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Abalos: P21 billion drugs seized since BIDA’s start in 2023
At least P21 billion worth of illegal drugs were confiscated since the start of the government’s BIDA or Buhay Ingatan, Droga ay Ayawan flagship program last year, Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said yesterday......»»
Npa arms cache seized in Batangas
Bombs, grenades and other war materials have been recovered from New People’s Army rebels in Balayan, Batangas......»»
Arms cache with high-powered firearms and anti-personnel mines discovered in Eastern Samar
The troops of 52nd Infantry Battalion discovered an arms cache consisting of four high-powered firearms and four International Humanitarian Law (IHL)-banned Anti-Personnel Mines (APMs) at the hinterlands of Brgy. Agsaman, Jipapad, Eastern Samar on June 18, 2023......»»
Army troops recover NPA arms cache
Army troops recover NPA arms cache.....»»
The Israel-Hamas military balance
Israel has one of the best-resourced militaries in the world, heavily supported by Washington. In Hamas, it faces a highly trained armed group with powerful regional allies. With both sides poised for an Israeli ground offensive in the wake of the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on 7 October, here is an overview of their military resources. Israel The Israel Defense Forces number 169,500, of which 126,000 are army, according to Britain's International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). On top of that, it has 400,000 reservists, of which 360,000 have been mobilized since the Hamas attack. Israel also has some of the most technologically advanced defenses in the world, including the "Iron Dome" anti-missile system. IISS says it has around 1,300 tanks and other armored vehicles, 345 fighter jets, and a vast arsenal of artillery, drones, and state-of-the-art submarines. Though not a declared nuclear state, Israel's nuclear weapons cache is an open secret and the Arms Control Association puts its number of warheads at 90. US ally Washington provides $3.8 billion per year to Israel in military aid under a 10-year agreement running until 2028. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that he had activated deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery and additional Patriot battalions "throughout the region". He added that he had put "an additional number of forces on prepare-to-deploy orders ... to increase their readiness and ability to quickly respond as required." Washington had already delivered increased munitions to Israel and deployed two aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean -- the USS Gerald Ford, the world's largest warship, and the USS Eisenhower -- to deter not just Hamas but also its allies Iran and the Lebanese Islamist movement Hezbollah. The US military on Tuesday ordered 2,000 personnel to prepare for deployment to the Middle East as a show of force. Hamas Hamas has a diverse arsenal built up over many years. Its armed forces, called the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, numbers 15,000 men according to IISS, though it notes that Arab media have put the figure at 40,000. They have heavy weapons obtained from across the Middle East -- particularly Iran, Syria, and Libya -- and have also sourced handguns and assault rifles from China and other regions. It also has a variety of locally made, improvised explosives and Western sources say enough drones, mines, anti-tank guided missiles, grenade launchers, and mortar shells to hold out for a long period, though precise figures are unavailable. The majority of its rockets are also locally manufactured and technologically rudimentary. Hezbollah There have already been exchanges across the border between Israel and Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah is based. "Hezbollah can tie up IDF resources without having to fully commit to the fight, instead relying on occasional rocket or missile strikes to prevent the Israelis from growing complacent and forcing the IDF to commit manpower and materiel along the northern border," said the Soufan Center, a US think tank. In 2021, the group claimed to have 100,000 fighters. The Institute for National Security Studies, an Israeli think tank, says the number is half that. "Most Hezbollah militants are not full-time fighters but rather engage in militant activity as and when required by the group's commanders," according to Elliot Chapman of the British defense analysis firm Janes. Hezbollah mobilized 40,000 men at the outbreak of Syria's civil war, he noted. INSS says the group's arsenal counts 150,000 to 200,000 rockets and missiles, including "hundreds" of precision rockets. "Strategically, Hezbollah's rocket arsenal is the group's most significant capability for fighting Israel," Chapman said. Iran Since its Islamic revolution in 1979, Iran has made support for Palestinians one of the pillars of its ideology. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned Sunday that "The region is like a powderkeg ... I warn the United States and its proxy (Israel) that if they do not immediately stop the crime against humanity and genocide in Gaza, anything is possible at any moment and the region will go out of control". Western analysts minimize the threat of Iran becoming directly involved and point rather to its support from Hamas, Hezbollah, and Huthi rebels in Yemen -- a so-called "axis of resistance" of Israel's enemies. Raz Zimmt, of INSS, said Iran currently had "no interest in Hezbollah engaging in an all-out war" that might threaten such a key "strategic asset". But he added that Tehran's hand could be forced by "an Israeli ground invasion, and especially Israeli military success, which will threaten the very survival of Hamas and/or its ability to maintain effective control over the Gaza Strip". The post The Israel-Hamas military balance appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
