Philippines: Rodrigo Duterte and the West

At least nine government soldiers in Philippines were killed and 49 wounded following a grenade attack by ISIL-linked terrorists in Marawi city on the Southern island of Mindanao.

ISIL-Linked Terrorists Kill 9 Soldiers in Philippine’s Marawi Town
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960502001757

Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, told reporters that the Maute terrorists moved closer to the government troops and hurled a grenade at them, Al Waght reported.

Galvez said the Friday attack on government troops triggered an intense day-long firefight in downtown Marawi, leaving nine soldiers dead and 49 wounded.

As the prolonged crisis in Marawi City entered its third month, the number of fatalities continues to rise.

Citing data sent by Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs chief Col. Edgar Arevalo, GMA news reported a total of 578 people have died in the conflict.

Of the fatalities, government troops account for 105. Only last Friday, the number of fatalities on the government side was at 99, it said.

As of July 21, a total of 428 members of the terrorist Maute group have been killed. A total of 526 firearms have been recovered by the military.

Arevalo also said the death toll of civilians has remained at 45, while the number of rescued civilians stood at 1,723.
 
Covering the recent battle for the city of Marawi on Mindanao Island in the Southern Philippines, the Western media has been grossly exaggerating unconfirmed reports and rumors. It has been spreading twisted information and ‘facts’.

Philippines: Western Media Is Distorting Reality, People and Army Unite to Battle “ISIS” July 26, 2017
http://www.globalresearch.ca/philippines-western-media-is-distorting-reality-people-and-army-unite-to-battle-isis/5600985

At the beginning of July, I visited Mindanao as one of only a few foreigners allowed inside the besieged city of Marawi and to its surrounding area.

I spoke to local people, to the IDPs – those who managed to escape the city taken over by the jihadists. I also managed to discuss the situation with the highest commanders of the military in charge of the combat, including General Ramiro Rey and Lt. Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera. I encountered many soldiers, civil servants, and relief workers.

My contacts in the capital informed me via text messages that I had been “red-flagged,” clearly, by the pro-US faction in the Philippine military. So before my presence was finally cleared from Manila, I was detained and held in a provisional military base in the city of Saguiaran. Here I was “softly” interrogated by military intelligence. A few steps away, a howitzer was firing artillery toward ISIS positions in Marawi, some 10 kilometers distant.

“So you believe the United States is responsible for spreading terrorism all over the world,” I was asked late at night by one of the officers, point blank, while local starlet was imitating old Chuck Berry’s hit “Johnny B. Goode” on TV, sound blasted all over the barracks. It was clear that someone ‘behind the scenes’ was busy studying my published work.

The Western establishment media and various servile NGOs (including those which are “defending human rights” in several rebellious and independent-minded countries) consistently demonize President Duterte, an anti-imperialist, progressive leader who enjoys well over 80 percent approval rating. It is no secret in the Philippines there are two distinct factions inside the military – one supports the president and his drive for independence from the West. The other, which is trained and often corrupted by Washington and other Western capitals, would love to see him go.

The pro-Western fraction obviously wanted me out, detained, perhaps even disappeared. The other one that stands by its president wanted me to see the truth, even to be allowed into Marawi.

A final decision was made late at night in Manila. I was released and granted permission to work in the besieged city. But even when the top commanders personally called the camp, there was, at least for a while, apparent reluctance to let me go.

My first reaction after visiting the Marawi front was one of shock and outrage. What I witnessed was fundamentally different from what has repeatedly been said by most of the Western mass media outlets, as well as pro-Western local news channels broadcasting from Manila.

It is evident, right from the start, that Marawi is not “totally destroyed,” as has been reported. Most of it is standing and standing firm. I would estimate that only between 20 and 30 percent of the houses and buildings, (most of them in the wealthy core center of the city) have sustained heavy damage.

It was explained to me during the presentation by top army commanders that the ISIS-related jihadists began their offensive on May 23rd 2017 and their plan was to take full control of the town by the time Ramadan was to begin (May 26th). The military spoiled their plans; it counter-attacked and managed to contain the terrorists in just one neighborhood, retaining or regaining control of all the other ‘barangays.’

Undoubtedly there were heavy losses, and, because of the palpable sense of fear after tremendous brutality unleashed by the terrorists, a substantial movement of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons). But it was never 400,000 people escaping the area, as reported in the West, but approximately 200,000 (the number once peaked at about 300,000 for a short time).

There has been no “indiscriminate bombing” of the civilians. I witnessed both incoming and outgoing howitzer fire and also very limited bombing from the air; it was all targeted and mostly precise, aiming at the position of the terrorists. As in all other war zones where I have been working, I refused any protection, including helmets and bulletproof vests. That allowed me to remain more mobile. I did manage to come ‘very close’ to the front. It was clear the fighting and bombing were strictly contained to one area, no more than one-kilometer square. Even there, the mosques and almost all other buildings and houses were still standing, as is demonstrated on my photographs.

