Zamboanga City lawmakers campaign for new Congressional district

Zamboanga City opposition councilors say they will campaign for the creation of a new congressional district even as the local mayor and his allies in the city council are against it. Many locals favor the creation of a third legislative district they say will bring more development projects to Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 4, 2011) – A group of local city councilors and former officials have organized themselves into a group that would push for the establishment of third legislative district in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

Prominent lawyer Rommel Agan said there is a strong public clamor for the creation of another congressional district to which Zamboanga City is entitled because of its huge population.

“There is a strong public clamor and we are supporting the call for the creation of a third legislative district so we may have more voices to represent Zamboanga City in Congress,” Agan, son of a former mayor, Vitaliano Agan, said in a news conference on Monday.

But Celso Lobregat, the local mayor, said he does not favor the creation of a new congressional district because it would only divide Zamboanga City.

Agan was the author of a proposed bill that would seek for the creation of the third legislative district, and councilors who are allies of Lobregat flatly rejected his resolution.

Agan, who is one of four opposition councilors in Zamboanga City, said many of their resolutions which would benefit the public had been rejected by pro-administration councilors.

“We are very frustrated with what’s happening now at the City Council. We should put forward first the interest of the people and not the political interests of the majority,” he said.

ouncilor Cesar Jimenez said majority of the pro-administration councilors are opposing the creation of the new congressional district because Lobregat was against it. “As long as we have the popular support of the people, we will prevail,” he said.

Former Zamboanga City Vice Mayor Manuel Jose Dalipe agreed and he said they would bring the issue of the proposed third congressional district to the public by conducting information campaign that would explain to the locals the importance of having another legislative district.

“For one, we will have an additional representation to Congress and the financial help it would bring to Zamboanga City. The people are with us and we will campaign hard for everybody to be informed all about the benefit of another or perhaps two more congressional districts,” Dalipe said.

“What we are pushing here is a legacy that we all can leave to our children and for the future of Zamboanga City,” he added.

Each legislative district is allocated P70 million a year on top of millions of pesos of in other development funds for various projects. And each congressional district must have at least 250,000 populations and Zamboanga City now has over 800,000 populations.

Former city councilor lawyer Juan Elago urged Zamboanga City Representatives Erico Fabian and Maria Isabelle Salazar to file the bill that would establish the new legislative district.

“They can file the bill because this is very important to Zamboanga City and it is beneficial to all, to the people and the future of children,” he said.

Climaco has previously campaigned for the creation of the new legislative district while Fabian said there should be a public consultation first before he can decide whether to support it or not.

Another opposition councilor, Al-Jihann Edding said they would start a massive education drive and a signature campaign in Zamboanga’s 98 villages soon in an effort to gain more popular support for the creation of the new congressional district.

Lawyer Melchor Rey Sadain, also an opposition councilor, said they would also bring other issues to the attention of the public during their information drive and among them were many pro-poor resolutions they filed, but had been rejected by pro-Lobregat allies in the City Council.

“Many important resolutions, mostly that will benefit the poor, had been flatly rejected by administration councilors just because we in the opposition had filed them, and among them was the burial assistance we are proposing to give to the poor,” Sadain said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Muslim rebels, militias clash in the Philippines

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Philippine talks to free hostages continue

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 2, 2011) – Tribesmen have seized more than a dozen people in the southern Philippines and demanded the release of their leader jailed for taking hostage some 50 civilians two years ago, officials said.

Government troops have been deployed on Saturday around the village of La Purisima in Prosperidad town where the gunmen are holding their captives since Friday.

“We have deployed soldiers in the area and are awaiting orders from the local crisis management committee headed by Mayor Albin Magdamit who is negotiating with the abductors for the safe release of all the hostages,” said Army Major Eugenio Julio Osias, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division.

He said police forces are also deployed in the area.

The gunmen were demanded the release of Ondo Perez who held 47 people in December 2009. The tribesmen originally rounded up 125 people, but 50 of them managed to escape to inform the police about the incident and subsequent negotiations by social worker Josefina Bahadi led to the release of some of the hostages.

The tribesmen were facing a string of criminal charges in connection with the killings of rival natives in the town where they are fighting for years over ancestral lands. Perez had demanded the arrest of another tribe leader Jun Tubay whom he accused as behind the killings of his sisters and relatives in 2008. Both families are locked in a bitter clan war that had killed about a dozen people from both sides.

