8 US CIA Agents, 5 Canadians Killed in Afghanistan -- News from Antiwar.com

8 US CIA Agents, 5 Canadians Killed in Afghanistan -- News from Antiwar.com

Forward Operating Base "Gym" Actually a CIA Surveillance Center

by Jason Ditz, December 30, 2009

More details have emerged in this morning’s perplexing story, in which a suicide bomber attacked what officials called a “gym” on a military base in Khost Province, killing eight Americans the military identified as “civilians.”

Now US officials admit that all eight Americans slain in the attack were actually CIA agents, adding a reason why the Haqqani network was so quickly blamed, as CIA drones have been bombing the Haqqanis in North Waziristan for over a year.

Moreover, the “gym” at the Forward Operating Base was actually being used as a CIA “operations and surveillance center,” explaining the conspicuous lack of military personnel harmed in the attack.

One former CIA official was quoted as saying the attack was “the nightmare we’ve been anticipating since we went into Afghanistan and Iraq,” adding that the CIA agents operating in the warzones often lack adequate protection.

Exactly how the bomber was able to infiltrate the base and reach a secret CIA facility was unclear, and some suggested that the attacker may have been affiliated with one of the Afghan groups working on the base.

In addition, five Canadians were killed on patrol in Kandahar Province. The five, four soldiers and an embedded reporter were killed when their armored vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

Finally, though details were not readily available, a Jordanian army captain was slain in Afghanistan, the first death among Jordan’s tiny Afghan contingent since the war began.

Homeland Security Chair: Lap Bomber Could Block Gitmo Closure -- News from Antiwar.com

Homeland Security Chair: Lap Bomber Could Block Gitmo Closure -- News from Antiwar.com

Homeland Security Chair: Lap Bomber Could Block Gitmo Closure

Failed Attacker's Amazing Clout Grows

by Jason Ditz, December 28, 2009

For a man whose major accomplishment is setting his own lap on fire with a condom full of explosives, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s influence on American policy both foreign and domestic has positively exploded.

Not only has he managed to force a major crackdown by the TSA, including a virtual ban on laptop computers and most carry-on luggage, he is also setting the stage for a war against Yemen based purely on his claims that he was there at one point.

But if that wasn’t enough, House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-MS) now says Abdulmutallab may further delay President Barack Obama’s already broken promise to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.

Several Republican Congressmen have also chimed in, declaring the lap bomber as reason enough all by himself not to close the detention center, essentially ever. Can one man really have this much power?

Adding to the fuel to keep the facility open, ABC News even claims that a pair of former detainees are to blame for the plot. The logic is convoluted: two former detainees were shipped to Saudi Arabia for “art therapy” and eventually went to Yemen, where officials say they joined al-Qaeda. Abdulmutallab has apparently been to Yemen and claims to be in al-Qaeda. Somehow, this “connection” has been seized upon eagerly, and with the bombs already falling on Yemen (for weeks before the attack, for what that’s worth) the need to manufacture a ex post facto justification has pundits in high gear.

Ampatuan patriarch gave Arroyo big win that fueled his rise to power - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Ampatuan patriarch gave Arroyo big win that fueled his rise to power - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

By Manny Piñol
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(The writer is a former journalist, a three-term governor of North Cotabato, and incumbent vice governor of the province)

THE POLITICAL POWER AND influence of Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. reached great heights in the 2004 presidential election when he engineered a lopsided victory in Maguindanao for President Macapagal-Arroyo against popular actor Fernando Poe Jr.

It was undoubtedly a feat that won for Ms Arroyo the presidency, never mind the charges of massive cheating. The fact remains that the patriarch of the Ampatuan clan used every means foul or fair to show to Malacañang that he could deliver.

This ensured his own political ascendancy, until the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people. His family has been tagged as the mastermind of the worst political violence in the nation’s history.

Ampatuan ran unopposed for a second term as governor of Maguindanao in the 2004 election.

In 2005, the President endorsed the candidacy of Ampatuan’s son, Zaldy, for governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). It was, in fact, a political anointment.

The young Ampatuan handily won over Datu Ibrahim “Toto” Paglas III, a former mayor of Datu Paglas town who was supported by Muslim civil societies and many Mindanao political leaders, including myself.

As ARMM governor, Zaldy Ampatuan facilitated the realization of his father’s political plans. New towns were created out of four to five barangays to allow political underlings to dip into IRAs (internal revenue allotments).

Ampatuan also attempted to create a new province, Shariff Kabunsuan, where he had intended to establish a new political arena for the Masturas and Sinsuats, thus eliminating these two influential and powerful political families from Maguindanao.

