AFP insists in using falsities to bolster their propanda

Posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 27032014

The villagers reporterd to the city council that the military is forcing them to sign an statements saying that they admit being NPAs surrendering to the military.

Celso Bughao, the village chief of Barangay Lumiad, Paquibato District, Davao city told members of the City Council during its regular session Tuesday that the 69th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army was responsible for the distribution of certificates.

A copy of the “certification” obtained by Davao Today

Council Victorio U. Advincula of Davao City’s Third District said that the barangay could record “actual complaints of the people” on their logbook and even call for dialog with the military. He also said that they should execute an affidavit before the Council’s committee on human rights.

 “We can tell the military that they stop it,” said Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang of the Second District where Paquibato belongs proposed that they may take action immediately by means of a resolution pending an investigation. “(This will serve as a lesson for the military that they cannot do this, this is very wrong.” Dayanghirang said.

This practice of the military is not new.  First District Councilor Leah Librado-Yap revealed that for the past few years, there have been several complaints against actions of the military especially in the areas in Paquibato District.”

“In fact in 2011, we passed a resolution urging the military to remove their encampment (as) there was a (military) camp near a day care center and school. A year after, there’s (the) use of the military of the barangay hall (and public) buildings as their camps,” said Librado-Yap who is also a member of the council’s human rights committee.

Bello, chairperson of the Council’s committee on human rights, noted that that the fact that Bughao, a village chieftain, made the report “goes to show that there is something going on in the area and this is not a mere personal endeavour but an exercise of his function. Bello also said to be an NPA sympathizer is not a violation of the law “I am sure the military has a legal division that can guide those people requiring those filling-up of this application form, I would invite the military personnel to explain,” he said adding that “maybe this part already of their existing program, Oplan Bayanihan or something, if this is true, there’s a possibility that they will make such claim that it is voluntary.”

- See more at: http://davaotoday.com/main/2014/03/27/villagers-accuse-military-of-npa-surrenderee-certificates/

AFP using children wrongly labelled as NPA child for black propaganda

Posted by
Belarminbo Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 26032014

The Philippine Army’s 57th Infantry Battalion forcibly brought 14 year old Balong  on Friday in Magpet, North Cotabato.and presented him to the media as a “child soldier, informer and collector” for the New People’s Army.

 Commanding Officer Nilo Vinluan declared in news reports that Balong wandered off from the NPA area and “surrendered” to a police station in Barangay Mateo, Kidapawan City.  The military also claimed that Balong told them he was active as an NPA for two years.

The boy’s elder brother Christopher, however, declared in a press conderence that his brother has never left their baranggay for months, even years and the military are lying. “Kanang giingon nila nga tig-collector sa mga tawo, binuang na.  Walay kamatuoran nga ana ilang gipadangat sa akong igsoon. Kanang gikidnap sa NPA, dili na tinuod; wala gyud na naglakaw sa barangay pila ka bulan o tuig kay diha na nag-eskwela. Tomo-tomo lang na sa sundalo aron pangandoy nga dunay sala mga NPA.  Mga animal sila.” (The soldiers are telling a lie that he is a collector.  They said he was kidnapped by the NPA, that’s not true; he has not left our barangay for months, years since he is at school.  The soldiers are just making up stories to blame the NPA. They are animals).*

 Christopher said. Christopher also said that the incident happened after he left on March 17 to Bukidnon, their former residence, to get Balong’s school documents from his previous school, Barangay Guinoyruan Elementary School as part of the requirements for his graduation.*

This is only one of many incidents where the AFP has used brazen lies or tried to invent things to muddy the name of the NPA. Clearly, they are hard pressed to get their hands on anything they could use for propaganda.

SHAME ON YOU AFP!

