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Philippines declares 'strategic defeat' of NPA rebels
MANILA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines declared on Tuesday a "strategic defeat" of the New People's Army (NPA) rebels, who have been fighting against the government since the 1960s, saying there is no more active guerilla fronts in the country. Eduardo Ano, National Security Adviser and former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said "thousands" of NPA insurgents have decided to return t.....»»
Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at supply boats
Manila [Philippines], March 23 (ANI): The Philippines has accused China's coastguard of firing water cannons at one of its supply boats in South China Sea, Al Jazeera reported. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that BRP Cabra managed to manoeuvre and reach Unaizah May 4 to provide assistance to the Philippine supply boat, which had sustained "significant damage."According to the Philippine military, the confrontati.....»»
Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at supply boats
Manila [Philippines], March 23 (ANI): The Philippines has accused China's coastguard of firing water cannons at one of its supply boats in South China Sea, Al Jazeera reported. The Armed Forces of the Philippines said that BRP Cabra managed to manoeuvre and reach Unaizah May 4 to provide assistance to the Philippine supply boat, which had sustained "significant damage."According to the Philippine military, the confrontati.....»»
3 suspected rebels killed in clash in Philippines Batangas
MANILA, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Three suspected rebels were killed in a clash with government forces in Batangas province, south of Manila, on Tuesday, the Philippine military said. The military said a 30-minute gunfight broke out around 6:30 a.m. local time after the troops ran into a group of New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Rosario town. The troops recovered three rifles, six jungle packs, and some mater.....»»
Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, March 26
MANILA -- Three suspected rebels were killed in a clash with government forces in Batangas province, south of Manila, on Tuesday, the Philippine military said. The military said a 30-minute gunfight broke out around 6:30 a.m. local time after the troops ran into a group of New People's Army (NPA) rebels in Rosario town. (Philippines-Clash) - - - - BEIRUT -- Two people were killed and nine other civ.....»»
Kyiv, Lviv under Russian air attack; missile violates Polish airspace
'The object entered Polish space near the town of Oserdow and stayed there for 39 seconds,' Poland's armed forces says on the social media platform X.....»»
Philippines, US air forces back together for Cope Thunder
The Philippine Air Force and the US Pacific Air Force are set to embark on joint exercises – involving their advanced fighter jets – from April 8 to 19 for this year’s iteration of Cope Thunder, an annual air defense and offense training event to be held in Luzon......»»
US warns China against armed attack on Philippines
Washington, DC [US], March 19 (ANI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China on Tuesday, stating that any "armed" attack on Philippine vessels in the South China Sea would activate a mutual self-defence agreement between Washington and Manila, underscoring the escalating tensions in the region that could potentially embroil the United States in conflict with Beijing, as reported by The New York Times. Despite th.....»»
US Officials Warn of New Axis of Evil With China at the Fore
WASHINGTON - U.S. military and defense officials are increasingly concerned that as China and Russia forge ever stronger ties, they might attempt to challenge Western unity and eventually alter the balance of power on the world stage.The commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee that the evolving relationship between Beijing and Moscow is a "big portion" of.....»»
Samar encounter leaves NPA member dead
CATBALOGAN CITY — An alleged member of the communist New People’s Army was killed in an encounter with government troops in the hinterlands of Barangay Anongo, Catubig, Northern Samar. A report from the 8th Infantry Division said the still unidentified man was killed when a team from the 20th Infantry Battalion chanced upon 10 NPA members on patrol, touching off a 10-minute gunbattle. The military said the killed NPA guerilla was a member of Front Committee 15, Sub-Regional Committee ARCTIC, Eastern Visayas Regional Party Committee who was abandoned by his fleeing comrades. The soldiers recovered from the encounter site four backpacks, a 30-round magazine assembly, an M203 empty shell, seven rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, subversive documents, and other personal belongings. Lt. Colonel Joemar Buban, commanding officer of the 20th IB, called on the remnants of the communist group in Northern Samar to lay down their arms and return to the folds of the law. Catubig Mayor Solomon Vicencio thanked the Philippine Army and the government for trying to end the local communist armed conflict in Northern Samar. Meanwhile, the 8th Infantry Division Commander, Major General Camilo Z. Ligayo also expressed his condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased CNT. The post Samar encounter leaves NPA member dead appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Teves claims persecution, wants House panel to back off
