Filipino solons hail SC cityhood ruling

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 13, 2011) - Members of the Philippine Congress lauded the Supreme Court for affirming a previous ruling upholding the constitutionality of 16 laws which converted as many municipalities into full-fledged cities.

“We applaud the SC decision, which recognizes the authority of Congress to pass and amend laws as it sees fit, and the sovereign will of the people who ratified in plebiscites the upgrading of their municipalities into cities,” said House Assistant Majority Leader and Cebu Representative Eduardo Gullas.

Gullas said he and other members of Congress would immediately ask Budget Secretary Florencio Abad to release the Internal Revenue Allotment of the new cities.

The IRA represents a local government’s share of revenues from the national government.

The League of Cities of the Philippines has previously lobbied and blocked the conversion of municipalities into cities and strongly opposed the latest ruling of the High Court.

It is also reported to be planning a new strategy to again try to block the implementation of the SC ruling, but Gullas said: “We respectfully suggest to the LCP that they now abandon their stubborn resistance to the formation of the new cities. They should now acknowledge the lawmaking prerogative of Congress, and bow to the SC ruling.”

In their last summer session in Baguio City on Tuesday, the SC justices sustained their February 15, 7-6 vote dismissing the LCP’s appeal for the cityhood laws, passed by the 11th Congress, to be declared unconstitutional.
The 16 new cities are: Baybay (Leyte); Bogo (Cebu); Catbalogan (Samar); Tandag (Surigao del Sur); Borongan (Eastern Samar); Tayabas (Quezon); Lamitan (Basilan); Tabuk (Kalinga); Bayugan (Agusan del Sur); Batac (Ilocos Norte); Mati (Davao Oriental); Guihulngan (Negros Oriental); Cabadbaran (Agusan del Norte); Carcar (Cebu); El Salvador (Misamis Oriental); and Naga (Cebu).

“We are counting on the installation of the 16 new cities to usher in a new era of sound and balanced rural development, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao, and to propel national economic growth,” Gullas said, adding the LCP had been “unreasonably opposed” to the creation of the 16 new cities “because of money.”

“LCP members simply they don’t want their share of the IRA to be diminished, with the new cities taking their share of the pie,” Gullas pointed out. “But the pie is always getting bigger every year, because the economy continues to expand, and government revenues continue to grow. So everybody will still be getting IRA increases.”

Road works begin in Zamboanga City

Workers from the Zamboanga City government pour asphalt Monday, April 12, 2011 on a village road. Many streets in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines are cracked and dilapidated. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

Peace Talks!

Fidel Agcaoili, chairman of the National Democratic Front Human Rights Committee, talks about the progress and prospects of the peace talks between Manila and the National Democratic Front during a news conference Tuesday, April 12, 2011 in Davao City in Mindanao. Agcaoili, who is also a member of the National Democratic Front peace panel, signed and accepted the Mindanao Peoples’ peace agenda. (Photo by Karlos Manlupig)

Sulu Gov't wins coveted Philippine Web Awards 2011

A screen shot of the website of the Sulu Provincial Government which won the coveted “Best e-LGU Website” at the prestigious 12th Philippine Web Awards 2011. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 12, 2011) – The Provincial Government of Sulu has won the coveted “Best e-LGU Website” at the prestigious 12th Philippine Web Awards 2011.

Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, bested three other provinces and two highly urbanized cities which were finalists for the prestigious award.

The others were the municipality of Del Carmen in Surigao del Norte, Padada municipality in Davao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, and the cities of Zamboanga and Manila.

Del Carmen municipality also bagged the “People’s Choice” award. The awarding was held April 8 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza in Ayala Avenue in Makati City.

Prior to the awarding, the governor of Sulu, Dr. Sakur Tan said: “We are working really hard to catch up with the advent of technology and through our website, we are able to inform not only our people, but the whole world about the good province of Sulu and its achievements not only in governance, but a lot more which reflects our rich culture and colorful heritage.”

The PWA is the most prestigious award giving event in the Philippines and over 1000 entries are joining each year. This will be very beneficial for the Sulu website because it is a well-known national event and is recognized by the entire IT (Information Technology) community.

It recognizes the best Filipino-created web sites and honors the individuals and teams behind them. The PWA said it continues to attract participants in the Philippines and abroad and gain support from major industry players.

Over the years, the PWA honors outstanding Filipino talent in the field of Web design and development. The finalists and winners not only garner appreciation from their peers, but also career growth and bigger opportunities.

Last year, the PWA ended with a number of first-time winners holding the coveted trophies for Best Websites and People’s Choice Awards. Led by service-oriented and content-driven Websites, the 2009 winners were bound by common goals such as achieving global online presence, extending their communications reach, and improving content. (Mindanao Examiner)

Filipino bomber with links to JI falls in Mindanao

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 12, 2011) – Philippine authorities said a local militant with links to the Indonesian terror group Jemaah Islamiya was captured Tuesday afternoon in Sultan Kudarat province on the southern island of Mindanao where he is being interrogated, officials said.

Officials said policemen, backed by army troops, captured Abi Pamanay at around 2.45 p.m. in the town of Isulan. “Abi Pamanay was arrested based on two warrants for cases of murder, multiple frustrated murder and multiple attempted murder,” Army Major Marlowe Patria, a spokesman for the 6th Infantry Division, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He did not give details of the operations that led to the capture of Pamanay, but other military reports claimed the militant has ties with the country’s largest Muslim rebel group called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Pamanay is also an explosives expert and had been tagged in previous bombings of civilian targets in Mindanao.

