“I’ll not stop till I’m No. 1,” says Gibo

MANILA, Philippines - “I’ll not stop till I’m No. 1.” This was the quick and brief reply of Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate Gibo Teodoro when asked by reporters in a chance interview to comment on the results of the latest tracking poll showing a dramatic bounce in his ratings to No. 2 among this year’s presidentiables.

Gibo was interviewed by journalists at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati City, where he spoke about banking reforms and other issues during the national convention of the Chamber of Thrift Banks of the Philippines.

The third tracking poll by the political research outfit The Campaigns & Image Group showed that although Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar of the Nacionalista Party (NP) remains on top, Gibo has jumped to 2^nd place after overtaking Sen. Benigno "Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP).

Campaigns & Image Group, has predicted a surge in Gibo’s rating in the second half of this year’s electoral campaign season on the strength of his strong support among the youth and the formidable Lakas-Kampi-CMD machinery.

In this latest poll that Campaigns & Image conducted with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), Villar remained the survey frontrunner with a rating of 31%, up by 3 percentage points from his previous rating of 27% in the earlier survey done in the week ending Feb. 17.

Gibo followed with 24%, which is a significant increase of 6 percentage points from his previous rating of 18% in the Feb. 17 survey.

Aquino dropped 8 percentage points to 20% from his previous rating of 28% in the Feb. 17 survey. When Campaigns & Image first did its survey of voter’s preferences for President in Dec. 2009, Aquino’s rating was at 31% and remained unchanged a month later when the group conducted its January survey.

Former President Joseph Estrada landed in fourth place with 13%, which was an increase of 6 percentage points from his rating of 7% in the previous survey. Sen. Richard Gordon got 5% and TV evangelist Eddie Villanueva, 2% in the March survey where 4% of the voters were still undecided on their choice of presidential candidate for the May 10 elections.

Gibo’s rating of 24% in the survey conducted by Campaigns & Image and the PPCRV during the week ending March 7 was enough to dislodge from second place Aquino, whose rating has been steadily declining as shown in the three previous surveys of voters’ preferences for President done jointly by these two groups.

In its analysis of the poll results, Campaigns & Image said Gibo’s ratings took off from single-digit levels in December 2009 to 24% in March due to “the political machinery of the administration party and (his efforts of) touching base with local government politicians seeking re-election into various offices.”

It also noted that Gibo’s campaign relies heavily on “a large network of volunteers …..in colleges and universities that by far put him well-entrenched in the psyche of voters across the 18-28 and 29-39 age brackets.”

Gibo’s jump in the surveys could be attributed, said Campaigns & Image, to “the political machinery of the administration party and (his efforts of) touching base with local government politicians seeking re-election into various offices.”

Gibo’s ratings, according to the research firm, is expected to further surge when the campaign period for local bets kick off on March 27, which is the time when the ruling party’s machinery that reaches down to the grassroots would start to work full blast in his favor.

Conducted among 5,100 adults of voting age nationwide, the separate survey by Campaigns and Image asked the respondents the question: “Who among the 10 presidential candidates do you think is capable of governing the Philippines and for whom will you be voting for the presidency?”

“This survey by the Campaigns & Image Group is by far the most comprehensive, easy-to-follow presentation because, unlike its Pulse Asia, TNS and SWS counterparts, it pinpoints the reasons for any change—increase or decrease—in the governance capability rating (GCR) of candidates,” it said.

NPA rebels kill miner; abduct 2 villagers in Mindanao

Government soldiers who are wounded in a clash with communist insurgents rest Sunday, March 14, 2010 at a military hospital in Davao City in the southern Philippines. An army soldier was also killed in the clash which occurred in Davao City's Paquibato district. (Mindanao Examiner Photo).

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 14, 2010) – Communist insurgents killed a gold mine worker and abducted his two brothers in a raid on a village in the southern Filipino province of Compostela Valley, security officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the New People’s Army insurgents shot and killed Felix Valiente Jr after he resisted the gunmen late Friday in the village of Calbcab in Maco town. The gunmen also seized his brothers, one of them a former insurgent, who surrendered to the military several years ago.

“In a show of ruthlessness, New People’s Army terrorists shot dead a mine worker while two more of the victim’s brothers were abducted in the village. Felix shot dead when he resisted to go with the terrorists while his two brothers identified as Jamil Valiente and Jimboy Valiente were taken at gunpoint,” said Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.

“Local residents believe that the crime was done in light of the continued refusal of the victims’ other brother to rejoin the NPA. Felix they say have repeatedly rebuked the NPAs in trying to convince his other brother, a rebel returnee known with his nom de guerre as Aying, to rejoin the local terrorists,” Garcia said.

He said the NPA also killed four other people, including a 13-year old girl, in separate attacks in Davao since earlier this year.

“The NPA publicly admitted carrying out several killings - targeting civilians, soldiers - conducting peace and development projects, unwary policemen and unarmed government militias to include village officials and elders of indigenous communities who oppose the communist influence in Mindanao,” Garcia said.

There was no immediate statement from the NPA about the allegations. The NPA is the military wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which has been waging a secessionist war for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Solder, Rebel Killed In Davao Clashes

A member of the Philippine Army’s Task Force Davao manning a checkpoint reacts on the presence of journalists Saturday, March 13, 2010 in the village of Toril in Davao City in Mindanao. The soldier warned journalists not to take photographs at the checkpoint for a still unknown reason. Communist rebels have killed one army soldier and injured three more in an attack at a village in Paquibato District in Davao City on Friday and another clash Saturday in Davao del Sur’s Santa Cruz town left one insurgent dead, security officials say. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 13, 2010) – A government soldier and communist rebel were killed in separate clashes in the southern Philippines, officials told the Mindanao Examiner on Saturday.

Officials said soldiers clashed with New People’s Army forces in Santa Cruz town in Davao del Sur province on Saturday and killing one rebel. The fighting broke out a day after rebels killed one government soldier and wounded three others in an attack Friday in Paquibato district in Davao City.

“There are operations in Davao area and troops are pursuing the NPA terrorists,” said Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.

He said soldiers recovered weapons and anti-government propaganda left behind by rebels in Davao del Sur.

Friday’s fighting in Davao City’s Paquibato district erupted after army soldiers pursued a band of rebels who held up political campaigners for House Speaker Prospero Nograles and his son Karlo Nograles. Both are running for elective post in May elections.

A member of the Philippine Army’s Task Force Davao manning a checkpoint Saturday, in the village of Toril in Davao City also warned journalists not to take photographs for a still unknown reason.

Garcia accused the rebels of harassing the political propagandists of Nograles, who is running for mayor in Davao City; and his son as congressman.

The military earlier accused the NPA of extorting money from politicians and their supporters while campaigning in areas where rebels are actively operating. It said the rebels were demanding as much as P5 million from politicians in exchange for safe passage.

The NPA is the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines which broke off peace talks with Manila in 2004 after accusing President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on several humanitarian agreements.

The rebels have been fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gibo is No. 2 in latest survey!

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Manuel “Manny” Villar of the Nacionalista Party (NP) remains on top but Lakas-Kampi-CMD presidential candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr has now jumped to second place after having overtaken Senator Benigno "Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP) in the latest survey conducted nationwide by an independent research firm three weeks after the start of the official campaign period for national posts in the May 10 elections.

Teodoro’s rating of 24% in the survey conducted by the Campaigns & Image Group during the week ending March 7 was enough to dislodge from second place Aquino, whose rating has been steadily declining as shown in the three previous surveys of voters’ preferences for President done by this marketing research firm with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

Conducted among 5,100 adults of voting age nationwide, this survey asked the respondents the question: “Who among the 10 presidential candidates do you think is capable of governing the Philippines and for whom will you be voting for the presidency?”

