It's the last month of the year which means it's time to assess how the year has progressed. The AFP says local terrorist groups have diminished greatly in 2021 because of their left-right hand approach.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/813420/afp-local-terrorist-groups-diminished-by-left-right-hand-approach/story/ |
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said on Sunday that local terrorist groups were "greatly diminished" this year after the left-and-right-hand approach was used against them.
In a SuperRadyo dzBB interview, AFP spokesperson Army Col. Ramon Zagala said that these dimished groups were the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), Daulah Islamiya (DI), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), and Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
(These are greatly diminished. In fact, their Amir, Salahudin Hasan, was killed this October 29 in Talayan, Maguindanao. Last December 2, the new Amir, Asim Karinda, also known as Abu Azim, was also killed in Mamasapano by the 6th Infantry Battalion.)
Zagala noted that a maintenance mechanism must be implemented in these terrorist-cleared areas as armed groups usually take advantage of discontentment and chaos to recruit more people. He said that it was important to help these communities so they would not be vulnerable to terrorism anew through the help of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC).
(Again, we had a left-and-right-hand approach, not just purely military operations but services to the areas where they operate. Right now, we are making programs countering extremism and radicalization so we can maintain peace in these areas.)
He added that the attacks of these local terrorist groups and the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) on development projects and infrastructure had also lessened due to the protection planning program of the AFP and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
(NTF-ELCAC’s whole nation approach greatly helped. Honestly, we could say that their left-hand approach is one of our key successes because they help prevent the group’s increase in members, their core competencies, their recruitment, and collection.)
The diminishment of the NPA is certainly a good thing whether through having them surrender or killing them in combat operations.
A new man has been appointed AFP Chief. Guess what he has vowed to do. The same thing every AFP Chief vows to do, try to stop the NPA before the current President's term.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1525778/new-army-chief-vows-to-crush-npa-within-remaining-time-of-duterte |
Saying the goal is an urgent one, Maj. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. has vowed to focus on crushing the communist New People’s Army (NPA) during his stint as Army chief, especially in the remaining time of President Duterte in power.
Brawner told SMNI News Network in an interview Wednesday that it was urgent to end the NPA so that by the time a new leadership in the country takes over after the 2022 elections, “they will no longer have a problem with the local communist armed conflict.”
“With a new administration, there will already be sustained and unhampered progress in our country,” he added.
It's the same claim every AFP Chief has made for the past two decades at least.
The anti-terror law is the AFP's shiny new tool to fight the insurgency. This week the Supreme Court finally issued a ruling on its constitutionality. Only two very tiny provisions were found to be unconstitutional. The rest of the law remains intact. The government says this is a win while those who challenged it see a scary future.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/12/10/2147054/future-scary-and-depressing-sc-upholding-anti-terrorism-law-lawyers |
The future is "scary and depressing" with the Supreme Court upholding most of the feared Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, in a vote that in no way gave a win to the petitioners or to Filipinos, lawyers said.
A day after the SC made public its historic vote on the 37 petitions questioning the anti-terrorism law that struck down just two parts of the measure, lawyers asserted that the ATA will not be left unchallenged.
The SC struck down the “killer” qualifier in the proviso on acts defining terrorism that petitioners said upheld that activism and protesting is not a crime. The second method of designation, or the adoption of the United Nations Security Council criteria on designated terrorists, was also declared unconstitutional.
Lawyer Evalyn Ursua, counsel for journalists and artists petitioners, said the ruling was not a win. The two parts of the law that the SC struck down will not curb abuses, since the "extraordinary powers" of the Anti-Terrorism Council remains.
"If we will compare [these] two provisions, these are worthless because the absolute power of the ATC, which acts like a court and acts like it is higher than the courts, remains," she added in Filipino.
Lawyer Virginia Suarez echoed the sentiment. "Amid the volume of our arguments, in the huge number of petitioners, it’s like we’re all mistaken in giving all those arguments to be given only two [provisions struck down," she said in the same virtual press conference.
The ATC has the power to designate terrorists upon finding of probable cause, which would trigger the freezing of subjects' assets. The Council’s written authority would also allow law enforcers to detain suspected terrorists for up to 24 days.
Ursua said the future is scary and depressing. "We were hoping the Supreme Court to protect us, to protect human rights, to protect our constitutional rights, to protect people," she lamented in Filipino.
"Under the decision of the SC, we do not have protection when it comes to human rights. Under this decision, we can expect the abuses of our authorities will continue," she added.
Ursua’s clients, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, said they have stood witness to the "abuse of overzealous law enforcers, either from covering it, or from experiencing it ourselves."
"The striking down of the caveat on political dissent offers no consolation in the context of continuous and intensifying attacks on the Philippine media," they added.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1523508/agusan-court-junks-charges-vs-17-activists |
A court in Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur, has junked charges of destructive arson, kidnapping and robbery with violence against or intimidation of persons filed against 17 activists for their alleged involvement in a 2018 attack by the New People’s Army (NPA) on a military patrol base in Sibagat town of the province.
In trashing the cases, Judge Fernando Fudalan of the Bayugan City Regional Trial Court Branch 7 also quashed the John Doe warrants that were used to arrest the activists saying these did not contain specific identifying information of the accused such as occupation, appearance and exact place of residence.
“The dismissal of Sibagat cases based on John Doe warrants and the inordinate delay of proceedings highlight the triumph of truth and justice over the practice of the state of silencing dissent by filing trumped-up charges against activists and rights advocates,” Musni said.
These 17 people were lucky to have made it out of the situation when they were arrested. Others were not so lucky.