7 NPA members in Samar surrender
Borongan City — Seven active combatants of the New People’s Army surrendered to the government after they were convinced by their respective families to give up the communist armed struggle. Lt. Col. Allan Tria, commander of the 78th Infantry Battalion, said the seven guerilla fighters of the Apoy Platoon, the Sub-Regional Committee, and Sesame surrendered to his unit this week. Tria withheld giving the names of the NPA members pending completion of security protocols, but said they include the squad leader, vice squad leader, finance, and medical officers. The former rebels also revealed the location of an arms cache consisting of two M16 rifles, one M14 rifle, one M653 carbine, and other war materiel in the hinterlands of Borongan City. These were recovered last 19 October. Tria said the surrender of the former communist combatants was an offshoot of their continuous engagement with the families of active NPA members. Since 19 September, a total of 15 former NPA members have surrendered. Brig. Gen. Noel Vestuir, commander of the 802nd Infantry Brigade, thanked the families of the surrendered rebels for their efforts in convincing their loved ones to abandon the armed struggle and return to their respective families. “We are grateful for the positive response of our Waraynon brothers and sisters to working hard to convince their family members who are still with the NPA. We have once again proven that the love of family conquers the hate that the terrorist CPP-NPA-NDF sowed in the hearts of their recruits,” he said. Vestuir reiterated his plea to the remaining NPA members in Samar and Eastern Samar provinces to heed the collective call of their families and their fellow Waraynons for them to go back to the mainstream of our society away from danger or harm. The post 7 NPA members in Samar surrender appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Demonizing Sara
Those who lived through the atrocities of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its ferocious New People’s Army during their reign of terror in Davao City in the late 1970s up to the mid-1980s, know how then-mayors Rodrigo Duterte and Sara Duterte had to deal with the double-headed monster. While the NPA’s urban operatives and their liquidation squads were routed overnight by an overwhelming peoples’ uprising popularly dubbed “alsa masa,” the rural guerrillas continued to harass communities in remote areas, waging ambuscades on police and military forces. For years, they managed to sustain themselves by imposing a “people’s tax” and extortion. They were decimated during the government armed forces’ operations, but they continued recruiting, especially among indigenous tribes and on school campuses. Tired of the fruitless peace negotiations where government panels had to seek out the chieftain of the CPP-NPA-NDF, Jose Ma. Sison, in faraway Netherlands, former President Duterte declared an all-out war against the armed insurgents. I must mention that the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, or NTF-ELCAC, had a colossal impact on the successful two-pronged campaign against the communist forces. In time, Davao City and the rest of the Davao Region were declared insurgent-free. Thousands of NPA combatants surrendered and turned over their weapons, even leading the police and military peacekeeping forces to where the rest of their arms cache was hidden. The success did not come as easy as eating pie. The government had to allocate money to help those who returned to the fold of the law. ACT Teacher Partylist Rep. France Castro and Senator Risa Hontiveros know how intelligence and confidential funds were used to search for the lairs of the NPAs and how the recruitment and indoctrination of indigenous peoples was averted. Castro herself knows this as she and Bayan strongman Satur Ocampo were apprehended by the military while escorting indigenous peoples’ children under cover of darkness from the tribal town of Talaingod in Davao del Norte to a Salugpungan school run by the ACT Teachers in Maco, Davao de Oro. It was intelligence funds working. Joma did not survive the defeat of his forces and died along with his utopian plot drawn in the blood of his countrymen. The legal fronts of the communists, however, are neither sleeping nor slipping from their job. It is a job, yes… to be a member of Congress. Losing their mass base and the rural communities they used to have influence and control is a death knell for their jobs in Congress. Ergo, they resort to the desperate move of demonizing VP Inday Sara Duterte, whom they know has the gumption to deal with the CPP-NPA and the courage