Anti-Duterte NGOs and many Western governments claim that they ‘worry’ about the martial law imposed on Mindanao Island. I was told that in and around Marawi (or anywhere else on the Island), the martial law carried no brutal consequences. Even the curfew (9PM-5AM) is laxly implemented.

Brigadier General Ramiro Rey (head of the Joint Task Force Group, Ranao) explained to me in Marawi City:

“The difference between this martial law and those that were imposed during the reign of Ferdinand Marcos is that now the military is mainly doing real fighting while providing assistance to the civilians. I absolutely don’t interfere with the work of local elected government officials. I’m actually encouraging them to do their job as before, asking them to contact me only when my assistance is needed. I never took, and I don’t intend to take, control of the area.”

Local government officials and volunteers working for various relief agencies and NGO’s operating in the area have confirmed what General Rey said.

During my work in the conflict zone, I detected no fear among the residents. The relationship between the army and civilians was clearly friendly and cordial. As the military convoys were moving between the cities of Illigan and Marawi, both children and adults were smiling, waving, some cheering the soldiers.

In the camps housing the IDPs, there was almost unanimous consensus: while many citizens of Mindanao Island in general and the Marawi area in particular would most likely welcome more autonomy from Manila, during this ongoing and brutal conflict almost all local people have been supportive of the military and government efforts.

“We hope that both Filipino and foreign jihadi cadres would soon be crushed,” was an almost unanimous statement coming from the local people.

The Military Perspective - In the cities of Iligan and Marawi I was shown detailed maps clearly indicating positions of the ISIS and the military.

Both Lt. Colonel Jun Abad from Ranao Camp and the commanding officer, General Rey, gave me a clear and detailed briefing. As of July 3rd, the Agus River represented the ‘borderline’ between the ISIS-held area and the zone liberated and controlled by the army.

General Rey explained during our meeting in the Municipality of Marawi City (now the complex is also serving as the headquarters of the war theatre):

“The ISIS wants to establish their state on the island of Mindanao – an Islamic caliphate – right here in the Province of Lanao del Sur.”

But that’s not what the majority of local people want. Before President Duterte came to power little over one year ago, social situation in many parts of Mindanao was desperate and therefore there was at least some support for radical ‘solutions’. Since then, however, things changed dramatically. Healthcare, education and public housing are improving. Indiscriminate mining by multi-national companies has been deterred. People here; as well as in almost all other parts of the Philippines finally feel hopeful and optimistic about their future.

This converts into great support for both the government and the military.

There is no doubt the entire city will be freed, soon, most likely in July or August. The only reason why it did not happen yet is that the terrorists are using hostages, both Christians and Muslims, as human shields. President Duterte, General Rey, and other civilian and military officials are trying to avoid unnecessary human losses.

Cultural topography of the area is also very complex. Near the front line I was told by one of the top commanding army officers:

“We could take the city in just one day, but there would be great civilian casualties. The houses in this area are very sturdy; they are 2-3 stories high and fortified, as there are constant and brutal family feuds, called ‘rido’, raging here, and have been for centuries.”

But to delay the liberation of Marawi is also very dangerous.

“The terrorists began using captured women as sex slaves,” explained Major MalvinLigutan, standing in front of a temporary military base in Saguiaran.

Despite all the horrors of the Marawi war, the army refused to use brutal tactics, even after it found out that various local citizens clearly miscalculated and before the conflict began, offered substantial support to the ISIS-related terrorists.

Captain John Mark Silva Onipig clarified:

These people belonging to the ISIS are not only terrorists, but they are also criminals. They were dealing in drugs… And some local people knew that… Actually, locals knew quite a lot; they knew about the presence of the terrorists in the area long before all this started, but they never reported it to the authorities.”

“How did the terrorists get hold of so many weapons?” I wanted to know.

“In the Philippines, those who have money can buy as many weapons as they want on the black market.”

The situation is extremely sensitive as there is clearly the involvement of foreign fighters. On June 30th, in Saguiaran, Major MalvinLigutan admitted, hesitantly:

“In one of the safe houses, we found passports issued in Indonesia, Malaysia and several Arab countries.”

A month ago I wrote an essay exposing the complex network of Western-sponsored terrorism in Asia (“Washington Jihad Express: Indonesia, Afghanistan, Syria and Philippines”). I argued that in the 1980’s, Indonesian and Malaysian jihadists, indoctrinated by the Southeast Asian brand of extreme anti-Communism, went to fight in Afghanistan against the socialist governments of Karmal, and then Mohammad Najibullah, with the ultimate goal of destroying the Soviet Union.

Hardened and further brainwashed, they returned home to Southeast Asia, participated in several ethnic strives and pogroms (including those in Ambon and Poso), and then, in order to ‘bridge the generational gap’, embarked on the coaching of a young generation of terrorists, who eventually ended up fighting in Syria and recently in the Philippines.

My essay was full of facts, and I put into it various testimonies of Southeast Asian academics, thinkers, and even of one active and prominent ‘jihadi cadre’ who is now living in Jakarta.