He also worked for the creation of a third province for the Mangudadatus and the Paglases, obviously to make sure that there would be no more threat to the Ampatuans in Kabuntalan Valley.

Court scuttles partition

But Ampatuan’s plans backfired. I did not agree to his idea of yielding the town of Pikit in North Cotabato to Maguindanao to satisfy the land area requirement for the third province. The Supreme Court also rebuffed the ARMM legislation creating the new province, saying it was not within the powers of the regional government.

Ampatuan’s advisers used the court decision on the Shariff Kabunsuan case as a reason for him to resign as governor of Maguindanao. Zaldy Ampatuan later appointed his brother, Sajib, as Maguindanao acting governor and his brother, Akmad, as acting vice governor.

According to insiders, the plan was actually to allow Ampatuan to run for a new term again in 2010 as he had not completed his third and final term.

The appointment of Sajib was reportedly protested by his brother, Andal Jr., the patriarch’s favorite son who wanted to be governor. This almost led to a family tragedy as Sajib, according to reports, instructed his men to stop Andal Jr. at all cost.

In spite of his legal setbacks, the elder Ampatuan continued to wield power and amass wealth beyond imagination.

Amassing great wealth

For a politician who backed out of a plan to run for Maguindanao governor in 1998, purportedly because “he only had P30 million in his war chest,” it is mind-boggling how Ampatuan Sr. and his family could have accumulated such wealth in just eight years.

The misuse of the IRA in the ARMM areas is public knowledge. Most politicians in the area consider the IRA as their own personal funds, a reward for their political victories, which also cost them tens of millions of pesos.

It is not surprising to hear of stories of town mayors within the region living outside of their towns for the whole period after the election and coming back only during election time to buy votes and win again. Then, they will disappear again.

But the IRA alone, even including that of the ARMM, would not be enough for Ampatuan and his family to amass so much wealth within such a short period of time.

There are suggestions that a flourishing illegal drug trade in the region was behind the wealth, but this seems unbelievable.

What is believable is a moneymaking scam which involves the connivance of national officials with local government units. It is called “downloading” and it involves the transfer of funds from the different departments to provinces and municipalities through facilitators who get between 40 percent and 50 percent of the amount for them and their patrons.

With 40-50 percent already taken off, what usually happens is the projects will never be implemented.

Blood in their hands

Among the most notorious departments linked to this scam are the Department of Agriculture and its agencies, including the National Irrigation Administration; the Department of Public Works and Highways, through the road right of way settlements and the Road Users Board; and the Department of Agrarian Reform, through the VOS (voluntary offer to sell).

Congressional funds have also been identified as the source of the Ampatuan wealth.

The biggest contributor to the Ampatuan cash cache is reportedly the agriculture department. In fact, there are reports that shortly before the massacre, a P50-million fund was downloaded by the department to Maguindanao.

Ampatuan Sr. and his local government units were the most preferred destinations of these fund transfers because of his perceived influence at the top echelons of government and his capability to cover his tracks.

Now that he is out of power, it would be interesting to know which agencies of the government transferred funds to the ARMM and Maguindanao, and how much. The people in these agencies have the blood of the massacre victims in their hands.

Aquino solidifies lead - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Aquino solidifies lead - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

But Roxas, Legarda in close race for VP post

By Christine Avendaño, Cathy C. Yamsuan, Cyril Bonabente, Inquirer Research
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:22:00 12/22/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III consolidated his “sizeable” lead in the presidential race, but Senators Loren Legarda and Manuel “Mar” Roxas II were locked in a close fight for the vice presidency, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey.

Forty-five percent of 1,800 adults interviewed nationwide from Dec. 8 to 10 said they would vote for Aquino if elections were held at the time.

Nearly 50 million Filipinos will select a president, a vice president, nearly 300 lawmakers for the two houses of Congress and more than 17,500 local positions in the May general elections.

Considering the survey’s margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points, Aquino’s rating was virtually the same as the 44 percent he got in a similar survey in October.

“The support for Senator Aquino remains virtually unchanged,” Ana Maria Tabunda, chief research fellow of Pulse Asia Inc., said in a statement, comparing the latest results with the previous survey.

Way behind Aquino were Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. (23 percent, up 4 points) and deposed President Joseph Estrada (19 percent, up 8 points).

At the bottom were former Defense Secretary Gilberto “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. (5 percent, up 3 points), Sen. Richard “Dick” Gordon (1 percent), and evangelist Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” Villanueva (1 percent).

Other presidential candidates got less than 1 percent each.

Escudero factor

Tabunda said it was possible that votes for Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who announced on Nov. 24 his decision to drop out of the 2010 presidential race, went to Estrada and improved his rating.

