Politics
NPAs in Mindanao grew by 5% this year – NDF
AGUSAN DEL NORTE (December 26) – Armed regulars of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Mindanao have reportedly increased by five per cent this year, according to a member of the Mindanao Commission of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).
Top ranking communist leader Jorge Madlos, alias Ka Oris and also the spokesperson of the [...]
SOUTHERN COMFORT: A political demise
SARANGANI Representative Erwin Chiongbian’s frantic effort to fend off Manny Pacquiao’s strong start as pretender to the seat in Congress he will forcibly vacate in 2010 underscores his increasing isolation and detachment from political realities on the ground.
Although Manny’s intention is no longer a secret, Chiongbian’s reaction when interviewed by a local television here revealed [...]
PACQUIAO WATCH: Manny may have to stick to boxing
THIS piece should spoil Manny’s day. So I asked Pacland administrators to have this article posted when Manny is already on his way to the ring or, even better, after his fight with Oscar dela Hoya – win or lose.
People surrounding Manny is anticipating huge monetary reward and political bonanza when his fight with Golden [...]
Governor Dominguez says no to cha-cha
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (November 22) – Sarangani governor Miguel Rene Dominguez on Friday warned that any move to amend the Constitution will only plunge the country into deeper crisis.
“You want to have the country dismembered, go ahead. We might as well create 7,100 republics,” Dominguez told reporters.
The governor issued his statement following reports more than [...]
‘We are political outlaws’ – MILF on LMGs
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (November 7) – Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) vice chair Ghazali Jaafar cannot seem to fathom why the military and top cabinet officials are continuously calling Abdulrahman Macappar Kumander Bravo and Ameril Umbra Kato as “lawless MILF group” (LMG).
“We don’t know,” Jaafar replied when asked why an outlaw organization will have lawless [...]
Covering the war in Mindanao
ON the road to Cotabato City for a coverage of the other side of the war Mindanao that would take us to four provinces and two cities in four days, it is hard to speak out loud why the roadsides are now filled with makeshift tents and shacks when otherwise the vast and empty tracks [...]
Moro rebs want int’l guarantee before resuming peace talks
SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao (October 29) – Learning their lessons from the failed MOA-AD signing, the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on Tuesday said they are willing to return to the negotiating table for as long as there is “an international guarantee.”
MILF vice chair Ghazali Jaafar said any bilateral agreement between the government [...]
MILF wants UN office in Central Mindanao
SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao (October 28) – The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Tuesday said they want the United Nations to set up an observation office and evacuation centers in Central Mindanao to prevent the ongoing evacuation of civilians into an international humanitarian crisis.
In a press briefing, MILF vice chair for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar [...]
SOUTHERN COMFORT: Of Lost Command, LMG and rogues
WHEN heavily armed regulars of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) launched simultaneous and bloody attacks in several provinces in Mindanao following the botched signing of the now presumed dead Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), it took the military under the Arroyo government several days to absorb the ramifications of such acts.
At first, [...]
Pacquiao to root for McCain
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (September 11) – The politician in Manny Pacquiao is slipping.
On Wednesday evening, he told former American trainer and long time Philippine resident Rick Staheli that he would like to see Republican Sen. John McCain win the US presidential elections in November.
“Maybe he could watch my fight in December after he wins [...]
