Category Archives: The Phillipines

The Real Glory: 1939 film about islamic genocide and slavery in the Philippines and US help to defend against it

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For those that make time to watch this, there are some obvious questions we need to ask ourselves. How could we have known all this in 1939 and utterly purged ourselves of these consistent facts which would have made this a non-problem had we allowed ourselves to retain what we so obviously knew then? Even to the issue of the ‘moderate ”moros” (Probably a version of the word, ‘Moors’?) which is rapidly resolved in one scene of this movie where you find out exactly where the loyalties of the nice ones who live among you lie.

I really look forward to any and all reviews of this movie from a content point of view. In terms of acting and as a piece of entertainment, yeah I would say its pot boiler. At best a 7 out of 10. But in the context of what Americans knew in the 1930s its an 11.

Mindanao, at least 20 killed in clashes between the army and Islamic rebels

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Wait, I distinctly remember that the Philippines solved their islamic terror problem by surrendering a large chunk of their country to Islamic rule. That always works doesn’t it? If you surrender to them and agree to their terms they let you live in peace in the one room of your own house you have left, don’t they?

Asia News:

The worst affected province is Sulu, on the border with Malaysia. The clashes are the most serious since the signing of the Framework Agreement between the Philippine government and rebels of the Moro Islamic Liberation in November 2012. Extremist groups belonging to al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf foment violence. Fear of attacks against civilian targets in the capital of Jolo.

Sulu (AsiaNews / Agencies) – Clashes continue between the Philippine army and Islamic rebels of Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao (southern Philippines). In two days, 20 soldiers and seven militants were killed during operations to oust the militants from the province of Sulu, the most western part of the archipelago. Meanwhile, the army has launched a vast operation to free Jenifer Casilda Villarasa, wife of Sergeant Faustino Villarasa, kidnapped May 8 last by a group of Islamic extremists. The death toll is one of the most serious since the signing of the Framework Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for peace in Mindanao.

Philippine Army spokesman, Gen. Dimingo Tutaan, said the military offensive was to secure the villages of the province and to ensure that civilians do not end up in the crossfire between regular troops and rebels.

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Malaysia army hunts door-to-door in Sabah

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H/T Don L

SMH.Com 

A Malaysian army commando on a truck moves on the way to joining an assault near the area where a stand-off with Filipino gunmen took place, in Tanduo village, Lahad Datu, Borneo's Sabab state, Malaysia on March 5, 2013.A Malaysian army commando on a truck moves on the way to joining an assault near the area where a stand-off with Filipino gunmen took place, in Tanduo village, Lahad Datu, Borneo’s Sabab state, Malaysia on March 5, 2013. Photo: AP

FELDA SAHABAT: Malaysian forces have searched houses for armed Filipino invaders who apparently escaped a military assault, as a Philippine guerrilla warned more fighters had arrived.

Malaysia on Tuesday launched an attack with jet fighters and soldiers on up to 300 Filipino invaders to end a bloody three-week standoff. Prime Minister Najib Razak had declared the operation was ‘‘weeding out’’ the holed-up followers of a self-styled Muslim sultan from the Philippines who had come to assert a long-dormant claim to the Malaysian state of Sabah.

“As the intrusion prolonged, it was clear that the intruders had no intention to leave Sabah,” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Tuesday. “The government must take action to defend the country’s dignity and sovereignty.”

Police moved cautiously in an area slightly larger than New York City’s Central Park to find followers of Jamalul Kiram, a Filipino who asserts he’s the sultan of Sulu. Authorities have yet to release a death toll from Tuesday’s aerial and ground attacks, which came after earlier clashes between Malaysian police and Kiram’s followers killed 31 people.

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And more here:

 

Philippines, Muslim rebels reach peace deal

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And the camel’s head and neck is now inside the tent. How many years till the camel is in the tent fully and the people of the Philippines are all washing dishes in Vancouver? It is discouraging that the leaders of the Philippines are as naive as the CBC itself.

