Sulu is now 2nd Class province; sets more goals

Sulu Governor Hajji Sakur Tan, DH.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / July 24, 2009) - With sustained peace and development programs and a bullish economy, Sulu now has been upgraded from a 3rd Class province to 2nd Class and various business groups have largely attributed this to the governor of Sulu, Sakur Tan.

According to the Department of Finance, Sulu’s classification was upgraded also based on its Financial Statements duly certified by the Commission on Audit and in accordance with the income ranges prescribed in the Department Order No. 23-08. Financial figures and data were not immediately available.

Sulu has met all the requirements it needed as 2nd Class province, said Finance Executive Director Maria Presentacion Montesa.

”This is good news to us. At last Sulu is now recovering from what it was in previous administrations. Governor Sakur Tan is an excellent manager, a hardworking executive and good civil servant and that’s why we are progressing,” one Chinese-Filipino trader, who runs a chain of shops in Jolo town, said by phone from Jolo.

For his part, Tan said the progress of Sulu can be attributed to its people who have supported his reforms and programs. “This is not because of me. Everyone has played a crucial role – from the village leaders, the town officials, the provincial board members, the business, academe and religious sectors, the community and most especially the ordinary people whom we pledged to serve,” he said in a separate interview.

Tan said more development and infrastructure projects have been lined up for different areas in Sulu. He said the provincial government is pursuing more programs and projects on agricultural, education and health, community development and people empowerment, as part of Sulu’s peace and development agenda.

Infrastructure and other humanitarian projects are also continuing in Sulu, he said.

Many local farmers have also resorted to planting coffee beans from the traditional cassava because of its competitive prices and high market demands. Tan said the demand for Sulu’s Arabica and Robusta coffee beans is high because of its good quality and distinct aroma.

Tan has recently organized the Sulu Provincial Coffee Industry Development Task Force (Kahawa Sug) which aims to enhance and facilitate the implementation of the coffee development plan.

“We have come up with a plan designed to further improve coffee production in Sulu in order to enhance the socio-economic condition of the coffee farmers. We have the best coffee beans in the southern Philippines,” Tan said.

He said coffee farmers can derive greater economic benefits by adopting improve technology on coffee growing techniques introduced by Nestle Philippines.

“This is being done by putting up nursery for selected coffee clones and give bountiful harvest of green seeds and the establishment of technology demonstrations to guide farmers on the right plantation management practices, reviving the productivity of coffee trees thru pruning and rejuvenation thus improving the production and qualities of coffee beans,” he said.

Aside from coffee beans, Sulu is a supplier of abaca ropes, marine products, rubber and copra. The province is also abundant in fruits such as durian and mangosteen berries, among others. (Mindanao Examiner)

Raise Penalty For Thieves Of Religios Icon, Solon Urged

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / 28 Jul) – Alarmed by the desecration of Catholic churches due to looting in the Philippines, Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte on Saturday said he will push for a new legislation that would raise the penalty for thieves of religious articles.

Under Villafuerte's proposal, the punishment to be imposed for theft or robbery committed within any church, temple or public museum would be higher by two degrees than the applicable penalty for such offenses under existing law.

"The theft of religious icons, and likewise of relics and artistic works that constitute the finest expressions of our culture, traditions and way of life, arouses national indignation. This national indignation should find corresponding utterance in our criminal laws," Villafuerte said in a statement sent to the Mindanao Examiner.

"This type of larceny threatens the gains we've achieved in establishing our people's links to its past. Where religious objects are stolen, it also outrages our people's sense of the sacred and the holy," Villafuerte said.

The theft of religious icons remains rampant in the country.

Just early this month, a life-size marble statue of San Antonio de Padua, the patron saint of lost articles, was stolen from the San Diego de Alcala Church in Valenzuela City, where the statue has been installed for more than half a century.

The missing icon was later recovered after unidentified men surrendered it to a television network in Manila.

In December last year, a 20-karat gold necklace was stolen from the statue of Saint Michael installed in a church in Argao town in Cebu province in central Philippines.

In November last year, a 30-kilo, century-old bronze bell was seized from a church in Malinta town also in Valenzuela.

In July last year, an 18th century, two-foot image of Saint Vincent Ferrer was taken from one of the oldest Catholic churches in Northern Luzon.

The figure was seized from the belfry of the Saint Vincent Ferrer Church in Dupax del Sur, Nueva Vizcaya province. The church itself is classified as "a national cultural treasure" by the National Commission for Culture and Arts.

"Our heightened sense of history and national identity has not been without adverse side effects. One of the most deplorable is the pilferage of religious icons and cultural artifacts by felons who have found a lucrative market in equally rotten traders in these objects," Villafuerte said.

Villafuerte said the proposed higher penalty is justifiable on the following grounds: The unlawful taking of objects from churches, temples and museums, demonstrates a higher degree of perversity on the part of the offenders.

Churches, temples and museums are open to the public and the objects usually stolen from them are openly displayed. These places are often unguarded since strict security measures are incompatible with their very nature, not to mention that they are not financially equipped to provide an elaborate security system.

Thus, it is easier to gain access to the valuable objects in these places; and the preservation of religious and cultural heritage embodied in religious statues and cultural objects and artifacts is a matter of national and public interest.

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)