Kidnapped Ateneo nursing student freed in Basilan

Freed Joed Anthony Pilangga reunites with his parents as Vice Governor Al-Rasheed Sakkalahul (left) looks on inside the Philippine Navy headquarters in Upper Calarian a day after the hostage's release on Christmas eve Wednesday in Basilan. Photo Courtesy WesMinCom PIO

Ateneo de Zamboanga University nursing student Joed Anthony Pilangga was freed on Christmas eve Wednesday by his kidnappers after more than two months of captivity in Basilan, a provincial government official said.

The 17-year old Pilangga was abandoned by his captors to the emissaries of Basilan Vice Governor Al-Rasheed Sakkalahul at around 9:20 p.m. at vicinity between the villages of Magkawa and Poblacion in Tipo-Tipo.

Sakkalahul, chairman of the Basilan's Crisis Management Committee (CMC) who negotiated for the release of Pilangga, said pressures from the military and police compelled the kidnappers to free the hostage.

He said following the release, his emissaries took Joed to his residence in Tipo-Tipo to rest overnight. The next day, he said he turned over the freed hostage to the 1st Marine Brigade in Tabiawan, Isabela City.

The vice governor did not give further details surrounding Pilangga's release, but hailed the combined military and police efforts that freed the kidnapped victim, and thanked his counterparts who helped him secure the release of the hostage.

It was not known whether any ransom was paid, although Pilangga's family earlier told media that they regularly turned over money to the kidnappers for Joed's "board and lodging" expenses.

The military said parents of Joed have declined a media presentation at the military's Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) headquarters.

"Please be informed that the parents of Joed have declined to be interviewed. I hope we can all symphatize with their plight. However, they have mentioned that the vice governor can speak on their behalf," said 1st Lt. Esteffani Caho, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command, in a text message.

Cacho issued the statement after some members of the WesMinCom's Defense Press Corps complained that they were prevented by navy officials at the Naval Forces Western Mindanao headquarters from taking footage and photos of Pilangga.

Pilangga, however, answered media phone interviews. He said his captors treated him well and fed him fish, vegetables and noodles during his 68-day ordeal in the hinsterlands, but had threatened to kill him if they did not get the ransom.

The young Pilangga was reported missing October 17 by the city police until his parents broke their silence to say that their son was kidnapped in Zamboanga City and brought by his captors to Basilan province.

Abu Sayyaf was tagged by authorities as behind the kidnapping. The group is still holding 9-year old April Nicole Raviche, who was kidnapped Nov. 26 in Lamitan City and demanded P4 million for her freedom.

Twin bomb explosions in Iligan City kill 2 people, injure 47 others

Two bomb explosions rocked few minutes apart in Iligan City, killing two people and injuring at least thirty-five others Thursday afternoon in two shopping centers, authorities said.

The first explosion went off at around 1:25 p.m. at the Uni City Commercial Center and five minutes after another blast occurred at the Jerry Shoppers Plaza, military sources said.

Both shopping stores are located at Aguinaldo Street in Palao.

The bombs were left in the baggage counters of the two shopping centers, said Army 1st Lt. Esteffani Cacho, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command.

"The first explosion injured two people and damage of a van and the second blast killed two and injured four others," Cacho said.

However, Cacho's updated report (as of 4:00 p.m. Thursday) showed that the number of injured victims increased to 47 while the number of slain victims remain two.

She said the victims of the twin blasts were rushed to the different hospitals in Iligan City and their identities are not yet known.

A radio report said a baggage counter clerk at one of the stores was one of the fatalities.

Cacho said a team of bomb squads with K9 units of the 403rd Brigade were sent to the blast cites to help police authorities in the investigation.

Top military officials at the Western Mindanao Command headquarters would not comment about question on who may be responsible for the twin blasts.

Late August this year, two homemade bombs exploded almost simultaneously in two budget hotels in Iligan City, wounding at least four people.

Leaders of anti-homeland deal suspected rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels under Commander Bravo were responsible for the August two bomb attacks.

Remote Lanao village gets water system, solar drier from World Bank

Safe drinking water has never been so abundant in a remote predominantly Maranaw barangay in the first district of Lanao del Sur until a foreign donor came in and intervened.