Villar remained the survey frontrunner with a rating of 31%, up by 3 percentage points from his previous rating of 27% in the earlier survey done in the week ending Feb. 17. Teodoro followed with 24%, which is a significant increase of 6 percentage points from his previous rating of 18% in the Feb. 17 survey.

Aquino dropped 8 percentage points to 20% from his previous rating of 28% in the Feb. 17 survey. When Campaigns and Image first did its survey of voter’s preferences for President in Dec. 2009, Aquino’s rating was at 31% and remained unchanged a month later when the group conducted its January survey.

Former President Joseph Estrada landed in fourth place with 13%, which was an increase of 6 percentage points from his rating of 7% in the previous survey.

Sen. Richard Gordon got 5% and TV evangelist Eddie Villanueva, 2% in the March survey where 4% of the voters were still undecided on their choice of presidential candidate for the May 10 elections.

Campaigns & Image said that to gauge the governance capability rating (GCR) of each candidate, it also asked respondents the question: How do you rate your preferred candidate in accordance with the following parameters (—leadership, experience, integrity, transparency, platform and accessibility)?

Based on this question, Villar got a GCR of 81%, followed by Teodoro with 74%, Aquino with 70%, and Estrada 62%.

“This survey by the Campaigns & Image Group is by far the most comprehensive, easy-to-follow presentation because, unlike its Pulse Asia, TNS and SWS counterparts, it pinpoints the reasons for any change—increase or decrease—in the governance capability rating (GCR) of candidates,” the survey group said.

“The GCR includes the voters’ perception on individual qualification (leadership ability and management experience), track record (accessibility, integrity, and transparency) and relevance of platform.”

Campaigns & Image noted that “there is a corresponding percentage weight for each of the parameters that add up to a candidate’s GCR.”

It pointed out that Villar remained the top spender in TV advertising during the period when the survey was conducted.

Teodoro’s jump in the surveys, on the other hand, could be attributed to “the political machinery of the administration party and (his efforts of) touching base with local government politicians seeking re-election into various offices,” Campaigns & Image noted.

“Because most of the provincial and mayoralty candidates of the Liberal Party are over 65 years old, they had been unable to shore up (Aquino’s) ascendancy among young and middle-aged voters,” Campaigns & Image said.

Peace deal unlikely under President Arroyo, says MILF

A Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighter peeks through the sight of a .50-caliber machine gun Friday, March 12, 2010 at a rebel outpost in the southern Philippines. The MILF, which is negotiating peace with Manila, says it is unlikely to sign a peace deal with President Gloria Arroyo who is stepping down in May this year. Arroyo opened up peace talks with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group in 2001 in an effort to end decades of bloody fighting in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao. Below, MILF deputy chieftain Ghazali Jaafar. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 12, 2010) – The Philippines’ largest Muslim rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front said Friday it is likely to sign a peace deal with President Gloria Arroyo, who is to step down in May when her term ends.

Arroyo opened up peace talks with the MILF in 2001 and signed several agreements in the past; including a cease-fire accord that prevented major clashes in the restive, but mineral-rich region of Mindanao, home to more than 4 million Muslims.

Ghazali Jaafar, the MILF’s deputy chieftain, said there is not enough time to continue the talks, but he expressed optimism the next president will honor all agreement signed under Arroyo’s rule.

“We have no more time to continue the peace talks and the peace negotiators are trying to reach an interim agreement so we may preserve the gains of the talks. We just hope the next president will continue the peace process. We are for peace,” Jaafar said from his base in Mindanao.

The MILF, he said, is fighting for self-determination in Mindanao, which was formerly ruled by the sultans until the Spaniards came and colonized the Philippines in 1521. The rule lasted more than 300 years.

“But I tell you, even if the Spaniards came, we were never colonized. The Bangsamoro people were never conquered,” Jaafar said, referring to the Muslims and the valiant fighting spirit that they are known for.

Jaafar is one the most senior leader of the MILF, which is now headed by the secluded Murad Ebrahim, who previously was the group’s military chieftain.

Many of the MILF fighters said they are supporting the peace process and also hope that the next administration would honor all agreements signed since 2001 by the two sides.

The MILF peace panel is headed by Mohagher Iqbal and his government counterpart Rafael Seguis.

“Yes, I am for peace. I am supporting the peace talks. There is no reason to fight because we are also for peace,” said MILF rebel Anwar as he held on to his rocket-propelled grenade launcher near his detachment in Mindanao.

Like Anwar, the others in his unit also are supporting the peace process. “We don’t want fighting anymore. It only brings misery and destruction, hunger and pain. We want peace also,” said another MILF fighter, Musa, who fought government soldiers half of his life in Mindanao defending their ancestral lands and rights as a proud Muslim.

“Time will come that instead of this automatic rifle, I will probably be carrying my son and live a peaceful and quiet life – all for the sake of peace and the future of our children and the next generation, Inshaallah! In God’s will,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Fisherman casts net in Mindanao's Rio Grande River

A fisherman casts his net Wednesday, March 10, 2010 in Rio Grande de Mindanao River that cuts through the province of Maguindanao in the southern Philippines. General elections are set in may this year with many politicians seeking public office promise to address poverty problems in the restive, but mineral-rich region. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Maguindanao Farmer Passes Near Military Checkpoint

A young Muslim farmer covers his face as he and his family pass Wednesday, March 10, 2010 near a military checkpoint in Shariff Aguak town in the southern Filipino province of Maguindanao where 57 people, including at least 31 journalists were brutally killed in November last year after gunmen attacked a political convoy. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

BNLA members walk in southern RP village

Members of the Bangsamoro National Liberation Army walk on a village in the southern Filipino province of Sulu in this undated photo handout. The BNLA has claimed responsibility for the spate of attacks in the province, including the killings of two US Special Forces soldiers last year who perished after a roadside bomb exploded underneath their Humvee while on a patrol. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Importance of Dialogue Mindanao stressed; consultations continue in Butuan City

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines - “Peace is too precious to be left alone in the hands of fighting forces,” so said “Dialogue Mindanaw” consultant Fr Albert Alejo in Iligan City on Tuesday even as he underscored the importance of the Reflective Dialogue through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process headed by Secretary Anabelle Abaya that puts the public at the forefront and gives them a chance to help pave the way for lasting harmony in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, “Dialogue Mindanaw” continues its Mindanao sojourn on Thursday in Butuan City.

“Nag-aaway ang dalawang puwersa para sa tao pero hindi naman nakokonsulta ang mga tao,” said Fr. Alejo during the consultations held Tuesday (March 9) at the Elena Tower Inn here, referring to government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that have been waging a bloody war for decades.

Alejo emphasized the two sides fight with different missions in mind, unaware of the fact that thousands, if not millions, of people are being affected by their armed conflict in the region.

“Sa kanila nang lahat pero ang mga tao ang naaapektuhan sa kanilang ginagawa,” Alejo added.

According to Abaya, the Iligan leg attracted 287 participants, including representatives from internally displaced people, local government units, military, lumads, women, police, civil society, non-government organizations, business, academe, Maranaw, traditional leaders and international groups.

Abaya said participants came as far as Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur and Marawi City , showing how eager they were to give their piece on the matter.

"This is what we came here (Iligan) for, their opinions, views and suggestions that would help the two sides achieve what Mindanaoans are longing for,” Abaya said.

Aside from Abaya, also participating in the event were Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz and Rev. Fr. Regino R. Quijano of PAKIGDAIT Inc., OPAPP’s local partner for the event.

Dr Guimba Poingan laid down the MILF’s position in the peace process while Dr Ronald Adamat enlightened the participants about the government’s stance on the matter.

