Militants attack police station in South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2008) – Abu Sayyaf militants fired at a police station in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, but there were no reports of casualties or injuries, officials said Friday.

Senior Supt. Julasirim Kasim, Sulu provincial police chief, said police forces pursued the attackers, but did not catch up with them. The attack, he said, occurred at around 7 p.m. Wednesday in Maimbung town while policemen were having dinner.

“We have stepped up operation against the Abu Sayyaf and deployed more forces in the area to hunt down the attackers led by Abu Sayyaf commander Gafur Jumdail,” he said.

Kasim said the militants fired a rifle grenade, but it fell shortly and exploded in front of the police station. “We still don’t know the motive of the attack. It could be in retaliation to our continued operation against lawlessness,” he said.

The military’s Western Mindanao Command headquarters said at least 7 Abu Sayyaf members attacked the police station. “”There was no report of casualties,” said military spokesperson, Lieutenant Steffani Cacho.

It was unknown if the attack was connected to last month’s raid by anti-narcotics agents and soldiers on a huge marijuana plantation allegedly maintained by the Abu Sayyaf.

The Abu Sayyaf, which means “Bearer of the sword,” has been linked by authorities to the al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya and blamed on the spate of bombings in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Malice no longer presumed in libel

MANILA, Philippines - The House Committee on Revision of Laws has reported out for floor deliberation a substitute bill on libel removing the presumption of malice in defamatory statements and fixing the venue for filing libel cases.

Rep. Giorgidi B. Aggabao (4th District, Isabela), Committee Chairman, said the measure consolidating House Bills No. 2133, 2791, 2802, 3535 and 4914, requires that malice be proven by the complainant. This means the defendant must be shown to have acted with the knowledge that statements made were false or there was clear disregard for the truth, Aggabao said.

In the substitute bill, malice is not presumed in any discussion of any matter of public concern, or criticism of official conduct of public figures.

The substitute bill also limits the venue to where the principal place of business of the journalist, editor, business manager or publisher is located. Under the present law, libel may be filed where the article was published or at the place of the complainant's residence.

Speaker Prospero C. Nograles, author of HB No. 2802, said in explanatory note that more often than not, the offended party usually chooses the venue that is farthest from the principal office or place of work of the accused media practitioner. The proposed measure will protect community journalists accused of libel by providing a fair venue for both parties.

Aggabao, also the author of HB No. 4914, said removing the presumption of malice will make truth a complete defense and thus enrich freedom of speech and of the press.

Rep. Salvador H. Escudero III (1st District, Sorsogon), who filed HB No. 2791 said a strong print media could give great service to the Filipino in providing an effective mechanism of complete and fearless transparency over the excesses of government in the exercise of its powers.

Reps. Satur C. Ocampo and Teodoro A. Casino (Party-List, BAYAN MUNA), Liza L. Maza, and Luzviminda C Ilagan (Party-List, GABRIELA), all authors of HB No. 3535 said a free press is an essential component of a democratic society and acts as the watchdog of government.

Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro), author of HB No. 2133 said that imposing a higher fine will discourage if not totally deter the commission of the crime of libel. The substitute bill also increases the fine for libel, which used to range from P200.00 to P 6,000.00 to the proposed P100,000.00 to P300,000.00. (Abigail Macabeo)

9 people wounded in Philippines bombings

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 5, 2008) – Nine people were injured in separate bomb explosions in the restive region of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, officials said on Friday.

The attacks occurred after security forces arrested a Bangladeshi terror suspect in Shariff Kabunsuan, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

The first explosion wounded six civilians late Thursday in downtown Isulan in Sultan Kudarat province. It was followed by another attack Friday morning wounding an army soldier and two other civilians near Bagong village in Shariff Aguak, the hometown of the region’s Muslim governor Zaldy Ampatuan.

“We suspect the MILF as behind all these bombings, who else would do that, but the MILF rebels,” Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Ando was referring to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, which is fighting for self-determination in the troubled South.

The army also linked the MILF to last week’s bomb attack on a church of the Jehova’s Witness in Kabacan town in North Cotabato province, a rebel stronghold in Mindanao.

Five other bombs were planted on the same church and the Iglesia Ni Cristo in recent days had been disarmed by soldiers.

The MILF strongly denied all accusations. “The MILF has nothing to do with all these bombings. Authorities should investigate these attacks to determine who is behind it. We have repeatedly and publicly denounced terrorism, we are for peace,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, said in a separate interview.

Authorities on Tuesday arrested Muhammad Alpariz, an alleged Bangladeshi al-Qaeda bomb expert, after soldiers and police commandos raided his hideout in the village of Tapayan in Sultan Mastura town in the Muslim autonomous province of Shariff Kabunsuan.

Soldiers and policemen recovered from Alpariz's hideout several improvised explosives assembled from mortar bombs and blasting caps, including cellular phones and an alarm clock.

