War in Mindanao

May 2000

THEY'RE NO FALL GUYS: "They are not fall guys."
This was the assurance given yesterday by Philippine National Police (PNP)
chief Director General Panfilo Lacson, referring to the 26 suspected members
of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who were arrested in connection
with the bombing of two shopping malls in Metro Manila.
Amid a wave of criticism that they collared the wrong people, Lacson said
they could prove their case in court.
But contrary to Lacson's earlier pronouncements, police probers have filed a
complaint merely for illegal possession of firearms against the suspects
before the Department of Justice.
State prosecutors Josefino Zubia and Joaquin Escobar said the department
will resolve only the gun charges filed last Sunday.
They said they didn't know if additional charges would be filed since the
PNP was beating a 36-hour deadline to file a formal complaint, which would
allow them to keep the suspects detained.
The MILF yesterday again denied responsibility for the May 17 explosions at
the Glorietta shopping mall in Makati City and at the SM Megamall in
Mandaluyong City five days later. The separatist rebels accused Lacson of
making them a scapegoat.
Some lawmakers doubt that the real suspects have been caught and have urged
Lacson to prove his case in court.
"In any case, I am glad that the suspects were arrested alive," Rep. Benigno
Aquino III, vice chairman of the House committee on human rights, said.
House Minority Leader Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the PNP must present hard
evidence. Failure to do so would make "the people in Mindanao keep on
thinking that the government has separate rules for Muslims and Christians,"
he said.
Reps. Oscar Moreno and Raul Gonzales warned that the situation in Mindanao
could become worse if the PNP fails to prove its case in court.
The 26 suspects will be charged with illegal possession of firearms, murder
and multiple frustrated murder. MILF leader Hashim Salamat, Salamat's deputy
for military operations Al-Haj Murad and "other known leaders and members of
the MILF" will also be charged. Phil. Star, 05/30/2000



BIG MILF CAMP FALLS AS PEACE TALKS START: The Government yesterday announced
that its forces had seized Camp Bushra, the second largest training base of
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as government and MILF representatives
resumed their stalled peace talks in Cotabato City.
Military officials reported the capture of Camp Bushra in Butig town in
Lanao del Sur, just hours before the peace talks were due to resume at the
Estosan Garden hotel in Cotabato City.
Peace advocates and evacuees took turns in picketing the meeting venue
demanding an end to war.
The two panels held a 48-minute opening ceremony yesterday afternoon as
their forces continued shooting it out in Lanao del Sur.
The war in Lanao del Sur prevented the MILF panel chair, Aleem Mimbantas,
from attending yesterday's meeting. He sent Prof. Moner Bajunaid to take his
place.
The Cabinet Cluster E earlier ordered the issuance of security immunity
guarantees to key members of the MILF peace panel to ensure that the talks
will proceed without hitch.
The first session of talks ended at about 7 p.m. last night. No ceasefire
was declared.
Government panel members who asked not to be identified said that during a
meeting in Manila on Monday, they were unanimous in recommending that a
unilateral ceasefire be declared.
President Estrada was expected to announce the ceasefire declaration but the
panel members were surprised when he instead gave the MILF this ''last
chance.''
''What happened? I don't know,'' one of the panel members said.
The Monday meeting included National Security Adviser Alexander Aguirre and
presidential adviser on the peace process Manuel Yan.
Government peace panel chair Edgardo Batenga said the first item on the
agenda is for the government panel to submit to the MILF the "political
package" dealing with the Mindanao problem.
The government panel was supposed to have submitted to the MILF the
political package of ''meaningful autonomy'' on April 30 in accordance with
their agreement on April 27, but war broke out the next day.
The government panel vice chair, North Cotabato Rep. Anthony Dequina, said
the government would submit its political package today.
Asked what would ensure that the agreements between the peace panels would
be honored by their armed forces, Batenga said, ''I think what is more
important in today's meeting is to discuss the more strategic framework of
the peace process.
The fall of Camp Bushra is expected to boost the government position in the
peace talks.
At least 49 rebels died and 50 others were wounded in the defense of Camp
Bushra, according to Brig. Gen. Roy Cimatu, chief of the Army's 4th Infantry
Division.
Cimatu said the military would continue to destroy the 16 other MILF camps
throughout Mindanao, except Camp Abubakar.
He said Abubakar would be spared ''to allow the MILF to preserve their way
of life minus the guns.'' Inquirer, 05/31/2000



PEACE TALKS TO RESUME DESPITE AFP BOMBING: COTABATO CITY--Formal peace talks
between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front resume tomorrow
even as Philippine National Police Director General Panfilo Lacson said
criminal charges will be filed against MILF leaders for the recent bombings
in Metro Manila.
''We are not bothered by these charges,'' MILF acting spokesman Eid Kabalu
said last night. ''We are not responsible for the Metro Manila bombings.''
Also yesterday, the military dropped more bombs on the MILF's Camp Bushra in
Butig, Lanao del Sur. Government planes, helicopters and groups have been
beating the camp with bombs, artillery and mortar fire.
Despite the continued bombings, Kabalu said the MILF would still return to
the negotiating table tomorrow.
On Saturday, MILF chair Hashim Salamat sent a message to participants of
Kusog Mindanaw's Peace Summit in Davao City, saying the MILF would attend
the resumption of the talks tomorrow.
Sen. Teofisto Guingona, a participant in the Peace Summit of Mindanao
Leaders, said government officials behind the military campaign against the
MILF should be held accountable for the destruction and deaths.
Guingona said that as soon as the stalled peace talks resume, he would push
for a Senate investigation of officials responsible for the war.
He questioned the decision to go to war and retake the Narciso Ramos Highway
in Maguindanao when both the government and the MILF peace panels had agreed
on April 27 to discuss, among others, the normalization of the situation in
Central Mindanao.
Rep. Ernesto Herrera warned that defense officials might exploit the
Mindanao situation as an excuse to railroad the acquisition of equipment.
''We can't ignore the danger of corruption creeping in, especially since the
defense industries of dozens of countries are all competing for a slice of
the AFP modernization program,'' Herrera said in a statement. Inquirer,
05/29/2000


COP, 25 MILF SUSPECTS ARRESTED FOR MALL BLASTS: Police have arrested a
Manila policeman and 25 suspected Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
rebels allegedly trained in bomb making on suspicion of involvement in
recent explosions at two shopping malls in Metro Manila.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Panfilo Lacson said
yesterday the suspects were rounded up early Saturday during simultaneous
raids on three safehouses inside Maharlika Village in Bicutan, Taguig.
Lacson said the suspects, who will be charged with murder and attempted
murder, have not admitted involvement in the bombings.
He apologized to journalists yesterday for leading them to believe that the
bombers belonged to a rightist political group.
Several days ago, Lacson said he doubted that the mall bombings were the
handiwork of Muslim rebels. Instead, he blamed rightists trying to create
political instability.
Some quarters speculated that the PNP itself was responsible for the
bombings.
Lacson said the MILF was the main suspect all along but a cover had to be
made so as not to jeopardize intelligence operations.
The explosions at the Glorietta mall in Makati City last May 17 and SM
Megamall in Mandaluyong City five days later, which killed one person and
wounded at least 24 others, have set the metropolis on edge, with many
residents shunning malls and movie theaters. One of the suspects, Abdul
Muhamad, was identified by SM security guard John Molina as the person who
brought a plastic soft drink cup into a movie theater shortly before a bomb
exploded there on May 21, killing a janitor and injuring at least 14 other
people, Lacson said.
Molina was on duty at SM Cinema 6 when the bomb, placed near a comfort room,
exploded and killed Evan Calumba. The explosive used in the bomb is believed
to be a derivative of the water-resistant C4 plastic explosive, making it
possible to be smuggled in a soft drink cup.
An MILF spokesman, Eid Kabalu, had previously denied any involvement in the
blasts.
But Lacson said at least six of the suspects had been trained in explosives
at Camp Abubakar, the headquarters of the MILF, the country's largest Muslim
rebel group.
He said the alleged bombers arrived in Metro Manila from Camp Abubakar last
February.
Lacson said Muhamad, the Megamall bombing suspect, joined the MILF in 1981
and underwent extensive explosive and ordnance training in Malaysia.
He became a member of the MILF's Special Operations Group and allegedly
participated in the 1984 assassination of an Army officer in Maguindanao.
Muhamad underwent further explosives training in Camp Abubakar before being
ordered to conduct bombing operations in Metro Manila.
SPO3 Samad, on of those arrested, is an alleged MILF supporter and the
group's arms and explosives supplier.
WPD director Chief Superintendent Avelino Razon Jr. said he has already
ordered his men to review the record of Samad, who is detailed at the WPD
station in Sta. Mesa.
The station has partial jurisdiction over the district's Islamic center.
Phil. Star, 05/29/2000



THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF THE MINDANAO CONFLICT: The tuna industry is no longer
flourishing in Mindanao.
Since May 3, the bombing in General Santos City and the isolated cases of
bombings in Davao City have scared foreign tuna vessels away from the Davao
Fish Port Complex (DFPC) in Davao's Toril district.
Boat captains and operators of foreign vessels as well as their
transshipment agents have canceled all scheduled vessel port calls. About 15
vessels were expected to arrive that time.
The Mindanao conflict has "tremendous impact" on the business operations of
the fish port, "notwithstanding its negative effect on the general business
climate in the area," DFPC manager Santiago Martinez said.
In just a week from May 4 to 10, airfreight services could have shipped 60
metric tons of sashimi-grade tuna from Davao City to Manila and eventually
to several auction markets in Japan.
Operators of refrigerated trucks and vans that transport sashimi-grade tuna
from the DFPC to the Davao International Airport were also affected. During
the same period, about P30,000 in service fees were lost.
Fish processors and exporters, both those within the DFPC and outside, did
not have the raw materials to process. This meant some 12 tons of processed
tuna loins and cuts valued about P12 million.
In one week, at least 12 to 15 vessels were scheduled to make port calls and
the DFPC could have earned P152,000 -- from port usage, transshipment fees
and fuel conveyance fees to the sale of ice (P60,000) and water, reefer van
rental fees and boom trucks rental fees.
The Bureau of Customs could have collected customs and import duties from
the fish unloadings of the foreign vessels - estimated at P42,656 for the
week. Even fuel companies lost a huge amount in terms of fuel sale to the
foreign vessels - about P2.688 million from the 15 vessels.
All these figures, Martinez pointed out, do not include the peso value
allocated for food provisions and rest and recreation which may have
amounted to millions of pesos.
At the same time, Mindanao businessmen estimated they have lost P11 billion
in business opportunities in the same period. "For the first quarter of this
year, there has been no new investments in Mindanao," said Bian. "Everything
is on hold awaiting what will happen with the conflict."
Now multiply all of the above for the rest of the country, and one gets a
dismal picture of the economic costs the Mindanao problem is bleeding the
country. Phil. Star, 05/28/2000


GROUP REVIVES CALL FOR FEDERAL STATE: DAVAO CITY--Advocates of a federal
system of government are reviving and strengthening their campaigns to
establish a ''Federal Republic of the Philippines.''
Rey Magno Teves, convenor of the multisectoral federalist movement called
Lihok Pederal Mindanao (LPM), said they see a need to push for an aggressive
grassroots-based campaign for a federal government because the people are
''allergic'' to proposals to amend the Constitution and have very little
awareness on the ideas of federalism.
An advocacy paper produced by the LPM stressed that the group is not
espousing President Estrada's Constitutional Correction for Democracy
(Concord).
The Concord seeks to amend the Constitution to remove what President Estrada
has described as provisions that discourage investments in the Philippines.
The LPM said the Concord's agenda is to convene Congress into a constituent
assembly and introduce mainly ''economic-based''' amendments to the
Constitution.
The LPM said these amendments were designed to extend privileges to foreign
investors to own land in the country and other economic favors envisioned to
attract the inflow of investments.
The LPM said it believes that any attempt to amend the Constitution should
be done by a Constitutional Convention (Concon) to ensure broader public
participation in the amendment process with the election of their
representatives.
But the LPM noted that the federal system of government should be a product
of a thorough consultation to ''tailor-fit'' situations in the localities.
Teves admitted that they have no assurance that a Concon will not open the
Constitution for amendments including the scrapping of provisions that
protect national patrimony, espouse social justice and the progressive
provisions of the bill of rights.
Teves said arousing public vigilance in protecting progressive provisions of
the Constitution is one reason they are strengthening their grassroots-based
campaigns.
But Teves said they will have to stress federalism because it is ''one
system that may be able to effectively address the current and peculiar
situation of Mindanao.''
He said the system will efficiently address problems of the central
government's neglect of Mindanao and will serve as an option that could
prevent the dismemberment of some areas on the island from the Republic of
the Philippines, in the wake of Moro rebel demands to set up an independent
Islamic state.
Teves proposed the re-structuring of the Philippine government into a
federal republic to be composed of several autonomous states.
Under this setup, Mindanao could be transformed to constitute five or six
states.
Teves said since all component states of the proposed Federal Republic of
the Philippines will presumably be governed by their own constitutions, an
Islamic State ''may not even be a special concession but just a logical
recomposition that is solidly based on socio-cultural and ethno-demographic
considerations.''
He said areas composed of predominantly Muslim provinces like Sulu,
Tawi-tawi, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan and some towns in the western
parts of Sultan Kudarat, the southern areas of Lanao del Norte and North
Cotabato could be formed as an Islamic State. Inquirer, 05/27/2000
SIAZON TELLS ENVOYS: JOLO HOSTAGES HAVE TO WAIT LONGER: As Government
negotiators in Sulu yesterday prepared for a formal meeting today with five
Abu Sayyaf leaders, a delegation of senior European officials arrived to
convey their governments' continuing interest in seeing the hostage crisis
resolved ''as early as possible.''
Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. told three envoys who led the European
delegation that the 21 mostly foreign hostages could have a long wait ahead
of them.
Previous kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf had lasted three to six months,
Siazon told Thomas Matussek, director general for political affairs at the
German Embassy; Eero Falovaara, Finnish undersecretary of state; and Loic
Hennekine, French secretary general for the foreign ministry.
The three also met with President Estrada yesterday.
The European officials secured Siazon's assurance that the hostages, seven
of whom are Europeans, regularly get food and medicine and that the military
would take no action that might endanger their safety.
The European officials yesterday ''also indicated that they are prepared to
assist in every way to ensure that the hostages are released as early as
possible,'' Siazon said.
Ambassadors and representatives here of Malaysia, Germany, France, Finland,
South Africa and Lebanon regularly keep in touch with Siazon for
developments in the month-long hostage crisis.
Siazon and the three envoys discussed the Abu Sayyaf's political demands,
but not any payments, the foreign secretary said, adding that the
governments planned to continue participating in development projects in
Mindanao.
Apart from seeking an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines,
the kidnappers are asking for the creation of an international commission to
probe allegations of maltreatment of Filipino Muslim immigrants in Sabah.
The government has flatly rejected the demand for independence. But it has
said it has to consult Malaysia on the proposed commission.
Top hostage negotiator Robert Aventajado said he had met with the Malaysian
ambassador to explore the demand for the creation of the commission.
Aventajado is expected to lead the government team at a scheduled formal
meeting today with five Abu Sayyaf rebel leaders at the Tuup Elementary
School.
Tan, local peace advocate Farouq Hussein, Islamic scholar Ghazali Ibrahim
and former Libyan Ambassador will accompany Aventajado to the Philippines
Abdul Rahab Azzarouq, to the talks with the Abu Sayyaf leadership.
The Abu Sayyaf's Commander Robot told TV journalists who visited the rebel
hideout in Sulu yesterday that the length of the hostages' stay was in the
government's hands.
''We are still waiting for the results of the negotiations,'' Robot said.
''We also want to release the hostages as soon as possible.''
The patience of the hostages, who were kidnapped more than a month ago, is
wearing thinner.
The government had been trying to set up a humanitarian corridor proposed by
European diplomats to ensure that the medical needs of the hostages are
taken care of.
Provincial government doctor Nelsa Amin visited the hostages again
yesterday, along with envoys from the government negotiators and
journalists.
''I see more demands coming up and I do not think the political demands are
really what we will be talking about,'' Presidential Spokesperson Ricardo
Puno said Wednesday.
He stressed that ransom demands were ''not on the table right now,'' but
added, ''you and I can guess'' when asked if he thought it would boil down
to money.
While the Philippines and many other governments involved in the crisis have
a formal policy of rejecting ransom demands, ''I guess when we get the
formal demands about any monetary considerations, then we will have to
discuss that,'' Puno said. Inquirer, 05/26/2000


MINDANAO CHILDREN'S PLEA: SEND TEACHERS, NOT TROOPS: DAVAO CITY--Children
scarred by war, urban displacement and poverty in Mindanao urged President
Estrada to build schools and send teachers and food, instead of tanks and
soldiers, to the island.
This call was contained in drawings of settler, Moro and lumad children who
joined the Children Peace Camp 2000, an activity designed to draw the
children's views on the war between the government and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front.
''The children were never asked how they feel and what they want ever since
the war broke out,'' said Lyndee Prieto, coordinator of the Peace Camp held
at the Girl Scouts of the Philippines' Camp Alano here.
Prieto said the reflection, views and dreams of the children will be
compiled by the sponsoring group, the Initiatives for International
Dialogue, and will be presented to the government.
At least 29 participants, composed of children displaced by MILF-military
encounters, those evicted due to demolitions and tribal folk from remote
areas on the island joined the three-day peace camp that will end today (May
25).
Child therapists and psychologists used visual and performance arts, music,
sharing and playing roles to draw out the children's views on the war and to
draw out their dreams.
During a sharing activity, the children expressed that it was them who
suffered the most in the government's war policy, not the warring forces of
the military and the MILF. Inquirer, 05/26/2000


BOMB NOT OURS: AFP: The Armed Forces of the Philippines yesterday said
the C-4 explosive reportedly used in the bombing at Megamall shopping center
in Mandaluyong last Sunday didn't come from its arsenal.
''We have strict procedures regarding the disposition of explosives,'' said
Lt. Col. Horacio Lapinid, chief of staff of the AFP-Public Affairs Service.
''We are not the only source of C-4.''
Lapinid was asked to react on a report submitted by the Presidential
Anti-Organized Crime Task Force which stated that C-4, a type of explosive
supposedly accessible only to the military, was used in the bomb which
killed one and wounded 17 others.
Even the communist New People's Army is known to have access to C-4 bomb, he
said.
Does the Philippine National Police have C-4 in its arsenal? Said he: ''I
really don't know.''
But Lapinid stressed that he was certain that no AFP member was involved in
the Megamall blast as well as in the other bomb attacks which hit Metro
Manila.
But a police investigator said the lone fatality in the SM Megamall blast
identified as Evan Calumba could be one of the suspects, saying that Calumba
could have brought or ignited the powerful bomb.
The investigator, who refused to be identified, said this angle surfaced
after an examination of Calumba's body showed that most of the blast-wounds
he suffered were centered mostly to the front upper-part of his torso.
''This could be an indication that he is directly in front of the bomb when
the explosion occurred. He could have accidentally triggered it or he was
recruited to ignite it,'' the policeman said.
This theory was further amplified by the reports that Calumba had frequented
his relatives leaving inside the Muslim community in Culiat, Quezon City.
Barangay Culiat is one of the several Muslim communities in Metro Manila now
under tight-watch by the police and military intelligence agents on
suspicion that members of the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front are hiding there.
The source said that the victim could have been ''recruited'' because, as a
janitor, Calumba could go in and out of the cinema without being questioned
by the security guards.
The real suspect, the source said, could have given the victim instructions
on what to do with the ''package.''
Calumba could have been make to believe that he has ample time to get out of
the men's room after he had joined the wire that would start the bomb's
clock ticking.
The real bomber to cover his tracks, the source said could have purposely
eliminated the victim.
The source, however, was quick to add that this is only one of the several
possible hypotheses that they have been working on and that as far as they
are concern -- ''everybody is still a suspect.'' Inquirer, 05/26/2000