During the consultations, participants appreciated and expressed positive acceptance for “Dialogue Mindanaw” and majority of them asked OPAPP to undertake more dialogues like this.

Other sectors claimed that for the peace talks to succeed, both the government and the MILF should show transparency in their negotiations.

Abaya assured all participants that opinions and proposals gathered during Reflective Dialogues would be taken up in the resumption of negotiations between government and MILF.

“Views, opinions and reactions from the public will come into play when the peace talks resume next month in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia ,” Abaya said.

OPAPP has put up an official website (http://www.mapayapangmindanao.info) for "Dialogue Mindanaw", aside from accounts in popular social networking sites such as Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mapayapangmindanao) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/peacemindanao).

Also, comments on the Mindanao peace process can also be relayed through the following text lines: 0999-42-PEACE (73223) for Smart users and 0917-83-PEACE (73223) for Globe subscribers.

13 NPA rebels captured in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 10, 2010) – Philippine soldiers captured 13 communist insurgents in continuing operations in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao, officials said Wednesday.

Officials said among those captured were several New People’s Army leader, including women who belong to the group’s medical unit.

“The capture of the NPA terrorists was the result of our continuing operation in Mindanao,” said Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division.

He said the insurgents were part of a group of NPA forces who escaped a military raid Friday in the village of Salvacion in Monkayo town where a government soldier was killed and three more wounded.

Garcia said troops also recovered from the insurgents a shotgun, a caliber .357 revolver, ammunition, military uniforms and subversive documents.

Lieutenant Colonel Gilbert Saret, who led the operation against the NPA, said the insurgents were behind the spate of roadside bombings which targeted troops in the province.

“The apprehension of the group is a big blow to NPA terrorists and a welcome respite to peace loving people of Compostela Valley who have been at the receiving end of NPA atrocities to include the emplacement of improvised explosives as roadside bombs which endanger even the ordinary civilians,” he said.

The NPA is waging a secessionist war for decades and peace talks with Manila collapsed in 2004 after the insurgents accused President Gloria Arroyo of reneging on several agreements, among them was the release of all political prisoners in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gibo and Noynoy neck-and-neck

MANILA, Philippines - A new mock poll among students showed both Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard-bearer Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro and Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III breasting the tape in the race to become the next president of the Philippines.

Fr. Rolando de la Rosa, UST rector, said in a news briefing the results were from the third and final Political Opinions of the Youth Survey (POYS) conducted from February 16 to 19 at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila.

De la Rosa said Aquino and Gibo led other presidential candidates with 33.2 percent and 32.5 percent, respectively, or a difference of 0.7 percent—“effectively a statistical tie.”

Aquino and Gibo, who are second cousins, placed 11th and 13th, respectively, in the first survey round in August, then shot to first and second place, respectively, in the second survey round in December with 34.7 percent and 33.5 percent.

“The UST polls validated a persistent trend in campus mock polls indicating that the former defense chief is emerging as a serious contender in the wings in what was originally perceived as a neck-and-neck fight between Senators Aquino and Manny Villar for the presidency,” said former press secretary Mike Toledo, who is now Gibo’s spokesman and director of the G1BO Media Bureau.

Recent reports point to Gibo’s poll bounce, with his ratings breaking through the two-digit barrier and threatening to dislodge or actually dislodging former President Joseph Estrada from the No. 3 slot, Toledo said.

The UST poll placed Sen. Richard Gordon at third place with 15.4 percent, the largest percentage increase among the candidates from 7.7 percent in the survey conducted in December 2009.

Villar obtained 7.2 percent of the votes, down from 10.3 percent in December 2009, and half his votes in August, when he scored 14.6 percent.

Bro. Eddie Villanueva obtained 1.5 percent of the votes; Estrada, 1 percent; environmentalist Nicanor Perlas, 0.7 percent; Olongapo Councilor JC de los Reyes, 0.2 percent; and Sen. Jamby Madrigal, 0.1 percent.

Asked to tick off the main issues affecting the country that politicians should address, 18.9 percent cited corruption in society; poverty, 16.3 percent; education access and quality, 15.9 percent; peace and order, 10.6 percent; and inefficient government services, 8.8 percent.

Dela Rosa said that of the target respondents of 35,889, almost 40 percent or 13,599 students from 12 colleges of the university participated in the final survey round.

“With almost 40 percent response rate, the margin of error of the survey was already less than 1 percent. The survey was implemented using the E-leap system of the Ed-Tech Center of UST through the Central Commission on Elections under the Office for Student Affairs,” de la Rosa said.

Toledo said the UST polls join the growing list of mock polls conducted in universities and colleges nationwide that Gibo has been dominating in the past two months.

At the Ateneo de Manila University, which is Aquino’s alma mater, the mock election set aside school ties to choose Gibo as the students’ presidential preference (598 Gibo versus 589 Aquino), Toledo said.

At the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, which was presumed to be Villar’s turf because he took his undergrad there (Gibo had his BA from La Salle and law at UP), Toledo said that students went for Gibo (1,669 or 25 percent for Gibo versus 1,481 or 22 percent for Aquino) .

At UP Mindanao, Gibo garnered 33.3 percent of votes, followed by Aquino (24.4 percent), Gordon (20 percent) and Villar (13.3 percent), he said.

Toledo said the most stunning support for Gibo came from students of Holy Angel University in Angeles City.

The conventional wisdom was the students there would go for Aquino, a fluent Pampango speaker and considered a native son. Instead , the mock polls showed a decisive vote for Gibo, a 2-1 lead over Aquino .

Gibo netted 1,432 ballots (38.829 percent), Aquino received 958 botes (25.976 percent), followed by Villar with 954 (25.868 percent) and Estrada with 39 (1.057 percent).

“The youth are out-of-the-box thinkers,” explained Toledo.

He noted that the youth are apparently attracted to Gibo’s master plan for sustained growth and lasting peace as laid out in his ‘Sulong Pilipinas’ platform, that comprises education reform, health care, food security, environmental protection, continuation of the public infrastructure build-up, and a tough stance versus crime and terrorism.

“Because of the youth support, Gibo’s ratings have broken through the double-digit level, and this poll bounce will be complemented by a minimum 15 percent of votes that will be delivered by the formidable political machinery of Lakas-Kampi-CMD down to the grassroots,” he said.

Citing Lakas-Kampi-CMD data, Toledo said the ruling party has candidates for 170 or 73.9 percent of all House seats up for grabs, 64 or 80 percent of the 86 gubernatorial posts, 86 or 71 percent of 126 city mayoralty slots, and 1,043 or 69 percent of all seats for municipal mayors.

“Once the official campaign period for local candidates kick in later this month (March), the full weight of the ruling party machinery will kick in – to deliver the decisive number of votes for Gibo in the May 10 presidential polls,” he said.

Tropang Kano, na-eskandalo na naman sa Mindanao

MAYNILA (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 9, 2010) - Pormal ng magsasampa ng reklamo ang pamilya ng Pinoy interpreter ng US Forces na di-umanoy nagpakamatay sa barracks ng US Forces sa Camp Ranao ng Philippine Army's 103rd Infantry sa Marawi City, ayon sa mga human rights groups.

Si Gregan Cardeño, 33, ay natanggap bilang interpreter ng US Forces na nagsasagawa ng Balikatan at umalis noong Pebrero 01 nitong taon at kasama ang mga US Troops patungong Camp Siongco sa bayan ng Datu Odin Sinsuat sa Maguindanao province.

Laking gulat na lang ng pamilya ng mapag-alamang sa Marawi City pala ito dinala. Sa huling tawag nito sa kanyang asawa at kapatid ay nabanggit niyang hindi interpreter ang pinapatrabaho sa kanya kaya’t gusto niya nang umuwi.

