Buhilaman sa Bukid Malindang

PAGASA issues general flood advisory No. 16 for Northern Mindanao

2012-01-08T05:49:00.000-08:00

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has issued the General Flood Advisory No. 16, for the residents of Region 10 in Northern Mindanao.

Issued at 9:00 a.m., today, Jan. 8, the advisory said the tail end of the cold front has continued to affect Mindanao and the Visayas, while the Northeast monsoon or "Amihan" has continued to affect Northern and Central Luzon.

PAGASA said the observed rainfall for the past 24 hours, ending at 8:00 a.m., show that the Malaybalay Monitoring Station has recorded 13.0mm of rainfall, while the Lumbia Station has recorded 4.2mm.

Thus, the forecast rainfall, PAGASA said, is that there will be light to moderate rains for the next 24 hours.

PAGASA has warned the people living near the mountain slopes and in low-lying areas of the river systems in the region to remain alerted of possible flashfloods and landslides.

Likely to be affected are all the rivers and streams in Misamis Occidental, Camiguin Island, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, and Misamis Oriental.

Also likely to be affected are the following rivers, streams, and their tributaries:

Oroquieta River in Misamis Occidental and Agus River, Liangan River, Maranding River, Mandulog River, Dapao River, and Mataling River in Lanao del Norte.

Odiongan River, Tagoloan River, Cagayan de Oro River, Manduloy River, Cabulig River in Misamis Oriental. (Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob, PIA-10 Mis. Occ.)

Sea rescue of typhoon Sendong victims in Iligan City

2011-12-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

ILIGAN CITY (24 Dec 2011) -- The crew of M/V YANG A, a cargo vessel chartered by HOLCIM CEMENT Corporation, a local cement manufacturer based in Iligan City, rescued some eight (8) persons - 3 adults and 5 children (including a 2-yr old child) - floating among the debris some 12 kilometers off the coast of the City of Iligan.

They were swept away by voluminous amount of flood water brought about by Tropical Storm Sendong on Saturday, Dec 17, 2011.

They claimed to be residents of a sandbar island in Barangay Bayug, this City.

Here is the breath-taking scenes of the their rescue, recorded by the rescuers.

List of Missing and Dead Victims of Typhoon Sendong

2011-12-24T18:52:00.000-08:00

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported, as of 5:00 a.m. of December 21, 2011, the following data:

[a] total number of deaths, 976; [b] injured, 1,603; [c] missing, 46 persons; and [d] rescued/survived, 432 persons.

NDRRMC counts 3,581 houses were totally devastated, while 8,550 were partially damaged.

Accordingly, there are some 319 barangays, with 65,067 families, and 348,749 people affected by tropical storm Sendong, as of December 21, 2011 at 6:00 a.m.

Over 54,000 families were placed into evacuation centers.

DSWD pre-positioned some P17.43-million standby funds and P57.58-million worth of supplies in all DSWD-FOs along the typhoon path, amounting to some P75.02-million.

Assorted relief commodities coming from UNWFP, MAYNILAD, PNRC, and DOH worth P30.27-million P30.27-million were transported to DSWD-FO Region X, thru the DSWD.

Here is the list of dead, missing, and injured people who became victims of the wrath of Tropical Sendong, that devastated Iligan City, Cagayan de Oro City, and the other parts of Northern Mindanao, on Saturday, December 17, 2011:

STILL MISSING

*Nancy Jagonal Sumile = 47 years old wearing color green

*Althea Jerzhiel Namocatcat= 4 yrs old wearing white shirt & pajama

At prk 7 Santiago..pls contact 09067908966, 09265832283, 0917722109

*Johnny B. Waga= 53 yrs old sa Bacawan Bayug

*Isagani G. Pioquinto= 22yrs old at upper hinaplanon,pls contact Mr. Bagares,yoyoy

#09352818060

*Raymund Estrada = hinaplanon

* NELSON DAYAGANON, 29 YRS OLD; MAYAN DAYAGANON, 8 YRS OLD; ROLD DAYAGANON, 5 YRS OLD

STILL MISSING AT BAYUG ISLAND

*Amado, Rosa= mother 37 yrs old

*Varano, Charlie= 40 yrs old

*Varano, Janyle= elder daughter 11 yrs old

*Varano, Ivhan= son 6 yrs old

*Vrano, Ashley= youngest 1yr 7 months

*Concordio Sistoso = 60 yrs old

*Glenna Sistoso = mother

*Harold Sistoso= son

*Michaelou Sistoso = (whole family) pls contact mrs. Mareja 227-0155/09058299188

*Justine Sistoso = son..ang nanawagan Monica sistoso igsoon

* Felix Osabel, Angela Osabel, Elsa Osabel, Fernan Abaa, and Jurie Abaa, please contact 09064906955..

STILL MISSING

*Benjie Angelo A. Rasonable= 18 yrs old

*Marjon Collates= 21 yrs old orchids

*Chrismar Domingo = 1 yr & 4 months

*Lenie Domingo = 46 yrs old

*Jason Morris Domingo 10 yrs old,pls contact Mark Anthony Domingo 09059742648

*Rosemarie Tangon Francisco = mother

* Queenie Rose Francisco = daughter 16 yrs old

*Kenny Jun Francisco = 14 yrs old

*Sunny Jake Francisco = 12 yrs old

*Honey Dave Francisco = 10 yrs old

*Cherry Marie Francisco = 8 yrs old

*Panny Mae Francisco = 6 yrs old, pls contact 09268975454 Artuto Abarca Francisco

*Paul Marendoque=21 yrs old, contact person Geronie A. Resonable 09057386767, 09462367608

*Evangeline Bongcawil Baoc= 41 yrs old female

*Tantan Baoc= 8 yrs old male

*Sheila Dolor =16 yrs old pregnant,pls contact 09065453672,09267260243, bibing Popera bongcawil

*Glenn P. Matas = 35 yrs old hinaplanon,pls contact 09353518496

*Remedios Larita Rubio = 35 yrs old wearinf blact sleeveless & blue short

*Bienvinida Eyallas Rubio = 70 yrs old wearing dotted palda , white blouse

*Alfredo Abil = 58 yrs old

*Angelyn Abil = 16 yrs old

*Julieto Ronda = 68 yrs old

*Victorina Ronda = 63 yrs old

*Vanessa Ronda 15 yrs old

*Leonie Jane Pacleb = 11 yrs old

*Daylinda Ymbol Abandula = 54 yrs old, bayug island

*Leogaile Dafydd Ymbol Abandula 10 yrs old, Bayug Island

*Jhiezl Rheanne Abandula Aballe = 9 yrs old,bayug island

*Lyl Abandula Daug = 35 yrs old pls contact 09352188116 weller

*Charlene B. Lacasan = bayug

*Isagani Miguel Lacasan = bayug

*Miguel Isagani Lacasan = bayug

*Elsa S. Layno = inahan 30+ of age

*Rufhil Layno = anak 5 yrs old

*Aubrey Layno = anak 10 yrs old

*Valerie Layno = anak 8 yrs old,pls contact 09185585362 or 09058987533 or cris_sonsay@yahoo.com & jane_Gimary18@yahoo.com

*Rosalie Pangilinan = 33 yrs old

*Cris Abellana = 72 yrs old

*Roselyn Abellana = 23 yrs old

*John Christoper Abellana = 3 yrs old, prk 7 brgy Santiago i.c.