*(from news item http://davaotoday.com/main/2014/03/26/wrongly-labelled-captured-npa-child-soldier-go-home-graduation-2/

Ang panitik bilang tunay na sandata sa himagsikan

Posted by
Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 24032014

Halaw sa Pinoy Weekly kolum  ATTACKKK! ni Mark Angeles,  http://pinoyweekly.org/new/2014/03/mula-kay-andang/

Sa buwan ng kababaihan at ika-45 taon ng hukbo ng pulang himagsikan, narito ang isang matamis na bunga ng diwa ni  Ka Eduardo “Eddik” Soriano. Magandang talakayin ito dahil sa pagkakahuli kina Benito at Wilma Tiamson kasama ng anim pang iba sa Cebu. 

Si Ka Eddik ay nasa Camp Crame sa Maynila ngayon, nananatiling nakakulong gayong bilang consultant ng NDFP, ay matagal na dapat siyang nakalaya sa bisa ng Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees (JASIG). Ang pagturing kay Ka Eddik at sa iba pang mga bilanggong politikal ay malinaw na paglabag sa karapatang pantao.

Bukod sa pagsulat ng mga polyeto, marami din tulang sinulat si ka Eddik at isa dito ang magandang tula tungkol sa mgsa kababaihang mandirigma ng Hukbong Bayan, na tulad sa karaniwan ng kanyang mga akda ay  isinulat sa isang mumurahing art paper

Para sa mga Kababaihang Pulang Mandirigma

Isang munting dalaga mula sa kanayunan
Pinukaw ng kaapihan, pinagulang ng kahirapan
Nakibaka para sa lupang sakahan, tanging pag-asang tangan
Nagpasyang sumanib sa Hukbong Bayan.

Isang babaeng manggagawa sa pabrika ng tela
Inapi’t pinangsamantalahan ng ganid na kapitalista
Nakipagkaisa sa uri ng magsasaka
Nagpasyang sumanib sa Hukbong Bayan.

Isang babaeng aktibistang mag-aaral sa pamantasan ng Estado nagmula
Namulat sa mga turo ng pambansang demokrasya
Pinatatag ng kanyang pag-integra sa masa
Nagpasyang sumanib sa Hukbo ng masa.

Isang magandang propesyunal na dilag mula sa sentrong syudad
Disgustado sa kawalan ng pantay na kabuhayan sa gitna ng prosperidad
Napukaw, naorganisa, namobilisa’t nakibaka
Nagpasyang sumanib sa Hukbo ng masa.

 Isang taimtim at laking-kumbentong dalaga
Bihasa sa teolohiya, natutong magmahal sa sangkatauhan
Nagagap ang radikal na pagbabagong kailangan ng lipunan
Nagpasyang sumanib sa Hukbong Bayan.

Isang batang ina mula sa komunidad sa kabundukan
Habang nag-iipon ng pagkain para sa pamilya maghapon
Ginahasa ng mga pasistang sundalong nag-ooperasyon
Nagpasyang tumulong at maghatid ng mga sulat para sa Hukbong Bayan.

Isang lola mula sa katutubong mamamayan
Kinuba ng bigat ng deka-dekadang pagtatrabaho’t pagpapasan
Nabiktima ng mga mangangamkam ng lupa’t pasistang bayaran
Nagpasyang patuluyin at pakainin sa kubo niya ang Hukbong Bayan.

Sila ang mga bumabangon na mga kababaihang mandirigma ng bayan!
Sila ang mga kababaihang pulang mandirigma ng Bagong Hukbong Bayan!

Missing Malaysian airliner - Record breaking airline snatch!

Posted by
Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 20032014

Airline planes has been hijacked before, some in a most dramatic way. But most are detected almost at once. Ransoms were announced, they were followed by sophisticated search equipments from the ground and at times,  stormed by special operatives on landing.

But when an air snatch has scaped detection by the two of the world’s top surveillance countries with their unparalleled prowess in electronic search and surveillance apparatus who could tell your grandma’s undies wherever she is, that is something else. For twelve days, the Malaysian airliner was missing and not even the US and Chinese satellite surveillance and search gadgets could give any clues on how, what and why. Nobody knows what really happened to the Jumbo jetplane, which is not exactly a grain of corn and if it landed on an airstrip, it could at once be noted.

Not until an ad appeared selling a used airplane black box recorder. It was done by a Saudi Prince who is also an airplane memoribilla collector, the plane was derouted to Saudi Arabia, and for crying out loud, was parked right on his own front yard near Jeddah, KSA!