Kinaumagahan, Pebrero 03, sa pamamagitan ng tawag ng pulisya ay nalaman ng pamilya ni Gregan na nagbigti umano ito gamit ang sariling kumot, ngunit ang malaking ipinagtataka ng mga nagdadalamhating pamilya ay kung bakit may mga tusok sa paa at sugat sa leeg at ulo si Gregan na tila dumanas ito ng tortyur.

Dahil hindi kumbinsido ang pamilya ni Gregan, nagsagawa sila kasama ang mga human rights group (Justice for Gregan Cardeño Movement) ng Fact-Finding Mission noong Marso 03 sa Marawi City. Nakunan ng fact-finding mission team ang Philippine National Police, 103rd Infantry Brigade at US troops team leader na nakilala lamang sa pangalan Capt. Kaye ng magkakaibang salaysay kaya’t mas lalong nakumbinsi ang grupo na hindi nagpakamatay ang biktima kung hindi may foul play na nangyari.

Dismayado rin ang fact-finding mission team lalo na ang pamilya ng hindi pumayag ang US troops na makapasok sa US barracks ang pamilya upang makita ang kwarto ni Gregan kung saan nangyari ang insidente.

Isasampa ng pamilya ng biktima ang reklamo sa tanggapan ni Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Leila de Lima upang maimbestigahan ng husto ang pagkamatay ni Gregan.

Nanawagan rin ang pamilya sa mga kinauukulan na magsagawa ng malayang imbestigasyon upang mabigyang linaw ang nangyari kay Gregan at papanagutin kung sinuman ang mapapatunayang may kinalaman o responsable sa pagkamatay ni Gregan.

Ilang ulit ng na-eskandalo ang tropa ng mga Kano sa Mindanao dahil sa ibat-ibang kaso mula sa akusasyon ng rape ng isang Pinay na tubong-Zamboanga hanggang sa mga paglabag sa karapatang pantao sa nasabing rehiyon.

ARMM Health Secretary Gets Prestigious Yorac Award

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / mar. 9, 2010) – The Manila Electric Railroad And Light Company and the University of the Philippines awarded Dr Kadil Sinolinding Jr, the Secretary of the Department of Health in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the prestigious Gawad Haydee Yorac Award for Outstanding Public Service because of his exemplary and venerable work on health service.

Sinolinding is the first Filipino Muslim to receive the esteemed award founded in honor of the late Haydee Yorac, who is considered to be among the country’s respectable and dedicated public servants, according to the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information.

Now on its 4th year, the Gawad Haydee Yorac Award is conferred annually by Meralco in cooperation with the University of the Philippines to outstanding individual in public service whose personal qualities and personal lives are worth emulating, it said.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, the ARMM Executive Secretary, lauded Sinolinding for his works and for garnering the award. He said the dedicated doctor is a pride to the people of the ARMM and boosts the reputation of the incumbent regional leadership.

The award body cited Sinolinding’s devotion of his more than 20 years of professional career to helping over a hundred thousand individuals in different parts of Mindanao especially those in remote and depressed communities. He helped organized medical outreach missions to several areas in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Saranggani, Maguindanao and Sulu that others dared not visit.

He has also been known for his Vision 20/20 Cataract Charities Team which made eye surgery and other ophthalmologic services available even to those who do not have the means since 1991.

Sinolinding had been nominated to receive the award by Dr Angelo Ladub, an anesthesiologist at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City. (Becky de Asis contributed to this report)

Mount Matutum in South Cotabato Province

The beautiful Mount Matutum, an inactive volcanic mountain in South Cotabato province is a favorite of trekkers and mountain climbers in the southern Philippines. The 2,286-meter Mount Matutum is home to a number of rare and threatened species of birds, including the critically endangered Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) or the monkey-eating eagle which is the tallest, rarest, largest, and most powerful birds in the world. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Spare peace negotiations from politics: Peace Adviser

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - Spare peace negotiations from politics - Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Annabelle Abaya made this plea to politicians Sunday during the “Dialogue Mindanaw” peace consultations attended by more than 300 participants at the Venus Hotel in Baguio City in northern Philippines.

“The peace process is not political,” Abaya said, adding that she believes that “it is a spiritual process that entails pursuing in your lives”.

Abaya echoed President Arroyo’s stand that peace negotiations between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front should not be mired by politics with the elections months away.

“Peace negotiations should not take a backseat to politics as this would mean giving up on the government’s quest for harmony in Mindanao ,” she said.

Once again, Abaya emphasized the importance of getting the public’s view on the ongoing peace talks through reflective dialogues in different parts of the country.

“Gusto nating marinig ang opinyon ng bawat isa. Mabigyan kayo ng space para makapagsalita,” Abaya said, who also assured that the participants’ opinion will not go to waste.

“Ang mga makakalap nating impormasyon ay ibibigay sa ating pamahalaan at sa mga negotiating panels,” she said.

Also, Abaya briefed participants regarding the last meeting between the government and MILF last March 4 and 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where both sides held a question and answer session to clarify the drafts they presented.

Abaya also assured participants that concerns of the indigenous people and other Cordillera concerns will have an opportunity to be tackled.

Aside from Abaya, Professor Aboud Syed Lingga and Dr. Bai Janena Tito spoke in behalf of the MILF and the government, respectively.

Lingga, executive director of the Institute of Bangsamoro Studies , presented the MILF’s position while Tito, former commissioner of Mindanao Consultative Commission, discussed the government’s stand on the peace issue.

On Monday, “Dialogue Mindanaw” will be held in Bongao town in Tawi-Tawi province and Iligan City where hundreds of peace stakeholders are expected to join the reflective dialogues arranged by OPAPP. On March 11, “Dialogue Mindanaw” is slated to be held in Butuan City .

As part of its “Dialogue Mindanaw” program, the OPAPP has set up two text lines where the public can relay their opinions and views regarding the peace talks between the government and MILF. For Smart users, OPAPP has 0999-42-PEACE (73223) and 0917-83-PEACE (73223) for Globe subscribers.

OPAPP is also using the Internet to spread its “Dialogue Mindanaw” program through its official website (http://www.mapayapangmindanao.info), Facebook Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mapayapangmindanao) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/peacemindanao) accounts.

Philippine troops raid JI hideout in Sulu province

Police patrols Sulu province in the southern Philippines in this photo taken early in March. Seven Filipino militants are killed in a military raid on a hideout of the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya on Sunday, March 7, 2010 on Laminusa Island, off Sulu province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo).

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 7, 2010) - Seven Filipino militants were killed in raid Sunday by Philippine soldiers on hideout of Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya on an island off the southern province of Sulu, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said one soldier was also wounded after local Abu Sayyaf militants opened fire on the raiders before sunrise in Laminusa Island.

“We have killed seven militants and recovered more than a dozen automatic weapons. One of my soldiers is injured in the raid when militants opened fire on security forces which triggered the firefight,” said Marine Brigadier General Rustico Guerrero, commander of military forces in Sulu province.

He said the target of the raid was a Malaysian terror man called Zulkifli bin Hir also known as Marwan and Abu Sayyaf sub-leader whose alias is Boy Tondo and was involved in the 2000 cross-border raid in Malaysia’s Sipadan resort island where 21 mostly European holidaymakers were kidnapped.

“Marwan was not in the area, but only his cells who were all Abu Sayyaf members,” Guerrero said, adding, the operation to track down the terrorists is still going on.

The United States has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Zulkifli bin Hir, believed to be involved in multiple deadly bomb attacks in the Philippines.

