A letter from The Concerned Citizens of Basilan regarding arms proliferation in their province

Malamang ito ang isa sa mga tinutukoy ni Sen Trillanes na mga pulitiko sa lokal at ilan sa Malakanyang na may kagagawan sa pagkaka-ambush sa mga marines. Parang pone (chess) na isinakripisyo ang mga marines, pugut ulo at anim na mga bayani, bagong graduate na PMA. Ito'y layuning pag-alabin ang mamamayan at AFP sa isinasalang na "gera kontra terorismo" sa Mindanao.

Kung may mga ganito tayong klaseng pulitiko sa lokal, may Governor Wahab Akbar ng Basilan, Ampatuan ng Maguindanao, mga katulad ni Akbar ng Ilocos Region, Central Luzon at Souhern Tagalog at maraming pang Ampatuan sa buong kapuluan, hindi nga tayo magkakaroon ng kapayapaan-katahimikan, kahit sampung taon (10 years) walang dudang hindi-hindi mareresolba ang insurgency problem sa bansa. -Doy / IPD August 24, 2007

Wednesday, August 8, 2007 http://magdaloparasapagbabago.blogspot.com/2007/08/letter-from-concerned-citizens-of.html

(We received this anonymous email from the Concerned Citizens of Basilan. It was addressed to GMA hoping that her administration will do something about it. Well, let us hope for the best...) This is to respectfully report to Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines, Malacañang, Manila, that: (kuha mula sa: www.basilan.gov.ph/akbar.jpg)
1. Governor Wahab Akbar of the Province of Basilan, was recently engaged in the massive illegal procurement of high-powered firearms and distributed the same to prospective assassins, known notorious killers, criminals and hoodlums, including possibly a number of the Abu Sayyaf Group in the different municipalities in Basilan, specifically the municipalities of: Tipo-Tipo, Al Barkah, Ungkaya Pukan, Sumisip, Maluso, Lantawan, Akbar, and Mohammad Ajul.

2. The said armaments included four (4) units of 81mm Mortars; four (4) units 90RRs (Recoilless Rifles) an anti-vehicles and anti-personnel use tubes; one (1) sniper rifle meant to assassinate Wahab’s political opponents; and several hundreds of M16s (automatic assault rifles), M60 rifles (sub-machineguns) and M203s (grenade launchers).

3. More or less the said firearms amounted to roughly P279M, which amounts were undoubtedly squandered from the National Government funds released to the Province through the provincial government office, the provincial government funds allocation from the ARMM, the provincial government Loan from the PNB and the Province’s monthly internal revenue allotment (IRA).

4. Governor Akbar figured on several instances in codling criminal elements in the Province. For instance, on October 30, 2005, a certain Majang Apalin was arrested for a crime of murder (Criminal Case No. 3293-256) by elements of the PNP led by Police Senior Inspector Chritopher W. Panapan in the town of Lamitan. In less than two hours, Basilan Provincial Police Director Andulwahab Karimuddin, on order of Governor Akbar, took the subject criminal into his custody and released the same instantly without being committed to the court as required by law. Almost instantly, Inspector Panapan and five police officers who constituted the arresting team were ordered relieved from the Lamitan Police Station upon the instruction of Gov. Akbar.

Another incident that manifests Governor Akbar’s intimacy with the criminal elements took place when a certain Naim Latip (Criminal Case Nos. 4472-1012 for murder; and 4473-1013 for frustrated murder) was arrested by a police team in Lamitan, Basilan, on October 25, 2006, also led by PSI Christopher W. Panapan. For this reason, Gov. Akbar again requested the Police Provincial Director, Col. Binuddin, to relieve PSI Panapan in the guise of assigning the latter as the Operation Officer and later Assistant Provincial Director at the PNP Provincial Office in Isabela City, and SPO2 Ramon Lahaman as personal security of the governor, but the truth this was a scheme to prevent the said police officers from continuously effecting the arrest of wanted criminals who are the governor’s protégé. This is not to mention that Governor Akbar was likewise directly engaged in manipulating the safe released of the Abu Sayyaf Group who were trapped at the Jose Ma. Torres Hospital in Lamitan town way back in 2001. (kuha mula:www.tkb.org/.../GR204_abu_sayyaf3fromindexhu.jpg)
The funding sources of the Governor in the procurement of the huge weapon arsenals in the province could be gleaned from the following unaccounted funds poured in to the Provincial Government, to wit:

1. FROM THE ARMM: Some P10 M allocated by then Regional Governor Parouk Hussein intended for the construction of the Government Center in Lamitan, Basilan Province. Governor Akbar requested the realignment of these funds from the incumbent Regional Governor Zaldy Ampatuan for the construction of the Maluso public market but this was never implemented; another P16M allocated by the present ARMM government and released through the provincial government’s office intended for various infrastructure projects in Basilan, was likewise never implemented by Governor Akbar; and still another P50M allocated by the ARMM and released to the Provincial Government was not also implemented.

2. FROM THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT, the amount of P30M released by Department of Agriculture through the Provincial Government intended for rubber tree propagation was not also implemented by Governor Akbar. He simply took picture of the existing rubber trees he already planted in Puno Mahadje and Sumagdang in Isabela City, in the agrarian reform land he illegally took over and redistributed to his relatives and followers, to justify its liquidation; and some P20M released by DPWH for road projects supposed to be implemented thru MOA by the Province, was likewise not implemented.

3. FROM THE PNB P160M LOAN - The 3rd loan negotiated from and released by PNB to the Province breakdown as follows: P120M for the construction of the new Provincial Capitol building, P30M for Rubber Tree propagation which was actually for his own private farm, although he distributed a small quantity of rubber trees to individual farmers to justify the same; P20M to buy a 10 hectares lot in Sumagdang, as the site of the new Provincial Capitol building, which was overpriced by as much as P1.8M/ha. because the actual price of the lot in the area is only P180,000.00 to P200,000.00 per hectare; and

4. FROM THE PROVINCE, the P28M monthly IRA share of the provincial government could not also be accounted for, as they were disbursed not in accordance with the guidelines provided for by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, as required by law. Even those intended for salaries and benefits of the provincial government employees were, unfortunately, not paid nor their GSIS contribution and loan amortizations were remitted for months now; The P26M share of the Province from the Supplemental Budget of the National Government representing the Province’s IRA then withheld could not also be accounted for.

These are only some of the sources of funds we knew. But there are still other funds released either by the ARMM or National Government to the Province which we may have not known but were being utilized by the Governor in the illegal procurement of the said high-powered firearms he distributed to different municipalities for the hoodlums and the notorious criminals.

As an immediate measure, it is strongly requested that all national government funds intended for infrastructures and such other development programs intended for implementation by the Provincial Government other than those intended for the payment of salaries and similar benefits, be withheld or suspended until after the foregoing financial mismanagement shall have been thoroughly investigated, and the those responsible be charged accordingly. Respectfully submitted.

CONCERNED CITIZENS