Officers and gentlemen

Photo courtesy of MBLT5
The Manila Times, September 2, 2010


Second lieutenant Marcelo Flores and Private First Class Rhomel
Divina receive their awards from Marine commandant Maj. Gen.
Juancho Sabban for turning down the bribe offered to them by
campaign leaders and supporters during the May 10 elections.
The Marines were guarding polling precincts in Kaumpang
Elementary supporters School in Patikul, Sulu, during the polls.

4 sea marshals to receive citations from IMO

By Evelyn Macairan
The Philippine Star, September 02, 2010

Four sea marshals who showed bravery as they assisted the
passengers of M/V SuperFerry 9 that sank off the Zamboanga
Peninsula last year, will receive commendations from the
London-based International Maritime Organization (IMO) in
November.

Commodore Luis Tuason Jr., Philippine Coast Guard-National
Capital Region (PCG-NCR) district commander, identified the
four as Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Samuel Boniol,
Navy Petty Officer Third Class Anifer Bucao, and Seaman First
Class Oliver Cogo and SPO3 Loreto Justo of the Philippine
National Police-Maritime Group.

Tuason, who also supervises Task Force Sea Marshal, said they
will receive the 2010 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea
on Nov. 24 at the IMO headquarters in London.

The four sea marshals were on board M/V SuperFerry9 when it
capsized off the Zamboanga Peninsula in the early morning of
Sept. 6 last year.

The IMO recognized the sea marshals’ actions and bravery during
the actual evacuation, disembarkation and rescue of the passengers
and crew members of the ill-fated vessel.

Investigation showed that M/V SuperFerry 9, owned by Aboitiz
Transport Services Corp., left General Santos on Sept. 5, 2009 for
a two-day voyage to Iloilo. It was expected to arrive at the Iloilo
port at around 1 p.m. the following day.

However, at around 3:30 a.m. of Sept. 6, the vessel tilted 25
degrees toward its starboard side. The ship’s captain, Jose Yap,
made an “abandon ship” call, but some of the passengers opted to
wait for the sun to shine before jumping into the water, thinking
this would make it easier for search and rescue vessels to see and
rescue them.

The ship sank at around 9:30 a.m. or six hours after the passengers
were told to abandon it. More than 900 people survived while 10 were
confirmed dead.

The four sea marshals assisted the passengers in wearing their life
vests and advised them to stay calm while the life rafts were being
lowered into the water.

They, along with Yap, were the last to jump into the water as the
ship began to sink.

It was PCG commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo, when he was still
a captain, who formed Task Force Sea Marshal in response to threats to passenger ships.

It was created after the bombing of M/V SuperFerry 14 on Feb. 27, 2004, which left 116 people dead.

Elite strike force needs proper equipment, training - Navy

By Alexis Romero
The Philippine Star, August 30, 2010

The Navy believes a strike force to break a hostage crisis
would require adequate equipment and training of troops.

Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo said elite units must
be reconstituted since most of them have been assigned to
conflict-infested areas.

“We have ordered the commanders of our elite Navy Special
Operations Group and Marine Force Reconnaissance to conduct
an inventory of our men and equipment,” he said.

Arevalo said retooling is also important since the military
does not have all the needed equipment and high-powered weapons.

“At present, we do not have suitable high-powered but shorter
automatic weapons, masks, and night fighting systems, among
other state of the art weaponry and equipment they need,” he said.

Arevalo said special forces must also undergo refresher training
to ensure that they can operate in urban areas.

“Our Seal Teams and Force Recon Marines have all been trained
for commando-type operations,” he said.

“However, their present deployments are in combat operations against
the terrorists holed in the jungles of Basilan and Sulu.

“They need to brush up their skills and tactics to reintroduce
them to urban counterterrorist actions.”

Arevalo said the Navy’s elite forces should also undergo train with
the police so they would become a cohesive fighting force.

“We just need some time for training before they can gel and be a
potent anti-terrorist strike force deployable anywhere in the
country at a moment’s notice,” he said.

President Aquino has proposed the creation of an elite task force
of military and police following the bloody hostage crisis in Manila
last week.

P1 M HALAGA NG TROSO NASABAT

Ni Edwin Balasa
Abante, Thursday, August 26, 2010

Umaabot sa P1 mil­yong halaga ng iba’t ibang uri ng troso ang
nasabat ng mga tauhan ng Philippine Navy sa ginawang magkasunod
na operasyon sa lalawigan ng Sorsogon at Quezon.


Ayon kay Ensign Denver Ramon, tagapagsalita ng Naval Forces
Southern Luzon (NAVFORSOL), nakuha nila ang iba’t ibang uri
ng kahoy sa dalawang lalawigan kamakalawa subalit wala silang
nadakip na mga suspek matapos na makatunog ang mga ito sa
operasyon.


Unang nasabat ng mga tauhan ng Philippine Navy ang mga kahoy sa
bayan ng Balogo sa lalawigan ng Sorsogon at agad na sinunod ang
kanilang operasyon sa Real, Quezon.


Nabatid na isang tip ang kanilang natanggap mula sa mga concerned
citizen na mayroon umanong ibibyaheng ile­gal na troso sa nasabing
lalawigan kaya agad na nakipag-ugnayan ang mga operatiba sa
Community Environmental Resources Office upang isagawa ang
operasyon.


Subalit wala ng inabot na mga suspek ang awtoridad nang isagawa
ang raid kaya posible umanong nakatanggap na rin ng tip ang mga ito
sa gagawing pagharang sa kanila kaya iniwan na lang ang mga kahoy
at nagsitakas na ang mga ito.


Dinala ang mga nakumpiskang troso sa tanggapan ng Department of
Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) habang patuloy na
nagsasagawa ng follow-up operation ang awtoridad sa posibleng
pagdakip sa mga suspek.