Zulkifli bin Hir allegedly heads the Kumpulun Mujahidin Malaysia terrorist organization and is a member of Jemaah Islamiyah's central command and is believed to be hiding in Sulu.

Authorities said Zulkifli bin Hir has been training Abu Sayyaf militants in bomb-making.

Last month, police captured a senior Abu Sayyaf member Mujibar Amon in Sulu’s Indanan town after villagers secretly tipped off authorities about his presence.

Amon is one the country’s most wanted terrorists who was involved in last year’s kidnappings of three Red Cross workers and many more, including the cross-border raid in Malaysia’s Sipadan island report where 21 mostly European and Asian holidaymakers were abducted and brought to Sulu in 2000.
He was tagged as among those who also kidnapped US tourist Jeffrey Shilling in 2000 in Sulu.

Authorities are also tracking down other Jemaah Islamiya members who are believed hiding in Sulu and among them are Dulmatin, Umar Patek and Mauiya – all wanted for the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed over 200 people, mostly Australian holidaymakers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Blackout in Kidapawan City

A boy buys from a pharmacy while two children study in the dark in Kidapawan City as blackout continue in many parts of Mindanao due to low water level in hydroelectric power plants which provide electricity to millions of households in the southern region. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geo Solmerano)

Two Faces Of Poverty In Kidapawan City

Two faces of poverty – a homeless man sleeps under the shadow of a tree and a boy who sells pineapples – in Kidapawan City in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo - Geo Solmerano)

Army troops clash with NPA rebels in South RP

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 5, 2010) – Communist insurgents clashed Friday with government soldiers in Compostela Valley province in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Army Captain Emmanuel Garcia, a spokesman for the 10th Infantry Division, said soldiers fought about 50 New People’s Army rebels for two hours in the village of Salvacion in Monkayo town.

He said the clash occurred just as a leftist solon Satur Ocampo visited the Davao region. He said troops also clashed last month in Davao Oriental where Ocampo visited and led anti-government rallies.

“Reports reaching the Army headquarters here indicate two hours of heavy fighting which resulted to the death of one soldier and wounding of two others which prompted authorities to send reinforcements,” Garcia said.

The slain soldier was identified as Private First Class Benzon Balandan and the wounded as Private First Class John Patrick Madariaga and Private First Class Jaypee Baricaua.

Garcia said a still undetermined number of rebels were either killed or wounded.

“The report said the NPAs suffered severe casualties but were able to extricate their wounded comrades,” he said, adding troops overran two rebel encampments and recovered six improvised explosives, blasting caps and detonating cords.

He described the camps as fortified and can accommodate at least 70 people.
Major General Carlos Holganza, the regional army chief, ordered troops to pursue the rebels as he expressed grief over the death of his soldier, but said the sacrifice of the troops have made the people a lot safer from terrorism.

“Our soldiers’ sacrifices were not in vain as their efforts have made the people of Compostela Valley and the whole of Davao region a lot safer with the recovery of these improvised explosive devices which might endanger the lives of our citizens.” Holganza said.

He also said the latest clash occurred as militant organizations led by Ocampo, a former high ranking member of the outlawed Communist Party of the Philippines is in the region orchestrating anti government protests in Davao City, Compostela Valley and Davao del Sur provinces.

Holganza did not say whether Ocampo’s visit had anything to do with the fighting or if the solon ordered rebels to attack government forces. The military also tagged other leftist solons and members of militant groups either as rebels or NPA sympathizers.

The NPA is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Victims of Basilan rebel attack, Maguindanao bombing get aid

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 5, 2010) – Acting Governor Ansaruddin Adiong of the Muslim autonomous region released some P260,000 in aid for the victims of rebel attacks in Basilan province and a recent bombing in Maguindanao, his spokesman said Friday.

Ali Macabalang said Adiong also condemned the atrocities against civilians in the two provinces which are part of the autonomous region.

“Upon learning about what he has lamented as barbaric attacks on civilians, acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong ordered the prompt release of P200,000 for the victims in Maluso, Basilan massacre and P60,000 for the casualties in the bombing apart from medical assistance provided by his subordinate officials,” Macabalang said.

Police and military said a dozen people were killed by rebels in an attack February 27 on a small village in Basilan’s Maluso town. Ten others were wounded in the raid that left several houses burned.

Macabalang said Health Secretary Kadil Sinolinding, who was in Maluso during the attack, took the cudgel to bring some of the survivors to hospital in Zamboanga City. He said Sinolinding witnessed the gruesome state of victims burned inside the houses.

Two people were also killed and four other wounded in a bombing in Maguindanao’s Parang town last week.

“For the victims in the Parang bombing that killed two people and injured four others, Governor Adiong dispatched Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo to hand the cash assistance to the victims’ families and bring the survivors to the regional hospital in Cotabato City,” Macabalang said.

He said Adiong also ordered Chief Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, the regional police cghief, to investigate the massacre and bombing incidents and “see to it that the culprits are brought to the bars of justice.”

“We cannot let the barbaric attacks pass unpunished,” Adiong said. (Becky de Asis and Mark Navales contributed to this report.)

Mindanao crops damaged by El Nino

A vegetable farmer Loloy Abalan tills his dried land Friday, March 5, 2010 in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines which is experiencing widespread blackout brought about by low water levels in hydro power plants in the region due to the El Nino phenomenon. Abalan says the long dry spell is forcing many farmers to abandon their lands and look for an alternative source of livelihood. President Gloria Arroyo has declared a power crisis in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 5, 2010) – Some P300 million worth of crops had been damaged by the El Nino phenomenon in western Mindanao on top of the power crisis in the Zamboanga region.

The Department of Agriculture said some 3,000 hectares of farm lands were affected by the long dry spell. Worst hit by the El Nino are the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte.

The three provinces are known rice and corn producers in Mindanao and water from irrigation system are not enough to supply the farms. And reservoirs are fast drying up and so were artesian wells where farmers get water for their lands.

In Zamboanga City, agriculture officials said they are planning to resort to cloud seeding to induce rains in areas where farm lands are drying up. Even vegetable farmers are complaining about the dry spell.

“We are having difficulty now. My vegetable farm is fast drying and even our artesian well is drying up now. We don’t know what to do and I just pray that there will be rains in the coming days,” said Loloy Abala, a farmer.

Zamboanga is also experiencing as much as 6 hours of blackout the past weeks because of low water levels in hydro power plants in Mindanao supplying electricity to many areas in the region.

The local electric cooperative said there is a plan to put up a coal-fired power plant to augment the increasing power requirement in Zamboanga City.

Betty Marquez, a spokeswoman for the Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, said there are proposals to put up a fossil-fuel power station here because of the increased demand for electricity.

Coal-fired units produce electricity by burning coal in a boiler to heat water to produce steam. The steam, at tremendous pressure, flows into a turbine, which spins a generator to produce electricity. The steam is cooled, condensed back into water, and returned to the boiler to start the process over. But environmentalists say the coal-fueled plants will pollute the air and contribute to global warming.

There are at least 9 coal-fired power plants in the country – six in Luzon Island, two in the Visayas in central Philippines and one in Mindanao in the southern Philippines.

Marquez said the daily power consumption of Zamboanga City is about 78 megawatts and at present the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines has been supplying only half of the total requirements of the local electric cooperative because of the El Nino weather phenomenon which is affecting the whole country.

“The El Nino is really affecting us all, not only the local electric cooperative, but many power providers, and even the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines which is supplying at least eight others electric cooperatives in Mindanao,” Marquez said.

El Nino is associated with floods, droughts and other weather disturbances in many regions of the world, which vary with each event. The Philippines like any other developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing, particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean, are the most affected.

