For the past few weeks I have taken a look at the Philippines war on terror historically going over the failed techniques of the AFP which has resulted in a fifty year long insurgency. This week let's just look at some current events.
Remember when the AFP said they could go full bore against Abu Sayyaf now that there were no more hostages?
MILITARY operations are expected to further intensify in the province of Sulu following the arrival of more soldiers there and the death of the last remaining captive of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG).
The deployment of the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team (1st BCT) over the weekend has made Sulu as the most military saturated province in the country, given that the 11th Infantry Division (11th ID) has also been predeployed or based there.
“As of now, we are really saying there is no more [captive]. In the past, we have records but, without the proof of life, there is no more report [that] they are still there,” Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command Spokesman Col. Gerry Besana said.
Horn, who was snatched in Tawi-Tawi along with another foreigner in 2012, was the last remaining captive of the ASG in Sulu, according to Besana. More than a week ago, however, Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said that the ASG is still holding 11 captives, including the Dutch.
With the absence of any kidnap victims in the hands of the ASG, Besana said nothing will no longer hold the military from further intensifying its operations in Sulu in its effort to stop terrorism in the province.
That announcement was made on June 3rd. Shortly after the Abu Sayyaf
kidnapped some sea gypsies but let them go almost immediately because they are so poor no one would pay for their ransom. Now they have some real bonafide kidnap victims.
The family of one of three recently abducted Indonesians fishermen has received a ransom demand from their kidnappers.
Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah said according to their Philippines counterparts, the kidnappers had made the call a few days after the Sept 23 incident.
“But we were not told how much the kidnappers demanded in ransom, ” he said.
The kidnappers had urged the family to raise money to make payments as fast as possible, he added.
Seven heavily-armed kidnappers from the Philippines grabbed three Indonesian men from a Sandakan-registered fishing trawler in waters off Tambisan at about noon, on the day of the incident.
Meanwhile, on Oct 2, the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) has mobilised assets to key areas after Philippine intelligence reports indicated Abu Sayyaf-linked gunmen were on their way to kidnap high-value targets.
Esscom commander Datuk Huzani Ghazali said they are on high alert following the intelligence report on Sept 30.
The intelligence report indicated nine Abu Sayyaf gunmen left their Jolo stronghold and were heading towards Sabah’s Mataking and Pom Pom island in Semporna.
According to the reports, the group was targeting tourists and crew members of fishing vessels.
Abu Sayyaf kidnapped these three Indonesian fishermen on September 23rd. A week later intel was received that Abu Sayyaf was on their way to kidnap more and high-value targets. What is more high-value than a British businessman and his wife?
The Philippine military has created a task force to rescue a British man and his Filipino wife who were abducted from a beach resort in the country's troubled south, a spokesman said on Sunday (Oct 6).
Mr Allan Arthur Hyrons, 70, and Ms Wilma Paglinawan Hyrons, whose age was not known, were kidnapped on Friday from the resort they owned in Tukuran town in Zamboanga del Sur province.
The gunmen fled with the hostages in two motorised boats going in different directions, and it was not clear whether the couple were in one vessel or separated.
The military has "created a joint task force to effect the rescue of Allan and Wilma Hyrons", Major Arvin Encinas, a regional armed forces spokesman, told Manila radio station DZBB.
"We are looking into leads on their whereabouts," he added. "With the help of the community, by giving vital information, we hope to ensure that the couple are safe in the rescue operation."
Maj Encinas said the suspects' identities have not yet been determined, but noted that kidnap-for-ransom groups are active in the area.
There was so far no indication that the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group was behind the abduction, he added.
One would think this case was tragic but really it's just part of the large comedy that is the war on terror and the desperate attempt by the DOT to paint the region as being safe.
Alabado particularly mentioned Zamboanga which boasts its Intramuros-like forts and the pink beaches of Santa Cruz island.
“If you go to Zamboanga, I don’t think that it’s a troubled area. I go there for bird watching. If we have the Intramuros here, you should see the old forts that they have in Zamboanga. It’s a city where you would see the interplay of Muslim culture, the American heritage (and) the Spanish heritage,” Alabado told reporters
“I would encourage our Filipino tourists to visit Zamboanga and you would be pleasantly surprised at how nice the pink beaches of Santa Cruz Island,” he added.
Granted these two are not tourists. They are businessmen who have been in the area for a long time likely. They knew the risks. Did they get lazy? Why would a British man open up a resort in an area where foreigners are known to be kidnapped? The response from the Palace is absolutely hilarious in its callousness and aloofness.
