By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY— A member of the military intelligence group implicated in the Rebelyn Pitao rape- slay case was caught violating the election gun ban. But police released Private First Class Edmar “Ben” Tipait, 50, a member of the military intelligence group after detaining...

(Text of martial law declaration as read by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita at 7 a.m. Saturday, December 5, in Malacanang. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the proclamation on Friday, December 4.) Proclamation 1959: Proclaiming a State of Martial Law and suspending the privilege of the writ of...

By CHERYLL D. FIEL Davao Today DAVAO CITY – - A lumad farmer survived a slay attempt in Baganga town of Davao Oriental on June 26 this year. Julius Gonzales, 37, was going home with his wife to their village in Lambajon in Baganga when motorcycle-riding men, he recognized as Cafgu member, fired at...

(second of three parts) First Part : A Pattern to Madness By GERMELINA A. LACORTE Davao Today The mine-rich jungle of Compostela Valley is not only known for its gold. It�s also where the fight between the government troops and the Communist guerillas is at its fiercest. On its website, the military...

By GRACE S. UDDIN Davao Today DAVAO CITY� Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo warned the government against taking advantage of the bombing incidents in Mindanao to declare a state of emergency in the country. Ocampo�s reaction was made after Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said the government will use an �iron...

By Davao Today Farmer Alvin Lopez missing since July 4. (contributed photo) DAVAO CITY (davaotoday.com) — A farmer last seen beaten and forcibly taken allegedly by soldiers on July 4 is missing, according to the human rights group Karapatan. Witnesses saw Alvin Lopez, 25, a farmer and resident of...

(first of three parts) By GERMELINA A. LACORTE Davao Today First, their groups have been tagged as the legal fronts of the Communist New People’s Army. Then, top military officials make public statements suggesting they’re enemies of the state. Finally, before anyone could stop to consider, they...

By CHERYLL D. FIEL Davao Today Lawyer Carlos Isagani, one of the three Davao lawyers, who filed a writ of amparo against the military for including their names in the Order of Battle list. Military officers fail to appear on the first hearing.(davaotoday.com photo by Barry Ohaylan) DAVAO CITY —...

11 soldiers face raps over killing of 4 in...

605 reservists complete training By Media Mindanao News Service (August 15, 1987 News Digest Volume 1, August 1987-July 1988 Posted by Davao Today) ILIGAN CITY (MMNS) — Some 605 persons completed the weekend active duty training (WADT) at a military camp here, the 2/1 Brigade based here disclosed...

Revolutionary option By Carol Pagaduan-Araullo AFP Chief Gen. Victor Ibrado recently admitted that the military is having difficulty meeting the deadline imposed by de facto Commander-in-chief Mrs. Gloria Arroyo three years ago, to end the decades-old communist insurgency in 2010. (Philippine Star, 22 June...

MANILA — No less than the Army chief Lieutenant General Delfin N. Bangit honored the visit of the eight newly promoted generals at the Headquarters Philippine Army, Fort Andres Bonifacio, Metro Manila on June 18. Among the newly promoted generals are : Lieutenant General Raymundo B Ferrer, Commander of...

The June 15 tactical offensive initiated by the Danilo Villacorta Command of Guerrilla Front 35 that resulted in the killing of Bravo Company-60th (Infantry Battallion-Armed Forces of the Philippines) IB-AFP officer 2nd Lt. Charlie Salcedo and Private First Class Albert Toriano, sends a strong and clear...

By CHERYLL D. FIEL Davao Today DAVAO CITY — Three lawyers whose names were in the military Order of Battle list filed a petition for a writ of amparo at the Regional Trial Court to preempt impending threats to their lives. Davao lawyers Carlos Isagani Zarate, Lilibeth Ladaga and Angela...

By Media Mindanao News Service (August 15, 1987 News Digest Volume 1, August 1987-July 1988 Posted by Davao Today) SURIGAO SUR (MMNS) — As thousands of workers trekked to the nearby Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines (PICOP) to collect their pay they could not help but pause locked up...

CHR to Military: Explain Continued Use of ‘Orders of Battle’ MANILA (Bulatlat/June 18) – The Commission of Human Rights (CHR) has vowed to look into the continuing practice of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) of coming out with so-called �orders of battle� (OB) that lists groups...

The Merardo Arce Command-Southern Mindanao Regional Operations Command of the New People’s Army (NPA) claims responsibility for the killing of Evelyn Pitao in Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte. Guerrilla operatives of the Ka Paking Guimbaolibot Red Partisan Brigade (KPGRPB) of the NPA implemented the capital...

CAMP PANACAN, DAVAO CITY — In a statement dated May 26, 2009, the Communist Party of the Philippines/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA) said that Evelyn Pitao-Dadula had given the military information that led to the killing of her brother, Danilo, in Tagum City in June 2008 and the arrest of her former...

By CHERYLL FIEL Davao Today BOSTON, DAVAO ORIENTAL – - – Ludenio Monzon, the latest victim of extrajudicial killing in Southern Mindanao, knew his days were numbered even days before he was killed. Like most of the activists killed before him, he received warnings and death threats. He was...

By Davao Today DAVAO CITY � Communist New People�s Army (NPA) commander Leoncio Pitao blamed the government for the death of his sister Evelyn Pitao. Although Evelyn was killed by NPA guerillas the previous week because of her links with the military, Pitao, also popularly known as Kumander Parago,...

By Media Mindanao News Service (August 15, 1987 News Digest Volume 1, August 1987-July 1988) DAVAO CITY (MMNS) – Nearly 50 percent of human rights violation incidents in Mindanao where committed by anti-communist vigilante groups, the church-based Task Force Detainees said. In its partial partial...

By Media Mindanao News Service (August 15, 1987 News Digest Volume 1, August 1987-July 1988) ILIGAN CITY (MMNS) – An �all-out war� reminiscent of the pacification campaign against Muslim insurgents in the early 70s threatens to erupt in the Zamboanga and Lanao Provinces. This was the gist of a...

By Media Mindanao News Service (August 15, 1987 News Digest Volume 1, August 1987-July 1988) DAVAO CITY (MMNS) – The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) of Region XI will recommend to Brig. Gen. Recina of RUC XI to disarm the Civilian Home Defense Force (CHDF) elements in sitio Mapula, Paquibato...

Order of Battle – Malicious Forgery or Conspiracy to Murder? By Alan Davis Philippine Human Rights Reporting Project MANILA — Just as there is a law against sedition, so equally there must surely be some law against inciting or conspiring to murder. Read...

By the Policy Study, Publication, and Advocacy (PSPA) Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) May 29, 2009 The presence of heavily armed U.S. soldiers even in the remote areas of the Philippine countryside is now becoming a normal part of the local scenery. As we mark the ten years (1999-2009)...