Prince Sahram Al-Sandshoo of Jeddah was arrested by local law enforcement agencies when the missing plane was discovered in his garden. The Saudi authorities immediately requested a search warrant to enter his 40-acre property on the outskirts of Jeddah, the city he has princed for the past 43 years.. Al-Sandshoo is an experienced pilot and a world-renowned collector of aero-memorabilia, most famous for his acquisition of ‘Wright Flyer’, one of the earliest examples of an aircraft by the Wright brothers.

How the Prince did it still befuddles the Malaysian Airways investigators. They still have no chance to interview the culprit.

In a news conference the Malaysian Prime Minister, Perdana Menteri announced, “We have finally located the missing aircraft in Saudi Arabia. The passengers are all OK and are in good spirits. Apparently the prince fed them a banquet of sheep testicles and wine. We are awfully sorry that we misplaced this aircraft, it’s a mistake anyone can make, we hope you understand. It’s been an unfortunate incident but we cannot be held responsible for thieves.”

The CEO of Malaysian Airways said “We have yet to hear from the thief Al-Sandshoo yet, as he is being kept away from the media by police. We believe that the Boeing 777 was a plane missing from his collection and that was the motivation for the robbery. We hope to speak with the Prince over the next few days and will come back with more.”

Media also involved in Pork related bribes?

Posted by
Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 20032014

DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima (Inquirer file photo)

DPJ is searching the PDAF closets for proofs that top media people has received bribes sourced from the controversal PDAF funds according to DOJ Sec. Leila de Lima after receiving Inqirer reports that three  prominent media personalities received bribes comouflaged as advertising expenses by lawmakers.

Mentioned in the report were TV5 news anchor Erwin Tulfo and GMA7 radio host Carmelo del Prado while the third was unnamed. They reportedly received checks issued from one of the corporate bank accounts of state firm National Agribusiness Corporation, which is under the Department of Agriculture. Tulfo denied the claim while GMA7 said it is looking into the allegations.

Tulfo denied the allegation that he received P245,535 cheque from NABCOR dated March 10 2009, while Magduralang reportedly received at total of P245,535 in three separate cheques dated April 27, May 14 and July 6, 2009.

Allegedly, NABCOR was used as venue of PDAF funded projects under fake NGOs operated by the alleged pork barrel scam queen Jsanet Napoles. 

The information was revealed by principal whistleblower Benhur Luy, who was rescued by Philippine authorities in March 2013 from alleged illegal detention by Napoles and her brother Reynald Lim.

Migrante submits petition to stop Philhealth premium increases

Posted by
 Belatrmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 16/03/2014

Photo: Pher Pasion, Pinoy Weekly

The latest petition against Philhealth premium increase after the Kilusang Mayo Uno ( KMU) and Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) last January  was saubmitted by the world-wide alliance of Ofws Migrante International which includes Migrante Sectoral Party and United Filipinos in Hong Kongh (UNIFIL-HK) asking for the issuance of TRO to stop Philhealth 160% premium hike.

According to Migrante and other’s petition, the Phlhealth premium hikes were in contravention of RA 8042 otherwise called the Migrant’s Act of 1995 as amended by RA 1002. The petitioners hit the absence of consultations with affected parties and the arbitrary impostation of fee increases. It also stressed the the premium increase is unjust for the Ofws.

What is really hard to understand is why are Ofws being obliged to pay Philhealth when the hospitals thast attends tp their health needs in foreign countries are not even accxredited by Phjilhealth since they are within their jurisdiction.

Garry Martinez, Chairman of Migrante, explained that, firstly, recruiting agencies has begun exacting the premium fee increase from Ofws even without any memo from the POEA, secondly, it must not be mandatory. The majority of Ofws have already health insurance being paid by their employers, as mandated by the laws in receiving countries. Also, they are being obliged to pay the OWWA fee which includes health insurance. Obliging the Ofws to pay the Philhealth ius repetitive payment for a service which is supposed to be for free, thus rendering the migrant workers cashcows of the government.