“While it was expected that votes for Escudero would be proportionately distributed to the remaining presidential candidates, support for Villar did not go up that much, possibly because of his party’s decision to support the senatorial campaign of Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and militant party-list Representatives Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo,” Tabunda said in an interview.

Marcos is the son and namesake of the late dictator who jailed Ocampo and other political activists during martial law.

Pulse Asia asked respondents to choose from a list of 15 presidential, 15 vice presidential and 80 senatorial hopefuls. They were allowed to make up to 12 senatorial preferences.

Last week, the Commission on Elections approved the certificates of candidacy (CoCs) of eight presidential aspirants, the CoCs of eight vice presidential hopefuls, and the CoCs of 58 senator wannabes.

Vice presidential race

Legarda gained 14 points (37 percent), closely following Roxas (39 percent, up 2 points) in first place in the vice presidential race.

They were followed by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay (14 percent, up 1 point), former Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Bayani Fernando (2 percent, up 1 point) and actor/TV host Edu Manzano (2 percent). It was Manzano’s first time to be included in the survey.

Tabunda said that unlike Aquino who had a big lead over Villar and Estrada, “Roxas’ lead over Legarda is more precarious because there are no corruption allegations against her.”

Estrada was convicted of plunder in September 2007, but was later pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Villar has been accused of double funding the C-5 road extension project.

Tabunda said Legarda’s 14-point increase could also be attributed to her environmental advocacy, the relevance of which has been highlighted by recent Copenhagen talks to fight global warming, and to a more active campaign.

“Legarda made herself scarce when she was still being considered a presidential candidate. But after finalizing her decision to run for vice president … she has been more active on the campaign trail,” Tabunda said.

Senatorial race

In the senatorial race, 14 had a statistical chance of winning. Six of them were reelectionists and four were former senators.

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada of Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) was No. 1 with 55.1 percent, followed by Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. of Lakas-Kampi-CMD (52.7 percent) and Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago of the People’s Reform Party (51.4 percent).

Former Senate President Franklin Drilon of the Liberal Party (LP) (48.4 percent), Sen. Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano of the Nacionalista Party (43.1 percent).

Former Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto of the LP (43.1 percent), Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile of the PMP (42.7 percent), former Sen. Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III, an independent candidate, (40.2 percent), former Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (40.2 percent).

Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (31 percent), Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III of LP (28.5 percent), Jose “Joey” de Venecia III of PMP (24.3 percent), Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid of Lakas-Kampi-CMD (23.1 percent), and Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon of LP (22.9 percent).

Thrust into limelight

From a political lightweight with no significant achievements in his 11 years as a legislator, the son of the late democracy icon Corazon Aquino was thrust into the limelight when his mother died in August.

Senator Aquino took advantage of the massive outpouring of emotional support for his mother to catapult himself into the national consciousness. He announced his candidacy in September.

Aquino’s camp was elated about the latest Pulse Asia survey results.

“The survey results validate our belief that the Filipino people continue to support our campaign for an honest government,” said lawyer Edwin Lacierda, Aquino’s spokesperson.

Lacierda said the survey results came at a time “when our many opponents are desperately trying to bring us down through lies and black propaganda.”

He said the results proved that “their dirty tricks are not working.”

For his part, Roxas, running mate of Aquino, said Aquino’s lead reinforced their bid “to fight for a straight, honest and clean government which the country badly needed.”

Villar doing better

“I’m happy with the results. We are on target,” Villar said at the Laurel House in Mandaluyong City. “There’s still four and a half months to go.”

He said his campaign would focus on the value of hard work—“sipag at tiyaga”—which was also his slogan when he ran for senator in 2001 and 2007.

“I remain confident, especially now that there are fewer candidates. The choices in the future surveys will be clearer,” he said. “I will not run for president if I’m not sure of winning.”

Too early to tell

Estrada remained confident despite merely placing “third” in the survey, saying “it’s too early to tell.”

He said it might even be “a disadvantage to peak this early” in the surveys with more than five months to go before the May elections.

“Come February or March, that’s when we will really know, because by then 90 to 80 percent of the voters would have already decided,” Estrada said when reached on the phone Monday.

Estrada’s reelection bid has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

A spokesperson of Teodoro said the presidential election was more than four months away.

“We are confident that his ratings will climb dramatically as more Filipinos get to know his program of government, his character and his integrity in public office as the epitome of the new generation of high-achieving Filipino leaders,” Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay said in a statement.

Gordon said his survey numbers would improve greatly once people become aware he was gunning for the presidency.