“He is a suspected bomber and has links with Jemaah Islamiya,” the spokesman said.

Filipino authorities have in the past link the Jemaah Islamiya and Al-Qaeda to the MILF, but rebel leaders had repeatedly denied the allegations, although admitted that some of its rogue commanders may have ties with the terrorist groups in the past.

The military said some rebel leaders harbored or had provided sanctuary to foreign militants in Mindanao. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mindanao Examiner now streams online radios, television broadcasts

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Mindanao Examiner now streams some 70 online radios, television broadcasts and is putting up more stations for the benefit of Internet communities not only in the Philippines, but around the world, as part of its continuing improvement in the field of Information and Technology.

The Mindanao Examiner is founded in Zamboanga City in 2006 and has launched a weekly newspaper with circulations in many parts of the southern Philippines.

The company, whose website can be accessed on this URL – www.mindanaoexaminer.com – has expanded its business in 2010 to include cable television production and currently manages and operates Sky Cable Mindanao Examiner TV on Channel 54 in Zamboanga City.

It also has its own multi-media department, Mindanao Examiner Productions, which is in-charge of all video productions, photography services. It has provided photography and video works for various corporations and companies operating in the Philippines, including local government units in the southern Philippines and foreign media firms.

The Mindanao Examiner has produced several corporate and tourism videos and independent short films, including a full-length bio-film in the past.

The Mindanao Examiner also offers corporate media consultancy. It advocates citizen journalism and a strong advocate of press freedom, and has a pro-poor program for the less fortunate sector in the community.

Its office is located at 3rd Floor, Fair Land Building, Nunez Extension, Zamboanga City. Its staffs operate pro-bono.

Calabarzon, Western and Central Visayas dominate PRISAA in Zamboanga City

Sunset in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - The Calabarzon or Region IV-A has taken the early lead by collecting 9 golds, 4 silvers, and 3 bronzes with in the Private Schools Athletic Association Games in Zamboanga City in Mindanao.

Powerhouse Western Visayas was off to a good start on the first day of the Pgames by coming in a strong second in the medal standings with 4 golds, 6 silvers, and 5 bronzes.

Close at the heels at third place is Central Visayas with 2 golds, 4 silvers, and six bronzes.

Calabarzon is one of the regions of the Philippines composed of five provinces - Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon located in southwestern Luzon.

Western Visayas, a perennial contender in the PRISAA Meet is expected to dominate the ball games, particularly, football represented by Iloilo.

Swimmers from Region VI also made their presence felt with four gold medals courtesy of Ronel Duran in the 100 men’s butterfly (1:05.12), Reynalisa Catapang in the women’s butterfly (1:16.45), Joseph Gloria in the 200 back (2:41.38) and in the men’s 200 freestyle relay (1:47.28).

Meanwhile, swimmer Lorendale Echavez from University of San Carlos sustained her winning and record-breaking ways yesterday to boost her collection to five golds at the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex.

The 17-year-old swimming standout took the gold in the women’s 800 and 100-meter free – both in new meet marks -- then capped a sizzling 3-for-3 stint at the pool with a strong anchor leg as Central Visayas ruled the 200 freestyle relay in two minutes and 2.34 seconds.

Looming as Echavez’s biggest threat was Region 4-A’s Jaevico Dalay, who boosted his haul to four golds following wins in the men’s 1,500 free (19:08.11) and 200 backstroke (2:28.04) to follow up on earlier victories in the 400 individual medley and 4x100 freestyle relay on the opening day.

The 5-foot-4 La Salle Dasmarinas sophomore’s gold medal duel with Echavez could go down the wire with the 400 free, 200 IM, 4X100 IM and 4x200 freestyle relays still to go in his schedule.

Sharing the spotlight with Echavez and Dalay was another La Salle Dasma swimmers, Anna Jemimah Puyo after bagging her third gold in the 200 breaststroke (3:07.50) in yesterday’s action counting the 400 IM and 4x100 freestyle triumphs she had earlier.

The Calabarzon tankers continued to showcase their deep bench as they picked up six victories in 14 events, including Rizal Jurado in the men’s 100 free (57.78), Kaezer Salazar in the men’s 50 back (31.66), and Kimberly Briones in the women’s 50 back (34.51).

In athletics, Region 9 bagged two golds through Charito Bajuyo in the women’s high jump (1.55) and Peter Paul Padel, who emerged as the fastest man of Games by clinching the 100 dash in 10.7 seconds.

Cordillera Autonomous Region’s Katherine Santos was the fastest woman in 12.1 seconds while teammate Jahnzel Udelando topped the discus throw with a heave of 28.4 meters.

Region 11’s Analyn Gonzaga captured the women’s 5,000-meter walk in 31:53.9.

Baseball competitions saw Region 4-A blitz the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, 19-0; Region 11 subdue Region 4-B, 8-0; and Region 5 blast Region 9.

In softball action, Region 11 trounced Region 10, 13-6; Region 6 clobbered Region 7, 17-0; and CAR ripped Region 2, 14-3.(Philippine News Agency, The Visayan Daily Star)


Link: http://www.visayandailystar.com/2011/April/12/sportnews1.htm

Philippine rebels accuse Japan fruit exporter of land grabbing

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 12, 2011) – Philippine communist rebels on Tuesday accused a Japanese subsidiary of grabbing lands from local farmers in Mindanao.