*Elvie Suan = 35 yrs old

*Kristin Suan = 5 yrs old

*Justine Suan = 4 yrs old

*Norma Baguio = 42 yrs old

*Sheena Cutmaya 19 yrs old

*Jessie Dasmarias 20 yrs old

*Charice Bado = 15 yrs old at prk 4 bayug island i.c

*Jhonrix Madrid = 11 yrs old

*Adong Madrid = 7 yrs old

*Hector Permites = 42 yrs old [NOW CONFINED AT MSH]

*Helen Permites = 48 yrs old

*Reno Layno = 41 yrs old

*Rayden Layno = 16 yrs old

*Erika Hanni Gongob = 8 yrs old

*John Denmark Gongob = 2 yrs old

*Denver Sistona Gongob = 41 yrs old

*Rosa Amado Varano = 38 yrs old

*Charlie Varano = 41 yrs old

*Ganill Varano = 9 yrs old

*Ivan Varano = 7 yrs old

*Ashly Varano = 1 yr & 7 months old

*Mrs Remedios Lareta Rubio

*Mrs Arlene Gonzaga

*Honey Gonzaga

*Lida P. Tudtud = Santiago prk 7

*Andres O. Tudtud Sr. = Santiago prk 7

*Charlita A. Ong

MISSING NAMES PRK 1 BAYUG

*Elgin Dahab Tayros = 44 yrs old

*Crisha Mea Dahab Tayros = 8 yrs old

*Nowenda Tayros Porras = 11 yrs old

*Pacita Lamac lamac Madrid = 53 yrs old

*Sandy Madrid Labadan = 30 yrs old

*Luis Manuel Labadan = 10 yrs old

*Juan Miguel Labadan = 3 yrs old

*Jerry Gerance Maorio = 35 yrs old

*Nill Gerance Madrid = 36 yrs old

*Melody Gerance = 28 yrs old

*Leonarda Abarca Madrid = 61 yrs old

*Mariefe Madrid Bongabong = 31 yrs old

*Roel Bongabong =41 yrs old

*Client Bongabong = 11 yrs old

*Juny Madrid = 35 yrs old

*Jesson Madrid = 29 yrs old

*Elfee Madrid = 34 yrs old

SOURCE:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/207595735946161/doc/299358656769868/

More help needed for Typhoon Sendong survivors

2011-12-23T04:25:00.000-08:00

By: Irma S. Boza

More than 285 people are dead and 400 missing after Tropical Storm Sendong ripped Iligan City on Friday, December 15, 2011.

Despite the claims that there were tropical storm signal warning from PAG-ASA - the Philippine government agency for weather forecasting, flood control, astronomical observations, and time service, there was no known "pre-emptive evacuation" that took place.

Torrential rains attacked the area while most families were sleeping. Rivers swelled and rapidly overflowed its banks immediately wiping out homes.

Hundreds of men, women and children were drowned leaving a toll of 285 reported dead and 400 still missing, as of December 21.

The dead quickly overwhelmed the local mortuaries. Soon, bodies were no longer accepted and they were simply stacked up outside. A shortage of embalming fluid and coffins made proper burial impossible. Relief efforts were slow to materialize and thousands of homeless were soon hungry and unclothed.

Some survivors said that huge logs, illegally cut, came racing down the river and destroyed houses and struck survivors. The fortunate ones clung to the logs and floated to safety.

The government and local media are investigating this illegal lumbering and have promised action against those who put profit above the safety of fellow citizens.

Currently, combined efforts of hundreds of local volunteers and Army personnel are providing a minimal amount of food, water and blankets to the homeless. Due on Friday, the 23rd of December is the largest ship in the Philippine navy which will cary relief supplies, including 400 much-needed coffins.

Photo credits:

Photos by writer, except for bird's eye view of illegal logs ramming against the houses which was taken by Marc Claro.

Reporter Irma S. Boza is a freelance photographer and member of the Lanao Press Club, Iligan City.

PEPSI eyes RP as source for coconut water

2011-10-03T02:32:00.000-07:00

Global beverage giant PepsiCo Inc. is looking at the distribution of ‘coconut water’ in the US market with the Philippines as primary source.

Trade officials said that Brazilian businessman Rodrigo Veloso, founder and CEO of One Natural Experience (O.N.E.), who came here over a year ago to explore for the sourcing of young ‘coconut water’, has renewed interest in the Philippines.

Based on the plan, O.N.E. will produce the ‘coconut water’ in the country but PepsiCo will take care of distribution in the US market.

“They should produce it here because the tendency for this kind of product is to produce it at source,” the official said.

Ten container vans per month

The initial volume of ‘coconut water’ that O.N.E. would like to source from the Philippines is 10 containers a month. The country’s total coconut production is placed at 16 million tons a year.

Last year, PepsiCo and O.N.E., a Los Angeles, California-based coconut water company, has announced PepsiCo’s increased investment in O.N.E., thereby acquiring a majority stake in the company. This represents a second round of investment in O.N.E. by PepsiCo and Catterton Partners, a private equity firm based in Greenwich, Conn.

Coconut Water is one of the fastest growing categories in the U. S. beverage market.

The trade official, however, said that there is not enough supply of coconut water that can be produced in the country.

Time to revive coconut industry

The number of productive coconut trees in the country has dwindled over the years because of neglect due to the lower price of copra. It was only lately that prices of copra have reached an all-time high of P60 per kilo following the strong demand of coconut oil in the world market.

CATLAG (Catigan-Laguna variety)

Trade and Industry undersecretary Merly Cruz said the biggest producers of coconuts in the country are Davao , Bicol, Samar, Leyte and Quezon, but coconut production has dwindled over the years because there have been lesser coconut development programs and no more replanting.

She said there is also a huge demand for coconut water concentrates in the U.S. after a Thai supplier has stopped its export business.

Cruz said the government is pursuing an advocacy to develop high-value added products out of coconut by-products to create awareness among Filipinos that there is money in these lowly products and in doing so they would be encouraged to cultivate their coconuts and replant new ones. [Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online]

Robed Franciscan defender of the Sierra Madre

2011-09-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

LUCENA CITY,

Philippines

- For Franciscan priest Pedro Montallana, the vast Sierra Madre mountain ranges in Luzon is his revered cathedral where he communes with God in fulfilling his advocacy to protect Mother Earth.

“I have yet to reach that ‘mystical experience’ where I will feel a heavenly connection with nature. But I always experience a different blissful joy when I’m deep in the bosom of Sierra Madre. God is really kind,” Montallana says.

The journey of the 61-year-old Bicolano, popularly known as “Fr. Pete” in the circle of environmental protectors to the inner sanctum of the Sierra Madre to spread the word of God among the Agta-Dumagat tribes is a destiny designed by his early exposure to the works of Franciscan missionaries in his hometown in Camalig town in Albay.

“The desire to serve God and especially the poor sustained my desire to be a Franciscan priest. The embrace of St. Francis of actual poverty and the poor continues to attract me until now,” the priest confesses.

He recalls that in 1994, he and two other Franciscan priests asked Bishop Julio Labayen, then head of the Prelature of Infanta that has jurisdiction over northern Quezon and Aurora, to allow them to work with the indigenous peoples in the Sierra Madre instead of ministering to a parish church.

“We came with the new concept of mission of the Catholic Church. We go to mission to ‘evangelize’ and ‘to be evangelized’ by the poor,” he narrates.
Montallana considers the Sierra Madre tribes the ‘poorest of the poor’ among indigenous peoples in the country. “Hence, the choice to be with them. They were so marginalized, that if they were not empowered, they would simply become extinct due to sickness and poverty.”

Communal living

Montallana remembers Labayen’s fondness for the unadulterated communal way of living of the mountain natives.

“He (Labayen) has articulated many times that despite their marginalization, the Agta-Dumagat possesses a culture that is an antidote to our profit-oriented and consumerist society. This is expressed very well in their natural culture that when they catch a wild boar, they would automatically divide the catch into the number of families around, including those who were not part of the hunting party,” he explains.

In his quest to prepare the tribesmen to face the harsh world of lowlanders, the priest helped strengthen the “Sentrong Paaralan ng mga Agta,” an alternative school of learning in Barangay Catablingan in General Nakar town. “We want that young Agtas are equipped to face the future,” Montallana says.

Ramcy Astoveza, a young tribal leader, speaks highly of Montallana’s contribution to his people and recalls how the priest helped change the prevailing primitive mind-set of Sierra Madre folk.

“Tribesmen are naturally timid and most of us possess low self-esteem perhaps brought by our long years of vilification from lowlanders. But Father Pete helped us to erase the negative attitude,” Astoveza says in Filipino.

The missionary, he reveals, prepared and strengthened the socialization skills of tribe leaders, especially the young and made the people proud of their culture and tradition. “Because of Father Pete, we have regained our lost confidence and again made us proud that we are Agta-Dumagat tribesmen from Sierra Madre,” says Astoveza, now the director of Tribal Center for Development Foundation Inc. based in Infanta town. Montallana used to head the facility.

G-string

As he immersed in the community, Montallana learned to wear the G-string to emphasize to the natives that they have their own culture to be proud of. He wore it for the first time in 1999 during the parade of tribesmen in Infanta.