The abduction of a British national and his Filipino wife in Zamboanga del Sur can still happen despite Mindanao being under martial law since “isolated cases” as such cannot always be avoided, Malacañang said Monday.
(Well sometimes that happens even if there’s martial law. Isolated cases as such sometimes can’t be avoided. Otherwise, there should have been more incidents like this.)
“There is only one incident lang naman eh. The PNP [Philippine National Police] there and the army can take care of that place,” Panelo said.
Panelo also advised tourists who plan to go to Zamboanga del Sur to “take care of themselves” and “avoid places where danger lurks.”
Major Encinas says kidnap-for-ransom groups are active in the area, Abu Sayyaf has kidnapped fishermen recently and foreigners visiting Zamboanga in the past, and Panelo calls this kidnapping an isolated incident which is a complete and utter lie. Just look at these search results from the day marital law was declared in May 2017 to December 2018.
And to top it all off Panelo does not warn tourists to stay away from the area but to just keep themselves safe and avoid places where danger lurks. At least
Duterte was honest enough to say avoid the area because danger lurks everywhere!
Elsewhere we read a little more about this story.
Police investigation found that a day prior to the abduction, two of the gunmen checked in as guests at the Hyrons' resort.
"And when the victims arrived at their resort Friday night, the suspects pointed a gun at and the two victims and forcefully pulled them and brought them to the other suspects waiting at the other side of the beach on board two motorized boats,” Galvez said.
Galvez said PRO9 and the military are coordinating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to assist in the interdiction of the suspects and the safe recovery of the victims.
https://www.philstar.com/nation/2019/10/05/1957567/gunmen-kidnap-british-businessman-filipina-wife-zamboanga-del-sur-resort
No group may have claimed responsibility but this kidnapping has all the hall marks of Abu Sayyaf. They have kidnapped quite a few tourists and foreigners in Zamboanga over the years. At 70 years old it is not likely Allan Hyrons will handle the stress of captivity for long. Maybe he will die in a botched rescue attempt? What a terrible way to spend your old age.
Interesting that now Philippine security forces, the PNP and the AFP, will be coordinating with the MILF to find these people. Not so unordinary though. If you want to catch a group of terrorists who better to ask then a group of terrorists? Make no mistake the MILF are a band of terrorists which adds to the hilarity of the situation of BIFF fighters killing 7 MILF fighters and the Philippine government vowing justice for those MILF fighters killed.
Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. on Monday said the government will exert all efforts to ensure justice will be served for the seven Moro Islamic Liberation Front members killed by an ISIS-linked local terror group.
ISIS-linked group Dawlah Islamiyah attacked an MILF camp near Shariff Saydona in Maguindanao last Friday, killing the seven former rebels. The Turayfe-Dawlah faction is a faction of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, which is opposed to the peace deal between the government and the MILF.
As the Philippine government conveyed its condolences to the families of the slain MILF members, Galvez also said the government will assist the kin of the slain former rebels in every way possible.
"We will exert all efforts to make sure that justice will be served to the perpetrators of this dastardly act," Galvez said in a statement.
The Cabinet member also pointed out that the government recognizes the gallantry of the slain MILF combatants as they fought against the local terror group.
"For us, they are heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice so that their people can live in peace," the presidential adviser said.
From terrorists to heroes who have fought gallantly against the BIFF. How disgusting is that? What about the SAF 44 who were slain and who's corpses were mutilated by MILF terrorists? They will never see justice yet the government assures justice for these MILF terrorists. Just think how backwards that is. Or better yet just laugh!
The MILF via the Bangasmoro parliament have their hands full. Along with attempting to form a working government they have also formed a committee to investigate the Marawi rehabilitation.
The special committee created under Resolution No. 122, will gather data and monitor the status of the recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation efforts planned and implemented for Marawi City.
The committee is also tasked with recommending actions that the Bangsamoro regional government should take.
Seeing as the Philippine government is in charge of rebuilding the city of Marawi what actions could the Bangsamoro government take? Rebuilding is slow and way behind schedule. Senator Imee Marcos says there will be further delays.
Neophyte Senator Imee R. Marcos said on Thursday the rehabilitation of battle-scarred Marawi city faces further delay unless the government works out a plan to speed up the titling of lands for the city’s displaced residents.
Marcos pressed defense officials for a comprehensive plan beyond clearing Marawi of unexploded ordinances (UXOs) and debris by the end of October, two months past the August 30 deadline.
The problem of issuing proper land titles causing delay in the Marawi siege is part of a much larger issue which is that most land ownership in the area is based on ancestral claims. From a privilege speech delivered by Lanao del Sur 1st district Rep. Ansaruddin Adiong at the House of Representatives on 11 December 2017 we read the following.
