but said it will not be fully given yet considering the limited resources which have to be spread out to all other requests.
“We requested for livelihood, cows, carabaos, tractor for the field to help our members who have nothing after coming from the mountains,” Ibaña said.
He said they informally created their group in 2014 but did not receive government aid. It was only in 2021 when they received their SEC document after its filing in 2019.
That is a pretty crazy story. Rebels, terrorists actually, put down their arms and form a group which is registered with the SEC so they can avail of all kinds of government freebies. From shooting at the AFP to taking government largesse and without a single consequence for any of the 1,500 members. Out of those 1,500 how many AFP and PNP personnel did they kill collectively?
But there is more irony ahead. Hold on to your butts!
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1140800 |
The New People’s Army (NPA), and officials of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), collectively referred to as a Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) may be compelled to indemnify victims of their human rights abuses and atrocities in the number of billions, a spokesman for the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) said on Wednesday.
Undersecretary Severo Catura, Executive Director of the Presidential Human Rights Committee Secretariat (PHRCS), said under existing local and international laws, particularly the International Humanitarian Law (IHL), parties that are found guilty of such abuses and atrocities committed in a situation of internal armed conflict may be compelled by the courts to indemnify their victims.
Catura said it is high time that the CTGs be held accountable for their “spate of willful killings, their destruction of government and private property, their use of children as combatants, their internal purges, and their wanton disregard for human rights”.
“Already, the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) has submitted a list of CPP-NPA atrocities and the same shall be judiciously acted upon,” Catura said. "And we shall likewise refer the matter to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that has ably guided our Armed Forces in the strict observance of IHL in their line of duty.”
You can't talk about holding the CPP-NPA accountable for their crimes and then give away millions in cash, housing, and job training to those who surrender and treat them like nothing ever happened. That is madness, and yet that is exactly what is happening here.
The DND and AFP and all those in charge think the new anti-terrorism law will put an end to the insurgency. But right now this law is being challenged in the Supreme Court and it would appear that the SC has serious reservations about it.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1438431/sc-asks-govt-to-answer-terror-law-questions |
Is rebellion now considered a terror act? Does adhering to communism and fundamentalist Islamism make one a terrorist? How does a person who has been declared terrorist by the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) contest the designation if it was done without due process?
These are just some of the questions that the Supreme Court had ordered the government to answer as it moved to conclude its scrutiny of Republic Act No. 11479, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.
In a notice to the parties, the high tribunal directed the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) and the 37 groups challenging the anti-terror law to sum up their respective positions by submitting their final memoranda within a non-extendible period of 30 days.
“Are all advocacies related to communism and fundamentalist Islamism considered by [Esperon] and ATC to be forms of terrorism?” read one of the justices’ questions.
“Is mere belief in the merits of a communist socioeconomic system or in fundamentalist interpretations of Islam considered a terrorist act?” they asked.
They were also interested if Esperon would have the similar opinion on individuals “whose beliefs in capitalism or in Christianity may not be considered moderate.”
“How can the state assure that it will not come after dissidents or adherents of minority religious beliefs when membership by itself is a ground for prosecution under the [law]?” they added.
The 15-member tribunal asked the OSG to expound on the present state of terrorism in the country, the definition of terrorism under the new law, the role of the military in its implementation, and the authority of ATC in classifying groups and individuals as terrorists.
The OSG earlier admitted that the terror law did not specifically define actions that could be deemed as terrorist acts—a legal loophole—which the petitioners claimed would only lead to human rights abuses.
The high court likewise directed Esperon to back up his statement that the Philippines ranked 10th in the Global Terrorism Index and to explain if such classification “singled out” the effectiveness of an anti-terror law.
Moreover, it instructed the OSG to cite specific incidents that necessitated the repeal of the Human Security Act, which the magistrates described as “solely punitive.”
This line of questioning appears to show that the SC is not inclined to accept the anti-terror law as being constitutional. For one thing the OSG admitted that the law does not define terrorism! That is a pretty big admission from the government and opens the door to all manner of abuse. It's also interesting that the OSG has been asked to "cite specific incidents that necessitated the repeal of the Human Security Act." That is rather important as those advocating for the anti-terror law all claimed the HSA was broken and needed updating. Hopefully they wrap it up soon and the nation can get a verdict one way or the other.
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