The government was saying that ”Ofws should be thankful that they do not have to use Philhealth because they don’t get sick and they are helping their fellow workers who do.”  There is no problem with the helping. The problem there is that Philhealth itself is the source of corruption, explained Martinez.

It must be remembered that lately, Philhealth gave its employees and officials incentive pay or bonuses totaling to P1.6B while the paying members cannot even properly avail of the services when they need it. 

Of course, the family of workers and Ofws may use the services of Pilhealth, but what is not right is making it mandatory. It could be considered legal heist or a clear extortion on departing Ofws who has not even started earning something.

The Ofws has already done their part in the creation of wealth for the nation. They have sent a prodigious amount in more than US$20 of billion in remittances, is it not enough that Ofws still has to suffer more? 

Gestapo methods to discourage typhoon-hit villagers from joining rallies in Davao

Posted by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy \14/o3/2014

Photo: www.gmanetwork.com 

A baranggay captain and an army officer discouraged the villagers of typhoon Pablo-hit town of Cateel, Davao Oriental from joining a rally last February that demanded  demanded “fair distribution of food and other relief materials”.

The said rally was organized by the group Barug Katawhan, an organization formed by the typhoon Pablo themselves. One of their rallies last year ended in a forcible taking of relief goods from inside a temporary storage area in the regional office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

 All of those  who attended the rally were invited by their barangay captain to a meeting in March 2. They have an attendance sheet and all of us got letters with our names on it.

One of the villagers who was invited and attended the meeting said the barangay captain allegedly told them in vernacular “sa pag-adto namo diri, nagpakauwaw ra daw mi dili lang sa barangay apan sa tibuok Davao Oriental (when we went in Davao City, we put our barangay and the whole Davao Oriental to shame). They were also cautioned told us not to join rallies particularly  those organized by Barug Katawhan

A female resident of Baranggay Taytayan told the barangay captain that they “would not stop our participation in Barug Katawhan until we get our demands.” However, it was the the soldier, a certain Lieutenat Soquilla who answered with a warning in vernacular that “siguradaha lang nga sa inyong pag-adto ang inyong mga anak dili mabutang sa kaalutan, mao na iyang sulti (Just make sure that your children will not be put in harm’s way, that’s what he (Soquilla) he said).

When asked how she took the alleged soldier’s statement, she said that “mura kog gihadlok, nganong moingon siya atimana imong kabataan, kinsa mang inahan dili? “Sa pagpaniid nako niya, mura man mi niyag giingnan nga naay mahitabo sa among mga anak (When I observe him, it seems he is warning us that something will happen to our children),” she added.

Shesaid she also finds it “suspicious that we are called for a meeting but what happened was not a meeting but they were telling us not to join Barug Katawhan anymore.”

What the army lieutenant has clearly implied was that they have to bring their children to a place out of reach by the military before they decide to join any manifestation because something ma happen to them otherwise.

More than being told not to go to rallies anymore, one of the the villagers claimed he was also hit by a village leader, where he named him when he filed a complaint with the police in the area. He said former Purok Leader Joseph Juanillo hit him in the stomach last March 11”. Juanillo “was particularly angry because I was one of those who complained about the favoritism in the distribution of relief goods in the purok.”

He showed the interviewer a request by the Cateel Police Station to the Rural Health Unit of Cattel for a “medico-legal certification”. The request said that he was “boxed several times hitting the left abdominal part of his body by a person known as Joseph Juanillo.” The police office request that they be provided with a copy of the result as they will use it for their investigation. He claimed that relatives, friends and those close to the barangay officials were often given priority to receive first the relief goods and other assistance from the government.” She said that “from the DSWD, the relief goods are given to barangay level officials then to purok level for distributions”.

The system worsened during the election in 2013 with a “color coding” scheme.

“Green means you are for the incumbent, yellow is neutral and red is opposing party. The green gets favored in terms of relief,” she said.

Barug Katawhan spokesperson Karlos Trangia said that “such system of inefficiency, favoritism and militarization of relief has been the problem of the Typhoon Pablo victims of Davao Oriental. Two years after, we are still very short of food and our homes are still in tent which drips even during light rains.”