PALACE REJECTS CALL TO END WAR WITH MILF: Malacanang rejected yesterday
calls from several Mindanao congressmen for President Estrada to halt the
military offensive against the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF).
However, Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said the administration is
committed to the peaceful settlement of the war in Mindanao.
"We're going to clear Central Mindanao of many armed groups," he said. "We
have only one armed force in Central Mindanao and that would be the Armed
Forces of the Philippines. We're not talking here about the MILF only but it
also includes the so-called vigilantes. Our objectives are very clear."
Zamora said the President would not agree to a ceasefire because the MILF
had taken advantage of the truce in the past to strengthen its forces and
fortify its camps.
He cited as examples the 10-kilometer, six-foot tall bunkers which the MILF
had built on top of a government-funded irrigation system along the Narciso
Ramos Highway in Maguindanao.
Zamora said the government cannot tolerate the MILF's extortion activities
on the highway, which had gone unchecked for the past five years.
On the other hand, Zamora assured the congressmen that the administration
had not abandoned the policy of peace and development in Mindanao.
Earlier, Mr. Estrada said he does not want a new ceasefire with the MILF
although the government intends to pursue the path of peace in Mindanao.
In Marugong in Lanao del Norte, four Muslim fighters were killed and two
militiamen wounded after 70 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas
attacked a Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) detachment and
engaged the militiamen in a 20-minute firefight yesterday.
The rebels were repulsed by troops from the Army's 28th Infantry Battalion
and fled towards the MILF's Camp Jabal Nur in the hinterlands of Marugong,
Lt. Col. Gregorio Catapang, commander of the 28th Infantry Battalion, said
in his report to Brig. Gen. Roy Cimatu, commander of the Army's 4th Infantry
Division.
Maj. Johnny Macanas, Army spokesman, said the guerrillas, who are short in
food, tried to extort food from a plantation in Malabang, Lanao del Sur, but
security guards repelled them.
Macanas said fierce fighting is expected to occur in Marugong town today
when pursuing government troops catch up with the fleeing guerrillas.
Army troops continued to clear Marugong of MILF guerrillas, who are believed
to have fled to the forest after abandoning Camp Jabal Nur.
Army artillery, along with fighter planes and helicopter gunships continued
to pound rebel positions to try to stop the fleeing guerrillas from
escaping. Phil. Star, 05/26/2000


MILF LEADERS AGREE TO RESUME PEACE TALKS ON MAY 30: COTABATO CITY - The Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has agreed to resume peace talks with the
government "without preconditions."
Eid Kabalu, MILF spokesman, said rebel peace negotiators will resume talks
in Cotabato City on May 30, a date suggested by the government.
President Estrada welcomed the MILF decision, but at the same time said the
military cannot just pull out from its offensive in Central Mindanao.
Kabalu said the MILF leadership was encouraged to return to the negotiating
table because of the absence of military ground and air assaults against
Camp Abubakar since Friday.
Kabalu said over the radio yesterday that about 200 MILF guerrillas were
ordered to pull out of their positions along the highway, which also links
the towns of Parang and Buldon in Maguindanao province, "as a gesture of
goodwill." Phil. Star, 05/23/2000


ESTRADA: NO NEED FOR STATE OF EMERGENCY: Pres. Estrada said there was no
need to declare a state of emergency following two explosions that rocked
two major shopping centers in Metro Manila.
Mr. Estrada said the bombings were committed by terrorists "whose agenda is
to sow fear among the people and destabilize the government."
"I have no need to declare a state of emergency to address this problem. I
have enough powers under the Constitution to defeat terrorism," the
President said in a statement read on nationwide television.
He vowed that the government would ensure the safety of all Filipinos, but
asked the public to take precautions and cooperate with law enforcement
agencies.
He expressed confidence police will be able to arrest those responsible for
last Sunday's SM Megamall bombing in Mandaluyong City and last Wednesday's
explosion in Glorietta mall in Makati City.
At the same time, Mr. Estrada appealed for calm. "We should not allow these
terrorists to control our lives. We should go on with our daily lives but we
should not forget about safety," he said.
Rumors circulated in the metropolis that the spate of bombings in Metro
Manila and Mindanao is a prelude to an imposition of martial law. But
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora doused speculations, saying, "As much as
possible, we don't want to do anything of that sort. Not even in Mindanao
where there are greater troubles, we never considered that at all."
Aside from Zamora, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, Interior Secretary
Alfredo Lim, Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes, military intelligence
chief Lt. Gen. Jose Calimlim and Philippine National Police chief Director
General Panfilo Lacson flanked Mr. Estrada during the televised address.
The Makati Business Club expressed support for Mr. Estrada. "The Makati
Business Club urges everyone to support and unite behind the government
against those responsible for these patently terroristic acts. These
criminal and dastardly tactics deserve nothing but condemnation," the group
said. Phil. Star, 05/23/2000


NOT US, SAY GROUPS LINKED TO BOMBING: Not us.
This was the response of the groups identified as the possible suspects in
the bombing of two shopping malls in Metro Manila.
The chorus of denials came from the Rebolusyonaryong Alyansang Makabansa
(RAM), the communist-led National Democratic Front (NDF), the Armed Forces
chief of staff who took up the cudgels for the head of the Philippine
National Police, and the Muslim community in Manila.
Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Gregorio Honasan assailed PNP Director
General Panfilo Lacson for linking RAM to the series of bombings in Metro
Manila.
''They appear to be dreaming,'' said Enrile, considered the godfather of
RAM, which launched several coup attempts against the Aquino administration.
''If they are talking about RAM, this is not the style of RAM. The (members
of) RAM, they never say anything, they just do (it).''
Enrile said that if the PNP had really identified those responsible for the
bombing, it should start arresting them.
Enrile believed that the Metro bombings were a spillover of the Mindanao
conflict. He said the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) had forged a
tactical alliance with the NDF.
He said the PNP would be ''wasting their time'' if they would investigate
RAM.
Honasan, founder of RAM, earlier reacted sharply to Lacson's accusation.
''Any group is suspect. Then we can include the military or police who want
to generate additional funds,'' he said.
Honasan was convinced that a politically motivated group with the objective
of destabilizing the Estrada administration perpetrated the Metro bombings.
''In fact, what is glaring here is that it is not apparently designed to
inflict maximum damage. Historically, we have had similar bombings in
comfort rooms several decades ago during the height of the Light A Fire
Movement and other similar groups,'' Honasan said.
The Young Officers Union (YOU) as the one behind the bombings has tagged
Lacson himself.
''That is a preposterous yarn,'' AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes
yesterday said.
Reyes earlier denied the involvement of the military in the bombings as
alleged by Lacson.
YOU had said that Lacson's group was planning ''something big'' which would
culminate in a coup wherein President Estrada would remain as figurehead.
Lacson and a powerful faction in the military would lead the junta, a YOU
member said Monday.
Reyes, however, said that such a scenario was ''absurd.''
While Reyes denies the involvement of the military and the PNP in the
bombings, the NDF says otherwise.
Luis Jalandoni, a member of the NDF national executive committee, noted the
targets were public places and the victims were civilians.
''We can be sure that it is the psy-war and explosives personnel of the AFP
and PNP who are carrying out the dirty work for the US-Estrada regime,''
Jalandoni said.
In an e-mail statement from his base in the Netherlands, Jalandoni accused
the Estrada administration of imitating former dictator Ferdinand Marcos in
creating a climate of fear among its opponents through the bombings.
Jalandoni said ''a regime that goes so far as to explode bombs and grenades
and kill and maim civilians must have a scheme like that of Marcos when he
laid the ground for martial law.''
In another statement, Jose Ma. Sison, the self-exiled founding chair of the
Communist Party of the Philippines, offered three probable reasons behind
the bombings in Metro Manila.
-- Mr. Estrada and Lacson staged the bombings to pave the way for martial
law at the maximum and to jack up the budget of the military and police at
the minimum.
-- Police officers, who hate Lacson for his corruption, connections with
crime lords and hypocrisy, are giving him a serious message.
-- Any of several military groups that wish to remove Mr. Estrada from power
and that resent the PNP's huge intelligence fund and its attendant
corruption.
Sison, chief political consultant of the NDF, said he found it strange that
Lacson was not expressing any suspicion on the RPA-ABB (Revolutionary
Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade) gang, which previously fired a
rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at the Department of Energy office in Fort
Bonifacio.
But the RPA-ABB denied any involvement in the spate of bombings in Metro
Manila.
''It is not the policy of the RPA-ABB to attack civilians,'' Carapali
Lualhati, RPA-ABB national commander, said.
He said the bombings could be the handiwork of military officials unhappy
with the way Mr. Estrada was running the government.
In Quiapo, Manila, Muslim religious and secular leaders protested the
inclusion of Muslim groups as among the suspects in the bombings of the two
shopping malls.
Ambiong, a native of Lanao del Sur who has been living in Quiapo for the
past 20 years, said that there were no Abu Sayyaf or MILF members in the
metropolis. Inquirer, 05/24/2000



