Rumpus in Zamboanga over Chavacano version of the National Anthem

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (PNA / Oct. 23, 2008) - Is the Lupang Hinirang sung during flag ceremonies nationwide, the official anthem of the Philippines? Is its singing mandatory and required by law? And what is the penalty for not singing the anthem properly?

A controversy is raging in Zamboanga, among local officials, and, if resolved, could answer these questions.

First this story

The officials in formal attire — polo barong, Barong Tagalog and Filipina costume — stood on the big makeshift stage in front of City Hall one Saturday afternoon. Also there on the stage was the top military officer of the country, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander Yano.

A group of costumed men and women gathered in front of the stage and they sang: "Tierra adorada Hija de sol Oriente,Su fuego ardiente En ti latiendo esta.

Patria de amores! Del heroismo cuna, Los invadores No te hallaran jamas.En tu azul cielo, en tus auras, En tus montes y en tu mar Esplende y late el poema De tu amada libertad …" (… and so on along the melody of the Lupang Hinirang.) The civilians on stage placed their right hands on their chests. American officers and service men saluted. Filipino soldiers and policemen on stage stood at attention with their right hands by their sides.

The singing of the song or an altered version of the original Tierra Adorada was held in the afternoon of Oct. 11, the eve of the Town Fiesta of Pilar in Zamboanga City that falls on Oct. 12.

The matter could not have mattered at all, except for one alert television reporter, Lisa Jocson, who reported the story of the "incident" Monday evening over local television TV-11 Dateline Zamboanga Chavacano newscast.

In her report, Jocson explained that in that program, the Zamboanga Chorale sang the National Anthem in the Chavacano Version and that was why the soldiers and officers on the stage simply stood at attention and did not snap into salutes.

Vice Mayor Manuel Dalipe said he took time to explain to the visitors that the song sang there at the program was the Spanish or Chavacano version of the National Anthem. "I apologized to the visitors who questioned why the anthem was not sung in Pilipino."

The anthem in Chavacano was sung by the Zamboanga Hermosa Choral during the opening program where the city government conferred the title of 'Hijo de la Ciudad de Zamboanga" on Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Alexander B. Yano.

(Chavacano is the local dialect in Zamboanga that is about 70 percent Spanish) Others say that what was sung in Front of City Hall was the Spanish original version. Nevertheless, Spanish is not the official language of the country anymore.

Dalipe confirmed television footages of the occasion that showed local officials with their right hands on their chests as the Chorale sang the song in front of the improvised stage at Plaza Rizal.

The honoree and Guest Speaker during the program, Gen. Yano, who was on stage at that time, did not salute the flag while the chorale was singing the song. Other police and military officers on stage merely stood at attention, while the song was sang.

In his repartee, City Mayor Celso Lobregat said the song that was sung during the program was the Chavacano version of the anthem and not Spanish as Dalipe (originaly) claimed. Lobregat offered to donate to Dalipe a copy of a Chavacano-Spanish English Dictionary so the vice mayor "will know the difference between Chavacano and Spanish."

However, to make it official and to enter his protest on the records, the vice mayor delivered a privilege speech at the city council last October 16 and denounced the singing of the Chavacano version of the anthem.

Dalipe said that the law provides for only one version of the Philippine Anthem to be sung in Filipino. "As far as I can remember, we sing the anthem in Pilipino," Dalipe said.

LAW ON THE ANTHEM

Section 36 of Republic Act No. 8491 – an Act prescribing the Code of the National Flag, Anthem, Motto, Coat of Arms and other Heraldic items and devices of the Philippines provides that "The National Anthem shall always be sung in the national language within or without the country.

Julian Felipe composed the music for the National Anthem. Lyrics were originally written in Spanish by Jose Palma. It was later translated into English by author Camilo Osias. This was later translated into Pilipino during the administration of then President Ramon Magsaysay.

This is the version that we all know and sing these days.

The Spanish version of the anthem was sung during the Revolution against Spain and the 1990's war against the United States of America. When the Americans won that war, they took over and colonized the Philippines, they forbade the singing of the anthem, but later on allowed the singing of the English Version during the Commonwealth period after the singing of the Star Spangled Banner.

After the grant of Independence in 1946, the Filipinos continued to sing the English version of the anthem that begins with "Land of the morning, child of the sun returning, With fervor burning, thee do our souls adore…for us they sons to suffer and die. "

Councilor Jaime Cabato said that the anthem for him will be the English version because that was what he "learned in school." Filipinos within the age range of 60 and above will remember that the anthem was always sung in the English version until the time when President Ramon Magsaysay introduced the singing of the anthem in Pilipino.

Sometime in 1992 then Zamboanga Mayor Vitaliano Agan conducted a contest to translate the National Anthem from Pilipino to Chavacano. A winner was selected, but the city council did not enact an ordinance to enforce its singing because the Republic Act 8491 provides for only the Pilipino Version.

FLOODGATES TO DIVISIVENESS

Dalipe said the unauthorized singing of the national anthem in what was claimed to be a Chavacano version could open the floodgates for other tribes in the country to sing their own anthem and disintegrate the republic.

On the other hand, City Hall Information Officer Sheila Covarrubias said "a research on the national anthem of the Philippines show that the hymn has been translated to several versions in different areas which are being used by the concerned local government units during special occasions."

Writing at the Zamboanga Today newspaper, Covarrubias said these "versions include the Aklanon, Bikol, Butuanon, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilokano, Kapampangan, Kinaray-a, Manobo, Pangasian, Taosug and several other adaptations."

Zamboanga Chorale musical Director Virginia Angelina Constantinopla said that her group has been tapped to sing the doxology and the national anthem on two important occasions every year: Dia de Zamboanga and Fiesta Pilar. The mayor said that he gave no specific instruction on what they should sing but said he will support the chorale group.

Editor Frenchie Carreon of Zamboanga Today reported that she interviewed Gen. Yano who explained why he did not salute when the anthem in Chavacano was sung by the chorale.

"In her banner story titled "Yano: AFP, PN follow rule on proper flag salute," Carreon quoted Gen. Yano as saying: "It's a military rule not to salute when the anthem is sung by the audience or by a chorale."

"And we salute the Philippine Flag when the band plays the anthem, or nowadays, when an instrumental recording is played, "Carreon continued the quote.

