Here’s an abandoned New People’s Army camp in Abra. You can read the story of how it got abandoned here.
So the longest running communist insurgency in Asia (the world?) continues and it continues to cost lives and money which should be spent on more important things.
Sgt. Michael Tayaotao may be the first Igorot soldier to die while serving his country in Iraq. Our condolences to his family.
We hope to give you more details as we get them. [Edited: Link to article removed]. Photo at right is courtesy of the Tayaotao family via SFGate.com.
Our kailiyan Silvestre Afable (first from left; you can read our first blog entry about him here) resigned as chair of the government peace panel which is undertaking peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). According to Newsbreak, Afable resigned because of “lack of support from the President“. Fr. Eliseo Mercado, a known Mindanao peace advocate, has been appointed to replace Afable.
Some reactions on Afable’s resignation:
Steve Rheault Kihara of the Canadian Embassy: “That is regrettable. He was a key factor in the very real progress so far and he is deeply respected by both sides as well as by the international community.”
It is encouraging that AGI, a local Baguio band, decided to pay tribute to our elders who fought the good fight during World War II. It is not often that we hear of the heroism of the Igorot soldier, described by Gen. Douglas MacArthur as “those gallant Igorots” (see below), so it’s good that Agi made this tribute video. WARNING: Some depiction of violence.