In the Indonesian city of Bandung, Prof. ImanSoleh, a professor at the Faculty of Social and Political Science (University of Padjadjaran- UNPAD) offered his take on why the West is now so obsessed with destabilizing and smearing the Philippines and its current rebellious administration:

“Since World War Two, the U.S. was afraid of so-called ‘domino effects’. Among other things that are now happening in the Philippines under president Duterte, the government is curbing activities of the multi-national mining conglomerates, and the West cannot accept that. Philippines are putting its environmental concerns above the short-term profits! For the millions of left-wing activists here in Indonesia and all over Southeast Asia, President Duterte is a role model.”

It is no secret that the West punishes such ‘bad paradigms’ brutally and decisively.

Prof. Soleh continued:

“I think all that is happening is not just to ‘destabilize’ the Philippines, but also because the country has conflict areas that could be ‘nurtured’. The best example is the predominantly Muslim island of Mindanao, vs. the rest of the Philippines, which is predominantly a Catholic country…”

The West is regularly using ‘jihad,’ directly and indirectly, to destabilize socialist, anti-imperialist, and just patriotic countries and governments. In the past, it managed to ruin countries like Afghanistan, Indonesia (1965) and Syria. Many believe that the Philippines is the latest addition to the ‘hit-list.’

The China & Russia Connection

As Drei Toledo, a prominent Philippine journalist, educator and pro-Duterte activist, originally from Mindanao, explained:

“The reason why the West is hostile toward President Duterte is simple: he is working hard to reach a peace agreement with China, a country that is seen by Washington as its arch-enemy. Another ‘adversary of the West,’ Russia, is admired by Duterte and increasingly by his people. Recently, Russia and the Philippines signed a defense agreement. The president is also forging close ties with Cuba, particularly in the area of health… Before Duterte became our President, poverty by design in Philippines was restored and perpetuated by the U.S. and Malaysia-controlled Cojuangco-Aquino clan.

Foreign and local entities that have long benefited financially from Philippines being a weak state are now threatened overwhelmingly by President Duterte’s unifying agenda to create a socialist system in the Philippines.”

Ms. Toledo pointed her accusative finger at Malaysia:

“Malaysia benefits from Mindanao being in a perpetual state of chaos and conflict because this means we can never reclaim oil-rich Sabah.”

She also doesn’t spare Indonesia and its sinister political (anti-socialist and anti-Communist) as well as economic interests:

“As exposed by Rigoberto D. Tiglao, a Filipino diplomat and writer, Indonesian magnate AnthoniSalim, not only does have total control or substantial stakes in local mainstream media papers and networks, his conglomerate in Philippines is also based on telecoms, power, water distribution, and other public utilities.”

Or more precisely: it is based on making sure that ‘public utilities’ will never become truly ‘public’, remaining in private hands. Salim’s ‘empire’ already brought great damage to India, particularly to West Bengal where, some argue, because of allowing it to operate and to implement its brutal feudal-capitalist practices, the CPI (M) (Communist Party of India – Marxist) managed to thoroughly disgust local voters and to lose power.

The Human Cost

Nobody could deny the gravity of the situation.

I witnessed exhausted glances of the people from Marawi, now living in a rescue center built on the land of the town hall of Saguiaran.

“Yesterday two infants died,” I’m told by Amer Hassan, a student volunteer from Mindanao State University (MSU).

The reason was “different water, malnutrition, exhaustion…”

I wanted to know more, and Amer continues:

“People are still in shock… They can’t believe what is happening. Especially those whose houses were destroyed; those who lost their relatives, everything…”

While the West is constantly criticizing, does it provide help? Amer just shrugs his shoulders:

“There is no foreign help coming… Almost all that we have here comes from Manila, either from the government or local agencies. Duterte is working very hard, helping our people.”

A family of three, Camal Mimbalawag, his wife Ima and one-month-old baby Mohammad, is squeezed into a tiny space at the center. Their memories are bleak. Ima gives her account almost mechanically:

“We were in Marawi during the first stage of the attack. I was pregnant, ready to give birth. We were in the city hall when ISIS attacked… They erected checkpoints; divided people into groups… they pointed guns at us… They asked: ‘Muslim or not?’…and ‘If Muslim, then recite ‘Shahadat.’ If cannot, you get killed or taken as a hostage… We saw corpses of those killed, eaten by dogs under the burning sun…”

The battle for the city of Marawi is raging. I face it from the highest floor of the building, destroyed by ISIS snipers, a place where an Australian reporter was hit just two days earlier.

It is not Aleppo, but it could have been, if not for the heroic counter-attack of the army.

Marawi is just one new chapter in the already long book of horrors of brutal religious terrorist acts, most of them directly or indirectly triggered by Western imperialism. In the first wave of its fight again the secular socialist Muslim governments, the West destabilized Iran, Egypt and Indonesia. Then came the Afghanistan ‘gambit’, followed by the arch-brutal destruction of Iraq and Libya. Then it was Syria’s turn.