It was not immediately known if Alpariz was working alone or whether he had links with the MILF. But his Filipino wife, Sulaika Rafiquellah, said her husband was not Muhammad Alpariz, but Mohammad Rafiquellah.

She said her 48-year old husband is not a terrorist and not a member of either the al-Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiya. In a television interview, Rafiquellah said her husband had been framed up by authorities. "He is a farmer, a mechanic and has a cell phone repair shop in Sultan Mastura town," she said.

The foreigner also denied the charges against him. (Mindanao Examiner)

NGO report exposes new danger faced by Filipino children

"On Human Rights Violations against Children."

MANILA, Philippines - The latest comprehensive report of a non-government organization dealing with psycho-social trauma of children victims of human rights violations exposed recent and new forms of human rights violations against children committed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines in its counter-insurgency strategy of Oplan Bantay Laya 2 (OBL2).

The report presented by the Children’s Rehabilitation Center (CRC) at a media forum dubbed Children in the Frontlines: Protection vis-a-vis Participation Issues of Children in Communities today at the UP Balay Kalinaw, shows that in the recent two years, an increase in the trend of labeling of children victims of human rights violations by the AFP as child soldiers., “This is especially marked in the year 2008 where a series of cases of children were paraded by the AFP in front of the media as being child soldiers,” explained Ma. Esmeralda Macaspac, Executive Director of the CRC.

The CRC report asserted that the government’s OBL 2 has taken its toll on the Filipino children. Under the present administration, there 948 documented cases of children victims of human rights violations, while an estimate of about 2 million individuals have been affected by forced displacement due to armed conflict.

Rights of children-victims are further violated when they are presented by the AFP as child soldiers and cases of rebellion are filed against them “This is especially ironic in the face of global attempts by the United Nations, through the office of the Special Representative to the Secretary General on for Children and Armed Conflict Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, to strengthen protection mechanisms for children in situations of armed conflict. Yet, the reality on the ground is that children are becoming more vulnerable to human rights violations by the AFP,” highlighted Macaspac.

Invited to react on the report were the Commission on Human Rights, representatives from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the National Democratic Front and Rep. Luz Ilagan of the Gabriela Women’s Party.

Apart from revealing the extent of the violations, the report explained that the current broadened definition of child soldiers under the Paris Principles may be inapplicable to the Philippine context because of the nature and character of the revolutionary groups like the New People’s Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) where they operate widely in communities and undeniably enjoys support from the people.

Aside from mislabeling of children-victims as “child soldiers,” CRC also documented cases of children being accused as NPA guerrillas and forcibly being used by the military as guides in their operations and women and children being required to man checkpoints. “These practices put children in direct risk of harm and is precisely what International Humanitarian Law avoids by ensuring that civilians are not caught in the crossfire,” warned Macaspac.

The forum also highlighted an academic critique on the Paris Principles by the UP Contend (Confederation of Teachers and Educators for National Democracy).

It validated the conclusion of the CRC report that the Paris Principles may be considered as a “double-edged” sword that, while on the one hand broadens protection of children in armed conflict situation, on the other hand, also serves to make them more vulnerable to attacks in situations where the State itself is the main violator of children’s rights.

“In its more than 20 years of experience in serving children-victims, the CRC has reasons to conclude, by virtue of its documented experiences, that the GRP remains as the main violator of children’s rights, whether or not they are in armed conflict situations,” Macaspac concluded.

Philippine Farmers Seek Intervention Vs. Landlords

Philippine farmers protest.

MANILA, Philippines (AHRC / Dec. 4, 2008) - On its third day of run, farmers from two of the country's influential landlords -- the Arroyos and the Yulos -- sought urgent intervention from members of the Senate and the Houses of Representatives to address their desperate plight.

Apart from the farmers in Hacienda Bacan in Isabela, Negros Occidental -- which is owned by President Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel -- farmers from Hacienda Yulo in Laguna province, have also been deprived from owning the land they have been cultivating.

Of the 7,100 hectares of land in Hacienda Yulo, about 3,256 of it is being claimed by the farmers whose ancestors have been occupying and cultivating the land since 1905. It was first given to the Madrigal Family during the Spanish Colonization, however, it was later transferred to Jose Miguel Yulo, whose family is the present owner.

At least 1,354 farmer beneficiaries are seeking ownership to the land. Even before the law obligating the government to distribute lands to landless farmers, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme (CARP), was made into law as early as 1960s, the ancestors of the present claimants and the claimants themselves, who were young then, have began their fight to own the land.

In 1990, three years after the CARP was made into law, the farmer beneficiaries applied for inclusion in the land for distribution under the CARP. However, surprisingly despite the farmers' pending applications three years later the land has been declared exempted from CARP, on the pretext that it is industrial and commercial land. Under the CARP, lands of this classification are exempted from distribution.

However, the process of the conversion of the land, which resulted in the lands exemption from distribution, has been highly questionable. At the time, the municipal mayor Jesus Miguel Yulo, the son of the owner and the zoning administrator -- who have had connections with the Yulos -- have deliberately abused their authority.