At the Sangguniang Panlungsod, City Councilor Juan "Kim" Elago said that the office of the City Mayor should have first consulted the public or the city council before singing the national anthem in Chavacano during the program culminating the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival last Oct. 11.

Elago said that there is a law that provides that the Philippine National Anthem should be sang only in Pilipino.

"SECTION 50 of Republic Act 8491. Any person or juridical entity which violates any of the provisions of this Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than Five thousand pesos (P5,000) nor more than Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000), or by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court: Provided, That for any second and additional offenses, both fine and imprisonment shall always be imposed: Provided, further, That in case the violation is committed by a juridical person, its President or Chief Executive Officer thereof shall be liable. "
"Not so," said Mayor Lobregat.

Although the mayor acknowledges the existence of Republic Act 8931 that prescribes the national anthem, He said this law is not the final arbiter in the case as argued by the Vice Mayor and Councilor Elago.

NO PLEBISCITE HELD ON THE ANTHEM

Mayor Lobregat cited Section 2, Article 16 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution that provides that "Congress may, by law, adopt a new name for the country, a national anthem, or a national seal, which shall all be truly reflective and symbolic of the ideals, history, and traditions of the people. Such law shall take effect only upon its ratification by the people in a national referendum.' Lobregat read this quote on television.

Ergo, the mayor argues that since "no plebiscite was held on the national anthem" there is nothing wrong with singing the Chavacano version of the Lupang Hinirang."

The law on the National Anthem was approved February 12, 1998 or 11 years after the ratification of the present constitution.

He also noted that if one would follow the original music of Julian Felipe written in a march tempo, those who sang or were responsible for the singing of the anthem in non-marching tempos should be liable for violation of the law.

And the mayor asked: In the case of the boxing bouts of Manny Pacquiao in the United States, who will file a case against the singers of the anthem there?

Last Monday, the city government employees lined up in front of city hall for the flag ceremony. They sang the Lupang Hinirang, - in the Pilipino version.

And since the mayor said that somebody must decide on the argument, he challenged the vice mayor to go to the National Historical Institute and file his complaint there.

Dalipe told the PNA, "I will refer the matter to Malacañang." (Felino M. Santos / PNA)

Zamboanga Bridge, School To Undergo Repair

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 8, 2008) – Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat has ordered the renovation of a school building and foot bridge in one of the villages here.

Lobregat ordered the City Engineer's Office to prepare the plans and estimates for the projects in Mariki, a coastal village where a medical mission, spearheaded by Zamboanga City Rep. Maria Isabelle Climaco, was held Thursday.

A statement released by City hall said the medical mission was in coordination with the Joint Special Task Force-Philippines and the Philippine military, including the City Health Office.

Lobregat, who joined the humanitarian mission, also ordered the repair of the office of the village leaders in Mariki.

Other projects being implemented by Lobregat includes farm-to-market roads, school buildings, an integrated bus terminal, and housing and resettlement projects, among others.

MILF Rebels Pull Out From Occupied Mindanao Villages

Philippine military chief General Alexander Yano speaks to reporters on Friday, August 8, 2008 in Zamboanga City. Yano says Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels have begun pulling out from villages they illegally occupied in North Cotabato province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 8, 2008) – Philippine Muslim rebels have began pulling out from areas they illegally occupied in North Cotabato province in Mindanao, officials said Friday.

But sporadic fighting has been reported in Aleosan and Midsayap towns, although there were no reports of casualties. The clashes, which began before sunrise, lasted for several hours.

Philippine authorities on Thursday gave a 24-hour ultimatum to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to remove its forces after weeks of sporadic clashes forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee their homes.

“Most of the MILF elements have started to pull out since Thursday night and until today. We have the cease-fire committees on the grounds supervising the pullouts of rebels in the areas,” said Philippine military chief General Alexander Yano at a news conference in Zamboanga City.

Yano, accompanied by Lt. Gen. Nelson Allaga, the chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, also visited Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat.

Interior Secy. Ronaldo Puno said the rebels should vacate the towns or authorities would use force to drive them away.

North Cotabato Deputy Governor Emmanuel Pinol said rebels have been attacking government forces in the province and pillaged Christian villages. Rebels also torched dozens of houses.

Sporadic fighting were reported since last month in the towns of Aleosan, Midsayap, North Kabuntalan, Libungan and Pigkawayan, where rebels traded automatic and mortar fires with government militias and soldiers.

“We have to enforce the law to reclaim these areas that the rebels illegally occupied,” Yano said.

Lt. Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman for the Army's 6th Infantry Division, said about 800 rebels occupied at least 9 villages in the five towns the past weeks. “We are talking about 800 fully armed rebels here and they have begun pulling out from these areas,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said rebels were slowly withdrawing and that security forces are monitoring the pull out of MILF forces. “There is progress. The rebels are withdrawing slowly,” he said.

Ando said the rebels are retreating in small groups and would probably continue until night time.

The MILF said members of the cease-fire committees and international truce observers are in Aleosan town to monitor the situation in North Cotabato.

“The cease-fire committees and members of the International Monitoring Team are now in the areas monitoring the situation. We need measures that will sustain the peace efforts on the ground,” Eid Kabalu, a senior MILF leader, said in a separate interview.

The military said the rebel attacks in the province were connected to the opposition of North Cotabato to its inclusion in the Muslim ancestral domain signed by Manila with the MILF, which is currently negotiating peace with the government.

Kabalu denied rebels illegally occupied the villages and said government militias had attacked them and that fighting in other areas was connected to land conflict and clan wars.

Many villagers have already armed themselves with machetes and old guns to defend themselves from rebel attacks.

The MILF is the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for a separate Islamic state in the troubled South. (Mindanao Examiner)

Nur Misuari Accuses Manila Anew Of Failing To Honor 12-Year Old Peace Deal

Former Moro National Liberation Front rebel chieftain Nur Misuari is flanked by former MNLF rebels-turned-government soldiers and supporters as they marched to a mosque in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines where he speak to about 200 unarmed followers. Misuari accused the Arroyo government of failing to fully implement the 1996 peace agreement it signed with the MNLF. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 6, 2008) – The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has accused Manila on Wednesday of failing to implement the peace agreement it signed with the former Muslim rebel group more than a decade ago.

