A military official has said Kumander Parago, the leader of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) operating in the Davao region, is being coddled and protected by some businessmen and politicians in the region. The official said he has a list of these businessmen.
Mindanews reported yesterday that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is being considered as the next defense secretary. (We cannot provide the link to the story because the Mindanews website, as of 9 a.m. today, has been hacked.) The story mentioned the praises Duterte has received lately from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Senate president Manuel Villar, mainly for the mayor’s efforts to keep his city safe from criminals.
The U.S. government has congratulated the Arroyo administration for the death of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy Janjalani. In a statement, the U.S. embassy in Manila called Janjalani’s death a “step forward” in the fight against terror.
The Philippine Star reported today what progressive and leftist groups have been saying all along — that the CIA, the FBI and other foreign spies have been operating in Mindanao for quite some time.
“Mindanao is crawling with CIA (Central Intelligence Agency), FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and even Australian federal agents,” a source told the paper.
Bayan Muna has announced that Rep. Joel Virador, its representative in Congress from Davao and Mindanao, did not seek renomination during the party-list group’s national convention this week. He was, however, elected as executive vice president. According to Bayan Muna, Virador will focus on a “local race.”