Perez said they took the hostages to shield them from being arrested by the police and demanded authorities to drop all charges against them in exchange for the safe release of the captives. Police flatly rejected the demands and said the gunmen have warrants for their arrest in connection to the murder of Tubay’s relatives.

Osias said among those being held are teachers, students and motorcycle taxi drivers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Siay villagers get new road in Zamboanga Norte

What used to be a muddied footpath is now an all-weather road cutting through a wide expanse of abundant farmlands in Barangay Siay. For the villagers, this is the picture of development that for years they all had been waiting for.Siay is now accessible by motor vehicles, making the transport of goods and people easier and convenient.

Siay Barangay Captain Lambana (left) recognized that their people’s hardships were brought about by the lack of a proper road access. Their request was granted through the company’s Social Development Management Program. At right is TVIRD’s CReDO Superintendent Joel Alasco.

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, Philippines - Siay is one of the first villages one will see coming down from the mountains of Canatuan towards Siocon town proper in Zamboanga del Norte province in the southern Philippines.

Like many areas in the countryside, Siay is rich in natural resources. Situated in the flatlands just beside the Lituban River, Siay’s wide and verdant rice fields attest to Siocon’s importance as a premier agricultural town in the province.

Along the road, Siay’s copious agricultural lands are eye catching. Its more than 800 hectares of land are mostly irrigated rice fields tilled by some 400 families who are also dependent on planting root crops, coconut, corn and banana for a living. A patch of forest area in the west complements the lush rural backdrop; in the east, a river continuously supplies water to irrigate the rice fields.

Yet, despite its natural abundance, Siay is home to impoverished families. It remained underdeveloped because for decades it suffered from its inaccessibility to major market areas where farmers can trade their products.

While farm produce was aplenty, profits from their sale were dramatically reduced by exorbitant labor and transportation costs. Consequently, the residents’ dream of improved quality of life had ground to a standstill for decades.

Recently, however, the people of Siay were given a renewed sense of hope when TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. (TVIRD), which operates a copper-zinc mine in Canatuan, heeded their call for help in the construction of a farm-to-market road.

In early December last year, Siay Barangay Captain Hamulod Lambana brought with him the sentiments of his people and approached TVIRD for help. It was clear in his mind that the time is ripe to break the bondage of hardship that his village had experienced for years; that the primary solution to Siay’s economic woes is the construction of an access road. TVIRD’s Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO) Superintendent Joel Alasco, who received Lambana’s plea, said that it was only but fitting for the company to extend help to the village.

“We had identified the road access problem of Siay as among the priority projects of the company under its Social Development and Management Program for 2011,” Alasco said. “We understand the significant positive impact that this project will bring to the people of Siay.”

In less than three months since Lambana made his appeal to TVIRD, the company was able to finish construction of the 1.4-kilometer road. According to Ed Nercuit, TVIRD’s Civil Engineering Services Manager, the road construction was completed in just 12 days. He said his men who worked on the road construction shared many happy stories about grateful residents who shared their food with the workers for the duration of the project.

One farmer even donated a piece of his rice field so that the road could cross over. On the last day of construction work, the villagers offered a goat that they served for lunch as a token of gratitude and in celebration of an important occasion in their area.

What was once a muddied footpath is now an all-weather road cutting through a wide expanse of abundant farmlands where all kinds of vehicles can conveniently pass through. For the people of Siay, this is the picture of development that they all had been waiting for.

“Now, the rice thresher can conveniently get near our rice fields during harvest time,” Wilfredo Ucab, a village councilor and farmer-leader, said. “Before, we had to spend more than a thousand pesos per hectare just to hire manual labor so that our farm yield can be brought to the thresher. Also, the cost of transporting our goods to the market has significantly decreased.”

Lambana is ecstatic: “I am so thankful that TVIRD attended to our request as quickly as it did. In just a matter of months, we already have a dream road in our barangay.” Fresh in his first term as village chief of Siay, Lambana’s pro-active leadership had gained the people’s trust and confidence despite his being a Muslim in a predominantly Christian community. He has gained more respect on account of this significant achievement.

Now that they have a proper road that conveniently connects them not only to markets, but also to the lone public school in the area and to the Siocon town proper, the people of Siay have all the reason to work harder for the development of their village. The road has likewise given them the opportunity to dream for a better life again. Of late, farmers are talking about planting high-value crops such as onions and vegetables.

