The government on Monday hinted at a rift within the so-called “reaffirmist faction” of the Communist Party of the Philippines that could be influencing the stalled peace negotiations between the government and the communist rebels.
Something Alex Padilla told me years ago makes it clear that he has the toughest job in government – but also the clearest sense of why that job is important. “Two related truths I believe in on this matter are these,” he told me in a January 2011 email after he was named head [...]
Last August, Senator Teofisto TG Guingona III gave a powerful and impassioned speech praising heroes who fought against the Marcos tyranny, including two renowned figures of the underground left.
At least 50 representatives of government agencies in the Zamboanga peninsula and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have drafted an action plan to address the heavy influx of Filipino returnees from Sabah, Malaysia.
President Benigno Aquino III’s decision to stay home this Holy Week will give him ample time to agonize over the wisdom of reviving the country’s claim to Sabah.
Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram has not gone back to southern Philippines as Malaysia once claimed, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said on Thursday.
Despite their demonstrated ability to continue kidnapping people, including foreigners, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said Tuesday that the bandit group was now a “marginalized” organization.
After over a month of military operation against Agbimuddin Kiram and his men, Malaysian authorities had declared the crisis in Sabah “under control,’’ Philippine officials said on Sunday.
The head of the new contingent of Malaysian peace monitors in Mindanao is confident that the Sabah conflict will not affect peace negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, saying the talks and the standoff were unrelated.
Amid continuing talks with the Philippine government, a delegation from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is set to fly to Japan next week for a visit seen to “help finalize the Mindanao peace process,” the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday.
The United Nations refugee agency has lauded the Philippine Congress for passing a bill protecting people displaced by conflict and natural disasters, calling the development a “milestone” for a country where an estimated one million people are internally displaced.
The 34th exploratory talks between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) ended in a “technical impasse” even as they “made tremendous gains” in resolving remaining issues related to power-sharing, wealth-sharing and normalization.