“We want freedom from the government. We don’t need a limited freedom,” Nur Misuari, leader of the MNLF who signed the peace deal in 1996, said in Zamboanga City where he met with about 200 former rebels and supporters, some from as far as Davao del Sur province.

“I have gone to all of the most dangerous places in Mindanao to tell our people to pray to almighty Allah for freedom. I call on our people to consolidate their unity and solidarity for freedom,” he said.

Misuari also spoke with his loyal MNLF leaders at the Lantaka hotel in downtown Zamboanga before attending a prayer in the nearby village of Santa Barbara.

Misuari, escorted by former rebels-turned-government soldiers, and supporters chanted “Allahu Akbar” or God is great, as they marched to the village. Security was tight for Misuari and Muslims entering the mosque to pray were frisked by soldiers for weapons.

“We really want our freedom back. The government was not really sincere in implementing the peace agreement it signed with us. We want our freedom and we want independence,” one of Misuari’s supporters, Abdulkadil Imdani told the Mindanao Examiner.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat also met with Misuari and they held a closed door meeting at the Garden Orchid hotel. Zamboanga was previously being claimed as part of the ancestral domain of the MNLF and residents had voted twice against the inclusion of their villages to the Muslim autonomous region.

Lobregat said he told Misuari that Zamboanga is a peaceful city and that residents had rejected two plebiscites in the past. Thousands of residents on Monday also rallied against attempts by Manila to include eight villages in Zamboanga City in the ancestral domain deal it signed last month with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), a breakaway faction of the MNLF.

“I have told the (MNLF) Chairman (Nur Misuari) that in Zamboanga, we always live in harmony and we always live in peace. We have no wall between us, we live in harmony and we are in unity, Christians, Muslims and Lumads (indigenous peoples) alike,” Lobregat told reporters.

The Supreme Court temporarily stopped the formal signing Tuesday in Malaysia of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain after Zamboanga City Rep. Erico Fabian and other lawmakers filed a petition on Monday.

The MILF said the agreement was already approved on July 16 in Kuala Lumpur and that Tuesday’s signing was only a formal ceremony. But Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain, which seeks to expand the five-province Muslim autonomous region, will need enabling laws for it to be implemented.

He said the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain is part of a comprehensive peace agreement that Manila and the MILF will have to negotiate and conclude.

Manila is currently negotiating peace with the MILF, now the country’s largest Muslim rebel group which is fighting for a separate homeland in Mindanao.

Misuari said his group has nothing to do with the peace talks between the government and the MILF. “We are not involved in the peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the MILF. We are not part of any agreement between the government and the MILF,” he said, referring to the ancestral domain deal which would make up the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity that would grant Muslims a separate homeland.

“We are not involved (in the peace process). We are not a party to that. We are not bound by any consequences of any peace agreement,” Misuari said.

The MNLF, under Misuari, signed the peace deal with Manila in September 1996 ending decades of bloody war. After the peace agreement was signed, Misuari became the governor of the Muslim autonomous region. But despite the peace accord, there was a widespread disillusionment with the weak autonomy they were granted.

Under the peace accord, Manila would have to provide a mini-Marshal Plan to spur economic development in Muslim areas in the South and livelihood and housing assistance to tens of thousands of former rebels to uplift their poor living standards.

Misuari is now facing rebellion charges after his followers tried, but failed to overrun a major military base in Sulu province and another group held hostage over 100 people in Zamboanga City in 2001 in an attempt to stop the elections in the Muslim autonomous region. He fled to Sabah, his former refuge, but was arrested by the Malaysian authorities and sent back to Manila. Misuari is currently out on bail.

Early this year, the MNLF Central Committee said it removed Misuari as chairman of the former rebel group and installed Muslim Sema, the Front’s Secretary-General. But Misuari insisted that he is still the chieftain of the MNLF and accused Sema, also the mayor of Cotabato City, as traitor and so were those who supported Sema.

Misuari also earned the ire of the Malaysian government after he renewed calls of the claims of the Philippines to Sabah. In retaliation, Sabah Progressive Party President Datuk Yong Teck Lee, furious over the rumblings from Misuari, has called for stricter laws on Filipinos traveling to the oil-rich state.

The Malaysian official also said that the National Security Council should closely watch developments in the southern Philippines. Lee said the NSC and the Sabah State Security Committee should act on the problems brought about by Misuari’s revival of the Sabah claims.

He also urged Kuala Lumpur to suspend the ferry service between Zamboanga and Sandakan and impose bonds on incoming visitors and to require ferry passengers to have return tickets and to step up operations against illegal Filipino immigrants.

The Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo lays claim to Sabah. The Sultanate of Sulu was a Muslim state that ruled over much of the islands off the Sulu Sea. It stretches from a part of the island of Mindanao in the east, to North Borneo, now known as Sabah, in the west and south, and to Palawan, in the north.

The Sultanate of Sulu was founded in 1457 and is believed to exist as a sovereign nation for at least 442 years. The Sultanate of Sulu obtained Sabah from Brunei as a gift for helping put down a rebellion on the Borneo Island.

The British leased Sabah and transferred control over the territory to Malaysia after the end of Second World War. Even after Borneo became part of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur still pays an annual rent of 5,000 ringgit to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu Ismail Kiram.

Misuari said what Malaysia pays to the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo is but a pittance. (Mindanao Examiner)

Zamboanga City To Resist Inclusion Of 8 Villages To Muslim Ancestral Domain

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat, left, gestures during a news conference while Abdurahman Nuno, a member of the City Council, listen. (City Hall Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 6, 2008) – The Philippines Supreme Court's order to stop the signing of a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is only the beginning of a long and tedious legal fight to retain the integrity and sovereignty of Zamboanga City, Mayor Celso Lobregat said.

Lobregat said there is much to be done to ensure that Zamboanga will remain intact. “This is only the beginning. In fact, we need more prayers. People from different faiths should be more prayerful than ever,” Lobregat said in a statement posted at the Zamboanga City website.

Lobregat said that the High Court's decision was unprecedented. “Who would have thought the Supreme Court would issue the TRO with such haste and speed?”

