AFP SAYS 9 SOLDIERS, NOT 11, KILLED IN NORTH COTABATO NPA AMBUSH

Names of Slain Soldiers Known

By Albashir Saiden and Arianne Apatan

ABS-CBN News Central Mindanao

MANILA (UPDATED) – Nine soldiers, including three CAFGUs, were killed in separate landmine attacks allegedly perpetrated by the New People’s Army (NPA) in Tulunan, North Cotabao on Monday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said.

A report by the AFP on its website said the first landmine attack occurred at the boundary of Barangays Caridad and Bituan at around 9:20 a.m.

Eight government troops were killed and one wounded in the ensuing gunbattle with alleged NPA rebels.

The attack happened as troops from the 38th Infantry Battalion were on administrative duty delivering subsistence allowance to auxiliary forces.

“Brutal talaga yung pagkamatay nila, basag ang mga bungo, yung iba tadtad ng bala, pinagbabaril ng malapitan para masigurong patay talaga,”

Tulunan chief of police Senior Inspector Ronnie Cordero said.

The gunmen took away the victims’ cash and firearms, police said.

Those killed soldiers in the first attack were:

SSgt. Joel Hadlucon
Sgt. Jovencio Ocho
Cpl. Thong Bansuan
Cpl. Razzel Baylon
Sgt. Herames
CAA Jonell Tundocan
CAA Reynaldo Ballesteros
CAA Melquides Butaslac Jr.

Only their commanding officer, Capt. Ernesto Aguilar, and one CAGFU militiaman survived the ambush.

The second attack occurred at 11:25 a.m. when troops under the 57th Infantry Battalion were also hit by a landmine explosion while on their way to Barangay New Caridad, also in Tulunan.

Four were wounded and one killed in the second attack. The fatality was identified as Cpl. Roger Espiritu.

The AFP condemned the latest attack by the communist rebels, saying that by using improvised explosive devices as precursors to ambush, the NPA “continues to violate the Comprehensive Agreement on the Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law.”

“This also disrespects the strict regulation of IEDs under the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of Anti-Personnel Mines (Ottawa Treaty),” the AFP added.

The AFP extended its sympathies to the families of the soldiers killed in the attacks, even as it vowed to pursue the perpetrators.

October 21 2013

P1-M CAFGU Payroll Money Missing

11 GOV’T TROOPS DIE IN NPA AMBUSH;

LANDMINES BLASTED MILITARY VEHICLES

By Manny Pinol

www.mannypinol.net

Eleven government soldiers and militiamen were killed early today, Monday, when two landmines planted by communist rebels in Tulunan and Makilala, Norrh Cotabato blasted two military vehicles under the command of an army captain who was carrying an estimated P1-M in CAFGU payroll money.

The first landmine exploded at about 9 a.m. in Sitio Mangge, Bituan, Tulunan and blasted a KM military vehicle carrying soldiers and militiamen under Capt. Ernesto Aguilar of the 38th Infantry Battalion.

As the soldiers and members of the CAFGU were either hurt or stunned by the landmine explosion, the members of the New People’s Army rained the troops with automatic gunfire.

Another military team based in Barangay Guangan, Makilala, North Cotabato and belonging to the 57th Battalion under Lt. Hugo Bruno rushed to the area to reinforce the beleaguered members of the 38th IB only to be stopped by another landmine which killed one soldier and wounded several others.

When the firefight between the communist rebels and the army soldiers continued, reinforcements had to be flown in by two Huey Helicopters which took off and deployed troops picked up from a military station in M’lang town.

Capt. Aguilar was earlier reported missing but was rescued later. Another government soldier was also reported missing.

In the thick of the action, the payroll money carried by Capt. Aguilar amounting to about P1M and intended for the para-military trops, was reported missing.

The names of those killed and wounded in the attack have not been made available.

October 21 2013

People Power vs Pork

PDAF DESTROYING DEMOCRACY,

SAYS FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE PUNO

By Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Philippine Daily Inquirer

Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno has begun to marshal the resources and support of large civil society organizations to launch a campaign for a people’s initiative for passage of a new law that would abolish the corruption-tainted pork barrel and ensure the proper accounting of every peso that goes in and out of the state treasury.

Puno said it was vital for the country to get rid of the pork barrel—officially called the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF—in all its forms, as he said it was “the worst violation of human rights” that has led to the “failure of democratic institutions and to a large degree destroyed our democracy, principle of separation of powers, and doctrine of checks and balances.”