to face the legal fronts in Congress. They know that every centavo of the confidential and intelligence funds at Sara’s disposal was well spent. The stable peace that prevails in the Davao region, in Mindanao, and now in most parts of the country is a testament to how the vital funds were spent. They wail about how quickly Sara spends the intel and confidential funds. But look at how the several decades of communist insurgency were quickly decimated. So why rest and procrastinate? The dawn of victory over the country’s remaining terrorist group is at hand. The voices of commie dissent in Congress, on the streets, and school campuses have become feeble. They are so scared of Sara’s presidency that they have to demonize her this early. The post Demonizing Sara appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Samar troops discover arms cache
TACLOBAN CITY — The 63rd Infantry Battalion on Monday reported that state troops patrolling the hinterlands of Samar island discovered not only war materials left behind by the New People’s Army, but also medical supplies and equipment. On Sunday, soldiers from the 63IB that were conducting community immersion in a remote community in Barangay Mabini, Basey, Samar found war materials consisting of cal. 38 revolver pistol, two improvised shotguns, two steel magazines of M16 rifle, and 37 rounds of 5.56mm. Also found in the same spot were an EPSON digital projector, two stethoscopes, seven intravenous fluids, three intravenous lines, six syringes, 40 needles, 4 120ml betadine, a thermometer, three blood bags, three elastic bandages, assorted antibiotic medicines, a surgical silk and 14 acupuncture needles. On the same day, elements of the 78th Infantry Battalion discovered an M16 rifle, two Anti-Personnel Mines and several subversive documents in Barangay San Andres Lower in Borongan City, Eastern Samar. Lieutenant Colonel Allan T. Tria, 78IB Commanding Officer, said the arms cache was found following a tip given by the residents of the same village. “The information provided by the residents that led to the discovery of the arms cache is a clear manifestation of their sincerity and commitment in supporting the campaign in attaining peace in their community,” Tria said. The post Samar troops discover arms cache appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
NPA arms cache recovered in Northern Samar
Four New People’s Army rebels who surrendered in Northern Samar on Monday led government troopers to an arms cache......»»
More high-powered firearms seized
CATBALOGAN CITY — The Armed Forces of the Philippines continues to recover firearms that are left behind by the communist New People’s Army in Samar island. According to 8th Infantry Division spokesperson Capt. Jefferson Mariano, the recovered firearms were mostly found with the help of ranking members of the communist movement who have surrendered to the government indicating that the war against insurgency has already reached the “crossover point.” The latest recovered firearms from the rebels were five M14 rifles, four M16 rifles, a shotgun, an M79 Grenade Launcher, and a number of banned anti-personnel mines. The arms cache was unearthed by troops from the 42nd Infantry Battalion in the hinterlands of Barangay Buco, Can-avid, Eastern Samar last 15 July. Previously, the AFP on 28 June also recovered high-powered firearms in Mapanas, Northern Samar through the help of ranking NPA members who had surrendered to the government. Mariano said firearms are usually left to the most trusted members of the NPA when the leaders flee from an area due to military operations adding that the same people are the ones leading government forces to their whereabouts thus were recovered. “This indicates that many of the new surrenderers are the quality people of the NPA,” Mariano said. “This suggests that the war has reached the crossover point.” The “crossover point” is a military concept coined by William Westmoreland, the commanding general of the US Army during the Vietnam War, to indicate the point in the war when more enemy soldiers had been killed than could be replaced. The post More high-powered firearms seized appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
State troops unearth arms cache
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Soldiers from the Joint Task Force Central discovered an arms cache in Upi, Maguindanao del Norte after a former Armed Lawless Group leader revealed to them the location of the firearms. JTF-Central commander Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera disclosed on Thursday that operating troops from the 57th Infantry Battalion found the arms cache at Sitio Tinandanan in Barangay Rempes on Tuesday. Rillera said the recovery of the arms cache was based on the revelation of the former ALG leader Rodrigo Dipaling Manigula, alias Bong and Magtangol. Manigula went viral in March 2023 because of a video posted on social media discriminately disclosing his possession of the four high-powered firearms and his alleged participation in the killings of prominent personalities in some areas of Upi. Recovered from the arms cache were high-powered firearms, including one 7.62mm M14 rifle with a magazine and ammunition, one Cal .30 M1 Garand rifle with one clip and ammunition, one M2 Carbine rifle