“I noticed that the Agta men were shy to wear their natural costume perhaps because they had already been used to wearing shorts or pants due to constant heckling from lowlanders. So I went to my room and came back wearing a G-string to show to them that they had nothing to be ashamed of. That they should be proud of their own culture,” he said.

The natives, “mostly men in red G-string,” and religious people joined the parade to celebrate and trumpet their call for respect of their rights.

“I was a little bit shy because lowlanders were calling me a mestisong katutubo behind my back,” Montallana recalls.

“But I just ignored the brickbats and continued to walk with my head up high. I also want to experience what the natives had been going through.”

Later, he called on the townsfolk to respect the culture of the Sierra Madre tribes. “I also urged the natives to fight to keep their own culture because that is an inherent part of who they are.”

With fervor burning

To preserve his parishioners’ simple and communal way of living, Montallana got involved in the protection of their natural habitat, the Sierra Madre, even if it meant risking his own life.

With a high-profile advocacy, the priest has faced threats from illegal logging syndicates and their coddlers in the government, and even from communist rebels.

In 1995, Montallana drew the ire of New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas after he accused them of protecting a logging company. The rebels, he says, were influencing the mountain natives to accept money from the loggers in exchange for a right to cut trees in their ancestral land.

“I later received a warning that we should never set foot again in the Sierra Madre. That our bodies will just float in the Umiray River if we would not heed the order. I was able to confirm that that threat came from the NPA rebels,” Montallana said.

But then, soldiers are also protecting the illegal loggers, the priest reveals. He notes that Army troopers have long been posted in Barangay Umiray in General Nakar at the foot of the Sierra Madre where most hot logs from the mountain end up after floating downstream in the Umiray River.

“Don’t tell me that the military was unaware on the presence of voluminous number of timbers and charcoals in the area?” he asks.

Patriot on Facebook

Bishop Rolando Tria-Tirona, Montallana’s superior in the Prelature, says he always reminds the priest to take care of himself in the face of growing threats against his security.

To the prelate, Montallana is a patriot. “Father Pete is committed in serving the poor and especially the indigenous. He is firm in his beliefs and truly a man of prayer and simplicity,” Tirona says.

Wanting to use modern technology in his war against environmental criminals, Montallana opened his own account on Facebook, a popular social networking site.

His online photos on floating hot logs in the Umiray River which were about to be tugged toward Mauban, Quezon, a popular trans-shipment point of illegal forest products from Sierra Madre, provided valuable information to personnel of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) operatives.

Eventually, this led to the seizure of more than 400 pieces of hot logs abandoned in the town coastline.

But even as he blamed corruption in the DENR as one of the causes of the continued destruction of the Sierra Madre, Montallana is still respected by DENR officials due to his untainted conviction to save his cathedral of nature.

“Father Montallana can effectively mobilize different sectors in his advocacy of environmental protection, issues and agenda through innovative actions and concepts,” says Nilo Tamoria, DENR-Calabarzon chief.

Montallana, as chair of Save Sierra Madre Network, welcomes with a mixture of skepticism and enthusiasm the recent declaration of President Aquino imposing a log ban to save the country’s remaining forests.

“Quezon province had been through a total log ban but logging, legal and illegal, never stopped. But under President Aquino this time, we’re willing to give him a chance to save Sierra Madre and the country’s remaining forest before it’s too late.” [Delfin Mallari Jr, Philippine DailyInquirer]

Virgin coconut oil hailed as cure for Alzheimers

2011-09-05T10:33:00.000-07:00

After previous claims as an antiseptic, AIDS cure, anti-infective, cholesterol-basher, and remedy for various aches and pains, coconut oil is now being hailed as a possible miracle cure for Alzheimer’s.

The American physician, who has been dubbed “Dr. Coconut” for his tireless research into and championing of coconut oil’s healing properties, is back in the country bringing the latest breakthrough in the management of Alzheimer’s and other neurological conditions.

Dr. Bruce Fife presented his evidence at the ongoing 10th Coconut Festival in Mandaluyong City, relating the remarkable recovery of Steve Newport, 58, from five years of progressive dementia after just 35 days of taking virgin coconut oil (VCO).

Fife has written all about it in his book, “Stop Alzheimer’s Now.”

Newport’s case history

Newport was diagnosed when an MRI scan showed his brain had shrunk, a classic case of Alzheimer’s disease, the progressive, degenerative form of dementia that involves the loss of brain functions and extreme behavioral changes.

Newport’s wife Mary, who is a neonatal doctor at Spring Hill Regional Hospital in Florida, then began a relentless quest to seek a cure that would arrest his deterioration.

“It has been a nightmare to watch his decline and I feel helpless to do anything but watch it happen,” said Mary.

In May 2008, Mary stumbled on a company that was enlisting volunteers to test a new drug for dementia-stricken patients. But like all experimental drugs, the company preferred subjects with moderate forms of the disease, based on how they scored in the MMSE (mini-mental state exam), a standard test of mental status used to screen for Alzheimer’s.

Newport took the test twice and failed. He scored too low, shown to be on the border of severe dementia, to qualify as an experimental subject. Mary was devastated.

MCT miracle ingredient

Possessed of a research background, Mary was able to dig up the results for the new drug called AC-1202 (later known as Axona). She learned from the journal, BMC Neuroscience, that the active ingredient in the drug was MCT (medium-chain triglycerides), an oil that is used to treat epilepsy and also placed in hospital feeding programs for newborns.

Bingo! She knew as a pediatrician that babies needed to develop their brains with the right brain foods and MCT was found in great quantities in VCO, the oil extracted from the fresh meat of coconuts.

Intuitively, she started Newport on a feeding program. Instead of using Axona at $100 per month with 1 dose a day, Mary used VCO — at a cost of $10 a month — giving him 2 tablespoons of a mixture of VCO and its pharmaceutical isolate, MCT, with every meal.

Because of the high amounts of saturated fat in this diet, some have expressed concern about how this could affect blood cholesterol levels.

According to Fife, Newport’s tests have dispelled this notion and in fact his cholesterol levels have actually improved with the good cholesterol (HDL) going up and the bad cholesterol (LDL) going down.

In 18 months, Newport’s severe dementia was totally arrested. He scored high enough in the MMSE tests to be considered to be in the mild range of Alzheimer’s.

Tale of hope, persistence

Inspired by her husband’s recovery, Dr. Mary Newport travels all over the United States telling her story of hope and persistence. She encourages the medical scientific community to keep on with their research into the use of MCTs as a therapeutic aid in treating Alzheimer’s, as well as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders.

In March 2009, the experimental drug AC-1202 was renamed Axona and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a medical food for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease with no therapeutic claims.

When Axona finally came out, it caused intestinal distress and diarrhea among some patients. Others reported that the drug’s effects wore out after only a few hours that they still had to take coconut oil to maintain their ketone levels. Ketones are organic compounds that result when body fat is broken down for energy.

Fife explained that drugs become ineffective after some time and coconut oil, converted into ketones, decrease the formation of free radicals that damage the cells. Hence, coconut oil is especially important for those taking medications.

“Following the Newports’ example, many people with neurologic disorders are now incorporating coconut oil into their diets with good results,” said Fife.

Brain food

He said, if any food could be labeled as brain food it would be coconut oil.

According to Fife, coconut oil, converted into ketones, acts as a superfuel to the brain and normalizes brain function, stops the erratic signal transmissions that leads to seizures, and improves cognition and memory.

The MCTs in coconut oil are converted into ketones, which act as high-potency fuel for the brain. The ketone MCTs provide energy to the brain and stimulate healing and repair, he said.

The chemical structure of the MCTs and fatty acids in coconut oil enable them to pass through the blood-brain barrier, which ordinary food or oil cannot break into, he said.

Revived coco industry

Fife credits his visits to the Philippines as triggering his pursuit of coconut research. He said his first visit in 2004 was an eye opener for him. He was amazed at the warm reception he got from his Philippine audience.

“They were thanking me for reviving the coconut industry,” he said.

It was the economic implications for the people that have spurred Fife to continue his research into the health benefits of this tropical food endemic to the country, so much so that the American health community has dubbed him “Dr. Coconut.”

Fife has established a non-profit organization, Coconut Research Center, to educate the public on the health and nutritional aspects of coconut. He has documented his researches in two books, “Coconut Cures” (2005) and “Coconut Water” which he has made available online in www.coconutresearchcenter.org. [By: Cesar C. Villariba, Philippine Daily Inquirer]

The author has been active in the coconut industry for 35 years, and is a director of the Philippine Coconut Authority governing board.