“We need divine intervention," Lobregat said, adding, he expects other areas covered by the ancestral domain to also protest the inclusion of their communities to the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, which would make up a separate Islamic homeland in Mindanao.

He said North Cotabato and Sibugay provinces, including the cities of Zamboanga, Iligan and Isabela have strongly opposed the inclusion of their villages to the ancestral domain.

Lobregat said a team of lawyers from the different local governments will be meeting soon in Zamboanga City to map out the next move, before August 15 when the oral arguments on the main petition begin in the Supreme Court.

The High Tribunal ordered asked the government to provide it a copy of the memorandum of agreement on the ancestral domain not later than August 8.

“The High Court issued the TRO which restrains the respondents (Government of the Republic of the Philippines) from signing the MOA-AD (with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front),” Lobregat said.

Lobregat said the government failed to consult with the locals about the ancestral domain agreement. He said residents reject the inclusion of Zamboanga City villages to the ancestral domain.

He said eight villages, including two from downtown areas, are included in the proposed Muslim homeland. But Presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon said only Sacol, a predominantly Muslim island of six villages, is included in the deal and that a referendum would follow a year later where the islanders would want to be part of a separate Muslim homeland. (Mindanao Examiner)

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat hands over to Isabela City Councilor Peter Eisma the documents stating that the entire Isabela City is included in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. Thousands of residents in Zamboanga City rallied rallied Monday, August 4, 2008 against the inclusion of 8 local villages to the Muslim ancestral domain.(City Hall Photo)

Philippines Supreme Court Stops Signing Of Islamic Homeland Deal

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat speaks during a rally Monday, August 4, 2008. Lobregat says the Supreme Court issues temporary order to stop Tuesday signing of the final draft of the Muslim ancestral domain in Malaysia between Filipino government peace negotiators and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 4, 2008) – The Philippines Supreme Court temporarily stopped on Monday the signing of final draft accord of a separate Muslim homeland in Mindanao between Filipino and rebel peace negotiators.

The court issued the temporary restraining order a day before government peace negotiators are to sign the agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is fighting the past four decades for a separate Islamic state in the troubled South.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat said he was told about the decision by Zamboanga City Rep. Erico Fabian, a political ally, who was one of several lawmakers that filed the petition. At least 8 Muslim villages here are included in the ancestral domain and Lobregat and his allies are fighting the attempts to dismember Zamboanga.

Lobregat said it was an en banc decision.

Fabian has confirmed the High Court’s order. “It is confirmed and I have informed the mayor about it,” he said. “We are very happy with the decision.”

North Cotabato Deputy Governor Emmanuel Pinol last week also petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the signing. Pinol is opposing the inclusion of several towns in the province in the ancestral domain which would make up a separate Muslim homeland under the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. (Mindanao Examiner)

Catholics Hold Rally Vs Muslim Homeland In Southern Philippines

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat speaks during a rally attended by about 3,000 people in front of the Zamboanga City Hall on Monday, August 4, 2008. Lobregat spearheaded the rally to protest the inclusion of eight most Muslim villages to a proposed Islamic homeland in Mindanao. Manila signed a deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels on the Muslim ancestral domain that will make up the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. Zamboanga was the former capital of the Moro province and part of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 4, 2008) – Some 3,000 mostly Christian residents here held a rally Monday to protest the inclusion of at least eight Muslim villages in a proposed Islamic homeland in the southern Philippines.

Mayor Celso Lobregat of Zamboanga City also criticized the government for including the villages in the ancestral domain that the government supposedly would grant the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels under the peace pact.

He said the century-old Zamboanga City Hall and the Fort Pilar, an open-air Catholic shrine and the Cathedral are located in two of the eight villages, he said.

Many of those who joined the rally wore red shirt and were mostly local government employees and students who were ordered by their teachers to join the protest. Others were curious about the rally and the issue of the Muslim ancestral domain.

Local Catholic priests in their homily on Sunday also urged the residents to join the rally.

“Our teacher told us to attend this rally. We do not know what they are talking about here,” one high school student told the Midnanao Examiner.

His teacher said the principal ordered them to bring the students at the rally. “We were just told to bring the students here at the rally and to put on a red arm band in support of the protest rally,” she said.

Some of the protesters carried placards denouncing the inclusion of Zamboanga villages in the Muslim homeland. One placard reads: “Gloria tumigil ka na…Gloria magisip-isp ka.”

Another reads: “I am a good Moro. I am against the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. Let us all unite to live in peace.”

Lobregat, also wearing a red shirt and Zamboanga City Archbishop Romulo Valles, clad in white robe and red skull cap, also spoke about the ancestral domain before the huge crowd. Some of their followers carried wooden crosses and different statues of the Virgin Mary.

President Gloria Arroyo’s peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said there is need to amend the Constitution to allow the referendum in areas under the ancestral domain that would make up the Bangsa¬moro Juridical Entity.

Peace negotiators are to formally sign the agreement on the ancestral domain on Tuesday in Malaysia, which is brokering the seven-year old talks. The peace agreement also supposedly would provide for a referendum on whether more than 700 other villages across Mindanao wanted to be part of the ancestral domain.

Lobregat said residents already twice rejected plebiscites in the past to include the city in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Esperon denied Lobregat’s claim on the coverage of the proposed plebiscite. He said only Sacol Island in Zamboanga City is included in the ancestral domain. “I assured the people of Zamboanga that only Sacol, which is a predominantly Muslim island, is included in the ancestral domain,” he said in a separate interview.

Sacol is one of 25 island communities largely populated by poor Muslims, mostly fishermen and seaweed farmers. Many Muslim enclaves in Zamboanga have little or no development projects at all and villagers rely mostly on foreign aid for their water and electricity sources, despite the city government's more than P2-billion savings in banks.

US government agencies such as the USAID, AMORE and GEM and the US military have been active in providing Muslim villages in the city with infrastructure projects, medical missions and solar-power technology that provides electricity to homes.

Several department stores, mostly owned by influential Chinese businessmen, also closed shops before noontime in support of Lobregat’s call to protest the inclusion of Zamboanga City villages to the Muslim homeland.

Lobregat said many Muslim village leaders are also opposed to the inclusion of their communities in the Bangsamoro homeland. Most of these leaders, however, are also the mayor’s allies and supporters.