“When people find out that I am already a candidate for President, this survey is going to change, because they are now going to look at a real candidate with a real track record and a record of leadership and integrity,” Gordon said in statement.

He noted that the survey was taken immediately after the CoCs were filed which he said was when people “were not quite sure whether I was a candidate until on that day.”

Legarda pleased

Legarda expressed confidence that as the campaign period neared, she would emerge on top of the vice presidential race.

“I am very pleased with the results of this latest survey. It validates my belief that a green platform is precisely what this country needs, and that the Filipino electorate approves of my efforts in pushing a pro-environment agenda,” Legarda said in a statement.

Legarda is the running mate of Villar.

Asked about his own rating that saw him tying with Legarda, Roxas could only say that “it goes with the campaign.”

“For the past two to three months, I have been concentrating on the campaign for Senator Noynoy and this January when the campaign period starts, the results would surely change,” he said. With reports from Reuters and Agence France-Presse

CHR slams journalists for attack on Ampatuan - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

CHR slams journalists for attack on Ampatuan - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:42:00 12/21/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Even suspected mass murderers like Andal Ampatuan Jr. have rights.

Leila de Lima, chair of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), Sunday slammed media men for going “overboard” on Friday when they attacked the alleged mastermind of the election-related massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao Nov. 23.

The dead included 30 news people, making the incident the world’s largest slaughter of media practitioners and the Philippines the most dangerous place on earth for journalists, after such conflict zones as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“Yes, overboard. Expression of outrage can be done without physically harming the object of outrage. Without rule of law and restraint, we will all descend to a society where atrocities and vigilantism become a way of life,” said De Lima in a text message to the Inquirer.

Angry journalists mobbed Ampatuan as he was being led out of the Department of Justice (DoJ) by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after his preliminary investigation on multiple murder charges.

A photographer struck Ampatuan in the head with his camera.

The NBI said it would review its security arrangements for the mayor of Datu Unsay town who reportedly sustained injuries in the incident.

“Irrespective of what we think or feel, everyone has human rights, even suspects and convicted criminals. Violators of the law have limited rights but have rights nonetheless. The only limitations are those set by law, such as restrictions to right of liberty on account of detention,” De Lima said.

However, she stressed that anger at those who broke the law or were charged even with heinous crimes did not justify violation of their rights.

Presumed innocent

While individuals have freedom of expression, to express their outrage and to condemn Ampatuan, he also has the right to be presumed innocent, De Lima said.

“If journalists feel he should have no rights, they may be justified in saying such. But in so far as the mechanisms for justice are concerned, there is no alternative to respecting the accused’s rights. Lady justice is blind to public sentiment,” she said.

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court will hold at Camp Crame on Tuesday the first hearing of multiple murder charges against Ampatuan, Supreme Court spokesperson Midas Marquez said Sunday.

Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera also told the Inquirer that investigators had completed evidence to charge Ampatuan with 57 counts of murder, after receiving the latest results of investigations on 17 other victims.

Among those killed were the wife and two sisters of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, who were in the convoy that he had sent to file his candidacy for governor of Maguindanao against Ampatuan.

190 under investigation

The NBI and the Philippine National Police (PNP) have also filed multiple murder charges against 190 people in the DoJ, including Ampatuan’s father, Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., and several other members of the powerful political clan.

Senior State Prosecutor Rosanne Balauag, chair of the DoJ panel conducting the preliminary investigation, told reporters on Friday that it had 60 days to decide if there was probable cause to elevate the case before the court.

Sigfrid Fortun, lawyer for the Ampatuan family, has told the panel that his clients will not answer the police and NBI allegations.

Transfer of Ampatuans urged

In General Santos City, the local council on Thursday approved a resolution opposing the continued detention of the Ampatuans at the headquarters of the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), saying that they should be confined at the place where they would be tried.

Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and three of his brothers are detained at the CIDG facility in General Santos on rebellion charges. Their father is being held at a military camp in Davao City on the same accusation.

Also facing rebellion is Ampatuan Jr., who is confined at the NBI detention facility in Manila.

Vice Mayor Florentina Congson told reporters that the detention of the Ampatuans in the city did not only put to risk the security of the city but also showed insensitivity to the feelings of the victims’ families.

“We all know that the families of many journalists killed in the Maguindanao massacre are residing here. I think it is unfair that the Ampatuans are being detained here,” Congson said. With reports from Norman Bordadora in Manila, and Aquiles Zonio, Inquirer Mindanao

2 million troops have deployed since 9/11

2 million troops have deployed since 9/11

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer, Marine Crops News
Posted : Friday Dec 18, 2009 16:30:29 EST

In the eight years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, American troops have deployed almost 3.3 million times to Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Defense Department data.