GUNS SILENT NEAR ABUBAKAR: COTABATO CITY--Is this the lull before the storm,
or is peace underway?
The government's big guns and attack planes have been silent near the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) headquarters, Camp Abubakar in
Maguindanao, for the past three days.
Since Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen.
Angelo Reyes visited the Narciso Ramos Highway near Abubakar on Friday, no
air strike or mortar shelling has been reported, according to MILF spokesman
Eid Kabalu.
However, Kabalu said the MILF believed the lull ''is only artificial.''
According to Mercado, the Estrada administration has decided that no all-out
assault will be made against the MILF stronghold, despite feared
disenchantment in the military, especially among soldiers at the frontlines
in Mindanao.
The government will be contented with just ''containing'' the MILF forces
inside Camp Abubakar, Mercado said.
It is generally believed that the military top brass recommended an all-out
offensive against the MILF as the ultimate solution to the Mindanao
conflict.
Troops that have successfully retaken the Narciso Ramos Highway after
intense fighting and heavy losses are now within striking distance of Camp
Abubakar. The highway connects Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces.
In several television interviews, ground commanders were perceived as raring
to go forward and capture the camp in a bid to break the MILF.
Military officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, believe there is an
opportunity to deal the MILF a decisive military defeat.
Mercado stressed that the government's military campaign in Mindanao was not
aimed at decimating the MILF but at simply ''degrading'' its fighting
capability.
Mercado said the military's recent successes in the battlefields would force
the MILF to abandon its armed struggle for an independent Muslim state.
Government negotiators are set for a resumption of talks with the MILF on
May 30.
Kabalu, however, is skeptical about the quiet around Abubakar. He said the
MILF still believed the military is preparing for a ''bigger offensive.''
Inquirer, 05/22/2000



AUTONOMY BASIS OF GOV'T PEACE TALKS WITH MILF: Vice Pres. Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday said the government had drawn up a four-point
agenda regarding its ongoing conflict with the separatist Moro Islamic
Liberation Front.
According to the Vice President, the agenda stipulates that the government
shall:
-- Continue to pursue peace negotiations with the MILF within the framework
of the Constitution and the concept of meaningful autonomy.
-- Continue to assert and uphold its authority under the Constitution--to
preserve the Philippines' territorial integrity as one nation, maintain law
and order, and protect the civilian population, through effective military
and police actions in cases of ceasefire violations or criminal or illegal
acts perpetrated by the MILF and other rebel groups.
-- Vigorously pursue socioeconomic development programs in Muslim areas,
including those in the MILF area of influence, to develop and uplift the
living conditions of the people and serve as confidence-building measure and
moral encouragement for the MILF to embrace autonomy.
-- Continue with the full and effective implementation of the peace
agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front as a commitment and proof
of its sincerity and goodwill.
Macapagal said the agenda was drawn up by the National Security Council and
discussed the other day by the Office of the President's Executive
Committee, the body activated by President Estrada to serve as government
caretaker while he is in China.
Macapagal said the agenda was ''a major policy pronouncement that the people
have been awaiting for a long time,'' and served to enunciate the
government's objectives in Mindanao.
Since last week, Macapagal had been urging the Estrada administration to
make clear its objectives in Mindanao. Until it does so, she said, the
people will not rally around the government's use of police or military
force there.
So far, Macapagal observed, the people in Luzon were supportive of the
military action against the MILF.
But she said this was not the case in Mindanao where ''maybe (support for
the use of military force there) is still divided.''
She said that in a radio interview from Davao yesterday, she was told that
the government's four-point agenda was ''a revelation'' because the people
in Mindanao had thought that the government's way of addressing the conflict
was solely through military action. Inquirer, 05/18/2000




230,000 EVACUEES JAM GOV'T CENTERS: Feeding and housing evacuees fleeing the
two-month-old fighting between the military and Moro rebels in Mindanao had
already cost the government and nongovernment organizations P23.2 million.
This was disclosed yesterday by Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who
said that the number of evacuees reached a high of 319,095 last week.
As of yesterday, there were still 229,264 people from 44,463 families taking
shelter in evacuation centers in Central Mindanao, Western Mindanao,
Southern Mindanao and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, according to
the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Many of the evacuees have become ill.
In Maguindanao alone, a total of 36,663 children and adults in evacuation
centers were suffering from ailments such as respiratory infections and
diarrhea, according to Dr. Tahir Sulaik.
There are about 180,000 evacuees in the province.
Sulaik, Maguindanao health officer, had complained that the budget of his
office had not been released since April. Inquirer, 05/16/2000


MILITARY TAKES FULL CONTROL OF HIGHWAY: MATANOG, Maguindanao--The Army
yesterday said it had completely taken control over the Narciso Ramos
Highway, which soldiers call ''the road to hell'' and the ''bloodiest
highway'' in Mindanao, from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
But even after the MILF fighters retreated from their positions on the
highway, President Estrada ordered the military to continue fighting the
Moro rebels.
''It was all worth it,'' Brig. Gen. Roy Cimatu, chief of the Army's 4th
Infantry Division, said of the takeover, which came on the 19th day of the
government's operations to clear the highway of alleged mulcters and
extortionists and MILF checkpoints.
At least 31 Marine and Army soldiers and a still undetermined number of
civilians and MILF rebels were killed while at least a hundred troopers were
wounded in the past 19 days in clashes over a 15-kilometer stretch of the
Narciso Ramos Highway.
On Monday, MILF vice chair Al Haj Murad announced the MILF troops were
repositioning its forces from the highway to the ''perimeter defense'' of
Abubakar starting at 6 p.m. that day.
Yesterday at 8:30 a.m., Marines reached Crossing Langkong. They took over
checkpoints abandoned by the guerrillas, including the first MILF checkpoint
just before Abubakar, about 500 meters from the highway.
The Marines also took over newly dug trenches on the side of the Abubakar
road.
''Our forces have linked up,'' Army spokesperson Maj. Hernando Iriberri
said.
He said the site was first cleared and controlled by the Task Force Diamond,
a Scout Ranger unit headed by Col. Felipe Berroya and attached to the 4th
ID.
Coming from Balabagan, Lanao del Sur, the 1st Marine Brigade under Brig.
Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio reached Sitio Bayanga, 1.2 kilometers from Crossing
Langkong, at 4:25 p.m. Monday.
The government forces from the Maguindanao side finally managed to go beyond
the Matanog town hall, accompanied by Matanog Mayor Nasser Imam, his wife
Rachma and journalists.
Imam said the highway was still dangerous to travelers because of sporadic
fighting between the rebels and soldiers.
The rebels in Matanog had been fending off government forces since April 28.
Before he left for a five-day visit to China, President Estrada said the
military operations in Maguindanao will go on.
''We will restore peace and order at all cost,'' he said.
AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes also said the military operation will
continue.
He said the government would maintain its authority and never allow the MILF
to set up checkpoints again along the Narciso Ramos Highway.
''This is the road to hell,'' Teodosio said at the entrance to Camp
Abubakar. The Army generals from the 4th and 6th IDs joined him shortly
before noon yesterday at his brigade's new tactical command post along the
Narciso Ramos Highway.
The command post is almost in front of the junction leading to Camp
Abubakar, the MILF headquarters.
None of the generals would confirm or deny if they would attack Camp
Abubakar now that they have cleared the highway.
''We are still waiting for further instructions,'' one of the generals said.
''We will stabilize the area first.''
But Teodosio said: ''As long as Abubakar is there, (the MILF) will continue
to sow terror. In my personal view, it is better to destroy it because it is
the center of gravity of the MILF.'' Inquirer, 05/17/2000


300 MILF REBS ATTACK IN BASILAN: ISABELA, Basilan--Some 300 Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) rebels attacked a detachment in Barangay Barroy in
Lamitan town at 6 a.m. yesterday to divert military attention from the Abu
Sayyaf, which is still holding nine Filipino hostages in the province.
A military spokesperson said the attack, which killed a militiaman, was an
indication that the MILF and Abu Sayyaf ''continue to help one another.''
''The attack aims to ease pressure from operating troops against the Abu
Sayyaf,'' said Col. Rafael Romero, spokesperson of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines.
Being held hostage are two schoolteachers and seven students. They were part
of a big group of civilians, mostly students, abducted by the Abu Sayyaf on
March 20. Sixteen of the hostages were rescued by the military, but the Moro
extremists killed six, including a priest.
Twenty-five had earlier been freed.
The Abu Sayyaf had been earlier sighted in Lantawan town after government
forces overran their main camp in Sumisip town.
Col. Fredesvindo Covarrubias, chief of the Southern Command's public affairs
group, could not provide updates on the pursuit operations.
Covarrubias said the military would not stop ''until all the nine hostages
are accounted for or rescued.''
Col. Hilario Atendido, Southcom spokesperson, dismissed as a bluff the Abu
Sayyaf's claim that the hostages had been divided into four groups.
Earlier, another group claiming to hold teachers Teresita Academia and
Erlinda Manuel demanded P250,000 ransom for each teacher.
But the teachers' families said they could not raise the ransom.
Covarrubias said the MILF launched the attack ''to make their presence felt
to the government and to justify their demands especially in the recognition
of their camp in Lamitan.'' Inquirer, 05/17/2000