‘Jihad’ is consistently used against Russia, China as well as the former Central Asian Soviet republics.

All this I described in my 840-page book: “Exposing Lies Of The Empire”, but one can never write fast enough and fully catch up with the crimes committed by the West.

It is often easy to pinpoint Western involvement in the religious conflicts, particularly in such places as Afghanistan and Syria. In the Philippines, the link is still indirect, well concealed, but it certainly exists.

To rebel against the Western Empire is always a costly and bloody affair. It often leads to coups sponsored by Washington, London or Paris, and even to direct military conflicts, interventions and full-scale wars.

But by now, the people of the Philippines have had it ‘up to here’. They had enough of being submissive; enough of being plundered while remaining silent. They are assembling behind their president. Duterte’s popularity is still around 75%. The army is clearly winning the war against the hardened local and foreign jihadists. Relief operations are effective and well organized. Things are just fine.

In only one year, the country has diametrically changed. To break the spirit of the liberated masses, to force people back onto their knees would be difficult, perhaps almost impossible, even if jihadi terror is unleashed brutally.

Almost 100 soldiers already lost their lives. Just one day before I encounter General Rey, six of his men were injured. It is said that 800 or more civilians died. Nobody knows exactly how many terrorists were killed. It is real war: tough and merciless as all wars are, but in this case, the ‘newly independent’ country is clearly winning.

It is an incredible sight: some soldiers, patriotic and determined, are still wearing those helmets with the US flags engraved into them, or some old Israeli bulletproof vests. But have no doubts: this is real, new country! Totally different Philippines and Marawi is one of the first and toughest tests it will have to endure.

The war united people and the army. No matter what the West and local corporate media are saying, most Filipinos know: this is their struggle; this is their president and their military fighting against something extremely foreign, violent and dreadful.
 
Is this a Peace offering to Duterte from Trump?

The United States has donated two surveillance aircraft, together valued at $33 million, to the Philippines to help its longtime ally in their struggle against Daesh and other Islamic militant groups that have beleaguered the archipelago.

Eye in the Sky: US Gifts Two $16 Million Surveillance Planes to Philippines
https://sputniknews.com/military/201707281055947134-us-surveillance-planes-philippines-gift/

The planes are Cessna C208B Caravans, a 41-foot single-engine aircraft that can be used as a small passenger or cargo craft. However, these particular 208Bs have been equipped with maritime and land surveillance equipment suites that will allow them to track militants from the air.

"These planes are the latest… manifestation of all that our alliance is supposed to be, a partnership of two old friends and two strong allies who work together, fight together and overcome adversity together," said US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim during a presentation ceremony in Manila.

The planes are part of the $425 million Maritime Security Initiative (MSI), under which the US provides advanced military equipment to Pacific allies to "address regional challenges." Kim added that the US will also deliver 200 bombs, 1,000 rockets and hundreds of small arms purchased by the Philippines in the coming weeks. The US is also expected to gift UAVs.

Washington has provided over $200 million in military aid to Manila since 2014, with these high-tech surveillance planes constituting the latest round of help.

In May 2017, Daesh militants took over the southern Philippine city of Marawi, leading to hundreds of deaths and nearly 100,000 people displaced. The battle has raged for two months, with slow and costly gains by government forces.

Washington will continue to donate and sell aerial surveillance to Manila "to further bolster their capabilities to fight those that threaten peace and security of the Philippines," according to Kim.

This doesn't just refer to Daesh, or to maritime pirates — this also refers to China, with whom the Philippines has butted heads over territory disputes in the economically and strategically significant South China Sea.

However, the US isn't the only one to present weapons to Manila. In June, Beijing gifted around $7.5 million in military equipment to go to the liberation of Marawi — the first example of Chinese military aid to the Philippines in modern history. President Rodrigo Duterte has distanced himself from Washington, his country's traditional benefactor, and has increasingly entertained offers from the likes of China.

But when it comes to military equipment, nobody's pockets run half as deep as Uncle Sam's. Of the $50 million awarded to Pacific allies thus far as part of the MSI, about 80 percent of it went to the archipelago.

"For this kind of surveillance plane this is the most modern that we have. We did not have any beforehand," Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters. He said the planes would first be deployed in search-and-destroy missions in Marawi, then onto patrol missions in the South China Sea.

Perhaps to assuage the concerns of the Chinese, Lorenzana added that "these planes will give us more capability to patrol our seas and guard against intrusions."

"These are not spy planes, only surveillance aircraft, because they are not stealth."
 
The United States delivered a batch of weapons and munitions to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in order to assist the troops of the Asian nation in the struggle against terrorist groups, the US embassy in the Philippines said in a statement on Saturday.

US Provides Philippines With Weapons to Back Anti-Terror Efforts - Embassy
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201707291055986089-us-weapons-philippines/

According to the US diplomatic mission, Washington supplied Manila with 992 rockets and 1,040 rocket motors for the needs of the Philippine Air Force and would deliver 250 rocket-propelled grenade launchers and 1,000 grenade launchers in future.