The numbers, as of October 2009, show that more than 2 million men and women have shouldered those deployments, with 793,000 of them deploying more than once.
Here’s a look at how the numbers break down by service:

• Army. More than 1 million soldiers have deployed since the beginning of the wars. These 1 million soldiers have completed 1.5 million deployment events, with 352,700 deploying more than once.
In October, 172,800 soldiers were deployed to the war zones.

• Navy. More than 367,900 sailors have deployed since the beginning of the wars, with 147,200 deploying more than once. In all, the sailors have logged 595,700 deployments.
In October, 30,000 sailors were deployed.

• Marine Corps. More than 251,800 Marines have deployed since the start of the wars, completing 392,900 tours. More than 106,400 have deployed more than once.
In October, 20,900 Marines were deployed.

• Air Force. More than 389,900 airmen have deployed since 2001, with 185,500 going more than once. In all, airmen have completed 771,400 deployment events.
In October, 31,500 airmen were deployed.

• Coast Guard. More than 4,370 Coast Guardsmen have deployed since 2001, with 650 deploying more than once. The Coast Guard has 5,333 deployments on file, and in October, 438 were deployed.

US Attacking Yemen After All -- News from Antiwar.com

US Attacking Yemen After All -- News from Antiwar.com

Cruise Missiles Hit Multiple Sites in Concert With Yemeni Govt

by Jason Ditz, December 18, 2009

Email This | Print This | Share This | Comment | Antiwar Forum

Just one day after a very public denial that American forces were in the process of attacking sites in Northern Yemen, President Barack Obama ordered multiple cruise missile attacks on sites across the tiny, coastal nation.

The air strikes were coordinated with the government of President Ali Abdallah Saleh and the attacks left 120 killed, many of them civilians according to witnesses. President Obama called Saleh after the attack to “congratulate” him on the killings.

The Yemeni government denied any US role in the attacks, despite American officials’ admissions. This is largely in keeping with the Saleh government’s policy, as they angrily denied reports of Saudi attacks in the north as a myth even as the Saudi government was giving a press conference detailing the attack.

One Yemeni official however claimed that a local al-Qaeda “deputy” named Mohammed Saleh Mohammed Ali Al-Kazemi was slain, and that “scores” of al-Qaeda members were killed in the assorted attacks.

The conflict with al-Qaeda is just one of many conflicts currently going on in Yemen, including an enduring separatist movement in the south and an increasingly violent insurrection in the Shi’ite north. Technically Wednesday’s State Department denials appear to have been accurate, as the missile strikes were in a completely unrelated conflict from the one they were accused of taking part in.

British Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Israeli Opposition Leader -- News from Antiwar.com

British Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Israeli Opposition Leader -- News from Antiwar.com

British Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Israeli Opposition Leader

Former Israeli FM Cancels London Visit in Face of War Crimes Charges

by Jason Ditz, December 14, 2009

Israeli opposition leader and former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was forced to cancel a planned visit to London at the last moment, following news that a British court had issued a warrant for her arrest.

Livni faced potential war crimes charges for her role in the January invasion of the Gaza Strip. Around 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the invasion.

The former foreign minister issued a statement today claimed that the cancelation was merely do to a “scheduling conflict,” but the Israeli government was able to confirm that the warrant was issued and the cancellation came after that time.

The British government claims “universal jurisdiction” in the case of certain war crimes, and while it traditionally grants immunity to war crimes charges to current foreign ministers, the immunity for former officials has been weakened over the years (as seen in the 1999 arrest of Augusto Pinochet).

Israel has repeatedly slammed attempts to prosecute its officials over the killing of civilians, insisting that the charges are “politically motivated” and that the assorted actions have all been perfectly legal.

Maguindanao called ‘Republic of Ampatuan’ - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Maguindanao called ‘Republic of Ampatuan’ - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines—The Ampatuan clan and its supporters, who gave President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies controversial victories in the 2004 and 2007 elections, were labeled rebels on Monday.

Clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., a three-term governor of Maguindanao province, was called the leader of the rebellion by Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera.

She said supporters called Maguindanao the “Republic of Ampatuan.”

“It’s really a government already, all on its own, headed by the Ampatuans.”

Devanadera made a distinction between the charges to be filed against the Ampatuans in connection with the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people and rebellion.

On Saturday, Ampatuan was arrested in his Shariff Aguak home in Maguindanao under the martial law proclamation of Ms Arroyo on Friday to combat the threat of rebellion, Devanadera said.

