North Cotabato Youths Shout For Quality Education

Some 200 mostly students hold a rally Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in Kidapawan City in Mindanao to demand for equality and better education. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / June 24, 2009) – Some 200 mostly students held a rally in Kidapawan City in Mindanao to demand for equality and better education.

The students said they gathered Tuesday to show that they too, are part of those who want change in the government education system.

Many of them - members of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) and Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na Kalayaan (KARATULA) - came from different municipalities in North Cotabato.

"We just want to be heard," Ronnel Albiso, KARATULA president, told the Mindanao Examiner.

Albiso said they calling on the government to prioritize free education and to sustain various literacy programs in the country that will benefit the youth and make them better citizens in the future.

The students carried banners and placards that advocated quality education and better governance. The peaceful rally coincided with the celebration of the “All Youth and Students Day of Protest." (Nina Rodriguez)

Young Muslim achiever urges youth to register and vote

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 20, 2009) - A TOMY (Ten Outstanding Muslim Youth) awardee has urged the country's youth, especially his fellow Muslims, to register and vote for the coming 2010 national elections.

Lawyer Datu Reza Cang Sinsuat, corporate secretary of the Davao-based Southern Philippines Development Authority, said the youth should exercise their right to vote and should show their elders they are capable of correctly choosing the future leaders of the country.

Sinsuat said: "The youth must take part in the coming electoral exercise because the biggest issues of governance have direct effects on us. What is often ignored and neglected is sometimes the solution to our age-old problem. Exercising ones right to vote is like creating a glimmer of hope in our war-torn homeland."

"The youth is one of the most potent sectors of our country that can push our nation toward unity and progress. I believe we possess the wisdom to elect who could bring us lasting prosperity and stability; a candidate wisely elected, who is sensitive, reflecting the hopes of all Mindanaoan,"Sinsuat said.

A graduate of Ateneo de Manila School of Law and a political science graduate of De Lasalle University, Sinsuat said that he plans to spearhead a youth movement that would campaign for active participation in the coming polls.

The existence of armed conflict and resulting massive displacement of Muslims, indigenous people and Christians alike in Mindanao can be addressed with the active participation of the youth electorate in voting the candidate that would address peace and development, among others, he said.

"I know there are other youth groups already mobilized for this purpose. If ever, it is best that cooperation will be established to unify the youths' effort to have one goal and show one voice- that of pushing for our rights to choose the responsive and publicly accountable leaders," he added.

Sinsuat is a Fulbright scholar who finished his Executive Masters degree in Public Administration in Maxwell School of Citizenry and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in New York two years ago. (Candido Aparece Jr.)

Sulu Launches Waste Management Campaign

Photos released by the Sulu provincial government show the launching of the waste management campaign in Patikul town.

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 07, 2009) – Some 1,000 people attended the launching of a waste management campaign in Sulu province in the southern Philippines, officials said on Saturday.

Officials said the campaign dubbed as “Operation Maglanuh” was spearheaded by Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan in an effort to increase awareness and education on solid waste management.

Some 1,000 people from different schools, civic groups and government agencies in the province attended Thursday launching of the campaign, which was in partnership with the municipal governments of Jolo, Indanan and Patikul and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Sunny Abing, the provincial government spokesman, said Tan and the mayors of Jolo, Hussin Amin; Hussin Ahajan, of Indanan; and Kabir Hayudini, of Patikul led the ceremony. Local military commander Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban and US military Major Larry Daley also joined the launching of the Operation Maglanuh.

With the theme: “Basura Makamula, Maglanuh Magsama-sama, Magad ha dan sin Agama" (Garbage can harm, lets clean together, and follow the path of our faith),” Tan said the campaign is the best way to educate the locals on the importance of waste management.

He also urged residents to recycle waster materials, especially those non-degradable such as plastic bottles and jugs into flower pots for their backyards.

Waste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is also carried out to recover resources from it.

While recyling is the process of extracting resources or value from waste is generally referred to as recycling, meaning to recover or reuse the material. There are a number of different methods by which waste material is recycled: the raw materials may be extracted and reprocessed, or the calorific content of the waste may be converted to electricity.

Waste materials that are organic in nature, such as plant material, food scraps, and paper products, can be recycled using biological composting and digestion processes to decompose the organic matter.

The resulting organic material is then recycled as mulch or compost for agricultural or landscaping purposes. In addition, waste gas from the process, such as methane can be captured and used for generating electricity. The intention of biological processing in waste management is to control and accelerate the natural process of decomposition of organic matter.

Report Abuses And Threats Against Journalists

National Union Of Journalists Of The Philippines - Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi Chapter. Report Abuses And Threats Against Journalists +63918 9248086.

http://www.nujp.org

Sunday Silence Is Now Sunday Sirens!

Break your silence.

Stand against repression and corruption!

Sunday Silence is now Sunday Sirens.

Sound off to gather as one – artists, students, professionals, religious, workers, peasants, teachers, children, rich and poor.

We stand facing the glorious Philippine sunset together as one nation. Magingay tayo. Isama niyo na ang boses niyo dito.

Bring bongos, guitars, whistles, kaldero, banig, etc. February 17, Sunday, 3pm at the Baywalk Stretch across Malate Church, Roxas Boulevard, Manila.

The Filipino people are not stupid. Tama na ang GAGOhan. Manindigan.

DAKILA-Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism

http://www.dakilacollective.multiply.com

http://www.dakila.org.ph

Pobreza en Zamboanga

Philippine Elections 2007

Filmmaking Seminar In UP

The University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) invites you to join any or all of its 2007 Multimedia Workshop offerings – a series of short-term, specialized courses on the power of images and the various aspects of film and audiovisual production.