The rebels also warned they would fight for the rights of the farmers in Sultan Kudarat and South Cotabato provinces where the Sumitomo Fruits Philippines, a subsidiary of Sumitomo Japan, is planning to expand its banana plantations.

The Valentin Palamine Regional Operations Command of the New People’s Army condemned the alleged spate of land grabbing in the provinces. The rebels said in South Cotabato province alone, the company has over 5,000 hectares and still expanding.

They also accused police and military commanders of colluding with the Sumitomo Fruits and said the security forces had reportedly killed some leaders of the Barangay Integrated Farmers Association against Crime in Sultan Kudarat’s Palimbang town.

With an aggregate of no less than 25,000 hectares in the island of Mindanao and with enough armed backing from the police, the local government and the US-Aquino regime, Sumifru’s expansion seems insatiable and unstoppable,” said Dencio Madrigal, a rebel spokesman.

“Our Red fighters are duty bound to expose and oppose this land grabbing of our rich agricultural lands by rapacious multinational companies like Sumifru and Dole-Stanfilco. As the true soldiers of the Filipino masses, the NPA cannot just sit down without giving a fight to defend the people, their lands and livelihood.”

Sumitomo Fruit Corporation, which is second only to Dole Stanfilco, is a fruit and vegetable importer and distributor based in Tokyo and bananas from the Philippines make up the bulk of its trade and its 25% share of the banana market in terms of volume of imports makes it the second biggest player in the business.

Dole-Stanfilco on the other hand produces and sources bananas and other tropical fruit. It is part of Dole Asia's operations and is headquartered in Davao City also in Mindanao.

The accusations of the NPA cannot be immediately confirmed but both companies have been previously attacked by rebels in Mindanao where they are fighting for the establishment of a Maoist state. (Mindanao Examiner)

Begging for alms in Zamboanga

An old man begs for money Tuesday, April 12, 2011 on every vehicle at a busy junction in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. This is a common sight in Zamboanga where poverty is still a big problem. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

TVI begins drilling in Zamboanga province

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 12, 2011) - TVI Pacific Inc. through its Philippine operating affiliate TVI Resource Development (Phils.), Inc., said drilling is underway at its Tamarok copper-gold porphyry prospect in Zamboanga province in Mindanao.

It said the initial drill program consists of 6 to 12 holes, up to 4,000 metres (13,100 feet) total depth, depending on accessibility and initial results.

The scout drilling program is designed to test subsurface continuity of outcropping porphyry copper-gold mineralization identified by initial exploration work at the Malachite Hill prospect.

Previous channel sampling at Malachite Hill has produced a 38 metre (124.7 foot) wide zone grading 0.70% copper and 0.40 grams/tonne ("g/t") gold.

Tamarok is located 60 kilometres (37 miles) north-northeast of TVIRD's Balabag project and 115 kilometers (71 miles) northeast of TVIRD's operating Canatuan mine. It is within the Company's extensive North Zamboanga tenement package.

The Tamarok project is being explored under a 507 hectare (1,253 acre) Mineral Production Sharing Agreement ("MPSA") formally approved by the Secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources of the Philippines. TVIRD has also received Free Prior Informed Consent from the area's indigenous community.

The MPSA at Tamarok allows TVIRD to advance exploration activities including geophysical surveys, systematic detailed geological investigations and drilling. To help identify areas of potential mineralization, and ultimately locate drill targets, the Company has recently conducted an airborne geophysical program over the tenement area. (Marketwire)

Filipino farm worker!

Despite the scorching summer heat, an old woman single-handedly applies fertilizer on a small cornfield in Davao del Sur province in Mindanao. (Photo by Karlos Manlupig)

Mindanao niyanig ng lindol

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 11, 2011) – Niyugyog ng lindol kanina ang ilang lugar sa Mindanao, ngunit wala naman inulat na seryosong pinsala o kaya’y nasawi sa paggalaw ng lupa na naitala sa 4.8 magnitude.

Madaling araw umano ang paglindol kung kaya’t hindi rin ito naramdaman ng maraming tao, ngunit ayon sa Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology natunton ito sa Surigao City sa Surigao del Norte at Agusan province.

At maging sa katabing mga lalawigan ay naramdaman rin ang lindol, subali’t hindi naman ito kalakasan.

Sa mga lugar iyon rin naitala ang ilang maliliit na pagyanig mula pa nuong Linggo at may naitala rin sa Bisayas, ngunit hindi naman gaanong kalakasan.

Marami pa rin ang takot sa lindol matapos na yanigin ng malakas na pag-uga ang Japan ilang lingo na ang nakalipas na nagresulta sa tsunami at libo-libo ang umano’y nasawi.

Sinasabing ang pagtagilid ng mundo sa kanyang axis o sentro ang siyang dahilan ng maraming kalamidad at lindol at ang kakaibang init na ngayon ay nararamdaman sa buong daigdig.

