Philippine troops arrested 62 people and discovered another major weapons cache yesterday after martial law was imposed in a southern province following the country’s worst political massacre.
Thousands of troops, backed by tanks and warplanes, have taken control of Maguindanao Province in a government crackdown on the powerful Ampatuan clan, accused in the Nov. 23 killing of 57 people traveling in a convoy of a political rival. The clan has denied involvement.
Late on Friday, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo imposed martial law in Maguindanao — the first use of martial law in the Philippines since late dictator Ferdinand Marcos imposed it nationwide more than 30 years ago. The move was announced on national television on Saturday morning.
The government said it feared the Ampatuans, who have ruled unopposed with an iron fist over predominantly Muslim Maguindanao for years, were fomenting rebellion in response to the crackdown on them since the massacre.
Those arrested so far include the clan’s patriarch, at least six other family members, and clan followers, national police chief Jesus Verzosa said.
Thirty-nine high-powered firearms and crates of ammunition were dug up yesterday at a farm believed to be owned by the Ampatuans near the provincial capital of Shariff Aguak, army Brigadier General Gaudencio Pangilinan said.
Army troops and police were pursuing about 4,000 armed followers of the Ampatuans, some reportedly massing in eight Maguindanao towns. Security forces have sealed off Maguindanao’s exit points and mounted checkpoints, police Director Andres Caro said.
Pangilinan told reporters Ampatuan’s followers were capable of carrying out bombings, arson attacks and abductions.
Fearing violence, some residents have fled towns in Maguindanao, about 880km south of Manila. Heavily armed troops manned checkpoints and frisked motorists along the main highway that cuts through farmland, hills and marshland in the province.
The martial law proclamation allows troops to make arrests without court warrants.
“I advise you to stay put and be calm or go about your daily chores,” regional military commander Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer said.
“Only those having to do with the massacre will be arrested and their houses searched,” Ferrer said.
Democracy advocates have accused Arroyo of overreacting. A group of human rights lawyers has argued there are insufficient grounds for martial law and plan to challenge it at the Supreme Court today.
Government and military officials defended Arroyo, saying she acted decisively to bring suspects into custody and head off a rebellion by the Ampatuan clan. The Ampatuans are notorious for running a large private army.
They helped Arroyo win crucial votes from Maguindanao in 2004, but her party expelled the clan after the massacre.
Among the family members being held, Andal Ampatuan Sr, a three-term provincial governor, and his son Zaldy were taken into military custody on Saturday. Two other sons were also detained.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday lavished US President Donald Trump with praise and vows of a “golden age” of ties on his visit to Tokyo, before inking a deal with Washington aimed at securing critical minerals. Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — pulled out all the stops for Trump in her opening test on the international stage and even announced that she would nominate him for a Nobel Peace Prize, the White House said. Trump has become increasingly focused on the Nobel since his return to power in January and claims to have ended several conflicts around the world,
GLOBAL PROJECT: Underseas cables ‘are the nervous system of democratic connectivity,’ which is under stress, Member of the European Parliament Rihards Kols said The government yesterday launched an initiative to promote global cooperation on improved security of undersea cables, following reported disruptions of such cables near Taiwan and around the world. The Management Initiative on International Undersea Cables aims to “bring together stakeholders, align standards, promote best practices and turn shared concerns into beneficial cooperation,” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said at a seminar in Taipei. The project would be known as “RISK,” an acronym for risk mitigation, information sharing, systemic reform and knowledge building, he said at the seminar, titled “Taiwan-Europe Subsea Cable Security Cooperation Forum.” Taiwan sits at a vital junction on
RSS