Negros Oriental Rep. Arnies Teves, who has been the subject of the House committee on ethics and privileges for months now owing to "disorderly behavior" that has led to a double suspension, wants the House to terminate its proceedings against him. Ferdinand Topacio, the lead legal counsel of Teves, delivered before the panel chaired by Rep. Felimon Espares a letter dated 10 August from the lawmaker asking the committee to defer its further proceedings, claiming the accusations leveled against him are "clearly baseless" and "meant to "politically harass and persecute" him. Teves argued that the panel's continued proceedings breached its own rules, Section 2 of which states that "if the subject matter of the complaint against a Member of the House is pending before a judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative body, the Committee shall defer action on said complaint until final judgment has been rendered by such body." Citing the rules, Topacio said Teves' terrorist tag is currently pending before the Anti-Terrorism Council and may be raised to the court. Teves' letter countered the panel's letter on 1 August, relative to the lawmaker's alleged acts or omissions that supposedly constitute a violation of the Code of Conduct of the House of Representatives and for disorderly behavior. The embattled solon is being called to account for his recent designation as a terrorist, his supposed abandonment of office resulting from his prolonged absence in Congress and dancing in boxer shorts in a video uploaded on his social media account. Teves questioned why the panel, after the lapse of his second "questionable" 60-day suspension, wanted him to undergo the same process on the same matters, which he considered "clearly uncalled for as they are acts of persecution against me." "Honestly, it saddens me that this Committee is being used as a tool by this current administration to persecute me on my acts which are nothing but lawful," Teves said in the letter. "May I remind you that what you are doing can become a dangerous precedent to future innocent acts of any member of the House, including yourself and the Speaker," he added. He further noted that the panel's proceedings are being used as a vehicle to pressure him to return to the country, "knowing full well" that there are threats to his life and limb which recent events, including a publicized video of death threats, have validated. But despite the security concerns, no law enforcement authority has even investigated the perpetrator, according to the solon. "In similar fashion, the authorities have also deliberately ignored all evidence of another possible angle in the Degamo murder, since the same points to a political ally of the administration. This is the unfortunate reality that engulfs this nation at present, and which prevents me from repatriating myself," Teves added. Teves, whose second suspension lapsed earlier this August, is being implicated in the murder of his political foe, Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, and eight others on 4 March in the governor's residence in Pamplona town, for which he is being tagged as the mastermind. Right before the killing, Teves flew out of the country and has yet to return due to what he claims are serious threats to his life. His continued stay out of the country, notwithstanding an expired travel clearance, prompted the suspension. He, however, again insisted that he never abandoned his duty as a lawmaker and stressed that he has been clamoring to be allowed to participate in legislative proceedings, which he argued is permitted by House rules and that his colleagues "equally enjoy" and "exercise". Teves claimed he has evidence supporting his assertion that he attempted to participate in several hearings but was blocked from doing so. As to his physical absence, he said, "Again, I repeat: the principal reason why I have been unable to attend sessions is due to grave and serious threats to my life, threats which have persisted and even intensified, as just two days ago." "I have received verifiable reports that armed men, without any court order such as a search warrant, have been in and out of my residence in Bayawan, for the purpose most probably of planting evidence." The post Teves claims persecution, wants House panel to back off appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Render unto Ceasar
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ plenary assembly in 2022 said the Roman Catholic Church will divest from banks and projects that are involved in fossil fuels as part of its contribution to the movement for clean energy. The warning showed the financial muscle through its corporate shares that the bishops can muster to influence the realm of business. In a pastoral letter, the CBCP said it will use its shareholdings in domestic banks to demand policies and plans to “phase out their exposure to coal, fossil gas, and destructive energy in line with the 1.5°C ambition.” “Without clear commitments and policies from these banks to divest from fossil fuels, we commit to withdraw all our resources that are with them not later than 2025, and hold them accountable to their fiduciary duties and moral obligations as climate actors,” read the pastoral letter. In its latest pastoral letter about the “climate emergency” last March, however, the Church bravado has dissipated and instead has been replaced by a warning that it will enforce the “CBCP-initiated non-acceptance policy of donations of whatever kind, from owners or operators and any representative of extractive companies regardless of the scale of operation.” The new position is oceans apart from the earlier encompassing threat to divest from all dirty energy projects and their financiers. Such flip-flops have been the impediment of the Church in exerting its supposed moral guidance in what the Bible says is Caesar’s domain. The Catholic Church is