Residents of Barangay Talaguian, located at the border of Lanao del Sur's adjoining Poona-Bayabao and Masiu towns, in fact, got from World Bank not just a water system project, but a solar drier for the agricultural produce as well.

Hadja Leamen Laut, Provincial Social Welfare and Development Officer of the so-called Lanao Sur A, which groups all of the towns in the first district of the province, said there has been dramatic improvements in the lives of people in the once impoverished barangay as a result of the World Bank projects.

Both the World Bank and the Japan Bank on International Cooperation (JBIC) channels all of their assistance for poor areas in Southern Philippines through the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Social Fund Project (ASFP).

Health authorities in Lanao del Sur said there have been a sharp decline in cases of water-borne diseases, such as dysentery and gastro-enteritis, after the ASFP and local villagers have constructed, as a community venture, a water system Barangay Talaguian.

"People there now have access to clean, safe drinking water," Laut said.

The office of Laut, the local government unit which has jurisdiction over Barangay Talaguian, and various community organizations joined ranks and built the water system and the solar drier in their barangay.

About 80 percent of residents in the barangay rely on farming as a source of income and the solar drier, thus, improved their productivity.

People in the barangay had used portions of a concrete national highway traversing their villages as drier for the rice and corn grains, causing inconvenience to motorists.

"Now we have our solar drier we can use for drying our harvests. What is nice about the project is that it is community-constructed, community owned," Muntia Kasim, 34, said.

Japan assists ARMM Social Fund Projects In Lanao

What once ranked eighth in the list of the 10 poorest barangays in Lanao del Sur is now one of the most progressive, virtually made progressive the "bayanihan" style by feuding Maranaw families that were so hostile to each other before.

It was only when residents in Barangay Micolabo in Picong, Lanao del Sur decided to unite and cohesively address underdevelopment, as a consequence of clan wars involving local families that peace and development started to spread in their villages.

It was Barangay Micolabo's being so poor and for having been previously dubbed "wild, wild west" of Picong town that enticed the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to intervene, through the conduit for its projects in the South, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Social Fund Project (ASFP).

Both JBIC and World Bank channel through the ASFP their assistance to impoverished communities in the South.

Bai Annie Ampuan, who monitors all Japanese-assisted projects of ASFP in Lanao del Sur, said it was for the mandatory involvement of local villagers in the construction of a barangay health station, a communal coconut dyer, and a multi-purpose center that virtually forced residents in Micolabo to forget about their bloody clan wars, come together and manage the three projects by themselves.

The ASFP is jointly managed by ARMM Gov. Datu Zaldy Ampatuan, lawyer Mustapha Sambolawan and the ASFP's finance director, Alejando Coscos.

The ARMM police have pegged to 2,300 the number of loose firearms in Micolabo just a year before the JBIC came in to intervene.

"Life was so miserable in Barangay Micolabo then. We lived in fear, in dire poverty and there was immense feeling of neglect by government," Maranaw farmer Gandasuri Mamacotao, 50, said in the vernacular.

Local officials said the construction by feuding Micolabo residents of a communal coconut dryer have ushered in dramatic improvements in the area's economy.

The ARMM's trade and industry, and agriculture departments have both recorded a sharp upswing in the production of copra from Barangay Micolabo in the past eight months.

"The copra coming from that area are now well-dried and, thus, have high commercial value," said the ARMM's agriculture secretary, Kesie Usman.

Corrine Tabua, who is the provincial social welfare officer of Lanao del Sur's Area B, which covers more than a dozen towns in the second district of the province, said credit also goes to the women of Barangay Micolabo, who provided extensive support to the construction of the three community-planned projects.

"You can even see the women in the area now attending peace dialogues at the newly-built multi-purpose center at the heart of Barangay Micolabo," Tabua said.

Tabua said people in Micolabo now no longer carry guns when they roam around, only farming tools. "Peace and development have set that barangay in sooner than we expected," he said.

Defense chief tells marines to root out kidnappers in Basilan

National Defense Chief Gilbert Teodoro accompanied by Navy Commodore Alexander Pama of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao pins military merit medal to marine soldiers during his visit Thursday at the 1st Marine Brigade headquarters in Tabiawan, Isabela City in Basilan.

Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro met with top Philippine Marine officials in Basilan Thursday as military operations against the kidnap-for-ransom groups reportedly linked with the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels in the island province continues.

The defense chief held a closed-door talks with the Basilan-based military commanders led by Colonel Rustico Guerrero, commander of the 1st Marine Brigade, at their headquarters in Tabiawan, Isabela City.

Secretary Teodoro was accompanied by Navy Commodore Alexander Pama of the Naval Forces South Western Mindanao and other military ranking officials from the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom).

He told marines that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gave explicit instructions to him through an Administrative Order "to get to the root of these kidnapping activities and to flush and root them out.

"We can't allow the reign of terror through kidnapping or what not to disrupt lives not merely here in Basilan, but in Zamboanga or wherever that be," he said.

The defense chief pinned military merit medals to 15 marines soldiers who clashed with suspected Abu Sayyaf and rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front groups in Al Barka town.

He also joined a military's buddle fight before returning to Zamboanga City to visit the wounded soldiers confined at the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Upper Calarian.

Col. Guerrero presented to him some recovered long firearms, including an M-16 rifle, Garand, as well as ammunitions, subversive documents and identification cards believed to be from the kidnappers.

The defense chief's visit to Basilan came after a series of encounters in Al Barka on Sunday that left at least five marine soldiers dead, 25 others wounded while the rebels suffered three dead, including a commander, and six others wounded.

"Unang una nais kong ipaabot ang sinsero at napakalalim na pasasalamat ng ating mahal na Pangulo para sa mga sakripisyo ninyo," Teodoro said in a brief speech before a contingent of heavily armed marines.

"Nandito tayo hindi lamang para lumaban sa mga kriminal kung hindi magbigay ng leksyon sa buong bansa na hindi natin pababayaan na ang mga kriminal magtago sa likod ng kahit sino man."

"Gusto natin ipakita sa buong Pilipinas na hindi natin pababayaan na magkalat ang mga kriminal dito. Dapat natin patunayan na mayrong Republika ng Pilipinas na magtatanggol sa lahat ng ating mga kababayan sa ilalim ng batas."

"Kaya huwag natin pababayaan ang mga kriminal nag maghari dito. We will continue to fight criminality. We have to put down the carrying of arms, the resort to armed violence to settle disputes, and the resort to arms to earn a living."

"We will finish off the threat. All those who are involved or give safe harbor to kidnappers for ransom should be included in the operations. I think that's clear. Of course (punitive action) is beyond debate it's a necessity."

"There's only one language that these kidnappers for ransom understand and that is for the law to take catch up with them. We have to have a strong and credible deterrent action to prevent their activities from forming," he concluded.

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Heavy fighting in Basilan leaves 5 Marine soldiers dead, 25 others wounded

Major General Benjamin Dolorfino, commandant of the Philippine Marines Corps, pins wounded personnel medal to Capt. Julie Palanca, one of the wounded soldiers in a clash with Moro rebels in Basilan on Sunday, as Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga looks on during their visit at the Camp Navarro General Hospital in Upper Calarian, Zamboanga City on Tuesday.

Heavy fighting between government troops and a combined Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels raged in the island province of Basilan over the weekend as the military said they suffered at least five soldiers dead and 25 others wounded.

Army 1st Lt. Esteffani Cacho, spokesperson for the Western Mindanao Command, said undetermined armed men attacked the Marine Battalion Landing Team-8 based in Bohe Libong in Al Barka, triggering a series of clashes.

"During that series of encounterss which lasted until early morning, the government troops suffered five dead and 24 wounded on the marines side and for the Air Force, there was one pilot of the OV-10 that was wounded," Cacho told reporters.

She linked a combined forces of the Abu Sayyaf and rogue Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) kidnap-for-ransom groups as the attackers who are responsible for many kidnappings of Basilan.

Eid Kabalu, senior MILF leader, confirmed their forces in Basilan suffered three dead, including Sattar Alih, head of the MILF ceasefire monitoring team in the island province, and six others injured in the fighting.

But he denied they were coddling the Abu Sayyaf and accused the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of violating the ceasefire agreement.

Sunday's fighting in Al Barka was the second major encounter since last year after marine soldiers searching for a kidnapped Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi, who was seized on June 10 in Zamboanga Sibugay, clashed with suspected Abu Sayyaf kidnappers.