Ampatuan’s four sons—the acting governor and vice governor of Maguindanao, the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Shariff Aguak mayor—were among those arrested on Saturday in a crackdown that has so far netted 67 suspects.
Devanadera said the 70-year-old Ampatuan patriarch would be charged with murder within 72 hours.

“Murder is one offense and rebellion is another,” she said.

Devanadera said inquest proceedings for rebellion started Monday against 24 people, including Ampatuan and ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan. She said the rebellion charges would be filed on Tuesday in the Cotabato Regional Trial Court if the prosecutors established probable cause.

Under the Constitution, those arrested without warrants under a martial law situation should be released within three days unless formally charged.

Ampatuan’s namesake son, the mayor of Datu Unsay town, is detained at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) headquarters in Manila for multiple murder.

Accusations that Ms Arroyo stole the 2004 presidential election—a charge she has vehemently denied—stemmed from revelations in the so-called “Hello Garci” tapes of vote-padding in Central Mindanao, which includes Maguindanao.

In the 2007 senatorial elections, administration candidates scored a 12-0 shutout in the province.

Ampatuan seized at hospital

On Sunday night, the military forcibly took Ampatuan from Davao Doctors Hospital and brought him to the medical facility in Camp Panacan in Davao City.

The soldiers had to break the door of Ampatuan’s suite after relatives and lawyers locked it in a bid to prevent authorities from taking him into custody.

He had been brought to the hospital hours after he complained of chest pains following his arrest at Shariff Aguak on Saturday.

Maj. Gen. Carlos Holganza, commander of the 10th Infantry Division, confirmed that soldiers had taken Ampatuan into custody, but denied using excessive force.

“We are only ensuring his safety,” Holganza said.

Maj. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesperson of the Eastern Mindanao Command, said Ampatuan’s family was delaying his transfer to Manila to face multiple murder charges.

No basis for rebellion

The opposition in the House of Representatives Monday said there was no factual basis for the government’s claims that rebellion existed in Maguindanao and the Ampatuans could argue that they could not be held liable for this charge.

“Rebellion subsumes all acts like murder,” said Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo.

“If they are acquitted of rebellion, the murder charges would also be done away with,” Ocampo told reporters.

Kabataan party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino pointed out that Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari was recently acquitted of rebellion for the deadly attack on a military camp in Sulu in which 100 people died.

Aba-Ako party-list Rep. Leonardo Montemayor also wondered why the President saw it fit to declare martial law in Maguindanao, but not in other parts of the country where rebellion is also taking place, such as those areas controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Rebellion in other areas

“Why limit it to Maguindanao?” Montemayor asked.

In a report, Malacañang said that it could have gone after the suspects in the massacre had not the Ampatuans blocked their efforts.

“More importantly, a separatist group based in Maguindanao has joined forces with the Ampatuans,” it said.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile Monday said that rebellion should be a separate charge against the Ampatuans because the massacre “happened prior to the onset of...a rebellious act.”

Enrile said that what could be absorbed would be the charge of illegal possession of firearms. He said rebellion carried a far heavier penalty than illegal possession of arms.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said that if the Ampatuans were charged with rebellion, they would suffer a lower penalty than that for multiple murder and would even quality for pardon or amnesty.

“These people have not even expressed any semblance of ideology, and therefore they cannot even be considered political offenders,” she said.

The Ampatuans, she said, should be treated as “terrorists” and “megacriminals.” With reports from Christian V. Esguerra, Dona Z. Pazzibugan, Leila B. Salaverria, Christine O. Avendaño and Dennis Jay Santos and Jeffrey Tupas, Inquirer Mindanao

79% won’t back Arroyo bet—Pulse survey - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

79% won’t back Arroyo bet—Pulse survey - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

79% won’t back Arroyo bet—Pulse survey - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

79% won’t back Arroyo bet—Pulse survey - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

4 Dec 2009

MANILA, Philippines - Four out of five Filipinos said they would not support a presidential candidate endorsed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, according to results of a Pulse Asia nationwide survey released Thursday.

A combined 79 percent of the respondents said they would “surely not vote for” (43 percent) and “probably not vote for” (36 percent) a presidential candidate endorsed by Ms Arroyo.

The outgoing President has endorsed her party mate, Lakas-Kampi-Christian Muslim Democrats standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro.

Only a combined 15 percent of the respondents said they would “surely vote for” (1 percent) and “probably vote for” (14 percent) the candidate Ms Arroyo endorsed.

Three percent said Ms Arroyo’s endorsement would have “no effect” on their choice. The same percentage of respondents was unable to say what impact such an endorsement would have on their choice.