They have used their influence by converting the contested land to industrial, to ensure that it would be exempted from distribution.

It was learned though that since 1993 the land has been idle, neither used for industrial nor for commercial purposes. The municipal government of Calamba have likewise issued a certification which affirms that the contested land has been idle.

The said certification was submitted to the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) for them to reconsider the earlier decision exempting the land; however, the DAR nevertheless stood firm to its previous decision exempting the land for distribution.

In 2006, after learning the irregularities in the process of the exemption, the farmers filed a petition seeking to revoke the land's classification which remains pending. Also, Nasser Pangandaman, the DAR secretary, has also repeatedly denied the farmers' petition to revoke the earlier decision exempting the land from CARP citing its questionable conversion, on several occasions.

The DAR has stood firm on its earlier decision. In 2007, the Yulos instead offered to distribute home-lots to farmers, which measure about 150 square meters, to each beneficiary and cash worth PHP13,000 (USD263) supposedly as “disturbance compensation”; however, expectedly the farmers have refused their offer. One of the farmers said that what they needed is not home-lots, but land to farm and somewhere they could build their homes.

To date, the farmer's petition asking the DAR to reconsider its earlier decision is not showing any progress. This was the issue the farmers brought as they run from the head office of the DAR towards the House of Representatives.

Not only the farmers from Hacienda Yulo have sought for legislators' intervention, farmers from the Arroyo's have also sought the help from members of Senate.

After the 7-kilometre run from DAR to the House of Representatives was completed, a separate run, this time farmers from the Arroyo land, also took place which began from the Baclaran Church in Coastal Road, in Manila, towards the Senate building.

Shortly after the farmers arrived, led by Catholic priest Fr. Robert Reyes, a staff member of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), at the Senate some of them also joined the Senate committee hearing on the Arroyo land. The Senate's committee on agrarian reform was conducting an inquiry, in aid of legislation, as to why the Arroyo farmer's land in Negros Occidental have not been able to acquire the land under the CARP.

After the committee hearing was concluded it still failed to come out with a concrete resolution to immediately address the Arroyo farmers' demand to ensure the speedy distribution of the contested land to them. About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Photo: Photo Enthusiast In Sulu

A photo enthusiast looks through the eye piece of a digital SLR camera in Sulu province in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Pacquiao serves generously

"Filipino fighter, a hero in his native country, shares his wealth among them".

Manny Pacquiao is giving. Perhaps, to a fault. His trainer, Freddie Roach, is concerned that Pacquiao will give away all of his money. Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, is sure of it.

Prior to coming to Hollywood about six weeks ago to train for Saturday's welterweight fight against Oscar De La Hoya at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Pacquiao gave away food and money in his native Philippines to everyone who got in line. He'd hand them a bag of food, then several bills of cash.

The event was depicted on an episode of 24/7, a series produced by HBO, which will televise the fight on pay-per-view. But Arum had witnessed this kind of giveaway long before that in General Santos City, where Pacquiao lives with his wife and four children.

"I've seen people lined up outside his house," said Arum, who said Pacquiao has given away millions upon millions of dollars the past few years since making it big. "I've seen it with my own eyes."

Pacquiao is very religious. In his mind, this is his calling because of the athletic ability with which he was born.

"I believe our mission in this world is not only to make money, but we have a big responsibility," said Pacquiao, who has won world championships in four weight classes and is moving up in weight (to 147 pounds) to fight De La Hoya. "If you get the blessing from God, we are to give some to our people, and especially the poor people."

The Philippines, unfortunately, has plenty of those. Not only is Pacquiao a hero to them, he is a hero to those Filipinos fortunate enough to be living a better life in the U.S.

The Sunday before Thanksgiving, Pacquiao gave away turkeys to 500 families at Lake Street Park in Los Angeles' Filipino Town. One of those receiving a turkey was Robert Villaflor of Glendale.

"Manny is the biggest idol all over the world with the Philippine people," Villaflor said. "He is generous to a fault. People are always coming to him for financial help and are not turned away. Look at him today. He enjoyed giving the turkeys to all these hundreds of families.

"I hope for his sake that when he finishes boxing, he'll be wealthy for the rest of his life. I am told that he takes his advice from smart, wealthy people at home."

Author Thomas Hauser's 1991 book "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times" won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. He said that like Pacquiao, Ali was very big-hearted.

"Ali always gave away huge amounts of money," Hauser said Wednesday from Las Vegas. "It often was not wisely and he is OK financially today because his name and image are worth so much that he was able to replenish the coffers."

Hauser said that Ali didn't have someone to monitor his money and because of that some of it went to hustlers. He said Pacquiao would be smart to hire "a shrewd businessman who really understands these things" so as to avoid the same fate.

"Oscar (De La Hoya) gives away a lot of money to programs, but it is screened very carefully by Golden Boy Promotions," Hauser said. "I think Manny should have something like that in place. Manny could give away every cent that he has and still not make a dent in the problem in the Philippines."

