[kaotic]

Bad vibes in the Phils

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/02/asia/p...avao-city/

Quote:

CNN)At least 12 people have been killed and 60 injured in an explosion at a night market in Davao City in the Philippines, an official told CNN Philippines.

Chief Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan, the director of Region 11 of the Philippine National Police, told CNN Philippines that 10 people had died at the scene, and two had died after being taken to the Southern Philippines Medical Center.

He said the situation was fluid, and a maximum deployment of police and armed forces had been called in to secure the region.
He asked the public to be vigilant, adding that the government was on the watch "in case there are other attacks."

He said Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, whose hometown is Davao City, was heading to the explosion site. It occurred at a busy night market known to attract thousands, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.
Paolo Duterte, Davao City's vice mayor and the President's son, told CNN Philippines that 60 people had been injured in the blast.

Authorities were still trying to confirm the cause of the explosion, he said. While the city was not on lockdown, there was an alcohol ban in place, and officials had asked people in the area to return to their homes.

Noel Vilanueva, medical director of Davao Doctors Hospitals, told CNN Philippines that four patients had been brought to the facility, one of whom required surgery for a leg injury. That patient had metal fragments in the wounds.

'I am really scared'

Leonor Rala, a 19-year-old medical technology student at San Pedro College, told CNN that she was in her dorm and about to go to bed when she heard an explosion.

She initially thought something had fallen on the roof of a neighboring building, then went down to survey the scene of the blast, about 100 yards from her dorm. Emergency teams were already in place.

"I am really scared to go out," she said. "The roads are closed and nobody's allowed to go out of the city. There are bomb threats everywhere and some of my schoolmates are victims of the explosion and now dead."

She continued: "We're very terrified because Davao City was known to be the safest city in the Philippines and a situation like this is very rare."

Instead of staying put in our dorm, we're here. pic.twitter.com/sTpBkoWZlP
— Leonor (@leonorrala) September 2, 2016

Witness Janoz Laquihon told CNN Philippines he was at the scene at the time of the blast.

"I saw some smoke. I thought it's just barbecue. A few minutes later...a big blast."

Witness Father Jboy Gonzales told CNN Philippines that he saw more than 30 casualties being loaded onto ambulances.

"[A] lot of people are wounded, shocked, traumatized," he said.
Davao City Government tweeted on its official account: "Let us pray for the victims of this unfortunate incident, especially for those who died."

Let us pray for the victims of this unfortunate incident, especially for those who died. Let us pray for those... https://t.co/8F5Lt6rQ1N
— DavaoCity Government (@DavaoCityGov) September 2, 2016

Duterte, who took office at the end of June, made his name in politics as the mayor of Davao City. His term in office was noted for his hardline stance on drug crime that he has now incorporated into his national policies. It's resulted in more than 1,900 people being killed in a crackdown, which has drawn criticism at home and abroad.

Maria Ressa, executive editor of Philippines news website Rappler, said the blast had occurred amid tensions surrounding Duterte's war on drugs, as well as an ongoing peace process with Muslim militants in the southern Philippines. Philippines troops are trying to crush Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist militant group outside the peace process.

CNN's Steve Visser and Lonzo Cook contributed to this report.

[Cr33pin]

Sad news indeed.... Filipinos in Davao are the most friendly people I have encountered in the world.
RIP to the victims and wishes for a fast recovering for the wounded.

An fuck the people behind this cowardly act against innocents

[britchard]

Will be interested in Duterte's reaction. I suspect he will just 'eliminate' anyone remotely linked to the attack, and commit crackdowns on the Islamist groups in the South. It was in his home city too, and I can see him taking that personally as he loves his city.

[username]

I'm about to go to Davao in about 3 weeks.

Fuck no I'm not cancelling my trip, can't be a wussy when chasing pussy.

[JWLZG]

Them pesky Pastafarians again?

[Enigma]

(09-02-2016 04:28 PM)britchard Wrote:  

Will be interested in Duterte's reaction. I suspect he will just 'eliminate' anyone remotely linked to the attack, and commit crackdowns on the Islamist groups in the South. It was in his home city too, and I can see him taking that personally as he loves his city.

Less than a week before the attack, he committed 9,000 troops to the small archipelago where they operate in response to a recent string of beheadings.

This is a retaliation/desperation on their part.

The group responsible for the bombings and kidnappings in the country are very small, with numbers estimated around 500, and they don't operate on the mainland.

The larger rebel groups don't tolerate them there.

The problem is the islands are covered in jungles and Abu Sayyaf use ransom money and threats of violence to embed themselves in the local communities and constantly replenish their numbers.

[Enigma]

[Tim in real life]

This is too painful to see, as a Filipino. As painful as what I'll say sound, if this were a test to goad Duterte to declare Martial Law, I pray to God Duterte passes it (read: by NOT declaring Martial Law).

[Dr. Howard]

(09-02-2016 04:28 PM)britchard Wrote:  

Will be interested in Duterte's reaction. I suspect he will just 'eliminate' anyone remotely linked to the attack, and commit crackdowns on the Islamist groups in the South. It was in his home city too, and I can see him taking that personally as he loves his city.