WAR THREATENS RP RICE, CORN SUPPLY: DAVAO CITY--The Department of
Agriculture on Monday has warned that if the conflict between government
forces and Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels continued to drag on, the
country's food supply would be affected.
Dennis Araullo, agriculture technical director for Mindanao and director for
Southern Mindanao, said the areas affected by the conflict in the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao and Central Mindanao contributed about 22 percent
of the country's annual rice and corn production.
''(If the war drags on), there is a possibility of a (nationwide) shortfall
in food distribution . . . just imagine that in every hectare affected by
the conflict we are losing about four tons of rice or corn,'' Araullo said.
Based on department estimates, the three-week government-MILF armed
confrontation has already wrought havoc to some 12,000 hectares of corn
lands in North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Sultan Kudarat, the
rice and corn bowls of Mindanao.
Another 500 hectares of cornfields in Tupi, South Cotabato, were damaged
following armed encounters between MILF and government forces in the area
last week.
Araullo said the crops were either abandoned or attacked by pests and
diseases after these were left by thousands of farmers who fled for fear of
getting caught in the crossfire.
Araullo estimated the losses on corn production in Central Mindanao and ARMM
at 60,000 metric tons worth some P360 million.
But Araullo said the country was ''just lucky'' that rice farmers in both
regions had just finished harvesting shortly before the war broke out on
April 28.
But he warned that if the war would go on, the planting season for rice this
month would also be affected as farmers could not go back to their farms.
Araullo said the ''battle of the highways'' between MILF and government
forces was also delaying the delivery of farm inputs and fertilizers to
areas not directly affected by the conflict.
He said that if peace and order will not improve soon, chances are the
country would be losing another 40,000 MT of rice valued at around P400
million.
He said the agriculture department would resort to rice importation if the
peace and order situation in the ARMM and Central Mindanao worsens.
Araullo said Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara has also instructed
directors in Northern Mindanao and Cagayan Valley to increase the areas
designated for corn crops and replace the losses generated by the war in
ARMM and Central Mindanao.
He said Angara instructed the department's office in Northern Mindanao to
plant 7,000 more hectares of corn in Bukidnon while the office in Cagayan
Valley was told to plant 5,000 more hectares of corn in Isabela. Inquirer,
05/17/2000


36,000 EVACUEES IN SOUTH AILING: PARANG, Maguindanao--Twenty-three women had
suffered miscarriages in the province since fighting between the government
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) erupted on April 28, according
to the provincial health officer.
Dr. Tahir Sulaik yesterday said the women were among 36,663 children and
adults suffering from ailments, mostly respiratory diseases and diarrhea, in
the evacuation centers in the province.
There are a total of 34,109 displaced families or about 180,000 individuals
in the province.
''How many more civilians will be hit by bombs? How many more will get
killed? How many more will be traumatized?'' Sulaik asked.
Three children have been orphaned by the war, according to Sulaik. Bullets
and bombs killed their parents.
As howitzers continued to pound rebel positions, hundreds of evacuees and
residents of this town, mostly women and children, held a peace rally
shortly before noon yesterday at the Parang Gymnasium.
Sulaik said the budget of the provincial health office had not been released
since April.
''Is this a deliberate act in order to render us impotent to meet the needs
of our people?'' he asked.
Parish workers in Cotabato City went from house to house yesterday, asking
for donations in cash or in kind for the Maguindanao evacuees housed in
various centers in that city.
Sulaik called on the government and the MILF to return to the negotiating
table. ''Nobody wins in a war,'' he said in Filipino.
Already, Sulaik has been scrounging around for medicines for the evacuees.
While enrollment has been going on in other parts of Mindanao, there is none
in Buldon, Barira and Matanog towns, said Bai Sandra Sema, education
secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
She said some schools were reportedly destroyed.
Almost all the public schools in Parang are being used as evacuation
centers. Inquirer, 05/15/2000


FLEEING GUERILLAS FREE 183 HOSTAGES: COTABATO CITY--Three Moro rebels were
killed and nine others were wounded as government forces launched air and
ground assaults to rescue 183 people held hostage by Moro rebels in a
village in Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat.
''All the 183 hostages have been rescued,'' Capt. Noel Detoyato, 6th
Infantry Division spokesman, said yesterday.
The rescue of the villagers was announced on the same day officials declared
that the ''military offensives will continue'' as government soldiers pushed
to regain control of the Narciso Ramos Highway between Maguindanao and Lanao
del Sur.
Detoyato said military pressure forced about 100 Moro Islamic Liberation
Front rebels--not 500 as earlier reported--to flee, leaving their hostages a
kilometer away from Manirob shortly before midnight Saturday.
About 200 soldiers from the Army's 15th, 47th and 37th Infantry Battalions
pursued the rebels to the hinterlands of the Daguma ranges.
Detoyato said the rebels seized 44 families or about 183 villagers at 5 a.m.
Saturday. They herded the villagers into a school compound and later brought
them to an area a kilometer away from Manirob.
Detoyato said clearing operations were still ongoing as of 4 p.m. yesterday.
But MILF ceasefire committee chair Eid Kabalu said the rebels were merely
passing by Manirob and stopped for a brief rest when militiamen opened fire.
An exchange of gunfire ensued and the rebels told the villagers to flee so
that they would not be caught in the crossfire, Kabalu claimed.
''There was no hostage-taking,'' he said. ''Some civilians only decided to
stay in the village to guard their properties.''
He said howitzer attacks from the military continued yesterday with more and
more shells landing inside Camp Abubakar in Matanog, Maguindanao, the MILF's
main camp.
In Parang, Maguindanao, Brig. Gen. Roy Kiamko, deputy chief of the Army's
6th ID, said: ''The order has not been changed. Military offensives will
continue.''
Kiamko made the statement after Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado and Armed
Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes met yesterday with key military
officials in Parang and in Balabagan, Lanao del Sur as artillery fire
continued to pound rebel positions on the Narciso Ramos Highway.
Kiamko said there had been no change in order from Mercado and Reyes.
As of yesterday government forces in Matanog have yet to advance beyond the
town hall, a position they had been holding as early as Day 1 of their
''clearing operations'' on the Narciso Ramos Highway.
Today is the 18th day of the clearing operations. Inquirer, 05/15/2000


BACKROOM PEACE TALKS ON: COTABATO CITY--There is a chance that peace might
soon return to war-torn Central Mindanao.
Aside from back-channel dialogues between the peace panels of the government
and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, there are also back-channel talks
between the MILF and President Estrada through former Ambassador Alunan
Glang, adviser to the MILF panel, and Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora.
Glang said the MILF Central Committee to talk about the stalled peace
process and find a way to strengthen (it) had authorized him
He said he had conveyed the message to Mr. Estrada through Zamora that the
MILF was ''willing to return to the negotiating table.''
Glang said the agreements earlier forged by the government and MILF peace
panels, including the July 1997 general ceasefire agreement and the April 27
aide memoir which was to ''normalize'' the situation in Central Mindanao,
including the Narciso Ramos Highway, should be ''discussed in an atmosphere
without the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads.''
He said he had been told to return to Manila tomorrow to meet with Zamora.
This optimism is shared by government peace panel chair Edgardo Batenga, who
told the Inquirer yesterday that ''the lines of communication are open for
the possible resumption of the peace talks.''
It was learned from sources in the MILF that it had responded to a
government proposal for a ceasefire with a four-point counterproposal.
Muhammad Amin, secretary to MILF chair Hashim Salamat and MILF Central
Committee secretary general, said yesterday that the MILF had ''already
faxed'' its counterproposal to the government peace panel ''about two days
ago.''
Amin said the MILF leadership was open to the resumption of peace talks
provided there was an ''immediate normalization of the situation.''
Amin described the situation in the MILF's Camp Abubakar as ''quiet now, but
there is still fighting along the defense perimeter . . . especially along
the highway.''
He said government forces were still far from the MILF positions along the
highway.
He denied Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes' claim that the MILF
was ''running low on ammunition.' Inquirer, 05/12/2000