Water level rose too quickly, Davao flood victims say

2011-07-01T03:15:00.000-07:00

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/30 June) – Most of the flashflood victims on Tuesday evening have a common story to tell: "the water level rose too fast."

Meanwhile, the Office of the Civil Defense reported that as of 7:30 p.m. Thursday (June 30), two more bodies were recovered. They were identified as Kent Angelo Taño, 9; and Cherry Saturos, 4.

The floods left 29 dead and 2 still missing – Mark Louie Falomar, 3 months old; and Zaly Supa, 34.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRMMC) reported that a total of 12,714 families have been affected by the floods, which damaged 264 houses, 50 of which totally destroyed.

The floods hit five barangays – Matina Pangi, Talomo, Matina Crossing 74-A, Matina Aplaya and Maa – Tuesday (June 28) evening. The water subsided around 4 o’clock the next morning.

Awing Albaracin, 42, told MindaNews that at 9 p.m., the water level had not yet reached the floor of his house, which was four feet above the ground.

He recounted that they did not evacuate because he never thought the water would rise that high. His house was about five meters away from the riverbank.

“In the past, when the water rises, it would not be over three feet,” he recalled.

When the water entered the Albaracins’ house around 11 p.m., he said he immediately evacuated his wife and six children to the nearby barangay hall of 74-A, about 100 meters away.

“When I went back to my house to get important documents, like birth certificates, the water was already seven feet deep. When I couldn’t find the documents, I tried to swim back to the barangay hall but I was carried away by the strong currents, and I was swept towards the river,” he said.

But he was able to hold on to the clothesline and swam towards the barangay hall. “We were not able to save anything from our house. We just picked up clothes that were washed away by the flood and washed them so that we have something to wear,” Albaracin added.

Ray Diabordo, 49, also recalled that around the same time, the water level rose so fast that they were not able to evacuate to higher grounds.

“My wife and I were taking care of our one-year-old nephew. So we could not just easily wade through the floodwater because of the baby,” said Diabordo, a resident of Barangay Matina Aplaya.

When the water reached the floor, which was four feet high, he destroyed a portion of the roof so they could make it to the rooftop.

“Just a few minutes later, our house was already afloat and slowly drifted to a nearby house. And then we moved to our neighbor’s rooftop. Luckily, our neighbor’s house was not washed away,” he said.

Diabordo’s house used to stand 10 meters away from the riverbank, with its posts made of concrete.

Manuel Udtohan, 45, also noticed the water rising fast, but was quick enough to move to higher ground. His family opted to leave behind personal belongings to save themselves instead. They watched the strong currents wash their house away.

Like the other flood victims who lost their houses, Udtohan said he will rebuild his house on the same spot. A carpenter himself, he plans to salvage still usable lumber washed away by the flood.

Jerry Lusong and his wife also saved no personal belongings as they prioritized saving their nine-year-old kid.

But his wife was also able to save their three-month old puppy that they just picked up from the street a week ago. “I was wondering why my wife could not properly swim. It turned out she was holding the puppy,” he recalled.

Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte caught the flood victims of Barangay 74-A by surprise when his chopper landed right at the clearing where dozens of houses used to stand.

He assured the victims that relief goods and financial assistance are to be released as soon as possible. He said the city council has approved the release of P51.5 million to assist flood victims. (Keith Bacongco/MindaNews)

Iligan Mayor Cruz requests DPWH P260-million infrastructure projects for 2012

2011-06-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

Iligan City, Philippines - Mayor Lawrence Ll. Cruz requested the Department of Public Works and Highways for P260 million worth of infrastructure projects for Iligan City for 2012.

These include P50 million for the Iligan River Control Project, P50 million for the Mandulog River Control Project, P20 million for Iligan River dredging, P110 million for the Mahayahay – Tambacan Bridge and P30 million for the improvement of the Lambaguhon Access Road.

Mayor Cruz hopes that this request will be included in the final budget proposal of the DPWH for 2012 that is to be deliberated by the Regional Development Council in Cagayan de Oro today.

City Planning and Development Coordinator Architect Gil Balondo said that the RDC Chairman wrote a letter urging the DPWH to implement the P384 million additional allocations for the Iligan – Bukidnon Road project.

Balondo estimates that from 15 to 17 kilometer will be concreted using the allocated project fund. [Melvin T. Anggot and Virgilio C. Garcia]

Ex-seminarians condem act of historian tourist-guide Carlos Celdran

2011-06-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

We, the officers and members of the Philippine Alliance of X-Seminarians (PAX), a nationwide umbrella organization representing various federations of Catholic ex seminarians and Catholic seminary alumni organizations in the Philippines, do hereby declare:

1. That freedom of expression as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution is a democratic right of every citizen of the Republic, inviolable when exercised within the ambits of existing laws;

2. That religious freedom, the right of every citizen of the Republic to freely practice one's religious beliefs is likewise guaranteed in the provisions of our Constitution;

3.That all places of worship, churches, mosques and temples shall be revered as sacrosanct, holy and sacred houses of prayer and therefore should not be defiled or disturbed by any authority or individual;

4. That any disruption or disturbance during the celebration of the Holy Mass, regardless wherever it is celebrated, is a direct attack to the central faith of the Catholic Church and in violation of the religious freedoms of all its faithful;

5. That no citizen is endowed with such right to disrupt religious rites and ceremonies of any faith or creed, within their religious confines or in public places, whenever and wherever these rights and ceremonies are not prohibited by law;

6.That the actions of Mr. Carlos Celdran to disrupt the celebration of the Holy Mass at the Manila Cathedral, is an abject abuse of his right to freedom of expression, an affront to universally accepted social norms and decorum, and, most gravely, a desecration of the most sacred sacrament of the Catholic Faith ;

7. That while his right to freedom of expression is enshrined in Section 4, Article III of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, his condemnable action also violates Section 5, Article V of the very same Constitution;

Therefore, in the strongest possible terms, we condemn the actions of Mr. Carlos Celdran for desecrating a place of worship, the Manila Cathedral, and for disrupting a religious worship thereat, the celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist on September 30, 2010. Such actions are devoid of good manners and social civility, disrespectful to an ongoing religious service, illegal, malicious and evil acts directed to a Faith, in total disregard to the hierarchy and church leaders present, and in violation of the rights of everyone participating therein to freely exercise their religious beliefs and creed.

We further condemn his cohorts for utterly condoning and supporting such acts, in brazen violation of the Philippine Constitution and existing laws.

Finally, we demand that Mr. Carlos Celdran and his cohorts apologize for their acts and make amends for their evil deeds, and resolve that they refrain from any such transgressions in the future.

- Philippine Aliance of X-Seminarians (PAX)

DA allots funds for rehab of Misamis Occidental irrigation systems

2011-05-07T01:39:00.000-07:00

AT LEAST P13 million was allotted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to rehabilitate two communal irrigation systems in Misamis Occidental as part of government efforts to make the country rice self-sufficient by 2013.

The two irrigation projects, Labo and Clarin, serve a combined area of 160 hectares. Once completed, Labo will irrigate a total of 118 hectares, while Clarin will irrigate 42 hectares.

Initially, the two systems were allotted P6.5 million, but Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala doubled it to P13 million, upon finding out that the province currently produces 84 percent of its total rice requirements.

He also urged farmers to increase their average palay harvest to at least five tons per hectare by employing good agricultural practices.

This covers from land preparation to use of good quality certified seeds, and the right kind and amount of fertilizers, as well as post-harvest practices.

The country’s current average harvest of palay (unmilled rice) is 3.7 tons (74 cavans of 50 kilos each) per hectare.

Irrigation development in Northern Mindanao is currently at 52.71 percent, according to the National Irrigation Administration.

The region has a total agricultural area of 193,830 hectares. Of these, 14,547 hectares are potentially irrigable.

About one-half of this area (or 7,668 hectares) are already irrigated by the NIA, commercial or private irrigators, and small land owners. The rest is for irrigation development.

Overall, Philippine rice production is expected to hit eight million metric tons in the first half of the year, owing to the above-average rainfall that occurred due to the La Niña phenomenon.

Total paddy rice yield last year was only 15.77 million metric tons, three percent lower than production in 2009 as prolonged droughts caused by El Niño phenomenon dampened output.