The fighting left 14 marines dead, but ten of them were later beheaded by the terrorists led by Puruji Indama. Bossi was freed six weeks later in Zamboanga del Sur province in exchange for a huge ransom.

Government forces have now confined the kidnappers to parts of Al Barka and its adjacent areas, according to Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, chief of the Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom).

He, however, declined to give further details on the ongoing military operations in Basilan.

Top military officials led by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, chief of the Philippine Marines Corps, and Gen. Allaga had pinned earlier wounded personnel medals to 25 Marine soldiers who clashed with the Abu Sayyaf and MILF in Al Barka.

The five slain soldiers were airlifted to Marine headquarters in Manila, where President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would be visiting them on Wednesday as part of the tradition of Marines. They will be burried in the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Lieutenant Cacho also announced the release of seven quarry workers in Tuburan town who were abducted early December.

Freed were identified as Wagnerson Toledo, Tomas de Leon Jr., Albert Manolis, Rodel Fernando, Raffy Ragmak, Alfred Layam and Joebert Natividad. Three of them are from Labuan, Zamboanga City.

They were initially brought to the 1st Marine Brigade's headquarters in Tabiawan, Isabela City for debriefing and medical check up.

Lamitan Mayor Roderick Furigay on Monday night broke out the news of the seven quarry workers' release. Furigay, in a national media report, said the victims' release was phoned to him by the kidnappers around 9 p.m. Monday.

He said he called up Barangan Bulanting chairman Asdi Alki to fetch the victims in Tuburan.

Reports said local officials paid the kidnappers "board and lodging" in exchange of the quarry workers' release.

The seven workers were returning to their office on board a dump truck when they were stopped and taken by masked gunmen.

One of the freed workers told reporters that they were seized by about seven gunmen in fatigue uniforms and were tied while in captivity.

Asked if they were harmed by their captors while in captivity, De Leon said: "No hindi naman kami sinaktan. Pinakain kami tatlong beses sa isang araw."

Meanwhile, Cacho said the released seven quarry workers, which are three from Zamboanga City, one from Cagayan de Oro City, and three from Lamitan City, Basilan, were abducted by MILF.

It was learned they were abducted because the owner of the gravel company that they're working for has an offense with the MILF.

"They (7 workers) were taken in retaliation (by MILF). And in fact they further said that before they were released, their captors told them not to return to Basilan because they will be harmed," Cacho said.

Turkish school distributes beef meats to indigent families in Zamboanga

Butchers divide cows during Monday's distribution of beef meats for thousands of people, mostly indigents, at the Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School in Sinunuc, Pitogo, this city.

The Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School slaughtered at least 700 heads of cattle and distributed its meat to thousands of people mostly needy people in the different villages in the city as part of the Muslim feast of Eid al-adha holiday.

Muslims sacrifice cows, sheep, goats and bulls during yesterday's Islamic religious holiday, a ritual commemorating the biblical account of Allah's provision of a ram for Prophet Abraham to sacrifice, as he was about to kill his son.

"This year, we planned to slaughter 700 cows within three days and this is an annual activity. We call it Qurban or Eid'l Adha," said Cihangir Arslan, the Turkish school high school director at Barangay Sinunuc, Pitogo in this city.

The budget used for the purchase of the cows came from donations of Turkey, Australia, Philippines and other parts in the world aimed at helping feed about 5,000 families in Manila and 25,000 families in Zamboanga City, Ipil, Basilan and Jolo, respectively.

The Filipino-Turkish Tolerance School was established in Zamboanga City in 1997 and since then has been actively involved in humanitarian activities, like the distribution of meat of beef to thousands of people, both Muslims and non-Muslims people.

"We give two kilos of beef for each beneficiary," Arslan said. "We have no expectation here. Those Muslims who can afford must do this charity. We are just distributing to make poor people happy at least once a year to taste beef."

He said the meat is intended for anyone as long as he or she is indigent. "This is not only for Muslims. We're not only sharing the meat for Muslims. We distribute also to our Christian brothers and sisters. The blessings are for everybody."

