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Military: Cops attacked in Philippine Maguindanao province www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-08 12:09:53 Print SHARIFF AGUAK, Philippines, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Philippine policemen were fired upon late Monday night when they were patrolling in a town in the southern province of Maguindanao, the second such incident since Sunday night, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Lt. Col. Jonathan Ponce, a local military spokesman, told reporters that the shooting occurred at the border of Datu Saudi and Datu Unsay townships but there is no casualty on the government side. It was the second clash since Manila imposed a military rule in the province following the Nov. 23 mass killing of 57 people, including 30 journalists there. Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay, was arrested and charged as a prime suspect of the massacre. Patrolling cops were fired upon late Sunday night in Datu Unsay town, which prompted law enforcement men to fire back. No government casualties were reported in t...

When can there be peace in Mindanao and Philippines? :(

The military is bracing for a possible spillover of the current turmoil in Maguindanao province, which under martial law as the government continues its crackdown on the people behind the grisly November 23 massacre in Ampatuan town. This was after reports that at least 300 supporters of the powerful Ampatuan political clan, the suspects in the massacre that killed 57 people, have left for Metro Manila to escape the ongoing operations by government security forces in Maguindanao. A report by GMA News' Susan Enriquez aired over the special edition of "24 Oras" Sunday night said two tanks are currently on standby in Camp Aguinaldo ready for possible deployment any time. The report said the military's National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) has placed its troops on blue alert - the second highest alert level in the military - last Friday, the day Malacañang issued Proclamation 1959 placing the entire Maguindanao under martial law. "The organic personnel of the NCRC...

Ampatuan lawyer files petition for bail (1:01 p.m.) (Sun Star) LAWYER of Datu Unsay, Maguindanao Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. filed a petition for bail before the Regional Trial Court in Cotabato City Monday. Ampatuan Jr. remains detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila. He was earlier charged with 25 counts of murder after being tagged as the primary suspect of the massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao last November 23. (Sunnex)

Philippine troops found ammunition in Ampatuan house in Maguindanao www.chinaview.cn 2009-12-04 14:03:17 Print SHARIFF AGUAK, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- Philippine government troops searched Friday morning the house of detained Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for weapons and ammunitions. Lt. Col. Leo Ferrer, commander of the Army's 601st Brigade, said troops recovered boxes of ammunition at Andal Jr.'s house here. Andal Jr., a scion of the powerful Ampatuan clan, is the top suspect for the Nov. 23 massacre which claimed 57 lives including journalists and members of a rival clan. He is now detained in Manila and has been charged with 25 counts of murder. Philippine police and military, carrying search warrants, also searched the houses of Andal Jr.'s two siblings and his father, former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. Thursday, government soldiers unearthed a cache of sophisticated weapons and ammunition at a vacant lot near the Ampatuan's comp...

GENEVA — The brutal killing of 57 people in Maguindanao, including some 30 journalists, should be seen as a watershed moment for the Philippines, according to two United Nations human rights experts. Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, and Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, said that “the pre-meditated killing of political opponents, combined with a massive assault on the media, must be tackled at various levels that go well beyond standard murder investigations.” In a statement, the two UN experts indicated that the initial responses of the Government had been encouraging. “The first step”, they noted, “is to ensure that the police investigation is comprehensive and independent, and employs the highest professional standards. It must also be followed by effective prosecutions of all those responsible for the killings.” They added, however, that the massacre also demanded a more extensive reflection on the elite family-domi...

Responding to the murder of more than 30 news media people in a massacre in Maguindanao southern Philippines, members of The Filipino Press Group of Sydney launched an appeal today for funds to help relieve some of the pain now experienced by victims’ families. Funds raised will be delivered to the families through the National Press Club of the Philippines (NPCP), according to Bayanihan News editor-publisher Domingo ‘Nonoy’ Perdon. Newspaper columnist Neria Soliman said the group would seek further contributions from affiliate organisations of the Philippine Community Council of NSW. ”At least one reporter who died in the massacre had a family of wife and five children,” said NewsPinoy editor Titus Filio, who had lived in the Maguindanao area in his youth. ”News media people do not earn much, so their families must be really suffering.” His sentiments were echoed by Mr Perdon, who had proposed the appeal as a grave emergency measure, Ms Soliman, Philippine Sentinel editor Dino Crescin...

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Thursday pledged justice before the grieving families of journalists who were killed in Maguindanao as she visited their wake in General Santos city. "I am attending the wake of some of the victims of the Maguindanao massacre as a modest expression of the nation's outrage and my personal grief and shock on the acts that befell these men and women. What happened continues to shock me. This is a black mark to our nation," Mrs. Arroyo said. "I am really very grieved because I have fought everyday in office to bring peace in this island (Mindanao) and I will continue to do so until the last minute of my term," she added. At the same time, Mrs. Arroyo also pledged to provide the families with jobs and educational and financial assistance. Sandra Aguinaldo of GMA News said Mrs. Arroyo even offered to become the godmother of the newly-born child of Marc Ariola, the cameraman of UNTV who was among the 31 journalists killed in the mas...

Hundreds of additional troops have been sent to Maguindanao province to protect the Ampatuan clan from "possible retaliation" in connection with last week's massacre of 57 people, which is being blamed on the powerful Arroyo-allied family. The augmentation force, numbering around 400, would provide security to the provincial capitol and the Ampatuans' residences in Shariff Aguak town, according to Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., chief of the Armed Forces' public information office. "This is to maintain the peace and order situation and prevent retaliation from the victims’ family. At the same time, they (soldiers) were sent to prevent other groups from taking advantage of the situation," Brawner said. At present, there are four infantry battalions and two mechanized units in Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato city - the three areas placed under state of emergency after the massacre. Normally there are only two battalions deployed in the area, Brawner s...

Massacre suspect’s home in Maguindanao raided INQUIRER.net First Posted 08:03:00 12/04/2009 Filed Under: Maguindanao Massacre, Election Violence, raid, Police, Firearms, Military MANILA, Philippines – Combined elements of the military and police raided the house of a local official from a powerful clan in Maguindanao and who has been tagged as the prime suspect in the massacre in the province late November, according to a television report. The raid was conducted at the home of Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., who is currently in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) following his arrest for the murders of at least 57 people in Maguindanao on November 23, the report on GMA Network’s “Unang Hirit” morning program said Friday. The report said a search warrant was served by members of the Philippine National Police to the caretakers on suspicion that high-powered firearms were hidden in Ampatuan Jr.’s home, which was described as being slightly smaller than the oth...