Mr. Speaker and honorable colleagues, adding to the internally displaced persons fear and suffering is the thought that they have no land that they could really claim their own. Many IDPs have openly and exclusively possessed their residential lots prior to 1953 but they do not hold/ titles to them. Of the Marawi City’s total land area of 8,396 hectares, 6,625 hectares was reserved for military purposes. On Dcember 23, 1953, then President Elpidio Quirino issued Proclamation 453, series of 1953, reserving for military purposes a portion of the public domain situated in the city of Dansalan (now Marawi City), island of Mindanao.
https://www.mindanews.com/mindaviews/2017/12/privilege-speech-marawi-city-is-our-ancestral-land-which-our-forefathers-have-fought-for-since-time-immemorial/
Last year when the issue began coming to light and Marawi refugees started to realise they won't be getting free government housing anytime soon because they do not have land titles and the lawful ownership of the land ancestral domain was invoked as a legitimate way to claim the land.
“With Muslims, if the house that you live in is from your ancestors, it is also yours, even without titles,” she added.
Dr Potre Dirampatan-Diampuan, senior interfaith representative for the Philippines at United Religious Initiative and a Maranao herself, shared that her family too is burdened by the issue of land ownership as their ancestral house in Marawi, built since 1948, was also inherited without formal titles.
“I know very well who lives on the house on my left, and on my right because their houses were also just as old as ours. Is that not a guarantee? That I know who has lived there? And they know who lives in mine? Can’t we use that?” Diampuan asked.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2018/05/martial-law-forever.html
Whatever plans the government comes up with for speeding up the issuance of land titles will be worthless to people have no way to claim their land. No proof of ownership, no land title. Ancestral claims is no proof.
While land titles are a huge problem what will set back the Marawi rehab even more is the delay in clearing operations.
The military said that about 40 unexploded bombs still needed to be recovered from underneath the rubble of this war-ravaged city, which was still being cleared of debris almost two years after it was freed from the hands of Islamic State (IS)-linked militants.
Oamil revealed that based on information provided by the Air Force, some 70 bombs were recorded to be unexploded. Some 28 of these were already recovered since debris clearing started last March under a private contractor.
Apart from bombs, the once urban war zone is also littered with unexploded grenades, mortar and artillery shells, and improvised explosive devices.
Oamil said many of the remaining large bombs have already been located but it would take time to dig pits to expose parts of these for purposes of detonation.
40 unexploded bombs need to be recovered? 40!? That's amazing because in August the AFP said only 30 more bombs needed to be recovered.
Authorities estimated that 30 more bombs were needed to be recovered to ensure the safety of teams conducting clearing operations and to avoid problems in rebuilding work.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2019/08/martial-law-tit-for-tat.html
Where did those 10 extra bombs come from? What a mystery! 40 bombs coupled with unexploded grenades, IEDs, and mortar shells lying about means the work will only take longer than expected. There is no way the area will be cleared in just a few weeks with reconstruction starting in December.
The rebuilding of war-ruined sections of Marawi will be delayed until December, after the military finishes clearing the southern city of unexploded ordnance left over from a 2017 battle with Islamic State-linked militants, an official in charge of reconstruction said.
Apart from unexploded bombs, the delay in reconstruction is also being caused by a reluctance among homeowners to allow army engineers to demolish their badly damaged structures, he said.
Del Rosario, who arrived here to inform residents at one relocation site, said he expected the government’s search for unexploded ordnance (UXOs) and the demolition of the ruined buildings to finally be completed before early November.
“I was told that all the debris and unexploded ordnance will be cleared by late October,” del Rosario said Thursday.
https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2019/08/martial-law-mnlf-region.html
Nothing is ever what it seems in the Philippines. Take this Swedish man who was arrested for his involvement in the recent bombing in Isulan.
A special investigation body formed by the Police Regional Office (PRO-12) on Thursday has filed charges of multiple frustrated murder before the Provincial Prosecutor's Office against seven suspects linked to the Sept. 7 bombing in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat.
He said five of the suspects were suspected to be sympathizers or members of the Islamic State-linked Dawlah Islamiya group.
He identified the four suspects nabbed in Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat on Sept. 23 as Normia Antao Camsa, Norshiya Joven Camsa, Abedin Camsa alias “Beds,” and the Swedish national, Hassan Akgun. Guns, bullets and improvised bombs, including a black ISIS flag, were seized from them.
Wow a Swedish national involving himself in the global jihad in the Philippines. But wait is he really he Swedish? If the name Hassan is not enough to tip you off here is his mugshot.
There has never been a better time to use this meme:
