U.S. Task Force Mindanao Meets the Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development Task Force

By Lt. Col. Michelle Dietrich, JSOTF-P Public Affairs.

U.S. Task Force Mindanao (TFM) Commander Major Phillip Brown and TF Mindanao CAT-A personnel met the Presidential Task Force on Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development (PTF MRBRD) on 9 February 2011, 09:00 AM held at the Rio Grande de Mindanao Conference Hall, NEDA XII Building, ARMM Compound, Cotabato City.

Joining PTF MRBRD Chairperson, Cotabato Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, DD, were the 6^th Infantry Division Philippine Army Commanding General Anthony Alcantara, North Cotabato Provincial Governor Emmylou “Lala” Taliño Mendoza; DPWH Undersecretary for Mindanao Romeo S. Momo; and, Mr. Nathaniel Campo. Also in attendance were approximately 60 other stakeholders in the multi-faceted  development project.

The Commander was accompanied by members of Task Force Mindanao, namely: Civil Affairs Team Leader Lieutenant Colonel Ed Oliveros; and Task Force Engineer Lieutenant Gabriel Miritello.

The PTF MRBRD is tasked to coordinate the implementation of the Rehabilitation and Long-Term Development Plan for the Mindanao River Basin.  It was formed in 2008 after Typhoon Frank caused extensive flooding accounting for more than a billion pesos worth of damage to infrastructure, livestock, and agriculture.  Attending the meeting provided Task Force Mindanao the opportunity to determine potential support relationships critical in completing a large scale development project. The potential positive impacts of completing the MRBRD are significant, and present a real opportunity to stabilize the physical infrastructure within Mindanao.

Task Force Mindanao and its higher headquarters, Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines (JSOTF-P) works together with the Armed Forces of the Philippines to fight terrorism, support its Internal Peace and Security Plan, and deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Mindanao at the request of the Philippine Government.

U.S. troops join rescue in flood-hit Philippines

By Elena L. Aben and Associated Press

JOLO, Philippines -- U.S. troops on a training mission in the Philippines lent their rubber boats Friday to help thousands of villagers escape waist-deep floodwaters that have inundated a southern island, killing at least five people.

A weeklong downpour culminated in raging flash floods that surged through the streets of Jolo's coastal provincial capital Thursday night, sweeping away stilt houses and damaging hundreds of homes, officials and residents said. The floodwaters and sea surges reached 6 feet (1.8 meters) in some areas, the Red Cross reported.

At least five people were killed, including two children, Jolo Mayor Hussin Amin said.
"In my 13 years in politics, I have never experienced anything like what happened last night," Amin told The Associated Press. "We are calling on all good Samaritans to extend support to the people of Jolo."

U.S. troops stationed at Jolo airport, which remained open, joined Philippine marines and civilian volunteers in rubber boats to rescue some of those trapped. Hundreds of American troops have been training Filipino soldiers who battle Muslim militants hiding in the jungles of Jolo and on nearby islands.

"The water was too deep in some areas that even our trucks could not reach these areas so we had to deploy rubber boats," said Col. Remigio Valdez, a Philippine marine brigade commander on Jolo.

Jolo town, 610 miles (980 kilometers) south of Manila, "is like a catch basin surrounded by mountains so the water from the rains just surged down the slopes into town," Valdez said.

Amin said the floods have affected about 3,500 people in the town, which has a population of about 150,000. He said he ordered the distribution of rice porridge to those in need because shops were closed and the commercial center flooded.

Electricity was cut off and vessels stayed away from the island's port because of big waves.

Disaster officials said at least nine other people have died in floods elsewhere in the Philippines this week, adding to more than 70 lives lost in heavy rainfall between late December and the end of January.

President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday ordered a logging moratorium in the country, blaming the devastating floods on unmitigated logging and deforestation that experts say contribute to soil erosion and trigger mudslides.

Illegal logging is a recurring problem in the country. The U.S.-based environmental group Conservation International says that the Philippines is one of the world's 10 most threatened forest hotspots.


http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/302515/us-troops-join-rescue-flood-victims-jolo

Phil-US military’s media center opens in Zamboanga City

By Julie Alipala, Inquirer Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The Philippine and US militaries have set up a media center inside the Western Mindanao Command here.

Captain Robert Gusentine, commander of the Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP), said the center's immediate goal would be “to provide media a home inside the base,” and, in the future, establish connection with the “upcoming AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] national plan for peace and security.”

The media center is a one-room building inside the Wesmincom headquarters here.