H/T Taffy in Canada

CBC.Ca

Roadmap to create a new Bangsamoro autonomous region in Muslim-dominated south

The Associated Press

Posted: Oct 7, 2012 6:36 AM ET

Last Updated: Oct 7, 2012 8:04 AM ET

Read 40 comments40

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, left, shakes hands with Presidential adviser on the peace process, Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles after Sunday's announcement. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, left, shakes hands with Presidential adviser on the peace process, Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles after Sunday’s announcement. (Aaron Favila/Associated Press)

The Philippine government has announced a preliminary peace agreement with the country’s largest Muslim group, a deal aimed at ending a 40-year conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people.

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III broke the news on Sunday in a nationally televised appearance and described the deal as a “framework agreement” — a roadmap for establishing a new autonomous region to be administered by minority Muslims in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation’s south.

The agreement follows marathon negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Malaysia, which is brokering the talks.

“This framework agreement paves the way for final and enduring peace in Mindanao,” Aquino said, referring to the Philippines’ main southern region and the homeland of the country’s Muslims.

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Canada issues Philippines travel advisory

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 Toronto Sun:

QMI Agency

 

First posted: | Updated:

 

U.S. Embassy in Manila
A member of the elite unit of the Philippine National Police (PNP) stands guard holding a machine gun mounted on a truck, at the U.S. Embassy in Manila on September 14, 2012. (REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco)

Canada, Australia and Britain have joined the U.S. in warning their citizens of a possible security threat in the Philippines.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), the U.S. Embassy in Manila said on Friday that “a threat against American citizens in metropolitan Manila, specifically the Pasay City neighbourhood, had been detected by reliable security forces.’

The U.S. Embassy said the threat was in effect until Oct. 10.

The DFAIT says Canadians should be extremely vigilant when travelling in Manila and other parts of the Philippines.

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H/T Michael Laudahn:

 

Al Queda threatens Philipine Capital

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February 22, 2010 STRATFOR:
An army spokesman said Philippine security forces went on high alert in the capital, bracing for potential bomb attacks from an al Qaeda-linked Islamist militant group to avenge the death of a senior rebel leader, Reuters reported Feb. 22. Lieutenant Colonel Romeo Brawner stated that the army and police were monitoring the movements of militants in Manila, closely coordinating with police in the national capital region to thwart any potential Abu Sayyaf attacks. He added that there is a small militant cell operating in Manila.

Philippines declares martial law in massacre area

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CBCNEWS… The president of the Philippines imposed martial law Saturday on a southern province where 57 people were killed in a political massacre, while security forces detained members of a powerful clan accused of plotting the attack and fomenting a rebellion.

It was the first time martial rule has been declared in the country since the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed it more than three decades ago. With memories of abuses from that time still fresh in their minds, opposition politicians and human-rights groups questioned President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s action, saying she overreacted to a police problem.

Government officials defended Arroyo, saying she acted decisively to bring suspects in the mass slayings into custody and head off a rebellion by the Ampatuan clan, which has ruled the impoverished Maguindanao province unopposed for years.

Head of political clan arrested

Clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr. — a former governor who was among those detained Saturday — and at least six other family members are the main suspects in the Nov. 23 attack on a political rival’s convoy, in which about 30 journalists were killed. The family has denied involvement.

The Ampatuans, notorious for running a large private army, were allied with Arroyo and helped her receive crucial votes from the volatile southern region during 2004 elections. Arroyo’s ruling party expelled the clan after the massacre.

The martial law proclamation allows troops to make arrests without court warrants and to restore order, Arroyo’s top cabinet member, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, announced on national television early Saturday.

The last Philippine leader to declare martial law was Marcos, whose nationwide declaration in 1972 paved the way for his one-man rule that ended with his ouster in 1986.

Under the post-Marcos constitution, Arroyo can enforce martial law for 60 days, unless Congress revokes or extends it.

Fidel Ramos, the former president who was a supporter of Arroyo but has recently been critical of her actions, described her move as “overkill.”

In Saturday’s announcement, Ermita cited military reports as saying heavily armed supporters of the Ampatuans had “plans to undertake hostile action” if clan members were arrested.

“We felt that this is a very imminent threat, so we recommended this proclamation,” military chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado said. “By their sheer number, they are really a threat to the peace and order of the province.”

Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said the arrested men would be charged with rebellion, which carries a penalty of up to 40 years in prison.

“We evaluated very closely the facts and circumstances and information that were reported to us and there is no mistake in the analysis — it was a looming, and in fact it was already, practically an overthrow of government,” she said.

But CenterLaw, a group of human-rights lawyers, said there were insufficient grounds for martial law and would challenge it in the Supreme Court.

“The constitution limits the grounds to insurrection, rebellion and invasion. None of these grounds are existent,” it said in a statement. “We call on the citizenry to be vigilant for the defence of their civil liberties.”

Weapons seized in warehouse raid

For several days, hundreds of security forces have surrounded the sprawling Ampatuan compounds in Shariff Aguak, the provincial capital. Continue Reading →

Women sexually mutilated in Philippine massacre

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From TROP

Philippine Official Says Victims Were Sexually Mutilated

By CARLOS H. CONDE

Published: November 27, 2009

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — Most or all of the 22 women among the 57 people massacred Monday in the southern Philippines were sexually mutilated, the authorities said Friday, adding grim new details to the catalog of horrors that has already emerged.

“Even the private parts of the women were shot at,” the justice secretary, Agnes Devanadera, said on national television. “It was horrible. It was not done to just one. It was done practically to all the women.”

While work continued to identify all the dead, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said it appeared that 30 journalists and support staff had been killed. About a dozen of the victims were the relatives, lawyers and supporters of Esmael Mangudadatu, a local politician whose determination to challenge the entrenched Ampatuan clan in an upcoming gubernatorial election touched off the violence.

Investigators said that the rest of the victims, perhaps as many as 15, happened to be stopped at a checkpoint along the highway in Ampatuan, a town in Maguindanao Province, when the convoy of Mangudadatu supporters and journalists was stopped by police officers and militiamen loyal to the Ampatuans. They were killed in an effort to eliminate witnesses, investigators said.

Ms. Devanadera said that several of the men accused of participating in the slaughter have surrendered and offered to testify. Though the killings violated a traditional custom against local militias harming women, the men seemed to be troubled more by the deaths of the journalists and bystanders.

“They are bothered by their conscience because they thought that only the Mangudadatus would be shot,” Ms. Devanadera said.

Andal Ampatuan Jr., a local mayor who is suspected to have ordered the killings, turned himself in Thursday protesting his innocence. He is expected to face murder charges next week. Ms. Devanadera told The Philippine Daily Inquirer that Mr. Ampatuan’s brother, Zaldy, and his father, Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., the clan patriarch, were also under investigation.

Mr. Mangudadatu’s wife, Genalyn, his two sisters and his two lawyers were among the women who were mutilated and murdered. He said on Thursday that his wife had been shot “in her private parts.”

Ms. Devanadera said the zippers of the women’s pants had been undone, and that some of the women had had their pants pulled down. She said the authorities were still trying to determine whether the women had been raped, but “it is certain that something bad was done to them.”

At least one witness, according to Ms. Devanadera, told investigators that Andal Ampatuan Jr. was on the scene giving commands, but that it was not clear whether he fired a gun.

On Friday, Mr. Mangudadatu, leading a 50-vehicle convoy guarded by soldiers and heavily armed police officers, finally filed his certificate of candidacy to run for governor of Maguindanao — precisely what the others were on their way to do when they were murdered. “I had to do it. I owe it to my dear wife, to my family, to my supporters and to all those journalists who died while doing their job,” Mr. Mangudadatu said in a telephone interview on Friday.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been under intense pressure to pursue the killers. The Ampatuan family is her closest political ally in the southern Philippines, and played a critical role in her 2004 election victory. Her government has assisted the Ampatuans and other area clans in building potent militias to combat the secessionist and Islamist insurgencies that have plagued the region.

On Friday, she ordered Interior Secretary Reynaldo Puno to take direct control of the autonomous region in Muslim Mindanao, a collection of provinces on and near Mindanao Island, and to suspend local, police and military officials if necessary to proceed with the investigation.

