Agusan province, niyanig ng lindol

COTABATO CITY (Mindanao Examiner / July 1, 2009) – Niyanig ng lindol kahapon ang lalawigan ng Agusan del Sur sa rehiyon ng Caraga sa Mindanao, ngunit walang inulat na nasawi o nasirang mga gusali.

Ayon sa alert na inilabas ng Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology ay naitala ang lakas ng lindol sa 3.7 sa Richter scale. Naganap ang lindol dakong alas 10.30 ng umaga halos 23 kilometro mula sa bayan ng Prosperidad.

Tinatayang mahigit sa tatlong kilometro ang lalim sa lupa ng pinagmulan nito. Naramdaman rin umano sa ibat-ibang bahagi ng rehiyon ang lindol.

Ang Pilipinas ay nasa tinatawag na “Ring of Fire,” isang malaking area sa mundo, particular sa Pacific Ocean, na kung saan ay madalas ang mga seismic at volcanic activity.

Kasama sa Ring of Fire ang Andes Mountains sa South America, ang coastal regions ng western Central at North America, ang Aleutian at Kuril islands, ang Kamchatka Peninsula sa Japan, ang Taiwan at eastern Indonesia, gayun rin ang New Zealand at mga isla sa western Pacific. (Mindanao Examiner)

Rebels snatch policeman in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 6, 2008) – Communist insurgents abducted a policeman in the southern Philippine province of Davao Oriental, officials said Thursday.

Officials said about 40 New People’s Army insurgents seized Police Officer 3 Eduardo Tumol in the village of San Antonio in Caraga town on Wednesday. Tumol is a member of the 1105th Provincial Mobile Group.

Officials said Tumol was with his commander, Senior Inspector Angel Sumagaysay, who was driving a pick-up truck, when the insurgents flagged down the vehicle and seized the victim.

The duo was on their way to attend a court hearing and officials believed that Sumagaysay was the real target. The insurgents probably mistook Tumol as the police commander because Sumagaysay was the one driving the vehicle, officials said.

The NPA has reportedly demanded the government to stop military offensive in the province, a known lair of the outlawed communist group which has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Romy Bwaga)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 6, 2008) – Communist insurgents abducted a policeman in the southern Philippine province of Davao Oriental, officials said Thursday.

Officials said about 40 New People’s Army insurgents seized Police Officer 3 Eduardo Tumol in the village of San Antonio in Caraga town on Wednesday. Tumol is a member of the 1105th Provincial Mobile Group.

Officials said Tumol was with his commander, Senior Inspector Angel Sumagaysay, who was driving a pick-up truck, when the insurgents flagged down the vehicle and seized the victim.

The duo was on their way to attend a court hearing and officials believed that Sumagaysay was the real target. The insurgents probably mistook Tumol as the police commander because Sumagaysay was the one driving the vehicle, officials said.

The NPA has reportedly demanded the government to stop military offensive in the province, a known lair of the outlawed communist group which has been fighting for decades for the establishment of a Maoist state in the country. (Romy Bwaga)

Caraga Infra Projects Almost Complete

DPWH Caraga regional director Romeo Momo, left, gestures during a meeting with Caraga chief executives in Butuan City about the progress of infrastructure projects in the region. Also in the photo are Jesus Dureza, provincial governors Erlpe John Amante of Agusan del Norte and Vicente Pimentel Jr. of Surigao del Sur and Virgilio Leyretana.

BUTUAN CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 27 Oct) - The fight against poverty is gaining headway in the southern Philippine region of Caraga as big ticket infrastructure and development projects are underway to promote peace, trade and greater access to goods and basic services.

At the recently held Mindanao Super Region Forum-Caraga Leg here, the Department of Public Works and Highways revealed that the region's infrastructure development program is boldly making accomplishments.

The construction of the second Magsaysay Bridge worth more than P2 billion and Butuan City’s by-pass road project, are almost complete.

Presidential Peace Adviser and Mindanao Super Region Development head Jesus Dureza and Virgilio Leyretana, chairman of the Mindanao Economic Development Coucil, have recently inspected the Butuan projects in the village of San Vicente.

With a total span of 882 meters, the Magsaysay Bridge will become an alternative crossing in Agusan River to connect the Philippine-Japan Friendship Highway (Surigao-Agusan-Davao Road) and the Butuan City-Cagayan City-Iligan City road.

"I remember two years ago when I visited here, this is still on the drawing board and now it's a dream fulfilled. This bridge is the most beautiful span we have seen that can compete architecturally with other infrastructure projects in other parts of Asia and it is to the credit of local leadership with the support of national government who made this project possible," Dureza said in a statement sent Friday to the Mindanao Examiner.

Dureza said aside from the bridge and road projects, two other infrastructure projects under the Mindanao Super Region Initiative of President Gloria Arroyo in Caraga, include the Dinagat Island Road Network, Butuan Airport, Surigao-Davao Coastal Road and Hawilian-Salug-Sinakungan Barangay (village) Road.

DPWH Caraga regional director Romeo Momo said an initial funding of P100 million was released recently to start the construction of the Dinagat Island Road Network. (With a report from the Mindanao Economic Development Council)