The country is expected to import around 860,000 metric tons of rice in 2011, just a third of the 2.45 million metric tons bought last year from leading exporters Vietnam and Thailand. - (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)

Godofredo "Boy" Villarin Señires, Jr joins his Maker

2011-04-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

GODOFREDO "Boy" VILLARIN SENIRES, JR.

GODOFREDO "Boy" V. Senires, Jr. joined our Creator last 23 April 2011 (Saturday) at 12:35 a.m. while confined at the V. Luna General Hospital in Quezon City.

His medical certificate reported: "ARF Type I secondary obstructive pneumonia non-small cell lung adeno, CA stage IV bone metastasize CVD Infarct, Parietal lobe left S/P chemotheraphy C2; Gastro-duodenal ulcer."

He now lies peacefully at HABAKKUK ROOM, St. Peter Chapel, Quezon Ave., QC.

His last mass and final sacraments will be given to him on the 30th of April, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. Afterwhich, we will comply with one of his last wishes to be cremated immediately thereafter.

He will be joining the final resting place of my grandfather: GODOFREDO "Godong" B. Senires, Sr., at the Manila Memorial Park, Sucat, Parañaque.

We, therefore, ask all relatives and those who have been part of his life to pray for the repose of his soul.

He was the pillar of our family from whom we find strength.

“Pahinga ka na, Dy. We love you very, very much! We will surely miss you.”

- Janeth D. Lim-Señires

MILF holds dialogue with members in run-up to peace talks

2011-01-26T01:08:00.000-08:00

Mohagher Iqbal

DIPOLOG CITY - The top brass of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) begins the 12-day consultations on January 25 with its members, and political and military leaders from four ‘guerrilla regions’ in Mindanao in the run-up to a restart of peace negotiations with government on February 9.

The exercise will be held in the rebel group’s administrative base Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao.

Mohagher Iqbal, chair of the MILF committee on information and chief peace negotiator, said the upcoming peace talks will certainly be a major issue during the discussions.

Interviewed over the phone, Iqbal revealed that the long impasse in the restart of the peace negotiations had cultivated some pessimism on a fraction of the rebel group’s support base among the Moro people.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front warriors

“Napupuna nila na hindi tumatakbo ng mabuti ang pag-uusap,” he said.

Despite high hopes at the start of the Aquino administration, administrative issues snagged the restart of the peace negotiations. The respective panels of government and the MILF were only able to have an informal meeting last January 13.

Iqbal noted that late last year, series of rallies in several Mindanao cities called on the MILF to “disengage from the peace process” and “revert back to the demand of independence.”

He disclosed that among its membership, those holding this perspective accounts for only “10 to 15 percent” and are confined in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur.

“It is still manageable. But we won’t allow that to persist,” he said.

“We need to explain and convince them to toe the line that the best option to resolve the Bangsamoro problem is a negotiated political settlement,” Iqbal stressed.

“We will listen to their explanations, too. We are sensitive to the people’s views,” he added.

Apart from MILF members, Iqbal said the consultative exercise would also have a separate session with Moro civil society leaders.

MILF military spokesman Eid Kabalu said that even as the consultation delegates will be going to Camp Darapanan unarmed, their movement has already been coordinated with the Armed Forces of the Philippines through their respective ceasefire committees.

Kabalu further said that the participants will represent 43 province-based political committees as well as commanders of its military fronts. -Ryan D. Rosauro

Zambo Norte communities renew call against mining operations

2011-01-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

DIPOLOG CITY—Clutching a rosary on their left hand and a lighted candle on the right, scores of women mouthed novena prayers as they snaked through the city’s streets along with about a thousand people.

On Wednesday, Church and civil society leaders joined residents from mining-affected communities in Zamboanga del Norte in staging the “Walk for the Environment” that seeks to renew their clamor “against the destructive resource extractive operations.”

Bishop Jose Manguiran, prelate of the Dipolog diocese, said the ‘silent’ protest march serves to remind government and all others interested in the province’s mineral riches “that the people have not blinked in their opposition to mining.”

The protest action was the first time in almost a decade, and at a time when there is increasing interest to exploit the mineral riches in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

Citing data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Manguiran said there are currently some 137 applications to operate or explore for minerals various sites in the region, spanning about 703,598 hectares which is almost half of its entire land area.

This is on top of the 15 Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) and exploration permits entered into by government in 2009 covering more than 66,000 hectares, noted Manguiran who has led widespread protest actions in the past decade against the entry of large-scale mining operations in the region.

In Zamboanga del Norte, Manguiran cited the growing interest of Canadian firm TVI Resources Development Inc. (TVIRD) to expand its operations in Jose Dalman town through its Tamarok tenement. TVIRD operates the Canatuan mines in Siocon town.

He added that Philex Gold Philippines is into the motions of reopening its mines in Sibutad town and expanding it to nearby Rizal.

“There is renewed interest in mining, but the issues facing the industry and government’s agencies regulating it have not changed,” said Roldan Gonzales, executive director of non-government Gitib Inc.

Gonzales added the issues include, among others, displacement of communities and loss of livelihood, and manipulating the process of acquiring community consent which is even tolerated by government.

“We just hope they now take interest in dealing with these issues especially that the Aquino government has sustained the strategy of the Arroyo government to make mining a major driver of economic growth,” he stressed.

An advocacy paper of the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines said that the country has a mining potential which is “one of the largest in the world” with an estimated US $1.4 trillion in mineral reserves, primarily gold, copper, nickel, aluminum and chromite.

These mineral reserves are found in an estimated nine million hectares of land.

At present, only two percent of these areas are covered by mining permits, the Joint Foreign Chambers noted.

Leaders of some 300 faith-based and people’s organizations meeting here joined the protesters in the clamor against mining.

“This is a walk to announce that there are alternatives to mining-driven development,” said a statement by the Philippine Misereor Partnership, Inc.

It was read in the presence of Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)-National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA) and Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Yῆiguez, CBCP public affairs director.

The CBCP earlier declared that “the government mining policy is offering our lands to foreigners with liberal conditions while our people continue to grow in poverty.”

The PMPI said it has been “against mining because in our experience working with our partner communities, we have witnessed that prevailing conditions in affected communities belie all the claim of responsible mining.”

“Indigenous peoples and other mining-affected communities continue to experience displacement, harassment, human rights violations not to mention the loss of livelihood on account of environmental destruction,” the group said.

“How can there be responsible mining in the face of destruction of peoples’ lives and the environment?” PMPI added. - Ryan D. Rosauro

COMELEC workers' union questions use of savings in ARMM polls

2011-01-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

The Alliance of COMELEC Employees in Service (ACES) today questioned the Commission on Election’s plan to use the agency’s savings for the upcoming elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“We’ll be spending some P2 billion for ARMM election. Congress told us to use our savings so we’ll be forced to use the savings,” COMELEC Chairman Jose Melo told reporters yesterday after being quizzed by the media on the rank and file workers’ demand for incentives.

“Chairman Melo seems to be not getting our point,” stated ACES President Luallah Pama. “We are not after the entire savings of the COMELEC, we are just asking for what is due the COMELEC employees.”

Pama explained that under existing Civil Service rules, rank and file employees who either contributed to the agency’s productivity or cost-cutting measures are entitled to as much as eighty percent (80%) of the agency’s savings from Personnel Services (PS) and Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE), in the form of financial incentives.

“For the COMELEC Chairman to now claim that the agency’s savings in 2010 will be earmarked to the upcoming ARMM polls not only tramples on the rank and file’s rightful share of the funds, it also puts the integrity of the COMELEC as an independent Constitutional Body into question,” Pama said.

She explained that the COMELEC supposedly has full control on how it spends its funds, it being a part of the Constitutional Fiscal Autonomy Group (CFAG).

“Sa totoo lang, kung gusto ng COMELEC na magbigay ng incentives sa mga empleyado, maraming paraan, dahil may laya naman sila sa paggamit ng pondo.Pero kung ayaw, talagang mas marami ang dahilan.”

Selective granting

Rank and file employees of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), under the ACES, have earlier denounced what they called “selective granting of incentives” wherein only Chairman Jose Melo, his staff and all Regional Election Directors got bonuses last Christmas.

