MNLF Rebels Hold Philippine Forces at Bay

Filipino rebels have held scores of hostages as human shields in a two-day standoff with government forces. Since Monday, fighting has virtually shut down a southern port city. 

Troops have surrounded 200 Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) guerrillas and their roughly 180 hostages in four coastal villages near Zamboanga since the fighting began Monday. The conflict has displaced about 1,500 residents of the mainly Muslim districts near the city, including women and children forced to spend the night sleeping on the floor of crowded gyms after fleeing. At least eight combatants have been killed and 24 wounded.

"The primary mission of the government now is clear: do everything possible to convince the armed MNLF group to free all the captive residents they are using as a 'human shield' against military and police operations," Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said. He added that government forces would now focus on "saving as many lives as possible."

The MNLF's 42-year rebellion has claimed 150,000 lives. The group signed an accord with the government in 1996, but retained its weapons and has accused officials of reneging on promises of an autonomous region for Muslims in the Mindanao region of the largely Catholic nation. Last month, the MNLF issued new threats to secede by establishing its own republic.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala said government forces discovered in advance a planned attack in Zamboanga - a city of around 800,000 - and positioned themselves offensively to deter that. Navy spokesman Lieutenant-Commander Gregory Fabic said commandos had killed seven rebels as they marched into the city, though the sea battle also led to the death of one soldier.

President Benigno Aquino III said his government would make hostage safety a top priority. He has deployed top Cabinet officials and his military chief of staff to oversee the situation.

MNLF vs. MILF
 
MNLF rebels have felt excluded after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which split in 1978, successfully engaged the government in talks brokered by Malaysia. Monday's attack came as the government prepared to resume negotiations Tuesday.

"We condemn acts of violence perpetrated by spoilers out to derail the people's journey to a just and lasting peace," said presidential adviser Teresita Deles, who has helped to oversee negotiations with the MILF. "How can you demand to hoist your flag in the name of peace while brazenly bearing arms and hurting innocent civilians?" Deles added.

The MNLF rebels have given no indication as to whether they would engage in talks or what they intend to do next.

"Our forces will stay where they are," MNLF spokesman Emmanuel Fontanilla told DZMM radio "They are on a defensive posture."

The 11,000-strong MILF has made substantial progress toward a new autonomy deal for Muslims in the peace talks with the government. The latest round of those talks resumed Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

mkg/ph (Reuters, AFP, AP)

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Philippines: Muslim rebels in Zamboanga conflict

By: Deutsche Welle TV, Germany

Protect The Media

Re-published Editorial from Mindanao Daily Mirror, September 6, 2013, with friendly permission of my publisher and editor-in-chief Marietta Songco.

"The attacks on the media in the Philippines continue unabated, with a radio broadcaster getting shot dead in Iligan City last week and two Davao City media executives getting convicted of libel also last week. These two may seem to be very different cases, and in many ways they are: one was a violent crime, while the other was a long drawn-out case. But the net effect is the same: media practitioners know they live under a sword that could fall on their heads any time, in one way or another.

What confounds the media community is how indifferent government has been  to its plights. Almost three decades have passed since the 1986 People Power revolution that supposedly brought democracy back to the country, and yet here we are, a media industry constantly under threat of being killed, arrested, jailed, imprisoned. 

Of the roughly 200 journalists killed since 1986, more than 130 were murdered in the time of their duty. Most of the killers have gone scot-free, and practically all masterminds have never been arrested. Five presidents have taken residence in Malacanang, but none of them have taken concrete steps to protect the media.

As for libel, government has shown no inclination to decriminalize it, making the Philippines one of a very countries where one can go to prison for expressing oneself. Freedom of expression is enshrined in our Constitution, but as long as libel is a criminal offense, we will be merely paying lip services to it. Every single journalist lives with the thought that he or she could go to prison  for something he or she wrote or said on air, and that can have profound effects on how the truth is reported. Under threat of libel, explosive stories can have a way of disappearing from view, neer to be seen to the public.