“The PDAF is destroying our democracy. You look at how the money was spent. Congress does not act on the basis of law but based on its own interests,” said Puno in an interview at the Intramuros headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (CCPI).

The CCPI is the oldest business chamber in the Philippines, dating back to 1886, and is one of the organizations that Puno is counting on to help in achieving the numbers needed to bring about a people’s initiative through which the Filipino people, by direct action and bypassing Congress, can enact the necessary law to abolish the hated pork barrel system.

Earlier this month, Puno, the country’s 22nd Chief Justice, issued a statement saying that a new law had to be put in place through a people’s initiative as Congress “cannot legislate against its own selfish interest” and that “legislators have lost the moral authority to be the guardians of the people’s money.”

Reserve power

According to Puno, the Filipino people have a “reserve power” to enact laws under Republic Act No. 6735, which provides for a system of initiative and referendum. Under this law, the people can directly propose and enact laws, he said.

“Under our 1987 Constitution, the power to enact laws is no longer exclusively vested in Congress but can now be directly exercised by the people in recognition of the doctrine that the people are the real sovereign and not their elected legislators,” he said.

Puno said the people should use this power “to make laws whenever their elected representatives default in the performance of their sacred duty to enact laws to promote the general interest, or worse, whenever they betray the public trust.”

To get a law passed through a people’s initiative, the proposed law should be endorsed by 10 percent of registered voters—equivalent to about 6 million—and at least 3 percent of the registered voters of every legislative district.

Puno said that after these numbers are secured, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will then publish the proposed law for public discussions. Then after about 45 days, the Comelec will hold a referendum where voters will be asked to vote either “yes” or “no” to the proposed law. A simple majority of the votes cast will be enough for the law to pass.

The real problem

Puno believes it would not be too difficult to get the 10 percent of registered voters to sign on to the proposed law to do away with the PDAF, as everyone is fed up with it.

What will be difficult, he said, would be to get the mandated 3 percent of the registered voters of all legislative districts, considering that many of these districts are tightly controlled by political dynasties, which would want to keep their hold on millions of pork barrel funds.

But the 73-year-old Puno said he was not daunted and was determined to see the people’s initiative through.

“It is important that this first attempt to enact a national law succeeds. It has never been done. If this succeeds, we can use it to enact a freedom of information (FOI) law and to extinguish the political dynasties. In effect, we will use the power granted to the people in the Constitution to enact changes,” he said.

“To me, this is a very crucial issue. The people are united (against the pork barrel). You’ll be hard put to find anyone who says he or she is in favor of the PDAF. The only problem really is that you are going against the politicians,” said Puno.

The CCPI has committed to host meetings where Puno will be holding forth on the people’s initiative. The chamber was once the depository of the Official Gazette of the laws that have been passed in the country.

CCPI president Jose Luis U. Yulo Jr. said the chamber will also help in getting signatories for proposals to pass laws that Congress refuses to pass, including laws abolishing the pork barrel and political dynasties, and the FOI bill.

Puno, who has also started talking to church-based organizations and lawyers’ groups, said other organizations need to join the people’s initiative campaign as opposition to it would be fierce.

“You need to organize. Your opposition are the traditional politicians, the vested interests, everyone who wants to preserve the stinking status quo, those are all your enemies,” he said in Filipino.

Empower COA

Puno said that under the proposed law, which he would like academics, auditing experts and economic experts to work on, more power should be given to the Commission on Audit (COA) to make sure that taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and none goes to line the pockets of elected officials.

He explained that one major reason why politicians have been able to get away with using the pork barrel funds to enrich themselves was that not enough auditing was carried out.

“The examination is done only once a year. It should be done more often,” said Puno, who also proposed that the COA should have more people and that it should be given prosecutorial powers to cut through bureaucratic red tape.

Under the current system, COA findings are merely submitted to the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman and made the basis for the filing of cases.

Photo credit: Protesters in Makati City are shown in this CNN Photo)

People are angry

Puno admitted that the people’s initiative campaign would be an uphill climb and would be opposed by entrenched politicians. He is banking, however, on the people’s disgust with corruption to ensure its success.

“If the politicians oppose the people’s initiative campaign and they again use money, force and fraud, we don’t know what will happen next. This people’s initiative is the last safety valve for the people not to go to the streets,” he said.

“The country’s leaders will try to block it again. But they will come to regret this in the end. They had better think again because the people’s anger is overflowing,” Puno said.

Source: Manny Piñol