“Our long wait for a road is over,” said Lambana. “This will undoubtedly spur economic activity on our village. Our people will forever be thankful to TVIRD.”

Barangay Siay is now a place where people can enjoy the benefits of beauty and, with a little more hard work, bounty. It clearly manifests that sustainable development is possible through responsible mining. (Joseph Arnel Deliverio)

2 Sayyaf terror men killed in Basilan clash

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 3, 2011) – Two Abu Sayyaf militants were killed and two army soldiers wounded in fierce clashes Sunday in the troubled province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said the fighting erupted in Sumisip town where security forces are tracking down the Abu Sayyaf group blamed for terrorism and kidnappings for ransom in the volatile region of Mindanao.

“Two Abu Sayyaf were killed in the fighting, and two of my soldiers are wounded,” said Colonel Alex Macario, commander of an army special operations troops in Basilan.

He said the fighting broke out at around 6 a.m. after army rangers attacked an Abu Sayyaf lair. He said troops recovered two M16 automatic rifles, 5 generator sets, camouflage uniforms, and 15 motorcycles and other personal belongings.

The Abu Sayyaf is still holding a Chinese-Filipino trader Larry Tam delos Santos who was kidnapped in December in Basilan’s Isabela City.

And the group is believed behind two more kidnappings which occurred in Zamboanga City and in the town of Titay in Zamboanga Sibugay province and that the victims – Olivia Barredo, 36, and Randy Talania, 9, were taken to Basilan.

Last month, Abu Sayyaf militants barged into the house of a businessman in Basilan and abducted his caretaker, Rolando dela Cruz, after failing to kidnap the trader, Charlie Cawley.

The Abu Sayyaf abandoned their hostage and was recovered safely by pursuing army soldiers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Maguindanao prosecutor, natuluyan na!

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 3, 2011) – Natuluyan na umano kahapon ang isang prosecutor ng Maguindanao province na tinambangan ng mga armado sa magulong lungsod ng Cotabato nuong nakaraang buwan lamang.

Ayon sa mga ulat ay hindi na nakayanan ng katawan ni Atty. Akilali Balt ang mga tinamong sugat mula sa ambush. Ilang lingo rin nasa coma si Balt sa pagamutan, subali’t hindi na ito naisalba ng mga duktor dahil sa matinding pinsala ng kanyang mga organ.

Suspek diumano ang kapatid na alkalde ni Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu na si Buluan Mayor Ibrahim Mangudadatu matapos siyang ituro ng bumaril sa biktima na si Acmad Maliga na nadakip ng pulisya.

Itinanggi naman ni Ibrahim ang lahat ng akusasyon sa kanya at ipinatawag na rin ito ng Department of Justice upang magbigay ng paliwanag sa akusasyon, ngunit hindi naman ito sumipot.

Natatakot naman ang pamilya ni Acmad na baka ito ipapatay upang walang tumestigo sa krimen kung kaya’t iniutos rin ng DOJ na bigyan ng sapat na proteksyon ito.

Hindi pa mabatid ang motibo sa pananambang, ngunit kilala umanong mga political lords at may mga pribadong army diumano ang mga Mangudadatu sa Maguindanao.

At ito rin ang dahilan kung bakit pinatay ng Ampatuan clan ang asawa at kapatid ni Esmael Mangudadatu nuong 2009 matapos na magpasya itong tumakbo sa halalan.

Kabilang ang napatay sa ilang dosenang mga sibilyan, kabilang ang mga mamamahayag sa brutal na pinaslang sa Maguindanao.

Nagamit ang media upang protektahan ang grupo ng asawa ni Esmael ng ito’y maghahain sana ng kandidatura ng asawa. May pangako umanong salapi sa mga manunulat kung matapos ang press conference sakaling matuloy ang paghain ng kandidatura. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops kill NPA rebel, capture 1in Mindanao clash

Major General Victor Felix.

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 2, 2011) – Government soldiers killed a communist fighter and captured another in a clash in the volatile southern region of the Philippines where security forces continue to battle the rebels who fighting for a separate state in the largely Catholic country.

An army spokesman said troops clashed with 30 New People’s Army fighters in the village of New Tubigon in Agusan del Sur’s Sabagat town on Friday.