But many Muslims in Zamboanga City said they wanted to be part of the Bangsamoro homeland and are supporting the MILF peace talks. Many of them claimed that they are being discriminated against by Christians. Others also claimed that many department stores in the city do not hire Muslims, but only Christians.

Muslim groups and peace advocates in Zamboanga City are supporting the peace talks and favor the ancestral domain. Ancestral domain was arguably the thorniest issue that blocked a political settlement between the government and the rebels.

Zamboanga was the former capital of the Moro province and part of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.

Aside from Zamboanga City, the ancestral domain includes the whole of ARMM and also some areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Mindanao where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes. It also covers Palawan province in western Philippines. ARMM is composed of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces and Marawi City.

Lobregat said the Arroyo government is using the policy of “divide and conquer” and “divide and rule”.

“We are for peace. We are for honorable and long lasting peace. Christians and Muslim live in harmony and peace in Zamboanga City. And we respect each other culture and religion.”

“This issue of ancestral domain again cropped up. We are appealing to the government peace panel to listen to our calls. We are part of Mindanao. We are part of the Philippines. We are Filipinos and we should thread what binds us together and not our differences. We do not believe that a juridical entity should be created out of religion or base on segregation. Here we should live together and in harmony,” Lobregat said.

Residents of Iligan City, led by Mayor Lawrence Cruz, also held a protest rally, Lobregat said. Vice Gov. Emmanuel Pinol of North Cotabato said he will also oppose any attempt to include his province in the Muslim homeland and has petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the signing of the ancestral domain accord in Kuala Lumpur.

Zamboanga City Rep. Erico Fabian also filed a similar petition on Monday at the Supreme Court.

The independent, but influential group called Peace Advocates Zamboanga (PAZ), headed by Claretian priest Angel Calvo said the signing of the ancestral domain is a big step in achieving peace in Mindanao. “It is one big step to achieving peace,” said the Spanish priest, who is also the president of the Inter-Religious Solidarity Movement for Peace in Philippines.

PAZ is a Catholic organization whose objective is the promotion of peace by strengthening good relations among Muslims and Christians, and all other peoples.

The United Opposition also called on President Gloria Arroyo to postpone the signing of the peace pact until the Supreme Court determines the legality of the agreement.

The MILF, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, appealed to Christians and Muslims in Mindanao to promote trust, understanding and cooperation, not hatred and mistrust. Rebel leaders said they will not sign any peace deal with the Arroyo government unless the demand of Muslims for self-determination is granted.

Last year, peace talks were stalled after government negotiators reneged on the ancestral-domain deal.

President Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 after deposing President Joseph Estrada. But despite the peace talks, sporadic fighting between rebels and soldiers still continue in Mindanao with both sides accusing each other of violating a fragile truce accord. (Mindanao Examiner)

Christians Being Agitated To Fight Muslim Ancestral Domain Deal In Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 4, 2008) – Christian residents in southern Philippine city of Zamboanga are being agitated to protest the inclusion of several Muslim enclaves here in a proposed Islamic homeland in Mindanao.

Local Catholic priests in their homily Sunday also urged residents to join a protest rally on Monday. In their homily, the priests said two villages largely populated by Christians would be included in the proposed Muslim homeland demanded by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which is negotiating peace with Manila.

Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat also criticized Manila for including several Muslim villages here to be part of the MILF ancestral domain, including two villages where the century-old City Hall and the Fort Pilar, an open-air Catholic shrine are situated.

Lobregat, who was invited Saturday night at a Lion’s Club convention here, spoke lengthily about his opposition to the ancestral domain and the inclusion of Christian villages in the proposed Muslim homeland. He said residents had twice rejected plebiscites in the past to include the city in the Muslim autonomous region.

Government and rebel peace negotiators have reached a deal on the ancestral domain and would sign the agreement on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur which is brokering the seven-year old talks aimed at ending more than four decades of Muslim secessionist wars in Mindanao.

President Gloria Arroyo's peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon said there is need to amend the Constitution to allow referendum on areas under the ancestral domain that would make up the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

Esperon also denied Lobregat’s claim and said only Sacol Island, about 18 nautical miles, is included in the ancestral domain. “Only Sacol is included in the ancestral domain and islanders would be given a chance whether to be part of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity or not,” he told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said: “Included in the proposed plebiscite are the villages in Sacol Island and none in mainland Zamboanga City. We should hear the voice of the people of Sacol, which is populated by Muslims. Any plebiscite will be pursuant only to an enabling law which will be enacted by Congress.”

Sacol is one of 25 island communities largely populated by poor Muslims, mostly fishermen and seaweed farmers. Many Muslim enclaves in Zamboanga have little or no development projects at all and villagers rely mostly on foreign aid for its water and electricity sources, despite the city’s more than P2 billion savings in banks.

US government agencies such as the USAID, AMORE and GEM and the US military have been very active in providing Muslim villages in Zamboanga City with various infrastructure projects, medical missions and solar-power technology that provides electricity to homes, among others.

Cell phone text messages were also spreading about the inclusion of Zamboanga City in the Muslim ancestral domain. One text message urged citizens to resist the ancestral domain and to join Monday’s protest rally.

Many commercial stores here, mostly owned by influential Chinese businessmen and supporters of Lobregat, said they will all close at 11 a.m. on Monday to protest the inclusion of the villages to the ancestral domain. Even some journalists, who are supposed to stay neutral, have joined calls to resist the ancestral domain.

Lobregat said many Muslim village leaders are also opposed to the inclusion of their communities to the Bangsamoro homeland. However, most of these leaders are also the mayor’s allies and supporters.

But many Muslims here said they wanted to be part of the Bangsamoro homeland and are supporting the MILF peace talks. Many Muslim residents in Zamboanga City said they are discriminated by Christians. Others claimed many department stores owned by Chinese businessmen here do not hire Muslims, but Christians.

Muslim groups and peace advocates in Zamboanga City are supporting the peace talks and favored the ancestral domain. Ancestral domain is the single most important and, arguably, the thorniest issue before government and rebel peace negotiators can reach a political settlement.
Zamboanga was the former capital of the Moro province and part of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.