Well, Arum said Pacquiao does have "very responsible people in the Philippines" counseling him. But he's not sure it helps deter Pacquiao.

"They try to guide him, but he's such a charitable person that they can't always control it," Arum said.

And no one is going to control Pacquiao.

"I have a big responsibility," said Pacquiao, 29. "All things that I have right now are from God and I have to give them back to the people who need help.

"So I believe the more you give, you get. I believe that. That's my heart. That's what I feel. So nobody can change my feelings."

Arum, who promoted several of Ali's fights, would never try. Arum believes Pacquiao is a special guy doing special things for people special to him.

"Manny keeps referring to God," Arum said. "God touches certain people. And when He touches those people and gives them great ability, they then feel that in response they have to give back. And the only way they can give back is to their fellow human beings.

"I know Manny feels that way and I think he's blessed that he has that view about life and his place in the scheme of things. So I'm very, very supportive of any and all kinds of charity that Manny does because I think Manny knows deep down that God will provide.

"Muhammad Ali was a very, very generous man and all the writers said, `Oh he's giving away all his money, giving away all his money.' But Muhammad Ali never had a want for material things because God provided. And today Muhammad Ali has material wealth and he still gives to people."

Arum is convinced that Pacquiao will indeed dole out all his hard-earned cash. But if Pacquiao leaves the kind of worldwide indelible mark Ali has, Arum is confident Pacquiao will always be in good shape.

"He will eventually end up giving it all away, but I really believe people like him and Ali always remain fresh in the minds of people," Arum said. "And they'll never have to want for money."

Pacquiao may be generous to a fault, but that's just Manny being Manny. In this case, that's a good thing. (Robert Morales, Staff Writer / Press-Telegram, http://www.presstelegram.com)

Photo: DTI Seizes, Destroys Sub-Standard Christmas Lights In Kidapawan City

Philippine authorities confiscated Thursday, December 4, 2008 assorted Christmas lights which did not pass the quality standard set by the Department of Trade and Industry in Kidapawan City in North Cotabato province. The local DTI office says the lights do not have the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) requirement. The sub-standard Christmas lights were destroyed in public and officials warn traders and store owners to comply with the DTI requirements. The campaign is headed by the DTI-Kidapawan and the Local Price Coordination Council. Sub-standard Christmas lights are often the cause of fire because of its poor quality.

(Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geonarri Solmerano).

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Gunman Kills Farmer Who Fought For Peasants' Rights In The Philippines

NEGROS ORIENTAL, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 4, 2008) - A Filipino farmer was shot dead by an unidentified gunman while outside his house in the former property of former Negros Oriental Rep. Herminio Teves in the village of Villareal in Santa Catalina here.

Edna Sobrecaray, spokesperson of the peasant group called Task Force Mapalad said Arnaldo Hoyohoy, 40, was shot at around 6.30 p.m. on Wednesday. He left behind his wife and four children.

Hayohoy's father, Romualdo, is a CLOA (Certificate of Land Ownership Award) holder and his brother Alexander was among a group of farmers who joined the two-month camp out in front of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Quezon City to press for the distribution of the 61-hectare Teves property.

Hoyohoy also was among those who led the land entry on November 6 in the former Teves estate while other farmers who camped in front of DAR Central office held a two-week hunger strike.

Sobrecaray condemned the murder. She said that while they still have to establish the motive for the killing, “the death of Hoyohoy underscores the need for authorities to provide protection to farmer-beneficiaries.”

Hoyohoy’s wife Lorna said they were inside the house near the property’s gate, together with Hoyohoy’s father and brother Alexander when they heard a gunshot.

They said they rushed outside the house and saw Hoyohoy sprawled on the ground with a wound on his right cheek, and on inspection found an exit wound on the neck.

They immediately brought Hoyohoy to Bayawan City Hospital but due to lack of equipment, the hospital dispatched an ambulance to bring Hoyohoy to Dumaguete City.

Hoyohoy succumbed to his wound at around 8:30 p.m. while on the way to Dumaguete City.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, who was one of the personalities who helped the farmers acquire the Teves property, condemned the killing. “I fear that this might be connected to the recent installation of the farmers in the property, but I hope it’s not,” Pimentel said.

Witnesses, including Caranoche Councillor Dennis Sales and Carlos Magli told the Santa Catalina police that he saw the gunman wearing a green shirt pointed his weapon and fired at Hayohoy who was about to close their house’s gate. The unidentified gunman escaped with another companion, who acted as his lookout. The assailant also left his slippers.

Initial police report said the suspects fled toward the Negros Oriental State University where a student spotted them.

Hoyohoy’s father, who was granted CLOA by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in 1997, is among the 30 CLOA holders installed in the property by agrarian officials on November 12 after almost 11 years of legal battle with the landowners. (With a report from Lani Factor)

Reporters Sans Borders is outraged by killing of broadcaster in the Philippines

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the murder of Leo Mila, a Radyo Natin presenter in San Roque, in the central province of Northern Samar.

