Maniolas

Relieved SAF chief Getulio Napeñas. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines — The United States indeed helped the Philippines in terms of intelligence sharing during the Mamasapano operation but not in actual combat operations, relieved Philippine National Police-Special Action Force head Director Getulio Napeñas told a Senate hearing on Tuesday. It was Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto who again brought up during the Senate hearing on incident the issue about the alleged US’ involvement in the operation, citing among others, the Google Maps and US drones that were allegedly used to guide the SAF troopers to locate Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias “Marwan.” “Merong eropanong lumilipad na nagbibigay sa inyo ng aerial view sa command center n’yo that there are American operatives also in their command center na napanaoood n’yo in real time. ‘Yung 84th SAF habang binaril si Marwan, habang kinukuha n’yo ‘yung 84th SAF napapanood n’yo in real time e,” Recto said. (There was a drone which gave you an aerial view in your command center that there were also American operatives also in their command center whom could also see real time. You could also see in real time while Marwan was being shot and while 84th SAF men were being extracted.) “Tumulong ‘yung US counterpart dun sa intelligence but the details of intelligence sharing ay madi-discuss po ‘yan ni Senior Supt. Mendez,” Napeñas said, referring to PNP Intelligence Group Director Fernando Mendez. (Our US counterpart helped in the intelligence gathering, but the details of intelligence sharing will be discussed by Senior Supt. Mendez.) “Meron kaming isang US counterpart du’n sa Seaborn who’s working with them in terms of training…Kasama po na ibinibigay nila ‘yung Read More …

MANILA, Philippines — The Oplan Exodus, the operation that targeted top international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, was “100 percent Filipino,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Monday. “In our discussions with US authorities we have obtained that the plan and execution were 100 percent Filipino,” DFA Undersecretary for Policy Honorable Evan Garcia said at a Senate hearing The role of the United States has been questioned in the botched operation to capture the international terrorist, tagged as the Osama bin Laden of Southeast Asia. Marwan, who was reportedly killed in the operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, has a $5 million for the bounty on his head. The operation, executed by members of the Philippine National Police’s Special Action Force, resulted in the deaths of 44 SAF men. He did not clarify, however, if it was the US who provided intelligence information on Marwan. “We (respectfully) defer to our colleagues for operational details,” Garcia said. Under the Mutual Defense Board and Security and Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) between the Philippines and the United States, military exchange of intelligence information is allowed but US forces are restricted to combat activities. Reports surfaced that Americans were spotted in the area of operation at that time. “All counterterrorism exercises undertaken in Philippine territory require consent and approval through the PH-US MDB-SEB,” Garcia said. The bilateral activities between the two countries have helped to reduce, for instance, the size of terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, Garcia noted. RELATED STORIES ‘US behind Oplan Exodus’ US Read More …

Pope Francis rides the Volkswagen Touran on his way to Malacañang. Photo courtesy of the Official Gazette MANILA, Philippines—To the disappointment of people who wanted to see a glimpse of him, Pope Francis did not ride the popemobile on his way to Malacañang on Friday. The charismatic pope traveled from his official residence, the Papal Nunciature in Malate, Manila, riding a Volkswagen Touran to the Palace. This was because he came to Malacañang primarily as the head of the Vatican City state. “May porma ang state visit; pormal ang sasakyan, nakasara (The state visit follows a particular form;the vehicle should be closed),” Father Jerome Marquez explained during an interview on radio station DZMM. As he is the head of both the Catholic Church and the Vatican City, the Pope is in the Philippine for a pastoral and state visit. People should expect to see the pope riding the “open and more accessible” popemobile or using the “close and more formal” Touran depending on the function he will be attending. Riding the Touran, however, did not stop the Pope from rolling down his window and waving at the crowd who wanted to see him. “Ang shifting ng sasakyan ay shifting din ng purpose (The shift in vehicles shows a shift in the purpose (of his visit)),” Marquez added. This also explained why on his way to the Manila Cathedral, the Pope was onboard the popemobile. “May formalities, proseso, at protocol na tinging ko ginalang ng simbahan at pamahaalaan (There are formalities, Read More …

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte. INQUIRER file photo. MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang on Friday said it is hoping that the country’s ranking in the Global Terrorism Index will improve in the future, as it compares its own data with that of the Institute for Economics and Peace. “We’d like to see what those incidents are and compare it with the data that our law enforcement agencies have,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said. “But certainly, I think everyone is unified in the goal that we want to lessen these incidents.” The Institute for Economics and Peace this week released its Global Terrorism Index, which ranked the Philippines as 9th out of 162 countries with terrorism activities. It said that 292 deaths and 444 injuries recorded in the country were attributed to terrorism. “We are trying to see what incidents have been counted because we see the difference from the incidents in 2011, 2012, 2013 and the most recent year,” Valte said. The undersecretary also assured the public that the government is doing everything to keep global terrorism groups like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) away from the country. “We have been coordinating and cooperating with our neighbors just to make sure that the Philippines will remain free from any ISIS recruitment and we’ve said this in the past couple of days,” she said. On Thursday, Malacañang echoed the statement of the Armed Forces of the Philippines that there are no confirmed reports of ISIS recruitment in the country despite Read More …