Archive for August 25th, 2008
5.7 quake rocks Visayas, parts of Mindanao–Phivolcs
MANILA, Philippines — A 5.7-magnitude earthquake rocked parts of the Visayas and northern Mindanao on Monday, the chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
The tremor struck at 10:43 a.m., with the epicenter located 40 kilometers southeast of Maasin town in Southern Leyte province, Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said.
Intensity 5 was felt in the towns of St. Bernard and Sogod in Southern Leyte, intensity 4 in Surigao City, intensity 3 in Tacloban City, intensity 2 in Cebu City, Mambajao town, and Camiguin Island, Solidum said in a text message.
View article as posted on INQUIRER.net
2 low pressure areas spotted in Palawan, Bicol–PAGASA
Rains expected in parts of Luzon, Visayas
MANILA, Philippines — Two low pressure areas will bring rains to Central and Southern Luzon and the Visayas on Monday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
At 2 a.m., a shallow low pressure area was located 340 kilometers north northwest of Palawan, while a low pressure area was located 900 kilometers east of the Bicol Region, the state weather bureau said in its website.
“Central and Southern Luzon and Visayas will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms. The rest of the country will have partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening,” it said.
A low pressure area develops in three stages — shallow low pressure area, low pressure area, and active low pressure area — before becoming a tropical depression.
Last week, Typhoon “Karen” (international codename: Nuri) slammed into northern Luzon, killing at least seven people and destroying P133 million worth of crops and infrastructure.
View article as posted on INQUIRER.net
MILF beset with ‘severe credibility problem’– DND chief
MANILA, Philippines — By “coddling” its commanders who have been charged over the Central Mindanao attacks, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is beset with a “severe credibility problem,” Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Monday.
At the same time, Teodoro appealed to the “sensibility” of members of the MILF organization to “break away from the strangle hold” of their comrades who have condoned Commanders Ombra Kato and Bravo.
“They want to stop the law enforcement activities, but at the same time, they continue to coddle and harbor those who committed atrocities, not condemning it outright, and this adds to the severe credibility problem which already faces the MILF,” the defense chief told a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo.
The MILF has refused to surrender the two commanders, prompting military strikes that have caused the Moro rebel group 15 of its camps and battle positions over the weekend.
“I still do not want to stereotype each and every person of the MILF as a coddler of atrocities or what not. There is still some hope however, be that as it may, the unbargainable condition is that we will number one, run after the perpetrators of the atrocities, and second, we will prevent a recurrence of these atrocities,” Teodoro said.
Asked about worries that the peace process would suffer in the face of the military offensives, Teodoro stood pat on the operations.
“Nandito tayo sa tama. Ginagawa natin ito dahil gusto natin ilagay sa hustisya ang mga lumabag sa batas ng Pilipinas… As a Republic, tayo ba ay yuyuko o titiklop sa harapan ng mga banta na ganyan na walang kredibilidad? Palagay ko obvious po ang sagot doon [We are on the
right side. We are doing this because we want to bring those who broke Philippine laws to the bar of justice… As a Republic, will we be cowed by these threats? I think the answer is obvious],” he said.
Asked if the MILF could be branded as terrorists under the Human Security Act, Teodoro reiterated that this would be subject to a “meticulous and tedious process.”
“We’ll cross the bridge when we get there,” he said.
View article as posted on INQUIRER.net
Troops ‘closing in’ on MILF rebels
15 Moro rebel camps overrun, so far–officials
MANILA, Philippines — (UPDATE) The military has “caught up” with the groups of two Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) commanders who are wanted over attacks on civilian communities in Central Mindanao, after they overran 15 rebel camps and “battle positions” over two days, officials said.
The largest of the 15, Camp Vietnam in Maguindanao, is equipped with watch towers, an obstacle course, and sniper posts.
It is the base of MILF commander Wahid Tondok, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Alexander Yano said.
The others are villages that have been converted into “fortresses” that house MILF fighters, Yano said.
“What is very significant is that our government troops have caught up with all the base commands or groups responsible for the various atrocities in the last few days,” Yano told a news conference in Camp Aguinaldo.
“These are their battle positions and temporary encampments, the most significant of which is Camp Vietnam,” said Brigadier General Jorge Segovia, AFP assistant deputy chief of staff for operations.
The two main targets of the offensives are MILF commanders Ameril Umbra Kato, whose men were driven out of several North Cotabato villages they had occupied early this month, and Abdullah Macapaar alias Bravo, accused of leading attacks on five Lanao del Norte towns that left several people, mostly civilians, dead.
The escalation of hostilities in Central Mindanao, which broke out soon after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order against the signing of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and MILF, has also displaced tens of thousands of civilians.
According to data from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), the fighting has affected 272,867 people, of whom 105,984 are in evacuation centers. Another 166,883 have sought shelter with relatives.
Over the weekend, troops clashed with Kato’s men in the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, and Sultan Kudarat, and encountered Bravo’s group in Piagapo, Lanao del Norte, Yano said.
“Our intelligence reports point to the fact that the group is there, and the commanders themselves are with the group,” he said.
At 6 a.m. Monday, Army troops encountered MILF fighters in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao, killing one rebel, Yano said.
He added that the soldiers recovered an M203 grenade launcher and methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” from the scene of the clash.
The AFP chief also said resistance from the rebels has “lessened” over the last 24 hours.
Asked if this meant the rebels were losing to government forces, he said: “You can make that conclusion. We have made some substantial gains.”
Since fighting started in North Cotabato earlier this month, the military reported, as of Sunday morning, 17 soldiers and five militiamen killed, and 64 soldiers and two militiamen wounded.
There has been no official count on civilian casualties, but according to earlier military reports, at least 28 civilians were killed in the MILF attacks in Lanao del Norte last August 18.
Segovia said intelligence estimates placed MILF casualties at around 100.
Yano said the MILF’s claims the military suffered heavy casualties are “pure and simple propaganda.”
View article as posted on INQUIRER.net
Deadline all the time 