Mila was gunned down at around 7 p.m. Tuesday by an unidentified person outside the station's studios in San Roque.

"The repeated, targeted murders of radio presenters are a disgrace for the Philippines," Reporters Without Borders said. "The safety of all the victim's colleagues is in danger if nothing is done to rein in the current wave of violence. The impunity must stop and the guilty must be punished."

Mila's body was found by his colleagues in a grassy area a few metres from the entrance to the station. They said they heard several shots but did not go out at once because it was dark. His motorbike was found lying on its side, not far from the body.

The manager of the San Roque branch of Radyo Natin, Alice Cargo, said Mila recently hosted a debate about anomalies in the collection of money from the parents of students at a local high school. Police planned to question two of the school's teachers, she said.

Carolina L. Montilla, the head of the local branch of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP), said Mila was known for speaking out and had received threats for criticising local corruption.

Aged 35, he presented a programme every morning in which he addressed complaints sent in by listeners. He also wrote articles for various regional newspapers and recently published a local magazine An Peryodista. He is survived by his wife and two children.

He was the eighth journalist to be killed since the start of the year in the Philippines and the second Radyo Natin presenter to be gunned down in less than a month. Aristeo Padrigao, a Radyo Natin host in Gingoog City, in Misamis Oriental province, was shot dead by two men on a motorcycle outside a school on November 17 after dropping off one of his children.

President Arroyo To Inspect Projects In Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines — Just hours after her arrival from Hong Kong, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to visit Jose Abad Santos town in Davao del Sur province in Mindanao on Thursday to inspect a road project, according to the official Philippine News Agency.

The completion of the road project in the village of Balangonan will pave the way for the construction of the Kitayo-Balangonan and the Meybio in the towns of Jose Abad Santos and Glan. These road sections are part of the P30-million Davao del Sur-Sarangani Coastal Road.

Upon her arrival in Balangonan, Arroyo is expected to be briefed by Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane on the road project construction and development, according to Assistant Regional Director Reynaldo Tamayo of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Tamayo said the concreting of Davao del Sur-Sarangani Coastal Road (Kitayo-Balangonan section) in the village of Kitayo and Balangonan in Jose Abad Santos would make it easy for farmers to transport agricultural and other products to the agri-industrial center in General Santos City.

Started in August 2008, the Kitayo-Balangonan section is expected to be completed in July 2009.

If completed, the project will provide better linkages and access to other villages and hasten the economic development of the municipalities of Jose Abad Santos and Glan in Sarangani.

The clearing and construction of the Davao Del Sur-Sarangani Coastal Road (Meybio, Jose Abad Santos-Glan section), willl also provide access to the municipalities of Don Marcelino and Jose Abad Santos, both in Davao Del Sur, and Glan in Sarangani.

The DPWH said some 50,000 residents of the 16 isolated villages of Jose Abad Santos will directly benefit from the project.

Located in the village of Meybio and Balangonan here, the 21.420-kilometer road project has a total funding of P100 million.

The road is envisioned to provide a direct link between the agriculture-rich municipalities of Davao del Sur and Sarangani, particularly to the fast-growing General Santos City.

Once completed, the project will serve as an effective access to the communities in the interior parts of the two provinces whose potentials as agriculture production areas have remained largely untapped due to lack of roads.

Solo protest seeks land reform extension in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino priest, known in the Philippines as the "running priest", held a solo protest inside the Philippine Congress in Quezon City on December 2 calling upon legislators to consider as a priority, the extension of the land reform law.

Before he resumed his daily 15-kilometre run together with farmers, Fr. Robert Reyes, went inside the Congress' main lobby where he offers his daily prayer for the farmers and reaffirmed the latter's demand that a bill which seeks for the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) with reform be passed promptly before the year end.

There are serious concern that once the year ends without passing a law extending it and by including reforms, the plight of landless farmers will hang in the balance; and that those who are supposed to be beneficiaries under the CARP, would have no other means or legal remedies at all to seek ownership of the lands they till.

Although the implementation of the law itself is inadequate and ineffective; however, either not having or losing the legal obligation on part of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the implementing agency of the land distribution programme, to pursue land reform ownership would become even more extremely difficult.

Two decades after the land reform law took affect; thousands of hectares of land all over the country have failed to have been awarded to farmers.

In Negros Occidental alone, a local group called Task Force Mapalad (TFM), said the claims of a total of 11,239 hectares of land covering 134 haciendas by about 5,731 farmer beneficiaries remain pending at all levels of the CARP process. This includes the 157 hectares of land owned by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, in Isabela.

The DAR's huge backlog in the distribution of lands under the Land Acquisition and Distribution (LAD) claims has also since been aggravated by the needless and the deliberate delays in the processing of farmer's applications, landlords either using their political influence upon the government agencies or threatening them with legal action; and political interference to subvert the supposed to be ordinary process of land distribution.