ANTI-MUSLIM PASSIONS GIVE RISE TO VIGILANTES: Malacanang's decision to
pursue all-out war against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the
Abu Sayyaf has fueled anti-Muslim sentiments in Mindanao not seen even
during the height of the Moro secessionist war in the '70s.
This policy has encouraged the setting up of vigilante groups, some of which
are demanding a ''Muslim-free'' Mindanao.
In North Cotabato, the Ilaga, a paramilitary group in the '70s and once
headed by convicted priest-killer Norberto Manero Jr., is preparing for war.
Vigilantes have also sprouted in Basilan and in other parts of the island,
particularly in areas where the Abu Sayyaf or the MILF operates.
An open letter of the ''Alliance of Vigilant Christians for Muslim-Free
Mindanao'' urged Christians in General Santos City to ostracize Muslims,
particularly members of the MILF, Abu Sayyaf and Moro National Liberation
Front (MNLF).
The alliance hurled highly inflammatory invectives against Muslims and
instigated Christians to depose MNLF chair Nur Misuari, the governor of the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The letter, dated April 30 and written in Filipino, also asked Christians to
chop to bits MILF chair Hashim Salamat. The alliance, however, has yet to
come out in the open.
Amid the heightened anti-Muslim sentiments, civilians are buying firearms.
The five gun stores in General Santos City could hardly meet the demand. A
check with three of the five gun shops showed that they had run out of
stock.
''They're buying arms. Everybody's arming,'' said South Cotabato Rep. Daisy
Avance-Fuentes, House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao and a human rights
activist.
But Fuentes said she was not in favor of what the alliance was espousing
although she favored a military option for now.
The multisectoral Koalisyon para sa Karapatang Pantao (KKP) in General
Santos City said vigilantism was not a solution to the problems confronting
Mindanao.
Mario Aguja, a convenor of the KKP, said it was wrong to condemn the entire
Muslim community just because the Abu Sayyaf had committed atrocities
against the Christians.
Aguja, however, noted that vigilantism in the country was thriving because
of the support from the military.
He said members of the vigilante groups were being used by the military in
the anti-insurgency campaign.
In Davao City, a group calling itself the Nagkahiusang Pulahang Grupo sa
Mindanao has circulated a Bisaya-written paper claiming responsibility for
the bombing of a mosque-turned-madrasah (Islamic school) in Tibungco.
The paper, signed by a Moises M. Mesias, said the group bombed the mosque to
show that it was ''against the killing and the oppression (by the Moro) of
Christians in Mindanao.''
The group has been watching the developments in Mindanao and have ''now come
to the point that we have to fight the evil work of the Moros,'' it said.
''It is now time to rise against them (Moro). An eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth.''
Mesias urged all ''brother Christians in Mindanao to fight oppression,
kidnapping and terrorism undertaken by the Moros, be they MILF or Abu
Sayyaf.''
Ustadz Pendi Colano, political affairs officer of the MNLF, said he had met
with some Muslim leaders in the South Cotabato-Sarangani-General Santos
(Socsargen) area and told them to ignore the letter of the alliance of
so-called vigilante Christians.
He said Muslims and Christians could not solve the problem by resorting to
violence.
Colano said he would create a Tri-People Council for Peace and Unity in
Socsargen to help dampen anti-Muslim sentiments among Christians generated
by the killing of a Catholic priest in Basilan by the Abu Sayyaf.
Alimudin Hassan, chair of the Indigenous People's Consultative Council,
expressed disgust over people who are out to destroy Christian-Muslim
relations in Socsargen.
He said he would convene the council to ask the Muslim communities to ignore
the letter. Five out of the 13 Muslim ethno-linguistic tribes were
represented in the council.
Evelyn Carias, chair of the Khadidja Moro Women Alliance, warned that the
emergence of anti-Muslim vigilantes was triggering an anti-Christian
sentiment among the ordinary Moros.
Carias said Muslim residents in areas where the vigilante groups were
sprouting were being provoked by the ''anti-Muslim hysteria.''
The vigilantes may be part of a grand design by some groups or individuals
who would benefit from a Christian-Muslim conflict, according to Carias.
She said the war was already benefiting President Estrada because the
conflict had sidelined criticisms against his policies and the scandals
involving his families, cronies and officials.
Carias said her organization was intensifying its education campaign among
the Moros to explain that the conflict was not a ''Muslim-Christian'' war.
Inquirer, 05/12/2000


COST OF WAR RISING; POOR SUFFER: MILITARY and defense officials have
indicated that P1.4 billion more was needed to finance the war in Mindanao,
Misamis Oriental Rep. Oscar Moreno said yesterday.
Moreno said the amount cited was an ''immediate'' need apart from the
additional P4 billion requested for inclusion in the defense budget for next
year.
He said Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado, National Security Adviser
Alexander Aguirre and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes
mentioned the figures during the closed-door briefing conducted Wednesday
night at the House of Representatives.
He said the government had been spending roughly P50 million a day on the
war in Mindanao.
''The military has not been able to come up with a ballpark figure. That, to
me, is very surprising and dangerous . . . The fact that they are asking for
P1.3, P1.4 billion--that could be an indication that they have already spent
more than P1 billion in the (military) operations,'' Moreno said.
In addition, Moreno said, a supplemental budget could be given only if the
Treasury would certify the existence of funds, or that there was an
appropriation item that would cover the amount.
He theorized that the government might have to postpone the construction of
school buildings or stop funding for medical services.
Moreno also said that the prevailing sentiment of the lawmakers during the
briefing was for the pursuit of peace talks. Inquirer, 05/12/2000


200,000 FARMER-FAMILIES DISPLACED IN MINDANAO: At least 200,000 families who
were beneficiaries of the government's agrarian reform program have been
displaced in Mindanao by the ongoing skirmishes between government troops
and the extremists group Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF).
This was disclosed yesterday by Agrarian Reform Secretary Horacio "Boy"
Morales Jr., even as he brushed aside the need to totally suspend the
implementation of the agrarian reform program in the entire Mindanao region.
Morales said that the areas seriously affected by the continuous
firefighting between government troops and MILF and Abu Sayyaf where the
so-called Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) are located include Lanao del
Norte, Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat in Central Mindanao.
Morales said that the overall situation in Western Mindanao is normal except
in three towns in Basilan and two agrarian reform communities in Zamboanga
del Sur.
He said that CARP operations in all towns in Basilan are ongoing except in
the towns of Maluso, Lantawan and Sumisip where operations are suspended due
to the hostilities.
The agrarian reform activities in the whole of Region 10, according to
Morales, proceed normally.
Considered vulnerable are the western towns of Bukidnon and Misamis
Oriental, which share boarders with Cotabato and Lanao provinces where
hostilities with MILF are ongoing.
Faizar Mambuay, DAR's director for Mindanao, said that the MILF is
supporting the government's agrarian reform program.
At least the government in Zamboanga del Sur and del Norte, Sarangani and
Davao Oriental are conducting P201.8-million worth of foreign-assisted
infrastructure projects. Phil. Star, 05/12/2000


ACROSS THE GLOBE, MINDANAOANS PRESS GOV'T, MORO REBS FOR PEACE: DAVAO
CITY -- Across the globe, Mindanaoans whose calls for a ceasefire and
negotiations with the Moro secessionist rebels have been ignored by
Malacanang, are resorting to the Internet to disseminate information on the
conflict, mobilize fellow Mindanaoans and pressure the government,
bombarding Malacanang with fax and e-mail messages.
Mindanaoans abroad have also been faxing and e-mailing the Philippine
embassies in their areas.
Calls for prayers and help in cash or kind have also flooded in for the
estimated 200,000 evacuees in Maguindanao, Cotabato City, North Cotabato,
Lanao del Sur and, after the ambush of soldiers by Abu Sayyaf extremists in
Lantawan town last Saturday, in Basilan. Bank account numbers are exchanged
and responses made as quickly as the messages are downloaded.
Even children are pitching in to help fellow children in the evacuation
centers.
In Davao City, about 200 women and children holding blue pennants and little
doves made out of white stockings launched the ''Clothesline of Peace''
series of nationwide rallies in front of City Hall yesterday.
Chanting ''Stop the war, negotiate now for our peace,'' the rallyists let go
of three dozen peace balloons for President Estrada and the MILF to return
to the negotiating table.
Participants hung clothes on a clothesline with messages reading, ''Food not
bullets,'' or ''Muslim and Christian women want peace and justice.''
''Invade Malacanang with rallies and letters to stop the military operations
in Mindanao,'' Muslim woman leader Yasmin Sinsuat, chancellor of the
Mindanao State University-Maguindanao campus and one of the rally
organizers, said in Filipino.
Irene Santiago, convenor of the Women Leaders Council in Mindanao,
criticized Mr. Estrada for wearing combat fatigues during his trip on Sunday
to Zamboanga City.
In the Muslim-majority city of Marawi, some 3,000 residents held a
prayer-rally in Plaza Cabili in Bangolo at 8 a.m. yesterday to urge
government and the MILF to end the fighting.
Participants called on Mr. Estrada to withdraw his all-out war order because
it has turned into an ''all-out war on Muslim civilians.''
Invoking Islam, which they described as the religion of peace, they also
called on MILF chair Hashim Salamat to call off his ''freedom'' fighters in
the battlefield. They urged Hashim to exhaust all peaceful means in
advancing his Islamic movement because ''war is self-defeating and against
the principles of the religion of peace, Islam.''
In General Santos City, Muslim leaders asked the government to stop the
military offensives and return to the negotiating table ''to (put an) end to
this senseless war.''
''We appeal to both parties to end their atrocities and give peace a
chance,''
In Matalam, North Cotabat, 14 Ustadz, Imams and Catholic priests together
with Bishop Romulo Valles of the Diocese of Kidapawan urged the two sides to
declare a ceasefire for the sake of the civilians.
The inter-religious group appealed to all Christians and Muslims to observe
a special day of prayer on Friday.
In North Cotabato, the provincial government of North Cotabato transported
food assistance to the evacuees in Pikit.
North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Pinol said Mr. Estrada had ordered the National
Food Authority to release 4,000 bags of NFA rice for the evacuees.
Pinol also asked the NFA office in Kidapawan City to send rolling stores to
Pikit to prevent unscrupulous traders from imposing an increase in the
prices of commodities.
Local leaders and evacuees in Maguindanao have accused the military of
imposing a food blockade in Matanog, Barira and Buldon in Maguindanao and
Aleosan, North Cotabato.
Maguindanao Gov. Zacaria Candao said the military had stopped the delivery
of rice for the evacuees in Buldon and Barira.
''The Marines fear that the rice might go to the MILF,'' Candao said.
Luzviminda Alvia, Barira social officer, said the Marines would not allow
the entry of some bags of rice intended for the evacuees trapped in Barira.
Inquirer, 05/09/2000


CONTINUED FIGHTING SWELLS MINDANAO EVACUATION CAMPS: Some 5,000 residents in
Lantawan, Basilan have fled their homes for fear of being caught in the
crossfire as government forces pursue members of the extremist group Abu
Sayyaf who ambushed and killed 13 soldiers and a militiaman on Sunday.
The evacuees from Lantawan raised the number of stranded commuters and
people fleeing the fighting in four Mindanao provinces to about 128,000.
Eduardo Baird, Basilan's social welfare and development officer, said at
least 1,250 families or 5,000 individuals from Barangay Kanibungan where the
soldiers were ambushed evacuated to nearby villages and Maluso town over the
weekend.
As fighting between government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) shifted to Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, residents
crowded in 57 evacuation centers.
As of May 7, the number of people affected by the clashes in the three
provinces had reached 123,758, or 23,031 families, of whom 74,691 were
housed in evacuation centers, according to the Department of Social Welfare
and Development.
DSWD Assistant Secretary Rhoda Yap said yesterday that the affected persons
in the three provinces consisted of those who sought shelter in evacuation
centers as well as the stranded commuters.
Statistics from the DSWD Disaster Response Operations
Monitoring and Information Center showed that the affected persons came from
17 municipalities and 92 barangays of Cotabato, Maguindanao and Sultan
Kudarat.
Many of the affected persons and evacuees came from Maguindanao. A total of
29,009 people or 4,989 families from Parang town are now crowding evacuation
centers. Inquirer, May 9