The Aquino adminstration styles itself as the one that is walking the straight and narrow path, but it has a ling way to go to prove its commitment by way of protecting the media. Without free media, good government is nothing but fiction."

Philippine Newspaper Editor Killed

Vergel Bico, 41, who edited weekly paper, is second journalist to be killed in a week in Philippines.

Nearly 160 journalists have been killed since 1986, according to the National Union of Journalists. Photograph: Pat Roque/AP
 
A Philippine newspaper editor who recently wrote about illegal gambling has been killed – the second journalist to be murdered in the country in a week, police say.

Vergel Bico was shot twice in the head on Wednesday as he rode his motorcycle in Calapan City in Mindoro Oriental province. The gunman fled on a motorcycle, which was driven by another man.

The police chief D'Artagnan Katalbas said the motive was not yet known but investigators were not ruling out the possibility that the killing was related to Bico's work as a journalist. "We are looking at suspected guns for hire here," Katalbas said.

Bico, 41, was editor of the weekly Kalahi newspaper in Calapan, about 75 miles south of Manila.

Ronald Bula, publisher of the Bandera Pilipino weekly, where Bico worked as a columnist for two years before leaving last October, said Bico had recently written about illegal gambling in another Mindoro town.

Last week, the radio commentator Fernando Solijon was shot dead by a motorcycle-riding assailant in southern Iligan City.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said Solijon had criticised local politicians on his programme and linked a village chief to illegal drugs.

Nearly 160 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since the fall of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986, the union said.

By:

Associated Press Manila

Woman Tied to Philippine Graft Scandal Surrenders

A wealthy businesswoman at the center of a corruption scandal has surrendered to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III three days after a large protest in Manila to condemn large-scale graft allegations in a country long mired in poverty.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said he fetched Janet Lim-Napoles, accompanied by her lawyer, late Wednesday in a cemetery. She was then brought to the Malacanang presidential palace to briefly meet Aquino before she was turned over to police. Her lawyer said she had received death threats and wanted to be assured of her safety.

Napoles has been accused of illegally detaining a former aide who accused her of stealing huge amounts of government development funds, derisively called pork-barrel funds, in conspiracy with powerful lawmakers. She has denied any wrongdoing but was ordered arrested by authorities, with Aquino announcing a 10 million peso ($227,000) bounty for her capture.

Philippine media reports of her lavish lifestyle, including the alleged ownership of an array of elegant houses and condominiums, have angered many Filipinos in a country where nearly a third of the 97 million people live on a little over a dollar a day and about a tenth have left the country in search of jobs and better opportunities abroad.

Amid an outrage expressed on social media, tens of thousands of Filipinos massed up at Manila's Rizal Park Monday to demand the scrapping of the corruption-tainted development fund and called on Aquino to crack down harder on corruption. Aquino, son of revered pro-democracy champions, rose to power in 2010 with a landslide victory on a promise to fight corruption and poverty.

It was one of the largest rallies seen in the Philippines since the huge protests that hounded Aquino's predecessor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who faced allegations of massive corruption. Arroyo has denied any wrongdoing but has been detained in a hospital on corruption and election fraud charges.

Davao City Wins National Literacy Award 2013 Hall of Fame

Davao City bagged the National Literacy Awards 2013 Hall of Fame under the Highly Urbanized Cit Category.

In a letter to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Department of Education Undersecretary Rizalino Rivero said Davao City will be given recognition for its inspiring efforts in sustaining the City's exemplary programs in literacy and for the impact the programs have created on the community.

"We extend our heartfelt congratulations for winning the Hall of Fame award," Rivera stated in the letter.

In the report for the bid to the said national awards, then Mayor Sara Duterte said Davao's vision is one where all sectors have access to basic services, where all citiziens live in a progressive socviety, able to realize their potentials and live their live to the fullest.