with magazine and ammunition, and one 12-gauge Shotgun. The former ALG leader and the recovered firearms are currently under the custody of the 57IB. Armed Forces of the Philippines-Western Mindanao Command commander Lt. Gen. Roy Galido commended the JTF-Central for its significant accomplishment. “Rest assured that we will continue to step up our military and non-military operations to recover more loose firearms and neutralize the remnants of the different threat groups in our area of operation,” Galido said. He also believes that with the support of the local government units and the peace-loving people of Mindanao, they will achieve the coveted peace and progress in Western and Central Mindanao. The post State troops unearth arms cache appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Untrammelled injustice (2)
The government entity tasked with prosecuting perpetrators of crimes, but more importantly rendering justice, appears not to have learned its lesson from the controversial case of the former director of the Bureau of Corrections, Gerald Bantag, where it prejudged his guilt — as it is repeating the same outrageous and unlawful mistake of tagging a suspect in the assassination of the Negros Oriental governor, without the benefit of trial. As a consequence of its prejudging the case of Bantag, foisting on the public his guilt as the mastermind of the killing even without credible evidence and, worse, even prior to conducting a preliminary investigation to determine the existence of probable cause, Bantag and the other accused, Zulueta, have extracted themselves from the arms of the law owing to their honest belief, grounded as it were on their not getting a fair hearing as they had already been adjudged guilty in the eyes of the public. In the meantime, until such time as they voluntary surrender or are arrested, the court that will try them does not have jurisdiction over them, which means the government prosecutors cannot prosecute the named suspects, hence we will never know for now or heaven knows when who committed the crime. As to the identity of the mastermind and his accomplices, the spectators to this vexing and preceding deja vu could only speculate. It could be they who are presently charged, who have become unwilling fugitives from justice. Or the assassin could really be the other accused-confessed triggerman, at the behest of another individual, who had an axe to grind against the murdered radio commentator who could be the real mastermind. This unavoidable puzzle comes about because a government functionary could not hold his tongue in making premature pronouncements on the guilt of the suspects violative of the constitutionally guaranteed presumption of innocence. In a repeat scenario, the public is again made to believe, by repeated claims for weeks to the media, with incredulous certainty, that the congressman of Negros Oriental, Arnolfo Teves Jr., was the mastermind of the heinous crime. The citizenry is regaled with a parade of arrested and surrendered suspected killers who confessed to the crime, confirming its commission with the execution of sworn statements affirming their participation in the dastardly act. In between those pompous announcements of the solution of the crime, initial innuendos pointing to the lawmaker as being behind the murder filled the news, followed by police raids on his properties and the discovery of a cache of unlicensed firearms and millions of pesos. Then to give more drama to the movie-like script, Congressman Teves is classified as a terrorist, even without being charged yet of any crime, in blatant and illegal disregard of the judicial process outlined in the Anti-Terrorism Law for the classification of individuals or group of individuals as terrorists. Despite the repeated cocky assurances for several weeks that the murder of the governor and others had been solved, no formal criminal complaint was filed against Teves and the individuals who confessed to the crime. The House of Representatives — which could not stop itself from joining the persecution spectacle with lightning speed and without giving Teves the basic requirement of due process, despite his willingness to appear before it via Zoom or virtually as he is abroad and would not risk coming home being in mortal fear owing to threats against his life — suspended him for sixty days “for continued unauthorized absences and disorderly conduct which resulted in his failure to perform his duties as a House member.” After the expiration of the 60-day suspension, again without giving him the rudimentary opportunity to defend himself, thereby repeating the violation of his constitutional right to be heard, hit him with another 60-day suspension. Thereafter, as the people who are glued to this seeming telenovela await with bated breath the filing of the murder complaint, there is a dramatic twist of events. (To be continued) The post Untrammelled injustice (2) appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Former NPA Mass Supporters reveals arms cache in Leyte; high powered firearms seized
The troops from 14th Infantry Battalion (14IB) of 8th Infantry Division discover and seized an arms cache of four high-powered firearms at the hinterlands of Barangay Maligaya, Mahaplag, Leyte, January 05, 2023......»»