“These are the legitimate calls which Barug members carry with them when they go to rallies in the first place, to demand that a more sincere and realistic system be put in place. It’s the government’s role but it failed,” said Trangia.

Trangia said that government agencies “should not wait or respond only because victims rally.”

Source: http://davaotoday.com/main/2014/03/14/davao-oriental-typhoon-victims-discouraged-from-joining-protest-rallies/

Massacre of indigenous - the AFP did it again in Abra!

Posted by 
Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 13/03/2014

Freddie Ligiw, Abra indigenous murdered in Abra province

Freddie Ligiw, Eddie Ligiw and their father Licuben Ligiw went missing since March 2 and found dead in a shallow grave near their farm hut on March 8. They were in fetal position and piled one after the other. All of them were tied -up and Freddie was gagged. Media reports quoted military officials saying that the three victims were killed by the NPA and Freddie was a former member of the group who surrendered last March 2011.

The claims of the military was belied by the numerous tell-tale boot-prints on the soil, though slightly obscured by prints of bare foots but not completely cancelled.

US Army combat boot prints

The rights group Cordillera Human Rights Alliance (CHRA) also denied that the three were victims of the NPA. “We do not subscribe to the AFP’s claim that the massacre was perpetrated by the NPA,” said Audrey Beltran, deputy secretary general of CHRA.

Beltran observed that the NPA has been gaining broader support from the Cordillera peoples. “ It is a well known fact: The NPA will not massacre civilians as this would result to losing their so-called mass base, apart from being known of their strict adherence to International Humanitarian Law,” said Beltran.

The group accused the 41st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army as behind the killings. On February 19, the 41st IB conducted a military operation in the area and took Freddie  with them to serve as a guide in the military operation against the NPA. The CHRA claimed that Freddie was due to file a human rights violation report about his ordeal on March 4.

 Rebel executions is a worn-out lie of the AFP, meant to overshadow the fact that the AFP is victimizing unarmed civilians under its counter-insurgency program Oplan Bayanihan,” added Piya Macliing Malayao, spokesperson of Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP).

An indigenous leader herself, Malayao stressed that the three victims were civilians who were active in community struggles. The Ligiw’s belongs to the Tingguian and Binodngan tribe and members of Anakbayan and the local peasant group Kastan.

 Vencer Crisostomo, Anakbayan chairperson, condemned the killing. “Given the recent attacks in the mainstream media by members of the military against Anakbayan, there is clearly only one group in the entire country with an interest in assassinating our members,”

For his part, Anakbayan USA National Chairperson Yves Nibungco said, “The murder of Freddie and his family is part of a disturbing trend of state-sponsored violence against activists since Aquino came into power in 2009.”

JUSTICE FOR FERMIN, EDDIE AND LICUBEN LIGIW

MAKE 41SY IB OF THE FASCIST AFP PAY FOR THEIR CRIMES IN ABRA!

DRIVE THE MILITARY OUT OF THE VILLAGES!

OUST THE KILLER BS AQUINO REGIME!

Remembering Bud Dajo

Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 11/03/2014

The first battle at Bud Dajo happened during the final days of General Leonard Wood's term as governor of the Moro Province  fought by the United States Army against native Moros in March 1906, during the Moro Rebellion phase of the Philippine–American War and was a counter insurgency action. While fighting was limited to ground action on Jolo Island in the Sulu Archipelago,

It was characterized by an overwhelming superiority in firepower by the Americans who were inderior in numbers and the moros while superior in numbers were armed only with spears and bladed hand weapons called kris or kalis and barungs. The description of the engagement as a battle is disputed because of both the overwhelming firepower of the attackers and the lopsided casualties. The conflict, especially the final phase of the battle, is also known as the Moro Crater Massacre

During this battle, 790 men and officers, under the command of Colonel J.W. Duncan, assaulted the volcanic crater of Bud Dajo (Tausūg:Būd Dahu), which was populated by 800 to 1000 Moro villagers, including women and children. Theposition held by the Moros was "the strongest which hostiles in the Philippines have ever defended against American assault.".  Although the battle was a victory for the American forces, it was also an unmitigated public relations disaster. It was the bloodiest of any engagement of the Moro Rebellion, with only six of the hundreds of Moro coming out of the battle alive  Estimates of American casualties range from fifteen  to twenty-one killed and seventy-five wounded.