"Literacy programs do not fall under peace and order, disaster managament, the invironment, health rural development and socio-economic improvement," former Mayor Sara Duterte, said.

Davao City's programs are known to have been institutiionalized to ensure generations of Davaoenos empowerment in governance and further develop their skills and becvome self reliant, proactive and dynamic members of society.

The Department of Education will be holding its annual National Literacy Conference on September 3 to 5 in Bagiuo City.

One of the ightlights of the conference is the presentation of the Hall of Fame Award to Davao City for being the three-time first place winner in the Outstanding Local Government Unit Category.

Mayor Rody Duterte has been invited to the said conference and is expected to receive the Hall of Fame Award.

With City Information Office, Davao City.

Davao City - My Second Home in The Philippines

DAVAO CITY - The Most Peaceful City in East and Southeast Asia for seven years and is home to the “Best Police Office in the Country” for six consecutive years. 

For four consecutive years, Davao City has also been recognized by Asiaweek as one of the 20 Best Cities in Asia. Davao City was nominated as New 7 Wonders Cities. 

I am proud to live here - in my second (at last!) home in the Philippines.

(Photo Courtesy: BIYAHENG DAVAO)

Aufraeumarbeiten nach Dauerregen auf den Philippinen

Am Donnerstag haben die Aufräumarbeiten begonnen.

 

Schweres Gerät für Aufräumarbeiten.

Die Bewohner der überschwemmten Region um die Hauptstadt Manila reinigten ihre Häuser. Nach drei Tagen Dauerregen - die heftigsten Güsse seit vier Jahren - normalisierte sich die Lage langsam.

Nach Angaben des philippinischen Roten Kreuzes zog sich das Hochwasser aus dem Großteil des Stadtgebiets zurück. Nur noch zehn Prozent des Gebietes stünden unter Wasser, sagte Rotkreuz-Chefin Gwendolyn Pang. Es werde weiter Nothilfe geleistet, das Rote Kreuz konzentriere sich aber verstärkt auf die langfristigen Bedürfnisse der Flutopfer.

Nach Angaben des Sprechers der nationalen Katastrophenhilfe, Reynaldo Balido, kamen durch das Unwetter 17 Menschen ums Leben. Mehr als 500.000 Menschen seien aus ihren Häusern geflohen. 217.000 von ihnen seien in staatlichen Notunterkünften untergebracht, 346.000 weitere seien bei Freunden oder Verwandten untergekommen.

Nördlich von Manila standen 500 Dörfer weiterhin unter Wasser. In Manila gingen die Menschen wieder an ihre Arbeitsplätze in den Büros, der Börsenhandel wurde wieder aufgenommen. Die Schulen sollten dagegen noch für den Rest der Woche geschlossen bleiben. Sie mussten gereinigt werden oder wurden als Notunterkünfte gebraucht.

New Potential Storm Enters The Philippines

A potential tropical cyclone entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility on Friday morning, the state weather bureau reported.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astrological Services Administration (PAGASA) said that a low pressure area (LPA) was estimated at 580 kilometers Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur.

PAGASA said that new weather system will bring moderate to occasionally heavy rains over the eastern areas of Mindanao and may trigger flashfloods and landslides.

It added that eastern Visayas will also experience rainshowers and thunderstorms.

The weather bureau said that the LPA may intensify into a tropical cyclone in three days or by Monday.

The new cyclone will be named "Nando," the fourth this month and 14th to enter the country this year.

Thousands Still Homeless after Philippine Floods

An estimated 600,000 people in the Philippines remained at temporary shelters or with relatives on Friday after days of heavy rain that killed 20, officials said.

A day after floods ebbed in the capital Manila, stagnant pools of water and high tides in coastal areas prolonged the misery in the central Luzon plains to the north, civil defence official Josefina Timoteo told AFP.

"These are mainly farmers and fisher folk who still cannot return to their homes or resume work. We are still supplying their needs," said Timoteo, the civil defence chief for the region.