Nakaapekto umano ang magnetic poles ng daigdig kung kaya’t naging abnormal ang klima at nagdulot ng mga madalas na paglindol sa ibat-ibang panig ng mundo. (Mindanao Examiner)

Kidnapped Cotabato trader freed

A wharf in Cotabato City in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 10, 2011) – Kidnappers have freed before dawn Sunday a trader they held for more than a week in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said Jinky Yap was released on a remote village in Datu Piang town in Maguindanao province where she was recovered by security forces. Yap, whose family runs a grocery store, is frail and could hardly speak to tell her harrowing ordeal from the hands of her kidnappers.

Other reports said the trader was released in the town of Talayan.

Yap was later taken to a clinic where doctors examined her. Officials insisted that no ransom was paid to the kidnappers, who originally demanded several millions of pesos in exchange for her freedom.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front allegedly helped secure Yap’s freedom and that the presence of troops near the kidnappers’ hideout forced them to release the woman.

But other sources said a still unspecified amount ransom was paid by Yap’s family to the gang, which is composed of MILF rebels and former fighters.

Yap was kidnapped inside April 1 from her store in Cotabato City. (With a report from Ferdinand Cabrera)

Blast hits Basilan; 2 more bombs recovered

Scenes after a powerful blast hits Lamitan City in the southern Philippines. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

BASILAN, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 10, 2011) – Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants detonated a powerful bomb at a lodging house in the restive province of Basilan where security forces are fighting terrorism.

Two more improvised explosives have been recovered since Saturday in Lamitan and Isabela cities which had been targeted in the past by militants with links to al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya.

Military agents said a woman was taken into custody for questioning in connection to the attack. And another man who is believed to be her accomplish is also being sought for by soldiers.

Police said an improvised bomb was defused Sunday in front of the Lamitan Central School. Another explosive planted near the Sofia hotel in Isabela City had been disarmed late Saturday, minutes after a bomb went off inside one of the rooms at the Spasky lodging house in Lamitan.

“It’s good that we have discovered the IED,” said Chief Inspector Edwin Placio, the local police chief. He said the improvised explosive was made from ammonium nitrate and mixed with fuel oil, the same ingredients the bombed used in the attack on the lodging house.

Although there were no reports of casualties, the bombing destroyed at least two more houses near the rooming house.

The Abu Sayyaf group is believed behind the bombing in Lamitan and the foiled attack in Isabela and Lamitan, said Army Colonel Alex Macario, commander of military forces in Basilan province. “We have tightened security in Basilan because of threats of Abu Sayyaf attacks. We have intelligence reports that the terrorist group is targeting hotel and gas stations.”

The motive of the attack is still unknown, but police said it could be retaliation to the ongoing military operations against the Abu Sayyaf in Basilan and Sulu province.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but previous bombings in Basilan had been largely blamed to the Abu Sayyaf which 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 allegedly taken to Basilan. (Mindanao Examiner)

Troops recover IED in Basilan city

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 9, 2011) – Security forces recovered an improvised explosive late Saturday in Basilan province in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the bomb was found by patrolling troops near the Sofia hotel in Isabela City minutes after an improvised explosive exploded inside the Spasky lodging house in Lamitan City also in Basilan.

The Abu Sayyaf group with ties to the Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya is believed behind the bombing in Lamitan and the foiled attack in Isabela City.

“We have tightened security in Basilan because of threats of Abu Sayyaf attacks. We have intelligence reports that the terrorist group is targeting hotel and gas stations,” Army Colonel Alex Macario, commander of military forces in Basilan province, told the Mindanao Examiner.

He said soldiers have put up checkpoints in Isabela following the bombing of the Spasky lodging house in Lamitan shortly before 7 p.m. The powerful explosion destroyed the rooming house, but the number of casualties was not immediately known and soldiers were sent to the area to search for possible survivors from the rubble of the rooming house.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but previous bombings in Basilan had been largely blamed to Abu Sayyaf militants with links to Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists.

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 allegedly taken to Basilan. (Mindanao Examiner)

Powerful blast destroys lodging house in Basilan province

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 9, 2011) – A powerful improvised explosive went off late Saturday inside a lodging house in the troubled province of Basilan in the southern Philippines, officials said.

Officials said the explosion, which occurred shortly before 7 p.m. was so powerful that it destroyed the Spasky lodging house owned by Jose Tihadain in Lamitan City. The number of casualties was not immediately known and soldiers were sent to the area to search for possible survivors from the rubble of the rooming house.

“The lodging house was totally collapsed due to the powerful explosion. Soldiers and policemen were in the area to search for victims of the blast,” said Army Colonel Alex Macario, commander of military forces in Basilan, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but previous bombings in Basilan had been largely blamed to Abu Sayyaf militants with links to Al-Qaeda and Jemaah Islamiya terrorists.

The explosion came barely a week after troops killed two suspected militants during a raid in Basilan’s Sumisip town where security forces are tracking down the Abu Sayyaf group blamed for the spate of attacks and kidnappings in the province.

Soldiers recovered two M16 automatic rifles, 5 generator sets, camouflage uniforms, and 15 motorcycles and other personal belongings from the raid.

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 allegedly 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 gang abandoned their hostage and was recovered safely by pursuing army soldiers. (Mindanao Examiner)

Aspiring beauty queen gets corrective eye treatment in Zamboanga

Kia Mae (in glasses) and mother, Margarita, just 10 days after the girl’s eye surgery. “She wants to be like Venus Raj,” mom says of daughter. And the Dandanas’ Facebook photo that started it all. From left: Grandpa Alito, Kia, Grandma Zedai, and cousin Joy. And Dr. Maria Antonette Cases and Margarita after the bandage was taken from Kia’s eyes.

ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE, Philippines - Even at the tender age of 4, Kia Mae Dandana already felt the pain of being teased and laughed at.

In the neighborhood where she lives, her playmates – sometimes even the adults – called her libat (squint-eyed), which often forced her to stop playing and run home straight to her mother, Margarita, to seek comfort.

She was playful and energetic, but hearing people make fun of her always made the child both angry and sad. To ease Kia’s pain, Margarita would just hug her tight.

At times moved to tears herself, she would tell her only child: “When we have the money a doctor will treat your eyes.”

Just recently, Kia, now 6, received the proper medical treatment she needed. No, her family didn’t have the money, but the mining company where Kia’s father, Roger, is employed – TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc. (TVIRD) – noticed the little girl’s condition and provided her and her parents the required support.

Through the company’s Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO), Kia was linked up with Tzu Chi Foundation, a Buddhist charity organization founded in Taiwan, which provides, among others, medical assistance to the poor. Tzu Chi are Chinese words for “compassion” and “relief”.

Now, barely two weeks after her operation, Kia is a “new” girl in her neighborhood.

“I’m pretty sure she feels better now that she won’t be teased by her playmates anymore,” Joel Alasco, CReDO Superintendent, said. “She will grow up confident that she has normal eyes like most people around her.”

“Before her operation, Kia told me that when she grows up, she wants to be like Venus Raj, the Filipina who emerged fourth runner-up in the 2010 Miss Universe beauty pageant,” Margarita said laughing. “Who knows? She definitely has a better chance now.”

Kia’s eye surgery was administered by Dr. Maria Antonette Aguilera-Cases, a Zamboanga City-based eye specialist who traces her roots to Siocon, incidentally the host municipality that encompasses Canatuan, site of TVIRD’s copper-zinc operations.

Dr. Cases is one of doctors of the Tzu Chi Great Love Eye Center, a project of the Tzu Chi Foundation. The Eye Center, located at the compound of the Zamboanga City Medical Center, is equipped with state-of-the-art sight-saving apparatuses.

The comely doctor told Margarita that Kia was the 16th child she had operated on since the Tzu Chi began providing its services to indigents in Zamboanga City and other parts of Mindanao and the Visayas in 2004.

“Kia was most behaved,” Margarita recounted what Dr. Cases had related to her. “Our girl did not cry when Dr. Cases’ staff began administering the drug that will make her sleep throughout the operation. It lasted three hours.

“Clearly, Kia understood that she will undergo an operation that will correct her eye defect,” Margarita continued. “She just asked me where she was going when I dressed her with the hospital gown that she had to wear inside the operating room. She only cried when she could not see me with the bandage covering her eyes after the operation. But when Dr. Cases assured her she will be able to see the following day after the bandage will have been removed, she immediately stopped crying,” Margarita said.

Margarita related that they had waited for such a long time for the doctor who was then still busy attending to other patients in the Eye Center. She had got frustrated and told Kia that she just wanted to go home because there were plenty of chores that needed to be done at home.

Kia asked her mother: “Ma, do you want me to be called libat for the rest of my life?”

Touched by her daughter’s question, Margarita hugged her daughter and resolved that she will not miss that opportunity to give Kia the chance to live a normal life.

The child’s eye condition, according to Margarita, was not inborn. “About five years ago, Roger and I were working in a factory in Manila. Kia was left in the care of a relative. While her nanny ran an errand, Kia fell from our small terrace. She was just more than one year old then. The fall affected part of her eyes and head. Her forehead was swollen. It was so big that she looked like a hydrocephalus patient. Five days later, her eyes squinted. Her doctor told us that an eye nerve suffered trauma. But we were assured that her condition can be corrected through an eye operation,” Margarita recalled.

But when she brought Kia to an eye specialist in Zamboanga, Margarita was told to prepare P150,000 (about US $3,400) for the operation. “The amount was totally out of reach for us that’s why I told Roger that we had to save if Kia’s eye condition is to be cured. Since he is the only one working, it would take years for us to raise the needed amount,” Margarita said.

Kia’s condition became known to TVIRD through Facebook. John Ridsdel, TVIRD Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, was going through one of the recent posts of Noelle Nazareno, a former CReDo staff member, when he noticed Kia in one of the photos. The girl’s photo, together with her family, was taken when Nazareno visited the Dandana household to bid them goodbye. Ridsdel immediately called up CReDO’s Alasco and requested the latter to assist the Dandana family regarding Kia’s case. Shortly thereafter, Alasco learned about Tzu Chi and proceeded to coordinate closely with the foundation.

“We’re simply lucky to have TVI(RD) here,” said Margarita. “Besides providing jobs to members of our families, the company has made available to us with sustainable alternative livelihood opportunities for us to be able to move onward even after the company ceases its operations here in Canatuan. And now this gesture of kindness to Kia.”

“We will continue to monitor Kia and get her the post-operative care she needs,” Alasco said. “We will do our best to make sure the procedure she underwent will be successful in the long term.”

Margarita thanked Tzu Chi Foundation and TVIRD for giving back to Kia her normal eyes. She said the care and kindness that she experienced from the foundation and company will always be remembered. “That care and kindness touched me to my very core,” Margarita said. “Their gesture will always remind me that truly there is always goodness in the hearts of men.” (Lullie Micabalo)

Philippine rebels turn back gov't irrigation surveyors

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 9, 2011) – Communist rebels briefly held a group of government irrigation surveyors and seized their equipment in the southern Philippines, a commander said on Saturday.