Aside from Zamboanga City, the ancestral domain included the whole of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao which is comprise of Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, Lanao, and Maguindanao provinces and Marawi City, and also some areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani provinces in Mindanao where there are large communities of Muslims and indigenous tribes. And Palawan Island near Mindanao.

The Bangsamoro Juridical Entity will also have sufficient control over economic resources and a structure of governance in all its territories that will allow Muslims to govern themselves in ways that are consonant with their culture and with minimal interference from Manila.

Lawrence Cruz, the mayor of Iligan City in Lanao province, said he will also hold a protest rally on Monday. Deputy Governor Emmanuel Pinol, of North Cotabato, said he will oppose any attempt to include his province to the Muslim homeland.

Pinol has asked the Supreme Court to stop the government and rebel peace negotiators from signing the agreement on the ancestral domain. Lobregat and Cruz said they would also petition the High Court to stop the signing.

The MILF on Sunday appealed to Christians and Muslims in Mindanao to promote trust, understanding and cooperation and not hatred and mistrust. The rebel group previously said it will not sign any peace deal with the Arroyo government unless its demand for self-determination is granted. Last year, peace talks were also stalled after government negotiators reneged on the ancestral domain deal.

Arroyo opened peace talks with the MILF in 2001 after deposing President Joseph Estrada in a bloodless revolution. But despite the peace talks, sporadic fighting between rebels and soldiers still continue in Mindanao with both sides accusing each other of violating a fragile truce accord.

Peace negotiators last month also signed an agreement in Kuala Lumpur that will empower the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity to build, develop and maintain its own institutions, inclusive of civil service, electoral, financial and banking, education, legislation, legal, economic, police and internal security force, judicial system and correctional institutions necessary for developing a progressive Muslim society. (Mindanao Examiner)

Zamboanga Highway Collapses, Hundreds Of Commuters Stranded

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 29, 2008) – Hundreds of commuters were stranded in Zamboanga City after a portion of a highway collapsed Tuesday.

“The road is now closed and we are working on a diversion road to allow motorists to pass,” said Mayor Celso Lobregat, who inspected the site in the hillside village of Victoria.

Villagers blamed torrential rains the past months to the erosion of the soil that led to the collapse of the concrete road. There were no reports of accidents, but thousands of commuters had been stranded in Zamboanga City because provincial buses cannot pass the road.

About 100 meters of the highway was destroyed after soil beneath the road collapsed about four feet below. Surprisingly, the broken concrete slabs had no steel supports.

Last month, a pregnant mother and her child were killed after a landslide buried a house on the hillside village of Maasin also in Zamboanga City. Heavy rains triggered by typhoon Fengshen had loosened soil that buried the house. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnapped Trader Freed In Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 10, 2008) – Kidnappers have freed a local trader after almost two weeks in captivity in the southern Philippines, officials said Tuesday.

Officials said Inocente Bautista was released unharmed by his captors near the farming village of Manicahan. It was unknown whether the victim’s family paid ransom or not.

“I received reports that the victim was freed in the vicinity of Manicahan last night and he is undergoing debriefing now,” Mayor Celso Lobregat told reporters without elaborating further.

Three gunmen abducted Bautista on May 27 after barging into his office in Cabato Road near the village of Tetuan in Zamboanga City.

No group claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of Bautista whose family runs the wholesale company called Western Mindanao Corporation that sells groceries and other consumer products. His release coincided with the Abu Sayyaf kidnapping of a Manila-based television reporter Ces Drilon and her two cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, including a Muslim university professor Octavio Dinampo while ther were pursuing a story in Sulu province.

Foreign embassies have previously warned their citizens not to travel to Zamboanga City and in some parts in the southern Philippines because of threats of kidnappings and terrorism.

Zamboanga City has been attacked in the past by the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, which bombed civilian targets and in several occasions kidnapped foreigners among them a German canning executive, a Belgian agrarian expert, a Taiwanese matriarch and Chinese traders.

Just last month, a bomb explosion ripped through a two-storey building near a major military base here, killing three people and wounding more than a dozen others. Two bombs were also detonated in May at a Catholic church and in front of a commercial building, but there were no reports of casualties. (Mindanao Examiner)

Remove Elections Office In Zamboanga, Mayor Tells Poll Body

Norie Unas shows the certificate of candidacy of Muslim autonomous region Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, who is seeking reelection set in Augsut 11, 2008. (Mindanao Examiner Photo/Mark Navales).

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 3, 2008) – A southern Philippine mayor has urged the government to remove from Zamboanga City the headquarters of the Commission on Elections for the Muslim autonomous region for fear that the presence of opposing politicians could bring about troubles and security problems.

Mayor Celso Lobregat fears that opposing politicians could pose a problem in Zamboanga City. He called on the poll body to transfer its headquarters in areas covered by the Muslim autonomous region. “Zamboanga City is not even part of the autonomous region,” he said.

The Muslim autonomous region is composed of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao, Maguindanao and Shariff Kabunsuan provinces, including the cities of Lamitan and Marawi in the southern Philippines.

Lobregat made the calls after dozens of armed policemen and soldiers escorted Norie Unas, who represented Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, of the Muslim autonomous region, in filing the politician’s certificate of candidacy on May 29 in Zamboanga City.

Ampatuan was not able go to Zamboanga City because he accompanied President Gloria Arroyo who visited Tawi-Tawi province. Ampatuan, an ally of Arroyo, is seeking reelection which is set on August 11.

The security escorts, armed with automatic weapons, were also spotted outside a hotel where Unas’ group was billeted. Unas’ group also caused a huge traffic jam outside the elections headquarters near the Zamboanga City International Airport, witnesses claimed.

But Vidzfar Julie, deputy regional elections chief, said the Commission on Elections is a Constitutional body and is not under the Muslim autonomous region. “We are not under the Muslim autonomous regional government and we will continue to hold office in Zamboanga City unless the Commission of Elections in Manila tells us to transfer,” Julie told the Mindanao Examiner.

The presence of a huge number of armed security forces from the autonomous region had worried many officials in Zamboanga City. Local politicians usually go around with only one or no bodyguards at all, while government officials from nearby provinces bring only two or three uniformed security escorts.