"These are low-lying regions and this happens every year. It is a way of life for many of them and the local governments are well-organised to provide relief."

Seasonal monsoons dumped more than a month's rain in Manila and surrounding provinces between Sunday and Wednesday, the state weather service said, submerging about half the capital in floodwaters.

The rains were worsened by Tropical Storm Trami, which hit China on Thursday after hovering off the northern Philippines earlier in the week.

The government's National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said 200,000 people were still in government-run shelters Friday, with 400,000 others staying with friends or relatives and likewise receiving food rations and other emergency aid.

The council raised the death toll to 20 as receding floodwaters led to the discovery of two bodies in Cavite province, south of Manila.

Most of those who have yet to return home are from the central Luzon region, where 481 villages remain under floodwaters up to a metre (3.3 feet) deep, Timoteo said
.
The weather is improving but the evacuation centres, mostly schoolbuildings, are expected to start emptying only next week, she added.

As a result, classes are still suspended in those areas, she said.

The health department has stocked up medicines at evacuation camps to prevent the spread of epidemics, she said, adding there had been no reports of widespread diseases.

The floods wreaked 97.3 billion pesos' ($2.2 billion) worth of damage to infrastructure and crops, the government says.

The Philippines endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the second half of the year and many of them deadly.

Disaster-weary Philippines

Disaster-weary Philippine residents mopped up Thursday after four days of torrential rain that officials said had killed 16 people and forced nearly 400,000 others from flooded homes.

Residents swept out their muddy floors as floods receded, having covered half the metropolis on Tuesday, rescue officials said.

"It's all mud and garbage, and our television set and electric fan were destroyed," shoemaker's wife Flordeliza Miranda told AFP as she returned to the family's shanty beside the San Mateo river that went under water on Tuesday.

"We have not eaten anything since last night," said the mother-of-two, who had slept in a makeshift tent atop a nearby bridge amid the deluge.
Philippine National Red Cross secretary-general Gwendolyn Pang said floods have receded in all but about 10 percent of the metropolis of 12 million people.

"We continue to give support to victims of the monsoon (rains)," she told AFP, adding the focus of the relief effort was shifting from emergency food aid to longer-term needs for the displaced.

The bad weather killed 16 people, said Reynaldo Balido, spokesman for the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, which raised the death toll by one with the body of a drowned man found east of Manila.
More than 186,000 people remained at government-run shelters early Thursday, while nearly 200,000 others are staying with friends and relatives, he added.

Low-level floods however persisted in several nearby provinces.

"The floods are not that deep, mostly knee-high or thigh-high. There is no need for more rescues. However, the waters are stagnant," Balido added.
In Manila, trading resumed at the Philippine Stock Exchange and offices were getting back to work, but most schools have declared emergency holidays for the rest of the week as buildings are cleaned up or used as evacuation centres.

Since Sunday, Manila and neighbouring provinces have experienced the most intense rains in four years.

Rampaging floodwaters swept through low-lying communities, forcing thousands to crowded evacuation centres like gyms, where people were forced to sleep in close quarters on the floor with cardboard boxes for beddings.

In Cavite province near Manila, the floods dislodged concrete tombs at one cemetery, depositing them on the side of a highway, an AFP photographer saw.

State weather forecaster Bernie de Leon said 671.6 millimetres (26.4 inches) of rain fell on Manila between Sunday and Wednesday -- more than the monthly average of 504.2 millimetres for August.

The seasonal monsoon had been worsened by Tropical Storm Trami, which went on to hit Fujian province in China on Thursday.

The Southeast Asian archipelago endures about 20 major storms or typhoons annually, generally in the second half of the year and many of them deadly.

"This is the worst since (Ketsana)," de Leon told AFP, referring to a 2009 storm that killed more than 460 people and left 80 percent of Manila submerged.

"We expect the weather to gradually improve over the coming days," he added.