Marquez said the low water level at Lake Lanao is also aggravating the supply of electricity in Mindanao because it affects the hydropower plant in Iligan City.

“Right now, all we can say to everybody is to conserve electricity and wait for the rains to come,” she said, adding, the dry spell is expected to last until June.

Of Zamboanga City’s 98 villages, at least 90 percent have rotational blackout lasting from one hour to as long as six hours every day from the previous two hours.

Marquez said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines which supplies electricity simply cannot cope up with the power demands.

President Gloria Arroyo on Thursday declared a power crisis in Mindanao.(Mindanao Examiner)

4 soldiers wounded in Basilan blast

A Philippine military armored troop carrier passes by a dirt road in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. Four government soldiers were injured in an improvised bomb explosion on Thursday, March 4, 2010 in nearby Basilan province. The military blames the blast to the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 5, 2010) – Four government soldiers pursuing al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants were wounded when an improvised bomb exploded on a village in the restive province of Basilan, south of Zamboanga City in Mindanao, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said the explosion occurred Thursday in the village of Baiwas in Maluso town, an area frequented by militants.

“Elements of the 32nd Infantry Battalion who were conducting clearing operations at a suspected Abu Sayyaf-frequented area in the village of Baiwas in Maluso accidentally set off planted improvised explosive devices,” said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a regional military spokeswoman.

She said one soldier was also injured in clashes with the Abu Sayyaf on Tuesday in Sumisip’s Pamatsaken village and four more wounded in a land mine explosion in Baiwas village in Maluso town.

“This is continuous proof of the treacherous character of the Abu Sayyaf group and their lack of respect for human rights,” Cacho said.

Last week, more than a dozen people were killed after Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels attacked a small village in Maluso town. Ten villagers were also injured in the raid.

Authorities linked the Abu Sayyaf to the spate of attacks on civilian and military targets and kidnappings for ransom in the southern Philippines. Basilan is a known stronghold of the militant group. (Mindanao Examiner)

Hundreds of ARMM villages to benefit from new World Bank fund

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 4, 2010) – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is pursuing to bankroll a $30-million World Bank-funded three-year extension of the ARMM Social Fund Projects in at least 596 villages affected by previous fighting between rebel and military forces.

Regional officials made this announcement Thursday as they corrected an earlier report, which claimed the World Bank has already approved the fund.

“It was actually the National Economic Development Authority Board chaired by President Gloria Arroyo that recently approved the fund request from the World Bank, which is yet to decide on the request, although we anticipate its positive action,” ASFP information specialist Irene Fernandez Gonzales said.

In a press briefing in Cotabato City last month, ASFP Project Manager Nasser Sinarimbo urged for public cooperation in the implemantation of the project and stressed that the national government and World Bank have earmarked the loan for ARMM alone this time.

“The fund is a loan and all Filipinos are supposed to pay it back. We have to see to it that every penny of it is spent religiously in response to the trust the national government endows us,” Sinarimbo said.

The additional financing from the World Bank which is about P1.41-billion will help boost the parallel efforts of the regional and national government to develop the ARMM communities affected by conflict, Gonzales said.

It will run for three years with two components: The community development assistance and the institutional strengthening and governance, she said.

"The ASFP is adopting the community demand-driven approach in its implementation of World Bank-funded projects in ARMM areas such as the 596 villages identified as beneficiaries," Gonzales added.

Foreign institutions including the World Bank have been assisting the ASFP, and as of December 2009, the CDA component completed 1,661 community-based infrastructure sub-projects out of 1,723 target units.

The CDA component turned over 1,370 sub-projects to proponent local government units (barangay and municipal levels) and line agencies ARMM.

The ASFP, under its strategic regional infrastructure component, completed 13 sub-projects which included information and communication technology community research centers for district hospitals and ports in the five ARMM component provinces, Gonzales added.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency is also assisting the ASFP, through which it has completed three of seven SRI projects that are slated for turnover to recipient hospitals in ARMM, she said.

ASFP projects are also assisted by the Australian Agency for International Development, which has already served more than 3,000 children under various components of the Basic Education Assistance in Mindanao, Gonzales said. (Ali Macabalang)

ARMM to launch 4Ps; forms advisory committee

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao formed its regional advisory committee for the government's "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program" or 4Ps to intensify efforts against poverty and improve the health, nutrition, education and economic condition of its populace.

The regional advisory committee is an inter-agency cooperation that aims to effectively implement the 4Ps and translate national policies into region-specific operational guidelines, according to acting Secretary Pombae Kader of the ARMM’s Department of Social Welfare and Development, according to the regional government's media statement.

It said the DSWD leads the regional advisory committee with the Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of Interior and Local Government, the Regional Development Planning Office and the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information as members.

The 4Ps, one of the major anti poverty programs of the government through the DSWD, is a five-year program of the President launched in 2008 amid the global economic meltdown.

It is a conditional cash transfer program originated in Latin America and Africa and was divided into three (3) sets.

Kader said the 4Ps program provides small cash grants to identified extremely poor families with the condition that the money will be spent for health and education of their children particularly from up to fourteen years of age.

Under the 4Ps, each family will receive monthly cash grants amounting to P1,400 for five years for health services and education of three children. Each child will have P300 education or a total of P900 for the three children while the P500 will be used for the family’s basic health service.

In his recent visit here, DSWD Undersecretary Luwalhati Pablo, 4Ps National Program Director, said that since the 4Ps is “not a standalone program,” other agencies should assist her department in promoting and building the program.

As of August 2009, the program increased its target number of beneficiaries from 700,000 to 1 million households in 2008, entailing the government to increase its budget from P5-billion to P10 billion.

In the ARMM, as of August 2009, the program then covered 15 municipalities, serving approximately 30,000 households that received roughly P58 million, Kader said in her report to Pablo.

Pablo said that the program is still extending its help to 57 more municipalities and approximately 70,000 households for another five years which will be funded by international donors including American Development Fund, World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, The United Nations Children's Fund and United Nations Population Fund. (Mark Navales and Becky de Asis contributed to this report.)

Mutya ng Davao 2010 Semi-Finalists

Fifteen semi-finalists of the Mutya ng Dabaw 2010. The beauty pageant in Davao City in the southern Philippines is one of the biggest in Mindanao. (Photo by Ian Garcia).

Groups denounce killings of environmental activists in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – The Alyansa Tigil Mina, an advocacy group on environmental and human rights issues and people’s movement in the Philippines denounced the killings of environmental activists Gensun Agustin in Buguey town in Cagayan province and Ricardo Ganad in Victoria town in Oriental Mindoro province.

It said Agustin was killed on March 1 and Ganad was slain on February 10 this year.

“ATM denounces the brutal killings of environmental activists Gensun Agustin in Buguey, Cagayan and Ricardo Ganad in Victoria, Oriental Mindoro. The death of the two staunch anti-mining leaders happened in less than a month apart and both murders cannot discount their strong opposition to mining and political affiliations to anti-mining local officials as the possible angles of motives to their gruesome deaths during this election period,” said ATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera.

“It is alarming that despite the supposedly implementation of a ‘stricter measure’ on the nationwide gun ban by Government, the shooting of Agustin and Ganad, which caused the death of two environmental activists, happened in broad daylight.”

“We ask the government law enforcement agencies, specially the Committee on the Ban on Firearms and Security Personnel to fast track the investigations in these incidents to help the victims of the brutal killings achieve justice the soonest and diligently take extra precautions in keeping the peace and order in areas with mining controversies,” Garganera said.

He said the presence of big mining companies in different areas across the nation created social divides among the pros and anti-mining groups.

The election period highlights mining as a hot political issue in different localities because of the believed big money involved that creates bigger social tension among groups, he said.