It will be interesting. A bombing in Davao is probably means that the MILF (yes real acronym) is up to no good again. They have their own little section of mindinao that was settled via peace treaty in around 2005 I think? (which also makes me laugh at the lady in the article's "safest city" comment. Davao's airport was bombed years ago)

Duerte might declare war of the MILFs...or it may be a crime operation sending him a message that is not islamic at all.

PS. Davao is also the congressional district of Manny Paquiao.

Regardless, sad to see.

[aeroektar]

(09-04-2016 09:04 AM)Dr. Howard Wrote:  

(09-02-2016 04:28 PM)britchard Wrote:  

Will be interested in Duterte's reaction. I suspect he will just 'eliminate' anyone remotely linked to the attack, and commit crackdowns on the Islamist groups in the South. It was in his home city too, and I can see him taking that personally as he loves his city.

It will be interesting. A bombing in Davao is probably means that the MILF (yes real acronym) is up to no good again. They have their own little section of mindinao that was settled via peace treaty in around 2005 I think? (which also makes me laugh at the lady in the article's "safest city" comment. Davao's airport was bombed years ago)

Duerte might declare war of the MILFs...or it may be a crime operation sending him a message that is not islamic at all.

PS. Davao is also the congressional district of Manny Paquiao.

Regardless, sad to see.

So thats what Dan Bilazarians been up to

[Enigma]

(09-04-2016 09:04 AM)Dr. Howard Wrote:  

(09-02-2016 04:28 PM)britchard Wrote:  

Will be interested in Duterte's reaction. I suspect he will just 'eliminate' anyone remotely linked to the attack, and commit crackdowns on the Islamist groups in the South. It was in his home city too, and I can see him taking that personally as he loves his city.

It will be interesting. A bombing in Davao is probably means that the MILF (yes real acronym) is up to no good again. They have their own little section of mindinao that was settled via peace treaty in around 2005 I think? (which also makes me laugh at the lady in the article's "safest city" comment. Davao's airport was bombed years ago)

Duerte might declare war of the MILFs...or it may be a crime operation sending him a message that is not islamic at all.

PS. Davao is also the congressional district of Manny Paquiao.

Regardless, sad to see.

MILF and Abu Sayyaf are not the same group.

Duterte declared war on Abu Sayyaf weeks ago after they beheaded several people, including two Canadians and an 18-year-old Filipino, and they've already claimed responsibility for this bombing.

MILF and MNLF fight Abu Sayyaf constantly, which is why the latter group is limited to the Sulu archipelago and does not operate freely on the mainland. They were created as an offshoot of those rebel groups because they don't believe the same things.

MILF also surrendered hundreds of weapons last year as part of their peace agreement with the government. They have nothing to gain by this type of bombing -- as it only pushes them further from what they want (passing of Bangsmoro Basic Law) -- and it's not their M.O.

[Tim in real life]

As a courtesy to thirsty wankers:

MILF: Moro Islamic Liberation Front
MNLF: Moro National Liberation Front

You're welcome.

[BortimusPrime]

Maybe they could adopt the Bush Administration's terror threat system and have nation-wide MILF alerts.

[Enigma]

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/0...yaf-leader

Quote:

The military forces have matched each sub-leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group with a battalions of troops after the rebels splintered into factions to escape, an official said on Monday.

Maj. Filemon Tan Jr., spokesman of Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), said the manhunt operations are occuring alongside offensive to crush the militants, who have been blamed for the spate of recent kidnappings and beheadings.

"Each battalion is running after different group leaders and the operations there go simultaneously. It's relentless. It's just a matter of time as kung sino and makabunggo agad," Tan told newsmen here.

At least two military brigades with more than 10 battalions have been combing the jungles while additional forces are arriving in Sulu, Tan said.

He said additional three more battalions of troops are on their way to Sulu.

The troops are scattered at certain target areas to look for top Abu Sayyaf men, including senior leaders Radulan Sahiron and Alhabsy Misaya.


"The landscape (in Sulu) now, the Abu Sayyaf group splintered. Their purpose is to evade so that they cannot be traced," Tan said.

The military official said there is a possibility the Abu Sayyaf would be blending in with the civilian populace to escape.

The military official also said they will not hesitate to utilize batteries of cannons if there are areas that could be reached and if ground intelligence reports could confirm the presence of the Abu Sayyaf.

"If there is positive confirmation it will be bombarded with cannons as troops go along with the operation," Tan said.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/812829/dute...abu-sayyaf

Quote:

“If I have to hire the Gurkhas to help us fight the Abu Sayyaf, I am willing to do it,” Piñol quoted Mr. Duterte as saying during the meeting held at Enclaves in Matina, which he had also attended.

He said the President was referring to the Nepali Gurkhas, who had earned the respect of the British for being fearless during the Gorkha War of 1814-1816.

The Nepali Gurkhas were akin to the French Legion, which were close to, but were not considered mercenaries under the Geneva Convention.

Piñol said Mr. Duterte had acknowledged that the Abu Sayyaf and other extremist groups were “products of historical injustices” but their recent actions – such as the beheading of kidnap victims and bomb attacks – called for the use of force.

“There’s no other option. These people are like germs, which must be eliminated,” Piñol quoted the President as saying about the Abu Sayyaf.

“You started this. I wanted to talk to you but you leave me with no choice,” Duterte said, according to Piñol.