Insurgents’ arms cache discovered
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — The Philippine Army on Thursday disclosed that state troops discovered and recovered an arms cache of the communist New People’s Army in San Jose town, Tarlac province. 3rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion acting commanding officer Lt. Col. Jeszer M. Bautista said soldiers from the 32nd Mechanized Infantry Company found the firearms and ammunition believed to belong to the NPA’s Komiteng Larangang Guerrilla-Tarlac-Zambales on Wednesday in Sitio Tinabla, Barangay Burgos following information provided by concerned residents. Recovered were one .38-caliber revolver, 12 pieces of ammunition for M203 grenade launcher, ammunition for 5.56mm rifle and .38-caliber revolver, personal belongings and subversive documents. Bautista said the track down of the arms cache was a result of the harmonious relationship between the community and the Army troops. “The cooperation of the people shows that they themselves, the people, are already fed up of being used and exploited by the terrorists. Their report on the whereabouts of the terrorists and their belongings is a big help to us to get rid of the terrorists here in Tarlac,” Bautista said. Meantime, Maj. Gen. Andrew Costelo, commander of the 7th Infantry (Kaugnay) Division, lauded the troops as well as the concerned citizens for the discovery of the arms cache even as he reassured the safety of the community. “We assure everyone that we will never stop until we attain our goal which is to end local communist armed conflict,” Costelo said. The post Insurgents’ arms cache discovered appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Arms cache, marijuana seized in Bulacan raid
An alleged supplier of guns and ammunition to private armed groups was arrested in Malolos, Bulacan on Thursday......»»
NPA arms cache found in Abra
Acting on information from surrenderees, government troopers found a cache of guns and ammunition of New People’s Army rebels in Barangay Alangtin in Tubo, Abra on Sunday......»»
Arms cache seized from Maguindanao murder suspects
Police recovered explosives and various types of firearms from the hideout of two murder suspects in Pandag town on Tuesday......»»
Army seizes arms cache in North Cotabato
KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 9 November) — Troops recently seized six high-powered firearms during a raid at a remote village in Matalam, North Cotabato allegedly influenced by the New People’s Army (NPA), the military said Sunday. A report from the 6th Infantry Division’s (ID) Public Affairs Office (PAO) said the weapons were confiscated last Wednesday, […].....»»
NPA arms cache seized in Negros
Military operations against communist guerrillas on Negros Island on Thursday led to the recovery of an arms cache and the arrest of a New People’s Army rebel......»»
Army seizes NPA arms cache in N. Occidental
Twelve firearms of various calibers were allegedly discovered inside the house of a suspected New People’s Army (NPA) rebel in Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental, the military reported on Saturday. Elements of the Philippine Army’s 62nd Infantry Battalion (62IB) responded to a report about the sighting of armed men in Sitio Bungao, Barangay Macagahay last Thursday […].....»»