"Mining companies are inclined to support candidates that will most likely grant them with the ‘social license’ they need to smoothly operate in this country.”

“We, in ATM, would like send our deepest condolences to the families, loved ones and friends survived by the passing of the anti-mining heroes Gensun Agustin and Ricardo Ganad. We would also like to commend the unwavering efforts and bravery of other environmental activists whose strong opposition to mining have prevailed over the years, which money cannot buy,” Garganera said.

ATM is convened by HARIBON, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Friends of the Earth Philippines and Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas. It is composed of more than 80 organizations from mining-affected communities and civil society organizations nationwide.

Candle Power in Mindanao

Because of the power crisis the Philippines is experiencing, elementary graduating student Eushuaia May Casuse does her homework in the dark with only a piece of candle to illuminate her notes inside their house in Cotabato City in Mindanao. The Department of Energy says it expects power outage in many areas with some lasting for as long as 8 hours in Mindanao and this will continue until June, as the El Niño phenomenon dried up water supplies in the country. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Mark Navales).

Philippine security forces pursue Sayyaf, JI terrorists

A police commander talks on his radio as they prepare to patrol Sulu province in the southern Philippines, where security forces are pursuing al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants blamed for the spate of attacks that had killed and injured civilians in the past. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 3, 2010) – Security forces have stepped up its patrol in the southern province of Sulu as police and military continue operations against the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group, officials told the Mindanao Examiner on Wednesday.

Officials said the operations are aimed at capturing senior leaders of the militant group blamed for the spate of attacks in Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

“We have increased our patrol to protect villagers from possible attacks by the Abu Sayyaf, especially now that many terrorist leaders had been killed in past and recent operations,” said Senior Superintendent Joseph Ramac, the provincial police chief.

Police last week captured a senior Abu Sayyaf member Mujibar Amon in Indanan town after villagers secretly tipped off authorities about his presence.

Amon is one the country’s most wanted terrorists who was involved in last year’s kidnappings of three Red Cross workers and many more, including the cross-border raid in Malaysia’s Sipadan island report where 21 mostly European and Asian holidaymakers were abducted and brought to Sulu in 2000.

He was tagged as among those who also kidnapped US tourist Jeffrey Shilling in 2000 in Sulu.

Authorities are also tracking down members of the Indonesian militant group Jemaah Islamiya who are believed hiding in Sulu and among them are Dulmatin, Umar Patek and Mauiya – all wanted for the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed over 200 people, mostly Australian holidaymakers.

Last month, an Abu Sayyaf commander Albader Parad, who was involved in the kidnappings of three Red Cross workers last year, was killed in a military raid in his hideout in Sulu’s Indanan town.

Senior Superintendent Bienvenido Latag, the regional police chief, said the killing of Parad and the capture of Amon was a big to the Abu Sayyaf. “This is another blow to the terrorist group and we will continue to pursue the terrorists no matter where,” Latag said.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan said he is supporting the government offensive against the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiya. “Sulu is a peaceful province. It is only these terrorists groups which are destroying our beautiful province. My people are fed up with their atrocities,” he said.

Tan put Sulu under a state of emergency last year after Abu Sayyaf militants kidnapped the aid workers. He also ordered security forces to dismantle all private armies of political warlords in the province.

Last year, police also recruited some 2,000 civilians to form part of the Police Auxiliary Unit to help authorities fight terrorism and guard villages against rebel attacks.

Police and military also linked the Abu Sayyaf to Tan’s failed assassination last year outside his office in Patikul town. Militants bombed Tan’s convoy on May 13 that wounded 10 people, including a local town mayor Hatta Berto.

Tan just came from his office and on his way home when a motorcycle bomb exploded near his vehicle. Police later captured two Abu Sayyaf bombers Juhan Alimuddin and Sulayman Muin who confessed to investigators that they were hired by Tan’s political foe to kill the governor. (Mindanao Examiner)

ARMM to exert rights over natural resources

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 3, 2010) – Breaking silence for years about deprivations within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the ARMM’s Regional Legislative Assembly is now pushing for amendment of existing edicts it berated as ‘castrating’ its constituents’ rights over the use of local strategic minerals.

The 24-member RLA presided over by Speaker Reggie Generale tasked its committee on amendments and revisions of laws to look into the protest of Lanao del Sur Assemblyman Ziaur-Rahman Adiong against stringent laws governing the exploitation of natural resources in ARMM.

In his privilege speech here Monday, Assemblyman Adiong asked the RLA to initiate an amendment to existing laws including R.A. 9054 (ARMM Organic Act of 2002), which he said bereft the regional governance of its rights to and shares from the exploitation by “outsiders” of ‘strategic minerals” in the region.

Adiong cited as example the helpless state of the regional governance in the decades-old exploitation of Lake Lanao for hydroelectricity production and the ongoing exploration of oil deposits in an 8,200-kilometer area off the shore of Mapun Island town in Tawi-Tawi.

The exploration is done by the ExxonMobil Exploration and Production B.V. through its service contract 56 permitted by the national government while ARMM authorities could just watch helplessly, Adiong said.

“The SC 56 consortium began drilling activities in the area in October last year at a cost of about $1-million per day and $100-million for its first exploration well. This well, called Dabakan-1, is located about 65 kilometers from Mapun Island in Tawi-Tawi,” he pointed out.

He said the “Department of Energy claims that the SC 56 may hold up to 750 million barrels of oil, which is equivalent to seven years’ worth of local crude supply for the Philippines.”

“We, the people of ARMM, stand to lose everything and gain nothing out of the exploration," Adiong said, due to the stringent provision of R.A. 9054 that retains to the national government the sole authority to govern the exploitation of “strategic minerals” in the region.

R.A. 9054 devolves to the ARMM government the “control and supervision over the exploration, utilization, development and protection of the mines and minerals and other natural resources within the autonomous region…except for the strategic such as uranium, petroleum, and other fossil fuels, mineral oils, all sources of potential energy, as well as national reservations already delimited by authority of the central government or national government and those that may be defined by an Act of Congress.”

Adiong clarified that the “castrating provision” of R.A. 9054 could still be remedied by way of amendment to be initiated by the RLA and sustained by Congress as provided for in the same Organic Act.

He asked the RLA to propose the amendment that would endow the regional government “a measure of control and supervision over strategic minerals like uranium, petroleum, and other natural reserves and aquatic parks, forest and watershed reservations already delimited by the central government.”

In his privilege speech, Adiong said that such amendment could also address similar helplessness that ARMM faces in the central government-controlled exploitation of Lake Lanao by the National Power Corporation as a supplier of the 85 percent or so of Mindanao’s hydroelectricity demand.

Adiong lamented that since time immemorial, the NPC and the Department of Energy “have not disclosed where really goes the electrification fund of one (1) cent per kilowatt hour of electricity sales of NPC, as mandated by virtue of Energy Resolution 1-94.”

Earlier, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto-Adiong Jr., elder brother of the assemblyman, lamented that because of the central government controls the management of Lake Lanao and its watersheds, his administration and the ARMM government could not tinker with the sad state of the lake.

Adiong said the four major river tributaries of Lake Lanao have been heavily silted for years, impeding the inflow of water down to the lake. The provincial government has long proposed the dredging of the rivers but the central government failed to act on it.

“We are hoping the national government will finally listen to our pleas this time as Mindanao is in engulfed by rampant power outages due to the dwindling water level in Lake Lanao,” he told journalists. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Japan enhances development interventions in Philippine Muslim region

Naguib Sinarimbo, ARMM executive secretary (second from left), and Michimasa Numata, JICA chief advisor on human capacity-building (3rd from left), signed the minutes of their 5th joint committee meeting in Davao City Thursday, as ARMM director for administrative services Lydia Udaundo-Mastura (left) and another JICA official look on. (Photo by Ali Macabalang)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Top officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency have assured to enhance development initiatives in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, pursuing a barrage of foreign aids and interventions to help bring peace and growth in Southern Philippines.