The ACES President said they got hold of a document that showed Chairman Melo got P77,653 while Regional Election Directors got from P48,0000 to P50,000 or equivalent to one month of their salaries last December allegedly “in recognition and appreciation of their contribution to the successful implementation of the May 10, 2010 National and Local Elections.” Pama added that even Finance Department Director Eduardo Mejos and COMELEC’s resident COA Auditor Resurreccion Quieta got their share of the bonus, with each receiving P51,623 and P45,971 respectively.

“We are baffled as to where they find the gall to reward themselves with bonuses last Christmas when the rest of the rank and file got nothing. Do they mean they were the only ones that did their jobs last May 10? Were it not that all the Election Day glitches and snags happened only because of the bad decisions that came from them?” the ACES said in a statement released Monday.

Ocampos wants to legalize gambling

2010-12-31T19:15:00.000-08:00

Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos

A COMPLETE TURNAROUND of beliefs and principles on gambling, this seems to describe 2^nd District Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos of Misamis Occidental at present when he said he had support moves to legalize betting on some forms.

Ocampos meant betting on the illegal numbers game, such as suertres, masiao, jueteng and the like.

In his recently held forum called Updates: Legislative and Development Initiatives, Ocampos explained that legalizing gambling will end its notoriety and the many shady corrupt dealings associated with it, like the briberies by operators or financiers and the police acting as protectors.

He lamented the fact that campaigning against gambling in the provinces seemed futile since even the government operates its own gambling, like suertres, for example, through the PCSO, and people would keep betting, through the PCSO and the illegally run suertres by financiers.

"Mura ba'g, pasayloa ko, misurender na bitaw ko," Ocampos said of his move.

It can be recalled that during his incumbency as governor, Ocampos ran after the illegal numbers game in Misamis Occidental, even leading the creation of an amplified ordinance against gambling which stopped masiao betting then.

"I-legalize na lang nato na, samok mo, murag ingon anaon na lang nato pag-istorya, pagbinisaya ba," he added.

Ocampos is not alone. Several lawmakers have proposed for the legalization of jueteng, lottery, masiao, suertres, first two and last two to be operated by the municipal and city governments.

Moves for the legalization of the illegal numbers game came out after a recent senate probe which uncovered alleged payola giving by financiers or operators to several high-ranking LGU and police officials.

Under the proposed legalization, 55% goes to the prize fund of the numbers game, 5% goes to the barangay, where half will be used for the allowance of barangay officials, 5% for the PNP assigned in the locality, 2% for the provincial government, another 2% for the provincial PNP, 5% for the national government and the remaining 26% for the city and municipal governments.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the catholic bishops' organization, is against all forms of gambling. - Michael Medina

NDF hails CPP build-up of strength

2010-12-25T05:50:00.000-08:00

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY—The National Democratic Front (NDF) has hailed the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) for its effort to build strength “to advance into higher levels” the local Maoist revolution.

The CPP observes its 42^nd founding anniversary on Sunday, December 26, amid a shaky Christmas truce which onset was marred by rebel offensives and corresponding military troop movements in major stronghold areas of the communist guerrillas in the country.

NDF chair Luis Jalandoni cited the mostly rural-based CPP cadres throughout the country for, among others, “the victory in the agrarian revolution, the establishment and strengthening of various community organizations, establishment and strengthening of the organs of political power, providing revolutionary education, and implementing literacy programs.”

Jalandoni also hailed the guerrillas for their “success in medical work, cultural and self-defense.”

SAN AGUSTIN, Surigao del Sur- New People’s Army rebels stage a presentation during the celebration of the 42nd anniversary of the National Democratic Front somewhere in the Mt. Diwata Range in Barangay Pong-on, San Agustin town in Surigao del Sur on Dec. 26, 2010. The government and the Marxist rebels have agreed to resume peace talks on February 2011. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

These achievements, added Jalandoni, strengthened the presence and influence of the communist movement in the countrysides and provide “inspiration for the furtherance of our revolutionary struggle in subsequent years.”

The NDF is the political front of the CPP. It is set to reopen peace negotiations with government February next year.

Last year, the CPP has vowed to build its military strength to even that of government’s within five years.

Jalandoni commended the CPP for acting within the bounds of the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) by “giving humane treatment” to a soldier taken captive by the New People’s Army (NPA) who was eventually released last month.

“(It) validates that our revolutionary movement is strictly following the rules and principles of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law,” the top NDF leader said.

SAN AGUSTIN, Surigao del Sur - George Madlos or Ka Oris, Mindanao spokesperson of the National Democratic Front discuss several talking points of the resumption of peace talks between the government and the Marxist rebels somewhere in the Mt. Diwata Range in Barangay Pong-on, San Agustin town in Surigao del Sur on Dec. 26, 2010. The chairs of the peace panels of the government and the National Democratic Front, the CPP's political arm, met in HongKong in early December and will meet again for informal talks in January 2011 in preparation for the formal talks in February. MindaNews photo by Froilan Gallardo

Jalandoni told the CPP that in its conduct of peace negotiations with government, the NDF will “need all your suggestions in order to offer the rigorous demands of the masses.”

At present, CPP founding chair Jose Maria Sison sits as chief political consultant of the NDF.

Jalandoni assured that the NDF will be insisting on the release of its consultants for the peace negotiations among them Angelina Co Ipong and Maria Luisa Pucray who are accused by the military of being ranking CPP leaders in the regions.

Jalandoni also said it will demand the release of all political prisoners. Ryan D. Rosauro

RP Gov't Wants Meeting with MILF on January 2011

2010-12-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

ILIGAN CITY—After failing to have a meeting in 2010, government is eyeing to hold exploratory talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) early next year, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said.

An OPAPP news release dated December 22 said lawyer Marvic Leonen, government chief negotiator with Moro rebels, has already sent an invitation for such a meeting to MILF panel chair Mohagher Iqbal.

The invitation, OPAPP said, was “sent through the third party facilitator Malaysia.”

It did not mention whether it was coursed through Datuk Othman bin Abdulrazak whom the government panel wanted replaced by the Malaysian government as chief facilitator of the talks.

OPAPP said Leonen is only awaiting Iqbal’s confirmation for next year’s meeting.

“The earliest, we hope, will be in January…,” the news release quoted Leonen as saying.

Last December 2, Leonen proposed to Iqbal a meeting on either December 6, 7, 8, 13 and 14 which was contained in a letter sent through Malaysian deputy prime minister Richard Riot.

But as of December 21, Iqbal said he had yet to receive such letter.

Iqbal blamed the government for the gaffe because it “used the wrong route.”

The MILF and government panels have locked horns on the issue of whether to replace or retain Othman.

Iqbal had proposed that to settle the issue about Othman, the panels “take it up directly with the Malaysian government” rather than discuss about its merits before the media.

In a public address in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte last month, Leonen himself said the “diplomatic channels are already open” to have the matter settled.

OPAPP is hopeful the possible January meeting would be able to thresh out the facilitation issue so the panels can proceed with “the conduct of informal sessions and resumption of formal peace talks.”

The government panel expects to conclude a socially accepted political settlement with Moro rebels within three years.

Leonen said President Benigno Aquino III wants to have such peace pact implemented within his term of office. Ryan D. Rosauro

MILF reinstates Kabalu as spokesman

2010-12-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

ILIGAN CITY—The leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has reinstated Eid Kabalu as its spokesperson for military affairs, a news release from the rebel group said.

Kabalu’s reinstatement was on force of a resolution by the rebel group’s central committee dated October 14, 2010 although it was revealed recently, two months after it was adopted.

MILF vice-chair for political affairs Ghazali Jaafar was quoted in the news release that Kabalu was also “highly commended for accepting the suspension without complain or remorse.”

Kabalu was suspended for six months by the MILF leadership effective April 12 for violating the rebel group’s policy of non-involvement in the elections.

During the campaign period, Kabalu met with and signed as witness to a covenant entered into by Bangon Pilipinas Party bets headed by presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva and vice-presidential hopeful Perfecto Yasay.

The covenant outlines, among others, that “the autonomy of Mindanao will be pursued giving Mindanao its right to self-determination within the framework of the constitution” which the party committed to be revised to restructure the current government setup into federal form.

At the time of his suspension, Kabalu handles civil-military relations alongside his primary role as spokesman of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) which is the rebel group’s military wing.

From 2000 to 2008, Kabalu has been MILF spokesman until the position was abolished and its roles taken over by the rebel group’s committee on information.