“The soldiers were on combat operations when they ran into around 30 members of the New People’s Army believed to be under Commander Salem, of Guerilla Front-21, resulting to the death of a still unidentified rebel,” said Major Julio Osias, of the 4th Infantry Division.

The spokesman said soldiers also recovered an M16 automatic rifle, three rifle grenades and a claymore mine, including a pair of rifle magazines, a sniper scope and two cell phones.

The fighting, he said, lasted over 30 minutes. He said another rebel was also captured by soldiers and three others surrendered later on Friday.

Major General Victor Felix, the regional army commander, said the troops have been deployed in the province to track down rebel forces blamed for the string of attacks on military and police targets in Agusan del Sur.

“This is one of those intelligence driven operations where our soldiers have shown decisiveness of action. While this is a definite blow against the NPA, it is still distressing to note that the person killed is a fellow Filipino who could have been a productive member of his community.”

“We commiserate with the loss of the family, but we would also like to emphasize that we have a job to do which is to secure the population from the threats posed by the NPAs. Our soldiers need to be resolute when they are confronted with such threats,” he said.

The New People’s Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines which is currently negotiating peace with the Aquino government. But despite the peace talks, both sides have not signed any cease-fire agreement and clashes still continue in many parts of the country. (Mindanao Examiner)

Gunmen seize Cotabato City shop owner

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 2, 2011) – Gunmen barged into a small shop and abducted its owner in a daring raid in Cotabato city in the southern Philippines, security officials said on Saturday.

Officials said at least four gunmen dragged Jinky Lim Yap, 30, from inside her office and forcibly took her away in a waiting van outside late Friday.

“The victim was forcibly dragged by the kidnappers into a van which was later found abandoned and recovered by pursuing law enforcers near a river bank also in Cotabato City,” said Major Marlowe Patria, a spokesman for the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

He said the kidnappers escaped with their victim on board three motorized boats. “Authorities are still on pursuit operations,” Patria said.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction, the second in Cotabato City since early this year where gunmen also kidnapped a Filipino-Chinese hardware store owner Eulogio Lim Yu, 56, as he stepped out of a hotel.

Yu’s kidnappers have reportedly demanded P10 million for his safe release. Late last year, kidnappers also seized an elderly Filipino-Chinese gas depot owner Rodolfo Chio near Cotabato City.

The 70-year victim was later freed after his family allegedly paid P5 million to the kidnappers, who were believed to be rebels.

Kidnappings-for-ransom has become a lucrative business for rebels and criminal syndicates in Mindanao, where many areas are underdeveloped and job opportunities are scarce.

Sometimes gangs kidnapped civilians and hand them over to rebels in exchange for a cut in the ransom. Poverty has been blamed for many kidnapping incidents in the southern Philippines. (With a report from Mark Navales)

Philippine tribesmen seize civilians, demand release of jailed leader

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 2, 2011) – Tribesmen have seized more than a dozen people in the southern Philippines and demanded the release of their leader jailed for taking hostage some 50 civilians two years ago, officials said.

Government troops have been deployed on Saturday around the village of La Purisima in Prosperidad town where the gunmen are holding their captives since Friday.

“We have deployed soldiers in the area and are awaiting orders from the local crisis management committee headed by Mayor Albin Magdamit who is negotiating with the abductors for the safe release of all the hostages,” said Army Major Eugenio Julio Osias, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division.

He said police forces are also deployed in the area. The gunmen were demanded the release of Ondo Perez who held 47 people in December 2009. The tribesmen originally rounded up 125 people, but 50 of them managed to escape to inform the police about the incident and subsequent negotiations by social worker Josefina Bahadi led to the release of some of the hostages.

The tribesmen were facing a string of criminal charges in connection with the killings of rival natives in the town where they are fighting for years over ancestral lands.

Perez had demanded the arrest of another tribe leader Jun Tubay whom he accused as behind the killings of his sisters and relatives in 2008. Both families are locked in a bitter clan war that had killed about a dozen people from both sides. Perez said they took the hostages to shield them from being arrested by the police and demanded authorities to drop all charges against them in exchange for the safe release of the captives.

Police flatly rejected the demands and said the gunmen have warrants for their arrest in connection to the murder of Tubay’s relatives. Osias said among those being held are teachers, students and motorcycle taxi drivers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Bomb explosion wounds civilian in Southern Philippines

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 1, 2011) – One person was wounded in a bomb attack Friday at a market in Basilan province in the southern Philippines, security officials said.