Conducted by Pulse Asia from Oct. 22 to 30 using face-to-face interviews, the survey covered 1,800 adults in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The opinion poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2 percentage points.

Unfazed by public dissatisfaction with Ms Arroyo, Teodoro has scoffed at opposition leaders who claim that the President’s endorsement will doom his chances.

“There will come a point when the public will already get to brush off this ‘kiss of death’ thing. It’s a politically expedient tactic right now. The more important thing is what you want to do for the country in the future,” Teodoro said in September.

Staying away from Gibo sorties

On the day the survey results were released, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Ms Arroyo would not only stay away from Teodoro’s sorties but would also give the administration’s candidate free rein to mount his own campaign.

“I don’t think she will do that (join Teodoro’s sorties),” Ermita said. “As she said, she wants to concentrate on governance.”

In what was seen as a break with tradition, Ms Arroyo did not raise the hands of Teodoro and his running mate, actor-TV host Edu Manzano, during their Nov. 19 proclamation rally at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City.

Since then, some observers have noted an apparent attempt by the ruling Lakas-Kampi-CMD coalition not to make Teodoro and Ms Arroyo share a stage.

After Ms Arroyo filed her certificate of candidacy for Pampanga’s second congressional district on Tuesday, Teodoro, a former defense secretary, said he should be judged based on his qualifications, and not on his ties with the President.

But Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, vice presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, said Ms Arroyo’s unprecedented move to run for a seat in the House of Representatives showed that she had given up on Teodoro.

“They all know that this [Ms Arroyo’s candidacy] has a negative effect on Gibo’s [Teodoro’s] candidacy, but they pursued this. So the question is who is GMA’s [Ms Arroyo’s] real candidate?” Roxas said in a text message.

Pacquiao, Kris Aquino

In the survey, “big pluralities” to “sizeable majorities” said they would surely/probably not vote for candidates endorsed by boxing champion Manny Pacquiao (71 percent), former President Joseph Estrada (59 percent) and TV personalities Willie Revillame (58 percent) and Kris Aquino (49 percent).

A combined 45 percent said they would surely/probably vote for the candidate endorsed by Aquino, while 36 percent said they would surely/probably vote for someone endorsed by Estrada.

Thirty-seven percent said they would surely/probably vote for a candidate endorsed by Revillame, and 21 percent would surely/probably vote for Pacquiao’s presidential candidate.

Kris Aquino is backing her brother, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, presidential candidate of the Liberal Party. Revillame is supporting Sen. Manny Villar, standard-bearer of the Nacionalista Party. Estrada himself is running for president.

Pacquiao, who is running for congressman in Sarangani, has not formally endorsed a presidential candidate.

As for the candidates endorsed by the respondents’ Church, 52 percent said they would surely/probably vote for them. In contrast, 43 percent said they would surely/probably not vote for a presidential candidate endorsed by their Church.

Independent-minded

Ermita, chair of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD advisory council, doused speculations that Teodoro was consciously trying to distance himself from Ms Arroyo.

“Gilbert Teodoro is a very intelligent person. He’s very capable, as shown by all the mock polls after every debate among presidentiables. He can stand and think on his own,” he said.

Ermita said the best instance that Teodoro showed his being independent-minded was when he recommended the expulsion of members of the Ampatuan clan from the administration party in the aftermath of the Maguindanao massacre.

“Did Gibo have to ask Malacañang when he said ‘we’re expelling the Ampatuans from the party?’ No, we did it on our own as a party. That’s how independent-minded Gibo is. He’s his own man,” he said. Reports from Eliza Victoria, Inquirer Research; TJ Burgonio and Michael Lim Ubac

Charter change top Arroyo agenda - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Charter change top Arroyo agenda - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Christian V. Esguerra, Dona Pazzibugan, INQUIRER.net: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 3 Dec 2009

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang is not desperate to douse the long-running suspicion that the point behind President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s run for Congress in 2010 is to push Charter change (Cha-cha)—and possibly bring about a shift to a parliamentary government, where she could bag the post of prime minister.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita Wednesday acknowledged that the amendment of the 1987 Constitution remained a priority of Ms Arroyo, who did the unprecedented when she filed her certificate of candidacy for Congress on Tuesday.

“Yes, even in the previous SONA (State of the Nation Addresses) of the President, she said she was gunning for it,” Ermita told reporters at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City.

Ermita expressed confidence that Ms Arroyo would easily win as representative of the second district of her home province of Pampanga, and that she would continue to wield influence in the 15th Congress.

“Let’s be realistic—the President is the President,” he said. “Because of her stature, when she gets [elected], definitely she will have a lot of clout on anything in Congress ... You can be sure that should she be elected, definitely she will have clout among the congressmen.”