The rebel group said that as military spokesman, Kabalu speaks on issues that “deals with tactical and operational matters…”

During Kabalu’s suspension, his role was temporarily taken over by Von al Haq, a member of the BIAF General Staff and former chair of the MILF ceasefire committee. - Ryan D. Rosauro

Bakwits make ropes to survive

2010-12-09T04:41:00.000-08:00

DATU SALIBU, Maguindanao—Squatting on the floor for a chat with family members during siesta time, Sapiah Dauda twines a rope made of recycled plastic sacks. At one point, she would ask her granddaughter to assist her set up the materials in an improvised twining machine.

In Madiya village of Datu Salibu, Maguindanao, many families have rediscovered rope-making to help rebuild their lives after being displaced by renewed fighting between government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces in August 2008.

The war, which raged amid the failed signing of a Moro homeland deal, lasted for almost a year in Maguindanao. To escape the skirmishes, most of the Madiya villagers fled to Datu Odin Sinsuat town, staying with either their relatives or in the evacuation camps.

They returned last summer as security in the village normalized. As part of early recovery assistance, some 50 houses were built with aid funds to replace those destroyed in the course of battle.

According to Makmodin Ali, community organizer of the United Nations-backed Actions for Conflict Transformation for Peace (Act for Peace) programme, some villagers first thought of making rope by recycling plastic sacks which were abundant in the communities and evacuation camps.

These were used to pack the rice rations provided by international humanitarian agencies to evacuees.

The idea snowballed into an emerging cottage industry among Madiya villagers.

Heritage

Rope-making is a traditional activity among the average Maguindanaoan household. Now in her mid-50s, Dauda said she grew up with this cultural heritage.

But back then, they were using a type of weed gathered from the mountains where these were endemic.

Fleeing the numerous battles that affected their place in the 1970s, Dauda’s family settled in Datu Salibu, then part of Datu Piang town, where she got married and raised her own brood.

Since then, she no longer had the opportunity to gather the weeds and hence, twine a rope.

The villagers started making ropes with the sacks from their own food rations. As the supply of recyclable materials could no longer support their production size, they bought sacks from other villages at P60 per 50 pieces.

Dauda said her family can finish up to a hundred ropes in a day if materials are readily available. A five-meter rope will require two sacks.

Innovations

The sack is first disassembled. Next, the bunch of strips are extended to a desired length then rolled together by hand until these are tangled well into a cord.

Then, using an improvised equipment, the two cords are twined.

Ali said that unlike before, twining is faster and easier now because of the equipment. Mounted on a wooden platform, it runs by a wheel-and-axle mechanics similar to that of bicycle.

The ropes are sold in the town market at P12 per 10-meter piece while P7 for a five-meter length.

As humanitarian relief operations wind down because evacuees have returned to their villages, Ali said the Madiya folk are looking into producing rope using materials other than plastic sacks.

Closely considered is the shift to abaca. This can be potentially intercropped with coconut, planted in the fringes of rice plots, or bought from hinterland communities which traditionally grow the crop.

Ali said they would also need to fabricate more improvised twining equipments to increase the production capacity of every household.

Pass on

Founded on a cultural platform, this livelihood initiative shows promise of much easier local adaptability while also facing the challenge of sustaining a healthy interaction with the market.

Apart from the potential of aiding economic rebirth, the opportunity of reliving a cultural legacy spurs former evacuees to undertake these activities.

Even with the use of recycled plastic sacks, Dauda is happy she would be able to pass on rope-making techniques to her younger siblings.

But Dauda is not directly teaching her granddaughter how to do it.

“She will learn in the process of assisting me. That’s how I learned to do it from my parents during my younger days,” Dauda related. - Ryan D. Rosauro

RP asks foreign govts to extend duty of IMT personnel

2010-12-03T04:27:00.000-08:00

Teresita Quintos Deles

ILIGAN CITY—The Philippine government has asked countries which have contingents in the International Monitoring Team to extend the deployment of these for another three months, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said.

According to OPAPP, the Department of Foreign Affairs had already issued the note verbale to the embassies of the concerned countries on Wednesday.

“We believe that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will support the request for the three-month extension of the IMT’s term,” the OPAPP press release quoted Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles.

“Reciprocity and a stable environment on the ground make the environment conducive to resuming the talks, which we expect to start very soon,” Deles added.

Government’s move indicates that it is seeing a continued deadlock on the issue of facilitation of the peace talks, at least within the next three months.

Its peace panel had earlier asked that another person be appointed by the Malaysian government to act as facilitator of the talks.

The IMT is a product of the peace negotiations between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This mechanism was set up principally to oversee implementation of a 1997 ceasefire pact between the parties.

Headed by a contingent from Malaysia, which is also facilitating the negotiations, the IMT deployment since 2004 has been credited with reducing the number of skirmishes among rebel and government troops, except during the 2008 war that stemmed from the botched signing of a Moro homeland deal.

The IMT is deployed through a terms of reference (TOR) that serves as its mandate which is renewed yearly by the negotiating panels of both the MILF and government.

The current mandate of the fifth IMT (IMT-5) was agreed by the peace panels last December 9, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur during the first formal resumption of talks after the 2008 war.

The 2009 mandate also expanded the thrust of the IMT into four components, namely, security; socio-economic assistance; civilian protection; and humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and development. The TOR for civilian protection was approved May this year.

Malaysia, Brunei and Libya have contingents overseeing security; Japan has personnel overseeing socio-economic assistance.

The European Union (EU) and Norway have accepted the invitations sent by the two parties early this year to join the IMT. The EU is will be leading the oversight on humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and development component.

A source familiar with the internal dynamics of the peace process said absent a renewal of the IMT mandate, there is a “high likelihood” of another pullout by Malaysian contingents.

“That they are here without a formal mandate is just short of being made to appear like unwelcome guests,” the source said.

No cause for worry

Interviewed over the phone, MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal said there should be no cause for worry on the part of government.

Iqbal said that by his own reckoning, the IMT-5 mandate is set to expire on February 28 next year, or one year after the actual deployment of the contingents.

Any extension to the mandate must be made through the formal talks, which is what happened even at the height of the 2008 war, Iqbal recalled.

As the parties failed to restart formal talks in 2008, the Malaysian IMT contingent was pulled out from the country in the absence of a renewed mandate.

Iqbal said that if the government wants an extension, regardless of which date it reckoned the start of the IMT mandate, it must be done in a formal meeting between the panels.

“But we are not making a mountain out of that (note verbale to embassies) which is clearly a unilateral act,” he added. - RYAN D. ROSAURO

"Bomb squad" robs Petron oil depot in Misamis

2010-12-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

PETRON oil depot

ILIGAN CITY — Police authorities have already identified two groups that could have pulled a robbery in a Petron oil depot in Jimenez, Misamis Occidental last November 29, several minutes past midnight.

According to Senior Insp. Elias Hampac, Jimenez police chief, the manner of entering the oil depot’s premises “resembled that of robbery incidents in the national capital.”

Hampac said the group who did the robbery “are definitely not from Jimenez town” but could be based within Misamis Occidental.

Based on record, only P4,000 cash, and desktop and laptop computers were carted away but police authorities are alarmed at the daring method employed.

A police probe found that about a dozen armed men were able to enter the fenced compound of the Petron oil depot by posing as members of an explosives and ordnance disposal team responding to a bomb alert.

The suspects were aboard a red-plated white Asian utility vehicle. They were wearing sweat shirts printed with the words ‘Bomb Squad’ in front and ‘K-9’ at the back.

The suspects were also armed with M-16 assault rifles and caliber .45 handguns, and brought with them two Golden Retriever dogs.

After getting past the security protocols at the gate, several of the suspects ganged up on three guards and hogtied them along with their respective firearms.

Some of the armed men brought depot manager Niel Montecillo into his office and forced him to open the cash vault which yielded only a 1,000-peso bill.

The suspects then hogtied Montecillo and have him blindfolded. They poached on other possible valuable things but eventually settled on the P4,000 cash, and laptop and desktop computers.

Depot guards told police the suspects talked to them in Tagalog but communicated with each other in Cebuano.

The suspects were estimated to be from 30 to 40 years old.

However, the exact letters and numbers of the red-plated vehicle used by the suspects were not known. -RYAN D. ROSAURO

Ambush of Bukidnon radioman false, NUJP says

2010-11-30T22:41:00.000-08:00

Broadcaster Randy Makiputin

ILIGAN CITY—The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) has belied earlier claims of Bukidnon broadcaster Randy Makiputin that he was ambushed last Friday while on his way home in Valencia City.