heavily invested in the biggest corporations in the country. In San Miguel Corporation, for instance, the list of its top 100 shareholders shows more than P600 million in investments from Church-affiliated entities. The Archbishop of Manila is currently listed as the fifth largest shareholder in one of the biggest lenders in the country, which is a huge provider of loans to energy projects, with 62 percent of its energy portfolio comprising coal. The bank’s exposure to coal projects is estimated at $444.82 million. The archbishops of archdioceses in Jaro, Iloilo, and Zamboanga are also major stockholders of the bank. The Manila archdiocese is also among the top shareholders in a giant mining firm through shares worth more than P66 million. It also has huge capital as a supplier of construction materials. When the Catholic Church appealed for donations for the renovation of the Manila Cathedral in 2013, top corporation SMC came to its aid with P50 million while Metrobank donated P20 million. In no time at all, the P136-million project was funded. Regarding donations, in 2011, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office named a priest and several Catholic bishops who received sports utility vehicles funded through the agency’s charity fund. The PCSO revelation sparked a Senate investigation and the bishops agreed to surrender the vehicles. A Commission on Audit report said the grant of the five vehicles amounting to P7 million violated the constitutional provision that “no public money or property shall be appropriated, applied or employed directly or indirectly, for the use of, benefit or support to any sect, church, denomination… except when such priest, preacher or dignitary is assigned to the Armed Forces or any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium.” During a Senate investigation on the controversy, PCSO director Aleta Tolentino revealed that a bishop asked for a car as a birthday gift but used the welfare of the poor as an excuse. During the inquiry, Tolentino said, “We are not against the Church. We are just denouncing what happened in the past — corruption of government funds, which is prohibited by the Constitution itself.” “Would the bishops rather that we keep mum or lie about it? Would they want us to just keep quiet about this?” she added. With its heavily compromised state as a result of its financial involvement, the Church has abandoned its role as a conscience of society in the pursuit of uplifting the lives of Filipinos. The post Render unto Ceasar appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Soldiers found NPA lair in Maguindanao
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Soldiers patrolling the forested areas of Ampatuan town n Maguindanao stumbled on a well-fortified camp with bunkers and foxholes of suspected members of the New People’s Army (NPA). Joint Task Force-Central (JTF-C) commander, Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, said yesterday, 13 July, that soldiers of the 40th Infantry Battalion discovered an enemy stronghold in Barangay Salman, Ampatuan town in Maguindanao del Sur on Thursday. Rillera said the camp has seven bunkers and foxholes that could accommodate 10 persons. The troops, who immediately search the area, recovered war materials, including IED components, one magazine assembly with 20 rounds aluminum cap for an M16 rifle, one bandolier, and one chest rig, Rillera said. The soldiers also recovered assorted personal belongings, construction materials, and cooking utensils, he added. Rillera said that the lair might be belonged to the NPAs operating in the area and is suspected to have been abandoned for a day. Armed Forces of the Philippines - Western Mindanao Command (AFP-WMC) Commander Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said, “Rest assured that we will continue to intensify our decisive military operations to prevent the re-emergence of the different threat groups in our area of operation.” With the support of our partners and stakeholders, we are certain that we will soon achieve our common aspiration,” Galido added. The post Soldiers found NPA lair in Maguindanao appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Taj Mahal’ of Negros Occidental
“Ancient ruins,” said Mary Jo Arnoldi, chair of the anthropology department at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, “give us a connection to the past that’s visceral. This was a real place, and you can walk through it.” This could be why Raymund Javellana, the man who wanted The Ruins, which is listed by oddee.com as “one 12 most fascinating ruins of the world,” restored to its former glory. The Ruins was a mansion built in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. “I am so glad that it was not destroyed completely. With the blessings of The Lord, we were able to restore the mansion itself. I challenge people who keep on destroying the old structures to please stop and make some good use of it,” Javellana said when he accepted the award for The Ruins as Best Destination (Heritage Sites category) at the first Choose Philippines Awards in 2016. Javellana is the great-grandson of Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, the Negrense sugar baron who built the mansion for love. How the mansion came to be Love, goes a famous song, comes from the most unexpected places. This is what happened to Mariano Ledesma Lacson, a sugar baron from Negros. The most-sought after bachelor was visiting Hong Kong with a friend when he met Maria Braga, a Portuguese lady from Macau and daughter of a ship captain. Smitten by her beauty, he courted her earnestly until she said yes. To make the long story short, they got married and he brought her to his ancestral