81 SOLDIERS KILLED; 468 OTHERS WOUNDED: At least 81 government troops have
been killed and 468 others wounded in action since fighting erupted two
weeks ago in Mindanao's hot spots, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado said
yesterday.
Twenty-one other Marines and Army Scout Rangers remain missing and the
military believe they have been ''felled by enemy fire,'' Mercado told a
news conference.
He declined to give estimates of the casualties on the side of the rebel
groups that government forces have been fighting, the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front and the extremist Abu Sayyaf.
He theorized that the MILF suffered ''at least three times'' the casualties
of the government.
Previous pronouncements by government authorities said the Abu Sayyaf in
Basilan has lost 80 percent of its strength when the military on April 22
launched its offensive to rescue 31 hostages kidnapped by the rebel group in
Sumisip town on March 20.
The military estimates the MILF to have a strength of 8,000 and the Abu
Sayyaf only 500. The Agence France Presse wire service attributed 15,000
members to the MILF.
The military later threw a security cordon around a second Abu Sayyaf unit
which had seized 21 mostly foreign hostages from a Malaysian dive resort and
brought the captives by sea to the southern Philippine island of Jolo.
Inquirer, 05/10/2000



ERAP URGES END TO `LONG-DRAWN' BATTLE IN SOUTH: ''We should now put a stop
to the long-drawn battle'' in Mindanao, President Estrada declared yesterday
even as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rejected calls for an extension of
its 48-hour ceasefire beyond 6 a.m. today.
The President flew to Zamboanga City to assess the Mindanao situation with
military and Cabinet officials and to visit soldiers wounded in the
fighting.
Fighting was still raging in Matanog, Maguindanao, and Balabagan towns in
Lanao del Sur, where the military continued to strike at the rebels.
One of those killed in the fighting Saturday afternoon was a younger brother
of MILF chair Hashim Salamat, according to the military.
Starting at 3:42 p.m. yesterday, a power outage hit Maguindanao and Cotabato
City. Maguindanao was still in darkness as of last night.
President Estrada said his government was determined to ''finish'' what it
set out to do to achieve peace in Mindanao.
He said the government has made peace offerings, but the Moro rebels met
these with violence. He repeated a warning that he made last week: ''I offer
peace to those who want peace, but I promise war to those who want war.
In a message obviously meant for the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf, Mr. Estrada
said, ''Our Armed Forces and our police are ready to lay down their lives
for our freedom and our progress.''
Referring to the rebels' kidnapping of two batches of hostages, he said:
''This is a direct challenge to our government. If they persist in engaging
in terrorist acts, we will give them the full might of our Armed Forces.
Mr. Estrada met behind closed doors with military and government officials
and presidential economic adviser Wee Pee Ding at the Southcom base from
11:30 to 11:40 a.m. yesterday.
Press Secretary Ricardo Puno said the meeting was basically a ''plain
assessment'' of the Mindanao situation, including the military operations in
Basilan, the hostage crisis in Sulu, and the military's offensives against
the MILF on the Narciso Ramos Highway in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.
''I was told by the MILF central committee that extension was unlikely,''
MILF information officer Eid Kabalu said, referring to calls for an
extension of the ceasefire.
Rebel officials yesterday morning also met in Camp Abubakar, the MILF's main
stronghold, to discuss the appeals for truce extension or withdrawal from
the three-year peace talks with the government.
''There was no sign that the government is still determined to pursue the
peace process,'' Kabalu said.
''We are prepared for whatever action they (MILF) will take,'' said Capt.
Noel Detoyato, Army media affairs group chief, adding that the Army's
mission to clear the Narciso Ramos Highway in Maguindanao still stands.
Outside Matanog and Lanao del Sur's Balabagan town, where fighting still
raged, no untoward incident has been reported since yesterday morning,
Detoyato said in Cotabato City.
Matanog and Balabagan are within the ''perimeter defense'' of the MILF's
Camp Abubakar.
In Iligan City, the military reported that a younger brother of MILF chair
Salamat was killed late Saturday afternoon in the fighting in Mount Kabugaw
at the boundary of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.
Fighting was still raging in the area with OV-10 bombers, MG-520 and Huey
helicopters, and Army and Marine ground troops pounding the rebels with
bombs, rockets and mortars.
Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio, chief of the 1st Marine Brigade, who led the
assault on Mt. Kabugaw from the Lanao del Sur side of the border, reported
that Salamat's brother, who was in his early 40s, was an MILF battalion
commander operating in the area.
Iligan police are conducting security inspections of public places,
commercial establishments and government buildings following warnings that
the city was the next bombing target.
On Saturday, two bomb explosions on board buses killed six people in Surigao
City and Butuan City.
Senior Supt. Rogelio Nuneza, Iligan police chief, said they received
information from a ''very reliable'' source that the Surigao and Butuan
bombers were on their way to this city.
In Dipolog City, a powerful blast destroyed the front of a house in Barangay
Turno at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
After the short assessment meeting at the Southcom base in Zamboanga City,
Mr. Estrada went to the Camp Navarro Hospital where he gave medals and cash
incentives of P10,000 to P15,000 to soldiers wounded in the Mindanao
fighting. Inquirer, 05/08/2000

CLASHES CONTINUE; ROADS STILL CLOSED: COTABATO CITY--''Low-intensity''
fighting persisted yesterday around the airport here, but elsewhere the
violence had largely subsided, local military officials said.
The Kabacan-Aleosan stretch of the Davao-Cotabato highway, the Narciso Ramos
Highway linking Cotabato and Marawi cities, and the Cotabato-Bukidnon
highway via Carmen, North Cotabato remained closed for the third day
yesterday.
But the Cotabato-Isulan, Sultan Kudarat stretch of the Cotabato-General
Santos highway was reopened to traffic after the military drove away Moro
Islamic Liberation Front guerrillas.
Stranded vehicles in Kabacan and Aleosan were allowed passage at 5:30 p.m.,
escorted by the military. Later, however, the road was again closed to
traffic.
Residents of Pikit and Aleosan towns in North Cotabato and Pagalungan and
Pagagawan in Maguindano, isolated since early Tuesday morning because of the
closure of the Kabacan-Aleosan road, complained of lack of food and fuel
supply.
Government forces and MILF rebels continued to engage in firefights in
various areas in North Cotabato, including Nalapaan in Aleosan town,
Barangay Mudsing in Midsayap, and Tulunan.
But President Estrada said there would be no letup in the military
operations in Mindanao.
A May 2 disaster update from the Department of Social Welfare and
Development said there were 2,435 persons or 490 families now seeking
shelter in evacuation sites in Aloesan, Cotabato and in the Maguindanao
municipalities of Buldon and Matanog.
DSWD director for Central Mindanao Kunesa Sekak, reporting the situation in
Central Mindanao and the Autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, said the
evacuees in the two provinces were still increasing.
But in Lanao del Norte, evacuees have started to go home, with only seven of
23 evacuation centers in operation now.
In Aleosan, three public markets and schools were converted into evacuation
centers for 374 families or 1,669 persons.
On the other hand, North Cotabato Gov. Emmanuel Pinol said the fighting had
displaced some 30,000 to 40,000 residents. He said others had fled their
homes because of misinformation.
He said there was a need to place North Cotabato under a ''state of
calamity'' after visiting various evacuation centers in the province.
In Maguindanao, provincial health officer Dr. Tahir Sulaik said Wednesday
that at least 70,000 residents had been displaced in Matanog, Barira and
Buldon towns.
In Davao City, Commission on Human Rights Chair Aurora Recina said
complaints of rights violations against government soldiers in relation to
the conflict had been pouring in.
Recina said among the common complaints were displacement because of armed
confrontation, harassment, physical abuse and house burning in Lanao and
Maguindanao.
''Actually, the general scenario is against the Armed Forces,'' she said.
Inquirer, 05/05/2000

PALACE: NO TO OIC, STATE OF EMERGENCY: For the second time, Malacanang
yesterday rejected calls for it to consult the Organization of Islamic
Conference on the Mindanao crisis, and to declare a state of emergency.
Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora said there was no need to
''internationalize'' the conflicts going on in Mindanao which could be
handled by government forces.
He explained that while the OIC had been included in the peace negotiations
with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), he said the current
situation with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Abu Sayyaf
was a different matter.
It is not in the level at all of peace talks, he said.
He explained that if the government would declare a state of emergency in
the troubled spots in Mindanao, it would just blow the situation out of
proportion.
He said the country's image would also worsen with such a declaration,
particularly in the countries who have nationals being held as hostage by
the Abu Sayyaf.
He explained that the President has reactivated the National Disaster
Coordinating Council to take care of the displaced persons in Mindanao.
Inquirer, 05/05/2000