Before leaving the Congress lobby to resume his daily run, Reyes, also a staff member of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), displayed his placard on which the demands for the CARP's extension is written.

Reyes also offered a short prayer on behalf of the farmers in front of a wall where the pictures and names of the members of the Philippine Congress are displayed.

On his way out, Reyes joined several other farmers who were waiting for him at the gate outside the Congress compound; and shortly after they resumed their run towards the head office of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR). It was Reyes' and the farmer's second run as part of their daily 15-kilometre run in ten days.

One of those joining Reyes and the farmers in their run was Reiko Sembad, a 22-year-old student of Cultural and Tourism Studies from a university in Tokyo. Reiko, like other farmers who joined the run, did not mind the scorching heat and exhaustion during the run.

The farmers, including the elderly, who joined the second day run were even wearing flip tops and trousers. However, despite not wearing running gear and not prepared, their endurance and willingness to complete the run was moving.

In the afternoon, Reyes held a mass inside the farmers' makeshift tents where they apparently been staying on protest for the past several weeks in front of the DAR. It is also the place where eight farmers from the Arroyo land are holding their indefinite hunger strike.(The Asian Human Rights Commission)

Broadcaster in Northern Samar slain

A radio commentator was shot dead Tuesday night in San Roque town, Northern Samar in central Philippines. Local police identified the slain journalist as Leo Luna Mila, 35, of Radyo Natin.

Mila was reportedly on his way to work when shot in front the radio station in Barangay Poblacion around 7 p.m. by still unknown gunmen. He suffered from multiple gunshot wounds, according to PNP Provincial Director, Eusebio Mejos.

Mila was known for his hard-hitting commentaries. He is the seventh journalist killed this year, less than a month after broadcaster Arecio Padrigao, of Radyo Natin in Misamis Oriental was also shot dead by two motorcycle-riding suspects.

Of the seven slain journalists, five are radio broadcasters.

His murder raises to 62 the number of slain journalists under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s watch. (IFJ-NUJP Media Safety Office)

Filipino Wife Of Bangladeshi Terror Suspect Denies Allegations Vs. Husband

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 3, 2008) – The Filipino wife of an arrested Bangladeshi national denied Wednesday government allegations the foreigner was a terrorist.

Security forces arrested Muhammad Alpariz on Tuesday in the village of Tapayan in Sultan Mastura town in Shariff Kabunsuan, one of six provinces of the Muslim autonomous region, police and military said.

But Filipino Sulaika Rafiquellah said her husband was not Muhammad Alpariz, but Mohammad Rafiquellah. She said her 48-year old husband is not a terrorist and not a member of either the al-Qaeda or Jemaah Islamiya.

Police commandos, backed by army troops, swooped on the foreigner’s hideout and found improvised explosives, authorities said.

The woman insisted her husband is a Bangladeshi after Philippine television reports, including Al-Jazeera, reported the man to be a Pakistani terrorist.

In a television interview, Rafiquellah said her husband had been framed up by authorities.

“He is a farmer, a mechanic and has a cell phone repair shop in Sultan Mastura town,” she said.

She also appealed to authorities to release the foreigner, insisting he is innocent of all charges against him. Rafiquellah is facing charges of illegal possession of explosives.

Security officials did not say if the foreigner has links with either the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels or the smaller, but the most violent group called the Abu Sayyaf which authorities claimed had connections with the al-Qaeda and the Jemaah Islamiya.

His arrest coincided with sporadic fighting between the MILF and military forces in the southern Philippines. The MLF is the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-determination in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Photo: Pearl of Sarangani

Fermelyn Reyes, middle, from the municipality of Alabel, wins the title, Pearl of Sarangani 2008, during the recent 6th MunaTo Festival beauty pageant. Two other local beauties - Kristine Joy Lagura of Malapatan, and Fermelyn Reyes of Alabe, who are 2nd and 1st placers, pose with the new Pearl of Sarangani. (Photo by Allan C. de Lima)

Humanitarian crisis looms in Basilan island

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 3, 2008) – A humanitarian crisis is looming in the southern Philippine island of Basilan, where security forces are battling Moro rebels and Abu Sayyaf militants.

Thousands of civilians had been affected by military operations and sporadic clashes between rebels and soldiers, according to Basilan deputy governor Al Rasheed Sakalahul, acting head of the provincial crisis management committee.

“We have so many people who are now affected by the hostilities in Basilan. We need food aid to feed the hungry, those displaced by the fighting,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said many of those affected by the skirmishes are from the towns of Maluso, Tipo-Tipo, Al-Barka and Ungkaya Pukan, although there were also reports of refugees in Tuburan town.

Basilan governor Jum Akbar could not be reached to comment about the worsening situation on the island, south of Zamboanga City. Local officials said Akbar was often out of Basilan and spends most of her time either in Zamboanga City or Manila.

