‘Butcher’ of Mindanao, top ISIL leader, dead in separate clashes
PH continues to make strides in terrorism fight
THE Philippines continues to make great headway in its campaign against terrorism with the neutralization of two ranking terrorist leaders just a day a part in two separate clashes in Mindanao.
First to fall last October 29, 2021, was Salahuddin Hassan, who was killed along with his wife, Jehana Minbida, after a firefight between his group and elements from the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army, during the early hours in Bgy. Damablac, Talisay, Maguindanao.
Security officials have tagged Hassan as the leader of the Daulah Islamiya Hassan Group (DIHG), which is the Philippine branch of the terrorist group, ISIL (erstwhile known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/Syria). His wife, on the other hand, was the group’s “finance officer.”
The following day, M/Gen. Romeo Brawner, chief of the 4TH Infantry Division, Philippine Army, announced the death of Jorge ‘Ka Oris’ Madlos, the highest-ranking member of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in Mindanao and head of the National Operations Command (NOC) of the terrorist group’s armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA).
Madlos was killed along with Eighfel ‘Pika/Maui’ dela Peña, purportedly a “medical staff” of the CPP-NPA, after a combined air and ground assault by government troops at their hideout in Bgy. Dumalaguing, Impasugong, Bukidnon.
A trail of death, violence, terrorism
The Philippine military said that Hassan assumed the top post of ‘Emir’ (an Arab word for ‘ruler’) in 2020 of all ISIS-affiliated Muslim terrorist groups from Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan, a leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), who died after a military encounter in Jolo, Sulu, on July 6 of that year.
Hassan was also tagged behind the Davao Night Market bombing in 2016 which killed 14 civilians, the twin bombing in 2018 in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, which left five persons dead and at least 40 others wounded and, the twin bombing of the Yellow Bus Line (YBL) in Tulunan and M’lang towns in Cotabato last January 27, 2021 and June 3, 2021, respectively, that left 4 civilians dead.
On hearing the news of Madlos’ death, the ‘Mindanao Indigenous Peoples Council of Elders and Leaders’ issued a statement last November 2, 2021, expressing elation to the passing of Madlos whom the group described as the “butcher” of the region’s indigenous peoples (IPs).
“MIPCEL is happy to inform our constituents of the news that Ka Jorge Madlos aka Ka Oris is dead. He is eliminated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” the MIPCEL statement said.
“There is a reason for the IPs of Mindanao to celebrate and thank the AFP for a job well done,” the statement added.
As secretary of the CPP’s ‘KOMID’ (Komisyon Mindanao/Mindanao Commission), MIPCEL said that Madlos, along with his wife, Myrna Sularte, aka, ‘Maria Malaya,’ were responsible for at least 17 cases of atrocities committed against the indigenous communities in Mindanao.
MIPCEL added that the area where Madlos operated is the same area where the ALCADEV Lumad schools and the Tribal Filipino Program in Surigao del Sur (TRIFPSS) are located.
The IP group also recounted that the single biggest destruction done by the NPA under the watch of Madlos against a private company was the attack and burning of equipment of the Taganito Mining Corporation located in Barangay Taganito Claver, Surigao del Norte in 2011. Nearly $60 million (over P3 billion) in property damages was caused by that attack.
Brawner, in a personal appeal to the remaining terrorist groups in Northern Mindanao, appealed to them to surrender or face the same fate that befell Madlos and previously, Lencio ‘Kumander Parago’ Pitao.
Pitao was the notorious CPP-NPA terrorist leader and head of the ‘Pulang Bagani Command’ operating in Davao region, Southern Mindanao.
Pitao was killed, along with another CPP-NPA female ‘medical staff’ in a military operation in Bgy. Panalum, Paquibato District, Davao City, last June 28, 2015.
In particular, Brawner appealed to Sularte to turn herself in less she also suffered the same fate that befell her husband.
Same, old excuse by the CPP
In a statement after Madlos’ death, Sularte and the CPP issued a statement that Madlos and his companion were on board a motorcycle and his way for “medical treatment” when they were ambushed by the soldiers.
Not surprisingly, it was also the same excuse the CPP issued when Pitao was killed in 2015—that he was on his way for medical treatment.
The Armed Forces said it decided on a coordinate air and ground attack on the camp of Madlos to avoid casualties after intelligence reports disclosed that the terrorist group had placed ‘APMs’ (anti-personnel mines) in the vicinity of their camp.
Brawner said that when the ground troops finally moved in, they discovered the bodies of Madlos and dela Peña, along with several assault rifles and assorted ammunition.
The military also went to the length of spending for the cremation of the body of Madlos and dela Peña, after their cadavers tested positive for COVID-19.
The CPP, claimed the test result was fake and that Madlos was cremated to “destroy the evidence.”
Laudable accomplishments
Making due recognition of the recent success, Department of National Defense (DND) secretary, Delfin Lorenzana issued a statement of praise to the AFP.
“The Department of National Defense commends the Armed Forces of the Philippines for its successful separate operations in Bukidnon and Maguindanao that resulted in the deaths of the leaders of New People’s Army (NPA) and Dawlah Islamiyah (DI), respectively,” Lorenzana said.
“The neutralization of Jorge Ka Oris Madlos and Salahuddin Hassan through the sustained internal security operations of our troops is a big blow to these local terrorist groups, and a manifestation of the AFP’s commitment to secure the people against the threat of these lawless elements, especially in Mindanao,” the defense chief said further, adding:
“As the NPA and other local terrorist groups become weaker due to the efforts not just of the security sector but of the whole nation, we call on the public to continue supporting our bid for peace and progress in our country.”