The New People’s Army rebels said they turned back eight surveyors of the National Irrigation Administration headed by Engineer Salome Layasan who were conducting a meeting with villagers in Paquibato district in the outskirts of Davao City.

The rebels seized the group’s vehicle, two camera phones, maps, NIA petition forms, NIA membership agreement and identification cards.

NIA said the consultation was to inform the locals of a communal irrigation project in the village. But Leoncio Pitao, a rebel commander, disputed this and said villagers have complained that the project cuts through areas where there are mining activities.

“The NIA team led by Engineer Salome Layasan presented documents which vaguely explained the intent and purpose of the supposed irrigation project,” Pitao said. “The circumstances surrounding the NIA interest to implement the said project in particular areas make the whole irrigation idea questionable.”

He said the location of the irrigation project is within the mining claim and exploration area of Alberto Mining Corporation which covers more than 8,000 hectares in the villages of Mapula, Lumiad and Salapawan.

But aside from the irrigation project in the three villages, Pitao said the NIA also has another project in the village of Malabog and Tapak which is also within the area claimed by PENSON and Superfield Mining Corporation.

“The NIA projects will turn out to be useless for the Paquibato community since target areas have minimal potential irrigable areas. Target areas have mountainous and hilly terrain and extensively covered with limestone deposits,” Pitao said.

He said the government project is highly deceptive because the farmers and other beneficiaries have been told to sign a membership agreement and petition letter and are obliged to pay for the irrigation facilities through time.

“The people want genuine agrarian reform and not fraudulent irrigation projects and destructive mining operations. The masses have long suffered with landlessness alongside massive militarization now deceptively packaged as Oplan Bayanihan under the US-Aquino regime.”

“The blabber about peace and development troops being deployed to win the peace is a euphemism for the Philippine military’s role as an investment defense force in southern Mindanao and armed instrument to suppress the people for foreign and local capitalists and mining interests bent on plundering our national patrimony,” Pitao said.

Oplan Bayanihan refers to the government anti-communist campaign.

Pitao said villagers in Paquibato district are opposing the encroachment of mining companies in the area. The rebels are fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the largely Catholic country. (Mindanao Examiner)

7 killed in firefight in Zamboanga town

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 7, 2011) – At least seven gunmen were believed killed in a fierce firefight Thursday on an islet off the southern Filipino province of Zamboanga Sibugay, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said the fighting broke out late in the afternoon after gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on a group of policemen and soldiers who were serving a warrant for the arrest of a notorious bandit leader, Kamja Asdanal.

“The fighting was really intense and we have reports that at least seven gunmen were in the house and that they had fox holes inside. The house eventually burned and nobody escaped,” said Army Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, commander of a military anti-terror task force.

He said the fighting lasted for several hours and that the bodies of the slain gunmen are still under the rubble of the burned house. “We will clear the area in the morning,” Pascual said.

Pascual said among those killed in the fighting was Asdanal and his sons. He said villagers tipped off the military on the hideout of the bandit leader, whose wife and son and another woman were arrested Wednesday in nearby town of Ipil following a covert military operation.

The bandit leader and his sons were all involved in the string of attacks on police and military targets and behind the extortion activities in the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur.

Last Tuesday, four gunmen boarded a provincial bus in Zamboanga Sibugay’s Tungawan town and shot dead an army major, his wife and a marshal. And robbed passengers and took a woman hostage before torching the bus.

It was not immediately known whether Asdanal’s group was involved in the attack. (Mindanao Examiner)

Mindanao journalists finish EU-sponsored human rights reporting seminar

About two dozen journalists attend the two-day seminar of security and human rights reporting sponsored by the European Union in Davao City in Mindanao. The seminar ended on Thursday, April 7, 2011. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 7, 2011) – Some two dozen Filipino journalists in Mindanao have finished Thursday a two-day seminar on security and human rights reporting sponsored by the European Union (EU).

The seminar, held in Davao City, was part of the EU-Philippines Justice Support Programme (EPJUST), which aims to assist Philippine society in bringing an end to extralegal killings and enforced disappearances through technical assistance and capacity-building.

EPJUST activities are designed to contribute to the effective investigation, prosecution and trial by the competent Philippine authorities of persons involved in any way in extralegal killings and enforced disappearances.

Davao City is one area in Mindanao where hundreds of people, mostly suspected criminals and thieves, have been killed by the shadowy group called “Davao Death Squad.”

Joseph Erson Reyson, a technical security expert for EPJUST, spoke personal security and safety for journalists and advised them to take extra careful in their coverage of situation in Mindanao.

“Common sense is very important in our daily security, especially journalists covering Mindanao. We should always remember that we responsible for our own security and the best way to stay safe is to avoid trouble in the first place,” he said. “We must always be aware of our environment and be methodical and disciplined in our daily work and most importantly is for us to adhere to protocols and other standard operating procedures.”

Reyson cited the kidnappings by the Abu Sayyaf of a television reporter Ces Drilon in Sulu in 2008. Militants intercepted Drilon and her two cameramen Jimmy Encarnacion and Angelo Valderama, including their guide Professor Octavio Dinampo while pursuing an exclusive story about the Abu Sayyaf.