Wood's term was a time of great reform. Some of these reforms, including the abolition of slavery and the imposition of the cedula - a registration poll tax - were less than popular with his Moro subjects. The cedula was especially unpopular, since the Moros interpreted it as a form of tribute, and Moro participation in the cedula was very low even after 30 years of American occupation. These reforms, coupled with the general resentment of foreign Christian occupiers, created a tense and hostile atmosphere during Wood's tenure, and the heaviest and bloodiest fighting during the American occupation of Mindanao and Sulu took place under his watch.

The Moro rebels of Bud Dajo were "the rag-tag-and-bobtail remnants of two or three revolts, the black sheep of a dozen folds, rebels against the poll tax, die-hards against the American occupation, outlaws recognizing no datu and condemned by the stable elements among the Moros themselves

Bud Dajo lies 6 miles (10 km) from the city of Jolo and is an extinct volcano, 2,100 feet (640 m) above sea level, steep, conical, and has thickly forested slopes. Only three major paths lead up the mountain, and the thick growth kept the Americans from cutting new paths. However, there were many minor paths, known only to the Moros, which would allow them to resupply even if the main paths were blocked. The crater at the summit is 1,800 yards in circumference and easily defended. The mountain itself is eleven miles (18 km) in circumference, making a siege difficult.

Over the months that followed, the Bud Dajo rebels were joined by various armed groups, bringing the population of the crater up to several hundred. Water was plentiful, and the rebels began farming rice and potatoes. Scott sent the Sultan of Sulu and other high ranking datus to ask the rebels to return to their homes, but the rebels refused. Wood ordered an attack in February 1906, but Scott convinced him to rescind the order, arguing that the opposition of the surrounding datus would keep the rebels isolated. Scott was worried that an attack on Bud Dajo would reveal just how easily defended it was, encouraging repeats of the standoff in the future. Unfortunately, the Bud Dajo rebels were emboldened by the American inaction, and began raiding nearby Moro settlements for cattle. Although the datus of Jolo continued to condemn the rebels, there began to develop popular support of a general uprising among the Moro commoners of Jolo

On March 2, 1906, Wood ordered Colonel J.W. Duncan of the 6th Infantry Regiment (stationed at Zamboanga, the provincial capital) to lead an expedition against Bud Dajo. Duncan and Companies K and M took the transport Wright to Jolo. Governor Scott sent three friendly datus up the mountain to ask the Bud Dajo Moros to disarm and disband, or at least send their women and children to the valley. They denied these requests, and Scott ordered Duncan to begin the assault.

The assault force consisted of “272 men of the 6th Infantry, 211 [dismounted] men of the 4th Cavalry, 68 men of the 28th Artillery Battery, 51 Sulu Constabulary, 110 men of the 19th Infantry and 6 sailors from the gunboat Pampanga.”  The battle began on March 5, as mountain guns fired 40 rounds of shrapnel into the crater.  On March 6, Wood and Bliss arrived, but left Duncan in direct command. Captain Reeves, the acting governor of the District of Sulu, made one last attempt to negotiate with the rebels.  He failed, and the Americans drew up into three columns and proceeded up the three main mountain paths. The columns were under the command of Major Bundy, Captain Rivers, and Captain Lawton. The going was tough, with the troops ascending a 60% slope, using machetes to clear the path. At 0700, March 7, Major Bundy's detachment encountered a barricade blocking the path, 500 feet (150 m) below the summit. Snipers picked off Moro defenders, and the barricade was shelled with rifle grenades. The barricade was then assaulted in a bayonet charge. The Moros staged a strong defense, then charged with kris (the traditional wavy-edged sword of the Moros) and spear. 200 Moros died in this engagement, and Major Bundy's detachment suffered heavy casualties. Captain Rivers' detachment also encountered a barricade, and took it after several hours of fighting, during which Rivers himself was severely wounded by a spear. Captain Lawton's detachment advanced up a poor path, so steep in places that the Americans proceeded on hands and knees. They were harassed by Moros hurling boulders and occasionally rushing to attack hand-to-hand with krises. Lawton finally took the defensive trenches on the crater rim by storm.

