Maniolas

President Benigno Aquino III continues to consult and meet with the leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives regarding the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a Malacañang official said Sunday. “Ang batid po natin ay patuloy ang kanyang konsultasyon at pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga lider ng Kongreso kabilang na ang mga lider ng Senado,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said on dzRB Radyo ng Bayan on Sunday when asked if Aquino will also meet with senators to fast-track the passage of BBL. “Antabayanan lang po natin kung mayroon siyang ipatatawag na pagpupulong,” he said. The president met with House leaders and select lawmakers last week to discuss the BBL and the extent of his role in the Jan. 25 covert PNP-Special Action Force operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. He earlier asked lawmakers to honor the policemen killed in the clash by passing the BBL.  Coloma said Aquino gives high priority to the BBL, which embodies the peace agreement signed by the Philippine government and the MILF in March 2014. “Batid po nating lahat na mataas ang prayoridad na ibinibigay ni Pangulong Aquino at ng ating pamahalaan sa pagpasa ng Bangsamoro Basic Law,” he said. Deliberations on the BBL were suspended by both the House of Representatives and Senate pending the results of investigations into the Mamasapano operation which ended in the death of over 60 people, 44 of whom were elite police commandos. The House Bangsamoro ad hoc committee reset the target date of approval of a draft report on the Read More …

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s refusal to surrender fighters involved in a clash with the police Special Action Force (SAF) troopers last January could derail the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), a lawmaker has warned. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the ad hoc committee on the BBL at the House of Representatives, said the measure will face rough sailing if the MILF will not turn over its members involved in the Jan. 25 encounter in Mamasapano, Maguindanao since lawmakers are demanding for justice for the 44 SAF commandos killed in the incident. However, he said the MILF should only be asked to surrender its members once the Department of Justice (DOJ) concludes its investigation and identifies fighters from the Moro group as among those liable for the death of the SAF troopers. “If there is no finding yet and if the MILF is not going to surrender its people, there’s a big possibility that the BBL will lose in the House of Representatives,” Rodriguez told dzBB in an interview.  Asked if the MILF’s refusal will be the deal breaker against the BBL’s passage, the lawmaker said: “Yes, that’s really the deal breaker if they (MILF) will not cooperate to achieve justice in the country.” April 2 deadline The MILF’s surrender of its members involved in the clash was one of the three conditions set by lawmakers to rebuild confidence in the group’s commitment to the peace process. However, the MILF has ruled out the Read More …

Memories of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolt are vivid in the memory of 58-year-old church volunteer Leo Mabansag.  He recalls telling his girlfriend back then that he will join the mass revolt to topple authoritarian regime of then President Ferdinand Marcos. “It’s still fresh to me, nandun sa lahat ng mga taong present yung emotions of fear at the same time yung excitement. Nasa gitna ka ng EDSA mismo, ang dami ninyo. Halos hindi ka makagalaw sa dami ng tao pero maayos,” Mabansag said to GMA News Online. Unknown to him, his girlfriend also went to EDSA to join the protesters. “I didn’t know that she went there also. Hindi kami nagkita dun pero nung  nagkwentuhan kami a few days after the event, dun namin nalaman na pareho pala kaming nagpunta,” Mabansag said. That same year of 1986, Mabansag, then a 28-year-old former seminarian, married his girlfriend. The couple was blessed with two children. Twenty-nine years after, Mabansag went back to EDSA Shrine – not to call for the resignation of any government leaders but just to offer a prayer and to remember those days. But Mabansag was quite surprised and a bit disappointed. When he arrived at EDSA Shrine to attend a Mass Wednesday morning, only a few people were there, mostly security personnel. It was then that he found out that the Mass usually held at the EDSA Shrine stage was now inside the EDSA Shrine chapel also known as the Mary Queen of Peace church, where Read More …

A former intelligence officer of the Philippine military is wondering why there were so many policemen involved in the January 25 operation of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force in Mamasapano town in Maguindanao.  In a phone interview, retired Navy commodore Rex Robles pointed out that troop movement of that size could easily catch the attention of the residents. “What were those people doing there? Those 300 or so?… Let’s say if you move 50 men in an enemy’s territrory, diba ang danger of detection is very high?… What were these men supposed to do according to operations order? ” Robles told GMA News Online.  The PNP also previously said that 392 SAF commandos were part of the operation to arrest Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan. Only 74 clashed with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,  Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and private armed groups. “Ano ba ang scenario na prinoject nila para magkaroon sila ng ganoon karaming tao?” Robles further asked.  He also explained that the SAF needed at least 10 trucks to bring the police officers to the highway, “Let’s say 30 (people) per truck. You need 10 trucks to bring those people. Sampung truck na nagtatravel, hindi pa sila madedetect?”  He also said that for that kind of operation like Oplan Exodus, three teams of around 100 men are only needed to avoid unwanted attention.  “Troop movements of this size will have to pass through Army check points. The fact should have been reported to GHQ (general Read More …