Followers of warring politicians from the Muslim autonomous region had previously clashed in Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)

Sulu Students Tour Asia's Latin City

Some 80 grade school Muslim students and teachers, led by Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan arrive in Zamboanga City for an educational tour Wednesday, May 14, 2008 where the children met and spoke with Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat, who briefed the visitors about the historic past of Zamboanga, now branded as Asia's Latin City. The children also toured the local Coca-Cola bottling plant and the Pasonanca mountain park in Zamboanga City. The tour, dubbed as Lakbay-Bata, is a joint project between the Sulu Provincial Government and the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the United States' Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 14, 2008) – Some 80 Muslim grade school students and teachers from Sulu province in the southern Philippines toured Zamboanga City in Mindanao as part of a program aimed at educating the children about the region’s historical past.

The students, accompanied by Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan, met with the local Mayor Celso Lobregat who briefed them about Zamboanga and its past. “This is program aims to provide the children about our rich culture and history and will make them more patriotic and responsible as young citizens of this country,” Tan said.

Tan said the tour is a joint project between the Sulu Provincial Government, the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region, the Philippine and US military forces.

Lobregat welcomed the children and even sang them a song. “We are happy that Governor Sakur Tan brought all of you to our beautiful Zamboanga, Asia’s Latin City and we are sure that you will enjoy your stay in Zamboanga,” Lobregat told some 60 students and 20 teachers at the City Hall.

The branding of Zamboanga as Asia's Latin City was spearheaded by the League of Cities, the World Bank and the involvement of the different local sectors. Its dialect is a mixture of Spanish and other Filipino tongues.

Chavacano is spoken by a majority of the people here, in Basilan and other parts of the Zamboanga Peninsula. The growth of Chavacano in Zamboanga can be traced to a concentration of Spanish nationals in Zamboanga at the height of the Spaniards colonization efforts in Mindanao that lasted for centuries until the late 1800.

Local officials said this would give the city a positive shift since it carries an international appeal and anchored on the rich Castilian influence and history of Zamboanga City, once called the City of Flowers because of its beautiful landscapes and flower gardens.

The branding of Zamboanga will provide the city with a competitive global outlook instead of just comparing it with other cities in Mindanao, according to Lobregat.

Zamboanga City had been under Spanish rule in the past and was also used as a base for American soldiers. The city is also popularly known as "Zamboanga Hermosa."

While Sulu was a known international trade center for Chinese traders in the past and Zamboanga served as an economic gateway to Mindanao and the central Philippines.

The area around Zamboanga Peninsula has been occupied by indigenous people as early as 30,000 years ago. The first inhabitants were the Subanons and Lutaos and later, the Islamized ethnic groups of Samals, Bajaus, Tausugs, and Yakans. (Jun Delgado)

Do Not Sensationalize News On British Man, Zamboanga Mayor Appeals

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 10, 2008) – Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat has appealed to the local press not to sensationalize the news on a British man who was reported missing here.

Lobregat’s appeal came after media reports suggested the disappearance of James David Rowe was related to kidnapping.

“Mayor Celso Lobregat yesterday appealed to the media not to blow up the story concerning the alleged missing British national suspecting it to be a case of a transaction that has gone sour,” a statement said.

Senior Superintendent Lurimer Detran, Zamboanga City police chief, told Lobregat that Rowe’s companion, Kung Kwan Kung, a Chinese national, reported that the Briton had been missing for two days already.

“Detran brought the complainant to Mayor Lobregat to explain the circumstances that led to the report on the missing British national, as media members try to pass the incident as a kidnapping case,” the statement said.

It said based on investigation, Rowe, who is residing in San Carlos City in Negros Occidental and Kung, of Paranaque City in Luzon, are partners in a business deal involving outboard engines.

Rowe was supposed to provide the engines amounting to P400, 000 that Kung paid to him earlier. The two were billeted at a local hotel but a day after they checked in, Rowe disappeared causing Kung to report the incident, it said.

“My appeal is to the media, please do not blow this up, this is probably a transaction that has gone sour. These two individuals have a business transaction that hash not pushed through,” Lobregat said.

Prior to his disappearance, Kung told the police that Rowe was asking about the fastest way to go to Cebu City near Negros province, which led authorities to suspect that the British man had flown out of Zamboanga.

Lobregat has ordered Detran to closely coordinate with the San Carlos City Police and agencies concerned to trace the whereabouts of the British national.

Detran said local investigators have coordinated with the San Carlos Police and are waiting for reports. “He vowed to look into the matter even if it is a case of a bitter transaction,” the statement said.

Grenade Blast Injures Boy In Zamboanga

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 06, 2008) – A grenade attack in the southern Philippine port city of Zamboanga wounded a boy and the rising criminalities here are worrying traders and government officials.

The blast occurred in the village of Ayala and police is investigating the motive of the attack late Monday afternoon. A spate of gun attacks and extra-judicial killings since last month have worried officials.

On Monday, an unidentified motorcycle gunman shot a shipping employee in the head as his vehicle slowed down on a stop light near downtown Zamboanga.

A lawyer was also shot in the head inside a church during a mass, sending worshipers scampering for safety. Just last week, a university professor was also gunned down by unidentified assailants near him house and previous killings remain unsolved.

And all these killings occurred despite a total gun ban in Zamboanga City, but many hired killers also operate here and this is aggravated by threats of terrorism and kidnappings.

Last month, two homemade bombs were detonated at a Catholic cathedral and a commercial building here. Police blamed the Abu Sayyaf group and the separatist rebel, Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The United States, Canada, Australia and Britain had previously warned their citizens not to travel to Zamboanga and other parts of Mindanao because of threats of terrorism.

Mayor Celso Lobregat has assured the public that Zamboanga City is safe and police said the killings were “isolated cases” and mostly triggered by feud. (Mindanao Examiner)

Barter Traders' Building Demolished In Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Backed by a Supreme Court decision, the city government Wednesday demolished the Zamboanga Barter Goods Retailers Association, Inc. (ZAMBAGORA) building in downtown Zamboanga City.

City Administrator Elias Enriquez, who supervised the demolition, said some 288 stall owners cooperated with the demolition crew. The second phase of the demolition is set on Friday.

Enriquez said the Supreme Court affirmed with finality the orders issued by the Regional Trial Court favoring the city government’s plan to occupy the property. The demolition marked the end of a 10-year legal battle on the property which started way back during the time of the late Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat, the mother of the current mayor.