Michimasa Numata and lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, joined respectively by JICA experts and ARMM officials, held here Thursday their 5th joint coordinating committee meeting aimed at jump-starting a three-year human capacity development project for the bureaucracy of the autonomous region.

The JICA human capacity building project has two main parts: The conduct of trainings by Japan-trained ARMM trainers for personnel involved in carrying out infrastructure development projects; and the drafting of implementing rules and regulations of the regional administrative code for the autonomous region.

ARMM director for public works department’s operation Guialoson Mamogkat and administrative management director Lydia Udaundo-Mastura were named point-persons for JICA-sponsored technical trainings, and administrative code drafting workshops, respectively.

On Friday, another group of ARMM bureaucrats also led by Sinarimbo held a separate meeting in Makati City with a JICA team involved in restructuring guidelines for environmental and social interventions that would be opened in the Philippines including the autonomous region this year.

Director Satoshi Sugimoto and Assistant Director Masahiko Egami of the JICA program on environmental and social concerns conducted a half-day lecture on the guidelines for relevant project proposals, for which they asked various participants including ARMM officials to be transparent and accountable.

Sugimoto said they have four categories for projects that may proposed under the environmental and social interventions, including constructions of facilities for energy-generation, roads, railways, airports/seaports, waste management, and the like.

Sinarimbo, incumbent ARMM regional secretary, expressed gratitude to the Japanese government through the JICA for its keenness in infusing different development initiatives in the areas of the regional autonomy, which has been lagging other administrative zones in the country.

“We are very much thankful for the enhanced development interventions of JICA in support of other foreign countries’ assistance in ARMM," he said.

Sinarimbo and Numata officially signed the minutes of the 5th JCC meeting here Thursday, signalling the JICA to jump-start the final phases of activities involved in human capacity development initiatives in the ARMM bureaucracy.

Other JICA expert officials present in the meeting here were JICA deputy head to Philippines Masafuni Nagaishi, Project formulation adviser Takashi Komori, Kasuhiro Okamoto, business support expert Ryujiro Sasao, training management expert Ryoji Higurashi, and adviser for ARMM Shinichi Kimura. (Ali Macabalang)

Philippine soldiers wounded in Sayyaf attack

An unidentified policeman in Sulu province reads the Mindanao Examiner newspaper whose headline links a Singaporean terror man, Mauiya, to the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group which operates in the southern Philippines. The Abu Sayyaf was blamed to Tuesday’s landmine explosion in Basilan province that left three soldiers wounded, says a regional military spokeswoman, Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 2, 2010) – Three government soldiers were wounded in a landmine explosion Tuesday in the troubled province of Basilan, just several kilometers south of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

“The soldiers, all members of the 4th Scout Ranger Company, were patrolling when the explosion occurred. The Abu Sayyaf was behind the blast,” said Army First Lieutenant Steffani Cacho, a spokeswoman for the Western Mindanao Command.

She said the soldiers were evacuated to a military hospital in Zamboanga City and that security forces were tracking down the Abu Sayyaf in Sumisip town where the explosion occurred at around 7:40 a.m.

Police said fighting was also reported in the village of Baiwas in Maluso town, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Last week, more than a dozen people were killed after Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels attacked a small village in Maluso town. Ten villagers were also injured in the raid.

Authorities linked the Abu Sayyaf to the al-Qaeda terror network and to the Indonesian militant Jemaah Islamiya and were behind the spate of attacks on civilian and military targets and kidnappings for ransom in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner)

Hundreds of new Sulu teachers take oath

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan speaks before hundreds of teachers who took their oath as professional on Monday, March 1, 2010, the biggest number of people who passed the licensure examination given last year in Sulu province. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 1, 2010) – Close to 500 teachers took their oath as professional on Monday, the biggest number of people who passed the licensure examination given last year in Sulu province.

Lawyer Senando Esteban, regional director of the Professional Regulation Commission, extolled the new teachers to be competitive and honest in their profession.

“We are the molders of the youth. We should continue to be a good model and most of all serve the public with dignity, honesty and integrity,” he said.

He also cited Sulu Governor Sakur Tan for his role in bringing the licensure examination for teachers in the province. The teachers took their examination in October and the result was released only last month.

Many of the teachers said the review they took last year helped them a lot in passing the licensure examination. It was also Tan who brought professional educators to Sulu to help the teachers in their review.

Previously, teachers would go to Zamboanga City and spend as much as P40,000 to review in private centers.

Another licensure examination for teachers is also set in April in Sulu province. Tan was also able to bring licensure examinations for nursing and policemen among others to Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

For his part, Tan urged the new teachers to work hard and encourage more locals to finish college so they can find a better job in the future and help in nation-building.

“I am happy because of the huge number of new professional teachers. Let us now work hard and encourage our young to study more and in the future help in nation-building,” he said.

Eufremio Canaria, assistant superintendent of the Department of Education, said it was the first time that close to 500 teachers passed the licensure examination. “This is something to be proud of because these teachers really work hard so they can pass the strict licensure examination. They reviewed a lot and prepared hard for the examination and they did it,” he said.

Many of the teachers said they previously failed the examination as many as six times until reviews were held in Sulu two years ago by Tan who hired private tutors to help them. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gawad Kalinga to build community in Sulu; pro-poor housing inaugurated

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan briefs representatives of the Gawad Kalinga Community Foundation - Jerick Limoanco and Rey Balatayo - during a housing project site inspection Sunday, February 28, 2010 in Maimbung town. The Gawad Kalinga says it will build at least 120 housing units in the town in partnership with the Sulu provincial government. Muslim children play on a bridge in Maimbung town and behind them is a housing project which was also inaugurated Sunday by Governor Tan. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 28, 2010) – Over 100 houses which will benefit mostly poor families are to be erected in the southern Philippine province of Sulu, officials said on Sunday.

Officials said the project is part of the Gawad Kalinga program and the Sulu provincial government. Two representatives of the Gawad Kalinga met with Governor Sakur Tan on Sunday and inspected the site where at least 120 houses would be constructed soon.

Tan briefed Jerick Limoanco and Rey Balatayo about the proposed housing site in the town of Maimbung. They were welcome by residents in the area.

“We are going to build houses. We are going to build a Gawad Kalinga community and this will benefit many people here in Sulu,” Balatayo said.

Gawad Kalinga is a Philippine-based poverty reduction and nation-building movement launched by Couples for Christ, a Catholic lay community, to care for worse-off Filipinos and survivors of natural disasters.

Last year, the Gawad Kalinga Global Summit was held in Boston, Massachusetts, where the foundation also launched its Vision 2024 platform - a 21-year timeline aimed to eradicate homelessness, hunger, and poverty for the millions of impoverished Filipino families all over the Philippines", bringing the country into First World status by 2024.

Tan said aside from the housing project, provincial infrastructure projects are also going on in many areas in Sulu.

After the site inspection, Tan also inaugurated a multi-million pro-poor housing project in Maimbung and was attended by village leaders. Dozens of new houses, many of them sitting on stilts, have been constructed in coastal towns.

“We have been doubling our time to finish more projects. The provincial (housing projects) costs millions of pesos and many poor families are now benefiting from these infrastructure and other pro-poor projects,” he said.

Tan also inspected several road and off-shore fisheries and lobster-fattening projects in Sulu. He said many fishermen have organized themselves into cooperatives and are benefiting from the government technical support, including loans and trainings. (Mindanao Examiner)