"The munitions and weapons deliveries will enhance the AFP’s counterterrorism capabilities, and directly support AFP members actively engaged in counterterrorism operations in the southern Philippines, including [in the city of] Marawi," the statement said.

The statement added that the delivery of weapons took place within the framework of the Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA).
 
Phillippine police killed a city mayor, his wife and 10 others during a series of pre-dawn anti-drug raids in the South.

Police Kill Philippine Mayor, Wife in Drug Raid
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960508001816

Reynaldo Parojinog, mayor of Ozamiz city, is the latest official to be killed since President Rodrigo Duterte launched a drug war, Al-Jazeera reported.

Officers were to serve warrants for the arrest of Parojinog, his daughter, and four other officials of Ozamiz city when they allegedly opened fire on Sunday.

The officers were "met with volleys of fire from [the mayor's] security, prompting the Philippine National Police personnel to retaliate," Chief Superintendent Timoteo Pacleb said in a statement.

Parojinog was among the more than 160 officials Duterte publicly linked to drugs in August last year as part of a shame campaign.

Parojinog' wife, a provincial board member who was also a relative, and four security guards of the family were among those also killed, Pacleb added.

Parojinog's daughter, Vice Mayor Nova Echaves, was also arrested.

Officers recovered grenades, ammunition as well as illegal drugs in the raid, according to police provincial chief Jaysen De Guzman.

Parojinog, who also faced corruption charges, had denied any links to illegal drugs.

He becomes the third mayor to be killed under Duterte's bloody crackdown on drugs, which has left more than 3,000 dead since June 2016 and drawn wide criticism by human rights groups.

In November 2016, police officers killed Rolando Espinosa, the mayor of Albuera town, shooting him inside a jail cell in the central province of Leyte.

A week before that, Samsudin Dimaukom, the mayor of the Southern town of Saudi Ampatuan, was killed in a shootout at a police checkpoint on suspicion he and his security personnel were transporting illegal drugs.
 
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has demanded the United States return church bells seized by American forces in a bloody campaign more than a century ago, in another blast at his country's traditional ally.

Philippines urges US to return church bells
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/07/25/529635/Philippines-US-Church-Bells

American forces took three bells from the Catholic church of Balangiga town on the eastern island of Samar in 1901 as war booty in what historians said was a particularly brutal military operation in the new US colony.

"Give us back those Balangiga bells. They are not yours. They are ours. They belong to the Philippines. They are part of our national heritage," Duterte said at his annual State of the Nation Address on Monday.

"Those bells are reminders of the gallantry and heroism of our forebears who resisted the American colonizers and sacrificed their lives in the process."

Two of the bells are installed at a memorial for US war dead in Wyoming, while the third is with US forces in South Korea.

Some US politicians oppose the dismantling of the memorial.

US embassy spokeswoman Molly Koscina gave a non-committal reply on Tuesday to Duterte's demands.

"We are aware that the bells of Balangiga have deep significance for a number of people, both in the United States and in the Philippines," she said in an email to AFP.

Duterte on Monday repeated a Filipino account of the campaign that the commanding general, Jacob Smith, ordered Samar be turned into a "howling wilderness" and that all Filipino males aged 10 or above be killed.

A 1902 US court-martial convicted Smith of a minor offence in relation to the Samar campaign, while 39 other Americans were separately found guilty of torturing and shooting Filipino prisoners there, the US Army War College research paper said.

However none of them were jailed, according to the paper.

The then Philippine president Fidel Ramos first sought but failed to recover the bells during a 1998 Washington trip.

Duterte, a self-described socialist, has since his election last year worked to distance Manila from Washington while building closer ties with China and Russia.

The Philippine islands, a Spanish colony for centuries, were ceded to the United States in 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American War. The Philippines gained independence from the Americans in 1946.

Duterte has repeatedly lashed out at the US as ties have frayed, and last Friday vowed he would never visit the "lousy" country despite an earlier invitation extended by US President Donald Trump.
 
A small garrison of ISIL insurgents claimed that the militants has killed dozens of the Philippine troops, as they are putting up resistance against the Philippine Army in the embattled city of Marawi.

Report: ISIL Kills Scores of Philippine Troops in Marawi
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960511000820

The ISIL's mouthpeiece, Amaq Agency, released on Wednesday its fifth ever video covering events in Marawi, showing plenty of army corpses along with weapons recently seized by Abu Sayyaf and Maute, two militant groups that have sworn allegiance to the ISIL leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Al Masdar reported.

The report came despite that fact that the Philippines' army forces are being outnumbered at least 100-to-1, compare to the ISIL-linked militant holed up in Marawi.

Meanwhile, official sources in the Philippine Army claim the total ISIL death toll has surpassed 500, backing up earlier claims by Al-Masdar News which were heavily disputed when the crisis began over two months ago.

Between 120 and 60 ISIL insurgents still remain bogged down around four neighborhoods in the city center where the hardline militants have established entrenched positions and sniper nests after booby-trapping most of the frontline.


Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said that Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called on the country's Senate and House of Representatives to support budgetary funding for additional 20,000 soldiers in the military.

Philippine President Asks Lawmakers to Fund Increase in Troops by 20,000 People
https://sputniknews.com/military/201708031056135047-duterte-asks-army-expansion/

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called on the country's Senate and House of Representatives to support budgetary funding for additional 20,000 soldiers in the military in order to combat the terrorist threat, posed by the Islamic State terrorist group (Daesh) on the southern island of Mindanao, Senate minority leader Franklin Drilon said Wednesday.

According to the CNN Philippines broadcaster, Duterte held a meeting with the lawmakers on Tuesday evening, informing them about the terrorist threat and the IS plans to carry out the attacks in Mindanao. The broadcaster added, citing Drilon, that the president urged lawmakers to agree on increase in troops by 20,000 new soldiers.

He informed us of that renewed threat because the secretary of national defense has requested for additional manpower, and, therefore, that would require budgetary allocation," Drilon said, as quoted by the broadcaster.
 
Russia highly appreciates the efforts taken by the Philippines in fight against terrorism and extremism, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

Lavrov: Russia Highly Appreciates Philippines Efforts in Fight Against Terrorism
https://sputniknews.com/politics/201708071056241571-lavrov-russia-appreciate-philippines-terrorism/

Russia highly appreciates the efforts taken by the Philippines in fight against terrorism and extremism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday.

"We fully share the efforts that your country is taking to eliminate any threat of extremism on the territory of your country. We also highly appreciate your solidarity with the actions taken by Russia to combat terrorism. We are sure that this is the problem through which we must go together," Lavrov said at the meeting with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano.

According to Lavrov, the implementation of the agreements, which were signed during the visit of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Moscow, will be also discussed at the meeting.

Lavrov arrived in the Philippines on Sunday to participate in the 50th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings. The minister has already held a number of bilateral meetings including with the foreign ministers of Turkey, China and the United States.
 
The Pentagon is considering a plan that allows the U.S. military to conduct airstrikes on ISIS in the Philippines, two defense officials told NBC News.

U.S. May Begin Airstrikes Against ISIS in Philippines Aug 7 2017
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-s-may-begin-airstrikes-against-isis-philippines-n790271

The authority to strike ISIS targets as part of collective self-defense could be granted as part of an official military operation that may be named as early as Tuesday, said the officials. The strikes would likely be conducted by armed drones.

If approved, the U.S. military would be able to conduct strikes against ISIS targets in the Philippines that could be a threat to allies in the region, which would include the Philippine forces battling ISIS on the ground in the country's southern islands.

The U.S. military has been sharing intelligence with the Philippines for years, according to Pentagon spokesperson Capt. Jeff Davis, who called it a "steady state."

"We have had a consistent CT [counterterror] presence in the Philippines for fifteen years now," he said.

There is a small U.S. military presence on the ground supporting the counter-ISIS fight, called Joint Special Operations Task Force Trident.

In Manila on Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. was providing the Philippines government with "intelligence capabilities" in the fight against ISIS, including "some recent transfers of a couple of Cessnas and a couple of UAVs (drones) to allow to them to have better information with which to conduct the fight down there."

"We're providing them some training and some guidance in terms of how to deal with an enemy that fights in ways that are not like most people have ever had to deal with.

"I see no conflict at all in our helping them with that situation and our views of other human rights concerns we have with respect to how they carry out their counternarcotics activities."

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have linked Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to more than 1,400 extra judicial killings while a public official. The UN said that Duterte, as mayor of Davao City, had done nothing to stop extrajudicial killings.

Duterte has denied any role in the killings — while expressing support for them — but has also said he personally killed some suspected criminals, a claim his spokesman called an exaggeration.

Last month, the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs endorsed the idea of naming the mission in the Philippines, saying that naming it would provide more funding.

"In every case where we see the resurgence of terror networks," said Gen. Paul Selva in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, "particularly in the fragile areas of the southern Philippines, I think it's worth considering whether or not we reinstate a named operation, not only to provide for the resources that are required, but to give the Pacific Command commander and the field commanders in the Philippines the kinds of authorities they need to work with indigenous Philippine forces to actually help them be successful in that battle space."
 
An interesting change of stance from Duterte:

'I'm your humble friend': Duterte makes U-turn on US in comment to Tillerson

https://www.rt.com/news/398904-duterte-friend-us-tillerson/

In an unusually soft tone, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has called himself a "humble friend" of Washington while meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. It comes despite Duterte recently calling the US "lousy."

"I am happy to see you...and you have come at a time when the world is not so good, especially in the Korean peninsula, and of course, the ever-nagging problem of the South China Sea," Duterte told Tillerson at the presidential palace on Monday, as quoted by Reuters.

The Philippines leader went as far as to state his country and the US are “friends” and even “allies.”

"I am your humble friend in Southeast Asia," Duterte said.

Tillerson arrived in the Philippines on Saturday to participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, as well as to hold diplomatic meetings with the bloc's members and its dialogue partners.