A military spokesman said on Friday that two ground commanders of the armed forces in Maguindanao had been relieved of their commands. The military on Thursday took control of the provincial capital, Shariff Aguak, and other towns, a day after disarming dozens of militiamen employed by the Ampatuans.

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the largest media group in the country, urged the government on Friday to form a special court to try the suspects. “This is to help ensure that no whitewash will happen and to identify the roots and those responsible for this unimaginable crime,” said Nestor Burgos Jr., the group’s chairman.

21 dead in Philippines hostage slayings

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The religion of peace kills again and again and again.

Manila, Philippines (CNN) — The wife of a candidate for governor and about 30 others were abducted Monday morning in the southern Philippines — with at least 21 of them later killed, army officials said.

The woman was on her way to file her husband’s nomination papers, when some 100 armed men abducted her and the others in Maguindanao province, said the candidate, Ibrahim Mangudadatu.

Army Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said soldiers later recovered 21 bodies — 13 women and eight men — from the area where the abduction occurred.

Presidential Adviser on Mindanao Affairs Jesus Dureza has asked the government to place Maguindanao province under a state of emergency.

“This is a gruesome massacre of civilians unequaled in recent history. Even women and media men were not spared. There must be a total stop to this senseless violence,” Dureza said told reporters.

Mangudadatu blamed the abduction on the person he is challenging for the governorship of Maguindanao: incumbent Andal Ampatuan, who has held control of the area for the past decade.

The two are competing in elections that will be held on May 10.

The governor could not be reached for comment.

Maguindanao is a Muslim autonomous region out of the control of the central government.

Islam shows its usual tolerance in the Philipines:

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From The Manila Times by way of The Religion of Peace:

Islam shows its multi faith tolerance to church in Kosovo

Islam shows its multi faith tolerance to church in Kosovo

many Filipinos were shocked to learn from a privileges speech of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Piumentel Jr., the untiring advocate of federalism (out of concern for the Muslim Filipinos), that in Marawi City and Sulu province it is forbidden to display the cross—the symbol of Christianity—at the top or frontage of buildings, including church spires.

Christians are also proscribed from singing religious hymns. This makes it impossible for Catholics to hold sung High Masses and Protestants to melodiously exclaim their joy at the blessings of Amazing Grace.

Is intolerance toward Christian symbols and hymns in Marawi and Sulu the specter of Talibanization rearing its ugly head? Some Marawi City people are proud of their city being the Philippines’ “lone Islamic City.” They exult over trycyles there that proclaim their being the “Gift of Allah” and not of Jesus.

We oppose intolerance—especially religious intolerance. It cheers us to see many churches, chapels and mosques all over our country. We would lambast any act of intolerance by religious majorities against minorities.

The Muslim intolerance towards Christians in Marawi and Sulu must be stopped. It could be a sign of incipient Talibanization, the germ of a potential nationwide tragedy. It could turn the Mindanao problem from a socioeconomic and ethical one of injustice into a painful, widespread and bloody religious war.

Animal cruelty beyond comprehension. Another do-not-watch video I’m afraid.

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We blogged on this last year but like anything where the memory of it will diminish ones enjoyment of life I had completely forgotten about it till jdamn brought this skynews footage to my attention this morning. You may want to see a few seconds of it to clarify for yourself that Islam has no more respect for animal life than it does for human. The text from the video is below but a lot more information can be found here at Bare Naked Islam:

Horse Horror In Brutal Fight Club.

Thousands of horses in the Philippines are being maimed and wounded in illegal fights run by a crime syndicate betting ring.

“These tournaments are truly barbaric,” said Andrew Plumbly, of the UK-based welfare group Network for Animals that has been campaigning to end the savage contests.

“Our vets have seen horses being kicked in the head so hard that their eyes have popped out of their sockets,” he said.

Other horses have had their ears ripped off. It’s straight out of the Middle Ages.

Thousands turned up for a three-day fight festival at a market town deep in the jungles of Mindanao Island.

The government banned this spectacle 10 years ago but it is still widespread.

The horse fighting season lasts all year. Thousands of animals are maimed. Some die from their injuries.

Throughout the fight, a mare in season is tethered in the ring. Her presence encourages the sexual rivalry between the fighting stallions