Sabban,PMA'78, named Marines chief

Malaya Wednesday, July 15, 2009 A1

• BY VICTOR REYES

PRESIDENT Arroyo has appointed Maj. Gcn, Juancho Sabban, the commander of the military's Joint Task Force Comet, as commandant of the Marine Corps. Sabban will assume his position on Friday, replacing Maj. Gen. Ben Dolorfino who will take over the Western Mindanao Command on Thursday. Dolorflno will succeed Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga who is retiring. AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner said Sabban's replacement has not been decided. He said three officers were recommended, including Marines vice commander Brig. Gen. Natalio Encanna. Told that Sabban has a history of military adventurism (he took part in 1989 coup attempt), Brawner said: "There might have been instances in his career where he went against the rules and regulations ...but everybody is given the chance to prove himself."

Sabban belongs to Philippine Military Academy Class '78 where the President is an honorary member. Task Force Comet was instrumental in the recovery of Italian Eugenio Vagni, a worker of the International Committee of the Red Cross, who was released by his Abu Sayyaf captors Sunday dawn. Sabban was among many military officers who launched the December 1989 coup which was thwarted by the intervention of the United States. Among those who also took part in the coup were former First Scout Ranger Regiment chief Brig. Gen. Danilo Urn and Marine Co\. Ariel Querubin. Both are under detention, facing court, martial for involvement in the failed attempt to overthrow the government in February 2006

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Sabban to head Marines

A2 WEDNESDAY July 15, 2009
By: Florante S. Solerin and Joyce Pañares

AN OFFICER who joined the bloodiest coup attempt against President Corazon Aquino in

1989 has been named the new commandant of the Marines. Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, outgoing Task Force Comet commander, assumes his new position on Friday, replacing Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, the incoming head of the Western Mindanao Command whose leader, Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, is retiring on Thursday. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said President Arroyo signed Sabban's appointment Monday night. Sabban graduated from the Philippine Military Academy in 1978, and Dolorfino in 1976. President Arroyo has also appointed Manila Regional Trial Court judge Manuel Barrios as associate justice of the Court of Appeals. Barrios was among the judges nominated by the Supreme Court's Judicial and Bar Council to fill the vacancies in the appellate court. Sabban's appointment came in the wake of the release of Italian Red Cross worker Eugenio Vagni, who was freed by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu on Sunday. Vagni was kidnapped along with two other Red Cross workers in January, but his co-workers were released in April. Sabban's Comet was tasked to go after the AI Qaida-linked Abu bandits operating in Sulu and Basilan. The military could not immediately give a shortlist of candidates for Sabban's successor.

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Deployment of Marine soldiers as Cotabato peacemakers urged

14 Manila Bulletin wednesday, july 15, 2009

By NONOY E. LACSON

COTABATO CITY- Businessmen including church leaders and local government officials yesterday asked President Arroyo to send a contingent of Marine soldiers to this city to help

policemen and Army soldiers prevent the escalation of hostilities here particularly kidnapping and bombings. The Cotabato Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, religious leaders and local officials said they are confident that the peace and order situation would normalize if members of Philippine Marines will serve as peacekeepers in the city. It was gathered that President Arroy on is scheduled to visit this city on Friday to meet with religious leaders, Army and police officials and local government executives in an effort to address the security problem of the city. Earlier, at least six persons were killed and 52others were injured when a man planted an improvised explosive device IED) near a stall fronting the Cotabato Cathedral last July 5. As an aftermath of the bombing, the business community suspended their operations last Friday in what they described as "indignation protest" against terrorism and other

forms o£ violence that are taking place in this city. "We feel secured if the Marines are seen on the streets, there's no abuses too," a Filipino-Chinese trader said. "Like in the '90s, when the Marines were here, many kidnappers and bombers were neutralized," he added. Members of the city council here favor the deployment of battle tested and disciplined Marine soldiers in this city as a peacemakers. Maguindanao Rep. Didagen Dilangalen also join the people here in calling Mrs. Arroyo to deploy a contingent of Marine soldiers here aimed at thwarting the spate of violence besetting the city. . "I have been proposing that idea, but there are people who opposed to it," Dilangalen said, without naming them.

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Navy officer appointed to anti-piracy task force

4 Manila Bulletin Tuesday, July 14, 2009

By ROY C. MABASA

A Philippine Navy officer has been appointed by the government to act as liaison to the multinational task force conducting maritime security and anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. The appointment of a naval liaison was an initiative of Vice President and presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers Noli de Castro as the Philippines' contribution to international efforts to stem piracy. However, the identity of the officer has yet to be disclosed until his actual deployment in Manama, Bahrain where he will work with the Anti-Piracy Task Force under the United States 7th Fleet. De Castro cited the "urgency" in assigning a Filipino naval attaché in the Anti-Piracy Task Force to help monitor the condition of Filipino seamen held hostage by the pirates and immediately coordinate assistance to the seafarers. He said the assignment of a naval attache also aims to establish a command that will provide guidance and safety instructions to vessels with Filipino crewmembers, passing the danger zone of the Gulf of Aden. De Castro also said efforts to secure the safe and early release of 44 Filipino seamen held hostage in Somalia are ongoing. "We are aware that negotiations continue and that all 44 Filipinos are unharmed. We continue to hope and pray for a positive outcome," De Castro said

As a policy, the Philippine government does not negotiate directly with pirates. However, the government coordinates closely with concerned foreign authorities and local manning agencies of the hijacked vessels to secure the early and safe release of Filipino seafarers. Until the security situation has stabilized, the Department of Foreign Affairs has recommended the imposition of a ban on the deployment of Filipino seafarers in the Gulf of Aden and surrounding areas.

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