Government troops launched operations last week to flush out Abu Sayyaf militants, blamed for the spate of kidnappings-for-ransom in Basilan.

Nine people had been kidnapped in Basilan since early this week by either the Abu Sayyaf or rebels from the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Gunmen are still holding two other hostages - Joed Pilangga, a nursing student kidnapped Oct. 17 in Zamboanga City, and Nicole Raveche, seized Nov. 26 in Lamitan City.

Abu Sayyaf kidnappers, headed by Puruji Indama and Nur Hassan Jamiri, have demanded P20 million ransoms from Pilangga’ family and P6 million for Raveche’s freedom.

Two government militias were also injured in MILF attack on a military post near Ungkaya Pukan town. And Sakalahul said rebels also seized at least five automatic weapons from another group of militias in a recent attack in Maluso town.

Marine Col. Rustico Guererro said MILF rebels were attacking soldiers pursuing the Abu Sayyaf, sparking sporadic clashes on the island. He accused the MILF of violating a fragile truce it signed with the military in 2001 after President Gloria Arroyo opened up peace talks with the rebels.

Guererro accused the MILF of sheltering Abu Sayyaf militants. “They have been coddling the Abu Sayyaf,” he said, an accusation the MILF strongly denied.

“They are just using the Abu Sayyaf as an escape goat to justify attacks on the MILF forces in Basilan,” said Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader.

More than a dozen people had been kidnapped the past four months by Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan, including two Filipino aid workers, and most of them had been freed in exchange for huge ransoms. Locals blamed the police and military authorities in Basilan, one of six provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, for its failure to secure the safety of the civilians. (Mindanao Examiner)

Peace-Inspired Artworks Exhibit Opens In Zamboanga City

Rameer Tawasil's "The Flight". (Photo by Darwin Wee)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – In an effort to deliver the message of peace artistically, 19 renown and local visual artists all over southern Philippines have staged an art exhibit at the National Museum in line with the observance of the Mindanao Week of Peace.

More than 40 peace-related art pieces are currently being displayed at the right-wing of the centuries-old Spanish Fort-turned-museum.

The art exhibit, dubbed as "Artes y Paz" (art and peace), was formally opened to the public on Monday. It was attended by different religious groups locally and internationally, peace advocates, and local officials.

"Through our art works, we hope it can contribute in the movement to free Mindanao from the different levels of conflict," said Tausug-Zamboangueno artist Rameer A. Tawasil, who led the gathering of visual artists here.

Rev. Fr. Angel C. Calvo, CMF, president of Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ), who is initiating the weeklong peace celebration in the city, said that the art exhibit signified that Mindanao stakeholders should work collectively to create a peaceful environment in the south amid continuing hostilities in Central Mindanao and in the neighboring island provinces.

The participating artists are Tawasil, Al-qasmi Lakibul, Chito Alvarez, Kit Lorenzo, city councilor Gerky Valesco, Jupiter Pollisco, Saad T'laa, Jojo Martinez, Juni Grapa, Kurt lluch, Leah Padilla, Raymund Malicay, Errol Balcos, Nick Aca, Ivan Macarambon, Joel Geolamen, Jake Vamenta, Nonoy Estarte, Michelle Lau-ta Naw, and Michael Bacol Lagos.

Among the art pieces are the abstract series of Cagayan de Oro-based Aca's "Inner Peace" and mixed media art on "Lead Me lord," which comes from the medium of metallic lead.

Tawasil also unveiled three charcoal and pencil drawings on peace meditation entitled "The Flight."

Martinez, who is a practicing architect in Dipolog City, displayed his unique colorful 14 x 14 inches hologram collage art piece called "Malinawon" which means “peaceful” in the Bisayan dialect.

"When you keenly view the semi-three dimension of my art, there is a message of calmness. The layered colors represent the diversity of the people here in Mindanao, which connotes the beauty of harmonious relationships," the 60 year-old Martinez, who is also a sculptor, said.

Young Lakibul, who is known for his colorful and intricate Arabic-inspired calligraphy, also put on display several peace-related artworks.Local visual artists Pollisco, Lorenzo, Alvarez and the others put on view their own masterpieces, which include a depiction of the daily life of the Badjaos, scenic landscapes, and flowers.

The exhibit, which will run for two months, can be viewed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Darwin Wally T. Wee)

Zamboanga traffic men linked to summary execution of boy

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Dec. 3, 2008) – A Filipino boy, whose twin brother was found murdered, has accused traffic enforcers in Zamboanga City as behind the grisly killing.

The victim, Benjamin Mariga, was stabbed 17 times and his body had been recovered on a mountain village called Abong-Abong on Oct. 31. He was 14 years old.

The boy, his brother Paul Mariga, and four other street children were arrested late last month by five traffic enforcers after accusing them of being thieves, the victim’s mother, Flor Mariga, said.

“My son was not a thief. Why did they kill my son? He was a good boy,” the victim’s mother told reporters. The woman appealed to authorities to give justice to the cold-blooded murder of her boy.