house in Talisay, where they raised their family together. Children came after one another: Victoria, Rafael (who later became the governor of Negros Occidental), Mercedes, Natividad, Sofia, Felipe (who became a mayor of Talisay), Consolacion, Angelina, Ramon and Eduardo. Maria was pregnant with their 11th child when she slipped in the bathroom. She was bleeding; her condition was so precarious that traveling outside of the house was out of question. Mariano summoned some of his men to get a resident doctor from a nearby town. He told them to use a horse-drawn carriage, then the fastest mode of transportation. It was the 1920s and it took two days to traverse the various sugar farms to Silay. By the time the doctor arrived, on the fourth day, Maria and her child were dead. Mariano was so devastated, he went into a depression for a time m. Yet knowing he still had children needing his attention, he began to focus instead on building a house in memory of his beloved wife. He consulted his father-in-law about the idea, who fully supported his plans. Being a ship captain, he brought in many items from Europe and China — ranging from machuca or handmade custom cement tiles, chandeliers and china wares. He even brought with him some construction workers from China just to help build the mansion. A local builder was entrusted to make the design and building specifications. Mariano asked his son Felipe to supervise the project and ensure an A-grade mixture of concrete was precisely poured. The marble-like effect of high-grade concrete can be felt by touching the posts and walls of what remains now of the mansion. The entire property has a floor area of 900 square meters: 450 sq.m. upstairs and the same on the lower ground. Ten rooms occupied the mansion: eight for children, a Master’s bedroom and a family room. The house was of Italianate architecture as evidenced by its neo-Romanesque columns all around. “Since the engineer was a Filipino, it is believed the design came from that of Maria’s ancestral mansion which was given by her father to Mariano as sample,” an inflight magazine said. “The imprimatur of Maria’s father, a ship captain, is now clear from the shell-inspired décor all around the top edges of the mansion – the same ones that identified the homes of ship captains in New England at that time.” It took about three years to finish the Don Mariano Lacson Mansion. Because it was built out of a husband’s devotion to his wife, Javellana likens it to the Taj Mahal, a white marble mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife. The initials engraved on every post of the mansion — two Ms facing each other — stand for Mariano and Maria. [caption id="attachment_134716" align="aligncenter" width="525"] The two M's facing each other stand for Mariano and Maria.[/caption] At that time, the mansion was the largest residential structure ever built in the area. It was constructed at the center of a 440-hectare farm. The Lacson family lived in the mansion happily, but it was not “ever after” as Japanese forces invaded the country in December 1941 after Japan’s declaration of war upon the United States, which controlled the Philippines at the time and possessed important military bases. In anticipation of the war, the Lacson family fled their home. They left behind all their furniture, china wares, home décor and some personal belongings, locked up the place and left a caretaker to watch over the mansion. The soldiers of the US Armed Forces in the Far East came to the place. Sensing that it might be used as headquarters of the Japanese troops, it was decided that it would be burned just like other big houses in the area. While it took three years to build the mansion, it took only three days to consume all of its roofs, ceilings, two-inch wooden floors, doors and windows, which were all made of hardwood of tindalo, narra and kamagong. Still, the three-day inferno was not able to flatten the whole mansion. Thanks to its oversize steel bars and the meticulous way of pouring A-grade mixture of concrete, the skeletal frame remains. The four-tiered fountain in front of what remains of the mansion makes it a perfect replica of the ancient homes with spacious gardens – like those you see in the old city of Savannah, Georgia in the United States. Joy Gallera Malaga, an independent writer who visited the place, wrote: “And most likely you would appreciate the mansion even if it was already reduced to its skeletal frame, or maybe it is its present condition that adds to its character and beauty. That’s the charm of old structures; it invites you to engage in an experience just by being there, getting to know it better through the stories it continues to tell.” [caption id="attachment_134715" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Water fountain.[/caption] Love and legacy Filipinos would have never seen The Ruins – which was abandoned for 67 years! – had it not been for Javellana. He is the son of Ramon, who was the son of Mercedes, the daughter of Mariano. Raymund had a travel agency in Manila when his mother requested him to come back to Negros and help her manage their sugar plantations. He now settles in Silay but in one of his trips to Talisay, he saw the abandoned mansion, which is located in Hacienda Sta. Maria. He decided to make it one of the province’s tourist attractions. Although people were not too keen about the idea, Javellana pursued his plans. In January 2008, he opened The Ruins to the public. People flocked to the place. Aside from being a tourist attraction, The Ruins is fast becoming a favorite venue for weddings and photo shoots. It was a good Javellana, inspired by his father and their forebears, kept his dream alive, never giving up on it. That’s love. The post ‘Taj Mahal’ of Negros Occidental appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