Drilon works for the television giant ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation while Dinampo teaches Political Science at the Mindanao State University. They were released several weeks later after private negotiators reportedly paid huge ransom to the Abu Sayyaf.

“You must follow your instincts and learn to notice details about people, always know where you are going, knowledge about work area, always stay a low profile and avoid ostentatious show of affluence or influence, establish routines and avoid fixed patterns, be alert, know own ability.”

“Do not ignore unusual or strange circumstances, do not place self in situations to attract threat, understand or learn various cultural differences and sensitivities in the area where you resides, cultural awareness is also important for journalists who cover different areas in Mindanao,” Reyson said.

Romina Santa Clara, EPJUST human rights expert, also discussed various subjects on human rights and other security issues. A case study she wrote in 2008 won the Europeaid Communication Award for Asia. The local strategy and tools on human rights mainstreaming she developed for the EU Delegation-Manila was also cited as good practice.

Santa Clara, one of EPJUST three key experts, has about 20 years of experience in gender equality and human rights approach to development, involving field work with civil society organizations and national human rights institutions and working groups in the Philippines and Asian countries.

EPJUST also invited veteran journalists Jason Gutierrez, of the Agence France-Presse; Alma Carpio, associate editor of Philippine Free Press and president of IT Journalist Association of the Philippines; and documentary photographer Jess Aznar.

Gutierrez said: “Despite the threats to journalists, the free press must remain ever vigilant, because we are the vanguards of the public's right to know, of critical discourse. We must make every effort to fight for transparency.”

“It is unacceptable in one of Asia’s most freewheeling democracies that individuals, including journalists, should continue to be killed or abducted with impunity for political reasons. When this becomes routine, however, the paradoxical tendency is for media to no longer treat such crimes as the gruesome anomaly that they are. Yet one of the five pillars of the justice system is the community, and it is media that inform the community. That is why information needs to be free.”

Many journalists who attended the seminar reported receiving death threats and intimidation from people affected by their news stories. But they still continue their job despite the threats. In 2009, at least 32 journalists were among 57 people brutally murdered in Maguindanao province in Mindanao in the worst political killing in the country. The journalists were accompanying a political caravan when they were stopped by some 200 gunmen who were allegedly followers of the powerful Ampatuan clan.

The Human Rights Watch, one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights, reported that hundreds of leftist politicians, political activists, journalists, and outspoken clergy have been killed or abducted since 2001 – the time that President Gloria Arroyo rose from power after deposing President Joseph Estrada in a military-backed, people-power revolution.

Most of the killings had been blamed to the military, but so far only 11 people have been convicted for these extrajudicial killings, two in 2009. No member of the military active at the time of the killing has been brought to justice for such crimes.

In an April 2009 follow-up report to the United Nations Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions Philip Alston observed that while the Arroyo government has taken some steps to address extrajudicial killings, it fails to implement needed reforms such as institutionalizing the principle of command responsibility. He also noted that the military has not changed its counterinsurgency methods to eliminate the likelihood of unlawful killings.

At the end of the seminar, EPJUST distributed to journalists trainer booklets and video discs, including handbooks on human rights.

The EPJUST is the European Union's direct response to Manila’s request for technical assistance in addressing the problem of extralegal killings and enforced disappearances. EPJUST is borne out of a Financing Agreement signed between the EU and the Philippines in October 2009 with a timeframe of 30 months (18 months for implementation and 12 months for closure activities). (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine tribesmen abandon hostages

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 6, 2011) – Armed tribesmen have freed Wednesday a dozen hostages after escaping a military and police dragnet in the southern Philippines, officials told the Mindanao Examiner.

Officials said the hostages were freed after five days in captivity in the remote town village of La Purisima in Agusan del Sur’s Prosperidad town.

“Troops recovered the hostages in a forest where the gunmen abandoned them,” said Army Major Eugenio Julio Osias, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division.

He said all 12 hostages were handed over to the local mayor Albin Magdamit. “The victims were also given medical attention and later reunited with their families. They are all okay,” Osias said.

Osias said troops were tracking down the tribesmen. “There is a pursuit operation right now and troops are tracking down the hostage-takers,” he said.

It was unknown why the tribesmen freed the hostages, but the release coincided with the increase presence of security forces in the village.

The tribesmen took civilians hostage to demand for the release of their jailed leader, Ondo Perez, who is also facing kidnapping and murder charges after he held dozens of villagers in 2009.

Perez and his followers are 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. (Mindanao Examiner)

3 killed in Zamboanga highway attack

ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 6, 2011) – Four gunmen boarded a provincial bus and shot dead three people before robbing passengers in the town of Tungawan in Zamboanga Sibugay province in the southern Philippines, army officials told the Mindanao Examiner on Wednesday.

Officials said the attack occurred late Tuesday and among those killed were a bus marshal Lito dela Cruz; army major Julistidi Arasid, and his wife Aliya. They came from Pagadian City where their son graduated in high school and returning to Tungawan town when the attack occurred.

The gunmen also abducted one woman and torched the bus before fleeing to the hinterlands.

Officials said the gunmen posed as passengers and separately seated in the bus, but two of them later shot dead one of two marshals and killed the army officer as he tried to pull out his pistol. His wife who was seated near him was also shot and killed. Their son escaped by jumping out of the window.