A second NUJP alert about the incident said the report of the supposed ambush “has turned out to be false.”

NUJP Bukidnon chapter chair Arthur Sapanghari told the Inquirer by phone that instead of being the subject of harassment, their own probe found that it was Makiputin who pulled a gun and fired at several people in a motorcab.

Sapanghari said the local NUJP probe was aided by accounts from at least two witnesses, both of whom have filed their respective affidavits and issued statements to police investigators.

In his own version of the incident, Makiputin said he was on his way home aboard a motorbike when he noticed two motorcycles trailing him. As he sped away towards a stretch near their house in Dayo Subdivision, one gave him a chase, moments later he heard a pistol hammer click and then he fell.

But he managed to fight back with a lone gunshot.

The account that NUJP gathered from the witnesses says that Makiputin was driving fast when he bumped on a bag brought by a passenger trying to board a motorcab.

Makiputin fell from his motorcycle and sustained an injury at the back of his head.

The witnesses said Makiputin then pulled a gun and fired at those in the motorcab but missed. The motorcab then hurriedly left the scene to further avoid Makiputin’s ire.

Sapanghari even said that Makiputin admitted to him his doctors had said the head injury was not from a gunshot.

The witnesses also described Makiputin as intoxicated.

The NUJP’s Mindanao Safety Office said Makiputin has checked out of the hospital and can no longer be reached for comment as of Sunday, November 28.

Makiputin is not known to be a hard-hitting commentator; his radio program over Radyo Abante in Maramag town deals with music and jokes.

During Sapanghari’s program over radio dxDB on Monday, the family of the witnesses expressed concern over veiled threats so that they keep mum about the true accounts of the supposed Makiputin ambush.

“While we struggle to eliminate the problem of abuses against media practitioners, we must not turn a blind eye on the abuses of our media colleagues,” said Sapanghari. Ryan D. Rosauro

"He should live, suffering day by day" - Maguindanao massacre victim kin

2010-11-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

AMPATUAN, Maguindanao—“Killing him (Andal Jr.) will not compensate for what he did. He should live, suffering day by day the consequences of his deeds,” said Zenaida Lechonsito, older sister of Nonie who is one of those killed in the infamous Maguindanao massacre November 23 last year.

Nonie was on his way with relatives to Cotabato City from Tacurong for a medical checkup. Their car unfortunately trailed the Shariff Aguak-bound political convoy of the Mangudadatus, hence, was included among those commandeered into hinterland sitio Masalay of Salman village.

On Tuesday, several journalists and relatives of the massacre victims retraced the trail of the political convoy as a way of commemorating the November 23 tragedy that killed 57 people and left one person missing.

The victims were brutally killed, many bore bullet wounds in the head. Except for about 10 bodies, the rest were buried into pits dug days earlier in an attempt to conceal the crime.

As the convoy reached Crossing Salman, Femmalyn Magaway could not help but pour her tears and outrage.

“Until now, the pain is still very hard to erase. I can only imagine what Unsay did to them here,” Magaway, cousin of Periodico Ini reporter Noel Decena, said.

Crossing Salman is where the Mangudadatu political convoy was stopped and diverted into the hills of Masalay.

“Why haven’t the police stopped the plan of Unsay?” Magaway cried as her mother Jovencia appeased her. Decena is a very close cousin to Magaway because he stayed with her in General Santos city when he tried his luck from hometown Midsayap.

“What can the police do then? I also understand their predicament; you simply have a powerful and heartless man to contend with,” Jovencia said calmly while containing her outburst.

Upon entering the 4-km dirt road to the massacre site, Jovencia, who was on her first time to visit the area, tried to picture “their journey to death.”

“Certainly, no one would be able to help them out of that situation as they climbed the hill,” she supposed as she looked into the surroundings.

“Noel must have prayed so hard,” a tearful Jovencia said.

Moving on

Hugging Magaway, Jovencia told her to “start moving on.”

Ivy Maravilla, widow of Bombo Radyo chief of correspondents Bart Maravilla, said that the pain of losing her husband has been the same factor that pushed her to face the future.

“I have to move on especially for the sake of our children,” said an emotional Maravilla.

The Maravilla couple was blessed with five children; the eldest now 14 years old and is in third year high school, while the youngest is four years old.

When the massacre happened, Ivy was in Kuwait working as domestic helper for an Arab family with home she had a two-year service contract.

She cut short the employment to attend to Bart’s funeral and the needs of their children.

Ivy last talked to Bart a day before the massacre when he called to inform her about the printed photographs he sent. “I was very expectant to have the pictures because I haven’t seen my family for 11 months already.”

“He never mentioned about the coverage. Had he told me about it, I would not allow him to go; I heard so much about the risks of reporting about Maguindanao,” Maravilla related.

Maravilla left for Kuwait in 2008 to help Bart earn for their expanding brood.

“I planned to work there for three years. By 2011, our eldest daughter would be entering college,” she said.

Death foretold

Both natives of Bacolod city, the couple moved to Koronadal city in south Cotabato during the mid-1990s when Bart was offered a regular post in Bombo Radyo’s station there. He rose to become chief of correspondents.

They only had one child then. Four more would be born in Koronadal.

When Maravilla left for the Middle East, Bart had to take care of the children.

Prior to going abroad, Maravilla said that Bart told her he would be dead in two years, which is even before she could have come back home.

“He really ended up dead, and it came earlier. Maybe it was his way of telling me not to leave them for Kuwait,” a sobbing Maravilla said.

Subanen tribe declares victory vs mineral exploration in Mt Pinukis

2010-11-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

MIDSALIP, Zamboanga del Sur —The Subanen tribe in this frontier town of mineral-rich Zamboanga del Sur province has achieved victory over its recent fight to prevent a mineral exploration activity in the Pinukis mountain range.

On Friday, the workers of Construction and Drilling Specialists Inc. (CDSI) have started pulling out their equipments from hinterland Guinabot village.

According to Jesus Catamco of the Alliance to Save the Integrity of Nature (ASIN), it would probably take until Sunday for the equipments to finally reach the barangay road.

Another set of similar equipments also lie idle at a roadside in nearby Sigapod village.

The pullout came 16 days after the tribe, along with local environment activists, staged a picket to prevent these from being transported into designated drilling sites deep into the mix of old and second-growth forests of the Pinukis range.

Catamco related that on Thursday, he had a talk with Carlos Kho, CDSI general manager, informing the protesters about the company’s desire to pull out from the areas.

Catamco said Kho was not expecting any community opposition to the mineral exploration activities but given the ongoing protests, CDSI have decided to back off.

CDSI was only commissioned by the Geotechniques and Minerals Inc. (GAMI) to do the mineral test drilling, Catamco added.

Last year, GAMI secured a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) with the national government over 592 hectares straddling across Guinabot, Sigapod and Comarom villages.

The set of equipments CDSI is pulling out include a diamond drilling machine and about a dozen steel pipes. These are to be employed to drill for mineral samples the test results of which would determine the extent of deposits and, in turn, the viability of a mining project in the area.

The first picket was staged on October 5 in Sigapod, two days after the equipments arrived; the second on October 9 in Guinabot.

Manuela Patinio said it took them nearly a week to block the equipments in Guinabot because they were at first clueless where these were transported through.

At the time these were pulled out Friday, the equipments transported through Guinabot was only a kilometer away from the drill sites, said Patinio, citing information revealed to them by the machine operators themselves.

Patinio added that at the beginning of their picket, the protesters were told by Guinabot village chair Rodrigo Mansanades that GAMI informed him it was able to secure the final nod of the Supreme Court for its mining operation in the area.

But Catamco debunked the claim saying the High Court had yet to act on its motion to reconsider their petition to have GAMI’s mining rights revoked by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

ASIN has sought the revocation of the GAMI MPSA, along with another company, 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corporation, because of alleged irregularities in the process of obtaining the local people’s consent for their respective projects.

Among others, ASIN points out that in the consent process, the Subanen tribe was not represented by its true traditional leaders.

As CDSI was transporting its equipments away from the drill sites, Catamco said the protesters are still around, “making sure the promise to pullout was not a ploy.”

but Catamco himself admits this is only temporary victory. "We know they (GAMI) would device new ways to get around our strong opposition to their activities." Ryan D. Rosauro