BATTERED MILF SUES FOR PEACE: The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) was reported yesterday to be suing for peace, four days after waging
an all-out attack on government forces that paralyzed two key cities and
displaced thousands of villagers in Mindanao.
But Malacanang rejected the MILF's peace overtures even as calls for a
government-initiated ceasefire mounted.
Meanwhile, three senators from Mindanao called for immediate cessation of
fighting between the military and the MILF, saying a ceasefire is better
than trying to put the blame on each other.
However, MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar said only
foreign intervention could silence the guns in Mindanao.
Ghazali also said they were willing to resume the peace talks if the
military would call off its offensive.
Sources said MILF chieftain Hashim Salamat dispatched former ambassador
Alunan Glang to Manila "to discuss the possibility of restoring normalcy" in
Mindanao.
Glang was set to leave Cotabato City for Manila yesterday, but the trip was
canceled because the local airport was still closed due to the fighting.
The airport was supposed to reopen yesterday afternoon or early today, said
Lt. Gen. Diomedio Villanueva, chief of the Armed Forces' Southern Command
(Southcom) based in Zamboanga City.
Philippine Airlines announced that it may resume flights to Cotabato City
today.
General Santos Mayor Adelbert Antonino said major establishments in the
city, such as banks, theaters and shopping malls remained closed yesterday
to deny the rebels of "high-profile" targets.
A few shopping malls opened, but for limited hours.
A bankers' association in the city declared that they will not operate
unless the peace and order situation has improved.
Business also ground to a halt in the towns of Polomolok, Tupi, Tantangan,
Surallah, Banga and Sto. Nino.
In Sultan Kudarat province, all banks and major establishments declared a
holiday.
Repairs were underway on a power transmission facility disabled by a bomb
late last Wednesday, plunging one-third of General Santos City in darkness.
Ghazali said the conflict may be stopped with the interference of the United
Nations (UN) or the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC).
Ghazali said the presence of the UN or the OIC is vital to pressure the
government to be more serious in talking peace with his group.
But Malacanang rejected the idea, saying calling in the UN or the OIC "is
uncalled for at this time."
Foreign Affairs Secretary Domingo Siazon Jr. said the OIC does not support
any form of secession against a sovereign state.
Mr. Estrada assured the people that he will never allow the MILF to divide
the country.
Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado also nixed truce proposals, saying the
1997 ceasefire was widely violated by the rebels.
He predicted that bomb attacks and harassment of military and government
installations might intensify as the MILF "is already losing in the
battlefield."
Senators Aquilino Pimentel, Teofisto Guingona and Robert Barbers, in batting
for a ceasefire, said attempts to peacefully resolve the Mindanao conflict
"cannot prosper in an atmosphere of escalating violence."
Barbers rued that several areas in Mindanao have turned into virtual war
zones.
Guingona stressed that without a ceasefire, the country "cannot move
forward."
He expressed confidence that a peace accord could still be forged with the
MILF.
He clarified that the Abu Sayyaf problem is another matter, adding that the
government's all-out offensive against the Muslim extremist rebel group
should be pushed to the hilt.
For his part, Sen. Gregorio Honasan blamed the government's lack of a
comprehensive peace program for the renewed outbreak of hostilities in the
South.
Honasan said the government should unilaterally declare a ceasefire to pave
the way for peaceful negotiations.
He said a government-initiated truce will show to the world that peace
initiative is a sincere effort to restore law and order in Mindanao, and
that the government is still in control of the situation in the south.
At least 57 non-government organizations, sectoral leaders, nuns and priests
from various congregations and representatives of cause-oriented groups
joined the march organized by the Oblate-run Notre Dame University. Phil.
Star, 05/05/2000


MILF LAUNCHES ALL-OUT OFFENSIVE: COTABATO CITY--The Moro Islamic Liberation
Front yesterday launched an ''all-out offensive'' against military and
government installations in North Cotabato after pulling out
of peace talks.
The Moro extremists felled power transmission lines, commandeered two
passenger buses and blockaded a portion of the Davao-Cotabato highway as
fighting between government soldiers and the rebels continued outside Camp
Abubakar in Matanog town in Maguindanao.
Abubakar is the MILF'S largest base in Mindanao.
The battle in Maguindanao, which started Friday and which prompted the MILF
to unilaterally suspend on Sunday the three-year peace negotiations,
yesterday spilled over to neighboring North Cotabato.
In Manila, Malacanang said peace talks with the MILF would not resume until
the rebels pull out of the contested Narciso Ramos Highway in Maguindanao,
the cause of the latest clashes in the province.
Press Sec. Ronaldo Puno said the operations against MILF forces in Matanog
must continue.
''This could spark an all-out war in Mindanao,'' Agence France Presse quoted
Fr. Eliseo Mercado as saying. Mercado, a Roman Catholic priest, heads a
committee monitoring the joint ceasefire.
MILF military chief Al Haj Murad said he ''already directed our field
commanders to launch counter-offensives against military installations in
Central Mindanao.''
Central Mindanao comprises Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat,
Lanao del Norte and the cities of Iligan, Marawi and Cotabato.
Murad assured the civilians his directive was specific--to launch offensives
against military positions only.
Murad urged the government to stop the attacks on Camp Abubakar so peace
talks could resume, warning his group would otherwise escalate fighting
throughout Mindanao.
But he said the MILF, which has been waging its armed struggle since 1978,
had not totally closed the door on peace.
Three of four highways leading to Cotabato City have been closed--the
Cotabato-Davao highway by the rebel forces, and the Cotabato-Bukidnon and
Cotabato-Marawi highways by government forces.
Backed by two helicopter gunships, the government forces continued to pound
rebel positions in Matanog town, just outside Camp Abubakar, and in Aleosan
town in North Cotabato.
Appeals from various sectors for an immediate ceasefire and a return to the
negotiating table have been ignored, including that of Cotabato City Bishop
Orlando Quevedo, chair of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP). Inquirer, 05/03/2000


FIGHTING DISPLACES 120,000 IN 3 PROVINCES: The number of people displaced by
the ongoing conflict between government troops and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front now totals 120,000 in three provinces in Mindanao.
Latest reports from the Department of Social Welfare and Development showed
that there are 2,435 families in Buldon and Matanog in Maguindanao who have
evacuated.
Matanog is where Camp Abubakar, the MILF headquarters, is located.
DSWD Assistant Secretary Rhoda Yap said that aside from the new evacuees,
there are 108,181 people from Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur who have
been displaced.
But since the military had cleared coastal areas in Lanao del Norte, some of
these evacuees have started to go home, Yap said.
In Lanao del Sur, 3,813 families or 19,000 persons who fled there from Lanao
del Norte are living outside evacuation centers. They chose to stay with
their relatives.
More than 5,000 families or 26,000 persons, however, chose to stay in two
evacuation centers being run by the DSWD in Marawi.
Some evacuees have been affected emotionally by the conflict but they are
now undergoing stress debriefing from DSWD social workers.
Yap said one of the questions raised by some of the evacuees was when the
conflict was going to end.
She said the DSWD has provided assistance to the local governments of the
Lanao provinces, giving them P1.08 million in assistance so far. She said
P13.2 million had already been spent for the evacuees by the government and
local government units. Inquirer, 05/03/2000


MILF REBS SUSPEND PEACE NEGOTIATIONS: CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao --The Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's biggest Moro rebel group,
yesterday declared an ''indefinite suspension'' of the three-year-old peace
negotiations with the government.
MILF military chief Al Haj Murad made the announcement through the Catholic
Church-run radio dxMS as fighting between soldiers and MILF guerrillas
spread to two more towns.
As fighting raged for the third day yesterday in Matanog town near the
MILF's main and largest base, Camp Abubakar, government troops in Shariff
Aguak town engaged rebels near the MILF's Camp Badre at 6 a.m.
''The situation is very alarming,'' said Fr. Eliseo Mercado, chair of the
independent fact-finding committee that monitors the implementation of the
July 1997 government-MILF ceasefire agreement.
The two sides were to have resumed peace talks on May 16 aimed at bringing a
political settlement to the 21-year campaign by the MILF, a 15,000-member
guerrilla force. The talks were launched early this year.
Malacanang said that despite the MILF's withdrawal, the lines for continued
peace negotiations with the group were still open.
''The lines of communication are still open,'' said Press Secretary Ricardo
''Dong'' Puno. ''It was not the government that withdrew from the talks.''
Puno stressed that the military attack on the perimeter defense of Abubakar
was not a violation of the 1997 ceasefire agreement.
It was ''merely a reaction'' to the initial attacks by the MILF in
Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, and in Ozamiz City, and the rebels' alleged
bombing of barges in Mindanao.
Immediately after the 3 p.m. announcement, soldiers stationed in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao police headquarters in Camp Parang
simultaneously fired five howitzers toward Matanog.
Yesterday morning, Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado told soldiers at the
Army's 6th Infantry Division headquarters in Awang, Maguindanao, to ''pursue
this attack (against the MILF) with vigor.''
Mercado said the fighting would not affect the peace process because the
military ''is only doing what is mandated of it--to free the Narciso Ramos
Highway of mulcters and extortionists.''
Father Mercado said the government and MILF peace panels agreed late
Thursday to ''normalize the situation in central Mindanao'' and to ''deploy
policemen to secure the Ramos highway.''
''There are problems about the highway but these problems cannot be solved
by military offensives,'' said the priest, who is also president of the
Notre Dame University and convenor of the Mindanao Peace Advocates
Conference and Kusog Mindanaw.
''Military offensives will close the traffic, cause major displacements,
wreak havoc on Mindanao's economy and destroy human lives on all sides.''
Some 1,500 more families have fled the war zones, bringing the number of
Maguindanao evacuees to 3,500 families or 17,500 people, officials said.
In North Cotabato, Fr. Bert Layson, parish priest of Pikit town, said about
2,000 families or 10,000 people fled seven villages there after seeing
government troops positioning near the MILF's Camp Rajamuda.
Layson said fighting had yet to erupt. Inquirer, 05/01/2000