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| https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/12/01/2145018/first-murder-rap-readied-vs-law-enforcers-over-bloody-sunday-raids |
The task force investigating politically-motivated killings is set to file murder complaints over the killing of activist Manny Asuncion, the first criminal rap to be filed against law enforcers following the probe into the "Bloody Sunday" raids in March.
“In the case of the death of Emmanuel Asuncion, the [Administrative Order 35] Special Investigating Team has recommended the filing of murder [raps] against certain law enforcement agents involved in the incident,” Guevarra said Wednesday.
Forensic pathologist Racquel Fortun, who performed an autopsy on Asuncion’s body, earlier said they found three gunshot wounds in the anterior chest of Asuncion.
The forensic expert said in July that the autopsy examinations that she did showed that the nine activists were all shot in the chest, and were "shot to be killed."
"Each case deserves a homicide investigation," she also said, adding that the cases were all of "violent deaths."
Nine activists were shot to be killed in the March 2020 Bloody Sunday raids. But they weren't only shot to be killed. The corpses were altered.
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| https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1457066/autopsy-on-bloody-sunday-victims-reveals-9-activists-really-shot-to-be-killed |
The nine activists targeted by simultaneous police and military operations last March in Calabarzon were “really shot to be killed” by the raiders, Dr. Raquel Fortun, a forensic pathologist from the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Medicine said Wednesday.
The nine bodies from the Bloody Sunday raids were taken to the UP College of Medicine for examination upon the request of family members and human rights activists.
Last March 7, police and military units conducted simultaneous raids in Southern Tagalog based on search warrants issued by Metropolitan Manila courts. Authorities said the nine fought back and were killed.
“All of them have shots in the chest. They were really shot to be killed,” Fortun said at a press conference.
Although it was an advantage that they could see the nine bodies, she said conducting the examination was not easy.
“This is the ultimate forensic pathology challenge,” she said.
She said, the gunshot wounds, bullet holes were altered and sutured while organs of some of the bodies were already taken out and randomly cut.
Fortun added that they also requested the victims’ clothes, “but unfortunately only two cases have clothes submitted with the body.”
“The other seven, we have no idea what happened to the clothes,” she said as she explained that the clothes are another documentation to determine what happened to the activists.
So, who altered the corpses? Who removed the clothes? Who removed the organs? Either the PNP or AFP course. Who else would do that?
Last week I looked at the number of alleged NPA surrenderers since 2016. The number was 5,262 which is not a believable figure because it would mean 5,000 both joined the NPA and surrendered to the AFP in the space of five years. The total number of surrenderers was 20,579. The CPP has written an article about alleged surrender drives which take place in the mountains.
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| https://cppangbayan.wordpress.com/2021/12/07/burdensome-surrender-drive-in-sorsogon/ |
Ordinary civilians in Sorsogon could not live peacefully as the 31st IB, 22nd IB, 93rd Civil Military Operations (CMO) Company and police forces repeatedly coerce them to “surrender” under the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP).
The most recent victims include residents of barangays San Jose and San Isidro in the town of Bulusan; Barangay San Ramon in Barcelona; and Barangay Bitan-o in Sorsogon City. In recent months, the military repeatedly coerced the residents to “surrender” as supporters of the New People’s Army (NPA).
Manoy Rike was among the victims of forced surrenders in these villages. He works as a porter and carries products from farms to a nearby road. He earns ₱500 daily, which he uses to make ends meet for his family. When the military began its forced surrender campaign in their village, he lost more than his income.
Barrios that are under RCSP operations are subjected to military rule. Red-tagging, threat, harassment and intimidation against those accused of being supporters of the armed movement are rampant in these villages. Manoy Rike was summoned by the military to “clear” his name. Each round of interrogation lasts about six hours. This is aside from time wasted during the “surrender” day itself. Based on his estimates, he could have earned around ₱1,500-₱2,000 had he not been disturbed by the military.
On top of this, he loses more than ₱3,500 during RSCP operations in the barrio which usually last one week. “I could not go to the land I lease because soldiers might gang up on me alone in the farm. I could not feed the carabaos and cows, and could not visit other barrios,” he complained. “If I fail to appear before them, they will go to my family and harass them.”
“This is why residents opt not to go out of their houses during these operations in the barrio,” said Manoy Rike. Interrogations are conducted daily in villages subjected to RCSP. Other residents are summoned to the barangay hall or military camp up to three times daily. They are made to sign documents without being informed what these are for, and their pictures taken. The intimidation campaign culminates in an assembly where residents are made to take their “oath of allegiance” to the state, and admit that they are “NPA supporters.” The victims have repeatedly complained to the mayor of Barcelona and other local officials. The youth of Barangay Bitan-o complained that residents are being harassed and coerced by the 93rd CMO to falsely identify their neighbors as “NPA supporters.” But since local governments are dominated by Duterte’s National Task Force (NTF)-Elcac, they cannot act to address the complaints of their constituents. The 93rd CMO usually connives with the local media to whitewash its atrocity.
Although afraid, Manoy Rike is filled with anger. “By harassing us and disrupting our lives, soldiers only prove themselves to be depraved people. They are Duterte’s attack dogs who do not care about us who are poor. They do not care about the huge losses we suffer when they are here. How will I be able to pay for the cabinet which I bought on credit if I am not able to work for several days?”
More about the RCSP can be read here. There is no word in this article about the money given to those who surrender which is kind of odd since the AFP claims to have given millions in cash, housing, and jobs to surrenderers. Despite that omission this claim that the AFP forces people who have no association with the CPP-NPA to surrender is not a claim that will die easy. Remember when the AFP doctored a photo of alleged surrenderers back in 2019?
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