Another marshal was wounded in the attack, but managed to escape to inform authorities about the incident.

“We have tightened security in the boundary of Zamboanga because of the incident. We have soldiers and checkpoints along the highway to ensure the safety of Zamboanga,” said Colonel Buenaventura Pascual, commander of an army anti-terror task force in Zamboanga City.

No individual or group claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities previously blamed rebels and bandits in past attacks in highways in Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga City. (Mindanao Examiner)

PAL passenger complains, losses tool in bag

The pouch of the John-Benzen Tools, its multi-tool stolen from a bag of a passenger of the Philippine Airlines Flight 272 from Zamboanga City to Davao City on Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

DAVAO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Apr. 5, 2011) – A Philippine Air Lines passenger who flew to Davao City from Zamboanga City on Tuesday has complained that he lost a multi-tool from his bag.

The bag, containing clothes and other personal effects, was taken by ground personnel at the baggage counter of the Philippine Air Lines at the Zamboanga City Airport. The passenger said he noticed the multi-tool missing after he took out his clothes at a hotel in Davao City.

The multi-tool, made by John-Benzen Tools, a Division of Chicago Tools, was taken from its blue pouch inside one of the bag’s pockets.

“It was a total shock to me. Somebody stole it in my bag and this is really a bad experience,” the passenger said.

Airline officials in Zamboanga and Davao cities could not be immediately contacted to comment on the loss of the tool.

The passenger, who was seated in middle of the plane, said the Flight 272 also smelled petrol and believed to have come from the plane’s engines, notably before it took off in Zamboanga and minutes before the aircraft landed in Davao City Airport. It was also noticed by others passengers, but could do nothing except to cover their nose. (Mindanao Examiner)

TB still a threat in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines — The dreaded tubercle bacillus bacterium remains a prevalent threat to the health of the local populace, with at least 75 Filipinos and as much as 90 dying everyday from tuberculosis.

Worldwide, an average of 9 million people succumb to the dreaded disease each year, 10 to 15 percent of whom are children, while the Philippines has ranked 9th among 22 high-burden nations for TB all over the world.

Representatives from the Department of Health, the Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis, the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Phils. Inc., the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center, and the World Health Organization disclosed these data for the recent national celebration of World TB Day in Metro Manila and Cebu late last month, capping this year’s commemoration since it started in 1997.

Through the corporate-led Philippine Business for Social Progress as the principal recipient for its TB program, the international public-private partnership Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has aimed to sustain TB control and ensure access to comprehensive quality TB health care in the country.

In a forum in Cebu City, PBSP said the project goal is to reduce the prevalence, incidence, and mortality of TB beyond 50 percent after 2010 from a baseline established in 2000 to support the Millennium Development Goals for poverty alleviation. The Cebu forum included PBSP executive director Rapa C. Lopa, director Jaz Gutierrez, and project manager Eric Camacho.

Col. Joselito P. Avanceña, commander of the AFP Medical Center, recently told participants at the center’s covered court in Quezon City that TB remains the 6th greatest cause of mortality in the country, with about 75 to 80 Filipinos dying everday because of the disease.

Dr. Woojin Lew, a representative from WHO, revealed that in 2010 there were a total of around 13,000 multi-drug resistant TB cases in the Philippines, with only about 5,000 of them presenting themselves and registering for treatment.

And with around 95 percent of the total cases not yet fully treated, Lew stressed that there needed to be “new diagnostic measures” as well as “same day diagnostic, same day X-ray, (and) same day treatment” to fully eliminate TB.

DoH Assistant Sec. Gerardo Bayugo cited the fact that children had most especially been vulnerable to the disease as they easily got infected because of domestic contacts with family members infected with the bacteria. Bayugo said TB would always be difficult to diagnose among children especially with changes in standards and guidelines.

Among these changes were on the 2004 DoH guidelines on how the disease should be treated among children through the National Childhood TB Program, and the WHO-revised guidelines of DoH Order 2008-001. On 21 March 2003, Exec. Order No. 187 was issued instituting a comprehensive and unified policy for TB control.

In the 3rd quarter of 2010, at least 44,000 children had been screened for TB, with almost 10,000 initiated for treatment and 3,000 under preventive therapy, Bayugo said.

Col. Reynaldo Ireneo Lipat Jr., AFP Surgeon General and a certified medical doctor, cited the military’s commitment to fight TB under the leadership under AFP Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr.

“We believe that it is a part of our social responsibility to participate in the effort to spread TB awareness, prevention, and cure,” Lipat said.

According to the DoH, the country ranked 9th among 22 high-burden countries for TB with an estimated incidence of smear (+) cases of 133 per population of 100,000. The DoH first implemented the so-called Directly Observed Treatment Short-course strategy in 1996. By 2003, the TB case detection rate was 68 percent with treatment success rate of 88 percent for the past three years.

Aside from PBSP being the principal recipient, the TB program sub-recipients are the DoH Infectious Diseases Office, the DoH National Epidemiology Center, the DoH National TB Reference Laboratory, the Lung Center of the Philippines, the World Vision Development Foundation Inc., the Holistic Community Development Initiatives Inc., the Christian Action for Relief and Empowerment Inc., and PhilCAT.

DoH is the principal Global Fund recipient for the Global Fund HIV program, while Pilipinas Shell Foundation is the principal recipient for the malaria program. (Mitch Confesor)