“With the forthcoming AFP news approach to peace in Mindanao, you will see a lot more information provided proactively. It will also provide an outlet to meet together. (This center will serve as ) work center, work stations and for media to gain interviews,” he added.

Brigadier General Gerardo Layug, deputy commander of the Western Mindanao Command, attended the inauguration of the media center on Monday night, but could not say anything about the AFP's new national plan.

“I am not aware of it,” he said.

He said the media center was established to “keep the public informed through the media and make access to information easier for media.”

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20101117-303793/Phil-US-militarys-media-center-opens-in-Zamboanga-City

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Leslie Bassett turns over school building in Basilan

By Kates Allas, Zambo Times

Way back 11th of May 2010 during the heat of election campaign a group of unidentified fully armed men raided Basilan and burned 5 different schools that includes Caddayan Elementary School, at Brgy. Caddayan, Akbar. The effects to the community is traumatic, children were characterized by feelings of loss and helplessness.

After assessing the damages to the school buildings and the estimate and scope of works to be done, the Civil Military Operations of 1st Marine, 32nd Infantry (DAREDEVIL) Battalion, Brigade, Phil. Navy 1st Naval Construction Battalion and Civil Affairs

Team-732 of JSOTF(P), DECS-ARMM and Local Gov't of Akbar Officials joined forces to do the necessary undertakings in re-building the school.

Last October 8, 2010 the school that was onced burned was now newly constructed and turned-over to the local folks of Caddayan by no less than the US Chargé d’Affaires Ms.Leslie Bassett.

During the ceremony Ms. Bassett was accompanied by the Deputy Mission Director, USAID-GEM Mrs. Elzadia Washington and MinDa Chair-Sec. Luwalhati Antonino.

The school project costs P879,000.

The dignitaries and guest are welcomed by Mayor Hon. Alih Sali, together with the following:

Mun. Administrator, Engr. Tahir Latip Mrs. Nurhaya Abdurahim-Division Superintendent, DEPED-ARMM, BGEN. Eugenio Clemen, MGen. Benjamin Dolorfino, JSOTF Capt. Robert Gusentine.

http://www.zambotimes.com/archives/25319-U.S.-Charge-dAffaires-Leslie-Bassett-turns-over-school-building-in-Basilan.html

America's forgotten frontline: The Philippines

By Adrienne Mong, NBC News Correspondent

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39444744/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

Honoring the Fallen

By Mass Communication Specialist 2^nd Class (AW) Joshua Scott, Joint Special Operations Task Force - Philippines Public Affairs

U.S. and Philippine servicemembers honored their fallen comrades-in-arms today during a memorial service held at the base chapel at Western Mindanao Command.

Since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom – Philippines (OEF-P), 566 servicemembers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and 17 servicemembers assigned to Joint Special Operations Task Force – Philippines (JSOTF-P) have given their lives in the fight against terrorism.

“This morning we honor the great men who made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight against terrorism,” said Lt. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino, Commander, Western Mindanao Command. “These men died protecting, not only the interests of our respective countries, but the interests of all peace-loving people in the world. They died defending our way of life … families, morality, values, ideas, but most importantly, freedom from living in terror.”

The memorial concluded with a 21-gun salute, performed by a combined AFP and U.S. honor guard, as well as the presentation of the American and Philippine flags.

“We will never forget, and we will never let them down. I salute the fallen. I salute those of you who gathered here today, I salute the American and Filipino families who just as bravely, offered their sacrifices for freedom. You are all heroes to me,” said Capt. Robert V. Gusentine, reading a remark by Harry K. Thomas Jr., Ambassador to the Philippines.

“Our fallen comrades may be gone, but I am sure their legacy lives on, and they will never be forgotten,” said Dolorfino. “Their names will be forever etched in the history of this command. They are our heroes; they did not die in vain.”

Airdrop Operation

The Philippine Air Force has a new capability that has been in the works for a very long time. On September 16 in a joint operation with a Philippine Navy aircraft at Jolo airfield, Philippine Air Force Forward Air Controllers controlled a lived drop zone where two bundles of humanitarian relief bundles were dropped in a Low Cost Low Altitude (LCLA) airdrop operation. Since June of 2009, the Philippine Air Force Liaison Coordination Element, an element of the Joint Special Operation Task Force-Philippines, has been advising the Philippine Navy in LCLA operations so that they would eventually have this ability to support their own ground troops as well as provide humanitarian relief to isolated locations. This operation was also the first inter-service (Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force) airdrop operation of its kind at a forward deployed location.