Duterte's softer tone represents a change of heart from the leader's usual rhetoric. In fact, he called the US "lousy" less than three weeks ago.

"There will never be a time that I will go to America during my term, or even thereafter,” Duterte said in late July.

“I've seen America and it's lousy,” he added.

The comments came after US senators accused Duterte's domestic anti-drug campaign of widespread abuses and casualties - a move which prompted the leader to bite back, accusing Washington of its own violations.

“It would be good for the US Congress to start with their own investigation of their own violations of the so many civilians killed in the prosecution of the wars in the Middle East,” Duterte said.

“Otherwise I will be forced to investigate you also. I will start with your past sins.”

Those were far from the first anti-US remarks to be muttered by Duterte, who announced his "separation" from Washington last year.

“In this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States,” he told an audience of Chinese and Philippine business people in October 2016.
However, he appeared to backtrack just one day later, saying Manila would not be triggering a severance of ties.

Duterte has also taken aim at former US President Barack Obama on multiple occasions, including in May - four months after he had left the White House.

“It came to a point that repeatedly Obama said [this], the State Department said [this], and everybody there was an idiot,” Duterte said, while recalling Obama's approach to negotiations with the Philippines.

“So we go, ‘You can go to hell. You can eat your assistance; we do not need it; we will survive.’ So I go, from now on, I will adapt an independent foreign policy and I will deal with any country that I like,” he added.

The Philippines leader called Obama a "son of a b**ch/-jezebel-" in September 2016, prompting the former president to cancel a planned meeting with him. However, Duterte later backtracked and said the comment was directed at a reporter.

Meanwhile, Duterte also warned the US last year not to treat his country like a "dog on a leash," while adding that he didn't want to see American troops in the Philippines.

The leader seems to be more at ease with Donald Trump in the office than Barack Obama, and has previously spoken positively about the president, saying in April that Trump wouldn't have become a billionaire if he was "stupid."

“Trump is a deep man, he just pretends otherwise. Like me, I'm not really very bright.”

Trump, for his part, has praised Duterte for doing an "unbelievable job on the drug problem," while the Philippine leader's so-called 'war on drugs' has led to the deaths of more than 8,000 people and been slammed by the European Union and United Nations, among other critics.
 
I noticed that too...

However it kind of made sense when I read that the pentagon was working on a plan that would allow hem to start carrying bombing operations over Philippines.

With that in the bag, most countries would suddenly turn into "humble friends". Specially when everyone knows what it means when the US says it will bomb to "help" you with your terrorist problems.
 
Forgot to add the link:

https://www.sott.net/article/358662-Philippines-denies-reports-that-US-may-intervene-in-Marawi-against-ISIS
 
I suspect Duterte distinguishes Trump and his loyalists from the 'deep state' actors.

Duterte has now seen first hand what they can do: unleash proxy forces anywhere in the world. Maybe that's teaching him to learn how not to say what he's really thinking! Honesty with everyone is weakness!
 
According to the statement, peace in Venezuela depends on the willingness of all parties to return to a dialogue within the Venezuelan Constitution, without any outside intervention, to form a common agenda.

Philippine Army Pursues Offensive Against Daesh-Linked Terrorists in Marawi
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201708101056341541-philippines-daesh-offensive/

Spokesperson for the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command told the Anadolu news agency that intensified airstrikes and artillery fighting against the Maute and Abu Sayyaf terror groups were launched at 7 a.m. local time (23:00 GMT, Wednesday).

At least nine terrorists were killed in the latest attacks, according to the news agency.


The United States has no plans to conduct strikes in the Philippines against the positions of Daesh terror group (banned in Russia), US Department of Defense spokesperson Christopher Logan told Sputnik on Tuesday.

US Has No Plans for Anti-Daesh Drone Strikes in Philippines - Pentagon
https://sputniknews.com/military/201708081056297558-usa-no-drone-strikes-philippines/

US media reported on Monday that the Defense Department is considering a plan that includes drone strikes against the terrorists in the Philippines.

"The Philippines have not requested nor is the US planning drone strikes in the Philippines," Logan stated. "We respect the sovereignty of the Philippines, and we are not pursuing unilateral action in the Philippines."

Logan noted that the United States continues to help train, advise and assist the Philippines security forces fighting the terrorists.

"We also continue to support the modernization of the Philippines' armed forces to address the country's security challenges through a comprehensive grant assistance program that seeks to deliver needed counterterrorism (CT) equipment and training," he said.


The Philippines National Democratic Front has alleged the US Central Intelligence Agency and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) have been plotting to kill exiled Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison, and overthrow President Rodrigo Duterte. If true, it won't be the first time the US has sought to meddle in the country's affairs.

Philippines National Democratic Front Says CIA Working to Overthrow Duterte
https://sputniknews.com/military/201708081056288487-cia-duterte-overthrow-plot/

The NDF claim military officers, who are assets of the CIA and close to AFP chief General Eduardo Ano, were engaged in a "two-stage" plot. The first step would see the dispatch of a hit team to Sison's Netherlands home, comprised of elite AFP forces disguised as disaffected dropouts from the New People's Army, to take out the dissident.