“Please help us find the killer of my son. We want justice. I want to see the face of the man who did this to my son,” she said.

Paul Mariga said the officers herded them into a mini-van and brought to a place where they had been ordered to clean. Except for him and his brother, the rest of the children either escaped or freed by the officers.

He said they were brought to Abong-Abong village onboard a van, but Paul Mariga claimed that he jumped out from the vehicle and escaped after the officers tied the hands of his brother.

Paul Mariga said his brother screamed for help and told him to run and to tell their mother about what happened. “It was the last time I saw my brother alive. And it pains me so much after I saw his body. He was stabbed 17 times,” Paul Mariga said.

The traffic enforcers are under the Zamboanga City government and police is investigating the murder. “There is an investigation going on. We need to establish the allegations of the boy and we will not tolerate this crime. If this is proven, we will file a case against those involved in the killing of the boy,” Elmer Apolinario, the deputy City Administrator, told the Mindanao Examiner.

City Hall employs about 40 traffic enforcers who work on different shifts. Apolinario said they do not want the killing to affect good image of Zamboanga City as far as child welfare is concerned.

Zamboanga was recently adjudged as the region’s most child friendly city for its outstanding implementation of programs aimed to protect children’s rights and welfare.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development also cited Zamboanga City’s efforts in ensuring child-friendly governance which have been vital in preserving and promoting children’s rights to survival, development, protection and participation.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said it is also investigating the murder. “We are also investigating the killing of the boy. This is summary execution,” said lawyer Manuel Mamauag, the CHR regional chief for Western Mindanao.

The Salinlahi Alliance for Children's Concerns, an advocacy group for children's rights and welfare, has condemned the killing and said it will launch a separate investigation in Zamboanga City. “We condemned this killing. We will investigate the Mariga case,” said Alphonse Rivera, the group’s spokesman.

The alliance has documented 66 cases of children killed in the Philippines, including 50 cases of torture, 55 cases of children who had been illegally arrested and detained, and 49 more who were victims of frustrated killings, since President Gloria Arroyo assumed presidency in 2001.

Summary execution in Zamboanga City is not uncommon and hundreds of unclaimed cadavers, mostly victims of gun attacks, had been buried in a common graveyard in recent years. (Mindanao Examiner)

NCO gets Soldiers Medal for Rescue of Philippine Students

Col. William "Bill" Coultrup, commander of Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, pins the Soldier’s Medal on Staff Sgt. Ruben D. Gonzalez as part of a ceremony Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27. Gonzalez was awarded the medal for risking his life to save three Philippines students from drowning. (Photo by MC2 Aaron D. Burden)

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (Army News Service) - An American noncommissioned officer deployed to the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines was awarded the Soldier's Medal Nov. 27 for risking his life to save three Philippine college students from drowning last year.

Staff Sgt. Ruben D. Gonzalez heard calls for help Sept. 30, 2007, along the shores at Naval Station Zamboanga in the Southern Philippines, and he sprang into action.

Arthur M. Atilano witnessed the events. He said, "One of the kids got pulled by the current and brought him in the deep area below the pier. Then, two teenagers tried to save the kid. The two teenagers were also pulled to the deep water. That was when they started calling for help."

Students and staff of Zamboanga's MEIN College were enjoying a day at the beach, celebrating the college's "Foundation Day," when the three students got caught in the dangerous current and were dragged into deep, unsafe water.

"The water current that day was incredibly strong; even the LCT [a 65-ton naval vessel] could not dock at the pier," said Sgt. Sausha T. Jones of the JSOTF-P.

Gonzalez was in the area performing logistics work. Seeing and hearing the situation begin to unravel, he quickly dove headfirst into the water and went for the most exhausted swimmer first.

Grabbing the victim around the chest, Gonzalez swam him to the nearest pier piling, which served as a makeshift life-preserver. Telling the student to hold the piling as tightly as possible, Gonzalez swam back out for the other two distressed swimmers, pulling them both through the current to the nearest pier piling.

"I was so tired and exhausted, I could not hang on [to the piling] and accepted that I was going to die," said the first swimmer Gonzalez rescued.

Seeing Philippine Navy personnel throwing floatation devices down to the distressed swimmers, Gonzalez shouted out words of encouragement to hang on a little longer.

Upon reaching the beach, Philippine Navy medics tended to the victims. After it was clear the students were ashore and in good hands, Gonzalez left the growing crowd of onlookers, unnoticed. He got back in his vehicle and, despite several cuts on his arms, hands, legs, and feet, returned to duty.

"Knowing the danger on putting his life at risk to rescue my students is a heroism act that forever will be embedded in our hearts, for without him that very moment, my students would have died," said MEIN College teacher and eye-witness, Margie Janda. "Thank God for giving us Mr. Gonzalez." (Lt. Col. Joe Allegretti - the author serves as public affairs officer for the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines / Army.com.)