“There was no resistance from the occupants, everything went on smoothly,” Enriquez said.
He said the demolition will pave the way for the proposed construction of a multi-level parking building, one of the priority projects under the City Development Strategies.

In 1998, the city government wanted to take over the property for the construction of a fire station. However, due to court litigations initiated by the ZAMBAGORA, the city failed to beat the deadline set by the Bureau of Fire and Protection for the identification of the site.

The funding for the purpose was also reverted by the national government for other purposes due to the delay in the identification of the lot. Erniquez is confident that the proposed project of the city government would push through this time in view of the support and cooperation of the ZAMBAGORA building occupants. (Sheila Covarrubias)

Summer Sports Clinic Kicks Off In Zamboanga City

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - While most employees across the country are off to observe the May 1 Labor Day celebration, hordes of young Zamboangueños and their parents, are expected to fill the Joaquin Enriquez Sports Complex for the city-sponsored Summer Learn to Play a Sports program.

The program, a top priority of the administration of Mayor Celso Lobregat, is a month long free training on 26 sports events for children aged 7-15 years old.

City Sports Division, reported CSD Director Bernardito Patiño said some 4,000 young children have secured registration forms.

The 26 sport disciplines offered for free to youngsters include aikido/arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball, baseball, body building, boxing, chess, dancesport, fencing, football, gymnastics, judo, karate-do, lawn tennis, muay thai, pencak silat, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling, and wushu.

All disciplines will be hosted at the Enriquez Sports Complex. However, Patiño detailed, table tennis will also be conducted simultaneously at the Mercedes Elementary School. Weightlifting will also have classes at Boalan, Talon-Talon and San Roque.

The sports program, now on its 13th year, had produced some of the city’s top athletes who perform exceptionally both at national and international competitions.

The 13th Summer Learn to Play will officially open with a short ceremony at the Enriquez Sports Complex at 1 p.m. with Mayor Celso Lobregat as keynote speaker.

Sangguniang Kabataan President Joefel de las Peñas and Councilor Roel Natividad will also grace the event. (Claudine Uniana)

Zamboanga Draws Up Plan For Food Security

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The City government is now laying the groundwork for the convening of a “food summit” next month which aims to put a comprehensive plan to ensure food sufficiency amidst the threat on global warming.

Mayor Celso Lobregat met with concerned agencies to discuss about rice production measures, climate change and food summit and other issues affecting the residents as an offshoot of global warming.

“We want to get everybody involved. We will discuss climate change and more importantly what each and every one of us as citizens—individually and collectively can do to delay the impact of global warming and what can be done by each and every individual to address the food security aspect,” Lobregat said.

Lobregat on Monday held a meeting with the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), the City Environment and Natural Resources Officer (OCENR), City Human Resource Management Office (CHRMO), City Legal Office, City Agriculturist Office and the City Administrator’s Office to plan the mechanics for the proposed food summit.

He cited the need to involve the academe, the civil defense, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Science and Technology-PAG-ASA, National Food Authority and the Department of Agriculture among to ensure a ripple effect of the things to be discussed during the summit.

Lobregat said Zamboanga is an importer of rice and that it produces 30 percent of the rice demand. “We have to look at measures to either increase the production or decrease wastage on the demand side,” he said.

He said the city should help in the global campaign to help control climate change. Zamboanga City, he said, has experienced two storm surges last year that brought devastating effects.

The effects of the series of events that happen worldwide due to climate change put a lot of pressure on food supply, the mayor stressed. “Many countries are experiencing food shortage and there are areas where crops are destroyed,” he said.

Lobregat stressed that while the problem is a worldwide concern, measures to resolve the same should start from the individual community and each and every citizen. The proposed food summit, he said, is tentatively set for May 20. The mayor hoped that the participants to the forum will re-echo the things that will be learned to their individual sectors. (Sheila Covarrubias)

Of Zamboanga's Greatest Mayor Remembered

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 26, 2008) - Hundreds of people on Saturday gathered in Zamboanga City to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late Maria Clara Lobregat.

Lobregat, a known philanthropist who died from diabetic complications in January 2, 2004, was considered by the locals as one of Zamboanga's greatest leaders.

Droves of people gathered at the Jardin de Maria Clara in Pasonanca Park to offer flowers and to remember good memories of erstwhile mayor on her 87th birth anniversary dubbed as Dia de Madam Caling.

Maria Clara or Caling was born on April 2, 1921 in Zamboanga City as the second child of the five children of Spanish-Filipino Don Pablo Lorenzo who was a mayor of Zamboanga City, a representative to the first Philippine Assembly and a delegate to the Philippine Constitutional Convention, and Luisa Rafols of Cebu City.

Lobregat was the first woman mayor of Zamboanga and also served as representative to the Philippine Congress. Her son, Celso, became representative to the former lone district of Zamboanga City in 1998 and later a mayor in 2004 until the present.

"I thank the City Council for passing an ordinance making Dia de Madam Caling on her birthday, not on the day she died, because we want to have good memories and all of us remember our personal and collective memories of Madam Caling," he said.

The 21st mayor of Zamboanga City, Lobregat, started her political career in 1971 when she was elected as the city's delegate to the Constitutional Convention. She ran for the position of regional representative to the Batasang Pambansa in the early 1980s but lost to the more colorful Cesar C. Climaco. In 1987, she ran for Zamboanga City's congressional seat and won the election.

She was considered as one of the greatest political leader in the Philippines because of her many achievements and love for humanity. (With a report from Claudine Uniana)

Photo: Zamboanga City's Paseo Del Mar

Ito ang reclaimed area sa Zamboanga City sa Mindanao na planong gawing baywalk ni Mayor Celso Lobregat ng tulad sa Maynila na kung saan ay maaring mamasyal at mamasdan ang takip-silim. Tinawag itong "Paseo del Mar" ngunit sa kabila ng malaking pondo Zamboanga City ay halos hindi naman matapos-tapos ang proyekto at kakapiranggot ang siyang nasimulan, ngunit todo pagmamalaki naman ang mga lokal ng opisyal sa naturang baywalk. Makikita rin ang harapan ng Paseo del Mar sa hiwalay na larawan sa ibaba. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)