Officials said an improvised bomb planted inside a fruit basket exploded in one of the market stalls in Isabela City.

“Initial investigation revealed that the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device which was planted inside a basket containing bananas,” said Army Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a regional military spokesman.

He said blast investigators recovered a time fuse and electrical wires believed part of the explosive.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack which occurred near a jail facility where Abu Sayyaf militants are being held.

It was not immediately known if the bombing was carried out by the militant group linked by Filipino authorities to terrorism and kidnappings in Mindanao region.

The attack coincided with ongoing military operations in Basilan aimed at rescuing three people believed kidnapped separately by rebels. (Mindanao Examiner)

Warring Muslim clans reconcile in Lanao Sur

MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 1, 2011) – Philippine military officials on Friday said two warring Muslim clans in Mindanao have agreed to settle their feuds and vowed to support peace efforts in the southern province of Lanao del Sur.

Officials said the influential Dimaporo and Balindong clans have reconciled on Thursday in Marawi City. Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong and Representative Ali Balindong spearheaded the reconciliation which was also backed by the Army’s 103rd Infantry Brigade.

Both parties took oath to put an end in the perpetuation of exacting revenge against one another before signing the official agreement.

“They pledged to forgive the previous offenses that they have inflicted against each other and stop the retaliation in their time for the benefit of the generations to come. Likewise, they have sworn to endeavor rekindling unity and alliance between them,” said Colonel Daniel Lucero, the local army commander.

He said the dispute between the two groups erupted after one of the Balindong shot a Dimaporo clan member last month in Cagayan de Oro City despite the clans’ marriage affiliation.

Lucero said they will not tolerate violence in the province and also appealed to other feuding clans and warring families to reconcile and end their differences peacefully.

“Anyone who will violate this agreement will be treated as our enemy. It is my hope that more warring families will resort to the same resolution of conflict among them. I express my heartfelt gratitude to both parties for giving reconciliation a chance,” Lucero said.

He said among the proponents of the settlement included local religious and tribal leaders, and local chief executives and the provincial police force. (Mindanao Examiner)

American philanthropist sends donation for poor Muslims in Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 1, 2011) – An American philanthropist has sent a box of assorted books and medicines and clothes to the Mindanao Examiner as donations to poor Muslim communities in the southern Philippine region of Mindanao.

The donation was sent to the Mindanao Examiner’s main office in Zamboanga City after the kindhearted philanthropist saw a video posted on YouTube by the media firm in September 2006.

The video shows a Muslim woman, Salamona Hakim, appealing for books and medicines and other assistance for poor children in Maguindanao province.

Salamona one of the few teachers who volunteered to help teach dozens of Muslim children at a former rebel base occupied by security forces and converted into a community.

The children go to makeshift school put up by their fathers at the former base of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front called Camp Abubakar As Siddique, now a peace zone, in order to learn and finish their elementary education.

Salamona’s family is also helping her teach the children. The eagerness of Salamona to help the children is her great motivation and her poor community still needs more help.

For donations, you can send them to:

Mindanao Examiner Productions

Unit 15, 3F Fair Land Building, Nuñez St.,

Zamboanga City, Philippines 7000

Or deposit to:

Mindanao Examiner

Bank of the Philippine Islands

Zamboanga City

C/A 9525 8057 32

Code BOPI PH MM

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Philippine troops seize NPA weapons factory

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 1, 2011) – Philippine soldiers have seized a weapons factory being run by communist rebels on a remote village in Davao Oriental’s Rizal town, but failed to make any arrest, officials said Friday.

Officials said New People’s Army rebels had abandoned the facility Thursday in the village of Taocanga after sensing the raiders and left behind a cache of explosives and materials used in manufacturing improvised bombs.

An army spokesman said troops from the 67th Infantry Battalion have recovered the cache and brought it back to their camp and among those they seized were anti-armor and anti-personnel mines the rebels had been traditionally using against police and military targets in the southern Philippines.

“This is believed to be a manufactory of improvised landmines. With its discovery, civilian lives have been spared. It saves the lives of civilians who could have been victims of indiscriminate attacks by rebels,” Lieutenant Colonel Lydon Paniza said, adding five civilians were killed in a landmine explosion perpetrated by rebels in Compostela Valley’s Maco town in February.

The rebels are fighting for the past five decades for the establishment of a communist state in the largely Catholic country. (Mindanao Examiner)