CBCP to oppose

With Ms Arroyo almost assured of election as a member of the House, Catholic Church leaders are rethinking their avowed support for Charter change after she steps down from the presidency in June 2010.

Boac Bishop Rey Evangelista said the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) would oppose the amendment of the Constitution at that time if strong indications arise that it would be used to perpetuate “a few people” in power.

Evangelista said neither he nor the Filipino people were convinced that Ms Arroyo would be content to serve as a mere congresswoman.

“I do not believe that that is her only intention. And the Filipino nation also does not believe it, no matter how her allies deny it,” he said in Filipino over the Church-run Radio Veritas.

Democracy

But Ermita said it remained to be seen whether Ms Arroyo would actually push for Charter change when she wins a seat in the House of Representatives.

“I am not privy to the thoughts of the President on her advocacy when she becomes a congressman,” he said. “The problem with [critics] is they create scenarios, then throw them at the President as if they were her scenarios.”

But when asked if Ms Arroyo could be trusted not to position herself as prime minister in the future, Ermita said: “We are in a democracy [and] everyone is free to do things that they wish they should do, for as long as they are within the bounds of law.

“Everyone has to face up to his or her future, if and when they’re elected.”

Malacañang allies in the House, who include Ms Arroyo’s two sons, repeatedly pushed but failed to have the Constitution amended in the current Congress. The attempts at Charter change included proposals to lift term limits on the President and other incumbent officials.

Ms Arroyo is the second longest-serving Philippine president after the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, having come to power upon the ouster of President Joseph Estrada in January 2001.

She once promised not to seek the presidency in 2004 but did so anyway, scoring a disputed victory over the late opposition standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr.

Just a step

Bishop Evangelista voiced the suspicion that Ms Arroyo would take advantage of fresh attempts to overhaul the Constitution to shift from the presidential to the parliamentary system of government, and then get herself elected as prime minister by her allies in Congress.

“She should not run for congressman anymore. Even if she says her intentions are good for [Pampanga’s second] district, we cannot prevent the entire nation from thinking otherwise,” he said, adding:

“Many Filipinos believe that this is just a step for a bigger plan after she is elected as congressman.”

Evangelista said that with no real alternative candidate and given the government resources at her disposal, Ms Arroyo could easily get elected as Pampanga representative.

“But it doesn’t end there. She will not just serve her district; she will go to Congress. There is the analysis that she will be voted by her allies in Congress as Speaker of the House. And after she becomes Speaker of the House she will move for Charter [change] to shift [to a parliamentary] form of government and have herself elected as prime minister. Then she will be back as head of state,” he said.

Evangelista called to mind how the late strongman Marcos perpetuated himself in power by imposing martial law in 1972. “We hope our country does not experience it again,” he said.

‘Church won’t allow it’

While the CBCP has firmly opposed the moves of Ms Arroyo’s allies in the House to overhaul the Constitution, it has also said it would welcome Charter change after her term ends.

But Evangelista said the likelihood that Ms Arroyo would get elected as Pampanga representative left suspect the motives for amending the Constitution in 2010.

“Of course there are things that need to be improved in the Constitution, but amending [it] for the sake of a few people or anyone with the intention to perpetuate themselves in power, the Church will never allow that,” he said.

The bishop said he himself was open to revisiting the Constitution, “but to change it for the sake of a few people, that should never happen.”

“Most likely that is what’s going to happen, and the Church will oppose it,” he said.

Addiction to power

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz, a vocal critic of Ms Arroyo, aired a similar opinion.

“Once she becomes congresswoman, she would immediately put in Charter change. Don’t tell me she can’t do this. She can because she has a lot of money, a lot of resources. Once we have Charter change and a parliamentary [form of government], she will lobby in the parliament to be prime minister,” he said.

Cruz said Ms Arroyo’s candidacy betrayed her “addiction to power.”

“The devil has an addiction to power. So he tempted Christ. He said, ‘I will give you everything, the world, etc., if you will worship me.’ So addiction to power is very dangerous,” Cruz said.

According to Cruz, Ms Arroyo refuses to heed her consistently dismal trust ratings: “[She] knows that ... more than half of the people do not like her. That’s not a few people. But you do not listen, you go on. Now she will go for a lower office; that is addiction to power. Maybe next time [she will run] for barangay captain.”

Too much

But “patience has an end,” Cruz said.

He added: “It might come to a point that most Filipinos will say, ‘Tama na, sobra na (That’s too much).’ That is how I read the situation. [It] may erupt any moment from now ... The volcano may erupt. We hope not, but if it happens, we understand why.”