Maniolas

SUMISIP, BASILAN—Various factions of the Abu Sayyaf group have demanded ransom money for German captive Juegen Kantner, who has been held captive since early this month, making it difficult for the military to pinpoint his exact location,  a ranking military official said on Wednesday. Kantner and his wife, Sabine Merz, were sailing in Malaysian waters when kidnapped on Nov. 5. Merz was killed after she allegedly tried to shoot the attackers. Lt. Gen. Mayoralgo de la Cruz, the commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, said the military has not pinpointed which Abu Sayyaf faction was really holding the German captive. “There’s a lot of them asking for ransom. There was Alhabshi Misaya (who is under Radulan Sahiron) and there is Muammar Askali, who is also asking for ransom,” De la Cruz said. Askali, a self-proclaimed Abu Sayyaf spokesperson, was the latest Abu Sayyaf figure who had asked for ransom for Kantner. Askali said they wanted P500 million—not P5 million as earlier reported—for the foreigner’s freedom. “We are demanding P500 million in ransom, not P5 million, and we will issue an ultimatum soon,” Askali said, without directly saying what the bandit group planned to do with Kantner if no ransom was received. It was also Askali who announced the beheading of Canadian captives Robert Hall and John Ridsdel earlier this year after Canada refused to fork over ransom for the two victims. Unwanted But De la Cruz said the Abu Sayyaf might not get what it wanted for Kantner, describing Read More …

The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Wednesday awarded a total of P5.9-million cash reward to two informants who provided intelligence information to the military that led to the “neutralization” of two top Abu Sayyaf members involved in large-scale kidnap-for-ransom activities in Mindanao. In the awarding ceremony held in Camp Aguinaldo, AFP chief Gen. Ricardo Visaya turned over P5.3 million to Informant X, whose face was covered with a hood to hide his identity. He led joint elements of the military and police to the killing of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Sihatra Muallam Asmad, alias Latip, in Sulu province in November 2014. Asmad was involved in the kidnapping of foreign guests and workers of the Sipadan Beach Resort in Sabah, Malaysia, in April 2000, as well as members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Patikul, Sulu in August 2000. Asmad, who was wanted for six counts of kidnapping and illegal detention, had a bounty of P5.3 million. On the other hand, Informant Y received P600,000 for providing the information that led to the arrest of Yakan, who was wanted for the kidnappings and serious illegal detention of 15 and killings of two residents of Golden Harvest Plantation on June 11, 2001 in Barangay Tairan in Lantawan town, Basilan province. Yakan was captured by the military on May 23, 2014. He carried a reward of P600,000. Cooperation Visaya said he was pleased with the cooperation shown by the people in the military campaign to neutralize the terrorist group. “The information provided by the Read More …

Incensed at foreign criticism of his brutal war on drugs, President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday threatened to follow in Russia’s footsteps  and pull the Philippines out of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the UN-backed tribunal that handles cases involving war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Like Russia, the Philippines has drawn ICC warning because of extrajudicial killings in Mr. Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs. On Monday, the ICC angered Moscow by referring to Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2015 as an armed conflict. The court is also examining allegations of war crimes committed by Russian and Georgian forces during a brief war in 2008. Russia is also under pressure for its bombing of opposition forces fighting President Bashar Assad in the Syrian civil war. An angry Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday to withdraw Russia from the ICC. The Russian foreign ministry explained that the court “failed to match the hopes one had and did not become a truly independent and respected body of international justice.” ‘Shameless bullies’ Speaking in his hometown, Davao City, shortly before flying to Peru for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, Mr. Duterte said: “They (the Russians) may have thought the International Criminal Court is useless, so they withdrew their membership. I might follow. Why? Because these shameless bullies only pick on small countries like us.” Mr. Duterte’s comments came just two days after he told reporters that he was excited to meet Putin, who he said was into Read More …

Agnes Callamard seeks assurance of freedom of movement and security. —INQUIRER PHOTO The UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial killings has asked the Duterte administration to guarantee her unfettered access in investigating the spate of deaths in its bloody war on illegal drugs. Agnes Callamard, responding to an invitation from President Rodrigo Duterte, said she wanted assurance of freedom of movement and security in her talks with officials, witnesses and individuals and in her visits to detention facilities, among many others. Sen. Bam Aquino said during his sponsorship presentation Wednesday night of the P16.59-billion budget next year of the Department of Foreign Affairs that Mr. Duterte’s invitation to Callamard had conditions, including a public debate. “She has responded already with her own conditions, and now the interagency body has been created to discuss each of the parties’ conditions,” Aquino said. Conditions Sen. Leila de Lima, who is among those calling for the UN investigation, had inquired about the status of Mr. Duterte’s invitation, prompted by the criticism of his war on drugs that had incensed him. Mr. Duterte at one point had threatened to take the Philippines out of the United Nations. Callamard’s conditions, read out by Aquino, included: A similar invitation to the UN special rapporteur on health. Freedom of movement, including facilitation of transport, in particular, to restricted areas. Freedom of inquiry with regard to access to all prisons, detention centers and places of interrogation. Contacts with central and local authorities. Contacts with representatives of nongovernment organizations, private institutions Read More …

The Philippines hopes to strengthen relations with Pacific rim economies at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, in Lima, Peru. “In Apec, our goal is cooperation and free trade—how economies in the region can help each other in collectively ensuring free trade and implementing trade facilitation measures, with the aid of technology, to help more of our [micro, small and medium enterprises],” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said before leaving for Peru on Tuesday night. The strategy is a continuation of the Philippine push for MSMEs when it played host to  Apec meetings last year. On the sidelines of the Apec meetings in Lima, Lopez will meet with trade ministers from Russia, Chile, Hong Kong and Peru for talks to boost cooperation and increase bilateral trade and investment. This year’s talks could lead to the creation of joint economic commissions that would facilitate bilateral exchanges among member economies. Such efforts could lead to free trade agreements, although these take time and are usually subject to further discussions, Lopez said. He said Apec members had a long way to go before they could negotiate and agree on the proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. TAGS: Amy R. Remo, APEC, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, Pacific rim, Philippines foreign relations, Ramon M. Lopez For feedback, complaints, or inquiries, contact us.