No more Reds in the South
When Corazon Aquino took over the helm of government courtesy of Uncle Sam, among her first acts under her revolutionary power was to release from detention Jose Maria Sison, the chieftain of the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army. At the time, in Davao City, the NPA had been decimated via a people’s counter-revolution. Whatever remained of the armed urban partisans had sought refuge in the mountains while the ideologues among them managed to seek shelter in the party-list system, a mantle of protection for the Reds under the Cory Constitution. For his part, Joma fled to the Netherlands after he was released, never to return to the Philippines. Utrecht was Nirvana compared to the inhospitable jungles back home. Despite the distance, Joma was able to remotely conduct operations against government troops and tutor would-be ideologues in his convoluted mix of a Maoist and Leninist potion. Joma was a master of deceit. Imagine being able to live comfortably and, who knows, receiving aid from the Netherlands for packaging himself as a fugitive who had sought asylum to escape “oppression” at home. Not only that, past administrations sought him out in that faraway land for peace negotiations. And he made them believe he was for peace. It took some time for then-President Rodrigo Duterte to finally realize that the master of double talk had been using the peace talks to regroup, recruit and rearm. Digong finally scrapped the peace negotiations and turned instead to a holistic strategy: an all-out campaign against what was dubbed as the Communist Terrorist Group; and setting up the NTF-ELCAC as a mechanism to lure the CTGs to give up their cause and live a peaceful and productive life. Joma felt the impact mentally and physically. He died watching the crumbling of his murderous organization that had tried in vain to prop up an irrelevant ideology through extortion and shameless begging from naive European donor foundations in the guise of human rights aid. This a supreme irony since the EU had listed the CPP-NPA as a terrorist organization. This week the last of the top CPP-NPA leaders in Mindanao who had been operating in Davao de Oro was finally arrested in Malaysia as he was about to board a boat for Thailand. Eric Jun Casilao, secretary of the Southern Mindanao Regional Committee and the Central Committee and a member of the Communist Party of the Philippines. Casilao and his wife, who are both facing strings of murder and kidnapping cases, among others, abandoned their group in Davao de Oro in May 2021. He had with him the operational funds of the SMRC when he disappeared. The military had been hot on his trail following intensified pursuit operations and a strategic campaign by the NTF-ELCAC. Davao de Oro has since been declared insurgent-free with the surrender of several NPA field commanders and combatants. We owe it to the Malaysian authorities who captured Casilao. Among those who would have celebrated his capture was his NPA comrade, Crispin Rollon, who was strangled to death by Casilao himself. The NTF-ELCAC learned from interviews of surrenderers that Casilao did not only torture and refuse food to the extremely starving and debilitated Rollon, but he eventually strangled him to death. Meanwhile, the 10th ID of the Philippine Army just declared that they will cleanse their area of operations — the Davao Region, Bukidnon, and eastern Mindanao — of NPA terrorists by June this year. The Reds will eventually be vanquished. The post No more Reds in the South appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘King’ leaves NPA to reunite with family this Christmas
By BONITA ERMAC BALOI, Lanao del Norte – A squad leader of the New People’s Army (NPA) has abandoned the armed struggle to reunite with his family this Christmas. Ilan Talha Binongkasan, alias “King,” surrendered to the military’s 41st Mechanized Company at Purok Poblacion in Barangay Rogongon on December 14, 2020. He […].....»»
Philippines’s Marcos pledges action in response to China’s ‘dangerous attacks’
President Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines has issued a strong statement in response to recent confrontations in the South China Sea, stating that the country.....»»
PH media slam Chinese foreign ministry’s claims of manipulating WPS reports
Philippine media groups criticized the Chinese foreign ministry for suggesting that recent reports on Chinese harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea involved video manipulation and sensationalism to portray the Philippines as a victim. The Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) and National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) expressed offense.....»»
Cebu City declares state of calamity in 28 mountain barangays due to el Niño
CEBU CITY, Philippines – In response to the escalating effects of the ongoing El Niño phenomenon, Cebu City has declared a “state of calamity” in 28 mountain barangays. This decision comes after a resolution was passed with reports of dwindling water sources and agricultural distress, prompting urgent measures to assist affected communities in the city. .....»»
Akbayan to Sara: You don’t have to be president to speak vs China
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Akbayan said on Thursday that Vice President Sara Duterte does not have to be a president of the country for her to call out China’s intrusive actions over the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Empathy and a moral backbone is just what it takes to stand up with fisherfolk and frontline.....»»