The estimated 1.5 billion-strong Muslim world called Ummah, including its Filipino members, paid tribute Monday to the patriarch Abraham's strong faith in God as they celebrated Eid'l Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice and one of Islam's biggest holidays.

This is told in the Qur'an, in Chapter 37, Verse 102:

"Then when (Abraham's son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him he said: 'O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: now tell me what is thy view!' (The son) said: 'O my father! Do as thou art commanded. Thou will find me, if God so wills, among those who are patient in adversity!'

Muslims believe that God tested Abraham's faith by ordering him to sacrifice his son. Prophet Abraham obeyed but before he could slaughter his son, God at the last moment replaced his son with a ram for the sacrifice.

Thus, Eid'l Adha celebration through slaughtering an animal honors Abraham and his strong faith. The meat from the slaughtered goat, sheep or cow is divided in four equal parts: one quarter for the owner, a quarter for relatives, a quarter for friends, and the last quarter for the needy.

Anti-Moro homeland deal politicians put down MILF's Commander Bravo

Filipinos who strongly opposed the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front lower an anti-homeland deal streamer, which reads "Yes to peace, NO to BJE" and "Let us be united in the fight to retain integrity and sovereignty of Zamboanga City," from the balcony of City Hall. Photo below shows Mayor Celso Lobregat (center), North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol (2nd from left), Senator Mar Roxas (in blue shirt) pose for posterity with the folded anti-streamer that will be kept at the museum.

Political leaders who strongly opposed the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the Philippines government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have put down a statement made by a rogue commander of the Moro rebel group responsible for a series of attacks in Lanao province.

At the same time, the anti-Bangsamoro homeland deal leaders downgraded the mass evacuation of thousands of people in the different parts of Mindanao as a result of the fighting between MILF rebels and government troops.

Abdullah Macapaar alias Commander Bravo of the MILF's l02nd base command has recently appeared on national television in full battle gear attire, flocked by his troops challenging government: "Ubusan ng lahi (blood feud)."

"It's easy to appear brave or even to sound brave but the question is can you really face off to the government forces and obviously they can't that's the reason why they're hiding," Piñol told reporters in a press conference at City Hall Wednesday.

Up to 500,000 people are displaced following weeks of fighting between government troops and MILF rebels in Central Mindanao. They are reportedly enduring poor health services and unsanitary conditions after fleeing the fighting.

But Piñol does not mind this. He said peace will only reign in this world if people stand up and say no. "If we say let's not put up a fight because people will go to the evacuation centers and people will die then we will be living in a world of cowards."

Piñol dared Commander Bravo's group: "If they're really brave as they claim they are, they would tell government 'okay I'm in this camp and get me. But when you issue brave statements and then hide under the skirt of your mother that's a different story."

For his part, Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat said a holistic approach and enforcement of the law not only focusing on social aspect are needed to attain peace in Mindanao.

"We're all for peace. You can't legislate peace. You can't force peace, but as long as there are kidnappers, there are terrorists there can be no peace," he said. "You have to make sure that the law is enforced. No one should be above the law."

Senator Mar Roxas depended the government and blamed MILF rebels for the evacuation of thousands of people in Mindanao, saying that it was not the government who started the problem.

"The fact that there are refugees, let us not use this so-called false argumentation that the reason there are refugees is the government's fault. That's false logic!" he said.

"These rebels, criminals are responsible for these evacuees and for the disruption of lives, deaths and casualties and these are the people responsible for the situation we have in today (in Mindanao)," he added.

MILF rebels, headed by Umbra Kato and Commandero Bravo, led their forces in a deadly rampage across several mostly Christian towns and villages in Lanao and other areas in Mindanao in August.

They claimed the attacks were in retaliation for a Supreme Court order freezing an MILF-government deal that would have given them control over an expanded autonomous region in the southern Philippines.

Meanwhile, Vice Governor Piñol suggested that the only way to bring peace to Mindanao is for the government to take the problem seriously by starting with the idea of enforcing the law.

He agreed with the statement made by Senator Roxas, which proposes the deployment of police and soldiers all over the areas in Mindanao to enforce and implement the law to its full force that nobody should be exempted.

"That's the only way we can earn the respect of the people and that's the only we can bring back peace and tranquility to Mindanao initially, but at the same time moving forward you have to address the problems that result into conflict," Piñol said.