The Moros retreated into the crater, and fighting continued until nightfall. During the night, the Americans hauled mountain guns to the crater's edge with block and tackle. At daybreak, the American guns (both the mountain guns and the guns of the Pampanga) opened up on the Moros' fortifications in the crater. The Moros, armed with krises and spears, refused to surrender and held their positions. Some of the defenders rushed the Americans and were cut down. The Americans charged the surviving Moros with fixed bayonets, and the Moros fought back with their kalis, barung, improvised grenades made with black powder and seashells. The defenders were wiped out. Out of the estimated 800 to 1,000 Moros at Bud Dajo, only 6 survived. Corpses were piled five deep, and many of the bodies were wounded multiple times. According to Hurley, American casualties were 21 killed, 75 wounded. Lane lists them at 18 killed, 52 wounded.  Hagedorn says simply that “one-fourth of the troops actively engaged have been killed or wounded.” By any estimate, Bud Dajo was the bloodiest engagement of the Moro Rebellion.

During the Second Battle of Bud Dajo, in December 1911, General “Black Jack” Pershing (the third and final military governor of the Moro Province) did succeed in besieging Bud Dajo, by cutting a lateral trail which encircled the mountain, 300 yards downhill from the crater rim. This cut off the Moros in the crater from the hidden mountainside paths. However, the tactical situation facing Pershing in 1911 was far different from that facing Wood in 1906.

Source: Wikipedia

Is scarcity of money the real root of crisis?

Belarmino Dabalos Saguing
Rome, Italy 09/03/2014

  
Definitely not. In fact, BS Aquino has boasted that Philippines has plenty of it. But then, why are Filipinos so poor that more than ten percent of Filipinos are forced to migrtate out of the country, an absurd situation in a country which is supposed to have so money that the politicians are even squandering it in useless projects instead of using it for better purposes.

If we look closer to what really is happening, we will realize that there are indeed money. And plenty of it. The problem is not lack of money. The problem is the distribution of wealth. Money are in the hands of a very few and the majority receives only crumbs, so to speak.

In the recent issure of Forbes Magazine, they listed the 50 richest people in the world and not surprising the names of Henry Sy, Andrew Tan, Enrique Razon and George Ty are included. They are valued in billions of dollars.They are also among the proponents of  among the main proponents and benefactors of the MANILA BAY RECLAMATION which will destroy the environment and natural ecosystem of the bay. It will also destroy the sources of food, livelihood and people’s homes living at the shorelines. Their only concern is how to enrich themselves and extract profit at the expense of the workers and the people.

Also, in keeping pace with the bulwark of Philippine politics which is the oligarchs, the Philippine government create laws and policies ensuring rich profits for the few rich families (including the family of the president himself), again, at the expense of the majority of the people.

To make things worst, because the majority of our politicians also have money-oriented minds, they indulge in the vice of corruption. Whatever money was intended for the benefits of the people, it is wasted through misuse of public funds. Public utilities, in the foremost, powert, education and health facilities are privatized, thus our children remains poorly educated, our health services are in shambles and unattainable to the poor, and the prices of services and prime needs are beyond reach of ordinary citizens.

The Filipinos has, by now, learned or learning the truth. It now depends on the people to decide and act to end the absurd economic situation of the Flilipino familes.We even knmow by now that not even the elections can be relied to bring forth the change for better. Elections could and are being rigged by those in the higher ups.

It is now time to raise our fist and get rid of the parasites that run our society and government. The government is putting most of the money in strengthening the military. They will not readily give up their position in their pigsty. But if we believe in democracy, then let us fight for our rights, for rights are not served on silver and gold platters, We have to struggle and fight for it. With our lives, if necessary.