One of the workshops to be offered this summer is:

Documentary Filmmaking Facilitator: Milo Paz

Dates: May 15-19/21

Time: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Venue: UPFI Videotheque (at the back of Cine Adarna)

Fee: P 8,000, inclusive of light snacks, handouts, use of equipment, and certificates.

Documentary Filmmaking is a workshop that introduces the participants to the history, sub-genres (e.g., cinema verité, ethnographic documentary, travelogue, docu-drama, mockumentary, etc.), techniques, and aesthetics of the documentary.

It equips the participants with skills in using video and sound equipment, in the context of documentary filmmaking individually or with a crew.

The workshop participants will produce a short video documentary at the end of the workshop.

The workshop facilitator, Milo Paz, is an award-winning filmmaker with twelve years of experience as director/producer for various media - television and film/video.

His documentary features have received several awards from Gawad CCP Para Sa Alternatibong Pelikula at Video and the Moonrise Film Festival.

University of the Philippines Film Institute Cine Adarna, Magsaysay and Osmeña Avenues, UP Diliman , Quezon City

For workshop queries: Email: upfi_workshops@yahoo.com.ph

Call: 02-9263640 or 02-9262722

Philippine Elections 2007

Video by the Mindanao Examiner

Zamboanga Candidates' Forum To Discuss Peace, Ecology Issues

ZAMBOANGA CITY- With barely two weeks left before national and local elections, a local civil society group called the Inter-Religious Solidarity Movement for Peace (IRSMP), is staging a round-table forum for local politicians on Thursday in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines.

IRSMP lead convener Rev. Fr. Angel C. Calvo said the forum, which would be held at the Lotus Restaurant of the Grand Astoria Hotel, will focus on major, selected public issues relevant to the group's peace-building advocacy and as a voter's education exercise.

Filipinos are to elect their senators, congressmen and local officials on May 14 polls.
Calvo said the forum, which will start at 1:30 p.m., will center on two main issues: Peace-building, peace and security; and ecology and natural resources.

"May 14 is election day. The next set of mid-term elections that will mold our city's future will occur on that day. We would like to hear our local politicians and aspirant candidates' views and programs if ever they will be elected or re-elected," he said.

Invited guests are limited to candidates running for congressional and mayoralty seats.

The candidates will have two minutes to give an initial statement. They will also have the chance to speak more in response to questions during the open forum, which will be attended by IRMSP members, special guests and media.

IRMSP is a loose movement made up of Islam, Protestant and Roman Catholic religious leaders and lay people who regularly meet to discuss current public issues to foster a culture of dialogue and peace. It also implements small community development projects to promote inter-faith bonding.

"We hope that with this forum, we can learn about our candidates' plans and platforms," said Jaafar Kimpa.

Rev. Ronald Bilang also aired a similar statement. Both Kimpa and Bilang are conveners of Islam and Evangelicals, respectively. (Darwin Wee)

NGO Pushes For Clean Elections In South RP

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Elections Commissioner Rene Sarmiento and Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) chief Henrietta de Villa visited Jolo island Thursday to advocate for a clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful (CHAMP) polls in the southern province.

CHAMP is the election advocacy battle cry of PPCRV.

To erase doubts that cheating is massive in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), volunteers from 12 youth and women organizations in Jolo island will be tapped by PPCRV to monitor the election proceedings, according to the official Philippine Information Agency in Zamboanga City.

Regional Director Rey Sumalipao, of the Commission on Elections in the Autonomous Region, who assisted Sarmiento in the visit, is optimistic that families displaced by fighting between rebels and soldiers could return home before the May 14 polls, it said.

Many of the refugees are staying in temporary government shelters on the island. The United Nations said as many as 42,000 people have been affected by the hostilities that broke out April 13 after Moro National Liberation Front rebels under Ustadz Khabir Malik attacked a marine base in Panamao town.

The COMELEC will somehow be forced to put up makeshift shelters near school buildings housing dislocated families to serve as polling places, or use village and health centers and even police stations for the purpose, Sumalipao said.

In preparation for the mid-year elections, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has issued Proclamation No. 1279 declaring Monday, May 14, as a special public, non-working holiday nationwide "to give the people the fullest opportunity to exercise their right of suffrage" during the national and local elections on that day. (Mimi Bern-Edaga)

Halalan 2007 Pilipinas!

The Philippine Elections 2007

Mindanao Examiner Partners With Monad Studio, Signs Up With Int'l News Providers

Click photo to watch trailer of short film El Amor Di Pilar

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Mindanao Examiner partnered with the Manila-based Monad Studio to promote independent film making in the southern Philippines.

Monad Studio, whose director Patrick Almaden and brother Paco, was behind the short film El Amor Di Pilar, shot in Zamboanga and Manila and other locations in the Philippines.

The highly acclaimed El Amor Di Pilar is a story about a Manila man whose Zamboanguena wife died in a road accident. Devastated and lonely, he later fell in love with another woman, his sister-in-law and the conflict with the girl's family begins.

Monad Studio has produced numerous award winning films.

The Mindanao Examiner, which maintains an online news media and a weekly newspaper, has been promoting independent film making and is currently working – in collaboration with Monad Studio and Moro Films - on a series of seminars and workshops in video productions and photography lectures in Zamboanga.

Aside from partnering with Monad Studio, the Mindanao Examiner also entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide news stories and images for its World News Service.

The Mindanao Examiner also signed up with Scoopt and Blogburst for its articles and photographs.