The second would result in the overthrow Duterte, ostensibly for violating human rights in his ongoing "War on Drugs and Criminality" in the country, but in reality for veering towards Russia and China in international affairs.

Armed Forces chiefs have however dismissed the "preposterous" allegations, claiming they are "propaganda" aimed at gaining "sympathy" for Duterte and engendering "anti-US" sentiment in the country.

Whatever the truth of the matter, it's no secret relations between the Philippines and US have soured significantly under Duterte's rule.

Not long after the President assumed office June 2016, he suggested US special forces cease operations in the country, and leave.

In September, he called for an end to the Philippines' joint military exercises with the US, and in October signalled he was shifting the country's foreign policy focus to China and Russia.

The US rarely welcomes such independence in its allies, although in the Philippines such actions are likely considered extremely egregious — the country was from 1989-1946 a colony of the US Empire. The territory fell into US hands after Spain's defeat in the Spanish-American War — locals, hitherto engaged in a bitter independence struggle with their Spanish rulers, turned their insurrectionary attentions to the US invaders, resulting in the Philippine-American War. The conflict, which ended in a resounding US victory, wrought extensive damage and death on the islands.

While granted independence in the wake of World War II, the country has served ever since as a key staging ground for US military and intelligence actions, both covert and overt, throughout Asia. The CIA has maintained a strong presence in the Philippines almost as long as it has existed — and US military bases continue to dot the landscape.

Moreover, it has served as an effective laboratory for the testing of warfare techniques — military, psychological and otherwise — for use elsewhere. For much of the 1950s, the Philippines government, backed by US forces, battled against the "Huk" rebellion internally — once defeated, many of the tactics that had proved effective were put to use in the Vietnam War, and local rebellions throughout Latin America.

Moreover, while it is often claimed by the US covert overthrows of foreign governments were a Cold War staple, no longer practised by the CIA, recent developments in Venezuela and elsewhere suggest coup d'etat very much remain pivotal in the US' practical foreign policy arsenal.

In August, ​US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned of "regime change" in Caracas, and in July CIA Director Mike Pompeo acknowledged the US was working to remove Maduro's government from power.

It's not merely in Venezuela the US is accused of destabilizing elected governments. Bolivian President Evo Morales has alleged the US government gave at least US$4 million dollars to anti-government separatist groups from 2006-2009, in response to Morales' land reform and nationalization programs.
 
Fighting between government-backed forces and ISIL-linked militants killed at least 25 people in Southern Philippines, the army said on Monday, as the military battles to restore order on the troubled island of Mindanao.

Battles Between Militants, Govt-Backed Forces in Philippines Kill 25
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960523001388

Soldiers provided artillery support for the Moro Liberation Front, which the government has signed a peace agreement with, to try to tackle ISIL militants, spokesperson Colonel Gerry Besana said, Eye Witness News reported.

The group and the government have agreed to work together to thwart several militant groups in Mindanao that have pledged allegiance to ISIL.

The island of 22 million people and roughly the size of South Korea is under martial law at least until the end of the year, as President Rodrigo Duterte tries to extinguish a growing threat of militants taking a hold and turning the Southern Philippines into a magnet for foreign militants.

The group is opposed to radical groups and sees them as undermining its legitimate quest for greater autonomy for Muslims in parts of Mindanao, to end nearly 50 years of conflict that has killed more than 120,000 people and displaced 2 million.

"Based on reports from ceasefire monitors, the two sides suffered 25 casualties, including 20 from the ISIL-inspired group," Besana said, referring to Islamic State by another acronym. He said 10 MILF were wounded and were being treated at a military hospital.

The conflict started on 7 August when extremists from Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) attacked two villages in Maguindanao and their homemade bombs killed five MILF fighters. The MILF responded and clashes lasted six days, with the military firing howitzer cannons in support, Besana said.

The government and MILF have agreed on a Bangsamoro Basic Law, which needs legislative approval, to create an autonomous region for the Moro minority in the Philippines with its own executive, legislature and fiscal powers.

The BIFF is a breakaway faction of the MILF that disagrees with the peace process and wants an independent Islamic State in the south.

The military is concerned about the possibility that the BIFF, though smaller and less organised, could join forces with larger, more powerful militant group, Dawla Islamiya, better known as the Maute group.

The Maute group, with the support of armed elements of another group, Abu Sayyaf, has held the commercial heart of Marawi City through more than 80 days of clashes and air strikes by the military that have left 700 people dead and displaced some 600,000.

Army officials on Monday estimated about 20-40 militants were holed up in Marawi and believed to be holding scores of hostages as human shields, complicating efforts for a military aided by American technical support to retake the city.

The rebels were running out of options and could strap explosives on hostages and detonate if soldiers encircled their positions, the military said. There is no known precedent for suicide bombings in the Philippines.
 
Back
Top Bottom